"Me, Fluffly and Kiara, we're going to move on.", Erin said to Ian. "We'll be pleased to have you on our side, if you want to."

"Really?", Mr Peters answered. "You want me to join the group? Especially after beating you down?"

"It's alright, Mr Peters. You got nervous and fought we were killers. It was a misunderstanding, an accident. Plus, we need all the help we can get if we want to have a chance to survive and get the hell out of here."

"You're right.", Ian said solemnly. "I wish I had a student as nice and helpful as you are in my classroom, Erin."

Speechless after hearing this, Erin expressed his gratitude with a smile. Then, he asked:

"I don't know about you but I feel hungry and thirsty to be honest. Didn't really eat and drink that much at the party. Is there a mall somewhere nearby by any chance?"

"Well, there's Mr. Winston's grocery to the east". Kiara replied. "I buy milk at his store. Fluffy loves it. But it's closed at this hour. Other than that, I don't know."

"There's also a bakery if we keep going north.", Mr Peters added. "Some of my colleagues stopped by there to get their daily bread or croissant before coming to school."

"Sweet.", Erin said. "Two stores that are most certainly closed. And I'm not the type of person who breaks into shops, in need of supplies."

Erin stopped talking for a moment so he could think about where to go now. The bakery or the grocery? He couldn't stand hearing his stomach calling for food. He had to take a decision as soon as possible.

"Where do we go, then?", Kiara asked softly.

"Let's go to the grocery.",Erin replied. "If we are lucky, Mr Winston might be there."

"Ok, let's go see how that old man is doing", Ian said.

"Mr Winston is not that old, Mr Peters.", retorted Kiara.

"I was kidding. He is an old senile man working at a grocery."

Kiara stared at Ian, who smiled. That smile proved he was joking. He didn't hate Mr Winston. Rare were the people who scorned him in Fuller Heights. He was the grand father that all the kids in town would have loved to have. It was pretty sure that Ian wanted to set a good mood in the group with that little joke. The group went east, to the grocery.

After walking for a few minutes, they finally came to the store. The lights were off but the metallic curtains were not lowered, which was suspicious for Erin when he realized that. He looked through the window to see if he was inside. He could barely see anything since it was too dark in the shop. He knocked on the door afterwards, hoping someone would come and open the door. He waited a brief moment before knocking once more on the door.

"Is he here, inside the shop?", asked Kiara, worried.

"Possibly.", Erin answered."The shop is not totally closed, by the look of the curtains."

"I'll go check the back door.", Mr Peters said."Stay here. I'll call you if I find anything over there."

Erin nodded. Ian disappeared in a small alley to the left of the grocery. Waiting for Ian's answers, Erin and Kiara tried to see if they could see a person, or a shade in the shop. In vain, the place looked empty.

"Hey kids, come here." Ian shouted.

The two young students joined Ian in the alley and noted that the back door was broken open. Was it a warning? Did some psycho killers stop by Mr Winston's grocery? Why didn't they bash the front door instead? So many questions, but the answer was probably inside.

(OoC: I won't be able to update tonight. Feel free to post as you will. I'll post an update tomorrow instead, and hopefully I'll have the map issues worked out by then)

(OoC: those who are summoned with another player, feel free to determine the outcome, just not how the other person fought)




Update #9
September 1st, 10:03 AM
Current conditions: severe thunderstorm (30Mph winds), mild flooding (three inches of standing water), 68°F. Daytime, but dark due to storm.

Player update: Three players changed location, two players changed stats.


mrfe :
Mynamescox44 :
"Offering me prescription meds, are you?" Seifer said with a smile "I have a nice shiny pair of silver bracelets that I give to people who do that."

Mark laughed at Seifer's comment. The man was quick enough for someone who had been through what he had.

"Well let's head out." said a still sore Seifer with a grimace as he rose from his seat. "We'd better take full advantage of the daylight."

"You do realize it's storming out there, right?" Mark asked. "That wind looks and sounds pretty strong. Besides," he added "you need a break. And maybe a snack. Have either of you eaten recently?"

"I haven't eaten since about seven o'clock yesterday evening." Seifer answered, feeling hungry for the first time since arriving. "And goodness knows how long it's been since Taryn here ate." the girl smiled shyly but didn't say a word.

"Well why don't you come with me and we'll grab something for both of you." Mark offered the girl, who in turn accepted and together they rummaged though his kitchen. They settled on some baked skinless chicken, and protein shakes, and the trio headed to the dining room.

"Sorry for the strange offering, but I never did entertain very often." Mark said, suddenly feeling a little silly, especially offering this bachelor meal to a lady. And he had a distinct feeling that neither of them were too impressed with his sub-par cooking, but they didn't let on that they minded at least.

Seifer suddenly burst into gagging and sputtering noises.

"Oh gosh." the officer said with a disgusted look on his face "What the heck is this stuff?" he asked, looking at the glass in his hand.

"It's a protein shake." Mark replied as he took a drink of his. "Haven't you ever had one?"

"Well yeah, but not one that tasted this awful." said Sefeir as he placed the glass on the table, positioning it far away from his plate as though he were afraid it might try leap into his mouth of he got too close. "I thought you forgot to check the expiration date on your milk or something."

Mark chuckled. "Well, I'm a bachelor." he began. "What do you expect?"

"Something that tastes good enough to swallow." Seifer replied with a chuckle.

"No need for all that fancy stuff with special flavoring." Mark reasoned. "It all does the same stuff. This is cheaper, and there's no woman here." he said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable for having said this with Taryn in the room, even if she was a kid. "A man can handle a little foul aftertaste."

"Aftertaste? " Seifer said incredulously. "Buddy, it isn't an aftertaste, it's the whole taste."

"Like I said, a man can handle it." Mark replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, but not if he has any taste buds." came Seifer's retort with a laugh.

"So" Taryn finally piped up "this is how bachelors eat." she commented as she studied her plate and shake more than she tasted either.

"Yes"
"No"
The two men offered simultaneously.

"Not normal bachelors." Seifer informed Taryn as he shared a laugh with Mark.

"I've been called a lot of things in my life, Seifer." Mark said, "But normal is not one of them."

As the chatter continued merrily and everyone - or everyone but Taryn - managed to choke down their food, their moods began to improve. All seemed normal for once.

Normal until the storm knocked the lights out. With the storm outside making it so dark, they couldn't see a foot in front of their faces indoors. Fear began to set in. Darkness was not a good thing in a situation like this.

A loud noise came from the front room, and a strong wind suddenly began blowing through the house.

Someone had broken in

Mark somehow remained aware and focused enough to choke back a swear as he realized he was in the presence of a woman.

"Seifer?" the shakes voice belonged to a frightened Taryn. "Is that your hand on my arm?"

"It's mine, I think." came a reply from a voice that didn't belong to Seifer. Taryn began flailing and screaming. "Taryn! It's okay, it's me, Mark." the girl calmed a little, but remained tense. "Get behind me."

"It's okay, Taryn." Seifer called.

"No it isn't, Taryn." came a strange voice. Seifer turned his cell phone flashlight on again and set it on the table. The light beam hit the ceiling and offered a small amount of illumination for the entire room. In the dim light they could see three figures stalking into the dining room, dripping wet and muddy. "It isn't okay. You're about to be nothing more than a pretty little corpse."

At that comment, Seifer saw red. "Get within six feet of her and you'll wish you were never born."

The man laughed. "Last I checked you were outnumbered three to one. I wouldn't count on this ending well for you."

"Count again, creep." Mark said as he stepped up from behind Seifer.

"Oh reinforcements? So who do we have here? A policeman and his dimwitted muscle monkey?" the man laughed, and it somehow struck Seifer as humorous that the guy actually found himself witty. "Hey Gwen," the man said to the woman who stepped up beside him, "I thought we took out all the cops last night! Looks like we missed one."


Seifer cringed 'Dear God, please don't let Taryn have heard that'

"You did what?!?" yeah, she heard it alright. "My dad was there...wh...I...ahhh!"

"Taryn, no!" Seifer's shout fell on deaf ears as an enraged Taryn tackled the woman the psycho called Gwen, and the two began their power struggle.

Immediately Seifer and Mark tore into their foes as well, the former with his blade, and the latter with his chair-leg-turned-club. If Taryn were to stand any chance of surviving, they would have to make sure Gwen had no assistance from either if the two men with her.




Laian :
Furret :
With the storm intensifying, all three people and one feline entered the store quickly, but Erin insisted they stay in the back as he scouted the area ahead. Ian protested, but Erin refused to stay behind while Ian searched, and neither of them wanted Kiara going ahead nor being left alone. The girl was not happy with the special treatment, but she knew that any attempt to convince either of the men that she was fine would be about as successful as trying to convince a wall to talk.

Erin slowly pressed on ahead from the back room, entering the main section of the store. He didn't hear anything, but looking up he saw a sign that read "Aisle 7", and with several aisles on either side of it, he had plenty of ground to cover before giving the others the all clear.

As he traveled down each aisle, Erin grew more and more uneasy. He had nothing to accredit this growing apprehension to, but he felt as though something was about to happen. Something bad.

He walked slowly as he rounded the corner of aisle 4. He knew this was it. Steeling his nerves, he stepped into the aisle and saw...nothing.

Maybe his nerves were just getting the better of him. After all, he had no reason to believe anything bad was going to happen. He scolded himself silently for acting so afraid. Kiara and Fluffy were counting on him for protection, and here he was shaking in his shoes at invisible boogeymen. No, no more would he allow fear to push him around.

As he took himself to task while rounding aisle 2, he heard a strange sound.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was barely audible, but something was moving on the next aisle over. But what could make that strange tapping sound when it moved? It certainly wasn't anyone walking...

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Readying his weapon just in case it was needed, Erin stepped into the aisle and saw the origin of the sound: a woman hanging from the rafters from a long rope. Her lifeless body gently swaying, her shoe tapping against the cans on the shelf nearby. She hadn't been killed by hanging though, as blood was running from her in a steady stream. She couldn't have been dead long. As Erin came up to her body, which was suspended only a few feet off of the floor, he saw a large gaping wound in stomach. He barely managed to keep his stomach from emptying their contents on the spot when he realized he could actually see through her.

Erin had seen so much tonight, and yet he never felt quite like he was prepared to witness the next horror that he ran into. He passed beyond the woman, taking mental note not to let Kiara get anywhere near aisle 2.

One aisle left.

As he stepped onto aisle 1, he saw nothing more. Thankful for at least this fortune, Erin turned to go get the others when an office door caught his eye. Walking up to it, he opened the door and saw an older man wearing a name tag that read "Jeffery Winston" standing over a young man who was tied up in a chair.

"Help me!" the young man shouted.

"Stay where you are." the older man commanded Erin. "Take one more step and I kill him."

"Please! You gotta help me!!" the young man pleaded with tears.

Erin didn't know what to do, but he didn't have time to think.

"Oh I never could stand a cry baby, Alex. You're fired." the old man said as he proceeded to bring a knife crashing down into the young man's stomach.

Erin watched in horror as the boy screamed with each plunge of the knife that came down into him, over, and over, and over. After several stabs the young man stopped moving or making any sounds, but his attacker kept on stabbing him mindlessly. Erin began walking toward this crazed man, who in turn walked toward Erin. They both froze a few feet from each other and sized one another up. Liking his odds with a knife, the older man lunged at Erin who dodged the attack, and the two men began taking turns swiping at one another with their weapons, but neither one managing to land a blow.

Erin obviously outmatched in weaponry, kept walking backwards to avoid the next swipe of the mad man, when suddenly he walked into an end cap display and knocked it over with a loud crash. And just like that, Erin was on his back, looking up at the lunatic with the blade.

-------

"Now what did you mean you wish you had a student as nice as Erin in your class??" Kiara said, her head cocked to one side as she stared at Mr. Peters. "What do you call me?"

"Uh...I...well you see, Kiara," Ian began, not sure how he managed to put his foot so far in his mouth. At this point it was so far in there, he thought he tasted kneecap. "what I meant was that, I wished" the conversation was cut short by loud crashing noises and shouting in the front of the store.

"Erin!" Kiara shouted. "We have to go help him!"

Seifer's lunge was almost more of a shoulder tackle you would see in football, pushing back the crazy rather than wrapping him up. It worked to Seifer's advantage as well, the man falling backwards into a cracked basement door, and taking a nasty tumble down the stairs. It couldn't have worked that well though, as the crazy almost immediately came running back up the steps. Seifer placed himself flat against the wall, right next to the opening to the basement, hoping to catch the man by surprise as he ascended to the first floor.
*Step* *Step* *Step* 'Now!' Seifer instinctively thought as he brought the knife around the meet him. The man's crowbar was the first thing Seifer's forearm came into contact with, and the angle of it slid his arm down way off course. The knife still landed, but it was low and the side of his abdomen, missing everything vital. Even worse, the crazy pushed back before he could pull the knife back out, leaving his only weapon protruding from his flank.
Seeming almost impervious to the pain, the man managed to throw Seifer to the floor. He landed on top of Seifer, trying to push the crowbar into his throat. It was all Seifer could do just to keep the bar from actually pressing down onto his windpipe. Gravity and leverage were not in his favor, so he had to do something, and quick.
For some reason, his own life didn't seem like what was important in this moment. It wasn't his own life that was flashing before him, but the picture of Taryn's corpse in Mark's living room, the group of crazies doing what they would with it for their own sick amusement. That was the one thing he couldn't let come to pass.
Seifer dropped one arm off the bar, letting it press hard enough to cut off his oxygen. Acting with clarity that would shock even the most mentally numb psycho, Seifer pulled his knife back out of the guy with his free arm, and brought it up square into the man's under jaw all the way to the hilt. The pressure on his neck relieved instantly, and he rolled the man's dead weight off of himself.
'I have to help Taryn,' Seifer kept repeating as he ran into the room where they were last. The fight between them was still going on, both having dropped their weapons in the heat of the battle. As Seifer approached, Gwen managed to get on top. As she was rearing her arm back to strike, Seifer took his knife and put it to her throat, forcing her into something like a full nelson hold, using the hair on the back of her head as an anchor for his off hand.
"Look away, Taryn. You don't need to see this." Seifer said as firmly as he could muster. She turned her gaze, but not because of what was going to happen to Gwen. She wanted Gwen to die an even more gruesome death, at least in this very moment. No, she looked away because Seifer's face was covered in so much blood she genuinely couldn't tell it was him without a voice to pair it to.
As Gwen's lifeless body fell to the floor, Seifer looked to Taryn, as she kept looking down. In perfect harmony, they both said "We need to check on Mark ..."

(OoC:
mrfe :
Laian :
Ghostbear1111 :
Furret :
zanderlex :
Some of you have been unable to post, or lost interest. Either is understandable, but if you do not plan to be participating any longer, please let me know via PM so I know to remove your character from the map coordinates. If you still wish to play but won't be able to for a while, that's fine as well. Just let me know what the case is if you have been inactive in the RP for a while please. Thanks. )


Update #10
September 1st, 11:15 AM
Current conditions: Rainy (winds 10 Mph), moderate flooding (six inches standing water), Daytime with increasing levels of light as the storm breaks up.

Two players stats have changed.


Chapter Three: A cold and lonely place.
I was numb for the next few days, not budging from my seat unless my children needed me, or to tend to some other matter that couldn't be helped. I didn't eat, and I found it much easier to avoid sleeping, as each time my eyes tried to close on me the image of Eric's dead body lying on my living room floor came back to me, starting me awake again. The children scarcely spoke to me or around me, though I didn't get the impression that they were angry with me, just that they were as disturbed and deeply scarred by this as I was. I mean, can you imagine seeing your dad shoot your own brother dead not three feet away from you? Who wouldn't be scared? Most adults would sustain some serious trauma from that, and how much more two kids their age?

Alicia was the first one to break the silence that had lasted for nearly a week beyond the necessary communications such as calling them to dinner, and them asking for help with something they couldn't do on their own.

"We don't blame you, dad." her voice came from behind me as I sat there looking out over the scenery in the yard. caught off guard, I jumped a little, then turned around to face her.

"What?" was all I could force out.

"Steven and I, we know it's not your fault...about what happened with Eric." she said, as her head dropped slightly. "You did what you had to do. He was going to...you had to do that or you would have..." the words didn't want to come, instead they sent tears in their place as one by ne they dropped to the floor, each silent tear representing another scar left on her young heart.

"I didn't do it to save my life, sweetie." I said, as I reached my hands out to place them on her shoulders. "I did it because I was worried about what might happen to you and Steven if I died. Eric was in no frame of mind to protect you two. Believe me, I would have much rather Eric lived than I." those words felt entirely too grown up to be saying to her, but the way she nodded and accepted what I said let me know that she had matured beyond her years. My little girl, though little in body still, had been forced to become an adult by the events of the past few weeks. It wasn't fair.

"Dad, I don't want to be here any longer." she said softly as she fought back the tears.

"I know, Alicia. I don't either, but there's no way out until the police bring some order to the community. I checked already. But we'll be alright. I'll get you two out of here as soon as there's a chance."

"No, I want out now." her words weren't meant to be defiant, they were full of fear. She genuinely feared she would die if she stayed any longer. "I'm...I'm scared. And so is Steven. What's to keep someone else from doing what Eric did? What if you don't make it next time? Dad there's only so much you can do."

"Sweetheart..." I sighed heavily "I know what you mean, and you're right. I just... I don't know how to get us out of here. I'm sorry, I wanted to keep trying to shelter you from the knowledge that your old man is worried too, but I see you're not my little girl anymore; you're my little woman. You're a brave girl, Alicia. I'm very proud of you and how you've helped care for Steven. You're...you're brave."

My daughter looked up at me through her tear filled eyes, "Not as brave as you are, dad." my heart melted. She thought I was brave? She didn't see me when I woke from an unintentional sleep, gripping the arms of my chair, breathing hard as tears rushed down my face. She didn't hear me when I cried at night for my wife and kids. She didn't know the madness I nearly descended into the night I shot Eric. I was no hero. I was a failure.

"Sweetheart, I can try to get us out of here." I started, "but I'll need your help with it. Can you do that?" She nodded.

And so it was that when Steven fell off to sleep that night, Alicia and I began forming a plan to get out of Fuller Heights alive. I only hoped it would work. I put on my brave face and tried to convince her that we would succeed, but deep down I was just as afraid and unsure as she was. Perhaps even more, since she had the illusion that her old man was brave and capable. I knew better.

After a few nights of planning, Alicia, Steven, and I took off into the open. It was cloudy, and a storm looked to be moving in soon. I only hoped we wouldn't get caught in it. Our chances of survival were small enough without the storm slimming them up even more.




Mynamescox44 :
mrfe :
Seifer and Taryn scanned the room, but saw no sign of Mark. Shining his light into the front room, they were able to make out the figure of a man seated atop another man who was lay limp on the floor.

"Mark?" Seifer called out as he put an arm in front of Taryn to signal her to stop as he moved in front of her to form a shield with his own body. "Mark, is that you?"

"That's another thing I forgot when we were talking earlier, Almasay." Mark said as he rose to his feet and turned to face Seifer and Taryn. "A man always keeps his word. I told him they were going down. Did you think I wouldn't follow through?" he added with a smile. "Are you two okay? Looks like you got roughed up pretty bad."

"Not my blood..." Seifer said plain and simple.

"Oh..." the emotion behind that reply Seifer couldn't read. "Well then, I guess bad weather or not, we can't really stay here any longer, can we?"

"No, there's not much of a chance in surviving if we keep staying in one spot." Seifer answered. "We have to go on. Taryn," he turned around to face the girl behind him "do you think you can handle it? The weather out there is pretty nasty."

"I'm not a kid, Seifer." it was the first time either of the men had seen the girl like this. She clearly was not happy with the suggestion that she was fragile. "I'm seventeen. If anything I should worry if you old men can keep up." that last comment got a hearty laugh from Mark, and a slight grin from Seifer.

"Alright then, let's get going." was all that Seifer could think to say. Taryn had actually left him at a loss for words.

"You might want to wash up first" Mark offered. "Otherwise everyone will think you're one of the crazies as well. All that blood on you..."

"Alright, well if I'm going to go primp so I can look good while saving your butts, why don't you two gather some things together for the trip?"

"Saving our butts?" Mark said "You try to play tough, but I seem to recall this girl here had you whining like a baby with just a little needle."

"That does sound familiar now that you mention it." Taryn said as she shot a smirk at Seifer. "You were a bit of a baby Seifer."

"Baby?" Seifer said with a scoff. "That's because this woman here was using me as a pin cushion!"

"I thought I did well for a first patient." Taryn said with a slight giggle.

"A what?!? You used me as a test dummy?"

"Dummy? Your words, not mine." her reply which was short and less than sweet, sent Mark into near hysterics. Oh boy, what had Seifer done? This girl was a handful all of a sudden. In reality, it was nice seeing her come out of her shell, but it also concerned Seifer a little that she had taken this whole incident so well. Hopefully she wasn't hardening from all of the things she had been forced to endure over the past few hours.

As Seifer headed to the kitchen sink to wash off, Mark grabbed his backpack that he had packed up, some food, and his club. As he finished up, Mark looked into the Kitchen and saw a dead body. They had killed their attackers? He just left his unconscious on the floor. He couldn't imagine killing them. He understood, but couldn't help but shudder bit.

As he packed, Mark's mind turned to the fight from earlier this morning. He heard one of them say that all the cops were dead, then Taryn flipped out and attacked the psycho woman, and then he saw Seifer go all J.J. Watt on one of the guys, so he followed suit. Quickly walking forward, Mark had yelled at the third member of the attacking group to hopefully distract him enough for Mark to get a clean first hit on the guy.

Unfortunately for Mark, though, his first swing had completely missed. He'd swung horizontally towards his opponents head, but the geek saw what he was doing in time to duck past the blow, and had then tackled Mark backwards into the couch. Mark had managed to roll them both off the couch, where the coffee table had helped to separate them enough for Mark to stand up. The geek took a little longer to regain his footing, as he had fallen between the coffee table and the couch, while Mark ended up on top of the coffee table. Mark jumped up and lunged for his club, which had been dropped on the opposite side of the couch, but the geek managed to grab his leg as he dove. Kicking towards where he thought the geek's face was, Mark's fingers managed to find the end of his chair leg, and he regained his footing to maintain an advantage.

The geek, however, had other ideas. Producing a knife from who knows where, the geek had lunged again at Mark. Mark jumped to the side in time to miss the deadly edge of the knife, and had followed up by blindly swinging his club in the geeks general direction. He didn't see where, but his club made a solid connection, and the geek doubled over while holding his side. Not wasting any time, Mark tackled the geek, and used his club against his opponents neck to attempt to choke out the geek. Pushing back with all his strength, Mark's opponent had managed to keep the club off of his neck enough to keep his breath, so Mark abandoned the choking approach and began beating the geek's face with both fists. He received a punch in the stomach as reward, but it was weak and not really noticeable with Mark's heightened adrenaline level.

As he punched the geek, Mark began having flashbacks to the woman outside his door. Every time he punched his opponent, Mark saw the geek from last night stab the woman again. Disgusted, Mark sat back (still kneeling over his opponent), and realized he wasn't ready to kill. With one last punch, Mark knocked out the geek, and took a minute to collect his thoughts. Looking over, he saw that Seifer and Taryn had also beaten their opponents, and were sharing a moment of silence as well.

After making sure Seifer and Taryn were ok, Mark had allowed himself to consider where they would go outside of his house. He hadn't left since the murders had gotten really rampant, so he had no idea what was safe and what wasn't. His house, though, definitely wasn't safe, and he made that clear to the little group that they had going. "Well then, bad weather or not, we can't really stay here, can we?"

Seifer had taken some convincing that he did, indeed, need to clean up a bit. Taryn had surprised Mark with some humor, calling both him and Seifer 'old men', and Mark had steered the insults towards Seifer through calling him a 'baby'. Taryn had totally backed him up, which obviously had hurt Seifer's pride. Still, it made Mark happy to see the good natured fun the two new people shared, it made him more confident that he could trust them to have his back.

As Mark walked to pack up a few things he thought he'd need, he noticed a body in the kitchen. After looking at it for a few seconds, he realized that the person was dead. "Woah, Seifer killed the guy?" Mark thought, realizing that Seifer was more ruthless than he let on. "He obviously hasn't experienced anything like I have, watching someone get murdered in front of you makes killing much harder." Mark certainly didn't need to justify his decision to leave his opponent alive, but he felt like he had to explain it to himself. If he didn't, who knows what he'd open himself up to in the future?

Having packed a few essentials that were laying around, such as the Emergency Stitching Kit Taryn had used earlier and an extra chair leg or two, Mark walked back into the living room. He dropped his pack on the couch, and grabbed a protein bar from the cupboard. Munching on it, he threw a second one to Taryn, who was picking random things up from around the house while making various comments like 'how can someone live so disorganized?' and 'man, he really needs a wife, this place smells like bachelor'. She offered a brief word of thanks, but put the bar in her pocket as she continued to hunt for various useful tools from around the house. Mark put one on a counter behind Seifer, so that he could get one after he finished cleaning the blood from his face.

(OoC:
Mynamescox44 :
Furret :
Ghostbear1111 :
mrfe :
zanderlex :
Since some of the players are about to cross paths with others who have not been posting, and did not tell me that they planned to do so, I'll have to begin cutting members out starting this turn. If you have not been active recently, please PM me first to find out if you're still in the game before posting. Sorry to do this, but I have to unless I want to cause the game to stop or control each additional character, but I'm currently controlling half of the NPCs, the players during my update posts, and all of the enemies and their movements, plus stats and more, so it's kind of difficult to pick up any more. Thanks for understanding.)


Update #11
September 1st, 11:30 AM
Current conditions: rainy (wind 10Mph), moderate flooding (six inches standing water), Daytime with increasing levels of light as the storm breaks up.

Player updates: two players have changed locations. One player died.

mrfe :
Mynamescox44 :
After a bit of scrubbing on Seifer's part, some packing on Mark's part, and some mumbling about dirty houses on Taryn's part, the trio met up in the front room.

"Everybody ready?" Mark asked. The other two looked at each other, the back at Mark, and nodded As they stepped out on the porch, Mark looked down at the blood stains the woman had left on his porch last night, and grimaced. "Alright" he said as he forced himself to let go and move on "let's go that way." he said, pointing to the East. "I dropped my dog off at the groomer before all of this started up, and I want to go see if he's still there and okay."

It wasn't the way Seifer had intended to go next. He had in mind to head toward the Southeast to investigate the house he'd seen earlier and look for survivors.

"Well actually, I had planned on heading that way" Seifer answered, pointing in an almost perfectly opposite direction. "I wanted to check that house I saw out there for survivors."

The two men stood in silence. Neither really wanted to give in and go the opposite direction that they had intended, and each had his own reasons. Seifer felt it his duty to try and save whoever that house might belong to if they were still alive and, y'know, not psychotic murderers. Whereas Mark had his dog that was more like family than a pet, and he wanted to get to it before it was too late. Who knew if these psychos killed animals just the same, or if they strictly got their thrills from human deaths.

"Yeah, okay." Mark acquiesced. "We can go there. Maybe we can help someone."


The group travelled to the Southeast, but before they reached the house, they saw that the door had been knocked down, blood had pooled around the front step and a trail of it lead around the back of the house. Someone had already been here, and the outcome didn't look to have been a desirable one for anyone that was not of the psychopathic variety.

Seifer looked at Taryn, who seemed to be handling the scene well enough. He then looked at Mark whose expression he once again couldn't read.

"You two head inside." Seifer said "Look for survivors. I'll see what happened back there." he gestured toward the back of the house.

Mark nodded, and Taryn hesitantly followed him, glancing back at him every other step of the way.

'Why does he have to play the hero?' a concerned Taryn thought 'Going out there by himself. What if the killer is still around?' The teen kept looking, trying to burn his image into her mind. She was afraid to look away, afraid he wouldn't be there the next time, or not alive anyway. Just like her dad, and her grandparents.


Once inside, Mark inspected the front room. There had clearly been a struggle here, with the glass top coffee table broken with blood on it. Apparently someone had gone through it. By the fireplace the poker and other tools were overturned. There had been a big fight going on in here, that was for certain. Mark continued into the next room, which appeared to be the dining area. Again, some signs of a struggle, though a much smaller amount of damage had been done here, just a few overturned chairs.

As the duo made their way into the Kitchen, they found a body. A woman sitting up against a wall with a butcher knife sticking out of her stomach.

"Look away, Taryn." Mark instructed, and the girl complied readily. "I'm going to go check and see if they're gone."

As he reached the body, Mark squatted down and placed his hand on her neck to check for a pulse.

"I think I feel a pulse" Mark said with hope building in him. This caused Taryn to turn around and look. He pressed his hand a little more firmly to make sure, and the victim's hand came up and grabbed his.

"Oh but I barely even know you" she said with a faint smile. "You really need to keep your hands to yourself. Here, let me help you with that." And with that she used her other hand to dislodge the knife from her own body and began raising it toward Mark's wrist.

Mark sat still in shock for a brief moment, but as he saw the knife coming for his hand, he began to pull away, but the woman had a better grip than he'd have expected from a woman who was half dead. He pulled back, but she held on, sliding face first across the floor with his pull.

Had this been a few hours ago, Taryn's reaction would be screaming hysterically. Not now. Now she had learned to be brave and act when needed, and she did just that. As Mark's back hit the wall, the woman looked up again began raising the blade. Before it could reach him however, a glass plate came crashing down on her head, putting her out like a light.

"Wow...that was quick thinking." Mark offered as he pulled his hand free finally.

"Uh-huh" was all a nauseous looking Taryn could say.

"Uh, thanks." Mark said as he looked over at Taryn. "You feeling okay, Taryn"

But she didn't answer. Now that the horrifying moment was over and she had been a brave woman and acted....now it was time to scream hysterically.

"Oh gosh." an uncomfortable Mark said "What do I do now? Oh why didn't Seifer come in here and let me look outside?"


-----

Seifer slowly crept around to the back of the house, staying on alert. As he reached the back of the building, he heard a sound. Someone was breathing hard. Tightening his grip on his knife, he headed around the corner.

There was a body hanging from the wall, suspended by a makeshift spear in their stomach. Next to them was a woman in the same situation. The breathing was from the man. Seifer judged him to be in his late teens. The young man looked at Seifer.

"Help me..."

"Of course. I'm here to help you, don't worry." Seifer said despite knowing the boy was beyond help.

"He..." the boy was interrupted by a coughing fit, which produced blood that splattered on Seifer. "P-please..." another coughing fit, only this time when it ended, the young man said no more. His eyes closed, his head dropped, and the breathing became more and more shallow, until it ceased entirely.

Seifer punched the wall, not sure if he was angry at the killer, himself, or the situation. Or maybe he was just letting out the pain.

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Taryn! Seifer recognized that sound all too well from her grandparents house.

"Hang on, Taryn!" He shouted as he ran for the door. He could still save her if no one else.

(OoC: And after a word from our sponsors, we're back with some more "Getting out alive"!)

"Mr Winston-", said Erin to the old man

"You shut up, kiddo!", Mr Winston cut him off, still threatening the young student with his knife. "How do you know my name?"

"It's written on your tag, just in case you forgot."

"HA! Being ironic as I can tell?"

"No. I'm just talking with you, hoping I can reason you but you don't want to let me-"

"I don't need your help, kiddo! I'm ok! You're not! You're like all of these teens! Insane! You hear me? Insane!"

"I-"

"Shut up! You're talking nonsense! You tried to kill me with your damn crowbar! Isn't that enough to prove you're one of them?"

"Self-defense. You're the one who attempted to kill me. Like you did to Alex and the person I found hanged in your shop. They probably had no intention of killing me."

"Lies!"

"Let's be reasonable, just one second Mr Winston. I saw you stabbing a defenceless person. Then you lunged at me and started the fight. As a counterattack, I wanted to knock you out-"

"Shhh, silly boy!", the crazy old man cut him off once more and came closer to Erin, the knife on the young student's neck."Enough blabbering for you. It's time that I cut your  throat so you won't talk anymore."

There was a brief silence. Erin dropped the crowbar and stared stoically at the intimidating old man an his knife.

"Alright then.", Erin said solemnly."Kill me. If killing another defenceless person can make your day better, then go ahead."

Kiara and Ian came in the office and saw what was going on. Erin was defenceless, about to be slain by Mr Winston. The crowbar was lying down on the floor, a few feets away from Erin. Erin saw Ian silently approaching behind the old man, when a meow stopped him in his progress and made him look down. Fluffy was going towards Mr Winston and Erin.

"Fluffy!", Kiara shouted. "No, come back here!"

But the kitten didn't obey and carried on until he stopped behind Mr Winston. Mr Winston lowered the knife and turned back. He saw the cat staring at him with an innocent look.

"Cats?!", the old man insanely yelled."In my shop? I hate cats!"

As Mr Winston was about to kick the poor kitten, Erin seized the opportunity to grab the old man's arm, the one that held the knife, and  disarm him. The old man pushed the young student who fell on the floor. Then Mr Winston tried to pick up the knife but Ian stopped him by leaping on him, like he did to Erin earlier. Both of them fell off. Suddenly, a white plastic bottle coming from the old man's pocket dropped down on the floor, rolled and bumped Erin's right leg. Erin woke up, saw the bottle and took it. There was no label.

"My painkillers! Give them back to me, fool!"

"Painkillers?", Kiara exclaimed."But I went to your shop a few days ago in order to buy some milk and you said you were actually doing good. The treatment was over, that's what you added."

"And if it was real painkillers, I think there would be a label on the bottle", said Erin to Mr Winston."Let's talk seriously, Mr Winston. There's something you must explain to us so you better cooperate with us this time."

As Seifer made his way in, he didn't like the fact there was a scream, then silence. "Taryn! Where are you!" he yelled, starting to feel more and more frantic. "In here!" Mark was the one who yelled back. As he reached the room, relief came over him seeing both his companions okay, even if a little shook up. "Are you okay, Taryn?" Seifer wanted to be sure there wasn't any unseen damage. Finally starting to calm down, but seeing the blood splatter on Seifer, she managed to squeak out a little "Yea."
"Did you find anything in the back?" Mark asked, doubting any good news from the fresh blood on Seifer. "No. Just more casualties..." Seifer cringed remembering the life drain from the boy's eyes. "We need to finish checking the house. It might be best not to split up in here" Mark said, thankful he had Taryn with him for that last encounter. The group finished checking the first floor, and proceeded to the second.
There was another body in one of the bedrooms, face down in a pool of blood. Seifer was starting to think maybe going for the dog would've been more beneficial. He was at least going to suggest it when they were done here. He knew what it was like to consider a dog family. "Oh man, I really hope that dog I ran into wasn't Marks..." Seifer thought, regretful he couldn't save the pooch. I mean it did show up at Mark's place, so it wasn't a stretch that it might have been his.
"Well, this was a bust" Mark said in Seifer's direction. "Hey you two, lock it up!" Taryn said with a grin, obviously feeling better at this point. "You're right. Do you want to go check on your dog now?" Seifer asked, praying he didn't already know it's fate. Before Mark could answer, there was a loud crashing noise that sounded like it came from the basement...

(OoC: My apologies for failing to send update messages last night. I'll do so tonight. Also some changes to how this RP plays are coming soon. Be prepared )

Update #12
September 1st, 12:20 PM
Current conditions: Cloudy, mild flooding (five inches standing water), Daytime (slightly lighter than during the storm, but a little on the dark side due to the clouds). 68°F

Player updates: three players' stats have changed.

Laian :
Furret :
Kiara held Fluffy close as Erin and Ian tried to talk to Mr. Winston, but got little more than psychotic babble out of him. But one thing was certain: he desperately wanted those painkillers.

"I'm not helping one of you punks." the deranged old man said with disgust "You're the ones to blame for this whole mess."

"Mr. Winston, I really have no idea what you're talking about." Erin replied "What mess? And who do you think I am that I would be responsible for it?"

"You're the ones that started this whole war!" Mr. Winston shouted "If it weren't for you I'd be back home with my wife still, where I belong."

"What??" Erin was confused by the man's babbling.

"Oh no you don't, buddy! I ain't gonna tell you a thing!" the older man shouted as he began beating his head on the tile floor with extreme force.

"Mr. Winston, stop!" Ian shouted as he reached toward the man's head in an attempt to stop him from killing himself.

Sensing the shift of Ian's weight, Mr. Winston took the opportunity and shifted his body, throwing Ian to the floor. As Ian hit, Mr. Winston ran to the body of the boy he had stabbed to death and pulled a box cutter from his apron pouch.

"Find yourselves a new prisoner to interrogate, boys! This one's not about to sell out his country!" the older man shouted as her took the blade and sliced his own throat.

"Noo!!!!" Ian shouted, Kiara screamed and turned her head away, and Erin stood in silence.

The older man fell to the floor, and was dead in a matter of seconds.

"What just happened?" Erin asked as he stared numbly at the wall behind where Mr. Winston had taken his last stand.

"Mr. Winston was a veteran." Ian said "It sounded like he thought he was there again."

"And before that, he knew he was here, and he was blaming the teens for something." Erin said thoughtfully. "His mind was just gone completely."

Ian nodded, and the three sat in silence, both in respect to Mr. Winston, and in regret to have learned nothing. They still had the pills though. Perhaps they were of some significance, and perhaps they weren't. The group had no intentions of parting with them, just in case.

"Well the storm's let up." Ian finally spoke up "There's still a lot of flooding, but the rain has stopped. Shall we continue on toward downtown?"


Mynamescox44 :
mrfe :
"What the...." Seifer asked no one in particular as he heard the noise downstairs. "Not again."

The group, led by Mark this time, headed downstairs cautiously. As they reached the bottom floor they heard someone trying to open the basement door, but it had been blocked by a chair lodged under the knob.

"Somebody's locked in there." Taryn stated the obvious. "We need to help them!"

"Wait." Seifer said with a hand on Taryn's shoulder "We don't know if they're a victim or a killer. There was a fight here, and it could be that one of the people that lived here locked them in there."

"Yeah, but isn't that kind of unlikely though?" the girl reasoned. "I mean they just stabbed the woman in the kitchen, so why would they lock someone in the basement instead of stabbing them too?"

Seifer couldn't deny that she had a point. But one thing still bothered him: why would the killers just leave this one person locked away instead of killing them too? All this debating wasn't solving anything though.

"Well all the same, I want you to stand back while Mark and I open the door." Seifer instructed. "Mark, you stay here behind the door, and I'll open it. If they come at me, get 'em from behind." The two got in position "One, Two, Three!" Seifer threw the door open.

A young boy ran out, terrified. Seeing a blood stained Seifer with a knife, he turned and ran the other way, only to see Mark armed with a club. With no option left, he leaned forward and charged through the small gap left between Mark and the wall, sending himself head first into Taryn. The teen was knocked backwards but managed to keep her footing.

"Hey hey hey, calm down." Taryn said as she knelt and wrapped her arms around the boy. "It's okay, we're not bad people. We're here to help you." she cooed softly as she held the boy tightly.

Seifer was both proud of her, and saddened that she had to play the protector when she needed protecting herself.

"Let me go!" the boy shouted as he punched Taryn in the gut, winding the girl who in turn let go and fell to the floor sitting down.

"Hey little guy, calm down." Mark called from behind, causing the boy to turn and look at him. Their eyes locked, and they stared silently. It was in that moment that Mark saw something in the boy's eyes, something he didn't like. "No..."

Breaking his gaze, the boy barreled past Mark and Seifer and ran outside. Seifer started to give chase, knowing that the boy stood no chance outside by himself with the elements and the psychos, but Mark stopped him.

"It's too late, Seifer." said a broken Mark.

"What do you mean it's too late? We can still catch him!" Seifer shouted "He's just a scared little boy."

"No. It was more than that." Mark told him. "That look in his eyes..." he said and pulled in a labored breath, tears in his voice "he was gone."

"Are you telling me," Taryn said sounding outraged at Mark's suggestion "that kid was crazy like these other creeps?" she finished as she rose to her feet and stalked up to Mark, staring hard at him.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you." Mark said firmly as he stared the girl down. He understood why she felt the way she did - he felt that way too - but he didn't appreciate her acting in a way meant to threaten him. She clearly got the message as she backed down and shifted her glance first to Seifer, then to the floor, then back to Mark. The look in her eyes this time was an apologetic one, and tear filled.

"How can you know that?" Seifer asked, still tempted to chase after the kid.

"I've stared a few of these psychos down already tonight." Mark said, recalling his struggle with the man he fought at his house. "I've been up close to them, face to face. They all have that same look in their eyes."

"And so I'm supposed to let a little boy die out there because you don't like the way his eyes looked?!?" Seifer was angry, and doing a poor job hiding it. His anger didn't faze Mark in the least, but an already upset Taryn backed away another step and lowered her head to hide her face from him. Seifer noticed and began to lower his voice and act more calmly.

"Look Seifer," Mark began "I know it's hard to hear. Trust me, I didn't want to see it any more than you wanted to hear it. But think about it, why did he hit Taryn when she was comforting him?"

"Because he was afraid. What kid his age wouldn't be? What was he? Maybe six?" Seifer answered, still sounding aggravated at best.

"A fair point." replied Mark, still not flinching "But why do you think he was locked up to begin with, Seifer? Think about it. Would these killers really have spared him? They enjoy what they do, and they obviously have no feelings. The boy turned, Seifer. His family couldn't very well kill him, so they locked him up in the basement. Did he act right to you?"

Seifer was quiet as the full impact of Mark's words hit him. He knew Mark was right. He didn't want to believe whatever had affected the minds of these people was getting to children even, but he couldn't deny that Mark made sense.

After a few moments passed, they checked the basement and found that whoever had locked the boy away had made him a bed, left food in a tray, and some toys, most of which had been destroyed since.

"Look at this." Mark said, holding up a note. He began reading it aloud "Kyle, mommy's sorry that she has to do this to you, but you're a very sick little boy. I promise once this nightmare is over, mommy will find you help so you can be well again. I only hope we can survive that long, and if not, that you will and someone will find you, so that one day you'll be able to read this note and know why I did what I did. Oh where did things go wrong? One minute you were playing ball with Ace, and the next" Mark stopped, unable to finish the rest of the note.

Angry at the whole thing, Seifer threw the toy he had picked up at the wall, causing the plastic to bust. Mark stared blankly at the bed with food beside it, and Taryn wiped her face as tears fell silently.

"I guess" Mark spoke in a near whisper, "I guess we'd better head on out again. We won't do ourselves or anyone else any good staying here."

The words would have seemed calloused under normal circumstances, but these circumstances were anything but normal. They had to keep moving if they wanted to stay alive.

(OoC: I love this most recent update. Fantastic twist in the story!)

Devastated, Mark focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It was one thing to see adults go crazy, murdering each other (not that that was ok, or better), but seeing the look in that kid's eyes...

"Kyle..." Mark mumbled to himself. The kid's name was Kyle, and his eyes were haunting Mark. Everywhere he looked, he saw Kyle's eyes. "What is it with me and eyes?" Mark wondered to himself, thinking back to how the woman murdered on his doorstep had also lingered through the faces of those he fought. Unlike with the woman, however, Mark didn't fear what Kyle's eyes represented. The woman's face had represented Mark's failure to protect her, his failure to keep an innocent woman safe, and that was haunting him everywhere he turned. Kyle, though, Kyle represented what these monsters had become. Kyle was a perfect example of the evil running through the area corrupting even the most innocent - the children.

Seeing Kyle's eyes again in a bush, Mark followed Siefer and Taryn north. After a brief discussion regarding directions, Seifer had offered to help Mark check the groomers for his dog, which Mark was thankful for. Seifer seemed to feel safest when leading the group, something Mark recognized as Seifer's way of doing his best to protect Taryn, so Mark didn't ask to lead. Mark was a natural leader, he felt at home in the front of the group, but he also didn't want to take that away from Seifer, so he contented himself with the back of the pack. He hadn't told either of them that the faces of both the woman and the boy were staying with him, Mark was afraid they'd see him as going crazy too.

"I'm not going crazy, am I?" Mark couldn't help but wonder the obvious to himself, fearful that he was losing his mind. He wasn't the same man he was a week ago, that much was clear. Whether the change was good or bad, though, Mark wasn't sure.

Regardless of how he was doing mentally, Mark was thankful that he was doing well physically. He'd survived a couple fights now without more than a few bruises, which was something he was surprised about. He looked again at the makeshift club in his hands, thinking how close he came to killing someone with it, and almost threw it aside. The only thing that stayed his hands were the two people walking in front of him. If for no other reason, Mark would remain vigilant and ready to protect those who he believed he could trust.

Still following Seifer's lead, the group began walking north towards the general area of the groomers.

Erin didn't know what to know. Risking his life in order to reason a crazy old shopkeeper but getting a mysterious bottle of pills in the end. The only person capable of telling him about that said bottle of pills was now gone. Though, Erin's effort to get the answer was not in vain. Mr Winston mentioned something about teens who were to blame. All was left was the cause of that and the reason why they act like this.

"Hey, are you ok?" Kiara asked."You don't look so good"

"Oh... I'm ok.", he replied. "I was just thinking... thinking about what he said before dying. The teens are to blame. He was blabbering nonsense, except for this. It's making some kind of connection with all what we endured: the people who broke into the house at the party and murdered my friends, the guy at the school with the spiked baseball bat, Don... What do you think about that, Kiara?"

"I don't know, Erin... I just want to get out of here and start a new life. I don't care anymore about Fuller Heights."

"I do want to go back to New Heaven. It won't be the same without my friends. I guess... I guess I'll just have to move on and think about my future. But I don't know why... I wanna clarify that mystery. These teens... what are they to blame for? What really happened to them so they had such a behavior? And why are they doing all that?"

"You think way too much, Erin.", said Ian, who had disappeared a moment to find some supplies and came back with two soda cans that he gave to Erin and Kiara."We get the hell out of here. No time to open a Pandora's box."

"Hmm... should we-", asked Erin, a bit confused.

"I don't think the shop will reopen anytime soon.", Ian answered, smiling. "That's all I managed to find though. Guess that's better than nothing."

"Well thanks.", Erin said to Ian.

"No problem"

Erin opened the can and drank a bit of soda. "Tasty. Tastes like lemon, my favorite flavor.", he said.

"I prefer strawberry, but that's ok.", Kiara said.

Erin drank once more a bit of soda for his can. "Erin, look!". The young boy spilled all the soda he drank on the floor, surprised by Kiara's shout.

"You're crazy, Kiara?! I nearly died with the soda in my mouth!"

"Just look at our cans! It's..."

Erin was slightly confused. What could be so interesting about a can of soda? He examined the can and saw the picture of two characters printed on it. Different genders, a lady and a young man with cat ears, a cat tail and a black eye patch covering his right eye. They both wear what looked like futuristic suits and held a lasergun, except for the half-blood man who held two laserguns, one in each hand. Above their head, we could read "Space Conquest - Limited edition". A smile was drawn on the young students, as they looked each other in the eyes.

"Hmm, allo? What's the deal?", asked Ian, confused.

"We're holding one of the thousands cans the company produced for the new season of Space Conquest!", Erin said with a great smile.

"Space what?" Ian asked, flabbergasted.

"Space Conquest! The cartoon that all the kids love watching after school!", Kiara replied."These are the main characters of the show. Commander Astra and Mercurio the Neko space pirate."

"Don't tell me you don't know that show, Mr Peters!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I don't know what you're talking about.", Ian clearly said to Erin and Kiara. "I've never watched that show. Well I mean, that's not what I watch on TV in my everyday's life. No wonder this is unknown to me. Though, why are these cans so special?"

"In order to celebrate the season 2 of Space Conquest, there was a contest and the great prize was a tour at the studio." Erin answered."The winners had the chance to meet Commander Astra and Mercurio's voice actors in person if they had one of the winning codes written within the can!"

"But the contest is over now. I wanted to go there so badly..." Kiara added.

"So did I", the young boy said.

"Oh, so these cans are good to go to the trash can once you're done drinking."

"Absolutely not!", Erin shouted, still smiling.

"Pardon? Why is that", Mr Peters asked, more confused than usual.

"Since the contest is over, the company stopped producing these cans." Erin replied. "As it clearly said, it's a limited edition. It's now out of production and shops don't sell them anymore. Well, except for these ones."

"These were the last cans I saw in the aisle. I guess you're both lucky. I'm glad I brought a smile on your face."

Ian, Kiara and Erin stood up, the two teens finished drinking their soda and kept the cans preciously, like a treasure. Then Erin took the crowbar back.

"Well then, off we go kids.", Ian said.

"Yeah. Let's move on." Erin happily said to Ian, who smiled as well.

"Or, like Mercurio would say...", add Kiara.

The two teens looked each other in the eyes and shouted together the famous quote of the Neko space pirate."BLAST-OFF!!!". Then, they both exchanged a smile. The trio walked towards the back door, where they came in.

"You know Erin... I really picture you as Mercurio", Kiara said to Erin, while they were heading back outside.

"Say what?", he astonishingly shouted.

"Oh come on! You would be a cute Neko space pirate and I know you would like this so much!"

"That's what she said. And you would be my teammate Commander Astra, right?"

"Yeah! Totally yeah! That would be "space-tastic"!"

"Ah, those two kids... There's definitely a great and unbreakable bond between them.", Ian thought, still smiling when he saw how Erin and Kiara were having fun, like brother and sister or good old pals.

(OoC: Each character's newly assigned special ability is now in effect. More details will be included in an update PM after this is posted.
Additional info:
-Enemies are now becoming stronger
-Fighting system has been revamped
-Enemies that survive fights will remember you. However killing them numbs you and lowers morality. Think carefully before deciding on how to handle them
-Recovery system has been revamped. Stats automatically regenerate at a set pace now, though certain actions, words and events affect them more.
-Stat effects are now more significant both positive and negative
-Actions are now to be specified in PM to me. For example: mrfe might PM me saying "Mark uses Healing on himself/Seifer/Taryn/Santa Claus/whoever". If you have questions, PM me.
-The Map Coordinates of players will now be revealed to an extent.
-Remember, you can loot items from fallen enemies or your surroundings. Do not loot anything that I do not specify to be in the scene in some way. For example I may say that you enter a kitchen and there are utensils. You may opt to grab a knife. However, I may say that you enter the park but you can't decide there was a crowbar lying around that you could grab. Any exceptions will be mentioned in PM to you.
-The RP goal is to get out alive as you know. You may try to find a way out, or survive until help arrives. Play it how you see fit. Or you can drive yourself mad and kill everyone else if you want to try that as well. Have fun with it
-If an event is not occurring and you do not specify what you wish to do (such as travelling a certain direction or resting etc.) I will have to choose for you to keep the RP flowing. Please try to remember to do this yourself though
-Your weapon (if you have one) affects your success rate in a fight (ie. a knife is more effective than a stick you find on the ground) but may also affect your morality (it's easier to hit someone with a stick than to stab them, and less lethal. Killing can occur accidentally)
-I goofed on some player coordinates. This will show tonight in the update as I have now corrected them.
-Bear in mind that this RP is experimental, and as such gameplay variations may occur at any moment. Please bear with me)


Update #13
September 1st, 2:00 PM
Current conditions: Partly cloudy, mild flooding (three inches standing water), light. 74°F

Player update: four players stats have changed. four players locations have changed.
Four players are in the southern block of the map (G-I North to South, 4-6 East to West).

mrfe :
Mynamescox44 :
As they sloshed onward through the ankle deep water, each of trio tried to seem as well as possible outwardly. They spoke in low tones of their lives before the recent events in Fuller Heights, they joked about things that had happened such as Seifer's being stitched up by Taryn, and whatever other random things came to mind to speak of. But all tried their best to avoid mentioning the elephant in the room: Kyle. They didn't want to even think about it (and they tried in vain not to) let alone talk about it.

Their chatter stopped abruptly as they began passing through Mark's yard however, as events from that morning played through their heads again at the sight of the place Mark once called home - now he wasn't sure he could ever call it that again.

As they passed by the house, Mark turned to glance back at it as it faded into the distance. As he looked over his shoulder, he heard Taryn scream and Seifer shout "Watch out!" but before he could turn around to see what was happening, Mark felt a sharp pain in his head as he fell to the ground, splashing in the water as he landed on his right side. The water that splashed up got into Mark's eyes. It was a muddy mixture, leaving Mark temporarily blinded as he scrambled to his feet, and wiped furiously at his eyes, desperate to regain his vision so he could combat this threat - whatever it was.

As he scrubbed at his eyes with his left hand, Mark began swinging his right fist in front of him, hoping to make contact with his assailant.

Wham.

Houston, we have contact. Mark heard the grunt of an unfamiliar voice, and he kept swinging and scrubbing.

CRACK.

Another shot, this time to Mark's ribs. A combination of sludge underfoot, standing water making it difficult enough to stand even when he wasn't being smacked around by some unknown but painfully solid object, and the force from the blow, sent Mark back to the ground, splashing yet more mud around. Thankfully his eyes were still closed or he would have gotten more mud in them.

Wait...

A thought occurred to Mark, and he did all he could do, hoping it would work. Mark scooped up a handful of mud and threw it in the direction of the sound of sloshing headed toward him, hoping he could - by some miracle - hit their eyes.

"Ah!" a Man's voice shouted. Bingo. He had hit his target.

'Finally' thought Mark 'Some good luck today'

At this point, Mark managed to pry his eyes open and saw a baseball bat speeding toward his face. Reflexes kicked in, and Mark rolled to evade the strike. As he did, the bat came crashing down in the water, sending the muddy slosh flying. The assailant dropped her weapon, and Mark realized with some degree of shock that it was indeed a woman. A woman who now rubbed at her eyes in the same manner as Mark had.

"Not so funny when it's you, is it?" Mark mocked. But how would he play this one? He had always been firm in his belief that a man shouldn't hit a woman, but did that rule apply to psychotic murderers?

A grunt of exertion coming from a small blur that flew past him and into the attacker settled his dilemma for him: Taryn tore mercilessly into the woman, small fists flying into face, back of the head, back, and whatever else they could. In a matter of moments the woman was on the ground and Taryn was on top of her, flailing away, her fists slamming into the woman's face one after the other. Right, left, right, left, even after the woman stopped moving, the enraged teen kept swinging.

Mark, realizing that Taryn had no intentions of stopping, ran to her side and pulled her off. For a moment the girl pulled hard against him, which sent them both crashing to the muddy water once again.

"Taryn! Taryn, stop!" Mark shouted in her ear. "She's not getting back up. You're going to kill her if you haven't already!"

At those words, the enraged blur of black hair and tiny fists stopped swinging. She heaved a few breaths, then began trembling, and finally broke into tears in Mark's arms.

'Why is she so upset?' Mark asked himself 'And where is Seifer? Surely he isn't...'

Mark's fears were eased as Seifer - face covered in mud - came rushing up to them.

"What happened?" Seifer asked, clearly worried about the girl.

"You didn't see that?" Mark sounded shocked. How could the man have missed THAT?

"No, because somebody threw mud in my eyes while I was trying to help him."

Dang. Wrong eyes.

"Oops." was Mark's only reply with a sheepish grin.

"I didn't...grandpa...dad...she...I couldn't...not again..." Taryn spouted incoherently between her heavy sobs.

"Shh" Seifer calmed her as he placed a hand behind her head "It's okay, Taryn. Calm down. Everything is okay now."

It was at this moment that Mark realized he still held the girl.

Awkward

Carefully he let go. After a few minutes passed, Taryn finally calmed down.

"Is she...?" Taryn asked in a whisper, between sobs and hiccups.

"No, she's still alive." Seifer assured her, though in reality he hadn't bothered to check, but neither he nor Mark planned to at this point. If she weren't, there was no telling how Taryn would react. The girl was already struggling to keep herself under control, and knowing she had killed would only make it worse.

"What happened out there, Taryn?" Mark asked the girl as she tucked a few wet strands of hair behind her right ear and stared at the ground.

"I thought..." she began weakly "I thought that woman was going to...to..."

"I see." Mark answered, sparing the girl from saying the words that she couldn't manage to force out: kill you. But in all honesty, Mark had no idea why Taryn cared so much about his life. She didn't even know him.

"I just...I didn't want to lose someone else. Not again." the brunette squeaked through her tears which had begun streaming down her face again. "I know we don't really know each other" she looked at him "but you and Seifer...you're all I have now. My mom died when I was little, and now I've lost my dad and grandparents in the same night." she paused as sobs shook through her small frame. "I don't have any friends, and never have. You and Seifer actually care about what happens to me. I know it sounds silly, but I don't" she paused to inhale sharply and calm herself a bit before proceeding "I don't want to...I can't stand to lose that again. It's all I have left."

Mark and Seifer were both in tears at this point, and neither knew what to say. Awkward as the whole emotion thing was for Mark, he found himself hugging the girl before he knew what had happened. A wrong he righted quickly as he turned loose, but she didn't.

Great, he had been assaulted by a mad woman a few minutes ago, and now he head another woman literally crying on him. Crying. He liked Taryn enough, but he didn't really know how to handle emotions, especially from a woman.

Finally she released him. "Thank you" was all her small voice could manage.

"No, thank you." said a still touched Mark. "You risked your neck for me. Maybe we don't know each other, but you've shown me that I've managed to luck my way into loyal companions in this thing. Loyal companions that I don't deserve." And Mark meant it. He didn't believe he deserved anything good, much less unearned devotion like this from strangers.


Laian :
Furret :
As they left the shop, the group stopped in the street to consider their options.

"Where to now?" Erin thought aloud.

"Well" Ian answered "To the North is the lake, the Park is on the East, the school is to the West as you know, and South of here there won't be anything for quite a ways."

Well then, this guy was going to be a big help to their journey. Erin was now even more grateful to have met up with his bus dwelling assailant.

(OoC: Laian & Furret - Sorry for the nondescript update, but I didn't want to make this particular choice for you since this is a very key decision for reasons that I can't specify here. I'll PM you some more details shortly. And I promise to give you more to work with next time."

"Let's go to the park." Erin said.

And they walked towards Fuller Heights park. Kiara and Erin seemed like they found a common subject to talk about: the TV show they both loved watching. The discussion became some kind of "questions-answers" game about that universe between the two students.

"In episode 15 "Attack of the Blob King", what did Commander Astra create to leave the room in which she was trapped with Mercurio?", Erin asked Kiara.

"They didn't have their weapon so she made a cryogenic mini-bomb. She threw it at the thin wall made of goo and used Mercurio as a battering ram. That part was funny.", answered the girl with a smile.

"Yeah, I still remember what she says when she does that.", Erin added."I said we were going to use our brain to get out of here. I used mine, time to use yours. And she threw poor Mercurio at the frozen wall of goo. My turn, now."

"Ok.", Kiara thought of a question."Ah, you won't find that one and I'll be proclaimed the undisputed Star Conquest nerd."

"Oh that, I don't think so.", Erin happily retorted.

"Well, prove me wrong. Answer that question correctly. Get ready, it won't be easy."

"Go ahead."

"What did Mercurio and Commander Astra find in Pr. Oroboros' secret lab?"

"They did not go in the lab. The plasma missile accidentally launched by Mercurio blew it up."

"Damn you, Erin! You knew it was a tricky question, right?", she asked.

Erin's reply to this was a simple smile. Suddenly, they heard something rolling on the ground. Erin, Kiara and Ian looked straight forward and saw a can. Confused, Erin got the crowbar ready for a strike and started walking towards the can. But Ian stopped him by putting his right hand on Erin's left shoulder. The young boy turned his head.

"Be careful, Erin.", Ian said solemnly."It could be one of those killer's trap."

Erin nodded and keep moving forward in direction of the can. He stood before it and slowly knell to grab it. He heard a noise in the bush to his right and suddenly turned right. A black shade came out from the bush, leapt on Erin and dragged him towards the bush to the other side of the part.

"Erin!" Ian shouted. The teacher immediately went to the young boy's rescue, followed by Kiara and Fluffy.

"Found you!", the mysterious shade said to Erin with a deep voice.

Erin tried to escape from the man's grip but couldn't succeed. The aggressor stopped and removed the hood of his hoodie. The surprise could be read in Erin's eyes "Dan!", he shouted. The shade was his friend. He thought all the time that Dan didn't make it, like Shawn.

"Surprised to see me around, apparently.", Dan said happily to his friend.

But the happiness between Erin and Dan didn't last long. Ian rushed to Dan and kicked him out of the way.

"Don't touch him, you freak!", he said after the blow.

Dan fell off on the ground. He slowly stood up and saw Ian walking towards him, his fists ready to punch Dan's face.

"Tough guy, huh? You want more? Great, I have enough energy to knock you down!"

As Ian started to run to Erin's friend, Erin stood before Mr Peters. "Stop it! It's my friend, Dan!", the young boy shouted. As requested by Erin, Ian stopped the fight.

"So... it's your friend, right? Ok. Was it necessary to use a can as a distraction?", Ian asked, upset.

"Hey relax, man! I-"

"We thought it was one of them!"

"Do I look like one of them? Seriously."

"Better be safe than careless, you know."

"Ok, ok, fine. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Excuses accepted?"

Ian nodded but he was not really happy about Dan's little surprise. Erin, on the other hand, thanked the heavens that he was not the only survivor from the wrecked party. Though, he saw a bandage, or what looked like a white silk handkerchief wrapped around his left arm. It was covered with a small bloodstain on the side.

"Your arm...", Erin said to Dan. "What happened to you, Dan?"

"Oh, back at my uncle's house, after Shawn's death. The same guy tried to kill me afterwards but he got what he deserved. He just managed to leave a bloody present on my arm before dying. Shawn was like a brother for me. And people who harm the people I loved so much will get Dan's fists of fury right in their mouth."

"I'm glad you made it alive, Dan."

"And I'm glad to see you, Erin. Sorry about those s***ty summer holidays. Though, you found new friends. People from Fuller Heights, I guess?"

"Yeah. This is Mr Peters, Latin teacher from Fuller Heights highschool. And this is Kiara and her little brave kitten Fluffy, she's a student and lives in Fuller Heights."

"Nice to meet you.", Dan said while shaking Kiara's right hand then Ian's.

"Me too.", Ian replied. "I don't wanna push things so hard but we should get going before they finally find us."

"You're right.", Kiara said. "Let's go."

They started walking toward the other entrance of the park but they saw two people standing before them, a few feet away. One was armed with a knife, the other with a baseball bat.

"Where do you think you're going, little piggies?" one of the two guys asked.

Dan, Ian, Kiara and Erin turned back and saw two more people, armed with an iron bar and a jack. The four killers cornered their targets by blocking each side of the path.

"You cannot escape from us this time... Do not try anything foolish...", one of the psycho killers said.

(OoC: I'm pretty sure I got the direction right from a previous post, but if not correct, please let me know and I'll edit the post accordingly. As stated before, they're supposed to be heading to the dog groomer's shop.)

Heading East from Mark's place, the group was being more quiet than before. All three weren't really sure what to say after that last emotional moment they shared. Seifer felt a little better about bringing Mark along, even though it was obvious their personalities clashed at times. And now that Taryn was attached, he couldn't well ditch him if he wanted to, not that he was planning on it. At least they were beginning to really trust each other.
They made their way through some thin woods towards the dog groomers, Seifer still in front. Suddenly, a snapping sound forced them to attention. A rope engrossed in leaves quickly uncovered in the group's direction, and before they could react, it wrapped Seifer's leg pulling him upside down and dangling. He was caught in a snare trap.
"Seifer! Are you okay?" Taryn shouted in concern. "Be careful, there's probably someone around getting ready to attack us," Seifer replied quickly. Mark and Taryn readied themselves, but nothing was happening. "Come out, we know you're there" Mark yelled... Still nothing. After waiting long enough to know no one was in waiting, Seifer finally called out, "Um, could you guys help me down?"
As Mark was about to make a joke about Seifer's situation, he noticed another trap near the spot where the rope was tied. A branch pulled back horizontally with sharpened sticks attached. Whoever made the traps had no intention of their pray getting help. After finally getting Seifer down, the group continued, taking precautions not to die from a simple misstep. Making it to the edge of the tree line, the groomers shop was finally in sight...

(OoC: messages will come tomorrow. Feel free to post before then if you wish)

U pdate #14
September 1st, 3:30 PM
Current conditions: Partly cloudy, mild flooding (three inches standing water), 74°F. Light.

Player u pdates: four players stats have changed. Four players have changed locations.

Laian :
Furret :
"This time."
The words stood out to Erin. They had encountered these people before? His eyes studied them closely...

The house. They were the ones that attacked his friends at the house last night.

Nervous and ready to run away, that would have been Erin's reaction yesterday at this time, but something inside of him had changed. Now Erin had seen a lot, more than most men. He had toughened up a lot as a result, and it took more than some threats to shake him. And now he had three friends and a Fluffy to protect. Erin couldn't place his finger on when it had happened, but the protector instincts that he didn't realize he had buried inside had come to the surface. Now he felt angry and defensive even more than he felt afraid.

"We'll see about that." Erin said through gritted teeth as he clutched his tire iron firmly.

"Back for more, huh?" it was Dan speaking this time. "Didn't you see what I did to your buddy last night? You'd best turn around and walk away unless you want to be next."

"YOU did that??" The man who seemed yo be the leader shouted in anger. "YOU killed Kenny?!?"

Erin laughed in spite of himself at the comment. It felt awkward laughing at a comment about someone's death, but "Kenny's" name was an unfortunate coincidence. His laughter was short lived however, as the angry man charged Dan, and the rest of the group followed suit, each picking their own target. Their ability to work together in perfect unison at a moment's notice was disturbing. Had they been practicing?

As Erin's foe came for him, he readied his tire iron, preparing to swing for the fences.

"Hey," the man began, his voice filled with recognition "I remember you. You're that nut that jumped out of the second story window!"

"I'M the nut?" Erin asked incredulously. "You're the one going around killing innocent people."

"Oh come on," the man said with conviction "you don't seriously believe you guys were innocent, do you?" Erin had no idea what the man was getting at, but he obviously believed it. "A group of teenagers gathered at a house in the middle of nowhere, drinking and partying? There was nothing 'innocent' about you. And you know that the things you've done before tonight even...none of you were innocent."

"You know nothing about us and what we have or haven't done!" Erin shouted, enraged at the suggestion that his friends deserved to be murdered by these lunatics. "And what about you? You're a murderer now. How much less innocent can you be? You're a hypocrite! A lunatic!"

"Oh I'm a blazin' psycho!" the man laughed heartily "No doubt about that! Nor am I innocent. You're starting to get it, boy. No one is innocent. That's why they all have to die. It's a shame I have to kill you now." He added thoughtfully "You would have made such a good addition to our group."

"I'LL NEVER BE LIKE YOU!!!" Erin shouted with a rage he didn't know he had in him as he took his hardest swing at the man.

Whiff. Erin missed.

"Whoa-ho, SOMEONE'S angry!" the madman shouted, and the fight began.

One miss after another, the two men stayed too far away from one another to allow either one to get in a good hit. Finally, Erin landed a hit, it wasn't the most solid contact ever, but it was a hit nonetheless, and it felt good to strike the man.

But he laughed. Erin had hit him with a tire iron, and he just laughed. The man's insanity kept finding ways to surprise Erin.


Meanwhile Ian found himself face to face with a man armed with a baseball bat. Ian wasn't exactly a fighter, but he was a fast thinker. His first course of action: back up to a tree. His next move: leap out of the way when the attacker took a swing.

Thud.

The bat hit the tree, sending shockwaves through the man who then dropped the bat. Ian saw his opportunity and attacked. The two men were fairly matched despite Ian's lack of experience in fist fights, Erin having been his first opponent in one. However the attacker was keeping a slight edge on Ian in this one, and he landed a few good hits on Ian.


"Diiiee!!!" Kiara's assailant shouted as he charged the girl. The girl wasn't a fighter, but she was limber and incredibly agile - her training would pay off in avoiding hits at least.

One after another, Kiara dodged the swipes of the man's blade. She couldn't manage to land any hits, but she did a good job of evading. That is, until she lost her footing due to the water they were standing in, and stumbled.

That same sickening sound Erin had heard as Shawn was being killed somehow reached his ears again over all of the noise.

Once. A splash followed it. Someone had been stabbed and fallen.

Twice. No sound followed.

Erin turned his head and saw Kiara lying on the water covered ground, blood pouring out into the water around her.

"Nooo!!!!" he shouted, and tried to turn and run for her. His attacker however took this opportunity to land a blow - albeit a glancing one - with his weapon. Erin turned and swung at the man once more and connected firmly with his head, knocking him out before he hit the ground.

"Alex!" Dan's attacker shouted.

"That boy got him!' Kiara's assailant yelled as he pointed at Erin.

"Leave him be!" Dan's attacker called "Saving Alex is our first priority. These two don't stand a chance of getting out of this place alive anyway."

Kiara's assailant listened reluctantly and the remaining three carried Alex off.

"This isn't the last you've seen of us!" he shouted at Erin. "We'll be back, and next time I'll kill you myself, just like I killed your little girlfriend!"

'Girlfriend? These TWO don't stand a chance?' What was the man talking about? Erin didn't have a girlfriend at that party. And there were four of them, not two. Erin tried to piece it all together as he rushed for Kiara to check on her. But as he neared her, the realization set in: the man was saying he'd killed Kiara.

Tears were spilling down Erin's face before he even noticed they had filled his eyes, and he fell down next to his friend. Fluffy sat atop Kiara, pawing at her face as though he sensed that she was gone and he wanted to wake her up again. Erin's heart broke for the little guy and himself as well. And poor Kiara...she had never hurt anyone, at least not wrongfully. He hugged her lifeless body tightly, and wished he could have done something to prevent this.

A moan escaped Kiara's lips. She was alive!

"Kiara!" Erin shouted as he pulled back a little to look at her "Kiara, are you okay?? Talk to me!!"

"Do I look okay to you?" she replied dryly and grimaced "And please stop shouting in my face. Your breath smells like Lemon soda."

It was at this point that Erin realized his face was only a few inches from hers.

"Oh, sorry." he replied. Moving back, he examined her injuries: two deep stab wounds to the stomach. The girl was having a rough night to be sure.


"Erin!" Ian called. "They got Dan!"

Turning his head toward Ian's voice, he saw the teacher leaning over Dan, who was sitting against a tree breathing hard.

Things were not looking good for his group.


mrfe :
Mynamescox44 :
Seifer wasn't surprised to find that the Groomer's door was locked, but no one appeared to be inside. He was surprised however, that no one had hit this place yet. Not unless they did so before it was locked up.

"Seifer, now would be a great time to look over there," Mark began as he pointed toward the lake "and make sure that there's nothing going on that shouldn't be...over there."

Seifer got what Mark was doing. Who wouldn't have? Ordinarily he would have been ticked off by the suggestion of turning his head while a crime was being committed, but he understood this one.

"Better yet." Seifer answered "Why don't I spare us both a felony and say this is a life endangering emergency and kick the door in to rescue whoever may be trapped inside? We can all agree that this is a legitimate emergency, right?"

Taryn giggled and nodded, and Mark smiled.

A moment later the door was open and they trio was inside. No one was there, but they did find Mark's dog, alive and well. The reunion was cut short though, as a man in dark clothing stepped inside.

"A policeman, breaking and entering." he mocked "Sounds about right. Time for some real justice for once."

The man came in to attack and Mark stepped up to help Seifer. As the fight was about to get underway, Mark's dog - seeing his owner in danger - leapt into action, latching onto the man's right arm and not turning loose. As a result, the man dropped his baseball bat and was vulnerable to attack. An opportunity Mark Seized as he hit the man a few times with his club, knocking him out.

Good doggie.

EDIT: Post won't show up. I'll PM the update to you guys I guess.

EDIT 2: Fixed it. For some reason the word u pdate is now glitching my posts all of a sudden. I had to break it into two words to get it to show up. Odd that the word didn't glitch my first edit though...


EDIT 3: And now almost twelve hours later I realize that having to edit the post to make it show up also nullified the summons. Nobody even knows this is here. Lol

"Hang on, Kiara." Erin said before heading to his friend.

He knell next to Dan. "Oh no, no, no... Not you. You better hang on. I don't want to lose you, Dan."

"It's alright, Erin...", Dan said with a weak voice. Then, he looked at Kiara from where he was standing, the eyes half closed."How is she doing?"

"She's got a few wounds on the stomach but she's still alive."

"I see... Erin, I took Shawn's backpack... before leaving my uncle's house...". He pointed a finger at the bush he came earlier for his joke. "I hid it... there... Go get it..."

Erin nodded and ran towards the bush. He found the backpack and went back to Dan and Ian. "I got it. Now, what shall I do with that?"

"Open it." Erin quickly carried out after hearing this from his friend. "I gathered a few things while looking for you, Erin... The flask of whisky was inside though, back when I found his backpack at the house... Ah, Shawn... I knew his brother's loss would lead him to become alcoholic... He was going through a rough time... and kept arguing with his parents about that..."

"Why didn't he tell me about that?", asked Erin.

"I don't know. Knowing that you were going through a rough time as well, he probably didn't want to add another weight to the balance... But that's besides the point... You should find something I kept... just in case something goes wrong while I'm exploring that jungle..."

Erin checked inside the backpack and found a sterilized bandage among the few snacks scattered in the backpack. That thing was the last medical invention known to this day. Unfortunately, there was just enough length for one person's injured body. He showed it to Dan and said:

"That thing?"

"Yes... Go cure her wounds, now..."

Erin was petrified. He was holding the only thing capable of curing either Dan's wounds or Kiara's. Though, he had to make a choice. This was too much for him. Seeing that his friend didn't move towards Kiara, Dan said: "Why are you hesitating, Erin?"

"I... I can't... I really can't, Dan..."

"Erin... Life's made of choices... I know it's difficult for you and whoever you wish to save... between her and I... you will cry the other person's death... so go use this on her... I'm ok with that..."

Noble as Dan was, he wanted to sacrifice his life for the sake of Kiara's. It always was his spirit. Sadly, Erin couldn't stand any longer that his best friend acted like a guardian. And that situation was a huge concern for him. Unable to decide nor move, Ian said to Erin: "Stay with him. I'mma do my best to save Kiara in the meantime with that bandage."

Ian picked up the bandage and came to Kiara's rescue. The tears were dropping down on Erin's face. The door was locked behind his friend. He knew it was a matter of time before Dan passes away.

"I wanna ask you one last thing, Erin..."

"Anything you want, Dan... Anything...", Erin said to his friend, still crying.

"I want to see you smile one more time... before I die... Just one more time."

One last smile... It was difficult for Erin to smile in this situation. "Come on, do it... Or I'll tickle you to get one from you...", Dan said, a little smil drawn on his face. Dan finally smiled, just a bit. The fact that Dan was bravely facing his fate, yet he was still enjoying this last moment with Erin's company, forced Erin to grant Dan's last will.

"Shawn was right... You're cute when you smile...", Erin's best friend affirmed, still smiling. "Also, there's an enveloppe in the backpack... Must be what Shawn told me last time, after our concert at the prom... There's your name written on it."

"A letter for me? From Shawn?", he asked confused, before checking the backpack once more. He noticed a zip at the front of the backpack, which he immediately unzipped. There was indeed a letter in this pocket. He took the letter, read his name then flipped it and started to open it.

"Now is not the time to read it, Erin... Wait 'til you'll feel better... I know what it is... He told me about that..."

"Ok..."

Erin put the letter back in the backpack. Now is not the time to read it... What did Dan mean by that? He knew what the letter pretty much said, what Shawn wanted to say to Erin at some point. But it was not the perfect timing for this.

"It's ironical, come to think of it... I stole one of these killer's life earlier... and now... that's my turn... Life is unpredictable sometimes...", Dan laughed but he was suddenly cut off by a cough. Then another one.

"Well, crap... I guess it's time for me to rest here..." His hand reached Erin's left shoulder. "Thanks for everything, Erin... I'll be waiting for you... with Shawn... Goodbye, my friend..."

Dan slowly closed his eyes and his hand fell off from Erin's shoulder. The last breath finally came... Erin, destroyed by his best friend's death, held the fallen hand a brief moment and put it on Dan's torso. Then, he did the same with the other hand, lower his head covered with tears and looked up to the dark sky, unleashing a ferocious yell. Erin was still crying. It was like he was responsible for Dan's death. Ian came back, saw Dan dead and Erin crying before him.

"Kiara's feeling a bit better. She's waiting for you, over there." Then, Ian solemnly added: "And... I'm sorry for your friend's death, Erin..."

Erin stopped crying and stood up. Kiara rushed towards Erin and hugged him.

"I'm sorry... I knew I shouldn't have come with you. You would have been able to save him..."

"It's ok, Kiara. I'll make sure his noble action was not in vain.", Erin said while conforting her.

Kiara looked at Erin, nodded and released him from the conforting hug. Erin took his crowbar, Shawn's backpack and the precious can he tossed out a few feet away. Better keep that treasure safe, now that he has a backpack.

"They sure want to play with us. Unfortunately, playtime's over. Let's go now."

"Where are we going now?", asked Kiara.

"If we keep going east, we should find the garage. North, we head to the lake. We can head back to the grocery to the west, which would be silly. If we go south, as far as remember, there's a motel."

"Let's carry on to the east, then. And I swear that, if I see one of these mistkerl, he's going to bite the dust, no matter what."

Erin started walking to the east. "Mistkerl?", asked Kiara, confused.

"That must mean bastard, in Deutsch. Or something like that.", replied Ian, as confused as she was.

"Oh ok. He sure is upset now, after what happened."

"Can't agree more, Kiara. The lion's out. Come, let's go."

Mr Peters picked up his trophy, the baseball bat his opponent dropped. It sure will come in handy, now that the streets are no longer safe. Then him, Kiara and Fluffy followed Erin, who was heading to the other entrance of the park, to the east.

"Rufus!" Mark's excitement would have been hard to mask, even if he had been trying to hide how happy he was to have found his dog. "Dude, I'm so happy to see you safe! How did you survive all this time alone?"

Of course, being a dog, Rufus didn't say much other than a couple barks of excitement.

"Anyway, thanks for the help with Mr. Grouch! I've always been able to rely on you." Petting Rufus a bit, Mark walked back towards the rest of the group. He still hadn't told Taryn that the woman she attacked back at his place had died, Mark was confident he never wanted her to know that. He hadn't told Seifer, either, for fear that Seifer might look at Taryn in a different light. They trusted each other, and were a good team, Mark thought. Sure, they might be a little unstable, but he was happy to be sharing their own mini-apocalypse with these two.

"Hey guys, look who it is! Rufus was locked up in the shop, and helped me take out a goon who tried to jump me." To the rest of the group, it was obvious that Mark was much more at ease. It seemed that, even if only for those couple minutes, he'd finally escaped the depression that had been haunting them, and everyone's spirits lightened for it. As they approached the rest of the group, though, Rufus got all defensive and began growling at Taryn and Seifer.

"Sorry about him" Mark said sheepishly, "He's always been overprotective of me. Hopefully, with some time, he'll become protective of our whole group. He may just be one dog, but he's tougher than he looks, and he'll give anyone attacking me a good fright."

After finally convincing Rufus that Taryn and Seifer were friends, not food, the group walked towards the lake. "Well... where do we go from here? Mark asked. "We saved Rufus, so I'm pretty much happy to go wherever you guys decide on. Should we try to make a break for one of the exits? The goons will have that locked up pretty tight, but it might be worth a shot. I'm sure there are many more people like me, locked up in their houses, should we try to save some of them?"

(OoC :
mrfe :
Laian :
Mynamescox44 :
Furret :
Letting you know that I'm having problems with my tablet and this is the one time I saved my u pdated (making sure the "u" word doesn't glitch my post again) notes on it. The thing won't power on, so I'll have to try to figure out what's wrong with it and get those notes before u pdating again. Sorry for the two day delay. One way or another I'll u pdate at least once tomorrow)