Cassian Alaric

Male / 18 / Asexual Panromantic / M: Reyes

The woman had been sitting as he approached her before she had leapt up in a panicky way. He almost raised an eyebrow at her sudden, abrupt movement. Cassian had settled and brushed his hair away from his eyes, an amused gleam entering his expression. He truly was going senile, as his thoughts wandered to what a woman covered head to toe in blood and injuries could do against him. They looked similar in the aspects of the bloodiness, though Cassian had been spared the attacks when he had hidden behind the counter.

“What does it look like to you?”

“Well,” he grunted, cocking his head at her, “I’d say you look like you want to stab me and you crawled out of hell. Oh, also, you’re a bit drenched in blood and, to put it lightly, you look like shit. Other than that I think you look great.” The sarcasm in his voice was hardly bothered. He rubbed the back of his neck and blinked slowly. The sounds of those things continued underneath them. He wanted to apologize for talking aloud instead of whispering, but the creatures were loud enough to disguise any noise or footsteps. In any case, he doubted they would make it out of there alive and not infected, but it was worth a shot.

“Sorry,” she had said in response to her previous words. He was rather shocked. What did she have to apologize for? She had gone through hell and back, but she had also fought. Good. He needed some fighters to accompany him.

This feels like a movie, was what ran through his head.

The two made eye contact. He felt as if he had been transported back home with his competitive siblings, staring contests and random races being a regular. The two eyed each other, though she was clearly more distrusting. Cassian? Well, he couldn’t care less. She looked so cautious and Cassina felt a surge of pity flow. She was a human being with a life and a family, like him, though he wasn’t so positive he had a life.

“Who are you?”

Her voice was soft and loud all at once. The sound of her question hitting his ears, even spoken quietly above the hoard of creatures, gave him pause.

“Cassian. My name’s Cassian.”

Then the interrogation was full of questions. It felt like a desperate anchor for him to answer, to feel human. He almost felt as if, as if he attempted to answer each question, then everything would feel more normal. His eyes searched hers, hungry for answers of his own, but she had been stuck alone with these things, stuck outside alone. For a moment, Cassian was silent. It was funny how fate worked. How Cassian had chanced upon her and slammed onto the plane to reach a form of safe, human interaction when he could have saved anybody inside the building.

“What’s it like inside? Do you have your phone on you?” She was looking around for something. He watched her eyes. “How did you get here-” The woman went silent, and Cassian took that as his cue to begin speaking. To start answering her desperate questions with his own, desperate answers.

“Bloody. It’s everywhere. It looks horrible. There aren’t any bodies though. It’s just those things attacking the survivors and each other. The walls and floors look stained with red.” He took a breath and exhaled in a shaky, hysterical chuckle. God, he shouldn’t do that. He doesn’t deserve to be alive. She probably thought he was insane. “Ye-yeah I have my phone. Do you not have one?” He said the words while grappling in his shorts for his phone. It felt odd, seeing the device clean from the bloodshed. He had charged it fully that morning, and it was at a good 98%. The missed call notification from his brother was still displayed on the phone. It was like looking in a window before all the chaos had erupted.

Before all the screams had started.

“I found- I found a staircase up to the roof. There was a body in there, but he’s probably running in the building like the others. He’s probably infected by now.” He shook his head to clear his thoughts. This felt like a fever dream. His words were going too fast and weren’t making sense to himself. “I, uh, jumped onto the plane and, well, you know the rest, I guess.”

The woman scrambled away from the edge, and got closer to Cassian. He flinched lightly and almost leapt back. The creatures looked so similar to people. So similar to her and to him.

“Is there anyone else alive in there?”

He nodded slowly. “You can hear their footsteps and their shouts for help.” He laughed bitterly. “It’s unlikely anyone will help us though. Everyone’s going through the same shit. We’re all going to die.” His words were hysterical and then, he fell silent, looking to the side. The creatures were getting out of hand. It was almost like watching a riot. Some were brawling. Blood was everywhere. Snarls and growls surrounded them, echoing along the area.

“Who are you? What happened?”

He wanted to take back the last question, but he was so desperate for answers. Like a starved man. The white, porcelain mug still hung in his right hand limply. It had multiple uses. Like a normal mug, a thing to throw, a distraction, and, if broken correctly, a weapon.

“Do you have any ideas to get out of here?”

Ryker

Twenty-two || Male || Mentions: open

A soul piercing scream ricocheted off the airport walls, followed by a moment of dead silence. Ryker stiffened like a board, his body frozen as his senses began to go into overdrive. What the hell. Taking a step back towards the center of the little gift shop, more screams began to erupt. A mass of people ran past, sheer terror twisting their features. What’s happening?

As if the world suddenly began to move in slow motion, a woman, maybe mid thirties, pitched herself forward at full force, jumping on the back of a running man. Her legs wrapped around his torso and her hands around his face. The man fell forward, landing on the tile floor, a crunching sound reverberated, reaching where Ryker stood. The woman who now sat on the mans back pulled his face backwards, bending it in an unnatural way. Bringing her face down to his neck, the woman’s teeth ripped into his soft flesh. Ryker had only seen the look on the mans face a few times, the look of imminent death. He knew he was going to die.

In the span of half a minute Ryker watched a man get his throat ripped open. He’s seen some gruesome stuff before, but nothing like this. He’d never seen a person go after another person like that. It wasn’t human.

from the woman's mouth a choking, gurgling sound emitted, along with dripping blood and bubbling foam. The sound made Rykers heart skip a beat, and a memory flashed in his mind. He physically shook his head, trying to forget the memory and come back to his senses.

Movement where movement shouldn’t be caught his eye. Ryker Took a half step Towards the man on the ground. Did his hand just move? Sure enough the man’s fingers began to twitch. Then his head began to sway, and with in seconds he was standing like a puppet on a string. His arms hung loose at his sides and his legs were bent like he couldn’t hold his own body weight. It really was like he’s being held up with a string. The white of his eyes began to redden, and his face tipped up toward the sky. A horrifying sound let lose from the mans body, a sound no human should be able to make.

“Nachzehrer” Ryker muttered under his breath, staring at the man with wide eyes. His hair stood on end and a cold chill ran down his spine. Goose bumps covered his skin and his hands began to vaguely shake. A nervous laugh threatened to escape him. Slowly his hand began to reach to his side, stopping mid grab when he again remembered he was unarmed. He was a soldier with no weapons, like a cat without claws. The deadliest thing he had on him was a lighter, but what good would that do.

A crashing scraping sound came from behind him. Tuning partway so his left was facing the reanimated man, and his right facing the inside of the store, Ryker spotted the employee break room door wide open. A flash of black and white entered the room followed by a scream. The man in the suit who had knocked over the display was gone. Verdammt (goddammit) It was too late to save the woman in there. More Nachzehrer’s were coming up from his left. He needed to run, he couldn’t stay here any longer or he would just get trapped inside the gift shop. Bending his knees slightly Ryker took off out of the shop at a full sprint, right past the man with a gaping hole in his neck. His duffle bag bounced on his back as his ran, throwing off his gate. But he could take the second to slow down and take it off. Besides he might need it later. In the shop windows reflections he saw a hoard of people running after him and the others who were still human. His lungs began to burn. Running wasn’t one of Ryker’s strong-suits.

Glass shattered from his right and a Nachzehrer came barreling out. Skidding on the broken glass it had a hard time staying up right, giving Ryker time to kick in its knee, hyper-extending it. The creature buckled forwards. Ryker continued running. To where he had no clue, but it would come to him when he saw it. He passed some bathrooms and for a second thought that might be a good idea, but with only one entrance and exit, anyone in there would be sitting ducks if the door gave way. He decided against the bathrooms. He needed to find a place where people didn’t go, where there was more than one exit, and where he could take a moment to form a plan. The sound of a rhythmic mechanical whirring drew his attention. He had run all the way to the baggage claim. The second his eyes spotted the carousel he knew that's where he needed to hide. But he needed to get in without being seen. Pausing around a corner for a second Ryker surveyed his surroundings. He needed to lay low until things got quiet or until some distraction drew those things attention away. And this fake plant he was crouched behind wouldn’t cut it. Think, think think. His brain was scrambling.

Out of the corner of his eye bright red could be seen sitting above his head. There was a little red box with a plastic cover over the front of it. In big letters it read “Fire alarm. Pull down.” Heh, that would do. Reaching up his fingers clasped the lever and pulled. An ear splitting alarm began to sound, along with flashing lights. A moment later the sprinkler system kicked on, spraying water down from above. Well that was certainly a distraction. Using the initial spray of water as coverage Ryker made a beeline for the baggage carousel landing on top of the black moving conveyor belt. His breathing was ragged as he slipped behind the curtain.

“Shit!” he said louder than he should have, as a feeling of weightlessness consumed him.

Kine Asher Vincent

26 | M | M: Ava, Roxane, Cassian, Reyes probably someone else

Two distinct sounds screeching, and screams filled the terminal building. One second the place seemed crowded, but safe. And now it seemed as if the place turned into a secondary hell in a instant. The facility was quickly getting uncrowded at a alarming rate. Which Kine would’ve enjoyed this… if there wasn’t such a tremendously horrible reason.

Kine’s hickory eyes locked onto a man’s blood shot eyes. This confused him as he had never seen a person with bloodshot eyes, well anyone but… the guy who was attacking that lady. What farther confused him was the foam that was built up around the man’s mouth, the foam that slowly fell onto the floor. That was when he noticed the man was no longer standing, but barreling towards Kine. He could smell the lingering smell of blood and the sight of blood pouring down the guys neck, traveling down his shirt. It was like he was in a horror movie.

"Are you alright?" Kine asked taking a step back so the man would have room to stop. But he didn’t.

"COFFE!"

A serene yet with a hint energy pricked at the voice who had shouted, whoever shouted was most definitely a feminine from her tone. His attention turned away from the man that was charging at him. It was indeed a female who shouted that, her hair a natural red and with a ivory complexion. But he was only distracted for a mere moment as he felt the impact n’ weight of the man, causing Kine to stumble backwards. The screeching sounds the man made were horrifying, the guy almost looked drunk in a way, but he also looked sick. The guy seemed to be trying to bite at Kine’s neck.

This is what happened to the lady.

He quickly decided he wasn’t going to get a chunk of flesh bit off as she had. He could feel the man digging his long sharp finger nails into Kine’s caramel skin, he grunted with pain. He would fight with everything he had before he died, and following this his curled fist soon came in contact with the man’s side while using his left knee to hit the guy in his stomach.

The flesh eating maniac fell to the ground. That’s when Kine backed away a couple of steps, he reached into his back pocket to feel nothing. "Where’s my damn knife?" he asked in a trident tone as he checked the other. Nothing. He noticed the guy had started to stand up, that’s when he frantically looked around for something to use as a weapon. Wether that was a pipe, rock, or a knife as anything would work at the moment.

"Are you fucking insane? Get off of me you psycho bitch!"

He could hear the shout of a raspy feminine voice, her tone was forbidding, and tense. He looked away from the man to see the almost nonexistent crowd was making this horrifying screeching noise as foam built up around their jaws. Most of the ‘people’ seemed to have these defining bloodshot eyes. The next thing he saw next was messed up. A kid around 4, foam all around her jaw. Went over to their mother and as her mother proceeded to pick the kid, her kid bit flesh out of there mothers bare arm. The mother seemed to start gurgling almost instantly. His attention soon turned to the woman who had previously yelled. What the fuck was she doing? Was she trying to get herself killed?

"Yo, fucktard!” Then a small pause was heard. “Run, dumbass!"

He heard the same hint of energy that the female had, he knew from the tone of the voice it was that girl again. He guessed she was yelling at the woman who was standing their with a.. pocket or tactical knife in hand? Was she supposed to be able to do anything against all these guys?

Ha…

Well atleast she’s trying to survive, unlike most of the people who had fled moments before.

"Fucking run!"

Kine yelled sternly before his attention turned to the man who was almost to a full standing position. He HAD to find a weapon NOW. He soon noticed a few pipes connecting to a air duct, so he made a sprint to them as he tried to frantically tried to pull a pipe off the wall, he felt a hand grip around his ankle, and nails piercing his skin. He quickly turned around using his other shoe to kick the the man’s hand and head rapidly.

Once he got the man to let go he turned and quickly mustered all his strength, yanking off the pipe. No a pipe wasn’t a great weapon, but it would have to work. As he started to turn around he noticed that there were multiple blood shot fixed upon him. He wasn’t sure what he would do, he was confused and a part of him was scared. But who wouldn’t be? This shit was most definitely fucked up. He had two options fight, or flight and well..

He wasn’t going to give up that easy, no. He was going to fight, but he was most definitely ready to run if he had to.

He swung the pipe at a oncoming ‘person’ which the cold, metal pipe came in contact with the human’s head. The person fell to the side, a dent was created in the left side of their skull. The person started to get up. "What the- scrambler!" He shouted as another attacked him the pipe up against the man’s neck. "Get the fuck away." He said as he through the person to the ground.

Kine knew he had to abandon the situation NOW. So he made a mad dash for safety, He knew knowing where he was going, all he knew was he had a bunch of… scrambler’s behind him. An idea popped in his confused, while focused mind. Kine soon saw the security guard’s dressed in black trying to stop these fucking maniacs. With…. Guns and tasers…? What further horrified, confused him was when a security guard shot at a ‘person’ and the bullet did go through the persons brain, but… they immediately started to stand up and lock eyes their bloodshot eyes onto the security guard’s.

What the fuck was this? Some horror movie..

He ran

He needed to find somewhere to make a plan. Nope he wasn’t good at making run-on plans, as he found it like a hole bunch of shit to make a plan that would most likely fail. So he ran. He knew where the security office was and that would be all he needed. He. Was. Not. Dying.

As he neared the security office, with the three men still barreling towards him. The small building was open, but luckily no one seemed to be in it. So He slid in slamming the door closed behind him, his breath jagged. He grunted as his palm and fingers searched for the lock that was located somewhere on the door. Once he found it he pushed down on the small circular button with his index finger, applying a soft amount of pressure to the lock. His breathing slowed as he heard the lock. *click*

Kine wasn’t even joyed by the room being abandoned it all made him all the more wary. He was now searching the room for something to block the door with, he swore that the lock and heavy metal door wasn’t going to hold the ‘people’ from getting into the office. He grunted as he found a cinder block, a tactical knife by the block, and a half empty water bottle on the desk. He had always seen cups, buckets, etc filled with liquid as half empty, he just couldn’t see the half full thing that others could see.

Kine picked the rough taupe colored cinder block up, placing it in front of the heavy metal door. Which was softly shaking from the weight of the people’s hurling themselves into it.

He looked onto the screens that now laid on the desk, he guessed he knocked them over in his panicked hurry. His eyes dwindled over screen, the light illuminating the dark room. As he watched the cameras through the computer screen he had noticed someone- no two people had taken refuge on top of a plane, and others in the bathroom. While some were or hadn’t yet seeked for shelter.

He went over to the desk n’ chair sitting down on the strong stiff fabric that made the chair, a chair. His elbows resting on his thighs, as his hands dangled over his knee caps. He raised his right hand curling his fingers and propping his chin up with his palm. His breathing was still ragged, but much more steady.

Confusion, curiosity, a bit of scariness, a bit of dread… Was all the man felt, he was confused and simi curious by what those ‘human’ things were. Why didn’t that human die when they were shot? How did the other one immediately stand up after getting wacked with a pipe? He was scared because of all he had just witnessed and been through. Dread…. dread, because he just let that lady die, he didn’t even try to help her.

Kine slipped his phone out of his pocket, and his soft beige fingers traced the phone case, as his thumbs callus pressed the text icon, and typed in his passcode. After completing that he pressed a app called FaceTime and tried to call his father. The ringing felt like it went on for hours until,

"Sorry, I’m busy singing~"

a sing-song tone answered, as it ended Kine’s raspy voice muttered, "Straight to voicemail." He suppressed a ‘ughh’ as he proceeded to call his brother, Cole. "Just answer… just answer." Kine pleaded as he listened to the tone,

"Hey, so umm ima let Chloe take this over." A raspy voice much like Kine’s spoke "So Cole’s busy, probably sleeping. So leave a message at the." A high pitched, hyper feminine voice spoke, then in union they shouted "BEEP!"

Straight to voice mail- ughh…

"Hey, so don’t come to California.. EVER. If you see anything weird try to get the others and run-" Kine started, but stopped as his phone died and soon he’d be like the phone… well if he had anything to say about it he wasn’t going to be, but at the same time he wasn’t completely sure anymore. He wasn’t sure if there was even a home to go back to.

This was most definitely some messed up shit.

Reyes Collin

Female // 23 // Mentions: Cassian

As if her day couldn’t get worse, Reyes was stuck with a psychopath. Well, at least he wasn’t trying to eat her. So that's- progress.. yaaay...

The way that this guy radiated arrogance somewhat helped make Reyes more comfortable in the situation. Well, not comfortable per se, more so feeling like herself-- rather than some petrified animal relentlessly fighting to keep its skin on its body.

“I’d say you look like you want to stab me and you crawled out of hell. Oh, also, you’re a bit drenched in blood and, to put it lightly, you look like shit. Other than that I think you look great.”

Let’s just say, to put it lightly, Reyes wanted to take back her apology. “I can’t say the same for you,” Reyes gained a more informal tone, raising her sarcasm bar to meet that of the stranger-- but it was still obviously laced with lingering fear, something Reyes can never seem to mask.

The way he had cocked his head at her- hell, he even smiled- it just made her want to toss him to those delinquents that raved below them. You’ve killed enough people today, don’t you think? Reyes fought back whatever tears were trying to form in her eyes when her memories of the old couple flashed back to her. How could she even think of killing this guy? A wave of shame began to wash over her as she internally wanted to just throw herself at those things instead. It’d be so much easier than dealing with this bullcrap.

Her attention, which was stolen from her prior experience, was brought back to the guy, who had finally decided to introduce himself. Cassian. That’s a bit of an exotic name. Then again, she has only ever met Bobs, Robs, along with the occasional ‘bert’ thrown in to make the name a bit spicier.

“Is that your stripper name?”

Shut up shut up shut up. Reyes once again spoke without a filter; she had gotten so comfortable with her own thoughts that she couldn’t even manage to stop them from forming into words. A part of her wanted to form another apology, but she acted against it, knowing that she'd probably want to take it back again.

Plus he wasn't deserving of one. This guy was giving her the creeps; the type of chills you get from that one smug bastard that stares at you from across the bar. Was this ‘Cassian’ even old enough to drink? He looked like he could be 20. Give or take a year.

Cassian spoke once more, and Reyes wished she never asked this guy any questions. “Bloody. It looks horrible. It’s just those things attacking the survivors. The walls and floors look stained with red.” Well, he did probably answer truthfully, but he could’ve been a lot more discreet with it. A simple “not good” or “same as out here” would’ve sufficed. She found herself making a face when he let out a chuckle. Was laughing this guy’s form of coping? Or did he really find this situation amusing? She couldn’t tell. His expressions were all over the place and she couldn’t even read his eyes.

“Ye-yeah I have my phone. Do you not have one?”

Perhaps he was coping. His stutter seemed to break away from his hysterical façade, and every time he took the time to look at those creatures beneath them, Reyes could see him falter. Now, Reyes really hoped that she was right. It’d suck to be stuck here with someone who would probably not bat an eye at her death. Her attention was immediately diverted to his phone. The bar was at 98%. What normal human being doesn’t use up at least some of their battery? Maybe he was a psychopath.

Reyes’s eyes trailed down to the missed call. That seemed to be the selling point on this guy. Seeing someone having had reached out to check on him and see if he was doing alright made this Cassian seem more human than before. Reyes dug into her own pocket to retrieve her phone when he had asked about hers. It was in a hell of a lot better shape than her, but a crack still riddled the screen. She held onto the on button, which then lit up the screen with a flashing lightning sign.

“You could say that..” Her voice was soft and solemn as she recalled sending her voice messages to her family.

She held a strong urge to keep calling them with Cassian’s phone, but she suspected it to be useless. All she could do was hope that her family got her messages and got somewhere safe. If they did, Reyes wouldn’t need anything else. Just the solitude of knowing they were alright was enough for her to lay down her life on this wretched plane. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but hanging onto that little string of hope that her family was well off was the only thing that made Reyes determined to get the hell out of here and reunite with them.

“You mind?” Reyes asked before reaching for Cassian’s phone. She wanted to get information on whatever was happening and confirm her suspicions. She didn’t really need an answer as she grabbed the phone anyway, plucking it from the guy’s hands and settling it down into her own. Her eyes were trained onto the phone, yet she was fully in tune with Cassian’s story. At least this time he wasn’t laughing at the thought of that boy becoming one of those creatures. Wait a minute. Jumped onto the plane? From the roof?

Reyes tore her eyes off the phone to lock them with Cassian’s. What kind of ape shit.. She didn’t even need to say anything, her eyes practically spelled out her thoughts.

As Cassian continued to talk, the conversation didn’t exactly get any better. He described everything so grim. She was able to handle it all, just sending him obvious signals that one would normal take as a shut the fuck up, but this guy seemed to ignore such. The part that really got to Reyes was when he said that they were all going to die. She couldn’t help but clench her jaw as she bore a glare into his eyes. She knew help wasn’t coming, hell, she figured that out earlier when she was crying herself to sleep.

But to say that she was going to die? Fuck no. “I’ve made it this far and I don’t plan on becoming one of those fuckers any time soon. You’re free to join them, though.” Her words were harsh, and it was obvious they were to be taken with a grain of salt. Gods, she kept getting out of hand. Other people had different coping mechanisms; it was obvious that Cassian’s was just the opposite of Reyes’s. When Cassian had fallen silent, Reyes felt only a bit regretful of her words. Then his eyes shifted over to those things and then… fuck, now she kind of regretted those words.

“Who are you? What happened?”

Reyes was the quiet one now. She thought over all the shit she saw and did… everything she fought off. It felt tiring. She couldn’t help but let out a shaky exhale at the thought of those blood-curdling shrieks and cries. The wails of mothers and their children. The silent pain that riddled the old man’s eyes. “All I can remember are the looks of their faces…” Her voice trailed off, the faint words becoming silent as she zoned off. Ahem. Reyes cleared her throat, swallowing that burning lump in her throat that urged her to cry again.

“Does it matter what happened? This is what’s left of everyone else now.” Reyes’s voice was still quiet but held a more monotone appeal to it.

A part of her was reluctant to tell him her name, but hell, that was probably the least of her worries right now, so why not?

“I’m Reyes.”

She brought her eyes back down to the little beam of light that came from the phone. She clicked on a news article that was even more recently updated. The words virus, rabid, aggressive, and insane riddled the page. ‘The virus doesn’t appear to be airborne but we urge citizens to take extra caution when dealing with…’ Reyes read through the short tidbits of detail that she could. ‘Aggression takes over the host and causes them to lash out, if you see someone, do not engage with them, isolate and quarantine…’

Her thumb brushed the soft edges of the phone as anxiety began to build up in her. There was a map of the US with red dots ascending in random places. Those same red dots almost littered the entire map. Maybe Cassian was right. They were going to die. She turned the screen off, having finished reading the article and offered it back to Cassian. “If you have any calls you want to make, I’d say your peace now. Because I do have a plan to get us out of here, but you’re not going to like it.”

Reyes sat up entirely, which only further riled the things beneath them. “Let’s get out of their line of sight first,” Reyes carefully made her way to the center of the plane, making sure not to succumb to another wave of dizziness whilst walking above death itself. Once she made it to the widest section, she sat down and patted the open spot in front of her, offering it to Cassian in a more innocent way, given their situation. It was like someone offering a seat beside them whilst in a conference, except, this time they were surrounded by flesh-eating lunatics.

“Sit down flat and they’ll eventually lose interest.” Reyes leaned back slightly, gaining a throb that rang throughout her head. She flinched and flung a hand to her temple, cursing under her breath. Those same little green and red dots littered her vision, and Reyes prepared for the light-headed sensation to take over. She stabilized herself into a stiff position and crossed her legs over one another. God, she hated concussions. She’s had her own good bit of head trauma, but this sure does take the cake.

“Ah- so the plan.” Reyes regained a stable position, focusing on Cassian as the dots slowly faded away again. “I was planning on going back in there at night. These things will be just as blind as us when the moon is up. There won’t be much to see since it’s a crescent. We’ve got to go back into the plane and through that tunnel,” Reyes pointed to the jet bridge, which was encased with blood-stained glass. “Make it to the bathrooms,” Her index finger drifted further into the airport building, pointing at where she believed she last saw the bathrooms. “And then we can live another day. Simple.” Reyes came off as sarcastic, but she liked to keep things simple. It was a mechanism to cope with the impending stress.

“As for getting entirely out of the airport…” Reyes looked into the direction of the city. “It’s smartest to wait until authorities arrive. If they don’t within the morning, I guess we’ll have to brave it out there.” Her hazel stare drifted down to the open fields. They were pretty empty, for now. “I don’t think that the city is in any better shape than we are. The news article said to isolate and wait for help to arrive, so that’s what I plan on doing.” Reyes let out another shaky sigh, her voice was beginning to become hoarse with all the talking and the lack of moisture.

“I don’t suppose that mug has anything in it?”

That's when the consistent ear-burning ringing sounded. Reyes unfolded her legs and sprang her arms out onto the surface of the plane, prepared to take off at any moment. She craned her neck to look at the source of the noise, which was none other than the building. Someone set off the fire alarm. Perfect. The creautures which were previously banged against the plane had now flocked over toward the building.

Reyes could feel the thumping of those who were still inside the plane crash their bodies against the side of the windows, croaking and shrieking as they couldn't get closer to the noise. Their sounds only sent shivers down Reyes's arm as she looked beneath her. She hated the idea of going back inside, but what other choice did they have?

“Watch our things,” he says. “Don’t go anywhere,” he says. “I’m choosing to trust you,” he says.

AHAHAHAHAAAA! What a fuckin’ idiot!

With all the things she’s thrown his way, she wonders just how in the hell she managed to trick him. She barely even had to do mental gymnastics to get him on his feet. It could be that he’s tired (she doubts he’s gotten any form of rest over the past couple of days, as evidenced by his pallid skin, insanely pronounced almost-black eyebags, and the lethargic sway in his step) and his neurons just aren’t functioning well enough for him to completely figure out she is, in fact, fucking with him again, or it could be that he’s simply a moron who made the mistake of loving her too much. Either way, when he inevitably comes back to her later (hopefully with something in hand to shut her stomach up), every muscle in his skinny-ass body is going to be sore to hell and back. He might strangle her once or twice, but the way he’ll be vibrating like a tiny li’l’ leaf in a frigid autumn billow will make the bruises worth it.

(And, oh, wouldja look at that! She’s getting poetic!)

He deserves it, really. It’s payback for him ruining her plans this week. She’d had so much in mind to dedicate her next few days to: she’d wanted to drag her sort-of friends to the mall; splurge all her not-so-well-earned allowance on bright, neon-colored clothes and mismatching-outfits so incredibly prestigious that everyone who dared allowed their eyeballs to grace her physique would promptly die of debilitating migraines; spend an entire day wandering around the lively, bustling city streets, harassing ice cream vendors and chasing feral cats up the walls; torture stereotypical Twitter users into hiring hackers to find her IP; steal all her neighbors’ internet bandwidth; procrastinate on her academics in preparation to fail her exams and piss her parents right the hell off… Many things, essentially.

And then her bastard of a brother kicked her classroom door down (her poor math teacher looked to be on the verge of a heart attack), marched over to her, threw her things into her knapsack, and said, brightly, “We’re goin’ on a trip, Sadie!”

To Montana. To be more specific, right to the skiing resort her parents whacked over to with plans to stick around for a week to spend time together alone.

The whole thing was— is absurd, really. It’s obvious that there’s more to it.

Sadie had tried subtly questioning her brother about it on the way to the airport in Phoenix, then in the airport, then on the plane, then right as they landed, then when they were at the shops, then when they plopped down on the carpeted floor in some quiet corner of the airport to relax, but he was too good at deflecting, so she just stopped bothering to strain her vocal cords over things she’d never get a straight answer to (and promptly fell asleep). He only really said, “It’s a surprise, Sadie! Trust me.” She tried asking Auntie, too, before the flight, but… she still hasn’t gotten back to her on that, leaving the message on read (how rude!). It’s not like Sadie can ask Grandma and Grandpa; they’re both in the nursing home, suffering with dementia. And Uncle’s somewhere… not around. She’d considered asking Charlie’s dad—the one from Japan, that is (if she ever wanted to call the one from China, she’d only do so to tell him to go fuck himself and burn in hell)—but she doesn’t have his contact information… She’s stuck in the dark, pretty much, and that’s what irritates her the most. But she’s not going to complain (much) because, at the very least, she’s away from school.

And she hates that place, so… Yeah.

Not that that means she’s not going to make Charlie suffer. Obviously. He’d still ruined her plans, and he’s not giving her the answers she wants, so she’s going to subject him to as much pain as possible. Then, hopefully, when he snaps, he’ll readily acquiesce and hand over whatever she demands of him. She’s sure he’ll be at his limit when he comes back… Wait, didn’t he tell her to not go anywhere? An additional plan begins forming in her mind: mayhaps, if she leads him on a wild goose chase in search of her, making him panic and worry his ass off about where the hell she and the rest of their stuff went, the moment she yeets back on over to him, he’ll just blurt out whatever secrets he’s keeping. Ahhhh, she can already see how well it’ll work. Besides, she’d wanted to go somewhere (the restrooms, to be more specific, for her beloved bladder is starting to complain) anyway, so this is just perfect!

Sadie watches her brother go with a smile so wide that Satan would shit his pants. She waits for him to vanish into the sea of humanity, waits until his big-ass backpack, baggy clothes, and disastrous hair get swallowed up by the pissed-off, impatient, busy ants that are the people of the airport. Then, she turns to her and her brother’s things. She grabs hold of the soft pink blanket haphazardly thrown aside as a result of her attempts to kick Charlie’s bones into the afterlife, and lays down Charlie’s small four-wheeled carry-on suitcase (the only carry-on they have; Sadie couldn’t be fucked to put her own hands-on suitcase to good use, leaving it behind at home and sticking to bringing along only a backpack. She later regretted it because she felt like she was carrying almost half her weight on her shoulders, but oh, well), zips it open, rolls up the blanket, and shoves the fabric into an empty slot.

Actually, now that she’s seen the inside of the suitcase, there’s a lot of room to stuff shit in here… Eh, Charlie’s going to be walking for a while, so she’s got time to do some relocating. Besides, it’ll make the suitcase heavier. More suffering for him!

Sadie decides to take out a good chunk of her things in her backpack and shove it in the suitcase. She spends only a few minutes moving her many, many items to the suitcase and organizing everything (contrary to popular belief, when she’s got the motivation to keep things orderly, she does an excellent job at it; she’d go so far as to say that her ability to maximize space is more than proficient. She’s just lazy as hell, see), and, when she’s done, she zips up the suitcase and rights it up. She keeps only the essential things in her functional backpack: some clothes, a brush, a toothbrush and toothpaste, skin care products, soap, her three portable chargers, a few snacks, her big-ass bottle of water, some cash, all those vitamins Charlie insisted she have on her at all times, a first aid kit, her inhaler, and, of course, Hulda (shoot her for being childish enough to bring the adorable thing around everywhere; Charlie got it for her on her eighth birthday and she’s been unhealthily attached to it ever since) and the stuffed silver fox’s tiny little container, another backpack, this time of the drawstring type, folded up and tucked away in a pocket.

Actually, now that she’s seen that eye-hurting neon-purple color…

Argghhh, she’s gotten so distracted!! Sadie checks her watch. Ten minutes. Ugh, she’s wasted a lot of time. Whatever, whatever. Charlie should still be walking, though, if she can trust her previous experiences with his most sleep-deprived states. But she makes her next course of action quick, just in case he… somehow unlocks the ability to teleport or something: she moves all her things left in the functional backpack to her drawstring one, making sure everything’s as organized as possible. Hulda’s head pops out of the opening, and she subconsciously loosens the strings to make it so that the poor fake animal doesn’t look like it’s being strangled. Although the drawstring backpack is only half the size of the one she was previously wearing, she doesn’t have that many things packed in it, so, fortunately, it doesn’t look to be about to burst at the seams at any moment. Sadie flattens her now empty functional backpack and wraps its shoulder flaps around the suitcase’s trolley handles, relieving it of her abuse.

Now, her shoulders hurt ten times less now! And she also looks less boring. Perfect, perfect.

What else is laying around…? Ah, there’s her jacket, splayed out on the floor in all its eye-hurting bright yellow glory. She bends down to pick it up, and wraps the sleeves around her waist. Hmmm… She thinks that’s it. Nothing else to gather up. She checks her watch again. It’s just about to turn 6:15… Sadie pops some gum in her mouth, slips her phone in her front pocket, shoves her earbuds in, and blasts CupcakKe’s CPR right up against her eardrums.

Her bladder is actively bitching now. Time to go looking for a restroom!

-----------

JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE AIRPORT TODAY?!?!

Sadie huffs, exasperated as she once again hurricanes her way into a restroom with a line in it. A line. Of six people, no less. Not as bad as the three others she’d gone into with almost twelve people waiting around for their turns, but still. There’s no way in hell her bladder’s strong enough to wait that long. Huffing again, she turns around and fucks right off, angrily dragging her suitcase with her and adjusting her backpack, hurrying her pace. There has got to be a place nearby that isn’t so packed. She doesn’t like doing her business with so many other Homo sapiens existing in the same vicinity as her.

Her shoulders drop in a deep sigh, and she briskly sets off in search of someplace empty. At least it’s guaranteed that she’ll be far away from where Charlie will be when he goes back to where she previously was.

Ohohohoho, the look of panic on his face is gonna be delicious.

She sashays her way past all the peasants, singing merry little tunes that have some folks looking her way sending their eyebrows to heaven. After slipping past a whole plethora of shops, she starts wondering if making her feet hate every fiber of her existence is worth working Charlie up enough for him to tell her about whatever the shit it is he’s hiding, but when it comes to being as annoying as possible and driving him up the wall straight to the ceiling, she’s going to go through with it. After all, when she was seven, she made a promise to herself to be the most infuriating girl on the planet, especially to him.

…How big is this airport, by the way?

She feels like she’s sighed more today than she ever will in a lifetime. Luckily, though, she does eventually find something that looks like it won’t have that many people in it. It’s aways from the busy part of the airport, overlooking… whatever it is you call the place you check your big-ass luggage into. Oh, she so hopes there’s not, like, a bazillion folks in there, because then she’ll have to leave again; exercise isn’t her strong suit and never will be.

Sadie quickens her steps and—

Her head snaps to the right, eyes narrowing. Are those people… running? She squints some more, spying even more blurs racing past. Huh. Sadie blows a bubble and pops it. They must be late for their flight, then. Why are they constantly looking over their shoulders, though…? And is she hearing screaming or— Annnnd she’s getting distracted again. Focus, Sadie. Let people do weird people things. The door to the women’s restroom is right in front of her now (and what a strange color it is… Red. Who paints bathroom doors— Stop getting distracted, dammit). She wrings her head back forward, and reaches out to turn the knob. The door quietly swings open, and she skips in, dragging her suitcase behind her.

Looks like any other restroom. Long row of stalls, buncha sinks, mirrors everywhere…

And there’s another girl here. A teen, probably, if the skinny limbs say anything. Or a middle schooler; she dunno. Some kids mature pretty fast in this country. (She can’t relate.) The girl’s taller than Sadie (everyone is, really) with long, dirty-blonde hair that goes past her waist. She’s angled away from Sadie, as well, so her face is hidden, but Sadie doesn’t really care about her face, just that she exists and that means there’s one other person in here with her.

Sadie kicks the restroom door shut behind her with a loud SLAM!

Her voice rings out after the resulting echo: “Thank God! Only one other chick in here. This hellhole’s packed; you wouldn’t believe the lines in the other restrooms.” She wheels her suitcase in front of her. Squints. “Say, since you’re around, would you mind watching my things for a sec’? Can’t have anyone yeeting on in here and stealing my shit; my brother would chop my head off if we lost all this! Anyway, I’m electing to trust you, so…” With a quick, hard shove of her arms, the suitcase goes flying across the floor, spinning and sliding, in no time colliding with the girl’s scraggly legs (or, at least, it looks to). “Thanks~!”

Sadie pulls her earbuds out, tosses her earphones into a pocket. Races to a stall, peers in… Nah, she doesn’t like that one. She heads over to the next… Nope. The next, then? She slides past the next partition. Oof, someone forgot to flush; that’s definitely a no. How ‘bout this one? Ew, ew, ew; not going there. This one? Still a nope. Ah, this last one should be okay… Yep!!! She’ll go here. Finally. Her bladder is grateful. Sadie takes a step and—

Her phone violently vibrates in her pocket.

Sadie cocks her head to the side, pulling the thing into her palm. 형, the caller ID says. Hyeong. It’s her brother.

She taps the red button. He can wait.

Sadie takes a step and—

Her phone violently vibrates again. It’s still her brother. Strange. He doesn’t usually call twice in a row; he just texts right after, especially when she’s hung up on him. Well, whatever. She has a feeling that if she doesn’t pick up now, he’s just going to continue calling. With a sigh, she commands her excretory system to be patient and taps the green button, bringing the phone up to her ear. “Shithead,” she says in lieu of a greeting, “you lied to me ‘bout that shop! Y’know, the one with the baked potatoes. You said it was fuck meters away, but it was literally just around the corner—”

“Sadie, where the hell are you?”

She startles, almost choking on her gum. Damn, she never thought she’d be at the receiving end of that tone. She puts a hand on her hip. “Uhhh, in the airport. Duh.”

“Sadie, you—” There’s a pause, the sound of… something in the background. She hears his muffled voice: “Kid, fuck! Watch out!” Is there screaming— What in the fu— Where did he go? She’s hearing things, struggling. She’s— He’s with someone. Is he with someone? Who’s he with? Why the fuck is— Shit, he’s back, and his voice comes in louder now, clearer, but wheezes mingle with his words: “Sadie, where are you?”

“Charlie, what the fuck is happenin’ over there? Are you running? Yo, is—”

“Sadie, answer my— Sadie, Sadie… Sadie, answer my damn question! Did you go somewhere else? Are you not where I left you?”

Okkkaayy, this is getting weird. Granted, her brother’s always been weird, especially when he hasn’t gotten much sleep, but, like… what? “Yeah, it’s called needing to pee, y’know?” And wanting to piss you off so you tell me what’s up, she censors.

There’s a pause, longer this time. Sadie feels her hands go clammy, and her hand goes up to mess with her hair without her permission. She hears movement, voices, shouting, loud… loud… uhhh… screaming. There’s screaming. People are screaming. Fuck, that doesn’t sound like they’re screaming outta… excitement or something. Uhhh… Uhhhhh… There’s screaming— Wait, is it coming from her phone or…? Aha… Ahaha… Uhhh, she thinks she’s hearing something through that restroom door… Outside. There’s… There’s—

There are people screaming right outside the door.

Sadie swallows thickly, feeling her feet take her backwards. Her back meets something, collides into a body— Ah, it was just the other girl. Just crashed into her. Quickly, she says, “Sorry, sorry. Uhm. Some shit’s happening to my brother. Ehe~ Need to check something…” She hurries, hurries, hurries to the restroom door. Her hands are shaking. No, she thinks her entire body is shaking. Wow. Uhm… Well. She’s pretty sure there’s screaming coming from outside, now that she’s pretty much right up against the door. Hmm. Opening the door might be a mistake, actually.

…She needs to check. Just in case. Ehehe… Just in case her ears are fucking with her…

She breathes. In. Out. In. Out. She just needs to check. One quick peek. Maybe this is just a prank her brother is pulling on her. It’s gotta be. Some sort of prank. Yeah, maybe he’s just found out about her tryina get back to him and now he’s getting back on her. Vengeance. This is just his vengeance thing. Mhmm. Or maybe they’re filming a horror movie or something nearby. This is nothing. Okay. Okay. All she needs to do is check…

Sadie turns the knob and throws the door open.

There’s a man. Tattered clothes. Behind him, people are— He stares at her. Twitch. Blank eyes. Behind him, people are running and falling and screaming. Drip, drip, drip. White— White bubbles. Foam. There is foam around his mouth. Drip, drip, drip. He stares, he twitches, his lips peel back and he flashes his teeth. Dripdripdrip. There is red. There is red on his mouth, there is red on his clothes there is red dripping down his neck that is blood that’s fucking blood that’s blood the man is covered in blood and he lunges—

Sadie has never shut a door so fast before in her life.

What was that? she wonders distantly.

What was that? What was what was that, what the fuck— She can’t breathe, she can’t breathe, she tries to understand, she tries to figure out— Thud, thud thud thudthud, the man is trying to get in he is trying to get in, and Sadie can’t breathe. Where’s… Where’s Charlie— Growling. Screaming. Thud thud. Charlie. She needs Charlie— Her phone! Fuck, where’d she— Phone. There. She dropped— She dropped her— Thudthudthudthud. The sound of nails scraping on wood. Charlie. The phone. Sadie drops to her knees, painpainpain, reaches out— Her hands are shaking she almost drops it again she needs—

“SADIE, FUCKING ANSWER ME!”

“Charlie?” Her voice shakestremblesquivers. Her body is that tiny li’l’ leaf in that frigid autumn billow. She can’t breathe. “Charlie, I-I’m— Charlie, what’s going—”

“SADIE, TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE, DAMMIT!”

“Restroom.” There is a sound. Whimpering. It’s coming from her.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD. The door— Fuck, the door. Oh, God. He’s… The man… The knob isn’t turning. Fuckfuckckck. Shit. Uhhh… Uhhhh… What does— What does she—

“WHERE, SADIE? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT RESTROOM?”

“Check-in area,” she says. Thud. Wait, the other girl— Sadie swings her head to look— Still there. Okay. Sadie picks herself up off the floor. Thud, thud, thud. Is it the door or her heartbeat? “The check-in area. Went there. Restroom there. Off— Off to the corner. I’m… I’m with someone. Girl. In the— The restroom, yeah. T-The… Quiet spot. Someone else is— Charlie, someone’s trying to get in.”

Charlie. She wants him. She wants her brother. She— “Sadie, do not go anywhere, you hear me?”

“W-What’s happening—”

“Do not go anywhere, Sadie. Just don’t. Don’t go— I’ll be there. I’ll—”

Nothing.

His voice. It’s gone. He left. Charlie’s gone. He—

“Charlie?” Her phone creaks. She’s holding it too tight. Thud. It’s her heartbeat now. Just her heartbeat. The door hasn’t opened. There is screaming outside. “Charlie? Charlie, hey, where’d you…? Charlie, you better not have— Char—”

Her phone died.

Her phone fucking died this piece of shit this son of a bitch oh my God oh my God ohmygodfuckfuckfu— Her charger. She has a charger… It’s somewhere… Shit, in her backpack. Sadie pours her things out, clackclackclack on the floor, and her heartbeat roars in her ears. Charger. Where is— There. She grabs it. Her hands shake, they shake, they tremble, and she— She needs to plug it in. She n-needs… How does she— Okay, it’s in. It’s charging. 0%. Dammit. It needs to charge faster. Screaming. There is screaming outside and— She wants her brother. She wants her brother, she wants her brother, he said he’d… She wants—

The door hasn’t opened. Can she lock it? She needs to lock it. She needs to make sure— Sadie hurrieshurrieshurries rushes to the door, checks, wants to see— No. No, she can’t lock it. The… The thudding— the thudding against it, against the redredredred wood… Gone. The man is gone. Is he gone? She hears screaming outside. Her blood roars in her ears. She can’t lock the door. There has to be a lock. Can’t she find it? Where’s the lock? She needs to lock the door. She needs to lock it. She needs to—

She can’t lock the door.

Sadie falls back on the wall. She wants to slide down, but how will she run? She’d have to get up to run. There’s only one exit. She needs to be ready to— Stand. She needs to keep standing. Uhhhh… Okay, she needs to think. She needs a moment. She needs… Breathe. She needs to breathe. Just breathe. In. Out. Breathe. Deep breaths. Her brother will be here soon. Her brother will be here soon.

Her companion. The other girl. Other teen. Sadie turns to look at her— She rights herself up. Peels off the wall. Green meets blue. “Hey,” she says, “my brother’ll be here soon. Do you— We need something to defend ourselves— Do you… Do you have any idea what’s going—”

Red sears itself into her eyes. Her ears ring with the screech of overheard alarms. And her hair drip, drip, drips—

_________________________________


(to be continued cause this piece a shit cut off)

It’s not Charlie’s first time seeing a corpse. It isn’t the second. It isn’t the third. He’s seen it before, many times, back when he didn’t even have a clue about mortality, when he didn’t know just how much blood was in a person’s body, when life was nothing but hunger and food and cold and trying not to end up like the other kids piled on top of each other behind a wall. Each time he saw it, each time he came across a hunk of decaying cells, a body floating down the frigid rivers, the frame of a child that was more bones than flesh lying on the side of the street, a swarm of flies cloaking skin trodden with bullet holes, he thought to himself, I’m not going to be that. I’m not going to die. Not like them.

He never thought those fourteen words would echo in his mind again.

But here he is. Fourteen words. A handful of letters.

Maybe this is a social experiment, he thinks.

The floor is red and there are screams infecting his brain.

Or a cruel prank.

Charlie watches, frozen, frozen, frozen, as the murderer rises, as foam drips down to mix with the red on the floor, as the dark hues of blood paints his mind.

Or maybe they’re filming a horror movie, and they want genuine reactions from all the extras.

Charlie watches, frozenfrozenfrozen, as the corpse stirs, twitches, opens its mouth, opens its eyes. Charlie watches, watches a corpse turn its eyes towards him.

Or maybe this is real.

He watches a corpse stand up.

This is real.

A corpse’s eyes drown in mania, in something only it can put a name to, in a hunger Charlie knows well.

This is real.

A corpse is running and lunges—

This is real.

He watches and stares and the corpse isn’t really a corpse anymore.

This is real and I need to find my fucking sister.

Something is pulling him. Up, up, up. Pink hair. Kid. Helping him up. “Are you okay, sir?” Charlie is on his feet. He turns, turns, turns his head. Good kid. Good kid. Hears, thud thud thud. Running. Closer and closer. Charlie turns his head again, looks somewhere else.

It happens quickly. Charlie feels fingers close tight around his sleeve, sees a hand lash out and spray steaming liquid into psychotic eyes. Thud, thud, thud. There is no scream of pain from this body bathed in foam and blood. No. The screams of terror, agony, horror—they’re coming from the people around them, from the people on the floor, from the people Charlie isn’t looking forward to becoming.

Charlie’s hand reaches out to the kid, the kid, the kid, and his fingers wrap tight around a clothed wrist, and he pulls him out of that fucker’s path— The once-corpse stumbles, falters, trips, meets nothing but a floor painted redredred, growls in primal madness, and Charlie turns to a head of pink and says, “We need to run.”

And that’s when Charlie regrets never going to a gym.

In only three gaits, his legs burn. He’s not used to this, not used to sprinting, not used to runningrunningruninng away from dangerdangerdanger. Hell, he… He didn’t fucking… He didn’t fucking need to before. He— This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was… Shit, he was already stressed to hell and back before this when half a bazillion things were pummeling his neurons and he— What the fuck? What the fuck? Does the world really hate him this much? What did he do to deserve any of—

Someone is running towards them.

Charlie skids to a stop. His shoes, his raggedy sneakers that he should’ve replaced months ago, his shitty shoes that aren’t made for running and make his every step hurthurthurt, protest, screech against the friction, and the— the person… the manic— Another once-corpse. Two. Three. Five. Red, red, red. Blood sprays on the floor. Six. Eight. Eleven. More, more. Charlie’s eyes search, dart left, right, up— There are bodies falling from the floor above.

There are bodies falling from the floor above.

And it’s like… It’s like they don’t feel anything. They stand up, mangled, blood soaking every part of them, limbs bent in all the wrong ways, and they flash their teeth, foam dripdripdripping— Charlie feels bile race up his throat, and he slaps a hand to his mouth, gags, but he needs to keep going he needs to keep going he needs to— Disgusting. They look disgusting. What is happening? What’s going on? What is— Blood. There’s so much blood. Why is there so much blood? Fuck. Fuck, the kid. The kid shouldn’t be seeing— Charlie needs to… he tries to hide the kid’s face, in his shoulder, he needs the kid to not see— The kid shouldn’t be seeing… This is— The corpses. The corpses are running. They run, they run, they sprint, they’re looking right at him.

Why do you forsake me so, Jesus?

Charlie tests his ankles’ flexibility limits, turns around, and runs.

There are so many people. There’s so many people. So many people running. There are screams, screams sounding like they’re from far away, miles away, underwater, and there is blood everywhere, and Charlie doesn’t know who is… is one of those things. Anyone could be them. They could— He doesn’t even know what “they” are. The world is a blur and Charlie can’t tell which mouth has foam and which doesn’t and which eyes are wild with mania and which eyes are wild with fear and which body has been torn into by hungry teeth and which body has been trampled on by the rest of the panicking crowd and which—

He needs to breathe. He needs to breathe.

His throat is on fire, his chest stings, his legs hate him, but he has to go— Go where? Shit, fuck, he doesn’t— Where is Sadie? He left her somewhere, somewhere quiet. On the carpeted floor. Right up against a wall. Dammit. Dammit, she better be okay. She better be okay. God, please, let her be okay. God, God… God, let her be okay. Please. She needs to be okay. If she’s not okay, he’s going to lose his mind. She’s… She’s everything. She’s the reason why he didn’t— If he loses her— God, fuck, please. Please, please, please make sure she’s okay and I’ll remember that You exist every night and I’ll stop being just nominal and I’ll be a good and faithful servant and everything just needs to be okay and I’ll actually like You and I won’t talk back and I’ll be wearing the earrings and the necklace and everything for a reason other than fashion and because they look cool and I’ll actually go to Church and I’ll do what You want pleasepleaseplease—

No. No, he needs to focus. He needs— He just needs to find Sadie. He needs to find his sister. If he knows her as well as he knows he does and if she’s okay, she… She won’t be where he left her. She probably ran after she heard the screams (and she would’ve heard them; he thinks all of California can). Who wouldn’t run? She probably went somewhere safe. She’s smart. She’s somewhere safe. She’s fine. But he doesn’t know where that “somewhere” is. Fuck, he doesn’t— She— He has to call her. Phone. Where the hell is his phone? He needs his phone. Where did he fucking put it? There. There. In his fanny pack. Okay. He needs his hands to stop shaking— Password. What was it? What was it? It was… Four. It started with four. Dammit, why did he even think of using a— 4065. Contact info. He needs— Where’s Sadie’s number? Where is it?

There!

He forces his fingers to cooperate, just one of them, forces— He slows down. Just for a second. It’s not like— He glances around, quickly. Yeah, there’s still people around, there are so many people, but— He needs to stop, just for a second. Just to be able to call; his hands are shaking too much for him to— Okay. He’s tapped it. He’s calling now. He just needs to wait. She’s gonna pick up. She will. He knows her phone’s not on airplane mode anymore. She’ll pick up. One ring. Two rings. His legs hurt so fucking much. His fingers tighten around the kid’s wrist—

Wait.

Kid.

Charlie swings his head around, nearly drops his phone. Kid. Right. He’s been— Oh, he’s been dragging a poor damn child… Is the kid talking? Is his mouth moving? Charlie can’t tell. The world is a blur. Everything is underwater. His vision swims. He thinks he’s going to pass out, right here, or maybe just lay down and cry himself to death. Get himself eaten alive like—

I’m not going to be that. I’m not going to die. Not like them.

Charlie inhales sharply. His eyes meet another pair, and he asks, “Where the hell are your parents?”

The fourth ring abruptly ends.

Charlie’s hands—both of them—fly upupup to his phone. Fingers shaking, he taps again, calls again. Sadie should be okay, if she’s able to hang up on him. But why would she hang up on him? Did she hang up on him because she’s hiding? Shit, she has her phone on vibrate, right? She doesn’t do ringtones; she thinks they’re too annoying. She only has her phone on vibrate. But maybe she didn’t and now those fucking things are going to find her and she’s going to be dead because of—

“Shithead.”

Charlie’s shoulders sag in relief. Thank you, God. Thank you. Fuck, thank you. Oh, shit, Charlie loves that bastard up in His high chair. Sort of.

His sister talks. Casually. “You lied to me ‘bout that shop! Y’know, the one with the baked potatoes. You said it was fuck meters away, but it was literally just around the corner—”

“Sadie,” he demands, “where the hell are you?”

A pause. A pause too long. Charlie looks up in time to see one of those fucking things— “Uhhh, in the airport. Duh.”

Dammit, he doesn’t have time for her games. Does she even know what the hell is happening? Shitshitshit, those… those manic not-corpses are— God. Fuck. Closer. They’re getting closer. Where does he go? He needs to run, but they’re everywhere.

He needs to know where his sister is first. “Sadie, you—”

Shit. The kid. There’s—

“Kid!” His voice is hoarse. Afraid. Not at all his own. It can’t be his own. “Fuck! Watch out!”

Charlie sees a Not-Corpse right on time, right before it pounces on the teen. On instinct, his hand flails outward and grasps tight around s-some… some part of the kid’s parka, pulling the teen out of its way, away from it, to somewhere safe (or whatever the hell it can be called in this shithole)— And now the Not-Corpse is looking at Charlie. Great. Heh. Just fuckin’ great. This is— perfect.

The Not-Corpse bares its teeth, screeches, throws itself closer and closer, and— What is he supposed to do? Punch it? Kick it? Fling it to the fucking moon? He’s dead. He’s— No, wait. His backpack. It’s— It’s heavy. Charlie quicklyquicklyquickly slips it off, grabs onto the shoulder strap, and swings— It goes in a wide arc, connecting with the… the thing’s face, and Charlie lets go, and the backpack stays on its face and he sees the thing fall and the backpack fall and… He has to leave his backpack. All its stuff. He has to tell the stuff to go fuck itself. God, fuck. His things— Shi— Okay. He needs to go now. He’s been standing around for too long.

The kid. Charlie looks at the kid. Tugs his sleeve. “Hey,” he says, as fast as he can, words merging into one, “I know I’m weird, but I think you need to come with me. For now. I… I need to find my sister first, and then you can tell me where your parents are and I’ll try to bring you—”

From behind him sounds screams that will haunt him straight to the afterlife.

Fuck it. Charlie runs.

He goes faster now, with the backpack off of his shoulders. The kid can follow if he wants. Charlie needs to go.

To the phone, still miraculously pressed up against his ear, he says, “Sadie, where are you?”

“Charlie, what the fuck is happenin’ over there?” she asks instead of fucking telling him where she is. Infuriating. Absolutely frustrating. He's going to kill her after this. “Are you running? Yo, is—”

“Sadie, answer my—” There is someone— Running. Running, running. Towards him. He doesn’t care if they’re Not-Corpses or what; Charlie jumps out of the way and runsruns. “Sadie, Sadie… Sadie, answer my damn question!” Why can’t she just tell him, dammit? “Did you go somewhere else?" Dodges again. Dodges. Runs. "Are you not where I left you?”

“Yeah, it’s called needing to pee, y’know?”

“Sadie,” he snaps, “where the hell are you?”

Nothing.

It’s quiet on the other end.

Silence. It's quiet. It's quiet. No. No, it's—

“No.” Charlie can’t breathe. He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe. “No. No, no, no. No. Sadie. Sadie, where are you? Sadie, c’mon… Sadie, just tell me where you are, please.”

She’s not… She’s not… She’s— She’s not d-dead. He reassures himself, over and over: she’s not dead. She’s okay. She’s fine. She’s just— Why is she so quiet? No, this is… this is fine. This is okay. Okay. He just— This is fine. Everything’s fine. He… Everything’s okay. This is... There are corpses walking around forgetting that they're dead and there are mangled things on the ground and there is blood all over the walls and Charlie is about to pass out and he wants to give up and die and he doesn't deserve this dammit he's had so much shit to deal with and now he has this and he hasn't even slept in so long and now he's— He's... He— The world, it's—

“Sadie! Answer me!”

Everything’s okay. His legs hurt. His chest hates him. He’s going to pass out and he’s going to die.

“Sadie, just say something! Anything!”

He can’t run anymore. He can’t. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t. And those things—

“Sadie, please!”

Those things are catching up— He can hear them. They’re right behind him. They’re so close.

“SADIE, FUCKING ANSWER ME!”

And then, finally. Finally, finally, finally: “Charlie?”

Oh, God. Oh, thank God. Thank you, Lord. Fuck. Fuck.

“Charlie, I-I’m— Charlie, what’s going—”

He roars: “SADIE, TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE, DAMMIT!”

“Restroom.”

“WHERE, SADIE? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT RESTROOM?”

“Check-in area.”

He risks looking up. Signs— Where are the signs— Oh, there’s… There’s one. Okay. Oh. Oh, thank God. He’s already nearby. Good. He’s almost there— He just… He needs to run a little bit more and then—

“The check-in area. Went there. Restroom there. Off— Off to the corner. I’m… I’m with someone. Girl. In the— The restroom, yeah. T-The… Quiet spot. Someone else is— Charlie, someone’s trying to get in.”

Shit. Shit. Dammit. She— Fuck. “Sadie,” he hisses, “do not go anywhere, you hear me?”

“W-What’s happening—”

“Do not go anywhere, Sadie. Just don’t. Don’t go— I’ll be there. I’ll be right there with you, I promise. I’m almost there anyway, so just hang on tight, okay?” Screaming, screeching, shrieking, blood blood so much blood. “I… Someone’s with me, too. Kid. Teen. He’s… I dunno if he’s still following me—” or if he’s even still alive— “but I… I’ll be there. I will. Okay?”

…Nothing.

“Sadie?”

Oh, no. No. No. No, not this again. Charlie pulls the phone away from his ear… Did she hang up? Did he hang up? Fuck, he can’t see what’s on his phone; everything’s shaking too much. He— He can’t slow down because— Right behind him. They’re right behind him. His legs hurt. His legs hurt so much. Everything hurts. It hurts. He wants to rest. He wants his little sister. He—

Alarms rip through the air.

Charlie startles. He jumps, his grip loosening, and water sprays down from— And he watches his phone fly from his hand in a graceful arc, and— His phone. Charlie lunges. He needs that phone. He needs— NO!

It’s kicked away from him because some bitch couldn’t be fucked to see where she was stepping and fucking flung— That silver hunk of metal, that thing that’s more useful than he’ll ever be. It’s… Away. It’s away. It’s too far away from him— Who fucking kicked his damn phone away? Wait. Wait, no. Someone’s running towards— A woman. She runs and she— NO!

The metal gives in with a loud, ugly crunch.

Charlie doesn’t think he’s ever been so angry before in his life.

He looks up, snarl on his face, spots two women. Dark hair, red hair. They’re running. He glances ahead of them. There’s a sign: restrooms. Fuck. Fuck, where is he again? He looks around. He looks around, around, around, he needs to look faster and— The check-in counters.

He’s here.

He’s here. That restroom— It looks like… What’d Sadie say? Off to the corner? That’s… That’s it!

Energy. He just needs a little bit of energy. He’s already there. It’s just a few far leaps— He spots one woman throw herself into— into the disability stall, shuts the door fuck she’s shut the door, but then he sees the other drop down and… pick the lock? Shit, maybe Sadie’s in there, too. That stall. He needs to get in there. He has to, to make sure— He slips on the wet floor, stumbles, stumbles, but he’s still on his feet, and he’s right there. The woman just— The woman’s flung herself inside and shut the door— Dammit, dammit, no. He just— No. No, he’s almost there. They might let him in if he bangs hard enough. And if Sadie’s in there, she’ll just let him in. She’ll let him in. He’s almost there.

He’s almost there.

One, two, three steps. Four. Five. Six. Seven. He raises his hand. His fist meets wood. POUND, POUND, POUND. “Sadie?! Sadie, you in here? You said restroom by the check-in counter, please be here—”

He hears those things right behind him.

Charlie swings himself around— They’re— What? No, they’re… they’re not looking at him. They’re looking up, at the ceiling, screeching louder than they were before… The sound, he realizes. It’s the sound. They’re going after the noise. It’s making them go insane. More insane.

He needs to hide somewhere. Now.

Charlie looks. Left. Right. Bright red door. There. He throws himself at it, scrambles for the knob, flings that piece of shit thing open—

Oh.

She looks like a rat, soaked to the bone in water like this. Her black hair is plastered to her face, dripping with water, and he thinks she looks awful pathetic. Her green eyes are as wide as saucers, those familiar irises regarding him with a sort of terror he doesn’t ever want to see associated with her ever again. She stares at him, narrows her eyes. Tilts her head. Goes, “Charlie?”

He’s found his sister.

Charlie feels his lips curl into a smile. “There you are, you fucking bitch.”

She stood in the restroom, her hands on her knees and body bent at an odd angle. The only thing breaking the silence besides the alarm was the heaving of her breath as she gulped in oxygen. Slowly, her body lowered to the floor, her hands spread out on the cool tile as she continued gasping. Roxanne didn't even care that it was a bathroom floor. She didn't even pause to think about how many germs were resting on its surface. She was too busy breathing. "What the fuck," she repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, her cheek pressed up against the cool tile before she picked herself up slowly.

She rose like one of those creatures, slowly, sluggishly, lazily, and dragged herself to the sink. Staring at herself in the mirror, Roxanne merely glared at her reflection before turning on the water. She watched it run down the drain for several seconds, as if hypnotized, before running her hands under it. She had touched dead bodies alongside of an infected individual. What if she obtained the sickness because of that? So, for the next several minutes, Roxanne was scrubbing her hands and face like a crazed person. She scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed, until her skin grew red. Only then did she stop, leaning against the sink.

She rang her mother again.

No answer.

She released a muffled groan as she began to pace, only then noticing the red about her shoes. Blood. They were stained at the bottom, even the water from the ceiling not able to completely rinse them off. Great. Returning to the sink, she gripped the edges of it, staring blankly once more at her reflection.

She shouldn't have returned. "Why don't you stay a few extra days, kid?" He had asked her, to which she declined. Declined. Why didn't she say yes? She wouldn't be in this mess! Instead, she would have learned about it from the news, or.. or from the internet. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Today was such a normal day as well, and now look. She had.. had dead people chasing her! Actual dead people. They were dead, weren't they?

Furrowing her brows, she began to ponder. Did this thing spread through touch? She wasn't entirely sure. She had touched them, but she seemed to be alright for the time being. The only ones who had gotten infected were the ones, well, killed. Was that how it worked? By saliva or breaking through skin? Unless it worked through touch as well, only much slower? Did that mean that she was still at risk? Was it not airborne? God, this was so confusing.

A sudden sound at the door had made Roxanne's instincts flare up, her entire body freezing and head snapping towards the direction of it. The doorknob rattled, a thump sounding, as if someone rammed against it, expecting it to open. Did these dead things know how to open doors? Jesus Christ. Then, the door began to thunder.

Pounding was heard from the other side. Thump, thump, thump. She heard nothing but that. No voice, no sounds, nothing but that pounding. Then, it stopped. Roxanne stared at it before flinching, a larger, much more powerful thud being sounded. Was it those things? She didn't know, but she wasn't taking any fucking chances. Hand gripping the blade in her, she held it so tightly that her knuckles grew white. Slowly, her body slithered towards the door. She positioned herself off to the side of it, so that when it opened, the attacker would enter and not see her at first. It gave her an advantage.

Eyeing it, Roxanne waited patiently. The noises had stopped, but she didn't move. Not until she knew that it was safe. Seconds passed, followed by minutes. Still nothing, but, as Roxanne's body began to untense, the sound returned. A gentle scraping against the door. With further investigation, she noted that it wasn't the door the other was after, but the knob. Were they.. were they picking the lock? Did those shits know how to do that? Whether they did or not, Roxanne refused to die, especially by the hands of one of those things. So, she watched it being jiggled around, and just as she was about to grab onto it to stop it from moving, the door swung open.

She advanced, holding the blade in the air and preparing to attack the trespasser. Swinging it around as a scream nearly escaped her, she paused, holding it inches away from the red-haired woman. "Jesus," she hissed, lowering her blade. Roxanne watched her lock the door before turning to stare at her.

A blank expression formed, her eye twitching. "I didn't know you were behind me," she contradicted before eyeing the blade. She almost stabbed that girl. Shoving it back into her pocket, Roxanne placed her hands on her knees once more, leaning forward in attempt to collect her thoughts. Normally, she was calm under stressful situations, but this? This? It was nothing she had ever seen before. It wasn't possible. When would the police arrive? When would they be escorted out of this godforsaken airport?

Shaking her head slowly, she finally raised herself off of her knees just as the other woman finished inhaling water. She didn't blame her. In fact, she was smart for doing so. Thus, as the woman walked towards the door, Roxanne proceeded to walk towards the sink, repeating the action and taking greedy gulps herself. Who knew when the next time she could get water would be. She needed to stay hydrated. When she finished, she let the liquid drip down her face for a moment before wiping it off, shutting the faucet off and turning to her new roommate, who spoke once more.

A moment of silence passed before she replied. "What the hell are those things?" She didn't expect the other woman to know, but she needed to hear that they were real from somebody else. She needed to know that she wasn't hallucinating or going mad. Opening her mouth to add on, she snapped it shut as the door began to pound once more.

She snatched the blade, gripping it in her hand once more as she stared at the door. However, this time, she heard a voice. A masculine voice calling for Sadie? Glancing to the other girl, she motioned to the door. "You Sadie?" She asked, though given how she didn't reply, it was clear she wasn't. Panic filled the man's voice. Was it because he couldn't find Sadie, or he was in trouble?

"Move," she told the red-haired woman, advancing towards the door. Her hand rested on the knob. She took a moment before opening it a small crack, only to see nobody there. Opening the door wider, Roxanne's entire head poked out from the door. From the very corner of her eye, she saw what seemed to be the man slip into the neighboring restrooms. Well, that was good. At least he had somewhere to hide.

When she turned to the other side, she saw the creatures. A small yelp escaped her as she slammed the door, locking it once more. "They're everywhere," she breathed, back pressed against the door. "Literally everywhere wandering around." They needed a plan, and quickly. All they needed to do was leave this airport, and then, they could find help.

Kine Asher Vincent

26 | M | M: Open

He wished-

he wished the room was soundproof so he couldn’t- wouldn’t be able to hear the screams and screech’s from outside. But of course the security office made him hear the screams, screech’s echo in the room. Just his luck.

THUD then a short pause and another THUD

This repeated every 5 seconds, the heavy metal door shook with everyone who ran into it’s rough metal surface, the door most definitely shook fiercely with the hits and body slamming that was happening. It really was a deafening sound. The door is heavy and metal so it wasn’t a bug surprise to him that no one had achieved breaking in yet. But he knew he needed to stay awake, as the lock on the door could break, and he was not into taking the chance of getting eaten. No, he was most definitely going to survive, or At least try.

At this moment he wished he had brought a charger with him, as he needed to charge his phone. Of course he didn’t as he should’ve been home before his phone was 0%. If he did maybe he would be able to call 911 or tell his brother and father to be safe and watch out. If they came here especially his father they’d be dead.

Kine almost wanted to fall asleep, give up. As maybe this was all a prank. Maybe… then again if it was a prank why would the things be biting actual flesh and muscle out of people? Were those things trying to act like intense vampires or some shit? Would this all be over in the morning? What would happen about everyone dead?

All he knew was. He. Could. Not. Fall. Asleep. If one of those things managed to knock the lock, he’d need to be awake to defend himself. That cinder block was only going to stop them so much. He also knew he would have a better chance of those things leaving if he stayed as quiet as possible.

Kine stood up, he straightened his back before starting to search the room. His footsteps were soft, quite, and quick while his breathing hitched almost every time there was a thud on the door, which was around every 5-10 seconds. He knew this as he had been listening closely so he’d know if there were more or less of those things.

He crouched down his caramel complexion hands rummaged through a box finding nothing but a bag with nothing more than a taser inside… He wouldn’t be surprised if he died at this point, he had nothing to defend himself from the horde outside. Kine took the taser out of the bag determining it wouldn’t be useful. Not against this.

After accomplishing that, he had picked up the black backpack, the scratchy fabric rubbing against his beige skin. He soon put the half empty water bottle into the bag, and slid the tactical knife into his back pocket. He’d need that for later, he was sure of it.

Now he needed a plan, but when and where would he run? For all he knew these things would be here all night or week. He was sure he knew where his truck was parked in the parking lot, but he didn’t have a clue how he was going to get there. What if the streets and parking lot were crowded with these guys? What if he couldn’t get home? It would most definitely not be safe around here.

Kine looked at the screen that illuminated his hickory complexion in bright blue light. He only at the security camera that was facing the security office.

There were a lot of those things at the door and around the small of the building. That’s when the distinct sound of A fucking alarm, it was no doubt closing time or about the dead things outside. Of course his phone was dead and for some reason the computer was stuck and wouldn’t let him see the fucking time.

This was so fucked up.

Kine sat back down on the rough chair, his elbows once again on his thighs and his head in his hands. What was he going to do? He couldn’t escape. Couldn’t warn his family and friends. He was closed in by a bunch of fucking idiots.

How could this get worse?