Necropolis

Keri was quiet for the rest of the trip, she had already been talking enough. Derrik kept rambling on about the jail though. Keri was glad when they finally got to her apartment and she could get away from the bickering and she could talk. Dave followed her upstairs with Derrik behind him. She unlocked the door and stepped inside as a big germen Shepard bounded towards them. He almost knocked Keri over. When he saw the two strange guys he started growling. Derrik glanced at Keri to see if she would do something but she just walked back to the kitchen and pulled to dog food out.

“Uh, you forgetting something?” Derrik called.

“No, don’t worry, he isn’t gonna hurt you unless you are a real threat.” Keri laughed.

“Keri.” Dave said not liking the looks of the dog either.

“Come on in here Camo, leave the chickens alone.” Keri called smiling.

“CHICKINS!” Derrik nearly yelled. “I ain’t chicken, but that is one mean lookin dog.”

“He helps me keep the creeps away.” Keri laughed walking back into the leaving room
while Camo was eating.

“Where’s your room mate?” Derrik asked plopping down on the couch.

“She moved out leavin me with Camo. So I got a dog from the whole deal and she got everything but that lazy-boy.” Keri replied.

“We ready to go?” Dave asked shifting his weight off one leg to the other.

“Man, this couch in comfy.” Derrik said bouncing on one of the cushions. Camo walked in and stood at Keri’s feet.

Dave admired the house, "You've really done good, it makes me feel bad I can only promise you this sort of life by stealing!"

"I'm sure you could with out stealing, but anyway, its not to bad. My last foster home gave me some money so I paid for it with that. That was the only thing I liked about them." She replied fighting not to blush.

Dave shook his head and looked on a book shelf, finding a photo. It was both of them, taken at the orphanage they were kissing, not like passionately, they both had only been so young. It was sweet, she was wearing a pink t-shirt emblazed with black writing saying "SWEETER THAN CHOCOLATE" Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail. Himself had combed hair, he was wearing a jumper with a picture of Power Rangers. They both wore jeans. He remembered it had been one of sunniest days he remembered. They were sat on the bench after the bell had gone for there lessons. All the rest was blur. The kiss though only small, still made him shiver.

He turned round tears in his eyes; tears of nostalgia. Keri looked round with troubled expression. Dave wiped his eyes, "Why did you keep this?"

She smiled nervously "So are we staying here tonight?"

Dave answered quick "No... you dumped me, why keep such a horrible memory?"

Keri snached the photo from his limp fist, then put it behind her, "You didn't answer my question, please don't bring that back up."

Derrick walked back in and switched on the tv, "We're here for a while right?"

"That's up to Dave, he seems to be the leader." Keri said putting the picture back on the shelf.

Dave walked away, "Too many memories, we'll go to a hotel, I've enough, this whole house is new to me, but yet it's not..."

Keri opened the door and let the dog and herself out, a quiet sobbing was heard, Dave ignored this.

Keri threw a stick for Camo to catch as she sat down on a chair. She wanted to hate Dave so bad, but it was usless she couldn't bring herself to it. Camo ran back and laid the stick at her feet. She picked it up and a tear landed on her arm, why she was letting herself cry annoyed her. She quickly brushed the tears away and she thew the stick again. She thought back to the night they had broken up.



They had been riding around town in his small car. He was just about to turn nineteen and she had a couple of months before she did. She had been having a terrible day.

"So, why do you try hackin into everything?" She asked, timidly.

"We all need to make a living, I still have time for you right." He replied flashing his normal smile, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close in a hug.

"But still, you could go to jail, i'm sure you could find an honest way of living." She said looking up at him.

Dave frowned, "I don't see your problem I'm still totally devoted to you... We all need hobbies right!"

"But, Dave, you could get a long sentence if you are caught. Don't you see that?"

"Why are you complaining, I'm fine I practice caution?" He asked keeping his cool.

"I'm not complaining, i'm just worried about you." She sighed, and moved closer to the window. "Yea, you practice caution but i'm sure thats what all teh guys in jail say."

"I've got a skill, and people pay me to help them, ain't that enough?" He asked looking over at her.

"You could do alot better, you could become one of the top computer people." SHe replied.

"I can't I've already tried in collage my skills were considered useless."

"Yea, cause its illegal, if you would get a degree in computer something or another you could be bigger then Bill Gates."

"All things worth while are illegal, life is after all just one big risk, so drop it!" Dave replied with a firm but calm voice

"Oh, so your just going to let your self be an underachieving college drop out?" She asked.

"So I'm guessing my loves not important or my loyalty. I have to be someone fuck off, I try my damn hardest."

"Oh, so thats what people are that go through college. Yea, it is important, but for goodness sakes, Dave, you aren't trying your hardest, your takin the easy way out. Where is the Dave i knew when we were ten, the one that loved a challenge and hated people that broke the law? It was someone that broke the law that killed your parents, and mine. Why lower yourself to their leval?"

"You want him, here I thought you actaully liked me" She started to say something but he didn't let her. "Well this is great, if you don't like what I do then why stay? "No don't even say, you love me, a real person would love me for who I am, if you truely loved me you'd be willing to drop this..."

"I..I" Keri fought the tears from falling, she had messed up. She was going to lose him.

"Maybe I've got problems with you... You ever fucking thought that once bitch hear me moaning about them!" He was yelling now, he never did unless something really ticked him off.

"I wasn't moaning, why don't we just forget it." She said trying to save what she had left, though she wasn't sure there was anything.

"Forget it, you called me an underachiever, you know only reason I fucking even bothered with collage was for you, seems like it was wasted!"

"Wasted, what was wasted, cause you can't say money." She said, "It wasn't your money." She shut her mouth and took a deep breath waited a second and then spoke. "Dave, please drop it i'm sorry i brought it up."

"No this is over, any other secrets you wanna say, you've got till I'm packed, no beautiful wedding for us... Never was one for hope... you killed what hope I had right now!" She couldn't hold the tears back now.

"Course i was the one at fault here. I was also the one that got us in trouble when we were ten, cause i just had to be a girl and kiss you. Its always my fault isn't it?" She demanded.

Dave began to pack up his things, "Wow the truth comes out, I fell in love with a bitch, no wonder I'm such an underachiver."

"I..." Keri sat on her bed as she kept crying. "FINE, go, sense i'm such a bitch you should find some little angel that you can fall in love with." She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "Please don't." She said in a low wisper, she didn't know if he could hear it or not.

Dave had packed his suitcase and as he turned to leave, he stopped muttering "I'm sorry, I'll always love you Keri..." Dave then walked out his eyes growing moist. Keri fell back on the bed and broke out in more tears. She listened to his footsteps fade down the hall way. She held her breath waiting for him to come back but the steps never came. She threw a pillow at the door.

"Then why'd you go, why?" She looked around the room and saw a picture laying on the ground. She picked it up, it was the both of them standing in the middle of a park. A tear fell on the broken glass. She put it back on the dresser. "I love you too."
Keri put her head in her hands, she didn't want that to happen again, she just couldn't lose him again. "You see Camo, if i get close to him again, and history repeats itself, i don't think i could get over it. I just couldn't lose him, not again." She wispered to the dog. She started to sob all over again even though she tried not to. She couldn't let anyone see her crying, not again, not like this.

“Hello? Ahem, any-anyone there?” Where the fuck is everyone? Adara wondered to herself. She usually came home from work with the promise that she didn’t walk the apartment hallways alone. She had about four flights of stairs that she needed to climb and she didn’t plan on doing them alone…and with such little light. Why was there such little light? She clutched her bag and started up the rickety spiraling staircase, trying to ignore the squeak of the lights swinging above her.

Just think of something else, she told herself. Like maybe I’ll fall down the stairs if I’m not careful enou_ Who’s that! She looked at the landing above her and saw a man pacing back and forth there. He was wringing his hands together and she was vaguely reminded of herself. “Hey you there! Yeah, you!” Why was she calling him…? What did she possibly have to say? “Could you walk me up to my room, please?” He turned towards her and she stopped mid-step.

His eyes were haunted looking, his mouth was caked in dry blood and he bared his teeth at her making a hungry growl-like sound in the back of his throat. Adara screamed and threw down her bag. She turned around and teetered down the small steps on her heals as fast as she could. Shit, shit, shit! What is that! She continued hurriedly down the stairs, never looking behind her in fear of seeing him gaining on her.

Suddenly her shoulders were grabbed and she was being jerked back upwards. She pulled hard on the gnarled hands and then with one quick motion was shoved down and went tumbling down about twenty or so steps. She felt a large knot on her head and stayed still where she was slumped against the door. If she didn’t move…he’d go away?

It seemed like hours of waiting before she cracked her eyes open. She didn’t see anything, he’d left her? She decided quickly that he had having had enough of this position. Lying still with your legs thrown over your head was only fun for so long.

She threw her legs down and limped over to the door, not feeling any real injury except for the bump on her eyebrow that she noticed was impairing the sight in her right eye. I’m SO suing! She thought angrily, and left her apartment complex for a hotel.


___________________________________________
So sorry I like totally belated this! I had lots of work to do, but I'm free now!

Kat

The woman stepped forward and as she moved, glass fell from her hair and slithered out of cuts in her body to shatter on the floor. No blood seeped from those wounds, instead an acrid slime dripped down her shredded clothes and a putrid aroma filled the air.

"What the hell is that? I'm leaving," One man decided, pushing through the throng of people in his hurry to reach the back door. Another man raised his gun and fired two bullets. Both made impact with the woman... Or zombie I suppose... and she stumbled backwards, falling into the pile of glass shards. The body jerked and writhed on the floor to different reactions from the crowd. Several decided to run straight for the door, othes were rooted to the spot but most of us materialistic, selfish people hurried up the stairs to our rooms.

I slammed the door behind me, located my keys and with shaking hands locked the room. Then I dressed hurriedly in clothes that seemed suitable for fighting strange creatures. Yeah. About as suitable as any outfits I owned. Next I picked up my rucksack and began to fill it. Into the bag went various first aid items, my keys, my purse, a mirror, some of my make-up, half a loaf of bread, a packet of meat, some apples, a flask of water, a change of clothes, a hair brush and a flashlight. I know, what a fool. I mean make-up? At least I can throw the food at the zombies and the zombies might just be afraid of their reflections but a hairbrush and make-up? What was I thinking!

Anyway, I grabbed my phone and after a brief scenario plan -
"Hello, is that the police? The town is being over run by mutant zombies, any chance you can send the army?" - I stuffed it into my pocket. Yeah. Like that would do any good. Then there was the hand gun. After a brief hesitation I added that to the items in my rucksack and zipped it up before picking up my dagger. Dagger? Hah! More like kitchen knife but when times are desperate...

That was when my door crashed down and a man landed with a hard thud on the floor. Instinctively, I hurried over.
"Are you alright?" I asked, helping him up.
"What the hell is that creature?" He moaned. I looked up and there, just beyond my doorway, was another zombie. This one was young, male and not full of bullets.
"I suggest we go out the window, come on," I decided.

I paused at the table to pull my rucksack onto my back and then threw the window open. Second floor hotel rooms may not have the best views but they're much safer than those on third floor at least. There again, how many zombies were there and how many had climbed into other peoples rooms? Probably not many, just my luck!
"You sure this is a good idea?" The man beside me asked.
"Can you use a gun?" I queried.
"No. Can you?"
"No but I have one."
"I think the window's safer. Ladies first."

Slowly I climbed out the window and, seeing no other option, grabbed hold of the drain pipe down the side of the hotel. It was very hard to hold onto indeed but carefully I began to slide down, making room for my new companion to follow me. We reached the bottom safely and I looked up to see the Zombie leaning out of the window. It jumped down to the ground without a single problem. We ran.

Day 1. 1.27AM


I stood up, legs unsteady, and walked into the bathroom. I was bedraggled: hair in every direction and stubble etched along my jaw, white undershirt wrinkled and necklace resting atop my shoulder. But I was smiling--or grinning, really--and I guessed that was to be expected. I grabbed one of the Cloves from my bag and picked up the lighter on the counter. Cloves had the benefit of smelling great but having almost no nicotine, which meant that most of the time your lungs got filled with smoke instead of what you craved. I lit the cigarette and made my way towards the window, glancing back at Angie's sleeping body so as not to wake her.

I take a drag and look out the open window and see two men standing in the alley. A dog was running between the two, looking for attention. Suddenly, one of them--the better dressed one--bent down as if to pick up his suitcase but instead picked up a knife--a sharp one, serrated, glinting in the moonlight. In one swift movement he picked the dog up quickly by the neck and, holding it with his left arm, pushed it back against a streetlamp while it nipped at him, trying to bite his hands, its jaw snapping, but he has such a tight grip on its throat it can't bark and I could actually hear his hand crush its trachea--a light tinkle of fracturing bone. He pushed the serrated blade into its stomach and quickly sliced open its hairless belly in a squirt of brown blood, its legs kicking and clawing at him, then blue and red intestines bulged out and he dropped the dog onto the sidewalk--the other man just stood there, still gripping the leash, and the whole thing had happened so fast he hadn't even had a chance to respond so instead he and I are both just staring as the sharpei drags itself around in a circle, its tail wagging, squealing, and it starts licking and sniffing the pile of its own intestines, spilled out in a mound on the sidewalk, some still connected to its stomach, and as it goes into death throes still attached to its leash the first man whirls around on the dog's owner and pushes him back, hard, with a bloodied hand and begins randomly stabbing him in the face and head, finally slashing his throat open in two brief chopping motions; an arc of red-brown blood splattered against the asphalt below, four fountainlike bursts coming from below his chin. He fell to the sidewalk, shaking like mad, blood still pumping, as the other man wiped the knife clean on the front of his jacket and tossed it back towards the briefcase. He suddenly lurched forward on top of the man and in one violent swoop, it looked like, bit his face. I wanted to wretch and trembled as the first man slowly turned his head and looked up at me, blood all over his face, teeth still grinding freshly-chopped flesh, and smiled.

I don't not move, but my motions do seem labored and painstakingly slow: I grab the open window and jerk it down--hard--into its frame, walk to the bathroom and check my eyes for anything weird, and sit down in the chair of the hotel room, waiting...waiting...for what? I supposed for the vision's nauseating effect to wear off. Angie's soft body was curled up in the covers, still mostly asleep--I guess--and totally still. I put the cigarette out and leaned my head back against the chair, closing my eyes in search of some solitude. There was none.

I stood back up, determined to make sure, and crept back over to the window. From the room, all I could see was the tops of other buildings. My fingers slowly pried the bottom of the glass upwards and I leaned out.

Nothing.

There was nothing out there. I instantly sighed and regretted putting my cigarette out. It was probably just the stress from the speech, I thought, or...guilt? I glanced back over at Angie and then at my phone on the table. I swallowed as I considered calling my wife.

A series of screams from downstairs erupted the atmosphere. Even the air conditioner seemed to pause momentarily. A rock plummeted through my body as a woman's shrill shrieks ripped through Angie's sleep.

She groaned a little as she propped herself up on the bed, momentarily confused by my absence before looking over and asking, "Alain...is something wrong?"

Day 1, 2:30 AM

Lilliah didn't know why she was still awake, but she had a feeling something bad was happening. She worked up the courage to get out of her bed, which she had been sitting up and not getting anywhere close to sleeping in for about five hours, and go over to her window. It looked out onto the dead end street behind her.

What she saw, she was at first sure was a hallucination. She got those sometimes. Sweet old Ms. Vandervort was pulling a young man out of his car. Then she bit into his neck and ripped out some organ Lilliah could not identify (she hadn't taken Biology yet) with her teeth, then started munching on it like beef jerky.

Lilliah ducked underneath the window pane just in case she what she saw was real, and began counting. In between numbers, she did some self-reassurance.

1... This isn't real. 2... I need to pull myself together. 3... If I don't stop seeing things, they're gonna make me take those pills again. 4... Ms. Vandervort would never even do that. 5... I don't even know who that guy was. I probably made him up, too. 6...

That's when she heard the man screaming. He might've been before, but not all that loud. She tentatively got up, just enough to see what was happening. There was no mistaking it this time. Ms. Vandervort was eating his intestines and his liver and God knows what else.

Lilliah had seen a lot of zombie movies. She believed in doing what needed to be done. If one zombie was around, that meant there could be a hundred more by 7:00. That wasn't gonna happen. She was gonna have to eradicated Ms. Vandervort, and put some bullet holes in her victim's body, too, just to make sure he would stay dead. It's not like I know the rules or anything. He could already be infected.

She needed to leave. This house was not safe. Should I get Uncle Marty and get him out of here, too? she wondered. She went to living room, where he was passed out drunk, as usual. Hell, no. I'll just kill him now so he doesn't become one extra zombie goin' around, messin' with me. Lilliah had never killed anyone before, but she'd seen a lot of death at a young age, so she figured she could handle it. Plus, shooting at zombies would feel a lot like murder, and she needed to get used to it.

Really, she'd meant to kill Marty earlier. Just never got around to it. Bastard thought he could put his hands on her, and she'd just let him have his way with her? She decided to cut off his reproductive organs first, and then shoot him. This way would be far more satisfying. It could even be described as empowering, really.

She got the electric turkey carver contraption that had always freaked her out before. She plugged it in right underneath the socket the TV had been hooked up to. She grabbed Marty's shotgun and put it down behind her as She put one hand over her uncle's mouth and with the other she started up the carver.

I jerked awake at the alien sound of a woman’s scream, gasping in the darkness. One hand shot out towards where Alain should be—he wasn’t there. As the scream died, and my heartbeat slowed, I put those hands over my face and moaned before propping myself up. He was standing by the window, his body silhouetted against the dim light of streetlamps and traffic outside. “Alain?” I swallowed to wet my mouth. “Is something wrong?”

He looked at me for a moment, or at least I assumed he did; it was difficult to tell in the darkness, but I could see that he was facing me now. He came back over to the bed and sat down on the edge beside me, one hand moving over my warm, bare shoulder. It wasn’t just a caress, though; it was more… focused than that, more searching. Like he was reassuring himself.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, glancing again towards the window. I couldn’t help but shiver. I never had been one for horror anything, and being awoken in the middle of the night by a woman’s screams, while having a one night stand in a mostly-empty hotel—well, it positively reeked of bad horror movie. “I’m going to shower. Will you be okay?”

The door was locked and bolted, and like any good New Yorker I had mace in my purse. I looked back to him and nodded, before curling back up under the covers. It felt much colder for some reason.

As he started the shower and got in, I hugged one of the extra pillows close and dozed. As the memory of the scream died, and I remembered what had happened before I’d fallen asleep, I smiled sleepily into the pillow. Normally I wasn’t the kind of girl who’d sleep with just anyone, but after a few drinks, and so many hours exposed to Alain’s charm—well, at least I knew I wouldn’t regret it.

I was close to drifting off again when my ringtone broke the silence. I jerked awake again and slid out of bed, fumbling in the darkness towards the dresser, where the sound was coming from. As I grabbed it and flipped it open I glanced towards where my purse was; I thought I’d left it in there. Oh well. “Hello?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse with sleep.

There was a moment of silence. “Who is this?” came an unfamiliar woman’s voice suddenly, her tone icy.

I blinked and frowned. “Who is this?”

“This,” she spat, “is Alain’s wife. Please tell him not to call me back.”

Before I could even respond, the line went silent. She’d hung up. Alain’s wife had hung up. I looked down at the phone and realized that it wasn’t mine—he and I must have had the same ringtone. I’d noticed it before, I realized, but hadn’t realized…

Alain’s wife!

So much for not regretting it. I turned on a lamp and began to gather my clothes by its dim light, pulling them on as I went. I was just zipping my skirt and looking for my blouse when the bathroom door opened and Alain reappeared, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He looked at me, and then the clock, and frowned a little. “Leaving?”

“Indeed,” I said coldly. “By the way, your wife gives you her regards.”

She sat in the back of the truck, feeling a little resentful. "Fucking guns and drivers and windows..." she muttered under her breath.

She pulled her skirt down, feeling it rise up her legs and make it uncomfortable. "Are you going to call the police on me?" Abby asked, glaring at the driver through the mirror.

"No. You're much too hot to be ratting out to those guys. Besides, if I called the cops...I wouldn't get to keep your kickass gun." He chuckled.

She flipped him off, being sure he saw her from the mirror and mouthed, "Ass hole." They pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. "Are you really going to fit all of us into some small apartment or is one of us sleeping with you?"

Derrik heard Dave bustling about in the kitchen and turned off the TV. Derrik had already found the small amount of liquor that the house held, and glugged it down before heaving himself off the couch and walking to the kitchen. He’d need all the alcohol he could get to do this.

“Dave,” Derrik braced himself for what was about to come. “I need to talk to you seriously.”

Dave turned and stared hard at him. “No you do not.”

“Yeah, I do. And I really should have done it earlier.”

“You don’t understand, Derrik.” Dave stood and sighed. “You really don’t know what this is all about.”

“But I do,” came the solemn reply. “And I have some advice for you.”

Dave exploded, “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO GIVE ME ADVICE?”

“Listen Dave, you gotta- ”

“I PUT UP WITH YOU, BUT I WON’T PUT UP WITH THIS.” Spit flew from Dave’s mouth and his face turned a dark shade of red.

“Just listen for one sec, Dave,” Derrik pleaded. He knew what was coming and he’d prepared for it. Even so, his courage was about to desert him.

“NO I WILL NOT LISTEN! I’VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU,” Dave gesticulated wildly with both hands. Derrik braced himself for what was coming next.

“Please- ” Derrik was interrupted as the first punch crashed into his chest. The second hit lower, sending him sprawling on the floor. Unfortunately, he rolled out the way of the third. Dave’s fist hit the tiled kitchen floor, hard.

“Uh,” Dave grunted in pain, “YOU BASTARD!”

Derrik stood up and Dave moved towards him again, ready to lash out, but Derrik spoke first. “Just forget the fucking past, Dave.”

He stopped and his face lost its colour.

“I know all ‘bout what happened between you and Keri,” Derrik continued, his voice slurred but calm. “If you don’t let go and start anew, you’ll feel like this forever.”

Something inside Dave changed. He seemed to deflate, his imposing body language fell away and his shoulders dropped.

“Now, go tell her how you really feel.” Feeling triumphant inside, Derrik went to the mirror and started to inspect his bruises. Only two this time, not bad.

“Don’t take it too far, Derrik,” said Dave from the doorway. “I’ll take advice, but not orders.”

Dave opened the door and shouted out into the apartment, “Come on, Keri. We’re leaving.”

Derrik sighed and followed.

Joanna surprised me (and pleasantly, at that!)--she was smart, sexy, and utterly sarcastic. I found myself wondering how we never seemed to get along--all the while staring at her fabulous thighs whenever she turned away.

"Nice place you got here," she said during one of those periods of thigh-staring as she looked around the apartment. I looked at her curiously. And just at her legs, but at her. At her eyes. was she being serious, or was this more of her sarcasm? When she looked back at me, she apparently read my expression like the morning paper.

"No, seriously--I'm surprised. It's relatively clean, doesn't smell like a compost heap, and it has a certain fung shui to it. Its'...comfy." She leaned back in the couch, and, for a moment, for the first time that night, seemed at ease. Then that moment was gone, replaced by one of pure exhaustion. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days. Hell...maybe she hadn't.

"Hey--um...let me get you some blankets n' stuff. It's supposed to be cold tonight, and ah...you gonna be cool sleeping on the couch?" God, I was babbling like a fuckin' brook after a spring shower. Pull it together, ass.

She smiled. A tired smile. "That would be great. The couch works for me."

I stood up before I could make a bigger fool of myself and headed down the hall, to the closet next to my room. I quickly gathered a blanket, then grabbed two more as an afterthought for Mev and the gun-totting broad. Having gotten what I needed, I started to turn to head back to the living room, but hesitated. Then I strode into my room, tossing the three blankets on my bed, and began to dig through my drawers.

I pawed around until I found what I was looking for--my old football shorts and my Spartan tee--and gathered them up with the blankets into my arms.

"You get lost?" Joanna asked sweetly as I re-entered the living room.

"Nah, just trying to figure out if you would prefer Barbie covers or Power Rangers," I said, without missing a beat. She snorted.

"Neither, I hope," she said. I left one of the blankets--along with my shorts and shirt--on the cushion next to Joanna. I took the other two blankets and covered up Mev and whatshername.

"I'm gonna head to bed," I said. "Help yourself to whatever--there's drinks in the fridge and--I think--a pizza that's been there a few days. Reheat at your own risk." We shared a laugh.

With that, I headed to my room.

I handed my credit card reluctantly to the person at the counter and she clicked her gum loudly as she slid it and I typed my pin number.

“What happened to you?” She asked nosily. I snorted. I did feel like venting to someone the night that I had, but not her.

“I fell.” I said shortly. She raised a brow at me and I smiled.

“Right, well here’s your room key. Have a nice night.” I rolled my eyes and snatched my card and key from her. There was yet more stairs to climb up to my room, but I ran them quickly and had my room door locked before I could even think of something bad happening. I immediately went to the bed and plopped down on it, feeling my eyes grow heavy and my muscles relax.

I had to call someone. My car was out of gas, I’d probably spent the rest of my money this crappy room. Someone would have to pick me up. My first instinct was Kev.

I reached for the phone on the bedside table and dialed his home number. Pick up. I probed. I had many others I’d like to call if he didn’t ans__

“Hello?” It was a woman’s voice and I panicked thinking I’d called the wrong number.

“Um, this is Adara…is Kev there?”

“Kev?” I heard her laugh. “Nice name.” She called behind her. I heard some mixed static in the phone and a transfer of words that I couldn’t make out.

“Hey, who’s this?” Okay, so this was the right number.

“Adara. Uh, I need a ride tomorrow. Could you…Who was that girl?” I’d tried to keep calm but my curiousness had gotten the best of me.

“Someone who held me up and became needy.” More argument that I couldn’t translate.

“Oookay. Anyways. I need a ride. I, uh…had to stop at a hotel because I was uh…mugged?”

“Are you sure?” He asked jokingly. I frowned and thought twice about slamming the phone against the wall.

“Yeah, I was mugged. And I don’t have any gas, or my purse, or any money…do you even give a damn?”

“Mhm, yeah. What hotel are you at?” He didn’t sound very convincing but I told him anyway.

“Ashville hotel…like the one you see as soon as you enter Ashville. I don’t really know if it’s called Ashville hotel but…” I trailed off. All I wanted to do was sleep.

“Okay. I need to go right now because I’m afraid this woman’s going to jack my stuff…If I can’t get you I’ll send someone ‘k?” I muffled a yes and slammed the phone onto the receiver. Did anyone care? Probably not. My eyes began to close and I wrapped the starch blankets from the side of the bed over me. When I woke up…I wanted everything to be okay again.

--------------------------------------------
Dude...this is way harder than I expected XD. Hopefully I'll get a hold on it....

Kevin got out of the car, and the rest of the little crowed followed him. He gestured at his apartment building.

Mev stared at him. "So, we're all going to stay in your apartment."

"Yep," said Kevin, sounding unconcerned.

"Even Avril, here?"

"It's Abby," the blonde said.

"Whatever." Mev wasn't in the mood. Normally, if a megahot girl was being forced to share an apartment with him, Mev wouldn't have objected, but he still hadn't quite gotten over the fact that he'd just witnessed cannibalism.

"Hey." Kevin shrugged. "No gun, no problem." He winked at Abby, who stuck out her tongue, then looked embarrassed and hurried to walk with Joanna.

Mev fell asleep the moment he sat down in the chair. He hadn't even bothered fighting for the other sofa; this was enough. The day had pretty much sucked, and now that it was finally over, Mev wasn't going to debate about beds.

Suddenly, there was a noise. Mev jerked awake, stifling a shout. He'd been dreaming of monsters. It was just the telephone. Who'd be calling this late?

"Mev, you awake?"

"Why?" Mev grunted. There was a jingling sound in the dark, and he felt something land on the chair. Kevin clicked on a flashlight, spotlighting him.

He squinted at Kevin, handing him back his keys. Kev refused them. "What do I need these for?"

"The bronco. Adara's at a hotel; she needs a ride."

"Here?"

"Yeah. So you think you could go?"

Mev rubbed his face. "Can it wait?"

"No. Oh, there's something else. Here." Kevin handed him a pistol, handle first. "You should take this."

Kat

We ran down the streets as fast as we could until we could run no more and then turned around to see... nothing.
"I guess it went after some easier prey," My companion laughed with relief.
"Yeah," I agreed, turning to face him. For the first time I got a proper look at the man. He was quite tall with firm, powerful muscles and a head of thick black hair. His eyes were a soft brown and his skin had a medium tan.

"So what's in the bag?" He asked as I took it from my shoulders.
"Take a look for yourself," I replied, extracting my brush and straightening out my tangled hair.
"Woah. Someone planning a hiking trip and forgot the tent?" He joked.

"So what's your name?" I asked, changing the subject and re-packing my bag.
"It's Mike," He replied.
"I'm Kat," I offered.
"Kat? Is that short for Katrina?" He queried.
"Mike. Is that short for Michaelangelo?" I mimicked.
"Close. It's Michael," He grinned.
"Katalyn," I conceded.

"So you know anywhere safe we can go?" I wondered as we set out again into the twilight.
"Nope. Left everything at that hotel except the clothes I'm standing in." Said clothes just happened to be a pair of shorts and a pyjama top. "They're what I wear to bed," Michael explained.

Abby waited until she heard the foot steps fade, and doors close shut. Everything had gone back to sleep mode. She waited a few more minutes, hoping they'd be asleep.

She threw the blanket off of her, and sat up, trying to see in the dark. Abby listened to the silence, and heard nothing. He fell back asleep fast... She started walking around the house, trying desperately not to bump into anything and be quiet.

She found a hallway and started walking down it with her hands on the wall. I don't know what I'm looking for, but with any luck, I'll find it.

"Shit," she whispered, a little too loud. She had ran into a plant in the hall, tripped over it, and fell onto her back. She took a deep breath, hoping no one heard. Then the lights were flipped on.