Re: DEATHGAME 9000 [S!3] Round One: Gamexus X99
02-19-2012, 04:18 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by momatoes.
Jolene banged on the door. "Let me in!" she shouted. "I know you're in here, please!" The lights illuminated the spattered store sign: a gun and ammo shop.
Damn it, she cursed under her breath. Raccoon City now ranked last in her mental list of tourist places to recommend, hurrah hurrah. A most hospitable pedestrian had attempted to knock her down but Jo's right elbow had very strong opinions against it. So did her boot. Jolene would've stayed around and drilled the truth out of the civilian, but when she saw how very much the population of Raccoon City looked forward to meeting her up close, she decided to run.
She had never seen anything like this.
"Open up!" She pounded on the steel door, hands making sharp, quick contact against the cold metal. She knew that there was someone inside -- the bastard had slid open a peephole, gray eyes meeting hers for one very brief moment, before shutting it tight. Damn it. The other people, the crazed folks, Jolene knew they were trouble, and when you're alone in a foreign city in the darkness of the night, you never stick around for trouble. She banged on the door.
The mental ping tugged on her mind. One of hers had found something interesting.
"Jolene, there is a vulnerable screen out back." An image of a doorway superimposed itself on her senses, the sudden knowledge clicking itself in her brain. Good. "Now go away," Jolene thought, dismissing her other. "Go away but make sure you cover me."
Shadows flitted across the walls, ten, nine feet high, as she escaped towards sanctuary. Haggard posters drooped down from the walls, small vermin stood and watched her go. The entire city was in the last throes of its life. She took a step backwards, taking a deep breath, before ramming the screen door with the whole brunt of her shoulder. There was a sudden CRUNCH as wood gave way to her. Jolene stopped, panting.
"What the hell did you just do?!" A portly man appeared, middle-aged, belt straining against the obese mass, with eyes bulging at the damage done to his property. Like the city walls outside, he was dirty: dark brown streaks ran up and down his arms, powdery dirt settled in on the wrinkles of his face. And he was big. He looked like a mean bulldog, and his whole demeanor did nothing but reinforce it.
"I'm sorry," Jolene replied, standing up and brushing wood splinters from her shoulder. The most important thing, she quietly reminded herself, is to keep cool under pressure. "I believe I just destroyed your screen door," she added, coolly. The man glowered, sausage fingers clenching and unclenching.
"Great, just freaking great," he said, spitting out his words with unbound frustration.
With a sudden lunge, he pulled Jolene in and walked to the ruined door. "Get inside," he growled. "I better find something to cover this up or else we're both dead meat."
Jolene looked at him, the first sane man she'd seen since careening into Raccoon City. "Look. I don't know what's happening. I'm new to the city. You need to tell me." She took a deep breath. "What's happening? What's wrong with the people outside? ...where are the other citizens?"
The man snorted. "Others? There are no others. The undead have overrun us all." The man paused. "They've taken the whole goddamn city."
Jolene banged on the door. "Let me in!" she shouted. "I know you're in here, please!" The lights illuminated the spattered store sign: a gun and ammo shop.
Damn it, she cursed under her breath. Raccoon City now ranked last in her mental list of tourist places to recommend, hurrah hurrah. A most hospitable pedestrian had attempted to knock her down but Jo's right elbow had very strong opinions against it. So did her boot. Jolene would've stayed around and drilled the truth out of the civilian, but when she saw how very much the population of Raccoon City looked forward to meeting her up close, she decided to run.
She had never seen anything like this.
"Open up!" She pounded on the steel door, hands making sharp, quick contact against the cold metal. She knew that there was someone inside -- the bastard had slid open a peephole, gray eyes meeting hers for one very brief moment, before shutting it tight. Damn it. The other people, the crazed folks, Jolene knew they were trouble, and when you're alone in a foreign city in the darkness of the night, you never stick around for trouble. She banged on the door.
The mental ping tugged on her mind. One of hers had found something interesting.
"Jolene, there is a vulnerable screen out back." An image of a doorway superimposed itself on her senses, the sudden knowledge clicking itself in her brain. Good. "Now go away," Jolene thought, dismissing her other. "Go away but make sure you cover me."
Shadows flitted across the walls, ten, nine feet high, as she escaped towards sanctuary. Haggard posters drooped down from the walls, small vermin stood and watched her go. The entire city was in the last throes of its life. She took a step backwards, taking a deep breath, before ramming the screen door with the whole brunt of her shoulder. There was a sudden CRUNCH as wood gave way to her. Jolene stopped, panting.
"What the hell did you just do?!" A portly man appeared, middle-aged, belt straining against the obese mass, with eyes bulging at the damage done to his property. Like the city walls outside, he was dirty: dark brown streaks ran up and down his arms, powdery dirt settled in on the wrinkles of his face. And he was big. He looked like a mean bulldog, and his whole demeanor did nothing but reinforce it.
"I'm sorry," Jolene replied, standing up and brushing wood splinters from her shoulder. The most important thing, she quietly reminded herself, is to keep cool under pressure. "I believe I just destroyed your screen door," she added, coolly. The man glowered, sausage fingers clenching and unclenching.
"Great, just freaking great," he said, spitting out his words with unbound frustration.
With a sudden lunge, he pulled Jolene in and walked to the ruined door. "Get inside," he growled. "I better find something to cover this up or else we're both dead meat."
Jolene looked at him, the first sane man she'd seen since careening into Raccoon City. "Look. I don't know what's happening. I'm new to the city. You need to tell me." She took a deep breath. "What's happening? What's wrong with the people outside? ...where are the other citizens?"
The man snorted. "Others? There are no others. The undead have overrun us all." The man paused. "They've taken the whole goddamn city."