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literal thorn bush
i can't sleep
posts: 135
nickname: beth
zodiac: capricorn
affiliation: shadowhunter
affinity: spirit
child of: artemis
clan: riverclan
class: rogue
district: 7, lumber
faction: amity
house: slytherin
kingdom: lannister
patronus: hyena
planet: scarif
status: dhampir
trainer type: fire
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last online Apr 17, 2021 19:50:55 GMT -8
White Queen
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Apr 16, 2018 1:28:59 GMT -8
Post by ellabeth on Apr 16, 2018 1:28:59 GMT -8
- SLOANE Something was up with them. Accusation flooded Sloane's eyes, her gaze flickering between the face of the girl and the woman she'd previously called her partner in crime. There was no way in hell Tess would cart a kid out of the safe zones unless Ellie had something rather risky to offer. She studied the girl with peregrine eyes. Whatever it was, Sloane knew it had to be insane. Tess hated the company of smaller beings. She found them useless and essentially just another pound of responsibility. Sloane's thoughts raced with a thousand questions, but as Tess continued to bark at her, she swiftly came to realize that she would receive no answer. They were no longer the girls they once were. They were soldiers. Soldiers with chips on their shoulders.
The look that crossed Sloane's face was anything but confident. She regarded Tess as if she were a zombie herself, tilting her head to the side as she ranted about how she'd assumed her dead. Admittedly, it was kind of pointless to hang the guilt over Tess' head for continuing onward after she'd fallen in the river. Sloane would have done the same thing - but she sure as fuck wasn't going to tell her that. Sighing, Sloane didn't bother to reply to Tess as she demanded the chance to fix her leg, rather, brushed past them both, her shoulders losing their usual squareness as she limped in the direction she'd came from. She carried herself with a numb, emptiness, that could be akin to the monsters that had infected their world. As the redhead waddled away, Ellie cast a glance to Tess with a huff, a plaintive smirk crossing her face.
"Ya done fucked up, Tessy," she teased.
Their walk was short-lived, as Sloane had made her home not too far off from the chaos the men had begun to cause. The closer they grew, the slower Sloane walked, her cheeks flushed and her face coated in a thick layer of sweat. She had no doubt that her pesky fever had more than likely returned by now, especially after her attempt at running away from them. Thinking about it, Sloane cursed herself for trying to get away. She should've just let the clickers chase them off for her. She could've gotten away somehow. If she hadn't put the gun to Ellie's head... Sloane shook her head. There was no use in dwelling over what hadn't happened. As the trio rounded a brick corner, a series of clicks flew to their ears. The redhead, unlike Ellie, who stopped in her tracks, simply removed a pistol from her pocket, waltzing right for the chorus of grotesque echolocation. Around the last bend, the trio was faced with a rather terribly put together fence made of metal and wood - sharpened into spikes. On said spikes, a clicker dangled, thrashing and flailing its arms as Sloane grew closer. Gore and rather unspeakable things dangled from the numerous snags. Sighing, Sloane approached the clicker, aiming at its dismembered face.
"Oh, shut the fuck up," Sloane growled, pulling the trigger twice to silence the beast. "Watch the trip lines," she added, pointing at a nearly invisible wire that Ellie had nearly stepped on. "Lest you wanna look like that guy," she added, motioning at the Clicker hanging from the spikes. Stepping over her lines, Sloane carefully undid a series of locks, hidden by the pointy blockade. She brushed a small opening free, ducking through to stand off to the side as Tess and Ellie passed through. Struggling for a second, Sloane grunted as she smashed the gate shut again, taking special precaution to lock it all back up. Once satisfied, the redhead wobbled down a small alleyway, coming to a door at the end of the building that acted as one of the alley's walls. Much like the previous door, she was meant to unlock a series of self-made mechanisms, before she was able to slide it open, waving her hand into the dusty space she called home. "Mi casa es su casa," she said, then scrunched her face. "I think that's how you say, fuck if I know, whatever, just don't knock over my shit."
One rug, four chairs, and a single shelf cluttered with a bunch of shit that no one could ever possibly decipher but Sloane. There was dust everywhere, the cot in the very far corner of the room looked as if no one had touched it for months, still made crisply. The tattered blanket and single pillow were placed in precisely the right place. If one was nostalgic enough, it might've even reminded someone of a college dorm. Several empty cans cluttered an overflowing bin. On it, written in fancy script, read "recycle". Sloane glanced at it, running her hands through her hair. It was a cruel joke to make her smile. But to them, it probably looked a little crazy. Sighing, Sloane tiredly shrugged her pack from her shoulders as she neared her shelves.
"Cool," Ellie muttered as she neared the other side of the room, observing a rusty vinyl player. She brushed her finger over a stack of records that had grown almost as tall as Tess. "Did this thing still work?"
Bracing herself with trembling legs against the wall, an actual smile touched her lip, though it was small, it was there. "Yeah," she croaked. Sloane fished for one of the few water bottles remaining on the rack. She took a swig, then, speaking through her dry throat, said, "Press that little needle to the disk." Ellie glanced at Tess first, as if for reassurance, before doing as told. Soft jazz music filled the dank room, somehow making it seem brighter.
Ellie scrunched her face. "The fuck is this?"
Sloane's smile faced an early death. She sighed, pinching her nose between finger and thumb. Ignoring Ellie's disgust, she looked back to Tess, her face falling blank. "Stay here as long as you want. Whatever you're up to I'm sure it's devious," she said, only half sarcastic.
"Who the hell is Nickelback?" Ellie asked, having pulled the first vinyl from the stack to stare at it.
Sloane snorted. "Records came back in style not long before the world went to shit. Go ahead, put that one on instead. If you think this music is bad, you don't even know."
Ellie's lips furrowed. "I'll take your word for it."
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posts: 16
nickname: megabitch
zodiac: aries
affinity: fire
child of: ares
clan: riverclan
district: 7, lumber
house: slytherin
patronus: ragdoll cat
trainer type: dragon
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last online Apr 15, 2018 23:16:31 GMT -8
Team Nivalis
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Apr 16, 2018 1:30:26 GMT -8
Post by zireael on Apr 16, 2018 1:30:26 GMT -8
Silence. That was all she got in return. This boiled her anger further, but Tess grit her teeth and held her tongue. She knew Sloane would not offer any word to her, so when the redhead just sighed and brushed past her, Tess just averted her narrowed eyes to the side, jaw aching with how tightly she clamped it shut. To think that Sloane assumed that she left her, believed that for all these years, to have the audacity to blow up on her like this and accuse her of such, where the redhead could have very well returned to their group─it frustrated her. It hurt, too, hence why Tess did not aim to stay long. As soon as she treated Sloane's leg, she vowed to herself, she would gather her and Ellie's things and they would set out as soon as they could. She even stupidly considered for a moment asking Sloane to accompany them, as they found one another and all, but now that offer was out the window. Ellie's tease was not taken well, either, as Tess simply scoffed and rolled her eyes as she turned on her heel and silently walked behind Sloane.
As they walked, Tess, attentive, noticed that Sloane slowed. Sweat glistened on the woman's skin, and her normally pale skin was flushed─fever. Undoubtedly from an infection that set in the wound that was left neglected and strained during Sloane's attempted escape. The wound needed to be properly tended and covered, and the brunette was sure that she had something in her bag that would dull Sloane's fever. Pissed as she was at the other woman, she would not leave her practically incapacitated. The clicks sounded then, and Tess's hand immediately flew to her revolver. She meant to tell Ellie to stay close to her, but then she noticed Sloane just kept walking straight towards the sounds. Tess opened her mouth to ask what she was doing, but chose otherwise; instead, she cautiously followed, making sure that Ellie kept close. As they went around the last bend, though, Tess noticed the clicker caught in a trap, likely set by Sloane, and breathed out a sigh of relief. If they would have had to run from yet another horde... well, let's just say they wouldn't have been so lucky as they were in that building.
With a loud gunshot, the clicker was silenced; Sloane warned them about the other trip lines, just as Ellie nearly stepped over one. "Impressive." Tess looked for and found a couple of the barely visible lines, as well as the grotesque contraptions that they were connected to. "Seems you've been having more fun out here."
Sloane probably had more security than the zones themselves did. Tess arched both brows as she watched Sloane kick the gate shut and lock it up again before proceeding to fiddle with yet another door with just as many lock mechanisms as the last. The woman was definitely safe from the Infected as well as any passersby that didn't know how to unlock these doors. Finally, they made it to Sloane's hideout. "Mi casa es su casa. I think that's how you say it, fuck if I know, whatever, just don't knock over my shit." Tess offered only a huff before she stepped in and glanced around. It was... a decent area, Tess supposed. Dusty, but cozy. A single rug, four chairs, cluttered shelf, and a cot nudged into the corner of the room. Just the bare necessities. Luxury isn't exactly something they could afford in the current world, nor pickiness. They had what they had.
Ellie was exploring, taking interest in the vinyl player and the stack of records beside it. Tess expected Sloane to snap at the girl, but, to her surprise, she didn't; instead, she explained to Ellie how to work the player, to press the little needle onto the disk. Sloane even smiled, short-lived as it was. Ellie looked over at her as though asking permission, to which Tess smiled and nodded. "Go for it."
Ellie did as Sloane told her, and soon enough, the sound of soft jazz filled the room. Back in her flat on the quarantine zone, Tess only had a small radio and a handful of cassettes. Up until recently, just before her and Ellie embarked on their mission, the militia cut the power. Either they cut it intentionally or the Fireflies sabotaged it. Tess didn't know for sure. The tensions in the zone had been at an all time high, so much that Tess herself considered leaving with her father. It was just too dangerous, even for those not affiliated with the Fireflies. She missed the music, though. It was the only damn thing that gave her some peace in the midst of chaos.
She leaned back against the wall against which she sat, not too far from Sloane, closing her eyes and just listening to it. Ellie's reaction, though, tugged a chuckle from her lips. "It's all I'd listen to back in the zone, El. Some of the best shit out there." Or about the only shit that she did have. "Stay here as long as you want. Whatever you're up to I'm sure it's devious." Tess turned her head to glance over at Sloane, offering the barest curl of her lip. "I wouldn't say devious," she murmured, letting her eyes flick back over to Ellie. "But it's important, and why we'll be out of your hair as soon as possible."
Speaking of... Tess remembered that she was supposed to patch up Sloane's leg, so while the redhead and Ellie had their exchange on Nickelback, the brunette rummaged through her bag to find some of the supplies that she and Ellie picked up. She did happen to have a couple of ibuprofens, which would be good for the fever from the infection. There was also material for stitching, in case Sloane's wound needed to be closed up. She wasn't sure how bad off it was, as she had yet to see it. Tess had the shit out and ready, though, just in case.
"Let me see your leg." Tess didn't even wait before she scooted closer to Sloane, supplies set right beside her. She didn't even care if Sloane would turn on her or snap at her to back off─the redhead should know better than to fight her. "It's probably already infected," she muttered under her breath as she carefully shifted Sloane's pant leg enough so that she could get a better look at the wound. It was a swollen, angry read, and continued to seep blood. Sloane had in fact torn it while trying to make a run for it. Tess took the cleanest strip of cloth that she had and wet it with the water from one of her bottles so that she could clean away most of the blood from the wound before she would disinfect it.
"Yikes, what the hell happened?" Tess heard Ellie ask over her shoulder.
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literal thorn bush
i can't sleep
posts: 135
nickname: beth
zodiac: capricorn
affiliation: shadowhunter
affinity: spirit
child of: artemis
clan: riverclan
class: rogue
district: 7, lumber
faction: amity
house: slytherin
kingdom: lannister
patronus: hyena
planet: scarif
status: dhampir
trainer type: fire
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last online Apr 17, 2021 19:50:55 GMT -8
White Queen
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Apr 16, 2018 1:31:59 GMT -8
Post by ellabeth on Apr 16, 2018 1:31:59 GMT -8
- SLOANE This kid had so many questions. She watched Ellie sift through her records, occasionally casting Sloane a glance as she waited for her reply. Sloane had to wonder the same thing. Tess had never been one to coddle the young children left in (or selfishly brought into) the mess left behind the sickness. Ellie seemed rather unaffected by the course of it all; Sloane could suppose that may be why Tess tolerated her presence. Sloan's face scrunched as the fabric of her jeans were lifted from the wound hiding beneath them. Her hand involuntarily shot out to snag Tess' with a tight grip. When she remembered she needed to breathe, Sloane slouched, all five fingers popping away from her calloused hand as if she'd touched something hot. Her throat constricted, feeling suddenly tight as she raked her eyes over Tess' face. The urge to be angry with her fiddled with her chest again - but how could she be? Sloane lowered her gaze, fists clenched, while Tess began to dab at the wound. If she really wanted Sloane dead, would she not have shot her right then and there? Sloan's expression became slack, void.
Ellie's question was a loaded one. She could tell her the truth - about how a band of men invaded her home, took what they wanted, and made one hell of a problem for Sloane over the past few months. One by one she'd taken them down, always managing to escape their clutches at the last moment. She'd helped a young kid, much like Ellie, escape them - as they'd kidnapped her from some other group as payment for a loss. Sloane had tried to get the kid well out of dodge, pass her off to the colony nearby, but Clickers had taken them by surprise. Sloane thought the girl had been right on her heels, but she tripped over a metal pipe - and from the safety of a fire escape hitched to a crumbling building, Sloane had watched her die. After, she'd vowed to see them all dead. She lost what little care for human life she still kept buried under all of her bitter anger - and every single one of them had died by the barrel of her gun. It was the leader of them all - the roughest, meanest, most terrible bastard she'd ever faced, that wrapped her leg in barb wire, hung her from the roof of her home - and waited for it to cut through her flesh. By some miracle, Sloane was able to escape. However, living in the terrible conditions she was left with, she was certain he'd get what he wanted anyway. The wound was already infected. She was going to die no matter what.
Sloane lifted her eyes to the kid, forcing a glum smile. There was no need to give them grief. Sure, their encounter had been less than friendly, but if this was the last time Sloane would see a face that she didn't want to smash into a thousand pieces, it would be a shame to waste it with violence."Eh," Sloane grunted, shrugging a shoulder. "Had a run in with some guys. They thought it would be fun to turn me into a human pinata." She leaned back, hissing between her teeth as Tess' doctoring grew more and more painful. "I killed all of them. Except one. I'm not sure where he went. With any luck, Clickers swarmed the bastard before he could get out of here." She reached out to her left, clutching an old lighter someone may have used to light a barbeque. She offered it to Ellie, gesturing with it to a pile of stones she'd made in the corner. "Light that wood up." she instructed softly. "If you can find a clean pan and something you want from those canned foods be my guest. I'm sure you two haven't had much to eat lately."
Ellie took the lighter without an argument, rushing over to the pit Sloane had spent precious time constructing. She'd taken the idea from a makeshift fire Tess had made once. The thing lasted them months until Sloane got pissed and kicked the rocks out of order. She eyed Tess while she sifted through her supplies, bringing out a grungy looking sewing needle with a fraying spool of thread. A small grin touched her lips. This wasn't the first time Tess had been forced to string her back together. She still had string embedded in her shoulder from an Eskimos kiss courtesy a bullet. She curled her fingers around the bottom of the chair she sat in, breathing slow to avoid any noises that might suggest she was actually in a hell of a lot of pain.
"So," she muttered through clenched teeth. "You gonna tell me why you're dragging a kid around or not?" She fastened her gaze on Tess' focused glare, raising a brow. "I didn't take you for the babysitting type - though, maybe I'm wrong. People can change." She narrowed her eyes, sitting back. "At least tell me what you've gotten yourself into. It'll give me something to think about while I die in this shit hole." She offered her a smirk, but it fell prey to pain quite fast. She bit her lip. "Whenever you leave, take what you can carry," she grunted, bowing her head as her shoulders quaked. "You'll need it, I'm sure."
"What the fuck is spam?" Ellie barked from across the room.
Sloane pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is why I don't want children."
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posts: 16
nickname: megabitch
zodiac: aries
affinity: fire
child of: ares
clan: riverclan
district: 7, lumber
house: slytherin
patronus: ragdoll cat
trainer type: dragon
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last online Apr 15, 2018 23:16:31 GMT -8
Team Nivalis
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Apr 16, 2018 1:36:33 GMT -8
Post by zireael on Apr 16, 2018 1:36:33 GMT -8
Sloane's hand dropped from her wrist as quickly as it shot to clasp it. Tess tensed and met the other's eyes, muscle in her jaw twitching as she tightened it. She thought she heard Ellie shift her feet, uncomfortable with the the heaviness that hung between the two. Fortunately, Sloane didn't offer a snark; rather, she dropped her eyes, and Tess was allowed to tend to the wound. It was not just a single gash as she initially expected. The flesh was torn deeply, as though with wire. Not even an animal would have ripped into Sloane's leg like that. It was done by human hands, she decided, grinding her jaw. The conditions in which they lived now were far from sanitary and safe enough that they could stop and properly clean and treat a wound like this. Sloane's leg did not look good─it was swollen with infection and hot to the touch. Tess never saw a wound in as terrible shape as this and the longer that she worked at it, the more the pit in her stomach grew.
As the Sloane explained what happened, Tess kept her attention on the wound. She cleaned it as thoroughly as she could before she reached into her bag to find a needle with thread with which she could stitch her together to the best of her ability. There was only so much that she could do for Sloane's leg. "They thought it would be fun to turn me into a human pinata," Sloane had said. Tess bristled. Had she been around, then she would have made sure those men suffered worse. She didn't even want to think of what they used to hang her─and how Sloane got out of it.
For this part, Ellie was told to go light the fire and fix them something to eat. The girl didn't hesitate and took the lighter that was offered to her and scuttled off. Ellie was a tough kid, Tess would give her that, but she would rather she not watch. As if she could even guard Ellie from the brutality of their world. She was born into it, knew it all her life, whereas Tess and Sloane were old enough to have experienced the normalcy prior to the apocalypse. They were but a few years old, but they still remembered the peace. Now, they lived in a world of fear. Tess wished it wasn't the case, but what could she do? Ellie would often get cross with her because Tess would just fuss too much. In their first days outside of the compound, they had been navigating through Clicker-infested, crumbling buildings, and Ellie asked if she could have one of the guns in case a few came after them. Tess had refused initially, but Ellie was insistent. After a while Tess gave her one of the pistols and showed her how to use it and change out the magazine as needed, and Ellie caught on quick. She used to shoot at rats with a BB gun, she told her. Ellie was older beyond her years, Tess soon learned, so she didn't treat Ellie like a vulnerable girl as much as she did before. Of course, she was protective over her and kept her close, but she knew Ellie could hold her own as well.
"Hey Tess! Beans or soup?" Ellie called over from the other side of the room, where she knelt by the canned foods that Sloane had stocked. She managed to find a relatively clean pan, too.
"Surprise me." Tess was far too focused on Sloane's leg to consider her appetite. Honestly, she did not remember the last that she ate. The last morning, perhaps, or the one before that. The past few days have been far too hectic with the Infected and the area that they were in, and with Tess on constant edge to make sure that she and Ellie were safe, she neglected to care for herself. It wasn't unlike her─even back home with the shitty rations, she would want her father's needs satisfied first before she tended to her own. She held the needle just above Sloane's skin, about to stitch the wound. "Keep as still as you can. This is gonna hurt like a bitch," she warned. This wasn't the first time that Tess needed to stitch her up, but it is the first time that she was patching up a wound this bad. Any contact at all was agony enough. Only when Sloane gave her an affirmative nod did Tess proceed to stitch up her leg. Sloane was quiet, but Tess noticed how tightly she gripped the chair.
Tess heard Sloane ask about Ellie. The briefest of smirks came to her lips when Sloane commented she wasn't the babysitting type. It was true. Tess wasn't one to favor looking after kids, especially out here. They didn't know how to maneuver and go against the Infected or militia as well as her. Then there was just the extra stress on top of the shit pile that she already had. She didn't necessarily dislike kids, but... It was too much work to guarantee their safety. "At least tell me what you've gotten yourself into. It'll give me something to think about while I die in this shit hole."
"You're not going to die," Tess said immediately. She paused her stitching so that she could turn her hard gaze to Sloane. Deep down, she knew damn well that the odds of Sloane fighting off the infection were slim, but she didn't want to think the worst. "Stay alive and I'll tell you what I got sucked into." She added with a sarcastic, half-assed smile before she resumed her stitching. It was a tedious process, but eventually it was done. By the time that Ellie warmed up a meal for them over the fire, Tess was wrapping Sloane's leg. Ellie called out another question, and at Sloane's comment, Tess couldn't help but chuckle. "Delightful, aren't they?" When she looked over her shoulder, she noticed Ellie scowling at them and she offered the teenager a smirk.
She turned back to her bag and rummaged through it until she found a small bottle. There was a mix of pills in it, from old ibuprofen to oxy for absolute emergencies. All of these lost some of their potency no doubt, but it was better than nothing. She shook out a few ibuprofen tablets onto the palm of her hand and handed them to Sloane along with the flask of the water that they had left. "Here, take these. It should help with the fever and the pain, maybe even help the swelling. Then lets get you onto the cot." Tess was not taking any opposition.
After the redhead tossed back some water with the ibuprofen, Tess carefully eased her onto her feet. An arm was secured around Sloane's waist and one of the woman's arms slung over her shoulder to keep as much weight off her bad leg as she could. Ellie was on her other side to help, too. With Sloane on the cot, Tess sank into the spot beside it while Ellie scuttled back off to the pit, where the girl resumed stirring the contents of the pan. The former Firefly breathed out a sigh,"I have to take her West, to Colorado," Tess muttered, enough for only Sloane to hear. "Supposed to drop her off with some people at the Capitol, but they were all dead by the time we got there. The rest of their group is supposedly holed up some place in Colorado."
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literal thorn bush
i can't sleep
posts: 135
nickname: beth
zodiac: capricorn
affiliation: shadowhunter
affinity: spirit
child of: artemis
clan: riverclan
class: rogue
district: 7, lumber
faction: amity
house: slytherin
kingdom: lannister
patronus: hyena
planet: scarif
status: dhampir
trainer type: fire
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last online Apr 17, 2021 19:50:55 GMT -8
White Queen
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Apr 16, 2018 1:51:26 GMT -8
Post by ellabeth on Apr 16, 2018 1:51:26 GMT -8
- SLOANE Stay alive and I'll tell you what I got sucked into. Easier said than done.
Sloane occupied herself with the words spilling from Tess' mouth, rather than the wrenching pain her needle and thread brought with it. She wanted to scream, shit, she kinda wanted to cry - but she held back. There was no use in shrieking. It would only bring unwanted company and jeopardize Tess and Ellie in the process. As Tess dug deeper and deeper, trying her best to bring her broken flesh back together, Sloane released a hiss through her nose, biting down on the inside of her wrist. A drabble of blood scurried down her skin as her canine poked through the surface. The longer Tess carried on, the harder it became to keep her composure - but Sloane held on. There were worse things than a busted leg. She could be a Clicker, for instance. She cast a sideways glance at her trembling calf. If it was up to the infection, she was afraid she might not have the luxury of saying that for much longer. Tess muttered something about taking the kid to Colorado - through her newfound throbbing headache brought on by misery, Sloane struggled to piece together what Tess was telling her, but she got the gist. The kid was her charge; the package she was transporting. Odd.
Sloane sucked in a slow breath as Tess raised her palm to her. She held out to ibuprofen. Tess knew it wouldn't do much good - she'd gone through an entire bottle of the shit last week in fruitless efforts to get her pain in check so she could collect supplies, but she didn't dare tell Tess this. She offered her a weak grin and plucked the tiny pills from her hand, popping them into her mouth. She took a greedy swallow of the water, having to remind herself that it wasn't hers to have. She ran her tongue over her cracked lips, casting a glance at her own dwindling supplies. She had a few gallons left. The others were still back in the building they'd crossed paths in. She would have to retrieve them soon - or die of thirst. Sloane didn't argue when an arm snaked around her waist. She moaned quietly, stifling herself while Tess transported her to the cot.
She released a heavy grunt when she plopped face first on the uncomfortable bed, squeezing her eyes shut as she allowed herself to sink into it. She twisted her cheek, craning her suspicious eyes to Tess. She looked so different from how she recalled. They'd been so young when they lost each other - once so eager and ready for anything, Tess had always barred a cocky smirk. Now, her face was swallowed with apprehension and stoic wariness. It was hard to believe that she was Tess Steele - the woman that meant the entire world to her. Sloane dropped her gaze, twisting her lip. She supposed that was only part of it though-just like the moon, faces were always changing.
"Bon Appetit," Ellie said smugly from out of nowhere. She carted over two cans of soup. One for Tess and the other for Sloane. She grinned at the kid - this oh so important cargo. She gave her a once over, searching for anything special about her. She found nothing. Careful not to move her leg much, Sloane sat up, watching Ellie with hawk-like eyes while she moved away, catching every subtle shift of her clothing and her uncalculated steps. She was just a kid; what could be so important about her? Sloane righted herself, her eyes becoming hooded. Whatever it was - it was most definitely a secret.
"So, Sloane, is there a reason you only have one kind of beans? Don't get me wrong, red beans are good - but c'mon, man. Aren't you sick of them by now?" Ellie continued, grabbing one of the water bottles on a higher shelf. Sloane studied her arm - and there, to her surprise, as her shirt sleeve shifted, she saw an ugly mark. the usual beginnings of shock startled Sloane first, then came the dread. Ellie turned to her, unaware of the growing, feverish suspicion creeping its way up Sloane's back, invading her gut. She walked over to the women, arm outstretched. That's when Sloane made her move.
Quick as a rattlesnake, Sloane snagged Ellie's wrist in one hand - hard enough to keep her still and unmoving - and grabbed hold of her sleeve in the other. She yanked her shirt up - past and over the bite. The moment she saw it, she let go of the kid, eyes wide, leaning back. Ellie yanked her arm to her chest, pacing backward several feet. Judging by the immediate fear and exasperation that crossed the girl's face, they'd been down this road before. Sloane, despite her pain, shot from the cot, collapsing against the shelves as her chest heaved. She gritted her teeth, hissing loudly as a bolt of pain shot up her thigh.
"Man," Ellie tried warily. "Sit down. It's not what you think it-"
"It's not?" Sloane snapped, not angry, but shocked. "Sure as fuck looks like a Clicker bite to me." She whirled on Tess, bright eyes demanding immediate answers. "Why are you carting this kid around, Tess? She's bit." She looked at Ellie again, who had her hands up in surrender. "Are you sick? Do you feel sick? Jesus, kid, you're a good actress. I'm..." Sloane hesitated, looking between the two. A sudden guilty look crossed her face. "I don't really know how to help you, Ellie, I-"
Ellie, laughing nervously, shook her head. "Not sick, man. This bite is over a month old."
Sloane, in utter disbelief, swiveled her head to Tess slowly. She looked at her for a very long time, then, "Is this true?"
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posts: 16
nickname: megabitch
zodiac: aries
affinity: fire
child of: ares
clan: riverclan
district: 7, lumber
house: slytherin
patronus: ragdoll cat
trainer type: dragon
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last online Apr 15, 2018 23:16:31 GMT -8
Team Nivalis
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Apr 16, 2018 1:52:43 GMT -8
Post by zireael on Apr 16, 2018 1:52:43 GMT -8
More than once Tess reminisced about how her old mattress felt, back when she shared a room with Sloane. The piece of shit was uncomfortable as fuck, as she griped so often, but now, as she sat on the cot beside Sloane, she almost wanted to grin. Chuckle. Chastise her young self for griping about the goddamn mattress that would more likely than not feel like a bed full of feathers should she lay on it again. All she knew now was the hardness of concrete or a badly worn couch and her backpack being the closest thing she had to a pillow. Had there been room for her to share a space with Ellie, they would, but otherwise, Tess would let the younger girl occupy the most comfortable spot. "Your bed is shit," the brunette muttered to Sloane at some point, the barest hint of a smirk in her words. This was as good as it was probably ever going to get, so she shouldn't complain.
Ellie sported a smug smile as she brought two cans of freshly heated soup for Tess and Sloane. Tess' lips twitched into a smile of her own. The kid sure knew how to hold a bit of lightness despite the shit around them. Tess used to be just like her, albeit more optimistic and cheery, but now she was dull. Empty. Hardened by the cruelties she faced. She lost that spark of hers that brightened spirits; she was faded away. But Ellie─Ellie still had it. Everything to this point had been a shit show, but the kid didn't let it dampen the little fire that she had in her. She was special to the Fireflies because of her immunity, but she was special to Tess because of her resilience and refusal to lose the hope that was left.
Tess busied herself with the soup can in her hand as Ellie tossed another question to Sloane. Hunger clawed at her insides so strongly that she wondered when she even ate last time, food being often a distant or questionable memory. Did she? Did she not? She made sure that Ellie always did, of course, but she never included herself among those responsibilities. She ate whenever she did.
She was mid-sip when Sloane's hand shot up to Ellie's wrist, the girl's shirt yanked down from her wrist to expose the ugly scar left behind by the Clicker that bit her. The soup can was forgotten, Tess taking enough time to set it beside the bed as she vaulted off the bed, putting herself between Ellie and Sloane. A hand was immediately rested at the gun on her hip purely out of habit. She didn't know what Sloane would make of it. She really didn't. The redhead wasn't as predictable as she'd like her to be, so who fucking knew? "Slo, don't─" Tess started to protest when Sloane shot from the bed, but it was too late. Gritting her teeth, Tess stepped closer to Ellie, eyes not leaving Sloane.
Ellie tried to explain herself, but Sloane did not wait long enough to hear it. Said it looked like a Clicker bite. Whirled on Tess and asked her why she was carting a bitten kid around. "If you'd just let us explain─" she muttered under her breath. That was when she noticed how Sloane softened─looked more distraught at the thought of Ellie being bit than being infuriated, as Tess assumed she'd been. "I don't really know how to help you, Ellie, I─"
Tess visibly relaxed. The redhead wouldn't lash out at them, least she hoped so, otherwise she already would have. Tess herself reacted the exact same, quick to draw her gun as she perceived Ellie to be sick. Fortunately, the auburn haired girl was able to convince Tess to hear her out. Not a lot of people would give that kind of chance, preferring to shoot first. Even more so when a bite was kept secret for so long. Ellie gave a nervous laugh as she explained the bite was over a month old, information that Sloane did not believe in the slightest. Blue eyes whirled onto Tess, who met them with her own. "Is this true?"
Tess watched her for awhile. Then, she nodded. "If it wasn't, she would have already turned on me by now. No fresh bite looks like that, and you only got a couple of hours after being bitten to become sick." Her eyes moved to the scar on Ellie's arm. "She's immune," she murmured, "While getting away from the militia, we had to go through the subways. I watched this girl inhale enough spores to infect the entire fucking quarantine zone and come out in one piece. So this isn't bullshit. And I'm supposed to deliver her to a group that have doctors still working on a cure for this bullshit. They haven't had any luck, but Ellie might just be the only person that can save everyone. Whatever made her resistant to the Clicker bite can be the key to creating a proper, working vaccine─which, fuck it, is better than rotting in the quarantine zones being walked over by the militia."
She turned back to Sloane. Gestured towards her leg. "Now get back in bed before you rip your damn leg open again."
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literal thorn bush
i can't sleep
posts: 135
nickname: beth
zodiac: capricorn
affiliation: shadowhunter
affinity: spirit
child of: artemis
clan: riverclan
class: rogue
district: 7, lumber
faction: amity
house: slytherin
kingdom: lannister
patronus: hyena
planet: scarif
status: dhampir
trainer type: fire
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last online Apr 17, 2021 19:50:55 GMT -8
White Queen
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Apr 16, 2018 1:55:33 GMT -8
Post by ellabeth on Apr 16, 2018 1:55:33 GMT -8
- SLOANE None of the words coming out of her mouth were making any sense. Piece by piece Tess composed a compromising tale - an idea, that if she believed, could very well end with more heartbreak than the sorry world had already given her. She’d had her fair share already - one more ounce would tip the scale into an unfathomable, final, brutal endgame. If her leg didn’t kill her first, anyway.
Sloane’s face was a cluster of many things; confusion, disbelief, panic - then, it settled into a blankness - a poker face. She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing. Her nails dug deep rivets into her scalp when she ran them through to the back of her head. All these words Tess so freely taunted her with - immune, spores, alive, doctor.
Cure.
Her hand settled over her mouth, her wobbling legs carrying her to face the window where she found herself unable to meet Tess’ gaze as she slowly pieced together the truth of what she’d been told. Tess and this child stood on a narrow bridge. The line between the future - and there not being a future at all. Whomever had sent them on this quest had given Tess a very heavy burden to carry. The weight of which Sloane struggled to comprehend. Her knees felt weak as she pictured precisely what may lie in store for the duo. Ellie, such a young thing, stamped as the last resort. Sloane pressed her palms flat over the dust-plastered windowpane, staring without seeing through the blinding panels. If this preposterous proclamation of theirs was true, then there were bigger fish to fry than her doubts. Sloane took a deep breath, intent to question them further, but her words fell silent on the clawtips of sudden panic.
Across the street, a set of familiar faces were stalking across the dying lawns. Weapons that had once belonged to her were drawn, aimed and pointed toward her doors. She took a single step back, a flare of rage taking over her previous fright. These people just couldn’t get enough of her it seemed. She turned to them, face void of emotion. She took the pistol from her back pocket and racked a bullet into the chamber with hiss between her teeth.
“Get outta here both of you. You’re too important to get taken down in this bullshit. Sneak out back.” She motioned to a door behind them, different from the one they’d came through. “Grab whatever you need and don’t be shy about it.” Limping toward Tess, her breath already ragged with exertion, she paused to lay a hand on her cheek briefly, meeting her eyes for a solid half-second - and then she was moving on, determined to end the bullshit once and for all.
Left hanging, Ellie cast a slow glance to Tess, popping her with the back of her hand against her shoulder. “Surely we’re not going to hop out of here just yet.” She raised a brow, watching Sloane’s shadow fall across the window as she skulked past it, ducking behind a cluster of bricks and cement she’d planted for these kinds of asinine events. There was a brief shower of gunfire from the approaching survivors. Sloane popped over the edge.
The man at the head of the attack fell face first onto the pavement with one pull of her trigger - but not without consequence. Though it didn’t sink through, the woman at his right whipped a bow to point, searing an arrow along her shoulder. The force of it knocked her against the pavement with a sharp grunt.
Ellie lurched forward, unsure what she’d just seen. “Tess?”
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posts: 16
nickname: megabitch
zodiac: aries
affinity: fire
child of: ares
clan: riverclan
district: 7, lumber
house: slytherin
patronus: ragdoll cat
trainer type: dragon
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last online Apr 15, 2018 23:16:31 GMT -8
Team Nivalis
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Apr 16, 2018 1:58:46 GMT -8
Post by zireael on Apr 16, 2018 1:58:46 GMT -8
Sloane's hands pressed into the windowpane, back faced towards Tess. It's hard for anyone to process─to live in a world ravaged by these spores, without a cure, nowhere close to discovering one, and just when all hope is lost, a chance for a vaccine springs in the form of an immune adolescent. Tess wouldn't have believed it either, had she been in Sloane's position─hadn't, when Marlene made her proposition. Even so, there was no guarantee that any vaccine would come out of this, let alone a guarantee that there were any Fireflies left to find out there, given the ones she was supposed to have met were dead on the site. There was a chance that Tess could fail to deliver Ellie to the doctors that supposedly could forge a vaccine. This could still be a useless war.
To say that she essentially carried the world's weight on her shoulders would be an understatement.
"Sloane." But, at that moment, in that place, she was only focused on ensuring that the woman she believed dead made it through the night. The world can wait. "Come on. Lay back down, I'll answer any questions to─"
She stopped, because clearly Sloane wasn't listening to her. Something outside has caught the redhead's eye, and judging by the way that her body appeared to tense and coil, it was unwelcome company. Her suspicions were confirmed when Sloane pulled her pistol out from her pocket. As she loaded it, Tess heard her hiss, “Get outta here both of you. You’re too important to get taken down in this bullshit. Sneak out back.” Tess' eyes followed to where she pointed, but she quickly whipped her attention back to her, teeth gritted. If Sloane honestly thought that she would leave her, just when she'd found her again...
Tess' racing thoughts paused when she felt the warm press of a palm against her cheek. Whatever words that meant to leave her parted lips were lost to open air as Sloane locked eyes with her. But just as quickly as that warm hand caressed her cheek, it was gone, leaving behind a tingling imprint on Tess' cheek as the redheaded woman turned and made for the door. Her eyes could only follow her to the door while an absent hand lifted up to feel where Sloane's hand had been seconds ago. The contact was so unexpected and the warmth from the woman's hand still lingered on her skin. Had it not been for the pops of bullets outside that door, Tess would have stalled much longer─but, realizing Sloane meant to stall enough for them to get out of there, Tess grit her jaw.
A hand popped against her shoulder, accompanied by Ellie saying, "Surely we're not going to hop out of here just yet."
"Like hell I'm leaving her again," Tess growled. She went to their bags and rummaged through one to pull out a spare pistol; checking it was loaded, she handed it to Ellie. "You know how to use this?" Ellie's eyes were wide but she bobbed her head. "Uh, y-yeah, I shot BBs before."[/i] Tess adjusted the pistol in Ellie's hands, giving her a quick run-over just to ensure she understood how to use it if the need arose. "Alright, listen to me. I'm going to get out there and get Sloane. Cover me from that window," she pointed to it. "Cover me. Just fire to distract them enough that I can get to her. As soon as I have Sloane in cover you duck down and wait for us. Okay?"Ellie's eyes flicked between Tess and the pistol in her hands, swallowing, "Shit, yeah. Okay. Oh, fuck."There was no way that Tess would have ever asked Ellie to confront assailants. Normally, they would take cover and try to sneak around them─or Tess would put down any threat that stood in her path, whatever it took to protect the girl. This time it was different. She needed to help Sloane, and if she was going to do that, she needed Ellie to hold that gun. In a second, her hand was on the door. In the next, she shoved it open and fixed her gun on the woman with the bow. With a clatter, the bow hit the ground as the woman howled, a bullet burrowing deep into her shoulder. She caught the movement of a few others and let off a few blind shots to have them duck for cover while she dove for Sloane. "Come on, get up," Tess hissed as she tried to hoist her up. A wound bled from Sloane's shoulder and Tess was absolutely sure that her leg was as well, but there was no time to fix either; they needed to get out and away from the survivors that continued to draw close. Bullets whistled above her head as she hauled Sloane backwards towards the cover of bricks. From the window of their shelter, a few bullets shot out, distracting the others enough that Tess managed to finally get Sloane out of line of fire. The redhead was snarling something at her, but Tess wasn't listening. "Shut. Up," she said through gritted teeth as she poked her head over the tip of the bricks to fire off a few more rounds. An answering grunt meant she hit. By then, the survivors were ducked wherever they could shelter from oncoming fire─and buy Tess enough time to get Sloane back into the building. "On the count of three, get your ass up and back through the door. One, two..." Tess stood first, popping another fucker in the arm while a bullet hissed past her face, catching her cheek. WIth her other hand she hauled Sloane after her─in a few steps they were through the door that Ellie held open, shoving it shut as soon as the two were past it. "Shit, Tess, are you okay? Slo, your leg─" Ellie's voice was a squeak as she noticed the blood start to trickle down Tess's cheek and Sloane's bindings stain sanguine. "Ellie," Tess began, tone sharp to get the girl to focus. She closely inspected Sloane's shoulder to see how bad the graze was, but didn't bother with Sloane's leg. There was nothing that she could do in the short amount of time they had before the survivors would come barging through the door. "Get the bags. Pack whatever shit you and Sloane can carry. I'll take whatever is left, but I need you two to get out of here, through the back. Get out of this town as soon as you can─or at least far enough away from these fuckers. I'll stall them and find you later. But you need to leave now, because Slo can't move that fast"Ellie started to protest, but Tess quickly snapped, "Go!"There wasn't even time for either of them to argue with her. The adolescent cursed as she slung the bags over her shoulders and helped Sloane to her feet with Tess' help. The brunette ushered them out the back, ignoring whatever protests the redhead and kid threw at her. "Just stay alive. I'll catch up as soon as I can." That was all she said before she shut the door behind them. "That bitch is still in there, come on!" a voice hollered from outside. Tess reloaded the pistol in her hand and narrowed her eyes at the door. She puffed out a breath. "Here we go," she muttered lowly before she walked back out that door. And the gunfire rang. Ellie cringed when the first pops of bullets sounded since Tess slammed the door on them. She still held the gun that Tess handed her while her other arm was slung around Sloane, to give the redhead enough support to walk. Her heart was pounding in her chest and dread clawed at her gut. "Shit, we─we left her. Fuck," the girl stammered as she tossed a glance over her shoulder, in hopes that Tess would be on their heels. Sure they'd been through tight situations before, but they never stayed long enough to engage. They always found a way to get around the danger without wasting bullets or potentially getting killed. Ellie was worried about her. She wanted to turn back. But doing that would surely kill her and Sloane, too, so she pressed on with Sloane. "D-Do you know a way?" Ellie peered up at Sloane. The adolescent didn't know this town at all, but apparently Sloane had been here a while and would know her way around better than Ellie did.[/font]
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literal thorn bush
i can't sleep
posts: 135
nickname: beth
zodiac: capricorn
affiliation: shadowhunter
affinity: spirit
child of: artemis
clan: riverclan
class: rogue
district: 7, lumber
faction: amity
house: slytherin
kingdom: lannister
patronus: hyena
planet: scarif
status: dhampir
trainer type: fire
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last online Apr 17, 2021 19:50:55 GMT -8
White Queen
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Apr 16, 2018 17:03:18 GMT -8
Post by ellabeth on Apr 16, 2018 17:03:18 GMT -8
- SLOANE Ellie's words were lost to thundering heartbeats and pesky static. She did know the way - she knew the city like the back of her palm; but Tess did not. She tossed her head over her shoulder, scanning the area with wide eyes. Gunshots popped here and there - so they were still shooting at something. Still shooting at Tess. If they were shooting at Tess that meant she wasn't dead just yet. Even so, a nervousness pushed into her stomach. She caught up to Ellie, snagging her arm through hers with a gentle pull. This kid was too damn important to lose track of. She wasn't sure if the crap they'd told her was legit - the hope for a cure was a dangerous thing. No matter, she had no choice. Something about Ellie made Sloane determined to keep her safe. Whether that something was circumstantial of her adrenaline rush was left unsaid. Ellie gave her a wild look, but the words she prepared to release were swallowed by her surprised squeak.
They ducked into an alley, jogging along the darkened straight until they reached the end. Sloane leaned against the foliage plastered vines. Slowly, she popped her head around the corner, fanning her hand over Ellie's chest to cheek her from leaning too close. She cast a quick look around. The street was empty - clustered with cars that no longer worked and broken homes trapped in the past. She looked at Ellie, grabbed her wrist, and thrust her onward, forcing the girl into a quick sprint that Sloane could not hope to keep up with. She limped after her, rasping as her lungs constricted under the pressure and exertion. Halfway across the road, she fell to her knees, cursing when the graven and asphalt bit into her palms. She used a nearby car plagued with rust to help her stand. She limped after Ellie, face drained of color. She felt like she might throw up.
When she finally reached the other side with Ellie, Sloane bent over herself hacking and dry heaving. She drew in big, ugly gasps, leaning against the wall with Ellie's hands on her back. Ellie's skeletal fingers twined through Sloane's ragged plaid shirt. The very moment she caught her breath she reached behind her to shoo Ellie's grasp, straightening up with a groan.
"Where are we going?" Ellie asked her. Sloane didn't reply, simply kept walking with a calculative look over her tight lips. They could hide in one of the houses, but if Tess didn't get rid of every last one of them, that wouldn't be very useful. Sloane flattened her hand over her stomach, releasing a slow, supposed-to-be calming breath. They couldn't move on without Tess. She turned, squinting against the setting sun. They'd have to hide in a house and wait for Tess to find them. She was smart enough to figure it out. Sloane pointed her finger without a word to a nearby vacant house. It was small, in the middle of the mix - it looked like it had nothing to offer. Meaning, it was somewhere that no one would waste time on.
"Come on," Sloane rasped, grabbing a fist full of Ellie's sleeve. "We can wait here. I'll leave her a hint." She took the tiny pack she'd hoisted before leaving her hideout off her shoulder, taking a sticky note from a very diminished pile. She used the single pen she had left - which was running out of ink faster than she'd like to admit - and made an arrow. She stuck it on the wall, hidden beneath a cluster of vines. If one was paying attention (looking for clues) the blue of the post-it would shine through the vines.
They made it inside with little time to spare. Sloane collapsed into the sofa with a puff of dust, shutting her eyes as she tried to steady her raspy, wet breath. She needed to find medicine soon; or pay the ultimate price. Ellie, hovering over the curtained windows, turned to her with a frown. She bit her lower lip.
"Sloane?" She asked softly.
"Mm," was all she could say in reply.
"Are... you dying?"
Sloane removed her arm from over her face to look at Ellie. Her expression remained blank when she answered. "Aren't we all, kid?"
Ellie's frown deepened. Sloane thought if she wasn't careful, she'd have wrinkles before she hit her late teens. [/quote]
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posts: 16
nickname: megabitch
zodiac: aries
affinity: fire
child of: ares
clan: riverclan
district: 7, lumber
house: slytherin
patronus: ragdoll cat
trainer type: dragon
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last online Apr 15, 2018 23:16:31 GMT -8
Team Nivalis
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May 1, 2018 20:31:46 GMT -8
Post by zireael on May 1, 2018 20:31:46 GMT -8
She wasn't sure when she ran out of bullets or when she was face to face with the motherfucker the size of a wall, but it just happened. Most of the friends he brought with him lay dead, wasted by Tess' bullets and one by their own arrow, but it looked that her streak of luck may be up. The second that his massive paw struck her, the force was enough to to bring her down. And in that split second that she fell, she felt the tip of his boot against her side, again, and again, and then his fingers closed around her throat and tightened, so much that Tess thought he'd crush her throat entirely. She couldn't so much wheeze, and there was absolutely no way that she would have enough strength to pull his fingers off of her. Instead, one of her hands frantically searched for anything within reach that she could use against him, and her fingertips brushed over the metal of an arrowhead scattered from the dead chick's quiver. In that split second, the arrowhead was burrowed into the brute's neck. His hands immediately fell from her throat to the spot underneath his jaw, and she took this as her change to use what strength she had left to get the ape off of her. A strangled sound came from her aching throat as her lungs replenished themselves with a greedy gulp of air. Rolling herself onto her stomach so she could stand, Tess flashed the man a look and saw the blood trickling from his lips. His hand reached out to her but she managed to drag herself upright with the help of the nearest bin. Coughs rattled her and she fought against her body's urge to curl in pain. Her sides screamed where his foot had struck and she could feel the indents of his fingers on her throat without needing to feel her neck. But she couldn't stay. She didn't know how many friends he had, but she sure as fuck didn't want to stick around. With all the gunfire, the Infected were sure to arrive promptly. So, she snatched up the bow and quiver, the rifle, and hightailed it out.
She decided to trace what she thought would have been Ellie and Sloane's steps. This area was unfamiliar to her, but Sloane definitely would have known where to take the two of them. Tess hoped that somehow she'd be able to catch up to them. Danger was stalled for now, but her body took a beating. The extent of it she would have to figure out as soon as she either found Sloane and Ellie, or found herself a place to hunker down for a few hours. This town was a maze to her─they could have chosen any home to camp in. Tess neither had the strength nor time to sift through each one either. The longer that she was separated from them, though, the more the pit in her stomach grew.
But sure enough, she'd been right──if she stayed back there any longer, she would have been met with a new threat. The gunshots from earlier still left a ringing in her ears, but she thought she heard the remote clicking of Infected opposite of the direction she headed. If the bastard was still alive after she left, then well...he wasn't anymore. But the relief was short-lived, because she was now even more pressed to either find shelter or the rest of her group. But so far, it was looking like it won't be the latter.
Sloane looked horrid. Her skin was ghostly white, glistening with sweat, as the fever continued to beat her relentlessly. Ellie didn't know this redhead long, but she definitely didn't want her to croak. Her frown deepened as she looked through the blinds again. Come on, Tess. Hurry up. The adolescent didn't know what to do. Sloane didn't look like she wanted to put up much of a fight either. Or maybe that was just her morbid sense of humor. Whatever. Ellie didn't feel too optimistic, and Slo wasn't helping. The best that Ellie could do for now was maybe see if there were any ibuprofens left in the bag, but those didn't seem to help too much earlier. Something is better than nothing though, right? Slo's leg needed to be rebound, too, as it bled through the bindings Tess less put on. No doubt tore through Tess' stitches as well, which Ellie could not replicate, so she needed the woman there more than ever. If she was even alive.
"Ohh, man," Ellie sighed as her stomach sunk with worry. She tried to keep cool, but there was no shaking the troubled look from her face. Deciding that she would wait for Tess before guessing what each of the pills in that bag were meant for, Ellie went over to Sloane's side, taking a closer look at her leg. As she guessed, it bled through. "Hey, Slo, I'm gonna rewrap your leg, okay?" the girl half-asked for permission, half told, and looked for what she can use as a temporary bandage. Noticing the plaid that was wrapped around Sloane's midsection, a dark enough color that a bloodstain wouldn't stand out too much, Ellie decided to use that. Before Slo could protest, Ellie untangled the arms of the plaid and pulled it away. The girl noticed that the redhead's belly was quite..protruding. She didn't notice it before. The way Sloane reacted was weird, too. Ellie opened her mouth to ask, but then it seemed to click in her thoughts.
Ellie's jaw dropped. "Slo─are you...?" Her eyes widened to saucers. "Oh fuck."
The door from the front opened just then, and Ellie whirled around and grabbed the nearest blunt object next to her. "WHOA, Ellie, it's me!" Tess sputtered as soon as she saw the adolescent coming at her with a lamp. Ellie looked like a deer in headlights as she clutched the appliance, and as soon as she recognized Tess, she immediately swung her arms around the woman's neck. A hiss ripped through Tess's lips from her sore neck and the sudden weight on her body, the sound making Ellie jump away with an apology. The adolescent noticed the bruises that were slowly beginning to color her neck and face, realizing that Tess didn't get away from those assholes unscathed. She took one of Tess's hands to tug her over to where Sloane was. The sun was setting and it wasn't offering them any light at all. Maybe they snagged a candle. "Are you two okay? How's Slo?"
"Sloane's pregnant." Ellie blurted.
Tess stopped. "What?" She looked from Ellie over to Sloane, who was collapsed on the sofa. The plaid that she had wrapped around her midsection before pooled over her lap, exposing that swell of Slo's belly. Although it was dark, she was close enough that she saw that, indeed, Sloane appeared to be carrying an extra person with them. Tess didn't notice it before, but now...oh fuck. Fuck. Her words were lost as she clenched her teeth while Ellie helped her down onto the ground, her sides complaining with every movement. As soon as she was able to sit atop the pillow Ellie set down, however, she was able to breathe out a shaky breath of relief. She turned, though, to Sloane.
"How far along?"
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