Danger Keep Away (REMY)

[NPC]

Kristen Hunter

The surrounding night air was thick in darkness, the only light from the street lamps that could barely be seen through the passing trees. She breathed heavily, breathlessly as she bounded across the greenery, trees flashing by as her legs moved as fast as they could. She ran with no intentions of stopping. She could hear him following behind her. Kristen didn’t want to look back, she didn’t want to see how close behind her he was but at the same time she wanted to know. She’d been running through central park for what seemed like forever, with no real path but only the intention to just get away. She was cold and tired, her body ached but through the pain she continued to run. Kristen knew if she stopped, he’d catch her and he’d kill her like the others he’d killed.

Right now this girl did not fear those who were infected in New York City, no...they were nothing compared to the hell she’d just been through. They said that desperate times changed people, that it bought the worse out in those around you and they weren’t wrong. Kristen had feared for her life, trying to get away from the infected only to find herself meeting a far more sinister enemy...your everyday average joe..or what seemed to be at first glance. He wasn’t infected, just bat shit crazy along with his fucked up band of goons. Kristen had been separated from her family and had to fight for survival with a group of friends, they’d stumbled upon another group who offered assistance.

Now, it seemed the idea of going it alone may not have been a bad idea...maybe her friends would still be alive. This group that she had so easily trusted in appeared to be anything but what they seemed. She still couldn’t rationalise it all, she couldn’t understand why or how someone could do the things that she’d seen them do to her friends, that she knew if she didn’t get out would have done to her. The infected were nothing in comparison to those people; she’d have happily thrown herself in the middle of a group of infected and let them maul her to death, if it meant saving herself from those fucked up sons of bitches she’d met a few days ago.

She needed to find somewhere to go, somewhere to hide before they caught up with her. She knew if they caught her now, her punishment would be far worse then she’d first anticipated. The brunette dashed, continuing to run in a straight route uncaring toward those infected lurking, right now there didn’t seem to be all that many around her but she couldn’t tell through the darkness. Tears streamed down her face, as the terrified brunette continued to run for her life. The sounds of muffled calls could be heard from behind her, he wasn’t by himself anymore. Kristen figured that was because he was a stupid fucker and couldn’t keep up with her but it came to her attention that she wasn’t the only one who’d gotten away.

A blood curdling scream pierced the air around her, echoing through the trees prompting her to stop. She stopped dead in her tracks, wide and fearful eyes turning behind her as she listened to the scream before silence fell on her ears. Everything fell quiet. Her breath was heavy and erratic, as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes stared off into the direction she’d heard the scream come from. The silence scared her more than the scream itself, because the dead silence was often a very bad sign. Kristen’s head turned, eyes narrowing as she heard a crunching sound coming from her left.

From her left something slammed straight into her, knocking her abruptly to the ground. Kristen fell backward, dazed for all of thirty seconds until she lifted her eyes to the girl on top of her. She’d seen her back with the group, another girl they’d taken in. She was bleeding from her head, tears streaming down her face in a whole world of panic. Kristen couldn’t make out what she was saying, as she sobbed, crying frantically and then suddenly she was gone again. She was ripped backward by her legs, her hands trying to grab Kristen in a bid to stop herself before clawing at the pavement to get away. Kristen couldn’t grab her; she slipped right out of her grasp.

Scrambling backward she lifted her eyes watching as the older man towered over the terrified blonde. He sneered at the blonde and knelt over her, before stretching a finger out to Kristen as if gesturing that she was next. Kristen couldn’t help her, she wanted to help her but it was too late. She got to her feet just as Rory Clarke slammed the blade straight into the blondes chest. Kristen was in floods of tears now, running once more. She wouldn’t stop, not for anything, she couldn’t help the others and by getting away maybe she could find help. If someone knew about these fuckers, knew what they were doing to those who were fortunate to have survived the outbreak then maybe they’d try to stop them. It was the only plan she had..but first she had to find someone who was still alive and preferably...none crazy.

[Remy Christian]

Lately, every day had begun to feel the same to Remy. Most days he spent confined to his underground lab, trying to solve the riddle of Diamond Corp's supposed miracle vaccine. It was slow going, but he kept at it, mostly because he had sworn to, and partly because he had nothing else to do. Every two or three weeks, depending on when he ran out, he went scavenging for food and supplies. Aside from that, he sometimes ventured outside just for "fresh" air, which always stank of death and decay, and to work out the frustration and occasional boredom of staying indoors so long.

He always brought guns. He wasn't afraid of zombies, and he had no love for them either. They made great targets for venting frustration. He had made an art of avoiding them in large groups and picking them off the solitary ones; he wasn't brave or stupid enough to try to take out a bunch of them at once. Sometimes he searched abandoned houses, and always marked them with x-codes afterward. Almost every house in his neighborhood had been marked now. Where it had once been lively, with children playing and cars passing though, it was now bleak and empty, save the zombies; Remy was almost positive he was the only one of his neighbors left.

Today he had both Berettas and a can of spray paint with him. He wasn't planning to be out long. He had just checked the upper levels of his house. They seemed to be still untouched; he was afraid one day zombies would break into the main house and ruin it. He'd secured the house as best he could, and so far it seemed to be holding. Next he went to take a look at the neighborhood, and was startled to hear frantic footfalls heading his way.

A dark-haired young woman was running down the street like the bats of Hell were on her heels, but as far as Remy could tell, there were no zombies after her. As always, there were a couple of zombies milling about, and they looked up at the appearance of fresh prey, but barely gave chase. If any had been chasing her, she had long since outpaced them. Still, Remy was wary as he stepped out of the shadows and into the street, into her path.

She most likely had not had time to see him, and he stopped her as she slammed into him, and pushed her just out of attack range. He didn't trust anyone, even though the girl looked absolutely terrified. "Hey, hey. What's the problem?" Remy asked, not gently but not brusquely either, looking at her and occasionally looking over her shoulder to see if something was coming after her.

[NPC]

Kristen Hunter
Rory Clarke

This whole thing had gone from bad to worse in moments. Kristen had become separated from her family in a time which she’d have needed them more than ever. This was hell on earth as she knew it and she was all alone. It was times like these that made a person regretful for their previous behaviour or taking the things or people they had in their lives for granted. Did he parents know how much she loved them? Were they aware that she would be absolutely nothing without them? She doubted it...because she’d never really paid much attention to them and now that she thought about it, she’d taken everything from them with very little as much as a thank you to show for it. She was a bad daughter and a worse sister...she was never there for her family. She was only concerned for number one and now...she was all she had left.

Now it was far too late to get all sentimental about her life and family. She’d blown her chances, she’d be lucky if they were still alive after this..that was to assume she’d get far enough and find her way out of this fucking hell hole. It made her wonder what she’d be doing now if she’d listened to her father, if she’d stayed at home the night before all this crap really took place...she’d have been with them during the evacuation and possibly be free of this place. But could she be certain? No. She didn’t know if her family had gotten out safely or if they were stuck here. Would they really leave her like that? Or continue to look for her? She didn’t know...really, she couldn’t begin to try and understand anything...right now all she wanted to do was get away.

The infected she could handle, at this present moment in time she had bigger problems. Rory Clarke and his group of freaks were close on her trail. She’ befriended them all, buying into their shit and promises of aid. She was scared and alone and had turned to others for comfort, only to be betrayed. She’d spend days confined in a small space along with several others, who’d of which had then gone on to be picked off one by one. Now she was free, or as free as she could be with Rory still following her.

Back there it had been a close call; thankfully she’d managed to get away but sadly at the expense of another life. Here she was now running, as fast as he legs could carry her. She had no idea where she was running too, but so long as it was far away from Rory she didn’t give a shit. She could hear him running behind her, pushing through the trees whilst the others called in the distance. Tears streamed her face, burning against her cheeks as she continued to run, her legs aching, her breath becoming limited as she felt her body growing tired.

All this running, all this crying, she was hungry and thirsty and cold. Her body wasn’t cut out for this. The brunette soon fell down, coming to a crashing halt as her body heaved into the pavement. She hit the cold ground with heavy weight, her elbows smacking against the hard ground. She felt an instant burning from her elbows and knees as they collided, grazing the skin which hurt like hell. She winced, rolling onto her side her tearful eyes beaming out ahead of her in the direction she’d been running. She prayed to god Rory didn’t pop up, she felt her heart almost stop beating as she lay there unable to move.

She lay on the ground for what seemed like forever, until eventually she was able to roll back onto her front. She dragged herself to her feet and began to stagger off again, this time slowing right down due to the agonising pain she was trying to deal with right now. As she moved she glanced over her shoulder, keeping an eye on who was to follow behind her. She had no fight in her anymore; she couldn’t fend for herself even if Rory came.

“You can run as much as you like, you’re not going to get anywhere darlin’” A playful voice called out. Rory Clarke loved this; he had such power right now and loved the smell of her fear. Kristen heard the call, but continued to run. She wasn’t going to stop, not for him, not for anyone. Rory wasn’t much for running and happily walked steady behind her, he was certain he’d catch her either way and wouldn’t stop until he did. No, she was far too much of a treasure to let go.

Her heart pounded against her chest as she continued to run. But soon running came at a price and the brunette couldn’t run anymore. She fell down, landing hard against the paving. She felt the pain shoot through her, the burning she got as her elbows met the ground and grazed at her skin. Kristen was drained, physically and emotionally but, Rory had only just begun.

She could only glance over her shoulder and pray that Rory didn’t come now. Her eyes narrowed, beaming into the night air, her breathing almost silenced as she feared for her life. Kristen lifted herself up and began to run once more, but her path became blocked. She almost died of fright, expecting it to be Rory...but it wasn't...it was someone else. "Hey, hey. What's the problem?" The male asked. She had been running for quite some time and this far Rory had yet to catch her, but now that this man was here. Maybe he'd hang back, leave her alone.

Kristen glanced over her shoulder again. Tears streamed down her face, as she turned toward the male. Her body heaved slightly, she was exhausted right now. Kristen sobbed uncontrollably “Please...help...he’s trying to kill me..” she pleaded, her tone desperate as she took a few steps toward the man before collapsing to her knees again.

Right now Rory was not here, he wasn't anywhere near her and she liked it that way. She just wanted to get out of here, but she couldn't get away by herself. She just hoped this man wouldn't leave her here to die.

[Remy Christian]

The neighborhood was as friendly as ever, which was to say it wasn't. Remy only ventured into it, out of the safety of his lab, when he needed provisions or felt like having a bit of target practice. He'd come equipped for the latter, with guns and a can of spray paint. But his plans had been interrupted by the sound of frantic footfalls approaching. Soon a girl appeared, and Remy stopped her. The fear was practically rolling off her, as strong and noticeable as the stench of the undead.

She was crying, she looked behind her, her body shook with the sobs. This was an unusual sight these days. Those who had survived this long tended to be more cathartic, in Remy's experience. Then again, people did break at different times. But it wasn't the zombies that had spooked her. Remy frowned as she told him someone was trying to kill her. That wasn't something someone usually said about the walking dead. Them trying to kill you was pretty much a given. "Who is?" Remy asked, as his bluish-grey eyes scanned the road behind the girl again. He saw nothing, but he didn't doubt the girl was telling the truth. That much fear could only be born from truth. But was she running from the living? and why?

Reaching toward his right holster, he drew one of the Berettas and raised it, its nuzzle pointed upward, one finger resting on the trigger. Fortunately for the girl, Remy's patience had already run short today. If he thought for a moment that someone was trying to come after this young woman, he'd drop that someone without hesitation. "Point him out," he told the girl, but he wouldn't wait forever. He would protect the girl if she needed it, but he wasn't in the mood to chase down any imaginary friends.

[NPC]

Kristen Hunter

Just when she was starting to lose all hope, Remy came out of nowhere. She'd been running for...god knows how long, and had been the only one to escape so far along with another girl who'd been caught not far back there. She was trying her damnedest to get away from Rory and could only hope that her legs held out long enough for her to get to a safe place. Bumping into Remy instilled some confidence in her, making her believe that for now..she could have been safe, but...could she trust him? She had trusted Rory and his friends and now..most of hers were dead.

Kristen practically collapsed into him, before falling to her knees where she trembled and sobbed. She was absolutely petrified and could barely form words to describe why. Eventually she managed to mutter a few, pointing out that she was running away from someone who was seemingly trying to kill her. "Who is?" Remy asked as his eyes scanned the road up ahead. Her chest heaved as she took deep breaths, remaining on her knees she glanced around, over her shoulder, behind dark locks of hair that had been swept about in the wind whilst running. She brushed the locks out of her eyes, sobbing still as her teary gaze looked for Rory.

She heard movement from Remy and looked at him as he pulled his weapon from his holster "Point him out," he asked. She stared at him for a moment, before looking back over her shoulder to where Rory had been chasing her amongst the woodland a couple of yards away. She wiped her eyes again, took a deep breath and slowly picked herself up from the ground "....He's back there...in the woods...he killed...there was another girl." Kristen closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head some "...He's not alone, he's with a group..." She told him, shifting her eyes to him again "...We have to go, before they come here and catch us both...please..I don't think I could handle them taking me back there..."

[Remy Christian]

The young woman was clearly afraid of something. Remy had seen the face of fear often enough of late that he could tell it too easily now. But what she was scared of, he could not tell. There was nothing to run from that he could see. He didn't doubt that something had happened to this girl, though. The fear was too fresh and genuine on her. She had been crying and her hair was disheveled from the run, and Remy almost felt sorry for her. That is, he did feel sorry for her... but he was so numb to everything that it barely registered with him.

He took out a gun and told the girl to point out the threat. She got up while wiping her eyes, then told him that the man was in the woods. Remy knew those woods fairly well; he lived near them and had gone on runs past and through them on many mornings. That time felt so long ago now. There was a group of them, the girl told him, information that changed Remy's perspective not at all. He didn't fear a bunch of predators any more than he feared a pack of zombies. He had been killing the undead for a while now, and he figured killing the living wasn't any different. Not when they were preying on the innocent - which this girl was, as far as Remy could tell. His instincts were usually pretty good regarding other people.

Remy was ready to go hunting for these goons, but the girl was less enthusiastic about running into them. Only his eyes moved as he looked down at her. Was this some sort of trap? Was she hoping he would lead her to his hideout, so she could kill him and take his house for her own? More likely she was just too frightened that this group would kill her even with Remy at her side. That was kind of hard for Remy to wrap his head around. He didn't know fear anymore, or anything else. Aside from his work finding a cure, he was hollow. He didn't feel. And he didn't need to.

A few seconds passed as he studied her warily. Then he lowered his gun and put it back in its holster. "Let's go." He started walking down the street, assuming the girl would keep up. He was not going home; if he had been, he would have gone back up the street. The girl would have to earn his trust before he let her knowingly step within 100 yards of his home.

Where he took her instead was the corner store, which still contained some food and supplies. He had thought the place would empty out much faster, but that had been before most of his neighbors were turned by the undead and then killed by Remy. Now the store was pretty much all his. At the door, he put out a hand to tell her to stop, then raised his gun again and edged inside. The door did not ring as he opened it. There had once been a bell attached to it, and it'd had a cheerful ring to it, back when the shop was run by a kindly old man and his son's family. Remy himself had torn the bell off the door, some time ago. It had made too much noise.

Once he was certain there was no one else - living or undead - in the shop, he waved for the girl to come in. There was a recyclable cloth bag on the counter, of the kind the old man had stubbornly tried to get his customers to use in place of plastic bags. "Get some supplies," he told the girl as he handed the bag to her. That was all the instruction he gave her. He just assumed she would pick things she could eat or use.

He had his backpack, which he seldom left home without. Before, it had only contained the can of spray paint; now he began to toss canned goods into it. He had just restocked a couple of days before, but there was no such thing as too much food right now, and he wanted to see how the girl was going to take to looting for food.

[NPC]

Kristen Hunter

Kristen Hunter was happy to be alive. There was no doubt about that, no question in any way. She'd thought she'd been safe. Kristen thought she'd finally found somewhere she could get by without the threat of constant danger from other humans. Kristen could handle the infected. These mindless freaks were easier to deal with in comparison to the humans who tried to get you. There were some, not a lot, of people who had taken to harming others in this time of dire need and duress. Kirsten had managed to survive and get away from Rory Clarke. It was a miracle in her mind... The young woman was oh so thankful to still be breathing and not be dead at the hands of some freak of nature. The infected could be handled and done away with... But the humans who turned on you... They were the most dangerous. Kristen was just happy to be a survivor right now. That was all that mattered to her... Just getting away from Rory Clarke.

The young woman ran for her life and didn't turn back. She was too afraid to see if he was still behind her. When she finally did stop running, Kristen encountered a blonde man. Kristen was surging with fear and didn't quite make sense. Hard as she might try the young woman couldn't seem to make her words come out right, in full complete sentences. She just knew that she could possibly be safe from Rory while with this man. They moved on and eventually came across a shop the blonde man seemed to think would be good for supplies. Kristen nodded quietly for a moment as she eyed him and the bag he handed her. She wasn't entirely convinced of her overall safety yet... But right now, Kristen was doing better than she had been. The young woman took the bag and began to fill it with supplies. Non-perishables first as they were most important. Anything that could last would be better off in the long run. Then again... Anything perishable was more than likely inedible by now anyway. It didn't matter, Kristen shook the thought slightly and continued to fill the bag. For a moment, she paused and eyed the blonde man. "I'm Kristen by the way..." For a moment, she remained quiet before eyeing him again. "Thanks..." With that she smiled and eyed the man once more before grabbing some more food for her bag.

[Remy Christian]

The shop was as it always was, empty and slowly dwindling in stock. Most of that was Remy's doing. Once, the little mom-and-pop store had been lively with survivors darting in and out for food and supplies, but as those survivors disappeared, so had Remy's competition for the stuff. Now it was essentially Remy's personal pantry.

He picked up various cans and boxes of things. Fortunately, his home still had electricity, and he could cook things and continue to run his tests in search of a cure. He was not sure that everyone in the city had been as lucky. It had been some time since he'd seen a living person. As opposed to an un-living one.

But this young woman had come out of nowhere supposedly being chased by someone. Remy had no idea what might be going on outside his neighborhood, but if it were true, that didn't seem like a very good sign. What kinds of people were out there, potentially moving into his territory? He'd seen the fear in the blonde's eyes when he ran into her.

He had learned to work quickly, picking items somewhat indiscriminately, as he was not too picky about food. The girl had begun picking up non-perishables too, which was smart. He had no idea what was going to happen after this, as he was still wary about letting her, or anyone else, into his home. But finding some other place for her to stay safely was extremely unlikely. He looked up as she introduced herself as Kristen, then thanked him. He had to wonder what she had planned or what she thought his plan was for her, since he still hardly had any idea himself.

"Remy," he said in reply. Having grabbed all he could, he drew a gun and waited for Kristen to finish filling her bag, then nodded toward the door before going over there himself and peering out. The way seemed clear, for now. He pushed open the door and left the shop, and held the door open long enough for Kristen to pass through before leading the way back up the street. It would be unwise to dally here, and the only safe place he knew to go to from here was his home, so... that's where they were headed.

[NPC]

Kristen Hunter

Right now her mind was a blue, Kristen wasn't entirely sure what was going on let alone what she was doing now or even going to do afterwards. She easily followed the man, did as instructed and began gathering supplies but...what was she doing? really?...she'd just been two seconds away from losing her life and here she was acting as if it didn't matter.

She furrowed her brows, as she continued to place stuff in the bag until eventually it got to much for her and she broke down in tears. Kristen dropped the can that she grasped in her hand and fell to her knees. Suffice to say, she was extremely overwhelmed amongst other things. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry any more because this whole situation seemed so absurd that it was almost laughable at times.

The brunette sniffed. Remaining in a heap on the ground. She was grateful for his help, but in the end what did it matter? Kristen had lost everyone close to her and even had gone to lose apart of herself. This world had become something that even she of all people felt couldn't deal with. Maybe the worse thing to happen was him saving her, because at least if she'd been killed there...she'd have been rescued from all the other bullshit that was to follow.

She was a state, and absolute crying mess of a woman. It didn't come all too surprising giving her situation and what she had just endured, but then again..what was crying really going to solve?