forum //where the dead men lie// >>closed<< stalkers welcome tho 0.0

Started May 24, 2021 by @Celeste_X0X0_ group

tune

(okay heads up, setting the weather in my post. I'll update it whenever it changes)
(depending on where you are, the storm varies. Id say at the apartment it's pouring hard, thundering and lightning bad. At the convenience store, it's probably just starting to rain, wind picking up. At the house with Cass and the girls, they can see the clouds rolling in and it's getting pretty cold. And with Tap and Travis, the rain is probably just starting and light thunder. Everywhere there are signs of thunder and a little bit of lightning, and strong winds. During storms, screamers probably are outside more than in a building. So buildings are the safest place to be at the moment.
I put this there so everyone sees and can incorporate it into their posts if they would like to, however they would like to. :)

Jesse finds herself in front of the apartment building, knowing no one was waiting for her inside. She couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not.
Her hair and clothes now drenched by the storm. The dark grey clouds continue to roll in, turning almost a black color compared to it's normal snow white pigmentation. Wind rolls over her cold skin, her complexion slightly more pale due the cold atmosphere. Jesse steps inside carefully, looking around the dark hallways. It was hard to listen for any sounds anyone or anything could possibly be making at the moment due to the patter of the rain against the building. She runs her hand over her arms once she gets to a point where the wind was no longer affecting her.
Touching her skin stung from the constant rain hitting her the whole time she walked towards her destination from the convenience store. From Elodie.
Jesse makes her way up the stairs until she finds herself in front of the room Elodie and her had stayed in the night before. There was no expression on her face other than her usual glare. Looking down the hallway both left and right before twisting the cold doorknob and stepping inside of the room. The halls were dark and eerie, the only sound heard was the storm from outside and the rattles of the windows and doors as the thunder shocks the earth below.
Closing the door behind her, she lets out a deep breath, dropping the bags on the floor and beginning to undress herself, bringing her clothing over the sink and twisting the fabric in her hand, squeezing the water out into the sink then hanging it over some open cabinets to dry.

Sure enough, Josefine made Lyn lay on the bed, to which Lyn somewhat reluctantly complied. Sef stayed sitting, and they tried to think of things that would make Lyn fall asleep. This ironically made her fall asleep, though the distant sound of low thunder might have helped too. Sef stood up, about to leave to find a shower, but then came a knock at the bedroom door.
Upon opening it, Sef blinked , “oh, ola, o senhor.” Taking a breath, her gaze landed on the bowls. “Are those for us? You didn’t have to, sir, but thanks.”

(Travis and Tap meeting Jesse sounds fine to me! Also sorry I haven't been around much T.T)

Gus hugged Jasper back just as tightly, relief flooding through him when he saw that he'd managed to say the right thing. "No problem kiddo," he whispered back. "Ain't no trouble at all." He was content to stay there in the back room with her as long as she wanted, setting aside his concern for the others and stress of the long night for the moment. One thing at a time. Jasper might act strong, and she had a knack for blending into the background sometimes, but at the end of the day she was the youngest survivor in the group and she shouldn't have to carry all her own burdens alone.
"I think," Gus said after a while, "that you should eat a little somethin' and then have yourself a nap. It's been a rough few hours, and things'll look better in th' mornin, I reckon. How's that sound?"

The storm seemed to come out of nowhere, or maybe Travis had just not payed enough attention to the sky to notice it coming. This changed when a flicker of lightning broke through the gloom, quickly followed by a rumble from much too close. Travis grumbled a curse and squinted into the rain for signs of shelter.
"We'd better get inside," he said, taking charge without hesitation. He started forward briskly, eyes on the nearby buildings. To his relief, they looked like reasonably intact apartments. "C'mon, take my hand so you don't get lost. I'll find us somewhere nice to hunker down."

(It's okay!)

She jumped when she heard the lightning, then all of a sudden the rain and the wind blowing around them.
crap- I can hardly see now.
She listened to what Travis was saying, and moved to grab his hand, almost missing it. Once she had it she gripped it tightly, nodding along with what he was saying.
"Right."
She just grabbed onto him squeezing his hand. She was gonna stick near him for the whole time they were moving, head forward not like she could see or do much.

Jesse looks around the room before heading into the smaller room she had her belongings in. She kneels down beside one of her bags and pulls out her sweats and a roughed up, rather thin hoodie and some undergarments. She slips them on and pulls her wet hair back with her now wet bandana.
She looks out the window and into the road, only peeking just a little. A smaller creature about the size of a cat scampers across the road in the road, though is snatched up a bigger form hiding in the shadows of one of the alleys it ran into. All you hear is a loud squeal and a crunch before any other sounds was drowned out by the rain. She swallows, her eyes glued to the creature as it slinks out onto the road. It's skin was a pale, translucent color with red splotches near the joins. It was about the size of a Clydesdale horse and its back is hunched over. It walks on all fours and its front legs reminded Jesse of how bats arms were without the wings. It's stretches and pulls on its bones with every walk it takes and the gravel beneath it scraping off skin every step it took. Its face looks as if it had more of the shape of a horses head but very small, human eyes and its mouth hung open. Blood drips form its long tongue and onto the ground as it looks around. Jesse could see the remains of the animal it had just devoured through it's translucent belly. She could see all of its organs as well. It seemed to be human organs just bigger.
Jesse slowly gets out of the view of the window and hurries to grab her machete, just in case it knew she was there. In the two years this had been going on, she had never seen something that looked quite like this. Especially the skin color, as they were more often a black tar like tone and their skin was thick. Was this one dying? That would explain the translucency and thinness of the skin but not the hue. Though Jesse didn't know the biology behind these things.

-

Cass looks down to her, offering her the bowl of soup "yeah of course it is. I don't know when the last time you ate so i figured id just fill it up all the way. I hope you don't mind" He says, a little unsure of himself and the serving size he had gotten them.
(sorry its also short as well)

(Travis and Tap meeting Jesse sounds fine to me! Also sorry I haven't been around much T.T)

Gus hugged Jasper back just as tightly, relief flooding through him when he saw that he'd managed to say the right thing. "No problem kiddo," he whispered back. "Ain't no trouble at all." He was content to stay there in the back room with her as long as she wanted, setting aside his concern for the others and stress of the long night for the moment. One thing at a time. Jasper might act strong, and she had a knack for blending into the background sometimes, but at the end of the day she was the youngest survivor in the group and she shouldn't have to carry all her own burdens alone.
"I think," Gus said after a while, "that you should eat a little somethin' and then have yourself a nap. It's been a rough few hours, and things'll look better in th' mornin, I reckon. How's that sound?"

She just continues to hug him, burying her face into his chest as he talked. She winced slightly as she tightened her grip on Gus.
She tried to play it off like nothing happened, nodding on to what he said.
ow..
"I..I am hungry.." She mumbled, slightly muffled by pressing her face halfway into Gus. She moved to let go and rub her eyes letting out a soft yawn as she did so.
Her sleeves stuck to her wrists instead of kinda hanging there.
She looked down at the ground in thought.
"Will, will you-.." She shook her head. "Nevermind."

“Not at all,” Josefine said coolly. “Our bellies have been empty for a while. Just thought we could go down and get it ourselves, though.”
“Sef,” Lyn’s voice rose from the bed. She had apparently woken up. “He’s being nice.”
“I know, I know,” Sef said, looking over her shoulder at her.
“So thank him already, caramba.”
Sef snorted, but turned back to Cass and took the bowls. ”Obrigada. We appreciate it.”

Cass watches as the two girls interact with each other "that's alright." he says with a soft smile "i don't mind. You're guests after all" Cassius shrugs, handing her the bowls as she took them. "you're welcome. If you guys need anything else, let me know. And for you safety, i would appreciate it if im informed anytime you go out for any reason. Just so we know if you're missing or in danger" he says. He hoped they didn't take his words in any rude way.
"im going to go ahead and go downstairs. If you can't find Fia or me inside, we most likely will be in the backyard. You're welcome to join us anytime you girls would like" he offers, stepping back out of the doorway just in case they wanted to close the door
-
Jesse pressed her back against the wall, peeking out the window just a bit to see the figure once again. It looked like its small eyes had sunken into it's horse-like skull and it didn't have very good vision. Was this just very old? Jesse didn't think they aged but maybe they do. It was very different to the way humans, or any animal aged. This was something else…
Jesse had no idea where these things came from in the first place. All she knows it in some way or another, they always resemble a human being, how they communicate, and they are deadly. She only was out to survive, not to learn about where they come from and how they work. Unless it benefits her. And she couldn't see how that would be possible.
The creature stops, its legs shaking and its pale, translucent thin becoming paler by the minute. Were they also affected by temperature? It was freezing out where she was due to the weather and the fact that icy rain continued to pelt down onto the creatures skin.
It's veins protruded out from its skin, looking as if they were on the outside but not quite yet. It looked like it was a defect of some experiment but them being experiments had never crossed her mind. To her, they are monsters meant to kill and be killed. Nothing more.
It slinks into the dark alleyway once again, she watches as it burrows into a tipped over metal dumpster, shivering before its eyes close and its breath evens out and it falls asleep.

(Sorry it's short and all, I've been having a rough week and I'm currently looking for a new job so I'm pretty drained rn. I meant to reply like two days ago oof)

"Well now, if you're hungry then we can rustle somethin' up…." Something in Jasper's voice made Gus hesitate. He took her shoulders and held her out so he could get a good look at her. "What is it? You need something else?" To his careful eye, she almost seemed…. pained somehow. He frowned. "Kid, are you sure you're okay?"

Travis led the way along the edge of the street where the buildings partly sheltered them, going just slow enough that Tap could follow without losing her footing but fast enough that hopefully they would avoid being noticed by unfriendly creatures. So far they seemed to be alone, but Travis knew from experience that the rainstorm would bring the screamers into the open like worms from the dirt. They had to find a place to hunker down, and fast.
Up ahead, the apartments loomed. They seemed deserted from the outside, and there weren't many broken doors or windows on the ground floor, so they might be safe for the night. But Travis still approached cautiously, avoiding the open street and constantly scanning the area for movement. "This way," he hissed to Tap, making for a nearby fire escape. "We can find a way in upstairs and make sure this place isn't hiding any nasty surprises."

(idk if you want this to be Jesse's building, Write? Or maybe one nearby? This might be how they run into each other)

(good luck with the job search Dusty! I hope it all works out for you ^3^ ~<3)
(Yeah you can have them come into Jesse's building!!)

Jesse relaxes just a little at the sight of the creature as it slept, seeking shelter just like any normal creature. She was temped to go out there and kill it, but she convinces herself not to, as it wasn't being a threat to her. And hey, maybe it would ward off others from coming in?
She shakes her head, knowing that wouldn't be affective one bit just by looking at it in the dark alley. Someone could pass it and not even see it there.
And plus, she had just changed into dry clothes. She wasn't about to get these wet to. And risk a cold? No way. Even if Jesse did have any sort of sickness, she would never admit it to herself or anyone else.
Turning around, she decides to go out into the hallway and look out one of the broken windows. Once she steps into the hallway, the temperature changes drastically and so did the lighting. It was darker in the halls and the doors rattled with every gush of wind coming in through the broken windows. Blood stained the tiles she stood on as well as the walls. She didn't mind that either.
She leans her head out of the window to keep a look out, rain immediately reaching her damp hair once again, the air frigid and every gust of wind was stronger than the last. Looking up to the sky for any signs of a tornado, she didn't see any. She didn't figure but just in case she didn't want to be caught in one of the higher stories of an apartment building. Worse comes to worse, she goes down to the breaker room in the basement of the building.
Her eyes scan the streets and lock onto two figures in the rain. The fog makes it harder to make out, but she knew they were human. She quickly looks to the creature in the alley a few buildings over, then slips her head back into the building, hoping they didn't see her.
"Scheisse" She mumbles to herself in German, rushing into her room and pulling her pistol out, leaving any other weapons in her bag and hiding it in the bathroom ceiling tile.
She slides the tile back into place, patting it a few times to make sure her bags were up there safely and the tile was going to hold before stepping down and loading her pistol, her machete still on her side.

Josephine nodded firmly. “Well, we probably won’t go out for a while,” she chuckled. “Thanks again.” She shut the door with her foot, then went over to the small table set between the beds. Setting the bowls down, she said, “You might want to eat this before it gets cold.”
Lyn grunted, and sat up. “Smells good,” she murmured.
“Mhm,” Sef agreed. “I’m starving.” She handed a bowl to her friend.
She chucked softly. “Same,” she said, moving to the edge of the bed and taking the bowl. Sef did the same, on her own bed. It seemed that Cassius didn’t give them spoons, but instead of going to ask for some, they just sipped the soup straight from the bowl. They both regretted it though, when it scorched their tongues. They had to take a moment for it to cool down, at least a bit, before they could keep sipping.

(Sorry it's short and all, I've been having a rough week and I'm currently looking for a new job so I'm pretty drained rn. I meant to reply like two days ago oof)

"Well now, if you're hungry then we can rustle somethin' up…." Something in Jasper's voice made Gus hesitate. He took her shoulders and held her out so he could get a good look at her. "What is it? You need something else?" To his careful eye, she almost seemed…. pained somehow. He frowned. "Kid, are you sure you're okay?"

She tenses up a bit as he asked if she was okay, and she nodded to him almost immediately.
"Y-yeah! I'm- I'm o-okay." She didn't make eye contact through out saying that. She glanced at her wrists before looking away again.
She pulled against her sleeves, and they made a sticking noise before just clinging on a again.
Her wrist seemed..a bit red.
"Can we just g-go eat..?"

Travis led the way along the edge of the street where the buildings partly sheltered them, going just slow enough that Tap could follow without losing her footing but fast enough that hopefully they would avoid being noticed by unfriendly creatures. So far they seemed to be alone, but Travis knew from experience that the rainstorm would bring the screamers into the open like worms from the dirt. They had to find a place to hunker down, and fast.
Up ahead, the apartments loomed. They seemed deserted from the outside, and there weren't many broken doors or windows on the ground floor, so they might be safe for the night. But Travis still approached cautiously, avoiding the open street and constantly scanning the area for movement. "This way," he hissed to Tap, making for a nearby fire escape. "We can find a way in upstairs and make sure this place isn't hiding any nasty surprises."

She nodded in understanding, not that she thought he could see her nod but it was better then talking and something hearing them.
She moved to get a grip on the fire escape and moved to start climbing it as she had a good feel for it.
She made sure she was sticking on the fire escape and didn't go off of it in anyway.

Cass steps out and heads down the stairs, catching Fia in the kitchen, trying to drop a dandelion in the soup. "Ophelia" he says, crossing his arms.
She jumps, turning around to look at her father with wide eyes. "It'd taste better if i put them in there. And till look pretty too" She explains to him. He takes in a deep breath, glad he wasn't heating it up anymore. Though it wasn't hot enough to burn her, he was still worried.
"baby, you need to listen to me okay" he says, pinching the bridge of his nose before stepping over to her. "what did i say Fia?" he asks her, kneeling down to her. She nods to him "you don't want me going near the stove." she says with a heavy, dramatic sigh
Cassius nods slowly "yeah that's part of it. Why don't i want you going near the stove?" he asks
"because i could get hurt" she says
He smiles "exactly. I don't want you getting hurt and you don't want to get hurt either. So unless im around, don't go near the stove"
She furrows her brows 'but-"
"Do you want to help in the garden?" he asks her. She nods "yeah!" she says excited now.
"You wont be able to if you do something like that again." he says.

(ty for the support guys, you're the best :) )

"Well now hold on," Gus said, becoming slightly alarmed again as he noticed Jasper was trying to hide something. "Jasper, what's wrong with your wrists? They don' look too good." He reached out a hand and beckoned, not in a stern way, but firmly. "C'mon, lemme see. It's alright, I won't get mad or nothin'."

Once he was sure Tap could follow him, Travis crept up the stairs to the upper landing and began trying to quietly jimmy open the door. It was locked, of course, and he lacked the patience or visibility to try and pick it, so after a moment he hopped over the fire escape railing and clambered to a window sitting beside them. This was much easier to force open, even one-handed, and soon the darkness beyond stared invitingly back at him.
Before climbing through, he glanced over at Tap. "Stay here and don't make a peep," he instructed, speaking as loudly as he dared over the rain. "I'm gonna go in and try to open that door from the other side. It'll just take me a second, don't worry." Then he slunk into the empty apartment room, blinking to adjust to the dim light as he began hunting for a way into the main hall.

(Of course dusty!)

She immediately moved her wrists towards herself when gus asked to see them. She couldn't let him see what she did…even if he said he wouldn't get mad.
She was sure he would.
"My w-wrists are f-fine!" She nervously spoke, moving to look around for exits though she didn't want to run.
She held onto her wrists but winced when she held on too hard.

Once he was sure Tap could follow him, Travis crept up the stairs to the upper landing and began trying to quietly jimmy open the door. It was locked, of course, and he lacked the patience or visibility to try and pick it, so after a moment he hopped over the fire escape railing and clambered to a window sitting beside them. This was much easier to force open, even one-handed, and soon the darkness beyond stared invitingly back at him.
Before climbing through, he glanced over at Tap. "Stay here and don't make a peep," he instructed, speaking as loudly as he dared over the rain. "I'm gonna go in and try to open that door from the other side. It'll just take me a second, don't worry." Then he slunk into the empty apartment room, blinking to adjust to the dim light as he began hunting for a way into the main hall.

She stood there in the rain and the wind, already most likely getting soaked as she stood there and tried to lean against the door for more shelter. She hoped nothing came around this area or on the fire escape, as she wouldn't be able to defend herself if she couldn't see what was attacking her.
She wished she had at least a little better vision but she doubted that woukd have helped in the first place.

After hopping down from the small counter in the bathroom, she heads out the door and into the hallway of the apartment once again. She knew she didn't have much cover, but in her eyes, it was always best to play offensive in situations like these. Though Jesse was a severely impatient person and never liked it if she had to act like a sitting duck while on the defense. Just waiting for someone to come in guns a blazing.
She looks down to her pistol, double checking to see if it's loaded. Seeing as it was, she continues down the hall, careful not to make much noise. She kept her footsteps as light as possible and she listened to every sound in the building. Well, all that she could anyway.
She wasn't at the top floor by any means, but the broken windows around her let her hear a distant voice from above. Or below? It was hard to tell as the rain beat down on the large building.
Frustrated, Jesse curses once again under her breath. She wasn't used to her senses being messed with by things she couldn't help. Nonetheless, she sticks to the sides of the hall, her side running up against the wall.
She stays silent still, though not worried too much about it. As far as she knew, the only reaper in a mile radius was that sickly looking one that looks like its on its last straw. And if it wanted to come to her, she had no doubts she could easily take it out. Though with how fast it snatched up that creature before it hid, it made her a little paranoid that she didn't know for sure what it was capable of. Either way, she didn't want to find out.
So she resists the urge to call out to whoever was there and instead she sneaks around the building. The cold breeze insists on blowing in through the windows and cracks, making her shiver in the slightest.

Gus knew Jasper was getting more skittish by the second, but he couldn't just let the matter drop. "Jasper," he said gently. "Listen here. I know you don't wanna tell me what's wrong. But we're part of a group now. And when you're part of a group, you gotta talk to each other and let somebody know when you're in trouble, otherwise we can't make smart choices about how t' survive. What if I hurt my leg but didn't tell you, and we had to run from a monster an' I couldn't keep up because I was limping? If we both knew I was injured, we might've taken a different path." He smiled encouragingly. "Besides, it's like I was jus' sayin'. You shouldn't have t' handle this on your own. Sometimes, our problems look a lot smaller when we share 'em with somebody else."

Travis was in a tiny living room of some kind, cold and derelict and clearly empty. After listening to the building for a second, he decided to risk taking out a small penlight and switching it on, shielding the light with his hand as he stole over to the door. Beyond it was a corridor with torn carpeting and moldy walls. Travis listened again, then turned left, his inner compass telling him that the emergency exit was close by.
Sure enough, it appeared from the gloom ahead of him after a few steps, and he held the penlight in his teeth so he could undo the latches and rip away the alarm wires to make absolutely sure they wouldn't go off. Then, he opened the door with a few good tugs and waved for Tap to come through. "Okay, get inside quick. And keep it down, I dunno what else might be around here."

She whimpered softly, looking up at gus with extremely begging eyes. She desperately did not want to show him, she knew in the end that they would probably find out…but she didn't want them to know just yet.
Though, if gus wanted he could probably force her to show him what she did. She wasn't exactly doing a great job of keeping her wrists away from him or trying to hide anything.
_____
She almost fell inward when he opened the door, stumbling a bit.
"A-alright." She nodded, moving inside of the building and glad to be inside even if it didn't provide that much cover from the storm.
She moved to look around, squinting to try and see what she could. It didn't look good from what she saw, she let out a soft sigh. She hoped nothing else was in here.

Jesse stays on the same floor and makes her way down the hallway, only to see a small white light near the emergency exit. Quickly, she pulls her back towards the door of one of the rooms, the indentation in the wall hiding her just enough to not make her obvious. Though with how big she was, it definitely wasn't hiding her whole body. She slowly twists the doorknob until it softly clicks. Jesse knew whoever they were, probably heard that so she slips inside of the room and waits. She shuts the door a little louder to maybe draw them towards her.
She listens to the hushed voices, not able to make out any words though. She moves to the side of the doorway and keeps her eyes on the handle, ready to shoot anyone who walks inside. Though she wouldn't shoot on site unless they too, had a gun and was ready to shoot her. Or posed as any sort of threat to her.

When the girls had both eaten most of the soup, Lyn went back to resting and Sef once again went out of the room to take a shower, bringing the only change of clothes she had. Eventually, she found the upstairs bathroom, but since there was no shower in sight she had to go downstairs. She heard Cassius and Ophelia speaking in the kitchen, but did not bother to try and figure out what they were saying. Her sole focus was the bathroom, and getting herself clean.
Once she had closed the door, she tied her locs into a small bun and then started looking around for a towel. There certainly wasn’t an abundance of dry towels, but she did find one, and undressed after turning the shower handle, letting water stream from the head. Though the water was cold, Sef made it as quick as possible, maybe around five minutes. Then, after drying off and twisting the towel around her head, she put on her change of clothes.

Gus stared at Jasper worriedly, wishing he could just make her tell him what was wrong and fix it with a wave of his hand. But he was no miracle-worker. And he couldn't make himself put that much pressure on her, not when she already looked so upset.
"At least tell me why you don't want me to know," he pleaded. "Just so I can understand, okay? Then we can get you some food and I'll let you sleep fer a while, I promise."

Travis helped Tap inside and eased the door shut, giving her a slight grin. "I told you I wouldn't be long. C'mon, let's go find a nice cozy place to hunker down for the night. I've got some food too if you–"
He broke off, whipping around to look down the hall. He could've sworn he'd heard something moving nearby. But when he slowly pointed his light into the shadows, there was nothing.
Travis didn't trust the silence one bit. "Stick close to me," he breathed, pulling Tap with him as he crept along the wall, where the floor wouldn't creak quite as much. With his free hand, he pulled out his machete and held it at the ready, eyes locked on the first few closed doors that they passed.
One in particular sat right where Travis had heard the sound a moment ago. Pausing, he stood to the side of the doorway and carefully turned the knob, pushing the door open and waiting just around the corner in case a screamer came leaping out.