On The Verge of Survival [Open]

Ash Farstall

Ash leaned against the wall of the building next to the rooftop she was on and sighed. Her eyes closed as the facts dawned on her. I'm all alone, she thought, her eyes opening and looking at the night sky above her. She took a deep breath. The girl was okay with being alone before, but now, the eerie feeling of aloneness that set her nerves on edge told her that she wasn't really alone. There were those creatures out there, lurking in the corners; those creatures out there, that Ash had just witnessed murder the girl that lived across the hall.

The question of how she even made it to the rooftop unscathed amazed her. I guess getting a top floor apartment was a good idea after all, she thought, hugging her knees to her chest. She would have maybe forced a laugh, had the situation not be so grim. She blinked back a few tears, her mind running into a flashback of her mom calling, just a few days before the Infection broke out. Her mother advised her to come live with her and her father, until the threats of outbreak in her area died down, but Ash, being her stubborn self, simply brushed the suggestions off of her shoulders and continued as if things were normal. They obviously weren't.

Ash swallowed her sadness and decided to stand. She looked around slowly, almost as if she were expecting an Infected to come out of nowhere and kill her right then. As much as the posibilties were high, Ash knew that wouldn't be, at least for a while. She looked at the table on her left, her eyes scanning over the weapons that were right there, for her use. They were probably there for an evacutaion plan by a family, but she'd need them just as much as the parents and their children. She had no one to protect her now, except for herself. Her fingers ran over the surface of a submachine gun, though she flinched at the unfamiliar touch. She almost didn't want to pick up the weapon, to just leave it there and fend for herself only using her strength (which probably wasn't much, alone.) Her eyes flickered over to the medpacks on the same table. She slowly picked one up and placed it over her shoulders, using the straps like a backpack. The few excess pounds from the pack made her feel awkwardly unstable, but she adjusted and stood straight.

Her hands moved back to the weaponry, picking up the one she eyed earlier. She shifted her hands, mimicking the actions of some actor she'd seen in some movie she'd seen before the world went haywire. She stared down as it and blinked before looking forward at the new world around her.

A few song lyrics popped into her head as she sung them outloud in a whisper,

"This is it, the apocalypse."

Annabel walked out on to the rooftop. She looked around at what seemed to be the dead abandoned street full of them. She never really liked them. It was the same thing everytime she encountered one of them. It hears her, She sees it, It chases her, She kills it. She was tired of the same old same old. Especially since she was alone. She had no one to talk to. No one help her or guide her. She had some people but that was a while ago. Before they got bit and turned and then tried to attack her before she killed them. She looked around cold, tired, and hungry for anything that could be of use to her. That's when she saw her. Another person. She saw the girl walk over to the table. She saw her put on... could it be?... A health kit. Just what Annabel needed. She watched the girl look over what seemed to be 2 guns. Annabel then slowly stepped out of the shadows. 
"Hi." was all she said. 
After all she might be scaring the girl considering she looked like she was in her own little world.
  

Ash Farstall

Ash jumped backwards and placed her hand on her chest as her eyes met with a girl's. She backed towards the wall behind her and flinched once she hit it. Was she just hallucinating a girl so she wouldn't feel so alone? She gulped as she held her submachine gun tightly, her muscles tight from anxiety.

"If you're not Infected, stay back," she managed to get out, although it sounded a lot more weaker than she intended it to be. Ash didn't see any signs of the Flu in this new girl. She didn't look a lot familiar to Ash; had she lived nearby? Ash' limbs loosened as she felt rather stupid. Infected couldn't say hello to a human, let alone talk at all. She frowned as she saw the other Survivor eye the supplies on the table. She was probably as in need as she was. Ash stepped to the other side of the table so the girl could take something if she wanted it. The girl awkwardly stood, silence filling up again. She scanned the city around her with her eyes slowly, looking for any signs of help or rescue. She took the tiny pistol out of her holster that rested on her leg and filled it with bullets.

So... What's your name?" Ash asked, both rather curiously and nervously. She didn't want to seem clingy to the other girl, who she'd just met no more than a few minutes ago. She put her pistol back in it's place and placed her submachine gun on the table next to her.

"Chill out. I'm not infected if I was infected I certainly would not be speaking right now, number one, number 2 my name is Annabel. Annabel Hill." Annabel noticed the girl step aside from the table. As she stepped aside, Annabel walked up to the table and strung a health kit around her back. She looked over the 2 gun options and immediately grabbed a shotgun and as much ammo as she could carry for it. "So I frankly would like to get out of here, you're more than welcome to join me but be warned the undead is especially feisty in this part of the area." Annabel said as she started to look down at the sides of the building and walk to a door to open it. 
  

Ash Farstall

Ash shrunk back against the wall once the girl - Annabel, as she introduced herself as - told her to "chill out" and that she wasn't Infected. She nodded slowly as she then told Ash her plan. She looked at Annabel's choice of weapon, then down at her own on the table. Annabel's looked more powerful, being a shotgun and all, compared to Ash's small submachine gun. She picked up a shotgun that looked like Annabel's and loaded it with ammunition.

"So, I uh," the girl stammered out, her social anxieties taking over. She was used to isolation, but being alone would get her killed in a world like this. "Were you from around here? Before it hit?" She shoved some spare shells into the pockets of her jacket. She put her shotgun around her shoulders by it's sling and took out her pistol. She followed Annabel through a door and closed the door behind her. She recognized the apartment they were going into as the one she used to live in before everything went wrong. She walked slowly farther into her apartment, going to the bathroom to see if water was still running, but one of them was in there, waiting for her. She froze, her finger stuck on the trigger of her pistol, but not wanting to pull. It was just about to touch her before she pulled the trigger, sending a bullet embarrassingly nowhere where she intended it to go. The zombie stumbled backwards and she loaded her weapon and shot at it again, although this time, a bullet lodged into it's leg, and the recoil of the weapon sent Ash placing her back foot farther back to regain her balance. The sound of the shot echoed loudly through her home. She sighed as the Infected was dead on the floor, but she went to Annabel anyway.

"I killed one," she said, her eyes watering. She never imagined herself saying that ever. She blinked back her tears, not wanting to come off as weak to Annabel anymore than she has already, especially since Annabel seemed like she had her shit together.

"Maybe you should go first," Ash's said shakily, her voice cracking. She took a deep breathe while closing her eyes and reassuring herself that she was alright. This is gonna be a long apocalypse, she thought to herself, the words bouncing around in her mind.