Gecko
New member
[High School]
Arthur
The sun’s light cascaded down onto the earth below and shone through the various cracks in the orange and red leaves of the trees. The leaves had only just begun to fall, and nearly all of the trees were bare due to the oncoming cold weather. Winter was coming, and probably relatively quicker than Arthur had anticipated. Even though it was in the late afternoon, it still felt to be in the lower fifties outside. A puff of white air faded into the world around as Arthur exhaled out with each breath he took. He had been able to find himself a long-sleeved button-up shirt, and beneath it was a long-sleeved white shirt. Covering his button-up shirt was a heavy, dark brown overcoat. He had been forced to change his old blue jeans for some newer ones due to the old ones having numerous holes in them. Underneath his usual worn brown boots were a pair of thick grey wool socks.
The old man glanced up at the blue sky above him and wiped a band across his brow. Was it strange for a man like him to actually sweat in cold weather? Probably. However, even before the outbreak Arthur had found ways to sweat even in the coldest of weather conditions. When he was younger, his mother would often scold him for taking his warm coat off during the day, and for good reason - he would catch a cold almost every time he did. Now, being older, he had learned how to deal and cope with his unrelenting bodily heat, and he never took his coat off because of those old memories. It had saved his life in the past from being bitten by the Ophies. A deep sigh came from his lips as he blinked and looked back down the direction in front of him.
He hadn’t ridden a horse for quite some time and his ass was way past being sore. Though he felt relatively comfortable and the muscle memory aided him when they were being attacked. Arthur had been able to steal at least one horse from some small group of scavengers and he made sure to pull Addison onto the horse along for the ride to escape. That had been two days ago. Arthur glanced backward to check and see if she had fallen asleep or if she was actually still awake. He had made sure to ride nonstop and had decided to finally come to a stop once they reached a nearby house or city.
Arthur thought about the first time he had even met Addison, the young woman who had snuck into a place where he had taken refuge for the night and attempted to steal his shit. He had caught her by gripping her wrist tightly, and he had aimed his spare handgun upwards to shoot and kill the unknown thief, pausing to pull the trigger once he realized it was a young girl. He had been both pissed and shocked. If she had been any older, he would have followed through with his attack. However, Arthur doesn’t kill kids. He could never bring himself to and broke down in tears when he shot one a few years back. He had made sure not to lose his grip on her as he stood from his knelt position, stuffed his handgun in the back of his pants, and tied her hands behind her back before she could do any damage to him. The next day he woke up and decided to let her go because he couldn’t deal with kids (well, at least he thought he couldn’t despite wanting some of his own). He had basically shoved her towards the door and just as he was about to push her out, a bullet whizzed past his head. In a rush, he had yanked her backward and knelt down near the back of the wall after having slammed the door shut. After the battle with their enemy, Arthur had decided that he would keep her around until he found a place to leave her. That had happened four months ago and he had found that the more time he spent with her, especially in the heat of battle, he needed to protect her. Even though he didn’t want to let her go, Arthur had still decided that he would leave the young girl with an old friend he knew had a place hidden out somewhere in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The old man knew that she would be safe there, so long as the place was still being held by that certain individual. Though, he hadn’t told Addison any of his plans to leave here. He kept it to himself in the back of his mind. It would still take them a long while until they reached Tennessee since they were on the furthest side of Georgia, even on horseback.
Another sigh came from the old man as he turned to look back toward their destination. There was a large high school made from red bricks and Arthur was honestly a bit surprised that they hadn’t been caught by bandits, or the infected yet. They were probably hidden inside…. Arthur knew that he and his young companion would handle whatever was inside...but that didn’t mean that he feared for her life whenever they killed unwanted guests. He blinked as he wondered how far they were from the city of Atlanta and Arthur glanced back at Addison. He had given her the map way before they stole the horse.
Addison
Addison had been tightly grasping the older man’s waist in her sleep as the horse trotted along. The right side of her face rested on his back and the hood of her dark green winter jacket was pulled around her head snugly enough to keep her warm, though her breath still escaped in small bursts. There wasn’t exactly a wide variety of clothes to wear, so Addison stuck with what she had: a pair of ripped jeans with her t-shirt and flannel over top. It wasn’t a lot, but it was good enough.
Addison opened and rubbed her eyes as she felt Arthur turn around, looking up at him after he turned back around. He was thinking about something, she could tell. She took a moment to look at their surroundings and see what was going on. It was getting colder outside, meaning winter would be coming soon. Addison gave a short, stifled yawn. “Are we stopping soon?” she asked in a groggy voice. “My ass hurts from sitting on this horse for so long.”
As Arthur turned back around, Addison suddenly wondered if they were lost. It wasn’t the worst thing to happen, but it would certainly suck like hell. She felt something crinkle and looked down, seeing the map crumpled up against her jacket. That was frustrating. Addison pulled it out and flattened it as best she could before reaching forward to pass it on to Arthur. “Here, I don’t wanna hold this. I can’t even read a map.” She looked at the high school up ahead and furrowed her brow. If all those movies were right, it was a good thing she wouldn’t have to experience high school. It seemed like hell.
Addison never had an easy time in school. She hated having class and was known for ditching as often as possible as well as for picking fights. Everyone was an idiot, an asshole, or both. Her mother came down often for Addison’s misconduct, which was probably one of the reasons why they fought so much. Addison’s only friend was her father, and it was more than likely that he was dead considering how long it had been since the outbreak.
While remembering school incidents, Addison cupped her hands together and blew her breath over her fingers to warm them. Her nose and cheeks were rosy from the cold already.
Arthur
Arthur perked up a bit when he heard a soft yawn and a few groggy questions come from his sleeping companion. He glanced back at her a bit and nodded, mumbling “Yeah, I was thinking about checking out the high school for supplies and maybe staying the night there if we can’t find anywhere better.”
He turned and made a clicking noise from his mouth and their horse quickened its pace towards the school. After a few moments, once they were in the old parking lot, Arthur heard something like paper crinkle and suddenly he was being offered the crumpled map. He took it from Addison’s hand and muttered a low “thanks,” before he stopped the horse to spread the paper. It seemed like Addison had tried to straighten the large piece of paper out for him. It took him a moment, but the old man was finally able to find the spot they were at in Georgia. It would be at least a day or two before they even reached Atlanta. They might as well stock up on what they could. Slipping off the horse, the much older male lifted the reins over the horse’s head and held them close to him. A light breeze made him shudder a bit as he looked up at Addison, asking “You wanna ride him while I guide him to the flagpole. Do you want to get off and walk with me?”
Addison
Addison stared at the high school while Arthur looked at the map. She began to lose herself in old memories from before. Perhaps things would have still been shitty if the outbreak never happened, or maybe she would have lived with a family that reformed itself from terrible traditions of the past. It was one of those things that she would have to live with not knowing, and Addison was fine with that. Deep in her heart, she knew that things wouldn't have worked out in the end. Life isn't always shits and giggles.
Addison was ripped from her thoughts as Arthur got off the horse and held the reins tightly, asking if she wanted to ride him over. Her eyes wandered to the horse, looking at his dark black eyes and down the smooth snout, all the way down to a tender pink nose. It was such a magnificent beast to look at, but it also felt as though it was dangerous to sit on top of him without Arthur being there as well. Addison shook her head and slid off the back of the creature carefully, keeping her hand on his side and feeling him breathe as he waited to move forward again. She lifted her hand to pull her jacket tighter around herself as a breeze blew through. I'm already sick of being cold, Addison thought to herself bitterly as she walked alongside Arthur and the horse. Her gaze drifted over to the school, observing the area. It gave the appearance of being abandoned, but it was never safe to assume so. If that thought wasn't learned quickly, it either resulted in life or death. "Should I go in and start looking?" Addison asked, but she didn't really wait for a reply. She started walking towards the front door with her pistol in her hands and a sharp eye on the windows. Some of them were cracked or missing panes, but others were simply filthy with a lack of cleanliness.
Arthur
As he looked at her, Arthur noticed that she must've been really cold. He decided to keep a mental note to find her a large, thick coat sometime. Arthur watched carefully as the young woman got off the horse, even lifted one of his hands to hover somewhat close to her in case she fell. When she didn't, he blinked and pulled the horse over next to the bent-over flagpole.
"Should I go in and start looking?" Her question and the sudden rush of her footsteps going closer to the large high school made Arthur flip his head to the side, making him do a double-take to see the young woman's back get further away from him.
He had started to reach for her, even though she was too far away from him, and let out an exasperated sigh of frustration as he called put to her, "Hold on a minute-- Addison, Wait--" When he saw that she was close to the set of different windows, he muttered out a, "Goddammit..."
Quickly tying the reins of the horse to the flagpole, Arthur jogged to her with a frown on his face. "What did I tell you about runnin' into places without me nearby?" He demanded as he pulled out his small revolver before he placed his free hand on the dark green window seal, careful not to cut his hand on the broken glass, and launched his feet onto the other side. The smells of decay from the wood and whatever dead bodies lay around filled Arthur's nose. He clicked his flashlight on and looked around as he walked further down the hallway, his boots squeaking against the dirty, tan tiled flooring below him. He stopped after a few steps to make sure the few dead bodies were truly dead and turned to Addison.
"Stay near me, alright? It looks like the ceiling and floor are going to fall through at some point..." He stated as he glanced further down the hallway, where a large pothole was located.
Addison
Addison stopped at the first school window as she heard Arthur telling her to wait. She peeked through the window and saw nothing but rotting bodies and some damage to the room from lack of care. There was debris scattered everywhere on the already filthy floor, whether it was broken wood or blood from the dead. Glass was all over the place. The smell was flat-out awful - it stung her nose. Though it was a stench she had smelled often over past years, it was a rancid odor that she would never get used to. Addison followed after Arthur, carefully mirroring what he did to avoid stepping on glass. Once she did make it through the window, there was a crunch as the glass was crunched. There was something oddly satisfying about it.
Addison pulled out her pistol and knife, grasping the knife in her left hand and holding it underneath the butt of the pistol. She glanced at Arthur as he spoke sharply to her, reminding her not to go without him, and merely gave a shrug in response. "I can handle myself," Addison muttered bitterly. "I'm not a dumb kid." She peered around a corner, examining a room carefully. It looked to be an old dusty science classroom, filled with cracked beakers and sinks. Textbooks lined the countertops, pages torn and some stuffed back inside. From what it seemed, the place was completely abandoned. There wasn't much evidence of anyone being there recently. "I don't see anything here."
Arthur
Arthur glanced back at her as he walked a bit further down the seemingly empty hallway. He forced himself not to roll his eyes at her muttered words-- Arthur didn't think she was dumb. In fact, what he thought was the complete opposite. Addison was very smart and quick thinking. Arthur was just worried about her getting into a situation where he couldn't help her. Could he say all that to her now? No. Because he had no idea how he could possibly explain that to her. He wasn't sure if he was even communicating with her properly other than giving commands and scolding her in the form of a yell. Arthur shut his eyes and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. He really needed some sleep. Ever since they had taken that horse, the man hadn't gotten more than two hours of sleep and he had woken up to catch himself from falling to the ground a couple of times.
Just before he opened his eyes, sounds of strange, light groaning and whistle noises caught his ears, as well as approaching footsteps. "Shit," he whispered as he quickly backtracked himself into the same room as Addison. He only did a quick glance around, finding that they were in a science room, which had another open door at the end of the room, that connected with a smaller room that only had one long table inside it. He quickly turned to the young woman, starting to get into a crouched position. As he looked on top of the tables in the broom they were present in, he stuffed his revolver back in between his pants and brown belt before quickly grabbing a large, curved glass shard in his hand.
"Addison," he started as he pulled out some long piece of cloth, "We got company comin' down the hallway and--"
Sounds of long, slow scraping soon filled the empty room followed by heavy breathing. The old man looked towards the open door at the end of the room and his heart rate picked up when a larger infected slowly crawled into the room. It was hanging from the ceiling, its akin had been torn, or rotted off and its nose was very large. Its sockets were empty besides the twisted-up mixture of flesh, muscle, and fungus that had grown in them. Its mouth was large, wide open, and its teeth stuck outwards like a shark. It had a very long, thin tongue, slimy saliva poured out from its wide-open mouth as it began smelling around its spot. One its back were thousands of little fungus poking out from beneath the large layer of muscle and large, rounded green and yellow pockets pulsed from it. It had very long, large, and dull claws, which were alight, dirty grey color, protruding from where a person's fingernails would be.
Arthur knew this one was very bad news and they needed to get the hell out of that room. Even though it could not see, it could still smell with its tongue and if it felt like it was being attacked at close range, it would make the circular pockets explode, or pop, causing spores to fly everywhere. Then the two would be screwed and infected. He quickly turned back to her with a finger to his lips and he pointed the same finger towards the other exit, where the light groaning and footsteps were getting a bit louder every second that past.
Addison
Addison furrowed her brow as she approached the chalkboard, observing all of the faded writings on the board. Some handprints in the dust created odd and eerie patterns. Echoes from down the hall drew her attention away from the board, and she turned as Arthur came quickly into the room with a worried look and holding a sharp piece of glass in his hand. Knowing something wasn't right, Addison crouched down instinctively and stuffed her gun into her belt. Arthur began to say something about company coming down the hall but was interrupted by the large and ugly creature that came through the door. "Fuck," she muttered in both shock and disgust at the sight of it.
The creature itself was menacing enough, but the fact that it could crawl on the ceiling and had a rather intimidating appearance didn't help. It stuck its tongue out to smell the room, and just as it did she looked at Arthur. He held his finger to his lips and pointed to the exit. It was right where the other creatures were coming. Addison looked around for someplace else to go, but there wasn't much. Her heartbeat was fast and adrenaline ran through her veins just as quickly. Beakers still lined the place, showing good potential as a distraction. She gingerly held one in her hands. It was cracked, missing a shard from the edge. The infected had a keen sense of smell...perhaps blood would help.
Addison placed the palm of her hand against the edge of the beaker and slid it across. A cut formed and blood welled up through the broken skin. It stung against the exposure to sitting and fresh wound, but it didn't matter. She wiped the blood across the glass on the outside, creating a streak of crimson. Eat this, dickhead, Addison thought to herself as she hurled the glass at a corner of the room far away from her and her accomplice, creating a loud crash and shards flying out everywhere covered in fresh blood. Hopefully, it was a strong scent.
Addison turned to Arthur and motioned for the door, hoping the fungus creature would take the bait. If it didn't, they'd be stuck in a room full of hungry infected, and they definitely wouldn't survive that. She wanted to get out more than ever now. Her hand was clasped around her shirt to stop the blood flow, causing the edge to be soaked. Still, in a crouched position, Addison made her way toward Arthur.
Arthur
Arthur watched what Addison did and both mentally scolded and praised her. He remembered doing something similar to her actions when he had been younger. His head snapped towards the infected as it let out a high-pitched screech, turned its head around, dropped itself to the ground, and quickly crawled to the corner of the room where the loud crash came from. The only problem was getting past the other OZs coming down the hallway. The man decided anything would be better than staying in the room with a larger infected, so he lightly grasped Addison's arm as she came close to him and quickly rushed out of the room. After having exited the room, Arthur quickly shut the door and grabbed a long piece of wood, and stabbed it through the handle and a large crack on the wall nearby. Not soon after he had turned around to find seven infected all rushing towards the two survivors and he began running down the hallway to their left, yelling a not so loud, "Come on, Addison!"
His breath came out from his mouth in quickened, heavy huffs and after a while, the familiar burn in his legs, sides, and lungs started. He glanced backward a few times to make sure his young companion was still with him and his eyes had widened a slight fraction as he found that quite a few more had added themselves to the group. Further down the hallway, another large pothole cut them off from the other side and the old man quickly turned to his right to find a set of double doors that led into a large gymnasium. He quickly ran to one of the doors and started pulling the handle and when that didn't work, he pushed it with all his might.
It didn't move much.
An exasperated sigh flew from his thin, chapped lips as he glanced over to see the infected gaining on them and he began to ram his shoulder into the door over and over again. When he got it opened enough for the two to at least slip inside, Arthur grabbed Addison by the arm and placed her next to the door.
"Get inside!" He commanded as he pulled his revolver from in between his belt and blue jeans. Clicking the safety off, he locked eyes with her, "I'll be right behind you..! Hurry-!" It was when one of the infected was too close for Arthur's comfort that he began to shoot the advancing infected in the head.
Four went down with one shot, while he was forced to shoot quite a few others times due to their heads having a type of hardened, fungi "helmets." Sweat poured down his reddened face and he muttered a "Shit!" when his finger had pulled the trigger and all he heard was a fast click. He was out of ammo and didn't have enough time to reload...! He stuffed the small gun back into its usual spot right before he was suddenly and roughly pushed against the wall by an infected much taller than he. Arthur growled with a killer's snarl on his face as he pushed back with all his might, all the while trying not to get bitten by the damned thing. It took him a few, agonizingly long moments, but he managed to shove the creature off of him and shoved it down into the sunken hole that had been a few feet from him. It fell backward, letting out screeches and strange grunts, its arms outstretched towards the man, as if thinking it would somehow get a grasp on him if it reached hard enough, before it eventually disappeared into the darkness.
Arthur continued to do the same with three other infected, each landing on the bottom with a sickening, loud crunch, and finally fell silent. The last enemy had gotten behind him and Arthur had quickly shoved it backward a few times against the wall. As soon as its grip had weakened on him, the man threw his own arm upwards to remove the infected's arm, turned around, gripped the creature's neck and head, and smashed it into the wall beside them. Huffing, Arthur gazed down at its slumped, dead body and he turned his attention to Addison.
Addison
Addison jumped as Arthur grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room. She followed him out, hearing the large infected screech as it realized nothing was there for it to devour. The teen turned to see if it had followed them out but was met with the door slamming shut and a broken board being shoved through the handle and a crack in the wall. The creature wailed from behind the door and clawed at the wood. Before she had time to process what had happened, Arthur took off down the hall and commanded her to follow. Addison saw the infected scampering towards them, some crawling over others in an attempt to catch their prey. She immediately turned and sprinted after Arthur with adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Arthur had been checking back a few times, and once his eyes widened. Addison knew it wasn't a good sign, and so she put a little more speed into her step. He went sharply around a corner, to which Addison followed. She stopped as Arthur did, seeing that they were trapped at double doors. Addison's hands went to her pistol and knife again as she waited for the infected while the sounds of Arthur ramming his shoulder into the door filled the halls. "They're getting closer," Addison told him in a panicked tone. Only a few moments after the words escaped her lips, Arthur took her arm and pulled her to the door. He locked eyes with her. "I'll be right behind you..! Hurry-!" Addison nodded and squeezed through the doors, pushing into the other side.
Upon stumbling to the other side, Addison was met with a recently infected woman that tackled her to the ground with a scream. There was a loud clatter as the knife skittered away from her hand. "Fuck-!" Addison grunted upon making an impact on the ground and put her hand to the woman's neck, feeling the dried blood and growing fungi on her withered skin. The yelling and groaning resonated loudly in the gym, meaning that others might follow if there were any more. Addison reached for her knife with her other hand, the handle barely brushing the hilt. The infected woman pushed downwards more, slipping out of Addison's grip just as she moved away. The woman's face thudded onto the gym floor and Addison reached for her knife. She whipped around to stab the infected creature and managed to land a stab right between the eyes as it tried to sneak a killing blow. The woman's face was already covered in blood due to what was probably a broken nose, but now it was nearly drenched.
It collapsed and Addison stood up while panting, looking at the door and seeing Arthur through the crack. He had just finished killing all of them - a feat she was rather impressed with. Addison wiped the blood off of her hands into her jeans and went to the door to grasp the handle. She held it firmly and started to yank on it. "C'mon Arthur, we gotta move! Some more of those things might be on their way." Seeing how she couldn't move the door in the slightest, Addison let go of the handle and took a step back, careful not to slip on the blood pooling around the corpse. She took a minute to examine the gymnasium.
Large bleachers were pushed against the walls with few blood stains on them. They were blue and silver, which were most likely the school colors. Cots, metal chairs, and tables were tossed around the floor. It looked as though the place was originally used as some sort of safe haven for people during the outbreak. It wasn't that safe, apparently. Some cots had dried blood, but other than that it was simply abandoned. On the opposite wall was a large picture of a cartoon raven dribbling a basketball with a grin on its face. There were rays of light coming from two sets of doors on the same wall, each on one side of the gym. Lights? Either somebody was here or it was the way out. "Arthur, hurry up," Addison said in a quieter voice - just in case.
Arthur
He was still trying to catch his breath when Addison had told him to get inside the gym as well, he made his way to the set of doors and began to push one a bit more after she had tried to pull the same one open for him. When he eventually made it inside with a grunt, Arthur rushed towards her after having seen the dead infected on the floor. He took hold of her shoulders and did a once look over, and asked with a hint of a worried tone of voice, "You okay?"
Afterward, he took the chance to reload his revolver. Once he had the seven rounds loaded, he snapped the cylinder shut and decided to keep it out in case any more infected came about. He saw the lights coming from the sides of the large room they were in and began to look around. If somebody was living there, then he would have to be on high alert. Most of the living survivors were much worse than the infected-- Arthur knew because of his own personal experience, both being a victim and an assailant...
He shook the old memories away.
"Don't dwell on the past, Arthur. It'll eat and tear you apart from the inside." Sasha's words rang through his head and his heart suddenly felt like it was being clenched with sorrow. He couldn't have saved her even if he had tried; she had been bitten twice in their adventure after having met Addison.
Shit, the memories still flood my goddamn head... He thought to himself with a grimace and a frown.
He snapped out of his dreary thoughts and returned his attention to the present, which was to look into the side where the lights were coming from.
Addison
Addison nodded and glanced back at the body on the ground. It was gross to look at. "Yeah, I'm fine. It took me by surprise." She walked past Arthur as he checked his rounds and headed for one of the doors, wading through the sea of cots and tables. There were no bodies, no infected to worry about in the room. Addison went to the door with her pistol in hand and ready to use. She looked through the window of the door and saw that it was a locker room. It looked almost untouched. Addison looked back at Arthur and saw that he was lost in thought, something that bothered him. She didn't know what else to do, so she pressed her hand against the door and held her pistol up in case anything - or anyone - tried to jump her as the last infected did.
The locker room didn't have much in it. As she went deeper in, Addison saw that some people must have rummaged through the lockers, but there wasn't much else. It was a dead end. She walked out with a sigh, glancing at Arthur. He had snapped out of his thoughts by now. "This one's just some damn locker room," Addison said to her older companion with some minor disappointment. She had hoped for some loot at the least. Her attention went to the next door. As she got closer, it was evident that this was the way out. She could see a treeline through the window.
"Here's the way out. Are we gonna try clearing the place out and staying here?" Addison looked at Arthur as she stopped next to the door, grabbing the metal handlebar and light putting weight on it. Even with a gentle touch, it squeaked from rusty joints. The place was shit, but it was also shelter. Hopefully, they weren't anymore infected to worry about. With it getting colder outside, they wouldn't have much choice in where to sleep.
Arthur
Arthur followed the young woman into the room and looked around once inside. It was just a locker room and Arthur wondered if the school could have been only girls, or guys, school. He remembered when he had gone to high school and chuckled under his breath. That had been so long ago, in another world. Shaking his head a bit, he began to look inside the lockers. To his annoyance, he couldn't get the ones with locks on them open and he mentally wished he had a pair of pliers. Unfortunately, Arthur didn't have that much room inside his very old, worn, dark green backpack. What he could make out inside them were either old, torn clothing, a stick of deodorant (God, he missed deodorant...), and a few cosmetics laying on the floor.
He made his way into the small office and only found a silver lighter hidden underneath a little caramel flower plot. The plant that had been planted inside it was dead and wilted. Exiting the room, he walked across the locker room and looked behind a section behind the wall. There were five sections of small showers, the rules on the floor had been cracked and when he pulled back one of the curtains, that was attached to the last shower space to his right, he grimaced and scowled in disgust. Not bothering to cover his nose, Arthur let out a breath as he turned his head away. Huddled near the far left corner, seated limply against the corner the small walls created, was a dead body. Flies buzzed around its form and Arthur decided to look inside the small black bag that the body still held. He didn't find anything.
The old man stood up just as he heard Addison's voice and called back to her, "Alright I'll come to have a look." He quickly walked back toward Addison and looked up at the window that led to the outside. As he thought about her question, he sighed, tilted his head a little, and itched the back of his neck. If they stayed in the gym for the night... That one large infected was still crawling around and Arthur was worried about it coming inside while they were defenseless... He had lowered his hand back to his side and crouched down to pull the folded map out. His grey-blue orbs quickly danced about the large piece of paper and it took him a little while to find which high school they were at. Once he found that, he traced his finger down the blue line that represented the road they were just on. Not too far down the road from them, there was a small town. They could probably rest in one of the houses for the night, scavenge in the morning, and then continue towards Atlanta.
He folded the map, put it back inside his backpack, and stood up. "I say let's go on down to the small town that's close by. We can stay there for the night, look for supplies in the mornin', and continue to Atlanta later on in the day." Looking at her, he adjusted his backpack's shoulder strap and placed a hand on his hip. "What do you think?"
Addison
Addison listened as Arthur laid out his plan and silently nodded, using her shoulder to push against the door while leaning down on the handlebar. "What about people being there," she asked as she analyzed the surrounding area. "If we think it's a safe spot, then some other asshole is gonna think the same thing." Outside the gym door, there was nothing but some old litter and weeds growing between cracks in the pavement. There was a lone white car that was dirtied with handprints and had a flat front left tire. Addison stepped outside and held the door open for Arthur as she continued looking around carefully.
As she looked around, Addison started thinking about people other than Arthur and herself. From her personal experience, everyone was an asshole except for a select few. A few nights before meeting Arthur, Addison had narrowly escaped the clutches of some drunk men after trying to get some sleep by a stream. They originally offered a safe haven, but they turned hostile as she denied them. Meeting Arthur so soon afterward, of course, she didn't like the looks of him. Good thing he wasn't as trigger happy as she was, or else things might have gone very differently.
Addison stepped onto the pavement and looked at where they were. She saw that they were at the back of the school now, and so she began heading around to the front towards the horse. Things seemed clear around the outside of the school.
Arthur
Arthur listened to Addison carefully and a crinkle came to his brow as he mulled that information over. The sixteen-year-old was right. If they thought it might be a safe place, then others could very well think the same thing. However, that had never stopped Arthur from getting what he wanted, and needed, in the past. He followed her outside and spoke to her as he passed her smaller form, "Thanks. We will figure somethin' out. If they're hostile, just stick to me and I'll handle them. Even if they aren't hostile, still stick with me."
Arthur knew that Addison could handle herself, however, the many close calls they had over the past few months still made him worry for her. He wasn't sure how to express his worry other than yelling and using his anger-- taking out the frustration on her. Of course, nearly five or ten minutes later, the old man would be filled with guilt for yelling at her or possibly hurting her feelings. Arthur just didn't know how to express his emotions towards her, much less other people, and although he used to express family-related love with physical contact, he wasn't going to give her a hug. He never thought she would like it, nor did he ever ask her opinion.
As he yet again followed behind Addison toward the front of the school, Arthur made sure to keep an eye out for any infected or living enemies. Once they reached the front, he slowed his job down to a quickened walk and came to a stop at the flagpole the horse was tied to. Arthur untied it and waited for Addison to get onto the horse.
"You need any help up?" came his question as he spotted something moving from within the school.
Addison
Addison put her gun in her belt and sheathed her knife as they approached the horse, Arthur untying the beast from the pole. She put her hand against the horse's side, feeling it breathe and the strong hide under her palm. In her life, she had never seen anything larger than a cow in person. It felt comforting in a way to stroke such a magnificent creature. Addison took her hand off as Arthur spoke and gave a curt nod. "I can do it." She stepped onto the stirrup and started to lift herself up, but felt herself slipping at the same time. Addison gave up on the attempt and looked back at Arthur. "Actually..."
When she looked at Arthur, Addison noticed that he was looking at the building. Her hand went to the hilt of her knife, fingers grasping around the smooth handle. "What is it?"
Arthur
Arthur returned his attention back to his young companion and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's get you on the horse and start headin' towards the town," he spoke as he knelt down a bit and linked his fingers together for her to step on.
However soon after he had gotten into position, he hadn't noticed something the color of a dark pink wrap around his ankles, and both his feet were suddenly thrown out from beneath him. He landed on the concrete on his back with a short, loud yell of pain and he felt his stomach lift a bit (much like the feeling of when somebody rode a dollar coaster and their heart got stuck in their throat) as his entire body was being pulled back towards the right side of the school.
"Shit--! Addison, stay with the horse-!" He had yelled, knowing that she probably wouldn't.
When his head cleared of the initial pain, he finally lifted it, touching his chin to his throat, and noticed that a tongue had wrapped around both his ankles and was pulling him back within the school. He was soon pulled into a hole that was on the side of the school and muttered, "Shit!" as he hit his left, upper arm against some of the loose, red bricks of the wall. Reaching for his pocket, he took out a small knife he had snagged off a dead corpse of an infected and forced himself into a somewhat seated position. He would have thought he looked like some sort of cartoon character seated the way he did, his glaring face red, and his hands furiously trying to grasp at the piece of the tongue that had a good hold on his ankles. When one of his hands finally had a firm grip on the slimy appendage, Arthur leaned forward a bit more and began to furiously hack his knife into it. Something screeched in pain further down the hallway and as he was coming up to the familiar corner of one of the walls, the tongue began to whip side to side.
The creature's reaction to his cutting its tongue caused Arthur to suddenly slam his entire side near the corner of the wall with another yell of pain. It seemed like forever until his weapon was actually near the middle of the pink, slimy appendage--the damned thing was thick like a donkey's hide-- and Arthur finally looked up. His grey-blue eyes flew wide open as he saw he was headed for the same pothole he had used to his advantage, of killing some infected earlier, and he quickened his slashing, sports of blood flying nearly everywhere.
ShitShitShitShitShitDammitDammitShitDammitDammitShit--! Arthur's mind screamed at him in panic as he continued to glance between his busy hands and the fast-approaching hole that could certainly lead him to his death or break a lot of bones in his body.
At the last minute, the tongue finally snapped off and Arthur turned in time to grip some of the concrete slabs beneath the flooring. He had let out another yell just as his lower body literally flew itself off the side before he was able to miraculously grab the concrete slab. Sweat poured down his face as he glanced down and inhaled and exhaled heavily when he attempted to grip another piece of a concrete slab to start forcing himself up towards the close, open exit. One of his hands lost its grip and he panicked as he quickly gripped another piece, thanking God for his quick reflexes. His heart felt like it was tightly squeezing within his throat.
Addison
Addison nodded and sheathed her knife again, then proceeded to lift her foot to boost herself up onto the horse. As soon as she had, however, Arthur was yanked backward and sent to the ground. In surprise she yelped and slammed her foot back to the ground, watching as Arthur was dragged away. "What the fuck? Arthur!" His words had reached her ears as they rang out, but she didn't listen, of course. Instead, Addison abandoned the horse and took off after her captured companion, sprinting in the direction he went.
Addison stopped at a hole in the side of the school, placing her hand on the upper lip of it. She peered in and slowly crawled inside, pulling out her pistol while tightly grasping it. Echoes of Arthur's voice resonated deeper inside alongside a loud screech. She quickened her pace as best she could while also remaining cautious of what was happening up ahead. The sound of Arthur's yells of pain and the provoked creature worried her. It had taken him so quickly that she couldn't tell if he had fought back in time. The other half of her mind argued that it was Arthur - it was tough to kill that old bastard.
"Arthur," Addison called out wearily. "Are you dead?" She heard the sound of things sliding and then silence accompanied by heavy breathing. It didn't sound like it belonged to one of the infected. Addison noticed that there was a hole in the ground up ahead, squinting in an attempt to see better through the darkness. She suddenly realized that it was Arthur clinging to the edge for dear life. "Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!" Addison grabbed the man's arm just before the armpit and started to pull him to safety. "Come on! Did you kill it?" She did her best to not look down past him and into the hole in fear of what she might see past the darkness.
Arthur
"Yeah, me too...!" He growled back up at her as he continued to climb up a bit more. He gazed up at the young girl as he felt a pair of hands grip underneath his armpit and helped him out of the way. Once on the floor, he let out a deep breath of air and closed his eyes a moment, muttering, "No. The damn thing is still alive down there. Let's just get to the damn horse and the town. I'm done with this shit today..."
He stood up with a grunt, a few cuts and bruises showed through the torn parts of his coat and shirt underneath. Arthur rubbed the back of his hand on his runny nose and sniffed at the clear mucus that still dripped from the nostrils. Informing the uncomfortable feeling, he started walking toward the hole where they had both entered. When he got outside, he turned to her and looked her in the eye, stating a sincere, "Thanks...Addison." Arthur truly meant it. He wished he knew how to express how much he felt gratitude towards her and how much he probably owed her besides basically his life from the many times they'd had close calls. He really hated being awkward with those types of things...
He made it to the horse and, facing towards the school, knelt back down a little, intertwined his fingers together, and looked over at her with a quick smirk. He tilted his head to the side a bit as he said, "Let's try this again without anything grabbin' at our ankles. Come on."
Addison
Addison glanced down at the hole one more time to see if anything would come back, but nothing did. She breathed out a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat from her brow. The excitement by itself was enough for one day. The young woman looked at Arthur as he stood up and observed the cuts and tears on his clothes and skin. It didn't look like anything infected him. The last thing they needed was for someone to be infected. Her attention was brought back as Arthur began sniffing and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Unconsciously, her hand rested on the hilt of her knife as they walked out of the tunnel, expecting something else to happen. Instead, Addison got an awkward "thanks" from Arthur.
"Don't mention it," Addison replied with a wave of her hand. "I know you'd do it for me." She could tell that he wasn't good at thanking people, it was rather obvious. Addison was the same way - and she also didn't like the feeling of having to repay people, of owing a debt. As Arthur knelt down and locked his fingers together, Addison chuckled and nodded her head. "Yeah, that sure as hell is easier." She placed her foot on his hands and pushed herself up, swinging her leg over the horse and sitting on its back. "Okay, old man. I'm up." With a mischievous glint in her eye, she extended a hand to Arthur to help pull him up if he needed it.
Arthur
Arthur lifted a thick, grey brow as he listened to Addison speak and once her foot was in his hands, he lifted her up with a small grunt. He let out a breath of a chuckle and smirked a bit at her comment and he looked at her, then the horse, and he shook his head some when he got on top of the horse.
"I'm not that old, kid," he stated as he pulled the reins and the horse turned and began walking down the road they had just stepped off of.
After an hour or so, Arthur stopped the horse and said, "Alright. Quick break. Get a snack or somethin' out, cause I won't be stopping again after this."
He hopped off and reached down into his backpack for the map, as well as the old canteen he had found, and a small chewy bar he had started to eat for breakfast. The cold child forced his body to shiver a bit as he placed the rest of the chewy in his mouth, it only fitting halfway. As the crunching sounds echoed rather loudly down the empty road, Arthur gazed down at the map and nodded after a moment as he folded it back up and placed it in one of his shirt's pockets. After slipping his dark green backpack on, the older male waited a few moments to see if his younger companion had finished whatever she had been doing.
Addison
Addison chuckled as Arthur commented that he wasn't as old as she had implied. She held on to Arthur as they started off again on their journey.
Once they stopped after a while, Addison stretched her arms out and cracked her back some. It felt good to do that after a while of staying in the same position. She swung her backpack around and unzipped it, then reached inside. She pulled out a granola bar and unwrapped it, stuffing the wrapper back in her backpack as she munched on the snack. Addison zipped the bag back up and put it on her back once more.
"Hey, Arthur?" Addison asked. "Uh...do you think...do you think that I'll ever find my dad? It's been so long." She didn't like asking questions like that, but it was one that had been bugging her for a while. Her dad was all she had left before the apocalypse, and she didn't want to lose him. It just seemed so hopeless to keep holding on to the thought, but she subconsciously wanted some comfort from Arthur.
Arthur
He had zoned out a few moments before he was brought back to the present by Addison's voice and he glanced back at her with a thoughtful, short, "Hm?" The question she had asked him made his blue-grey eyes shift to different places in thought and his lips pursed together real tight as he came up with a response. Arthur wasn't one for lying, nor did he like it. In fact, he hated it and anyone who lied to him. It had gotten the old man in plenty of horrid situations before and it was because other, old comrades of his had lied to buyers, sellers, possible allies, etc. He let out a slight, short huff of a sigh and began to speak:
"Well... I know you probably don't wanna hear this, but I personally don't think he made it. A lot of people died or got infected after the virus went worldwide... Then again," he paused a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I may be wrong and he might have made it. You never know."
He glanced back at her to see if she would say anything to him and to see if she understood her response.
Addison
Addison listened as he gave his answer and gave a slow nod. She half-expected the answer to be something to make her feel a false hope, but Arthur wasn't one for bullshitting people like that. It gave her a better sense of trust in him like he wouldn't ever lie to her or keep secrets. Addison sighed and played with a piece of thread hanging off the edge of her shirt, taking a few seconds to cope with what she heard before responding.
"Thanks," she eventually replied. "I appreciate you not bullshitting anything. It helps." Addison looked back at the trees and rubbed the back of her neck in slight embarrassment. God, sappy stuff was so...sappy. She just hoped that they'd be at the town soon so that she could get off the damn horse for a while. Addison took a moment to fix her reddish-brown hair since it had gotten messy after their encounter at the school. She pulled it back into a ponytail once again. Fuck...I could really use a shower or something.
"Are we almost there?" Addison asked out of annoyance. She was getting tired.
Arthur
The sun’s light cascaded down onto the earth below and shone through the various cracks in the orange and red leaves of the trees. The leaves had only just begun to fall, and nearly all of the trees were bare due to the oncoming cold weather. Winter was coming, and probably relatively quicker than Arthur had anticipated. Even though it was in the late afternoon, it still felt to be in the lower fifties outside. A puff of white air faded into the world around as Arthur exhaled out with each breath he took. He had been able to find himself a long-sleeved button-up shirt, and beneath it was a long-sleeved white shirt. Covering his button-up shirt was a heavy, dark brown overcoat. He had been forced to change his old blue jeans for some newer ones due to the old ones having numerous holes in them. Underneath his usual worn brown boots were a pair of thick grey wool socks.
The old man glanced up at the blue sky above him and wiped a band across his brow. Was it strange for a man like him to actually sweat in cold weather? Probably. However, even before the outbreak Arthur had found ways to sweat even in the coldest of weather conditions. When he was younger, his mother would often scold him for taking his warm coat off during the day, and for good reason - he would catch a cold almost every time he did. Now, being older, he had learned how to deal and cope with his unrelenting bodily heat, and he never took his coat off because of those old memories. It had saved his life in the past from being bitten by the Ophies. A deep sigh came from his lips as he blinked and looked back down the direction in front of him.
He hadn’t ridden a horse for quite some time and his ass was way past being sore. Though he felt relatively comfortable and the muscle memory aided him when they were being attacked. Arthur had been able to steal at least one horse from some small group of scavengers and he made sure to pull Addison onto the horse along for the ride to escape. That had been two days ago. Arthur glanced backward to check and see if she had fallen asleep or if she was actually still awake. He had made sure to ride nonstop and had decided to finally come to a stop once they reached a nearby house or city.
Arthur thought about the first time he had even met Addison, the young woman who had snuck into a place where he had taken refuge for the night and attempted to steal his shit. He had caught her by gripping her wrist tightly, and he had aimed his spare handgun upwards to shoot and kill the unknown thief, pausing to pull the trigger once he realized it was a young girl. He had been both pissed and shocked. If she had been any older, he would have followed through with his attack. However, Arthur doesn’t kill kids. He could never bring himself to and broke down in tears when he shot one a few years back. He had made sure not to lose his grip on her as he stood from his knelt position, stuffed his handgun in the back of his pants, and tied her hands behind her back before she could do any damage to him. The next day he woke up and decided to let her go because he couldn’t deal with kids (well, at least he thought he couldn’t despite wanting some of his own). He had basically shoved her towards the door and just as he was about to push her out, a bullet whizzed past his head. In a rush, he had yanked her backward and knelt down near the back of the wall after having slammed the door shut. After the battle with their enemy, Arthur had decided that he would keep her around until he found a place to leave her. That had happened four months ago and he had found that the more time he spent with her, especially in the heat of battle, he needed to protect her. Even though he didn’t want to let her go, Arthur had still decided that he would leave the young girl with an old friend he knew had a place hidden out somewhere in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The old man knew that she would be safe there, so long as the place was still being held by that certain individual. Though, he hadn’t told Addison any of his plans to leave here. He kept it to himself in the back of his mind. It would still take them a long while until they reached Tennessee since they were on the furthest side of Georgia, even on horseback.
Another sigh came from the old man as he turned to look back toward their destination. There was a large high school made from red bricks and Arthur was honestly a bit surprised that they hadn’t been caught by bandits, or the infected yet. They were probably hidden inside…. Arthur knew that he and his young companion would handle whatever was inside...but that didn’t mean that he feared for her life whenever they killed unwanted guests. He blinked as he wondered how far they were from the city of Atlanta and Arthur glanced back at Addison. He had given her the map way before they stole the horse.
Addison
Addison had been tightly grasping the older man’s waist in her sleep as the horse trotted along. The right side of her face rested on his back and the hood of her dark green winter jacket was pulled around her head snugly enough to keep her warm, though her breath still escaped in small bursts. There wasn’t exactly a wide variety of clothes to wear, so Addison stuck with what she had: a pair of ripped jeans with her t-shirt and flannel over top. It wasn’t a lot, but it was good enough.
Addison opened and rubbed her eyes as she felt Arthur turn around, looking up at him after he turned back around. He was thinking about something, she could tell. She took a moment to look at their surroundings and see what was going on. It was getting colder outside, meaning winter would be coming soon. Addison gave a short, stifled yawn. “Are we stopping soon?” she asked in a groggy voice. “My ass hurts from sitting on this horse for so long.”
As Arthur turned back around, Addison suddenly wondered if they were lost. It wasn’t the worst thing to happen, but it would certainly suck like hell. She felt something crinkle and looked down, seeing the map crumpled up against her jacket. That was frustrating. Addison pulled it out and flattened it as best she could before reaching forward to pass it on to Arthur. “Here, I don’t wanna hold this. I can’t even read a map.” She looked at the high school up ahead and furrowed her brow. If all those movies were right, it was a good thing she wouldn’t have to experience high school. It seemed like hell.
Addison never had an easy time in school. She hated having class and was known for ditching as often as possible as well as for picking fights. Everyone was an idiot, an asshole, or both. Her mother came down often for Addison’s misconduct, which was probably one of the reasons why they fought so much. Addison’s only friend was her father, and it was more than likely that he was dead considering how long it had been since the outbreak.
While remembering school incidents, Addison cupped her hands together and blew her breath over her fingers to warm them. Her nose and cheeks were rosy from the cold already.
Arthur
Arthur perked up a bit when he heard a soft yawn and a few groggy questions come from his sleeping companion. He glanced back at her a bit and nodded, mumbling “Yeah, I was thinking about checking out the high school for supplies and maybe staying the night there if we can’t find anywhere better.”
He turned and made a clicking noise from his mouth and their horse quickened its pace towards the school. After a few moments, once they were in the old parking lot, Arthur heard something like paper crinkle and suddenly he was being offered the crumpled map. He took it from Addison’s hand and muttered a low “thanks,” before he stopped the horse to spread the paper. It seemed like Addison had tried to straighten the large piece of paper out for him. It took him a moment, but the old man was finally able to find the spot they were at in Georgia. It would be at least a day or two before they even reached Atlanta. They might as well stock up on what they could. Slipping off the horse, the much older male lifted the reins over the horse’s head and held them close to him. A light breeze made him shudder a bit as he looked up at Addison, asking “You wanna ride him while I guide him to the flagpole. Do you want to get off and walk with me?”
Addison
Addison stared at the high school while Arthur looked at the map. She began to lose herself in old memories from before. Perhaps things would have still been shitty if the outbreak never happened, or maybe she would have lived with a family that reformed itself from terrible traditions of the past. It was one of those things that she would have to live with not knowing, and Addison was fine with that. Deep in her heart, she knew that things wouldn't have worked out in the end. Life isn't always shits and giggles.
Addison was ripped from her thoughts as Arthur got off the horse and held the reins tightly, asking if she wanted to ride him over. Her eyes wandered to the horse, looking at his dark black eyes and down the smooth snout, all the way down to a tender pink nose. It was such a magnificent beast to look at, but it also felt as though it was dangerous to sit on top of him without Arthur being there as well. Addison shook her head and slid off the back of the creature carefully, keeping her hand on his side and feeling him breathe as he waited to move forward again. She lifted her hand to pull her jacket tighter around herself as a breeze blew through. I'm already sick of being cold, Addison thought to herself bitterly as she walked alongside Arthur and the horse. Her gaze drifted over to the school, observing the area. It gave the appearance of being abandoned, but it was never safe to assume so. If that thought wasn't learned quickly, it either resulted in life or death. "Should I go in and start looking?" Addison asked, but she didn't really wait for a reply. She started walking towards the front door with her pistol in her hands and a sharp eye on the windows. Some of them were cracked or missing panes, but others were simply filthy with a lack of cleanliness.
Arthur
As he looked at her, Arthur noticed that she must've been really cold. He decided to keep a mental note to find her a large, thick coat sometime. Arthur watched carefully as the young woman got off the horse, even lifted one of his hands to hover somewhat close to her in case she fell. When she didn't, he blinked and pulled the horse over next to the bent-over flagpole.
"Should I go in and start looking?" Her question and the sudden rush of her footsteps going closer to the large high school made Arthur flip his head to the side, making him do a double-take to see the young woman's back get further away from him.
He had started to reach for her, even though she was too far away from him, and let out an exasperated sigh of frustration as he called put to her, "Hold on a minute-- Addison, Wait--" When he saw that she was close to the set of different windows, he muttered out a, "Goddammit..."
Quickly tying the reins of the horse to the flagpole, Arthur jogged to her with a frown on his face. "What did I tell you about runnin' into places without me nearby?" He demanded as he pulled out his small revolver before he placed his free hand on the dark green window seal, careful not to cut his hand on the broken glass, and launched his feet onto the other side. The smells of decay from the wood and whatever dead bodies lay around filled Arthur's nose. He clicked his flashlight on and looked around as he walked further down the hallway, his boots squeaking against the dirty, tan tiled flooring below him. He stopped after a few steps to make sure the few dead bodies were truly dead and turned to Addison.
"Stay near me, alright? It looks like the ceiling and floor are going to fall through at some point..." He stated as he glanced further down the hallway, where a large pothole was located.
Addison
Addison stopped at the first school window as she heard Arthur telling her to wait. She peeked through the window and saw nothing but rotting bodies and some damage to the room from lack of care. There was debris scattered everywhere on the already filthy floor, whether it was broken wood or blood from the dead. Glass was all over the place. The smell was flat-out awful - it stung her nose. Though it was a stench she had smelled often over past years, it was a rancid odor that she would never get used to. Addison followed after Arthur, carefully mirroring what he did to avoid stepping on glass. Once she did make it through the window, there was a crunch as the glass was crunched. There was something oddly satisfying about it.
Addison pulled out her pistol and knife, grasping the knife in her left hand and holding it underneath the butt of the pistol. She glanced at Arthur as he spoke sharply to her, reminding her not to go without him, and merely gave a shrug in response. "I can handle myself," Addison muttered bitterly. "I'm not a dumb kid." She peered around a corner, examining a room carefully. It looked to be an old dusty science classroom, filled with cracked beakers and sinks. Textbooks lined the countertops, pages torn and some stuffed back inside. From what it seemed, the place was completely abandoned. There wasn't much evidence of anyone being there recently. "I don't see anything here."
Arthur
Arthur glanced back at her as he walked a bit further down the seemingly empty hallway. He forced himself not to roll his eyes at her muttered words-- Arthur didn't think she was dumb. In fact, what he thought was the complete opposite. Addison was very smart and quick thinking. Arthur was just worried about her getting into a situation where he couldn't help her. Could he say all that to her now? No. Because he had no idea how he could possibly explain that to her. He wasn't sure if he was even communicating with her properly other than giving commands and scolding her in the form of a yell. Arthur shut his eyes and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. He really needed some sleep. Ever since they had taken that horse, the man hadn't gotten more than two hours of sleep and he had woken up to catch himself from falling to the ground a couple of times.
Just before he opened his eyes, sounds of strange, light groaning and whistle noises caught his ears, as well as approaching footsteps. "Shit," he whispered as he quickly backtracked himself into the same room as Addison. He only did a quick glance around, finding that they were in a science room, which had another open door at the end of the room, that connected with a smaller room that only had one long table inside it. He quickly turned to the young woman, starting to get into a crouched position. As he looked on top of the tables in the broom they were present in, he stuffed his revolver back in between his pants and brown belt before quickly grabbing a large, curved glass shard in his hand.
"Addison," he started as he pulled out some long piece of cloth, "We got company comin' down the hallway and--"
Sounds of long, slow scraping soon filled the empty room followed by heavy breathing. The old man looked towards the open door at the end of the room and his heart rate picked up when a larger infected slowly crawled into the room. It was hanging from the ceiling, its akin had been torn, or rotted off and its nose was very large. Its sockets were empty besides the twisted-up mixture of flesh, muscle, and fungus that had grown in them. Its mouth was large, wide open, and its teeth stuck outwards like a shark. It had a very long, thin tongue, slimy saliva poured out from its wide-open mouth as it began smelling around its spot. One its back were thousands of little fungus poking out from beneath the large layer of muscle and large, rounded green and yellow pockets pulsed from it. It had very long, large, and dull claws, which were alight, dirty grey color, protruding from where a person's fingernails would be.
Arthur knew this one was very bad news and they needed to get the hell out of that room. Even though it could not see, it could still smell with its tongue and if it felt like it was being attacked at close range, it would make the circular pockets explode, or pop, causing spores to fly everywhere. Then the two would be screwed and infected. He quickly turned back to her with a finger to his lips and he pointed the same finger towards the other exit, where the light groaning and footsteps were getting a bit louder every second that past.
Addison
Addison furrowed her brow as she approached the chalkboard, observing all of the faded writings on the board. Some handprints in the dust created odd and eerie patterns. Echoes from down the hall drew her attention away from the board, and she turned as Arthur came quickly into the room with a worried look and holding a sharp piece of glass in his hand. Knowing something wasn't right, Addison crouched down instinctively and stuffed her gun into her belt. Arthur began to say something about company coming down the hall but was interrupted by the large and ugly creature that came through the door. "Fuck," she muttered in both shock and disgust at the sight of it.
The creature itself was menacing enough, but the fact that it could crawl on the ceiling and had a rather intimidating appearance didn't help. It stuck its tongue out to smell the room, and just as it did she looked at Arthur. He held his finger to his lips and pointed to the exit. It was right where the other creatures were coming. Addison looked around for someplace else to go, but there wasn't much. Her heartbeat was fast and adrenaline ran through her veins just as quickly. Beakers still lined the place, showing good potential as a distraction. She gingerly held one in her hands. It was cracked, missing a shard from the edge. The infected had a keen sense of smell...perhaps blood would help.
Addison placed the palm of her hand against the edge of the beaker and slid it across. A cut formed and blood welled up through the broken skin. It stung against the exposure to sitting and fresh wound, but it didn't matter. She wiped the blood across the glass on the outside, creating a streak of crimson. Eat this, dickhead, Addison thought to herself as she hurled the glass at a corner of the room far away from her and her accomplice, creating a loud crash and shards flying out everywhere covered in fresh blood. Hopefully, it was a strong scent.
Addison turned to Arthur and motioned for the door, hoping the fungus creature would take the bait. If it didn't, they'd be stuck in a room full of hungry infected, and they definitely wouldn't survive that. She wanted to get out more than ever now. Her hand was clasped around her shirt to stop the blood flow, causing the edge to be soaked. Still, in a crouched position, Addison made her way toward Arthur.
Arthur
Arthur watched what Addison did and both mentally scolded and praised her. He remembered doing something similar to her actions when he had been younger. His head snapped towards the infected as it let out a high-pitched screech, turned its head around, dropped itself to the ground, and quickly crawled to the corner of the room where the loud crash came from. The only problem was getting past the other OZs coming down the hallway. The man decided anything would be better than staying in the room with a larger infected, so he lightly grasped Addison's arm as she came close to him and quickly rushed out of the room. After having exited the room, Arthur quickly shut the door and grabbed a long piece of wood, and stabbed it through the handle and a large crack on the wall nearby. Not soon after he had turned around to find seven infected all rushing towards the two survivors and he began running down the hallway to their left, yelling a not so loud, "Come on, Addison!"
His breath came out from his mouth in quickened, heavy huffs and after a while, the familiar burn in his legs, sides, and lungs started. He glanced backward a few times to make sure his young companion was still with him and his eyes had widened a slight fraction as he found that quite a few more had added themselves to the group. Further down the hallway, another large pothole cut them off from the other side and the old man quickly turned to his right to find a set of double doors that led into a large gymnasium. He quickly ran to one of the doors and started pulling the handle and when that didn't work, he pushed it with all his might.
It didn't move much.
An exasperated sigh flew from his thin, chapped lips as he glanced over to see the infected gaining on them and he began to ram his shoulder into the door over and over again. When he got it opened enough for the two to at least slip inside, Arthur grabbed Addison by the arm and placed her next to the door.
"Get inside!" He commanded as he pulled his revolver from in between his belt and blue jeans. Clicking the safety off, he locked eyes with her, "I'll be right behind you..! Hurry-!" It was when one of the infected was too close for Arthur's comfort that he began to shoot the advancing infected in the head.
Four went down with one shot, while he was forced to shoot quite a few others times due to their heads having a type of hardened, fungi "helmets." Sweat poured down his reddened face and he muttered a "Shit!" when his finger had pulled the trigger and all he heard was a fast click. He was out of ammo and didn't have enough time to reload...! He stuffed the small gun back into its usual spot right before he was suddenly and roughly pushed against the wall by an infected much taller than he. Arthur growled with a killer's snarl on his face as he pushed back with all his might, all the while trying not to get bitten by the damned thing. It took him a few, agonizingly long moments, but he managed to shove the creature off of him and shoved it down into the sunken hole that had been a few feet from him. It fell backward, letting out screeches and strange grunts, its arms outstretched towards the man, as if thinking it would somehow get a grasp on him if it reached hard enough, before it eventually disappeared into the darkness.
Arthur continued to do the same with three other infected, each landing on the bottom with a sickening, loud crunch, and finally fell silent. The last enemy had gotten behind him and Arthur had quickly shoved it backward a few times against the wall. As soon as its grip had weakened on him, the man threw his own arm upwards to remove the infected's arm, turned around, gripped the creature's neck and head, and smashed it into the wall beside them. Huffing, Arthur gazed down at its slumped, dead body and he turned his attention to Addison.
Addison
Addison jumped as Arthur grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room. She followed him out, hearing the large infected screech as it realized nothing was there for it to devour. The teen turned to see if it had followed them out but was met with the door slamming shut and a broken board being shoved through the handle and a crack in the wall. The creature wailed from behind the door and clawed at the wood. Before she had time to process what had happened, Arthur took off down the hall and commanded her to follow. Addison saw the infected scampering towards them, some crawling over others in an attempt to catch their prey. She immediately turned and sprinted after Arthur with adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Arthur had been checking back a few times, and once his eyes widened. Addison knew it wasn't a good sign, and so she put a little more speed into her step. He went sharply around a corner, to which Addison followed. She stopped as Arthur did, seeing that they were trapped at double doors. Addison's hands went to her pistol and knife again as she waited for the infected while the sounds of Arthur ramming his shoulder into the door filled the halls. "They're getting closer," Addison told him in a panicked tone. Only a few moments after the words escaped her lips, Arthur took her arm and pulled her to the door. He locked eyes with her. "I'll be right behind you..! Hurry-!" Addison nodded and squeezed through the doors, pushing into the other side.
Upon stumbling to the other side, Addison was met with a recently infected woman that tackled her to the ground with a scream. There was a loud clatter as the knife skittered away from her hand. "Fuck-!" Addison grunted upon making an impact on the ground and put her hand to the woman's neck, feeling the dried blood and growing fungi on her withered skin. The yelling and groaning resonated loudly in the gym, meaning that others might follow if there were any more. Addison reached for her knife with her other hand, the handle barely brushing the hilt. The infected woman pushed downwards more, slipping out of Addison's grip just as she moved away. The woman's face thudded onto the gym floor and Addison reached for her knife. She whipped around to stab the infected creature and managed to land a stab right between the eyes as it tried to sneak a killing blow. The woman's face was already covered in blood due to what was probably a broken nose, but now it was nearly drenched.
It collapsed and Addison stood up while panting, looking at the door and seeing Arthur through the crack. He had just finished killing all of them - a feat she was rather impressed with. Addison wiped the blood off of her hands into her jeans and went to the door to grasp the handle. She held it firmly and started to yank on it. "C'mon Arthur, we gotta move! Some more of those things might be on their way." Seeing how she couldn't move the door in the slightest, Addison let go of the handle and took a step back, careful not to slip on the blood pooling around the corpse. She took a minute to examine the gymnasium.
Large bleachers were pushed against the walls with few blood stains on them. They were blue and silver, which were most likely the school colors. Cots, metal chairs, and tables were tossed around the floor. It looked as though the place was originally used as some sort of safe haven for people during the outbreak. It wasn't that safe, apparently. Some cots had dried blood, but other than that it was simply abandoned. On the opposite wall was a large picture of a cartoon raven dribbling a basketball with a grin on its face. There were rays of light coming from two sets of doors on the same wall, each on one side of the gym. Lights? Either somebody was here or it was the way out. "Arthur, hurry up," Addison said in a quieter voice - just in case.
Arthur
He was still trying to catch his breath when Addison had told him to get inside the gym as well, he made his way to the set of doors and began to push one a bit more after she had tried to pull the same one open for him. When he eventually made it inside with a grunt, Arthur rushed towards her after having seen the dead infected on the floor. He took hold of her shoulders and did a once look over, and asked with a hint of a worried tone of voice, "You okay?"
Afterward, he took the chance to reload his revolver. Once he had the seven rounds loaded, he snapped the cylinder shut and decided to keep it out in case any more infected came about. He saw the lights coming from the sides of the large room they were in and began to look around. If somebody was living there, then he would have to be on high alert. Most of the living survivors were much worse than the infected-- Arthur knew because of his own personal experience, both being a victim and an assailant...
He shook the old memories away.
"Don't dwell on the past, Arthur. It'll eat and tear you apart from the inside." Sasha's words rang through his head and his heart suddenly felt like it was being clenched with sorrow. He couldn't have saved her even if he had tried; she had been bitten twice in their adventure after having met Addison.
Shit, the memories still flood my goddamn head... He thought to himself with a grimace and a frown.
He snapped out of his dreary thoughts and returned his attention to the present, which was to look into the side where the lights were coming from.
Addison
Addison nodded and glanced back at the body on the ground. It was gross to look at. "Yeah, I'm fine. It took me by surprise." She walked past Arthur as he checked his rounds and headed for one of the doors, wading through the sea of cots and tables. There were no bodies, no infected to worry about in the room. Addison went to the door with her pistol in hand and ready to use. She looked through the window of the door and saw that it was a locker room. It looked almost untouched. Addison looked back at Arthur and saw that he was lost in thought, something that bothered him. She didn't know what else to do, so she pressed her hand against the door and held her pistol up in case anything - or anyone - tried to jump her as the last infected did.
The locker room didn't have much in it. As she went deeper in, Addison saw that some people must have rummaged through the lockers, but there wasn't much else. It was a dead end. She walked out with a sigh, glancing at Arthur. He had snapped out of his thoughts by now. "This one's just some damn locker room," Addison said to her older companion with some minor disappointment. She had hoped for some loot at the least. Her attention went to the next door. As she got closer, it was evident that this was the way out. She could see a treeline through the window.
"Here's the way out. Are we gonna try clearing the place out and staying here?" Addison looked at Arthur as she stopped next to the door, grabbing the metal handlebar and light putting weight on it. Even with a gentle touch, it squeaked from rusty joints. The place was shit, but it was also shelter. Hopefully, they weren't anymore infected to worry about. With it getting colder outside, they wouldn't have much choice in where to sleep.
Arthur
Arthur followed the young woman into the room and looked around once inside. It was just a locker room and Arthur wondered if the school could have been only girls, or guys, school. He remembered when he had gone to high school and chuckled under his breath. That had been so long ago, in another world. Shaking his head a bit, he began to look inside the lockers. To his annoyance, he couldn't get the ones with locks on them open and he mentally wished he had a pair of pliers. Unfortunately, Arthur didn't have that much room inside his very old, worn, dark green backpack. What he could make out inside them were either old, torn clothing, a stick of deodorant (God, he missed deodorant...), and a few cosmetics laying on the floor.
He made his way into the small office and only found a silver lighter hidden underneath a little caramel flower plot. The plant that had been planted inside it was dead and wilted. Exiting the room, he walked across the locker room and looked behind a section behind the wall. There were five sections of small showers, the rules on the floor had been cracked and when he pulled back one of the curtains, that was attached to the last shower space to his right, he grimaced and scowled in disgust. Not bothering to cover his nose, Arthur let out a breath as he turned his head away. Huddled near the far left corner, seated limply against the corner the small walls created, was a dead body. Flies buzzed around its form and Arthur decided to look inside the small black bag that the body still held. He didn't find anything.
The old man stood up just as he heard Addison's voice and called back to her, "Alright I'll come to have a look." He quickly walked back toward Addison and looked up at the window that led to the outside. As he thought about her question, he sighed, tilted his head a little, and itched the back of his neck. If they stayed in the gym for the night... That one large infected was still crawling around and Arthur was worried about it coming inside while they were defenseless... He had lowered his hand back to his side and crouched down to pull the folded map out. His grey-blue orbs quickly danced about the large piece of paper and it took him a little while to find which high school they were at. Once he found that, he traced his finger down the blue line that represented the road they were just on. Not too far down the road from them, there was a small town. They could probably rest in one of the houses for the night, scavenge in the morning, and then continue towards Atlanta.
He folded the map, put it back inside his backpack, and stood up. "I say let's go on down to the small town that's close by. We can stay there for the night, look for supplies in the mornin', and continue to Atlanta later on in the day." Looking at her, he adjusted his backpack's shoulder strap and placed a hand on his hip. "What do you think?"
Addison
Addison listened as Arthur laid out his plan and silently nodded, using her shoulder to push against the door while leaning down on the handlebar. "What about people being there," she asked as she analyzed the surrounding area. "If we think it's a safe spot, then some other asshole is gonna think the same thing." Outside the gym door, there was nothing but some old litter and weeds growing between cracks in the pavement. There was a lone white car that was dirtied with handprints and had a flat front left tire. Addison stepped outside and held the door open for Arthur as she continued looking around carefully.
As she looked around, Addison started thinking about people other than Arthur and herself. From her personal experience, everyone was an asshole except for a select few. A few nights before meeting Arthur, Addison had narrowly escaped the clutches of some drunk men after trying to get some sleep by a stream. They originally offered a safe haven, but they turned hostile as she denied them. Meeting Arthur so soon afterward, of course, she didn't like the looks of him. Good thing he wasn't as trigger happy as she was, or else things might have gone very differently.
Addison stepped onto the pavement and looked at where they were. She saw that they were at the back of the school now, and so she began heading around to the front towards the horse. Things seemed clear around the outside of the school.
Arthur
Arthur listened to Addison carefully and a crinkle came to his brow as he mulled that information over. The sixteen-year-old was right. If they thought it might be a safe place, then others could very well think the same thing. However, that had never stopped Arthur from getting what he wanted, and needed, in the past. He followed her outside and spoke to her as he passed her smaller form, "Thanks. We will figure somethin' out. If they're hostile, just stick to me and I'll handle them. Even if they aren't hostile, still stick with me."
Arthur knew that Addison could handle herself, however, the many close calls they had over the past few months still made him worry for her. He wasn't sure how to express his worry other than yelling and using his anger-- taking out the frustration on her. Of course, nearly five or ten minutes later, the old man would be filled with guilt for yelling at her or possibly hurting her feelings. Arthur just didn't know how to express his emotions towards her, much less other people, and although he used to express family-related love with physical contact, he wasn't going to give her a hug. He never thought she would like it, nor did he ever ask her opinion.
As he yet again followed behind Addison toward the front of the school, Arthur made sure to keep an eye out for any infected or living enemies. Once they reached the front, he slowed his job down to a quickened walk and came to a stop at the flagpole the horse was tied to. Arthur untied it and waited for Addison to get onto the horse.
"You need any help up?" came his question as he spotted something moving from within the school.
Addison
Addison put her gun in her belt and sheathed her knife as they approached the horse, Arthur untying the beast from the pole. She put her hand against the horse's side, feeling it breathe and the strong hide under her palm. In her life, she had never seen anything larger than a cow in person. It felt comforting in a way to stroke such a magnificent creature. Addison took her hand off as Arthur spoke and gave a curt nod. "I can do it." She stepped onto the stirrup and started to lift herself up, but felt herself slipping at the same time. Addison gave up on the attempt and looked back at Arthur. "Actually..."
When she looked at Arthur, Addison noticed that he was looking at the building. Her hand went to the hilt of her knife, fingers grasping around the smooth handle. "What is it?"
Arthur
Arthur returned his attention back to his young companion and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's get you on the horse and start headin' towards the town," he spoke as he knelt down a bit and linked his fingers together for her to step on.
However soon after he had gotten into position, he hadn't noticed something the color of a dark pink wrap around his ankles, and both his feet were suddenly thrown out from beneath him. He landed on the concrete on his back with a short, loud yell of pain and he felt his stomach lift a bit (much like the feeling of when somebody rode a dollar coaster and their heart got stuck in their throat) as his entire body was being pulled back towards the right side of the school.
"Shit--! Addison, stay with the horse-!" He had yelled, knowing that she probably wouldn't.
When his head cleared of the initial pain, he finally lifted it, touching his chin to his throat, and noticed that a tongue had wrapped around both his ankles and was pulling him back within the school. He was soon pulled into a hole that was on the side of the school and muttered, "Shit!" as he hit his left, upper arm against some of the loose, red bricks of the wall. Reaching for his pocket, he took out a small knife he had snagged off a dead corpse of an infected and forced himself into a somewhat seated position. He would have thought he looked like some sort of cartoon character seated the way he did, his glaring face red, and his hands furiously trying to grasp at the piece of the tongue that had a good hold on his ankles. When one of his hands finally had a firm grip on the slimy appendage, Arthur leaned forward a bit more and began to furiously hack his knife into it. Something screeched in pain further down the hallway and as he was coming up to the familiar corner of one of the walls, the tongue began to whip side to side.
The creature's reaction to his cutting its tongue caused Arthur to suddenly slam his entire side near the corner of the wall with another yell of pain. It seemed like forever until his weapon was actually near the middle of the pink, slimy appendage--the damned thing was thick like a donkey's hide-- and Arthur finally looked up. His grey-blue eyes flew wide open as he saw he was headed for the same pothole he had used to his advantage, of killing some infected earlier, and he quickened his slashing, sports of blood flying nearly everywhere.
ShitShitShitShitShitDammitDammitShitDammitDammitShit--! Arthur's mind screamed at him in panic as he continued to glance between his busy hands and the fast-approaching hole that could certainly lead him to his death or break a lot of bones in his body.
At the last minute, the tongue finally snapped off and Arthur turned in time to grip some of the concrete slabs beneath the flooring. He had let out another yell just as his lower body literally flew itself off the side before he was able to miraculously grab the concrete slab. Sweat poured down his face as he glanced down and inhaled and exhaled heavily when he attempted to grip another piece of a concrete slab to start forcing himself up towards the close, open exit. One of his hands lost its grip and he panicked as he quickly gripped another piece, thanking God for his quick reflexes. His heart felt like it was tightly squeezing within his throat.
Addison
Addison nodded and sheathed her knife again, then proceeded to lift her foot to boost herself up onto the horse. As soon as she had, however, Arthur was yanked backward and sent to the ground. In surprise she yelped and slammed her foot back to the ground, watching as Arthur was dragged away. "What the fuck? Arthur!" His words had reached her ears as they rang out, but she didn't listen, of course. Instead, Addison abandoned the horse and took off after her captured companion, sprinting in the direction he went.
Addison stopped at a hole in the side of the school, placing her hand on the upper lip of it. She peered in and slowly crawled inside, pulling out her pistol while tightly grasping it. Echoes of Arthur's voice resonated deeper inside alongside a loud screech. She quickened her pace as best she could while also remaining cautious of what was happening up ahead. The sound of Arthur's yells of pain and the provoked creature worried her. It had taken him so quickly that she couldn't tell if he had fought back in time. The other half of her mind argued that it was Arthur - it was tough to kill that old bastard.
"Arthur," Addison called out wearily. "Are you dead?" She heard the sound of things sliding and then silence accompanied by heavy breathing. It didn't sound like it belonged to one of the infected. Addison noticed that there was a hole in the ground up ahead, squinting in an attempt to see better through the darkness. She suddenly realized that it was Arthur clinging to the edge for dear life. "Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!" Addison grabbed the man's arm just before the armpit and started to pull him to safety. "Come on! Did you kill it?" She did her best to not look down past him and into the hole in fear of what she might see past the darkness.
Arthur
"Yeah, me too...!" He growled back up at her as he continued to climb up a bit more. He gazed up at the young girl as he felt a pair of hands grip underneath his armpit and helped him out of the way. Once on the floor, he let out a deep breath of air and closed his eyes a moment, muttering, "No. The damn thing is still alive down there. Let's just get to the damn horse and the town. I'm done with this shit today..."
He stood up with a grunt, a few cuts and bruises showed through the torn parts of his coat and shirt underneath. Arthur rubbed the back of his hand on his runny nose and sniffed at the clear mucus that still dripped from the nostrils. Informing the uncomfortable feeling, he started walking toward the hole where they had both entered. When he got outside, he turned to her and looked her in the eye, stating a sincere, "Thanks...Addison." Arthur truly meant it. He wished he knew how to express how much he felt gratitude towards her and how much he probably owed her besides basically his life from the many times they'd had close calls. He really hated being awkward with those types of things...
He made it to the horse and, facing towards the school, knelt back down a little, intertwined his fingers together, and looked over at her with a quick smirk. He tilted his head to the side a bit as he said, "Let's try this again without anything grabbin' at our ankles. Come on."
Addison
Addison glanced down at the hole one more time to see if anything would come back, but nothing did. She breathed out a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat from her brow. The excitement by itself was enough for one day. The young woman looked at Arthur as he stood up and observed the cuts and tears on his clothes and skin. It didn't look like anything infected him. The last thing they needed was for someone to be infected. Her attention was brought back as Arthur began sniffing and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Unconsciously, her hand rested on the hilt of her knife as they walked out of the tunnel, expecting something else to happen. Instead, Addison got an awkward "thanks" from Arthur.
"Don't mention it," Addison replied with a wave of her hand. "I know you'd do it for me." She could tell that he wasn't good at thanking people, it was rather obvious. Addison was the same way - and she also didn't like the feeling of having to repay people, of owing a debt. As Arthur knelt down and locked his fingers together, Addison chuckled and nodded her head. "Yeah, that sure as hell is easier." She placed her foot on his hands and pushed herself up, swinging her leg over the horse and sitting on its back. "Okay, old man. I'm up." With a mischievous glint in her eye, she extended a hand to Arthur to help pull him up if he needed it.
Arthur
Arthur lifted a thick, grey brow as he listened to Addison speak and once her foot was in his hands, he lifted her up with a small grunt. He let out a breath of a chuckle and smirked a bit at her comment and he looked at her, then the horse, and he shook his head some when he got on top of the horse.
"I'm not that old, kid," he stated as he pulled the reins and the horse turned and began walking down the road they had just stepped off of.
After an hour or so, Arthur stopped the horse and said, "Alright. Quick break. Get a snack or somethin' out, cause I won't be stopping again after this."
He hopped off and reached down into his backpack for the map, as well as the old canteen he had found, and a small chewy bar he had started to eat for breakfast. The cold child forced his body to shiver a bit as he placed the rest of the chewy in his mouth, it only fitting halfway. As the crunching sounds echoed rather loudly down the empty road, Arthur gazed down at the map and nodded after a moment as he folded it back up and placed it in one of his shirt's pockets. After slipping his dark green backpack on, the older male waited a few moments to see if his younger companion had finished whatever she had been doing.
Addison
Addison chuckled as Arthur commented that he wasn't as old as she had implied. She held on to Arthur as they started off again on their journey.
Once they stopped after a while, Addison stretched her arms out and cracked her back some. It felt good to do that after a while of staying in the same position. She swung her backpack around and unzipped it, then reached inside. She pulled out a granola bar and unwrapped it, stuffing the wrapper back in her backpack as she munched on the snack. Addison zipped the bag back up and put it on her back once more.
"Hey, Arthur?" Addison asked. "Uh...do you think...do you think that I'll ever find my dad? It's been so long." She didn't like asking questions like that, but it was one that had been bugging her for a while. Her dad was all she had left before the apocalypse, and she didn't want to lose him. It just seemed so hopeless to keep holding on to the thought, but she subconsciously wanted some comfort from Arthur.
Arthur
He had zoned out a few moments before he was brought back to the present by Addison's voice and he glanced back at her with a thoughtful, short, "Hm?" The question she had asked him made his blue-grey eyes shift to different places in thought and his lips pursed together real tight as he came up with a response. Arthur wasn't one for lying, nor did he like it. In fact, he hated it and anyone who lied to him. It had gotten the old man in plenty of horrid situations before and it was because other, old comrades of his had lied to buyers, sellers, possible allies, etc. He let out a slight, short huff of a sigh and began to speak:
"Well... I know you probably don't wanna hear this, but I personally don't think he made it. A lot of people died or got infected after the virus went worldwide... Then again," he paused a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I may be wrong and he might have made it. You never know."
He glanced back at her to see if she would say anything to him and to see if she understood her response.
Addison
Addison listened as he gave his answer and gave a slow nod. She half-expected the answer to be something to make her feel a false hope, but Arthur wasn't one for bullshitting people like that. It gave her a better sense of trust in him like he wouldn't ever lie to her or keep secrets. Addison sighed and played with a piece of thread hanging off the edge of her shirt, taking a few seconds to cope with what she heard before responding.
"Thanks," she eventually replied. "I appreciate you not bullshitting anything. It helps." Addison looked back at the trees and rubbed the back of her neck in slight embarrassment. God, sappy stuff was so...sappy. She just hoped that they'd be at the town soon so that she could get off the damn horse for a while. Addison took a moment to fix her reddish-brown hair since it had gotten messy after their encounter at the school. She pulled it back into a ponytail once again. Fuck...I could really use a shower or something.
"Are we almost there?" Addison asked out of annoyance. She was getting tired.
