I, Zombie [Tag: Everyone]

Date: December 21st.
Time: 7:32 PM
Location: The streets of New York



Drowning deep in my sea of loathing
Broken your servant I kneel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems what's left of my human side
Is slowly changing in me
(Will you give in to me?)


The streets were blanketed in thick and cold whiteness, the heavy snow still falling with no signs of letting up.  A sickly man staggered through the streets, his unwell condition causing the Christmas shoppers to move out of his path and make way. To the untrained eye, he appeared to be nothing more than a homeless; his wife beater dirty, ripped and torn, smeared with dirt and blood, just like his shredded jeans. His skin unhealthy, riddled with gashes that could have been shrugged off as the effects of heavy drugs, or life choices that led him to his predicament. His eyes an unhumanely mixture of black with a bloody red haze... a virus that people quickly decided was due to an infected needle. Most humans were so quick to judge, and perhaps he could be dubbed Karma, soon to punish those unworthy of redemption and saw him unworthy of help....


Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly it changes
Violently it changes (oh no)
There is no turning back now
You've woken up the demon in me..


A loud blood curdling scream suddenly emitted from the mouth of the sick thug, his once dazed and sluggish state gone and replaced by something less human, more monster. He charged into an unsuspecting crowd, dirty and broken nails digging into a young woman's arm as he violently pulled her to him, bloody and nasty teeth sinking into her neck, ripping a chunk from her as her last breath was wasted on a scream that would yield no help, then choked on her own blood as her form went limp.....


...but it was only a temporary state of still. Her soul had left her body, but death would not be the end. Her body lay crumpled on the sidewalk, the snow surrounding her turning red. Her attacker rushed to grab his next victim, a man foolish enough to come close in an attempt to help...


Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me...



Her once blue eyes flickered open, now scarred by the bloody haze that her attacker had displayed. No longer afraid, but feeling only one need.... the need to feed. Her winter clothes torn from her attack, she shot up with an eery growl and rushed at a little girl that had been clinging to her mother's hand, a teddy bear clutched against her. The child's cries cut through the chaos of the streets as a helpless mother tried to pull the little girl from the monster, but her heroics would only mark her as the next victim. A small horde, all 'fathered' by the sickly thug, surrounded her like a pack of hungry lionesses and tore into her, devouring her and the child alive....



 I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


The virus was spreading like wildfire, and had Agent Bishop been made aware of the careless associate's actions as soon as it occurred, then perhaps this could have been contained before things had reached such crippling levels. But fear caused her to attempt to make this experiment's escape appear to be someone else's accident. Her reward? Having her throat ripped out by the creature that she had released. Now she was tucked away inside the containment chamber that had once housed the thug, the original host of this virus....


The experiment had not been a failure. The virus had been created at the request of the President to be injected into soldiers that were to be delivered to enemy countries.. to wipe them out. Never would they anticipate it being released here, to infect the very people that they were trying to protect.....


It seems you're having some trouble
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes (oh no)
The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the demon in me



The Agent sighed heavily as he peered down from the roof of a 15 story building, his helicopter waiting just behind him. A man in his position could simply flee the Country and allow the government that asked for this to clean it up, but his whole reason for being ever since his own experimentation was to defend against threats, and this would certainly classify as one. He certainly had his work cut out for him....


Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me.

Mel walked along the cold snowy streets freezing her ass off she only had a semi warm winter jacket on along with her fingerless gloves that she had found in a clothing bin. She wore an old winter hat that barely kept the cold at bay. It was snowing heavily but she needed to find a warmer place to stay in for the time being it was bad enough that her jeans were freezing and her shoes soaking wet along with her socks unable to find a pair of boots her size or that kept her feet dry and warm.

She started to hear people scream in either pain or in fear causing her to look up to see people running away from other people that were biting, eating and chasing everyone else. It even included people that were dead coming back to life! What the ever loving fucking hell was going on?! The young teen kept the scream from coming out of her mouth but just barely as she turned around and started to run in the opposite direction. Unfortunately she was spotted by the horror movie come to life and was being chased by it. They were making some roaring sounds as they chased her for their next meal or whatever it was that they were after.

The snow was making it difficult to run with how slippery it was making her almost skid down the street and into other running people and even cars! Mel was scared out of her mind unable to pay much attention to the stinging on her face from the snow slapping into it or to everyone else as she tried to get to safety. She didn't know what had caused this all she knew she had to run if she didn't want to become food to something that was chasing her or become one of them.

Spotting a fire escape the young teen jumped up and grabbed on and climbed up it to catch her and hoping to whatever deity that was out there that those things couldn't climb.

The 'ghost unit' stood about in a semi circle on guard as ever.

Hank though was not entirely focused upon the here and now as someone of the elite Ghosts should be.

His thoughts were on his mother in law - his daughter.

In this city - of all the places for this damned thing to get out why here?! - here where his late wife's mother and his daughter lived?! He ground his teeth a little in worry. He wanted to desert the group now, to gather them and take them somewhere safe. But perhaps Bishop would set up shop somewhere close and he'll be able to leave briefly to retrieve his family.

Maybe.

Though it was a risk.

"Sire we need to move out," Jace, one of his fellow Ghost members spoke up from the other side.

Hank wanted to agree, they needed to get to work. He needed to slip away as soon as he could and somehow ensure the safety of his family. If in the chaos they had not already been lost. And the thought made his heart clench and what felt like a lead balloon slid down into his belly and sit there, tight and uncomfortable.

No, Ida was a tough old gal and Erica intelligent - they would be okay - somehow.

Leatherhead often had complained about his solitude down here.

But since... since the outbreak, not so much, his best friend and her grandmother were now residing with him.

His best friend had called about the news, and asked if she and Ida could stay with him. Of course he had said yes at once! And had met his friend to help her and Ida. The older woman had - screamed up a storm seeing him for the first time and still today was edgy around him, but not so frightened. He and Ida right now cleaned the two new train carts.

With what was going on Leatherhead had had to close off parts of tunnels and sewer and water ways leading to his Den, with thick barred grating. And add to the three train cars he already had. These ones were for his new roomies, and they would be finding more - after all whom knew if Erica would find others uptop - she had been back and forth to the cafe all day gathering food and supplies.

she went alone despite his worry.

But so far had made two trips without any incident.

Finally!

Her phone!

The damned thing had somehow gotten lodged between the wall and her bed and she had not been able to find it!

The apartment was in darkness, everything off and in silence so as not to attract the notice of the 'infected'.

And so empty. She had gone through her grandmothers room and her parents, taking a few things that could be useful. And had discovered something strange in her parents room whilst rooting about on the previous excursion for anything that could be of use. No it was not her late mothers stuff. She knew her always busy military father had not had the heart to throw any of his deceased wifes belongings out. It was amongst the items in the foot of the closet that was puzzling, inside her mothers old Green Beret footlocker. It appeared to be a skin tight suit - Though in side it now Erica could not for the life of her figure out the material which felt like rubber - and it was tight! especially across her torso!

Also weapons. Not that Erica even knew how to use them! But she had them in the back pack now, might be of use to her and her GranGran and Leatherhead.

She sighs and tucks the phone into her bra so it was snug to her body - and was just retrieving her over stuffed backpack once more when - there was something on the fire escape!

Her breaths grew fast with fear and she creeps towards the window.... moving the curtain - and blinking... there was a girl!

She quickly slips the window open. "Hey - hey you..." She whispers - stage whispers... she still wanted to avoid attracting the horde below...

Mel looked and saw an older and taller girl than her in the apartment lucky for her she wasn't a whatever was down below.

" Who are you? Did you get bit by one of those things? Because if you did I will kill you was close enough to see that was the cause of the craziness down there." Mel growled quietly and being as threatening as possible for survival more than anything else. As it was she was trapped on the fire escape they were surrounded by the horrors below they knew that two young girls were alive in one spot and were unable to escape.

"No, I am not sick like them." Erica shook her head, "Get in here - come on." She gestures urgently and trying to be quiet, the horde may know they were there but maybe if she could get the girl inside and close the window again maybe buy them some time to make an escape?

She'd taken food earlier and supplies on a previous trek and had just come back in hopes of finding her phone. And had found it.

"Come on..." She holds out her hands to help heft the girl in.

" I wouldn't stay in there if I were you." Mel told her as she started to hear banging in the apartment the door was being pounded on. The horror had gotten in and they were hungry and going through the apartments for lunch.

" Those things are inside and trying to get in if we climb the fire escape we will be on the roof but either way we're trapped. We can't jump from roof to roof we're not fucking Spiderman." The young teen growled knowing they were beyond stuck.

"I've just been through the cafe and apartment theres none of those - Fuck!"

Erica's reassurances where cut short when she distinctly heard a crashing in the cafe below. "Never mind!" She scrambles out the window pulling it down behind her and onto the fire escape. "The roof - go! we'll think of something." She hustled the slightly younger and smaller girl ahead of her suddenly glad she had changed into this tight body suit, unencumbered by normal clothing and she didn't seem to feel the chill of the cold except against her face, she slung the back pack off and opened it. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

" Told ya! Ever watched horror movies?" Mel asked as she was pushed up to the roof even she didn't want to move from being so cold.

" No I don't know how to use a gun only have a switchblade but we have to get out of here. If those things don't kill us the cold will. I'm feeling way to cold to want to move everything hurts." She told the older teen as she tried to move to get the blood flowing again.

"I don't like horror movies - their scary! - especially those with clowns."

Following the girl Erica none the less took two handguns from the bag and a grenade awkwardly juggling as they ran, zipping the bag back up. "Well your going to have to learn, and keep moving only body heat will keep you warm, in this suit I have on I seriously am not feeling the cold at all."

Though one would think otherwise as it was skin tight and had an almost Selene Underworld appearance to it. Erica was going to have to let Leatherhead look over it when they got back to the hidden Den!

They were just clearing the rooftop when she shoved one of the guns into the younger teens hands. "Don't aim it at yourself or me and we should be fine, I've never fired these myself - but my dad is a military man and showed me how to assemble, dismantle, load and aim it. Pulling the trigger shouldn't be too hard. These are beretta nine two fs which are semi automatic pistols, the standard-issue sidearm of the United States Armed Forces. " Fit as she was she was not too out of breath now they were on her homes rooftop. She hurries to the edges, the main street and alley sides were too far to attempt a jump. But the other sides where closer to the neighboring shop buildings. They needed to go down!

Find a sewer opening and get back to Leatherhead's Den.

" Sure give the girl a gun that she has never used or been near. The only one that I know of that used a gun was my Mama but I barely remember her." Mel told the girl as she went to edge of the roof looking down the alley aiming at the monsters and tried to shoot them. Her aim was off by quite a bit just grazing them and hitting the ground.

" Yeah this works all so well." She said sarcastically as she emptied the clip only making the things bleed from the grazes and then the gun only clicked showing it was out of ammo.

Annoyed Erica rolled her eyes, "Stop wasting ammo!! - just keep it close as a last resort!" She hurried over to take the weapon and reload it. "Don't do that again - just keep it encase we have to fire at them." She hisses - giving it back to the other girl.

On the plus side if there were living beings close by maybe they heard the gun shots?

and then do what exactly? Erica thinks now annoyed at herself, she and this girl were on their own at this point.

Either way Erica knew they had to move, had to find a way down and into the sewers! - first to get off this rootop!

She spots something -

It would have to do.

"get over here we may be able to get over to the Second Time Around rooftop by going across the power line - you will need to put on my nans boots and gloves she uses for gardening. Their rubber so you'll be insulated from electrical current... and I think this body suit is made of rubber or something similiar so it too should protect me." Erica gestures -not exactly spider man - but close enough right? everything from her hands to her feet was encased in the tight suit aside from her head.

" You realize that only works in movies and cartoons and the circus right? We're not in either of those things one mistake and we both fall to our deaths. And on top of that if you look down and freeze then what? We can't do something that risky without looking at all of our options." Mel pointed out poking all the holes in the plan because like it or not it wasn't going to work at all.

" There's bound to be another way without risking our lives like that and we'd be better off trying to jump rooftops if we want to go nuts." She told her trying to show how crazy it sounded. The young teen was an adrenaline junkie but even she wasn't that reckless.

"actually rubber, plastic and some polymers are all materials that does not allow or have free flowing electrical current and are even used to make insulators." Erica says grabbing the girl and dragging her over to the gloves and boots. "and seeing as our options are stay here and go down in a blaze of glory or try leaping buildings and possibly falling and being eaten... Or trying to get over there and possibly falling and breaking something and ending up eaten I think we are good either way."
she herself was terrified, heights! She felt her head spin... But she could focus...

She reaches a hand... Leaning on the railing fence her family had put up here when to make the rooftop serviceable as a garden and back yard of sorts... And her black material covered fingers touch the thick power cable...

Nothing...

Right...

Breathing out, not even having realised she had held her breath in the first place. "okay well you can either come with me , put those gloves on and those boots and copy me or stay here." Erica says and slowly slid her hands along the cable, letting herself fall a little and dangle on the cable, before curling her body and hooking ankles over it too, and in a sort of snake like action she slid her hands along again, then brought her ankles along.[/color]

" You're crazy you know that and don't look down!" Mel yelled as she put on the gloves and boots tying her shoes to the belt loops of her jeans as she tried to copy what the other girl did. However unlike her the younger teen wasn't that strong and was unable to copy the snake movement or hold on with her legs so she was left dangling.

" I'm not strong enough to do this just my luck and the cold is sapping my energy." She growled in annoyance as she tried to go across a bit differently than the other girl by putting one hand in front of the other but it was slow going.

Erica trembled, the added jiggling of the other girl... And her words!

"totally insane!" she agrees and then...

"oh... Um... Okay... Hold on.." she wriggles her way back, slowly. And as she got closer she says, "okay your going to have to hold on tight! I'll then crawl over you and support, but you have to hold on tight and move with me." she grunts.

She was a dancer, so could dangle here for a while, she let's her ankles drop and chimp swings a bit closer, then carefully, and slowly so the weight of the girl did not dislodge her own hold she lifts her legs beneath the girl, between the girls legs so she sort of sat on her like one would a pony, the younger girls narrower hips and buttocks seated between her own hips, legs dangling either side of her waist. "okay I got you, just hold the cable and move your hands with mine," Erica grunts out ankles around the cable once more.

" This is so fucking insane and stupid it's not fucking funny!" The young teen yelled as she did what the older girl said.

" Might as well exchange names while we're at it. I'm Melissa Andreas but I go by Mel." Mel said the girl odds were she might know who she was now she had been reported missing from her foster home last month and hadn't been seen since then.

Trying her best to not think of the drop below - curse the girl for saying 'don't look down' Erica wormed her way back across.

And then her passenger introduced herself and Erica could have laughed, if she didn't need the breath for the task! "Erica Martins... Wait I've heard of your name! You were n the news! Um.. Missing!?"

She shimmies them closer to the other rooftop ... No' other side! Pretend they were just playing! Not up so high!

" More like ran away from the foster home and been on the streets since then." Mel commented as she continued to move but was losing energy fast and was slipping again.

" I can't keep this up much longer getting to tired." She complained knowing hypothermia was starting to set in at this point.

"why..." Erica puffs perspiration gathering on her forehead and dampening her dark hair, "did...." She was getting closer tot he other side - and looked at Mel - and her question as to why the girl ran away died in her throat.

"Hey! focus, Mel..." She could see the younger girl was losing color - and her lips where blue... Erica herself in the suit could feel the the cold but was not cold herself. "come on... we're almost there!" She hoped talking would help Mel focus enough to make it the last two wriggles, and climb off - because if she fell unconscious it was going to be a struggle to think of a way to get herself and a girl off the cable and onto the neighboring rooftop.

And a jolt on the cable made Erica cry out -

She looks back the way they'd come - the freaking zombies had made it to the rooftop - milling about - maybe attracted by their scent? but were trying to come across after them, and the bodies hitting the cable made it twang and wobble!

Erica shuddered and moved faster, heart thundering, feeling nausea brought on by phobia of heights and the wobbling, jerking motion of the cable... "Frick! frickfrickfrick!" She eeeeks stretching and sliding her hands and ankles faster! "Mel your going to have to climb off me! use the roof edge and cable box - don't touch the cable unless it's with your gloves or boots -"

" I will try." Mel replied as she struggled to do just that but somehow she managed to but collapsed in the snow as soon as she did. She tried to get up out of the snow knowing there was still trouble but was unable to.

" Erica I can't get up." She told the older girl as she tried to get up again but the cold was winning.

Erica clung to the cable, squeaking in fear - with Mel gone it was easier to hold on sure but her muscles where a bit sore and now with the cable being jerked about she was finding it difficult to hold onto.

"I'll!" She squeaked, a jerk of a heavy bodied zombie nearly making her lose her hold.

"Be - eeeek!" and again! she tried to focus on reaching for the corner of rooftop and not pay heed to the twanging of the cable.

"Thereeee!"

and to her horror the lastest twang also was symphonies with the sounds of something grating... and a shower of sparks! burst before her eyes - the damned things were causing the damned cable to be pulled from the transformer box!

"Ahhh!" Erica yelped and reached desperately for the roof edge as another shower of sparks and a awful squeal sounded and the cable snapped falling away!

Only an hour had passed since this whole thing had started and already the streets looked like something out of a horror movie. The hordes had grown in numbers, chasing down and either devouring or turning any living soul they came across. In the beginning, Raphael had attempted to take them down, but the numbers became too many and the Turtle barely made it out of a dead end alley without being infected. It was a close call and enough of a scare to wise him up to the situation.


It was best to play the defensive, not the offensive in this 'game'. He had to survive and warn his family and friends, after all. Turtle luck working true to form, Hell on Earth had to come during winter. Normally the cold would slow them down, but fortunately for Raphael, his sprint across the city's rooftops had his blood pumping...


And now there was urgency to reach April and Casey to make sure they were informed and okay, and then to warn his family. At least his brothers were below ground were surely it would be safe.. for awhile. Or at least he thought. They had all chosen to stay the night in and indulge in movies instead of going out. Naturally Raph wasn't up for Christmas movies and had chosen to go out alone....


He could still smell the rancid scent of blood and flesh and decay as snapping jaws came mere inches from his face. Surrounded and trapped within the confines of the alley, it seemed his fate was sealed. At first, he thought it was nothing more than a riot of radicals, dressed the part to get attention.. but then witnessing the flesh tearing and devouring of living beings as he was helpless to help. He had also witnessed enough to know that just one scratch, one bite from these creatures was lethal, and the amount of time needed to turn varied between individuals. All would turn, unless devoured to the point that no muscle was left on bone to support any form of function. But even then, if the brain was intact, there would be reanimation...


Luckily he had made it out of that alley with only a set of claw marks to his left forearm that had been left by an infected's rings. It had scared the living shell out of him at first, but seeing the jewelry dripping with his blood had been a welcomed image. Otherwise, he would've been faced with the choice of cutting ff his own arm and hoping that would be enough, or become one of them. Yeah. This was one of those rare occasions that he had gotten lucky.


Once again sprinting across the rooftops, the massive Turtle tried not to look down at the chaos below. The streets were overrun with those things and they were turning over cars and ripping through humans, some of the victims being children. Their screams ripped through his heart and while he wanted nothing more than to help, there was nothing he could do.. there was too many. His only hope now was reaching April and Casey in time and pray that he wasn't too late!



The cold wind felt like razors against the delicate tissue of his lungs, ripping and burning. His throat ached, muscles wanting nothing more than to tense and lock, but he forced them all to work despite their excruciating protests. Soon April's apartment came into view, and not a moment too soon. In an instant, he was on top of her building but suddenly something caught his attention. Two teenage girls, dangling from an electrical wire....


'What tha...'



He slowly moved closer to the edge, observing the two and hoping they didn't notice him. Surely the sight of a huge mutant Turtle would cause them to lose their grip, so it was best to stay out of sight.. for now. Though the sight of them earned a quiet chuckle, despite the seriousness of the situation and the current state of their city....


Slightly trembling hands reached to pull out a grappling chain, holding it at the ready, just in case they lost their grip... he could be there for insurance.....


..and just like that, the cable finally gave, but the chain lashed out, wrapping around both of the teens midsections, breaking their fall and leaving them suspended and swinging, but fortunately out of reach of the horde. "I got you.." Raph huffed, feet digging into the snow and he began to pull them onto the roof....

" Now what?" Mel looked up and saw a giant turtle pull them up onto the roof. She would've had more of a reaction but had lost all of her strength and energy.

" That's new giant walking talking turtle and he saved us." She commented way to calm as it was obvious that hypothermia had set in and wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

" Hey got a warm place or am I gonna die out here Red?" She asked him unable to move.