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Archive 22 / natures-vengeance
Triggers: Violence, Gore, Death, Sexual content, Injury, Blood
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✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼ 08-Jan-23 09:39 PM
TW: Violence, Gore, Death, Sexual content, Injury, Blood
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Aurora Hart BOT 08-Jan-23 10:06 PM
Aurora can't even remember the last time things were anywhere near normal for her, she tried as hard as she could to remember some semblance of normalcy any time she had a moment to truly rest but the memories all seemed so far away at this point. Her life had been normal for the most part, easy, something she didn't realize she was taking for granted. Her mother's laugh, her younger brothers smile, she missed them both so much. She wondered often if they made it out, made it to a safe zone somehow. She dreamt of them often but even their faces had started to muddy in her mind. She tried not to let her mind take over as she worked on getting a small fire lit. Having made her way up to the second story of a building that didn't have too many windows she figured it would be safe and it was cold, too cold for the tattered excuse of a blanket she had from the last time the weather cooled. Summer was quickly coming to an end and she was grateful she still had her simple firestarter. A bit of flint and metal really is all you need she mused to herself having found the task impossible at the start of this. The thought brought a soft smile to her face in the dim glow of the firelight, the friends that she had made in the beginning, the things they had taught her. She wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them, and she certainly wouldn't be warm. She missed them, she always would, but in her mind they were still alive and well. "Cheers guys" she said softly before she peeled open a can of spaghetti O's and started to eat. Once she had finished she put a few more pieces of wood onto the fire and let herself slump down against the wall a bit, machete in hand. The day had been long and the next would be the same, she knew she had to get some sleep or she was never going to be able to loot enough. "Goodnight moon" she whispered gazing out the single window in the room before finally letting her eyes flutter shut. @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 09-Jan-23 12:39 AM
The helicopter rotors were kicking up clouds of dust and debris as it flew low over the fields outside of the town, its crew compartment empty save for one man who was snoozing with his chin down on the top of his chest rig. It was an expensive and extravagant mode of transportation, but when you needed to get somewhere fast, there wasn’t quite anything like it. The roads were clogged with cars that had been sitting abandoned for over two years, and the bridges had begun to crumble and fall due to the masses of undead flesh that walked across them. No, there was no ground transport that could be used to deliver the cargo this time. There was too much on the line and time was of the essence. Time had been something humans lost their access to when all of this went down, but as the zombie counts were growing more and more towards one hundred percent of the previous living population, there was no time to waste any longer. As they got closer to the city, the aircraft pitched upwards to get above the buildings on the outer fringes and the powerline poles that were absent before. The slight motion caused the man’s head to loll slightly in his resting state, but he remained seated and kept his head down to try and preserve as much energy as he could. There was nothing he could do or needed to do at that moment. The pilots had been dodging cities and large settlements as best they could the entire flight in order to not rouse the attention of the hordes that were likely milling about in the old population centers, waiting for a stimulus to kick their hunting drive back into motion. There was no going around this city, however, as it was the mission site that their cargo had boarded the bird to get to. The closer they got, the more nervous they got when they could see the thousands of zombies below them slowly turning their heads up to look at them. They were nervous, but they were also trained, and neither of the wing gunners allowed their nerves to take over. .
00:39
Cody’s eyes stayed shut as he heard the gunners talking to each other over the internal radio of the helicopter. He could not blame the edge of fear he had heard in their voices; he had been in their boots many times with numerous undead in his gunsight but with orders not to shoot. ‘Wait for the big guns to do their work, then we’ll clean up the leftovers. Don’t worry, they’ve got it handled.’ That confidence was quickly wiped from his commander’s voice when the smoke cleared and revealed the hordes continuing their tireless advance. Opening his eyes and looking up to see them holding tight to the stocks and triggers of their machine guns, he flicked his gaze quickly to the crew chief who had been reaching to wake him. Seeing the brunette woman jump slightly as she had not expected him to be awake, Cody nodded and offered a small smile before reaching down to unbuckle the straps that secured him to the bench seat. Pushing up from his seat and then stretching his back slightly, he stepped forward and spoke into the microphone on his headset, “I’ll be up to the cockpit soon Major.” Nodding to the crew chief as she turned to go back to the cockpit as well, Cody reached down and pulled on his backpack. Filled with one change of clothes, two pairs of socks and underwear, one week of rations, two dozen spare batteries, his radio, and a GPS system. Adjusting his shoulders and tightening the straps, he picked up his MP5 pistol-caliber carbine and pulled the strap over his shoulders. He walked forward through the crew compartment to lean on the seats of the pilot and co-pilot. Seeing a few buildings on the horizon, he nodded slowly before pointing at some of the largest ones and speaking, “Can you drop me on one of those and then draw the Zeds away with some bursts as you fly away?” .
00:40
Seeing the pilot nod before pitching the controls of the helicopter to adjust the trajectory, Cody reached down and patted him on the shoulder before moving out of the cockpit and standing in the center of the crew compartment. He was not needed in the cockpit anymore, and it was more important for him to be ready to disembark quickly to reduce the number of zombies pulled to his location by the sound. Cody had been a military contractor when the shit hit the fan, his assignment having him in downtown Algiers on an assassination mission. Sent to kill some African warlord who was working closely with terrorist groups in the region, CJ had had two other contractors with him to help with securing the kill. Trained as a sniper in the Navy Seals for the first six years of his time after graduating high school, Cody was the designated marksman of the mission. It was when he was scanning the crowded café seating patio for the target that he saw his first zombie attack. A man with his arms raised over his head had come running out of an alley way, blood drenching the front of his robes. Close behind him came three other people, their mouths and chests covered in blood and other gore.
00:40
. No one in the patio knew what to do and simply watched in a state of awe as the man fell down with the three individuals leaping onto him and tearing into him. It was only when he stopped moving that the zombies seemed to react to the people around them. Spreading out immediately and attacking the café goers, the zombies made a quick mess of things before being gunned down by the warlord’s guards. Only the large caliber shots to their chests did nothing but knock them back slightly. The zombies quickly jumped at their new attackers, while the people that had been bitten began to twitch and stand up to join in the fray as well. Cody, wanting to have the honor of killing the man responsible for over two hundred trafficked young girls, turned his rifle and eliminated his target with a well-aimed shot to the forehead. .
00:40
Hearing the alerts from the cockpit as the helicopter started to elevate quickly, Cody leaned into the pitch of the air frame while shuffling towards the bench where he had been sitting before. Picking up the SR-25 rifle that he had lying beside him, Cody pulled it on as well with its strap over his back. Balancing both the rifle and carbine, he moved carefully towards the side of the helicopter. Dropping down to his rear and dangling his legs out of the open side door, he reached up to move his microphone more in front of his mouth before speaking, “I appreciate the ride y’all. Get back to base and get some hot chow; you deserve it.” Smiling as he heard the pilot and crew wishing him good luck on his mission down below, Cody glanced out of the open door and felt his gut immediately fall when the building he had designated as the landing zone came into view. The roof of the building had collapsed and seemed to go down several floors into a scorched darkness. A fire sometime in the last two years had burned out the guts of the tall building and left only the outer shell standing as a monument to human technology. Cursing under his breath, he scooted back from the opening and pushed up to his feet while stumbling slightly. Finding his footing and reaching up to grab hold of one of the various handholds on the ceiling of the crew compartment, he walked forward and into the cockpit. Adjusting the strap of his helmet as be moved, he shook his head and looked out through the windscreen to survey the city below them. They had been flying above the city for long enough now that everything below had undoubtedly heard them, human and zombie alike. Gritting his teeth as he looked, a flash of light to his left caught his attention moments before a pinging sound could be heard ricocheting off the side of the aircraft. The gunner on that side cursed loudly before screaming for permission to engage, which was quickly denied by the major piloting the bird. .
00:41
Looking out in front of them, Cody saw a four-story building that didn’t have a lot of windows built into it. From their vantage point, he could see clearly that the building’s roof was intact. Pointing at it, he spoke quickly into the microphone, “Get me to that roof Major, and then y’all can get the hell out of here. I’d still appreciate that suppressing fire to draw some of them away, but don’t stay so long that you get shot down.” Patting the pilot on the shoulder, Cody moved quickly to his original position at the edge of the helicopter door, but this time he raised his rifle to look through the scope. Trying to find the muzzle flash from before, he was pleased to see that whoever had fired before had thought better of shooting at them anymore. Looking out into the night sky as the helicopter descended, Cody looked over his gear one more time to make sure everything was in place. He wore black combat boots that had been purposefully scuffed to not reflect light like a beacon. His pants and jacket were both black and dark gray camouflage, as well as the Kevlar helmet that he had on his head. His backpack had the same pattern as his clothes, but the plate carrier on his chest was solid black in hue. .
00:41
He did not want to be seen, and as most of his movements would be at night, these clothes would make his job easier. The final piece of his equipment rested on the front of his helmet, but as the helicopter lowered faster, he flipped his white phosphor night-vision goggles down and turned them on. Cody let his eyes adjust to the new sight picture before adjusting the settings and turning on the thermal vision mode. Shaking his head as he saw the massive heat signature below them of the horde following the sound of the helicopter, he put the mode back to the night vision and spoke into his microphone, “Got a few thousand heat sigs below us. Going to need to turn that from an appreciation for suppressing fire to a need for it. I won’t get far if they don’t follow you.” .
00:41
Hearing an acknowledgement from the crew chief, Cody waited patiently on the edge of the helicopter as it lowered down and hovered a few feet off of the top of the building. Bringing his suppressed MP5 up as he stepped off of the aircraft, he scanned his surroundings and smirked when he saw no zombies on the roof around him. He did, however, see an entry door that would likely lead into the stairwell of the building. Hearing the helicopter’s engines roar as the craft flew up into the air, he jogged over to the door and reached his left hand down to grab the doorknob while holding his carbine with his right. Cody waited until he heard the machine guns on the helicopter firing before turning the handle on the door and pushing against it to shove it open. Feeling some resistance at first, he backed up and kicked at the door several times until it pushed against the object blocking it and slid open a little. Scanning the opening quickly, Cody glanced back and watched the helicopter slowly fly away while firing down on the horde that followed it. Confident that nothing would have heard the door over the sounds of the machine guns, he pushed past the pile of luggage bags and started slowly down the stairwell. @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 09-Jan-23 08:22 AM
Aurora had finally managed to drift into a deeper sleep when she heard the steady whirring of what she swore was a helicopter making it's way over the city. It was a rare occurrence but not unheard of. As long as they didn't hover too long it should be fine. She thought to herself as she tried once again to get comfortable. Much to her discontent the noise got louder, and then it steadied. Her eyes shot open when she heard commotion outside and she readied herself for the possibility of incoming zombies. Hoping and praying that they would be too busy trying to get at whoever was in the chopper to wander to the second floor. I should have gone up another story. That thought was quickly interrupted by a crashing sound coming from the floors above. What the fuck? She kicked the fire out quickly and slung her backpack over her shoulders, she had lost it once before and she never planned on making that mistake by leaving it behind again. With a deep breath and a couple gentle slaps to her own dirtied face to make sure she was fully awake she made her way out into the hallway, a strong grip on her machete. You're not getting me today you fuckers. She thought to herself trying to stay calm and move up to the higher floors as quietly as she could. It was dark but her eyes were slowly adjusting, enough at least to avoid tripping and falling over the random debris everywhere. She was just about to turn onto the stairs to go up to the fourth floor when she heard it, footsteps. Fast ones. There's no way Her heart started to race, she had only had to take on a faster dead head a few times and narrowly escaped the last one. She quickly switched which hand was holding the machete so she could wipe her sweaty palm off on her tattered jeans and then gripped it strongly again to keep pushing onwards. It wasn't long before she was face to face with whatever it was that was moving so quickly through the building and she was quick to raise her weapon getting ready to swin
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Cody Jacobson BOT 10-Jan-23 11:24 PM
The inside of the stairwell was pitch black as Cody stepped onto the initial platform and swept the immediate area for any contacts or movement. Sliding his left hand up the handguard of his carbine smoothly, he activated the infrared laser device on the side rail and saw a solid white beam emitted from it. Thankfully, anyone or anything without infrared vision or night vision would not be able to see the beam that would guide them right back to him. The laser was very helpful though, as it was set up to follow the accuracy of the carbine out to two hundred meters, so he did not have to shoulder the weapon and look through the sights to be accurate. Leaning over the edge of the railing and looking down the shaft of the stairwell, Cody grunted softly as the stench of rotten meat wafted up from the bottom. There was the body of someone who had obviously tried to take a jump from the top in hopes of ending their suffering. It seemed to have worked, but they were still used as a food source by something that had torn out their entrails and dragged them out of sight. Aiming his carbine down to lase over the body and then slowly track up the first flight of stairs, Cody sighed softly when he lost the angle needed to check additional levels for any kind of contact that could be coming up towards the sound he had made. Pressing against the wall of the stair well as he lifted his left arm, he pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to show his watch and check the time. Right on schedule...kind of, he thought to himself as he shook the sleeve back down into place to cover the watch and any chance of a glint. Cody moved down the flight of stairs to what was the landing to the third floor but found that the stairs down to the second level were clogged by several appliances. Seems someone tried to hardpoint the third floor. Let’s hope for them that it worked. .
23:24
Pulling open the door to the third floor slowly, Cody moved through the threshold and quickly adjusted his aim around the corridor before him. Seeing his laser jumping from hiding place to possible hiding place, he waited to see if there would be a reaction to the door before starting down the corridor. His boots made soft thuds as he walked with practiced speed, his eyes tracking every opening that was coming up from the rooms of the building. Feeling a slight shift under his foot, he glanced down and saw a series of papers strewn about from the extended hand of a dead body in a business suit. The building seemed to have been rented out by multiple different industries, but none of that mattered as he pressed through the corridor in hopes of finding the secondary stairwell. He was coming up on the bend of the corridor that would lead to the second stairwell, when he heard a soft series of footsteps approaching from down the hallway. Holding his position and leaning around the corner, his eyes narrowed when he saw a shorter figure moving toward him carefully. Lifting his aim to put the infrared laser on the woman’s forehead, his thumb was reaching to flick off the safety when he saw the machete held in her hand. There were no reports of zombies using weapons or tools of any kind, so this woman was very much alive. That did not make her less of a threat, however. Cody flicked off the safety smoothly before the pinky of his left hand squeezed on a small button attached to the base of his handguard. Suddenly, as the woman raised the machete, the flashlight on the rails of his carbine flashed on and shined directly into the woman’s face. The direction of the light meant Cody’s night-vision wasn’t compromised and he was hidden in a sudden wall of darkness on the other side of the light. Speaking in a gruff voice, he took two steps back quickly to get out of initial range of the woman, “I suggest you lower that weapon, now.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 11-Jan-23 09:36 AM
Aurora almost let out a scream when that light flicked on and blinded her, Sure she had never heard of or seen zombies using any kind of tools or weapons but she wasn't going to risk it. She was just about to swing in her blind panic when that gruff voice made it ways to her ears. She slowly lowered the weapon and put her other hand up to try and block the light enough to see who was speaking. "You're.. alive" she managed to say through her shock, it had been countless months since she ran into another survivor and judging by this guys gear he was rather good at it too. "Can you quit blinding me with that thing please?" she couldn't keep the bite of annoyance from her voice when she remembered the sound of the chopper, this guy wasn't a survivor, not in the same sense that she was. He was dropped here, for what reason she didn't know all she knew is he potentially brought the dead with him.. and interrupted her sleep. "Who are you why are you here?" she asked as she reached into her backpack for the bottle of water there, taking a few sips now that she had at least a second to not be on high alert, he had guns after all. "Do you have any idea if a hoard followed you here? I heard a ton of them outside when that god forsaken helo was just sitting above the building" @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 13-Jan-23 05:03 AM
Seeing the woman lower the machete before bringing her hand up to try to block out the light, Cody lowered his head slightly to try to see past her hand. He was looking at her eyes as best he could to see if they showed any signs of the infection, but he realized that she would not be this articulate ore reasonable if she had been about to Zeke out. Lowering his carbine to point it at the ground between them, he kept the light on so that she could see that he was alive. Bringing his left hand off of the handguard after turning off the laser, he raised it to his night-vision goggles and turned them off before flipping them up on his helmet. The light reflected off of the ground enough to show that he was geared up for a fight, but he kept his eyes trained on her as he looked to see if she had any additional weapons or any wound that he could see. He had been issued a very strict order to kill the undead liberally and to not let any survivors impede his progress, even with deadly force if they tried to use it on him. While there was hope of returning to a world dominated by the living, there was no quarter to be given to those that would stand in the way of progress or growth. Hearing her words and offering a short grunt, he positioned the light so that it was not reflecting so much before speaking in a considerably less gruff voice now that his life wasn’t threatened, “That I am, as are you. How long have you been in this town?” Watching her reach into her bag for something after asking her question, Cody lifted his left foot to step backwards quickly if she produced another weapon. You didn’t live through two years of the end of world if you were trusting or slow on your reflexes. It seemed in this case, however, he was too cautious and distrusting. Watching the woman pull out a bottle of water to drink from, Cody set his foot back down and brought his left hand up to his face. .
05:04
Rubbing the inside of his elbow against his chest rig to draw back the sleeve, he looked at his watch and checked the time before lowering his arm and shaking out the end of his sleeve to let it fall over the watch. He still had several hours until dawn, so he needed to get a move one. But with this survivor in front of him, he was reminded of his secondary rules of engagement: while those that disturbed him could be killed freely, survivors that needed aid and wanted to get to the safe zones that were being established were a priority just under the completion of his mission. Looking up to meet her gaze, he cleared his throat before offering a short nod and speaking, “My name is Cody Jacobson and I am a government contractor on a classified mission. Who are you?” He knew there was no need to ask her why she was here. She was just like hundreds of thousands of others that were just trying to survive in a world where millions of people had changed into cannibalistic monsters. Shrugging and smirking at her question, he glanced towards the stairwell she had just come up from and held his breath for a moment to listen. Hearing none of the typical shuffling or moaning of the dead, he looked back to her face and replied, “The whole city is a horde as far as I’m aware, but no, none of them should have followed me. The helicopter was supposed to gun down as many as it could while luring many more away. For the sound it makes, it makes a perfect lure that keeps their attention generally.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 13-Jan-23 09:12 AM
"Sorry didn't mean to startle you" She said with a small smile when he stepped back on alert just from her grabbing her water bottle. It was an understandable reaction, for all her knew she was one of the few that still had a gun and ammunition aside from the government. That was one area they had failed in, they refused to step in and arm the people that were left out of the safe zones to fend for themselves. Aurora watched him check the time and it seemed like such a foreign concept to her after all this time. Sure it had only been a little more than two years but still, she couldn't remember the last time she told the time using anything but the sun and the moon. The only thing that mattered was using as much daylight as possible to find food and water and to be indoors and barricaded when the sun went down, when every undead creature was more alive. "A classified mission?" She cocked an eyebrow, what could be possibly be doing after all this time? Hadn't it already been agreed upon that there was no helping this situation, isn't that why everyone in power had seemingly given up? Maybe she was behind, maybe she had missed something. It was a rarity that she turned on her radio after the first half a year, she wanted it to last as long as possible and batteries were next to impossible to come by anymore. "Aurora Hart.. but my friends used to call me Rory." "It's nice to meet you" She added sounding more awkward than she had meant to. It had been so long since she had spoken to anyone but herself, let alone met someone new who wasn't just looking to rob her, or worse. "Guess it's a good thing you had them do that then.. I've been stuck here for..." She actually wasn't sure exactly how many days it had been that she had already spent trying to make her way through this town. "At least a few days now, it's hard to make any headway when there's so many of them" she couldn't help a feeling of anger bubbling up inside of her after she had said that after all, he di
09:12
dn't exactly look like he was struggling to survive much at all, he was too clean, too well equipped. It must be nice to eat from the governments hands @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 15-Jan-23 09:53 AM
Cody was aware of the small smile on the woman’s face when he stepped back from her, bringing a slight grin to his own lips as he realized how crazy he probably looked. He had the advantage here as he could simply step back and just shoot her if he truly felt threatened enough, and here he was freaking out over a water bottle. Smirking as he watched her after lowering his arm and watch, Cody clenched his jaw as he thought to himself, Keep your head on straight CJ. You’ve got shit to get done; you can’t waste time talking to the first person you meet. Looking around them instinctively as she cocked an eyebrow at his mentioning that it was a classified mission, Cody cast the beam of his flashlight up the hallway he had just moved down before bringing his attention back to her. Mobility was the name of his game, as he did not have the firepower to stay in one place and hardpoint a defense. However, as he brought his eyes forward to the woman in front of him, he could not help the small smile that crept across his lips as he heard her name. Nodding and committing her name to memory, he grinned at her introduction before speaking, “It’s nice to meet you Aurora. My friends used to call me CJ, but I’m pretty open to either.” Nodding slightly as she mentioned that it had been a good thing to have the helicopter draw the horde away, Cody breathed in deeply as he had heard the Major’s reluctance to expend the ammunition for the main guns. With zombies walking the earth, it made it very difficult to man the facilities that had produced the larger rounds that the military used. They had set up shops in the surviving bases that could be used to reload smaller calibers, but the ammunition expended today had no course of being resupplied unless a raiding party was sent to clear old bases that had been overrun. Even with the difficulty to resupply, Cody would not have gotten off the helicopter without the benefit of suppressing fire. .
09:53
Cody watched the woman as she spoke and tried to recall the number of days that she had been in the town. He knew how difficult it could be trying to differentiate the passing of days when you were stuck in a constant cycle of trying to survive the elements and dead alike. Reminded of the first six months of the outbreak when he had not yet been picked up by the government, he nodded slightly before pulling himself out of that train of thought. Clearing his throat gently, he looked over her shoulders slowly before looking back to her eyes as he spoke, “I can understand that. I’m not sure what month we are in, but I know we’re getting near winter. I know they make travel a hassle, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to change that sometime soon.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 15-Jan-23 11:03 AM
Cute. She thought to herself when he told her his friends used to call him CJ, it suited him, at least she thought so. She was almost at a loss of what to say, she wasn't well versed in talking to actual people anymore. It was nice to be in the presence of a living, breathing, functional human again. "If I had to guess I'd say it's October? Maybe.. somewhere around there" the leaves had already begun to change and the trees had begun to shake them to the ground. Shedding them to prepare for the bitter cold. Aurora didn't even want to think about the coming winter, she hadn't gathered nearly enough food, and this town certainly wasn't safe or empty enough to bunk down and make a solid shelter where she could stay warm and more importantly not turn herself. It was after a few moments of being lost in her own thoughts that the rest of his words sank in. "Wait what? How?" A few different thoughts ran through Auroras head on rapid fire. Who was this guy really? Was he one of the crazy immune people she had heard rumors about? Was he some hero wanna-be who thought he would somehow cure the world? There had been a few of those over the years and none of them had gotten the happy ending they had envisioned for themselves. It was sad but at least they had gone out thinking they could change the world. Sometimes she thought that may have been better, to go out in a blaze of some sort of glory than to sit and wait for the inevitable. She grimaced at that, she knew better than to let her mind wander too much but here she was doing just that. "You aren't one of those crazy 'save the world' guys are you? We just met it would be a shame to watch you turn into one of them" Aurora gave the man another small smile, showing off the dimples in her cheeks. @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 20-Jan-23 03:36 PM
Shaking his head and chuckling softly when he heard Aurora’s idea of what month it might be, Cody grinned as he lowered his head and looked up to meet her gaze. A mischievous glint filled his eyes for a moment as he spoke, “October you say? That means we will be getting close to Halloween. I wonder if I’ll get any good candies this year when I go trick or treating.” Looking down at the chest rig he wore, he lifted his left hand away from his carbine and rested his wrist over one of the magazines there. His gear was warm enough for most of the cooler temperatures, but he knew that if it got bitterly cold, he would have to wait out the weather in a shelter he could make or find. Glancing over her civilian clothes before looking back down at the ground between them, Cody couldn’t help but imagine how cold Aurora was going to get in these conditions. Knowing how cold this region could get with single digit lows, he couldn’t very well leave her here without supplies or support. His musings over how he could offer her aid or ask her to accompany him to the closest safe zone were interrupted when she spoke. Looking up when she questioned how, Cody swallowed back some apprehension before bringing his left hand to his right wrist. Pulling the sleeve back to his elbow, he twisted his right hand down to show the underside of his forearm to Aurora. A scar showing a set of teeth marks was revealed, but the white color of the flesh would show that it was an aged scar. .
15:36
Shrugging his shoulders slowly before pulling the sleeve back down, Cody grinned again before speaking, “They’ve had their taste of me already. It happened three months after the outbreak, but I never turned. When I got recruited three months later, I showed it to one of the surgeons and they took blood samples from me. Apparently something inside of me fought off the infection and synthesized an antidote. Only bad thing about it is that I can’t share the mutated cells with anyone for fear of them reacting badly and getting infected.” Shaking his head and looking down at the ground between them for a second, Cody bit his lower lip before lifting his gaze back to hers. Raising his eyebrows and tilting his head to the side in a ‘what can you do’ style of gesture, he smiled and released his lips before continuing, “Trust me, I don’t want to turn into one of them or be their food, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Though, my mission does have me tasked with the shitty job of going deeper into their territory rather than moving with sense and leaving. Something about running into danger so others can escape?” Cody winked as he finished before grinning again, his eyes moving with more freedom than they had before. Seeing the small smile and the dimples in her cheeks, he could not help the slight warmth that spread over his own. She’s cute, but try not to get distracted CJ. You’ve got a job to do, and if you do it right, she and others like her will survive this. @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 20-Jan-23 04:09 PM
Halloween. She had practically forgotten that the holiday existed. Rory used to love Halloween, the costumes, the candy, and all of the fun festivities. Back when the undead were just costumes meant to make you jump in a haunted house. The good days. Her wandering mind was brought back to the man in front of her when he lifted his sleeve and she couldn't help but be the one to step back in shock this time. As if he was suddenly going to turn and attack her right there where they stood. "So you really are one of the crazy immune people I've heard the rumors about.. I thought they were all made up.." She relaxed again realizing she was being silly when he explained what had happened. It took a few moments for the weight of what he was saying to truly sink in. Running into danger so other can escape? It's basically a suicide mission. She thought to herself. She couldn't imagine the man in front of her making it through the massive hordes that were deeper into the city. Sure he was tall, and muscular, and handsome, but there was no way he could stand a chance against that many. Not when there were much more aggressive zombies rumored to be in those areas. She had been lucky enough to not run into too many large hordes, and the few instances where she did misstep and end up in the wrong place she ran like hell to make it out. She had seen how some of them could move so much faster, seemed to really hunt you down. It was terrifying. "It's a suicide mission, how can you possibly face that many on your own?" unable to keep the thought inside anymore her cheeks flushed pink and not just from the cold. Sure they had just met, if you could even really call it that, but he was the first person she had seen in a long time, she didn't want to let him go. "Why can't they just.. I don't know I mean can't they somehow make medicine out of your blood? Neutralize the whatever it is that makes people turn and just use the antibodies?" That's how it always seemed to work in
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the movies right? Of course those were movies, makeup and best case scenarios. She felt stupid saying it now that she thought about it, obviously they would have tried that already. "Where um.. What city are you going to?" @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 21-Jan-23 01:12 PM
Cody tilted his head to the side while offering a small shrug. He wasn’t sure what to say about the validity of other people claiming to be immune, but he knew that his own story, while hard to understand, was true. He had noticed the way she stepped away from him, but he knew better than to take it to heart. There were areas in the safe zones that he was not allowed to go to because of the virus floating in him. Childcare centers? No. Kitchens? Nope. Medical areas with other patients? Hell no. His lip curled up into a half-smile as he spoke with a soft chuckle, “I try not to think I’m crazy, but I can see how it looks. I’ve already survived one run in with Zeke, and now I’m volunteering for another tangle.” Looking down at the weapon hanging from the sling over his shoulders, Cody flicked the safety on and raised his right hand away from the pistol grip. He didn’t know the woman in front of him from any other stranger, but he had a gut feeling that if she wanted to hurt him, she would have already. Shifting his hand to the canteen pouch on his right hip, he unclipped the buckle holding it closed and pulled out his dark green plastic canteen. Unscrewing the cap and taking a single small swallow, Cody replaced the bottle before pausing a moment as he heard her comment about it being a suicide mission. “Somebody must do it, so who am I to push it off on someone that can get infected? I’ve got survival skills thankfully, but I guess I’ll just have to figure it out. No isn’t really an option, unless I’m willing to sleep at night with the knowledge that I single-handedly ignored humanity’s needs.” Cody shrugged as he finished speaking before replacing his hand on the grip of his carbine. Offering a small smile that communicated that he knew the futility of his mission, he let his gaze settle on the soft pink flush that spread over Aurora’s cheeks. .
13:12
He couldn’t deny the fact that the woman in front of him was very pretty, but he didn’t like the idea of her being stressed for his survival. She had enough to worry about for her own survival; he couldn’t let himself be something additional that she worried about. And yet, as he saw her concern for him on her face, he could not ignore the warmth that spread through his chest. Too many times he had been looked at and talked about like a tool for a job. He was valuable, but he was also held at arm’s length for fear of what was pumping through his veins. This woman...this stranger...Rory seemed to care more about him as a person than any of the people he had been living with for the past year. Shaking his head slightly at her medical questions, Cody shrugged before responding in a gentle, understanding tone, “I wish they could, but apparently it can’t be separated. They are hoping I can get some biomatter samples from some of the original outbreak sites, then they can study those cells in comparison to mine and find the missing link that makes me immune. With that, they can try to make all survivors immune or something.” Shrugging again, he switched his carbine off safe and scanned the hallways once again before looking at Aurora as she spoke again. Grinning as he shook his head slowly, Cody laughed softly before speaking, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you any of this, and I’m definitely not supposed to tell you of my destination. However, if you promise me not to tell anyone, I’ll let you in on the secret. Pinky promises though.” Extending his left hand with his pinky finger out, Cody grinned at her with a youthful glint in his eyes before speaking, “New York City. It was home to one of the original outbreaks. I’m hoping to make my way to the airport and then search from there for some of the most concentrated regions. I’ve got supply drops scheduled so long as I link in with base, so I should be okay.” .
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Raising his right hand from his carbine, Cody patted a small pocket on his chest rig just under his chin. The Velcro flap concealed what was inside, but he hooked his thumb under the flap and pulled it open. Showing a satellite phone, he fixed the flap closed again before speaking, “Satellites still orbit, and the sun still shines. Solar charging means I can stay in touch, and they’ll know I’m alive. So long as they pick up the phone, that is.” He grinned and winked before lowering his hand back to his weapon, his eyes focusing on hers as he continued, “What about you? Any travel plans for this winter?” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 21-Jan-23 02:22 PM
She gave a solemn nod when he seemed to understand that he didn't have the highest odds of coming out of this mission alive. She couldn't imagine what that must feel like, having to choose to go out into the middle of hell when the other option was safety. Rory didn't know if she would have the willpower to go out and save the world when the world hadn't seemed to do much for her, aside from almost take her out on more than one occasion. A much brighter smile crept onto her lips when Cody offered her his pinky. It was such a carefree gesture, something she had long forgotten about in the midst of the outbreak. Reaching out her own pinky she couldn't help but hum in contentment at feeling the warmth of his wrapped around it. Staying like that for a few beats too long she finally dropped her hand back down to her side, a sense of longing left to grow in the pit of her stomach. "New york city huh? That makes sense.." She couldn't quite pinpoint just how far away that was from the suburb they were in now but she imagined it must not be too far if this is where they dropped him. "Supply drops? Must be nice" She let out the breath of a laugh not wanting to be too loud, she had always had a naturally loud laugh and once this all started she had learned she needed to dial it back - on the rare occasion she had anything to laugh about of course. The knowledge that he would at least have enough food and supplies to make it through the winter made her happy. She might not make it through another but at least he would and from the sounds of it he was important. He could end all of this eventually. "Me? Travel plans? I um I hadn't really thought about it too much. Last year was much easier there was still more supplies to pick up but now.." she trailed off, she had been looking through every building she passed to try and find any supplies she could. She had considered trying to plant crops and make some sort of more permanent home for herself but she hadn't been able to fi
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nd the right spot, the right soil, so she had been forced to keep moving. Forever a nomad of the bullshit zombie outbreak. "It's been harder to find anything I've barely been able to stay warm with having to have such small fires.. food.. that's a whole different story. I guess my plans are to keep going until... well until I..." she trailed off again. She knew what would happen if she couldn't find supplies, feed herself, but she couldn't bring herself to come to terms with her own demise. Just a corpse left to feed the undead. @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 21-Jan-23 09:25 PM
Cody had not expected the pinky promise to be reciprocated, but when Aurora met his gesture with her own pinky and a bright smile, he could not stop the smile that spread across his lips. It was such a simple gesture, adolescent and childish in comparison to their surroundings, but there was something about its simplicity that made it that much more comfortable. It was almost as if Cody could ignore the perils of the world as it was and just retreat into a world of complacency. The longer it held, the more his eyes studied the woman before him and her gentle features. It was a dangerous pleasure, looking over the light dusting of freckles on her face or the full lips that seemed to draw his attention to them. It was a danger that allowed him to feel drawn and connected to this stranger even when he had a mission that could not involve her. When their hands separated, it felt like a weight had attached itself to his heart with cables before being shoved out the back of a freight plane. There was a painful discomfort at being released from her touch, even if it had only been a pinky promise. He had only just met her, yet Cody felt himself drawn to Aurora with a need to be near her and protect her. Is it because she is a survivor, and I’m supposed to help her? It can’t be any more than that, can it? Hearing her words helped to bring his attention back to the situation at hand. Cody nodded and cleared his throat softly before speaking softly, “Yeah, I’m hoping that I can get some intel in this town to get me an easier way onto the island, but only time will tell.” Aurora’s soft laugh immediately made Cody feel nervous and self-conscious as he could only guess why she was laughing. He was lucky in comparison to most survivors because he could expect a steady trickle of food and ammunition in these trying times that most others could not. Make contact, give coordinates for the drop, confirm he was still working towards the mission, and he will get his supplies. .
21:25
Shaking his head and glancing at the ground between them, Cody bit the inside of his cheeks before looking back up to meet her eyes as she spoke again. Listening to her struggles to survive put everything into perspective for him. She could be facing the very real possibility of dying in the upcoming winter, and he would not be able to save her with his medical finds because she would already be gone. Breathing out slowly, Cody shook his head slowly before speaking in a low voice, “That’s such fucking bullshit. I can’t believe you’ve been working this hard to survive this long, just to have the very real threat of winter come in and take you down.” Bringing his left hand up and resting his wrist on the top of his helmet, Cody narrowed his eyes and glared over her head into the distance. Glancing towards the wall, he did a quick mental checklist of his belongings. I’ve got enough that I could give her some food, but what good is that really going to do her? Feed her for a week so that she can starve to death next week rather than tomorrow? Fuck that. Shifting his gaze back to hers, Cody sighed before smirking and speaking, “Alright, your food situation just got a lot better if you’ll take me up on my offer. My job is to get to that island, but I’m not supposed to ignore the needs of the public if I come across a survivor. So, stick with me and we’ll move carefully until I can get you to a place where you can be evacuated to a safe zone. I promise to keep you as safe as I can, but if we get somewhere dangerous, I’ll need you to do exactly as I say. What do you say?” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 21-Jan-23 09:40 PM
It's just the way things are now. That's what she wanted to say to him when he said it was bullshit. He wasn't wrong, she had said the same thing to herself countless times but there was nothing she could do about it aside from keep going, keep trying. The one thing she never did, somehow, was give up. She couldn't bring herself to say that out loud though for some reason it felt like too sad a thing to say to such a seemingly warm person. "It's alright I'll figure something out I always do" is all she could offer with a lopsided smile, one that didn't quite meet her eyes. She quickly looked over her shoulder following his glance behind her for the fear of someone, or rather something somehow being there and felt foolish when it was just the wall. Standing there rocking from heel to toe she watched and wondered what was running through his mind. If this had been any other random stranger she would have taken off already, regardless of the lack of light. Other people had become dangerous, so desperate for supplies that they'd kill you even if you were infected just to have a better chance themselves. Oh how she longed for the days when meeting another survivor was a happy feeling. Maybe that's why it was so nice being around Cody already, he was different, he didn't want her dead.
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Aurora Hart BOT 21-Jan-23 09:47 PM
. Hearing him speak again she found herself in a state of mild shock. He really wants me to go with him? And then there was that smirk, she wondered if he knew just how attractive that stupid smirk was. Her mind wandered into what sticking together could look like, from having friendly conversations, to being able to eat and stay warm at night. It brought a much softer smile to her face but- "Are you sure you'll have enough for the both of us? I don't want to deplete your supplies too fast." She knew even if she was longing for the comforts of another human that she couldn't be selfish, he was on an important mission and all she had was her stealth and a machete. "I'm pretty good in combat with these things" she said before lifting her shirt just enough that a jagged scar, only softened by time, could be seen running from under her ribs inwards and dipping just below the seam of her jeans. "It's not a bite but the scratches sure don't feel great either. Haven't let one get close enough to hit me since." She couldn't help but smile something a bit proud, after all, it's not every day you escape a situation like she did and if she hadn't had the strength to climb she likely wouldn't have either. "I won't get in your way if you let me tag along I just want to know that you're sure.. I know how precious food is these days." @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 22-Jan-23 02:49 PM
Cody could not help the wash of guilt that poured over his stomach when he saw Aurora turn around quickly to look down the hallway that he glared down in his momentary frustration. She had every right to get pissed at him for scaring her like that in a time like this, but instead she just turned back towards him and stood awkwardly while he thought to himself. He needed to be more mindful in the future to not stare off into space when he was thinking or upset. What wouldn’t bother him when he was working alone could and would cause a very real reaction in whoever he was surviving with. Aurora had no way of knowing that he was just glaring off into space out of frustration; he could have easily been staring at a Zeke or another survivor and not wanting to make any sound to alert them. Shaking his head slowly at himself, Cody looked back down at Aurora and gave her a smirk before offering his version of aid. He couldn’t turn back now and focus on getting her out of danger, but if she accompanied him into more danger, he could keep her alive. The soft smile that came across Aurora’s lips as she listened to him brought a grin to Cody’s. He was hoping she would take him up on his offer so that he could feel like he had done something good before his death at the hands of the millions of zombies ahead of him. There totally wasn’t anything about a warmth that spread through his chest and over his cheeks at the thought of spending more time with the attractive woman standing in front of him. Nope. Cody was used to seeing people when he was on the aircraft carrier that his mission had been launched from, but it had been over a year since he had anyone beside him when he was on mission. There had been comments of him going feral from lack of human contact and the worries of stress on his psyche, but there hadn’t been anyone that could accompany him to the most dangerous mission areas and objectives. The thought of having Aurora there beside him brought an unfamiliar warmth.
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. Aurora’s question about depleting his resources was a valid one, but Cody gave no indication of an answer as he reached his left hand back to the side pocket of his backpack. He tilted his head and closed his eyes as he unzipped the pocket and pulled out a dark gray rectangle. Flipping the cover open and displaying a GPS system, he flicked a switch on the side and waited a few breaths for it to turn on. The screen had a dark film over it to keep the light pollution down, but it was bright enough that Aurora could see it if she looked. Reaching his right hand up to his left shoulder, he grabbed the small sphere that was attached to the strap of his backpack and turned it on. Immediately, a small beacon appeared on the GPS screen where they were. Adjusting the screen to zoom out slightly, Cody showed Aurora the maps of the region they were in. Situated between Newark, New Jersey and Manhattan, New York, they were on a spit of land that had several suburban areas joined together in a massive sprawl of concrete and buildings. Moving the cursor of the GPS to a light green dot that was on their side of the Hudson River, Cody spoke in a confident tone, “That’s the first stage of my resupply route. Most drops are positioned where I should be able to get to them in four days, but each drop will contain seven days’ worth of supplies. This is so that I can help a survivor and bring them with me, but it is also to make up for any delays. I also have three assigned emergency drops between here and my mission that I can summon if I need them, but I like to hold off from using them because they roll over like a benefit plan. So far, I’ve got eleven in the bank aside from those three, so we shouldn’t need to worry about supplies.” .
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Turning off the GPS system and closing it again, Cody was reaching back to put it back in his pocket when he saw Aurora lifting her shirt to show a long scar from one of her fights with the zombies. He focused his attention on the line of the scar and kept himself from looking beyond to her smooth stomach or the way her hips curved gently for her figure. Swallowing thickly and raising his gaze to see her proud smile, Cody couldn’t help himself from returning her smile with his own. That was something to be proud of, and it showed that she had the willpower to survive and fight back even when it seemed all hope was lost. Nodding slowly, he reached out with his left hand after zipping up his pocket and placed it on her shoulder. Squeezing gently, he smirked and spoke with confidence, “I’d be happy to have you by my side as we move through this city. I trust you to hold your own, but I won’t be letting you get cornered or anything.” Grinning as he dropped his hand down to his weapon, Cody nodded slowly before glancing down at the beam of the flashlight across the floor. He had the equipment to move at night and with little exterior sign of him being there, but the same could not be said for Aurora. Breathing in deeply and narrowing his eyes, he glanced up at the night vision goggles on his before looking at Rory with a smirk, “First things first, I think we need to get you some optics.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 22-Jan-23 03:11 PM
"That's quite the fancy navigation you have" she quipped when his hand met her shoulder "I gave up on maps a long time ago, it was too hard to figure out where I was so I've just been trying to figure it out as I go" she thought over the fact that they would have more than enough supplies as long as they didn't get caught up and it brought her an unfamiliar feeling. For the first time in what felt like ages she let herself feel a little glimmer of hope, quickly dashed by the fact that her new found partner would likely be dead by the end of their journey. She hated the way that thought made her feel and shook it off, visibly shaking her head as if her brain was an etch-a-sketch. Instead she let herself focus on how warm his hand felt through her clothes, and how nice it was to see someone smile so genuinely again. It was hard to stop herself from already getting too attached, after all she was just a survivor and he was just a man doing his job. When he brought her attention to the fact that she didn't have any light to move with she cocked her head to the side much like a curious puppy "Those things? Are you sure? Don't you need them more than I do?" she wasn't even sure that's what he was referring to but she could only guess as much with how he had glances at them before he said it. And then there was that smirk again, god why did he have to do that. It made her insides feel fuzzy and she wasn't sure what to do about it. Probably nothing. Nothing would be the smart thing. "Are we going to be moving a lot at night?" She added on, she wasn't used to being able to move once the sun went down, having no light made it way too dangerous and she had ran out of batteries for her flashlight a long time ago. It still dangled off of one of the few straps on her backpack in the hopes she would find some one of these days but so far she hadn't had such luck. She tried not to let herself look too nervous, Rory had never been afraid of the dark until the outbreak. .
15:11
All of that changed the second the world had though. It wasn't safe during the day let alone at night and the few times she had tried to make moves during the nighttime she had quickly regretted it. Losing friends and bits of her sanity she had decided after only a half years time that she was only moving during the light.
15:11
@tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 26-Jan-23 02:33 AM
“Eh, what can I say? My whole life I’ve been reviewing maps and coordinates to situate myself where I needed to be. I guess I’ve gotten too used to using them.” Cody grinned as he spoke, his shoulders rising in a quick shrug as if it were a fact that he had just resigned himself to. He had good situational awareness and could navigate very well, but he knew that had its own drawbacks. When he was too busy scanning for a threat, he was missing the opportunity to admire the beauty of the world around him. While it had become helpful recently, there were still times that he wished he could turn off the surveilling mind that searched for threats and just enjoy his surroundings. He tried his best now, in the relative safety of this dark hallway with a stranger, to drop his guard and enjoy the small things. The way Aurora shook her head as if she could physically reset whatever thoughts had been racing behind her admittedly beautiful eyes. The ease with which he was able to reach out to her, a quality that had been stripped from him with the decline of society. Or the way that her head cocked to the side in curiosity that only caused his smile to widen further. These were dangerous observations and connections to be making in a world where death waited around the corner, but Cody tried to ignore the negativity surrounding them so that his smile did not falter. Listening to her words, he shrugged slightly before letting his left hand slip over the handguard of his carbine. Finding the button for his flashlight, he clicked it once to switch it from the powerful beam that shone down at the ground to a less intense setting. Letting his eyes adjust to the lower levels of light reflecting in the hallway, he looked back up from the ground to meet Aurora’s gaze as he spoke, “I’ve found the most success in moving around at night. It might be when the craziest types are out, but it also is the best time to avoid the most survivors, the bad kind at least.” .
02:33
Winking as he finished his statement, Cody allowed the tip of his tongue to escape between his lips before his smirk returned to his lips. Breathing in deeply as he scanned the hallway again slowly, he tilted his head back and forth slowly before his eyes focused on Aurora’s face once again, “I can request a pair of goggles in my next supply drop, then we’ll be able to move at night once we get deeper into the city. Until then, we’ll just move carefully during the day. We’ll still make good time, don’t worry about that.” Nodding as if in response to an unspoken question of whether this was a good idea or not, Cody grinned and lowered his right hand to his left wrist. He drew up the sleeve and clicked a button on his watch to let it glow in the dark so they could both see it. Checking the time and seeing that it was just after midnight, he looked to her and spoke softly, “So, by the time, I’m assuming you were asleep or just getting to it when I got here, Rory. If you’d like to, you can go back to sleep, and I’ll keep watch until we are both fit to move. I’ve got some food you can have as well if you’d like.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 26-Jan-23 12:55 PM
The bad kind. Rory knew all too well what he meant by that. By now not every survivor you met was looking to make friends. In fact most of the time if you ran into another human it was almost just a detrimental as running into one of the infected. Resources were slim and people weren't opposed to killing each other just so they could loot their corpse. Half of them didn't even have anything useful besides the clothes on their backs. She grimaced at the thought, she had spent her fair share of time hiding behind trees or in the broken down buildings waiting for other people to pass her by. "I'm glad you're not the bad kind" she said much more softly than she was speaking before. "I'll move at night as long as I'm not alone" She nodded as if she was trying to reassure herself of the idea. She still didn't like it but maybe having the goggles would help when they made it to the first supply drop, she already felt guilty for throwing off his plans and forcing them to move during the day but her train of self deprecating thoughts was interrupted when she saw his tongue peek out from his lips before smirking again. That smirk is going to be the death of me before any zombie. "I promise I won't get in the way after this.. I'm sorry" When he checked the time she was surprised that it wasn't already later, she had thought she was asleep for longer than only a couple of hours. That explains why I feel so absolutely knackered still she thought only to perk up at the mention of food. "Are.. are you sure? You really don't mind?" Her stomach growled loud enough to be embarrassing and she blushed resting a hand on it. It had been days since she'd had anything substantial and she would be a liar if she said she wasn't hungry. God what I would do for a cheeseburger She pouted just thinking about it. "Sorry, I just miss cheeseburgers" She said with a soft laugh and shake of her head.
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"I'm set up back this way" She thumbed over her shoulder in the direction that she had come from, the fire was kicked out already sure but she could easily start another. She turned back to head to the room she had chosen. "Won't you be tired if you don't get any sleep?" she couldn't help but worry for the man who was kind enough to take her under his wing, although maybe he was used to this kind of thing. "Sorry I can be a bit of an overthinker, didn't used to be" @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 31-Jan-23 03:24 AM
The mention of being glad that he was not one of the bad survivors his Cody harder than he had thought that it would. He made sure not to show it as best as he could aside from a slight wince as he turned his head a little. There had been government workers that he had seen take hold of the ‘bad kind’ lifestyle and quickly start to use their power and resources as blackmail. If they wanted to fuck a woman or get their way with a group of survivors, they would hold their resources over them and deny them their basic needs until they got what they wanted, whatever it was. Cody had promised himself that he would eat a speeding mouthful of lead before he let himself become that kind of person. In a world dominated by the dead, some had chosen to let their morals die as well and just live like animals. He would not be like them. That was no life to lead, and he was not helping to protect the world for that to be the kinds of people that inherited it. Shaking his head slightly at her statement that she would not get in his way again, Cody chuckled softly before speaking, “Trust me when I say that you aren’t in my way Aurora. It is my privilege and responsibility to help you as much as I can. I’m only doing all of this for people like you: people that are caught in the same shitty world but are still trying to do the right thing. If you’re comfortable with moving at night, we’ll figure that out tomorrow night. Tonight, I think it is best if you get the sleep you need. Besides, it will give me time to get myself acquainted with the area.” Cody knew his smile and smirk could be disarming, and while he was not trying to use it to get an advantage over Rory, he knew that it could help him with reassuring her. He was willing to slow down to help her, and he needed her to know that. He would do it for any good survivor that he had crossed paths with. It absolutely had nothing to do with how sweet and real she had been. No, not at all. .
03:24
Cody chuckled softly at the sound of Aurora’s stomach growling, his eyes flicking down to where she placed her hand before he nodded slowly. Grinning, he shrugged before speaking, “I’m not sure what I’ve got in my bag, but if I’ve got a cheeseburger, consider it yours.” He waited for Aurora to start walking back towards where she was holding up for the night before bringing his left hand up to his goggles. Lowering them and turning them on, he let his eyes adjust before following her slowly, his hands on his carbine and his head turning back and forth to scan the rooms they passed. It also helped to catch any incoming sound and track where it was coming from. Speaking as he walked behind her, he kept his legs primed to jump in front of her if a threat appeared before them, “Eh, don’t worry about me. I got some good sleep on the way here; I was ready to not sleep for the next thirty-six hours, so this is nothing.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 31-Jan-23 09:53 AM
She felt herself relax a little about the guilt that she was feeling about him not gaining any progress for the night when he said it would help him get acquainted with the area, she wasn't sure if he really felt that way or not but so far he had seemed so genuine that she couldn't help but believe him. "My hero" She said with a smile and a laugh when he told her if he somehow had a cheeseburger in his bag that it was hers. When they had started walking she turned around to look at him briefly hearing the rustling of him reaching up to pull the goggles down. "Those things must be really helpful" she said quietly, she had checked the building before she had settled in for the night but who knows what could have found its way inside during the ruckus of the helicopter. The thought alone gave her the creeps as she gripped her machete tighter. "Thirty-six hours huh? I think I would be too delusional to do much of anything after that long with no sleep." She could remember the one time she had gone just a full day and night without sleep since this had happened and she was so paranoid she thought she was going to go crazy. It honestly had scared her just how easily she felt that way, before this had all happened she could easily pull an all nighter and be for the most part alert the next day. Being on edge constantly had been taking more out of her than she had ever realized. She made sure she got at least a few hours of sleep every night since that happened, and if she couldn't she would find somewhere safe that she could take a nap, even if it meant she didn't get as far for the day. When they made it back to where she had set up for the night she started to put the small pile of sticks she had back in the same spot she had the small fire before. She was still cold and now that she had started to relax again she could really feel it. "I kicked it out when I thought you were a zombie" She said sheepishly "Luckily there's still some paper I can use to get it relit"
09:55
She cringed to herself after she said it, obviously he would be able to get a fire going no problem why was she explaining any of this to him? Why did she feel so damn flustered around him? She certainly wasn't going to admit that to herself though. "Sorry I guess my social skills are lacking even more than I thought, obviously you know how to get a fire going I mean look at you"
09:55
@tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 08-Feb-23 04:09 PM
Chuckling softly at her comment about the helpfulness of his goggles, Cody nodded slowly before speaking at a low volume, “They help with making sure I don’t stumble onto anything or anyone, but sometimes I would prefer to not see what they show. If it isn’t a threat, ignorance can be bliss at times.” There were times he had scanned a blacked-out room that held no threats but saw in clear near-daylight vision the results of a family going out on their own terms. A father leaned in his chair with a shotgun pointing up at where his head had been, while the couch in front of him held the decapitated forms of his wife and children. Shaking his head to rid himself of the memory, Cody followed behind Aurora and cleared his throat gently before responding, “It takes some getting used to, but with coffee in my bag and the rest I had on the flight in, I have the energy I need to keep moving. Of course, I would prefer to rest and relax so that I can go without any ill-effects, so I guess it’s a good thing I ran across you. Someone I can trust to watch my six when I get some shut eye.” Despite the goggles covering his eyes, Cody could not help the small wink that he gave out of habit. There was something about talking to the shorter woman in front of him that awakened his habits he had when talking to someone he found attractive, but he was trying his best to ignore them. There was no room to go and get attached to the first survivor he met, but he could feel himself losing the battle against his instincts. Looking over her as they walked, he tried to keep from checking Aurora out, focusing instead on any signs of injury that her walk might betray. A limp or change to her gait that showed she had been bitten or injured her legs in such a way that would keep her from being able to keep up with his movement demands. He kept his eyes from roaming slowly down her legs and then back up them, appreciating her beauty before they flicked to the hallway in front of them to focus. .
16:10
He did not need to get distracted, and he kept his eyes on task as they made their way into the room that she had stayed in. Turning off his goggles after a quick scan of the room, Cody lifted them and closed his eyes for a moment to let them get adjusted to the low levels of light in the room. Grinning when Aurora talked about kicking out the fire when she thought he was a zombie, Cody knelt and let his carbine hang off his chest while maneuvering his backpack off his back and to the ground in front of him. Unzipping the main compartment and sifting through the items within, he glanced up with a grin when he heard her speak. Lifting a plastic bag and holding it up a little, Cody responded with his grin intact, “Don’t worry about it; it’s not like you’ve had a bunch of opportunities for small talk lately. But look what I got here. Cheeseburger for you. I’ll get it cooked up for you.” Ripping open the plastic bag, Cody started to separate the items within the MRE. He made a pile with a bag of cheddar and bacon potato skins, a slice of pound cake in a bag, and a bag with two slices of dense, soft bread in them. Sliding them towards Aurora, he added to the pile a small bag with ketchup, mustard, coffee, chewing gum, sugar, and salt in it as well as a bag of fruit punch beverage mix. He kept a thermal cardboard sleeve and slid a large bag in it before retrieving his canteen and getting a mouthful of water. Pouring the water from his mouth into the bag to activate the steaming heating pad within, he waited a moment before sliding a pouch of cheese sauce and a bag with a pepperjack beef patty into the heated pouch. Leaning the pouch against his bag, he smiled before speaking again, “A minute or two and your cheeseburger will be ready. If you need water for your drink, I can give you some of mine.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 09-Feb-23 03:47 PM
Aurora couldn't help but look up with a bright smile when he mentioned the food again, her eyes going wide when he pulled out all of the MRE bags. "You're kidding you seriously- I can really have this?" It almost felt like too much, she could feel herself getting overwhelmed to the point that tears started to well in her eyes. Rory had always been an emotional crier. Whether she was sad, happy, frustrated, she would cry. It had been awhile since anything had made her happy enough to make her feel this way though, the last thing she could remember making her so happy was when she had found a package of extremely stale chocolate chip cookies. She watched as he got everything ready, she had never actually seen an MRE before and found it fascinating that they could really just work the way they do. "How does that work?" She asked gesturing towards the pouch he had just put the water into almost completely forgetting to answer what he had said before "Oh um I have some water it's fine don't waste yours on me." Sure he had supply drops that they would be getting but she still didn't want to seem like a mooch. She really really didn't want him to get sick of her and leave her behind. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She remembered to keep working on the fire after she wiped at her eyes and stopped staring at the man. It took a few tries with the fire started but she finally managed to get one of the sparks to catch and get it going again. Leaning down to blow gently at the slowly growing flames until it was light enough that she could finally get a better look at his face. She quickly realized that was a mistake. He was handsome. She let her eyes linger on his facial features taking in the lines of his face and feeling her cheeks tint in a blush when the flames licked his eyes and she saw the color of them. She knew she needed to stop, to look away and not let herself feel anything for the man.
15:47
. He's just helping you because it's his job, don't catch feelings you're just lonely. At least that's what she tried to tell herself as her eyes moved further down. She couldn't get a completely clear read on his physique from his clothes but she could tell he was toned and in good shape, the part of his arms she could see, his hands even his hands were nice. She finally forced herself to look away and instead added a couple more sticks to the fire. She figured it would probably be okay since a majority of the zombies were led away by the sound of the helicopter. She wouldn't make it too big but there was no reason they couldn't enjoy the warmth a little.
15:48
@tiefighter96
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fiory 20-Mar-23 05:38 PM
Hi there! @tiefighter96 @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼ We noticed this roleplay has been inactive for 30 days or more. Please reply to this message so I am pinged if you would like to keep this roleplay open. In addition, roleplay must begin within 7 days, otherwise this channel will be moved to our archives. All archived roleplays are uploaded onto http://rphq.me/ and can be viewed there. 💜
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Cody Jacobson BOT 23-May-23 06:01 PM
Resigned to waiting on the heating brick to get Rory’s food ready, CJ leaned back on his heels and let a relaxed breath escape his lips. He had not realized he had been holding it, but as he brought his hands up to unclip his helmet and pull it off his head, he knew he had been holding too much stress. The entrance into the city had gone well enough, and he couldn’t ask for a better place to hole up for the night. However, something was digging at him, and he let his eyes wander to Aurora working to start the fire up between them. This city was supposed to be all but vacant, left with nothing but the undead. That was what he had been told, at least. Watching Rory work with the beginnings of a fire, Cody found himself truly thankful that he and the others had disagreed with the typical firebomb approach. It would have killed all the undead, but any survivor caught in its path would have died an excruciating death. Rory would have suffered an excruciating death. Smiling as he heard her question about the heater, he motioned towards it off-handedly before speaking, “It’s a moisture-activated brick. Something happens chemically and causes it to start producing a lot of heat. You can use water or anything else wet, but generally, we are more willing to sacrifice a mouthful of water rather than something else.” Cody could not help the grin and blush that crept over his cheeks as he looked to the ground between them. He had known men and women alike that would piss into their pouch to activate the heating brick, but he was not going to do that for Rory’s first meal. -
18:02
Gesturing at the stack of packages that he had moved near her, he nodded and smiled as he responded to her earlier question, “Yeah, all that is yours. I would hold off on eating the bun until you can spread the cheese sauce and patty over them, but the rest is all yours to eat. The gum, I’d hold off as well. I usually like to chew it up and put it in my lip like a dip to keep me awake when on the march, but it will also be something you can use for flavor after you eat your meal.” Bringing his hands back to himself as he grinned, CJ started to sort through the backpack in front of him to find his own meal. Sifting through a couple of MREs within, he nodded and bit his lip before picking up a pouch. Winking at Aurora as he held up a package and shook it gently, he spoke with a wide grin, “Bingo. Chili Mac ‘n Cheese. Arguably one of the best. I’ll let you try some to get your own opinion.” Dumping out a similar pile of pouches, CJ separated a packet of beef jerky, wheat crackers, and a slice of pound cake with the other side items as Rory’s. Moving to activate his heating brick with a similar mouthful of water, he slipped his pouch with the pasta as well as a pouch of cheese spread into the packet. Setting it beside Aurora’s, he turned to face her before shrugging and gesturing at the heating pouches, “In a pinch, you can even use them as temporary heating pads. Just be careful you don’t touch them to bare skin. They get very hot.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 27-May-23 10:10 AM
"Thank you.. really for everything I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for your kindness and generosity, I really didn't think that anyone possessed those qualities anymore to be completely honest." It didn't matter how many times he insisted that this was alright she couldn't help that nagging guilty feeling in the back of her mind. Probably just a side effect of having to fend for herself for so long, and accepting that no person she ever met again would want to do anything but kill her or steal everything she had. It was incredible to have human company again but she would have to get used to it. Just not too used to it. He could still die. The reminder that anyone could end up dying at any moment whether it was due to the infection or not was sobering and she felt the smile fall off of her face. 'In a pinch you can even use them as temporary heating pads...' The sound of Codys voice brought her back from her thoughts and even managed to get a small laugh out of her. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, good chance I'll forget and end up burning myself." She felt embarrassment rise in her cheeks at the amount of times she had accidentally rolled over into her own fire when this whole thing had first begun. The first time she had screamed so loud she ended up having to run scared shitless in the dark away from multiple flesh eating monsters that she had managed to attract because of it. Definitely not one of her prouder moments. "How long do you let it all heat up before you can eat it?" She was so excited to have a taste of real food that hadn't expired months ago and started to lose its taste and texture that it had her mouth watering. He probably could have handed her the most disgusting out of all of the packs he had and it still would have tasted like fresh heaven to her. @tiefighter96
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Cody Jacobson BOT 09-Jul-23 11:34 AM
Cody’s eyes settled on his hands as he listened to Aurora speak. He hated hearing that she wanted to repay him for this human decency, but not because of anything she had said. It disgusted him how quickly people had let the fall of society screw with their emotions and moral compass. No sooner than the dead were walking among us, the everyday folks were showing sides of them that would make a hardened criminal blush. Exhaling softly from his nose before turning his head to look at her with a smile, CJ shrugged before speaking with a laugh, “You want to repay me, huh? How about this? Survive all of this and do something great with your life, and I’ll consider the debt repaid. Fair?” Winking with a smirk as he finished and turned his attention back to the heating packs, Cody lowered his chin to his chest and breathed in slowly. It was crueler of him than he had intended to ask such things of her, especially in a world where the next day was not guaranteed. However, that reality had always been something people suffered with. Even in the height of the past, tomorrow was never guaranteed. Smiling as he tilted his head to the side, CJ glanced at the fire and then let his eyes drift up to meet Rory’s, “We’ve always fought for survival. Now we just have to try a little harder. But, find the right reason, and it gets easier.” Grinning at the mention of possibly burning herself with the heating pouch, Cody gestured towards it and then brought his left hand up to cover the side of his mouth, as if hiding his words from the objects, “Don’t let them know, but put it in a pair of underwear and fold it over on itself, then you’ll be fine. Just gotta cover them up. I accidentally kicked one of them over and stepped on it barefoot. I could barely walk for a week.” Winking before glancing at the pouches, he reached forward and took hold of them through the cardboard sleeve that was used to protect the user. -
11:35
Squeezing gently and feeling the steam rushing out over his hand, he nodded slowly before tilting his head to the side. Leaning his head back and forth while clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Cody shrugged before looking back to Rory, “I generally give them a couple of minutes to warm up. You can eat them cold in a pinch, but there’s no need to rush it tonight. Yours should be about done, though, if you want it now.” CJ held her MRE in his left hand and leaned forward over the fire, his right hand settling on his thigh to balance himself as he held the pouch extended to her. “Please don’t burn yourself. Though, if you do, I do have some burn cream.” @✧˖°.☪𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓽 ≽ܫ≼
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Aurora Hart BOT 15-Jul-23 04:14 PM
"Ill survive. I promise." She gave CJ a soft smile in return, she found it sweet just how willing he was to give even in a world where there certainly wasn't always much to give back. Especially when it came to material posessions. She hoped that she would at least be able to give him a true friend and that was probably the most rare human necessity to come across these days. She nodded at him when he said that we just needed to fight a little harder for survival now. That seemed like the understatement of the century but she knew what he meant so she let it be. Every time that CJ winked at her she could feel this little flutter of butterflies in her stomach and she was internally yelling at herself to get a grip on it the entire time she watched and waited until the pouches were ready and he was handing hers over. "Thank you, this is going to be the best thing I've had in... god I don't even know how long it's been." She dug in carefully, she didn't want to make a fool of herself by getting a burn the first time eating with him. She was sure he probably wouldn't have judged but still, she wanted to seem like she knew what she was doing, like she was a capable partner for whatever was to come their way. When that first bite met her lips she let out such a satisfied hum. She had nearly forgotten what food that wasn't expired and miserable had tasted like. She could feel tears threatening to fill her eyes, that's how good it was. It was incredible just how monumental something as small as a fresh hot meal could be. She could feel that tiny spart of hope reigniting inside her and for the first time in ages in felt like she wasn't just waiting until her time was up, but that she had something she could fight for. If she could somehow make it out of here alive with him then maybe, just maybe, there would be things to look forward to every day again. @tiefighter96
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