Natalie Williams's Story

Natalie woke up disorientated and cringing against the light. She was not a morning person. Grumbling she looked around the sparse motel room, one of many she had inhabited recently and certainly not the worst; at least she hadn't slept in her car. The car that was now sitting in the garage of local mechanic, having rolled into town engine steaming and spluttering.
Forcing herself out of bed she brushed her hair and her teeth, not bothering with makeup. In a few days she'd be gone and any impressions she'd made wouldn't matter. She pulled on yesterdays pair of jeans with a fresh white singlet and oversized button-up blue shirt hanging oppen on her shoulders. Grabbing her pack with one hand and rolling her sleeves up to her elbows with the other she headed down to the front desk.
The woman at the desk smiled, "Another night, dear?"
Natalie had already extended her stay two days. Her car had a leaking radiator and, while her car was a common enough model, the guys down at the mechanics had taken their time locating a replacement. "I'll let you know when I do."

Having walked a few blocks Natalie now stared at the young guy in a pair of grease-stained overalls. His nametag read 'Scott'. "I'll go check if Charlie's done with her," the mechanic patted the hood of Natalie's car a sauntered into the garage office.
She sat down in th passenger seat with her feet hanging out of the car while she waited. And waited. Impatient she leaned across at turned the accesories on since the key was already in the ignition. Static blared from the radio before she tuned it to a music station. She was humming along when the song cut out and was replaced by a female voice. “We interrupt for an important warning: The CDC has issued a severe warning. A deadly virus has gone airborne, infecting all those who it comes in contact with. An immediate evacuation of the area is mandatory. The following towns are exempt from the evacuation because of possible contamination. These towns will go on lockdown for the time being. The CDC will be in soon to run tests and try to get out any residents who are unaffected or immune to the disease.” The list of towns followed and Natalie sat up straighter in her seat when some of trhem sounded familiar. Hadn't one of them just been the last town she'd come through? This town wasn't Highgate, was it? She woman finsihed the list with some final words of sentiment. “May God have mercy on you. Be safe and be strong.”
Natalie sat staring at the radio. "Well, damn."

She left the radio on but hopped out of the car and walked round to the boot. She was digging through her stuff, cramming essentials into her bag when a firm hand tightened on her shoulder. "I know, I heard it too. I'm moving-" she began as she turned around.
Its face was inches from her own. Blood dripped down its face from a cut above one eye and its mouth which hung open, issuing a rattling snarl. Its bulging yellow eyes stared blankly at her from the discoloured and drawn flesh of its face. Blood was smeared across the nametag 'Scott' on the thing's overalls. Its gripped on her shoulder was becoming painful as it leaned further towards her.
"God have mercy!" Natalie echoed the radio, shoving its face away. While it stumbled she clawed its hand from her shoulder and backed away. She stumbled against a tool locker and its head snapped back fixing it gaze on her.
It stepped towards her.
"Listen Scott," she said, speaking in a low steady voice. "Just calm down." He continued to stalk towards her. "The CDC have this." Keeping eye contact with him she lowered herself into a crouch and reached around the floor blindly. "They'll be here soon and they'll fix you and it'll all be okay." Her hand closed on a metal bar. "So just don't do anything-" He leapt at her. She closed her eyes and swung the bar.
Her eyes shot open at the impact. The force jarred up her arms and the sound made her stomach turn. There was a meaty noise but also a sharp 'crack'. Scott's head twisted sideways and it was no longer whole. His momentum carried him into her and they both fell to the ground. Natalie screamed and scrambled out from under him. She stood up panting and wide-eyed brandishing the bar like a base ball bat. He lay face down and didn't move. Her vision swam so that she could anly see a mass of pink and red matter spilling from the white
of his skull across the garage floor. Her arms dropped to her side suddenly heavy. She stared down at the blood spattered metal bar in her hand. It was actually a crowbar she realised now. She'd killed someone. Natalie bit down on the hyseria the bubbled in her throat along with oher thing that threatened to rise. Her breakdown was interupted by a groan. She looked up and her grip tightened on the crowbar. There was movement in the office. She took a shaky breath and went to her car.

The crow bar was flung across the passenger seat and the engine started first try. She put it in reverse and gunned it. There was thump and her gaze flew to the rearview mirror. Bloody figures clawed at the back of her car. She hesitated only momentarily before stepping on the gas again. Gritting her teeth as the car lurched over the fallen.
They were sick, they needed help, and she had already decided they were dead. Their lives were forfeit because she valued hers more.
"Now's not the time to question your humanity, Nat," she mumbled to herself as she reached the main road.

Natalie pulled into the gas statio, turned off the engine and waited.

Abandoned cars had lined the sides of the main road, bodies strewn across the ground. As Natalie had driven along the bloody bitumen the infected had shambled out to meet her. She'd quickly abandoned the main road.

When nothing came running out at her now Natalie opened the door and stepped out. She hesitated for a moment as to whether or not to lock the doors. She had a sudden image of getting chomped on as she fumbled to unlock it later. She decided to leave the keys in the ignition.
She grabbed her rucksack and boots, took the crowbar for the passenger seat, and headed into the gas station store. Nothing jumped her on her walk over to the building, nothing pounced when she wedged open the disabled automic doors. The odour of blood, exrament and sickness was becoming almost a contant presence in your local hangouts these days. There was a man with his throat torn out lying in the candy aisle.
Natalie began with food supplies, increasingly aware of the fact that her plan to grab a late breafast after the mechanics had been interrupted. Several packets of dried fruit trail mix, a large jar of peanut butter, jerky, chocolate bars and those energy bar 'meals'. She ignored the chips and jelly babies, allowing chocolate to be her only decent into the junk food category. She grabbed some bottled water and some sports drink. She hated both jerky and sports drink but she was pretty sure protein and electrolytes were kind of important for stamina or survival or something.
Someother basics went into the bag, adhesive bandages, iodine swabs, a lighter, deoderant... her bag quickly filled up.
She jumped the counter to find the key to the restroom. The cashier lay slumped dead against the wall of cigarettes with a large calibre gunshot wound to his chest. The till was empty of cash.
In the bathroom Natalie scrubbed her hands until the water no longer ran off them pink and there was nothing left under her finger nails. She washed her face and pulled the change of clothes out from under the new supplies in her rucksack. A similar outfit to before minus Scott the mechanic's blood. Pulling her shirt over her head and putting on the fresh one she idly marvelled at how much more human being cleaner made you feel. She shucked of her sneakers and squealchy socks, and replaced them with wooly boot socks and combat boots. She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
With the crowbar back in her hand and her rucksack she look determined and dangerous. Plan A, she thought, get the hell out of dodge. Failing that Plan B would be to find a secure location, stock it to the roof with supplies and sit tight with a gun in her hand and her finger on the trigger.

Jin had been running for awhile now. He was in good shape, due to his usual exercises and working with the youth. Of course it was all for his artwork but no one needed to know that. Jin jumped on to a car and slid down the other side dodging two zombies and moving pass them before they could even turn around. He kept his pace even so he didn't fall and so he could keep his stamina for as long as possible.
Jin stopped at the sound of a car in the distance before he started running in the same direction, but due to the buildings and everything else being quiet it echoed off the walls. He realized he had to choose between finding the car or the car finding him. He decided to run but he started to heard another engine that just caused more echoes.

"S***!" he said quietly as he moved down the streets filled with bodies, dead and not so dead. He noticed he was getting hungry and pushed the thought aside, quite pissed with himself for even thinking that. He reached a corner when he realized all the nearby bodies were heading away from him. He carefully followed them thinking he could use them as a human locator. He peaked around a corner to see at least ten of them heading towards a gas station. He then noticed the truck that was still running. He swore quietly as he moved quickly into an adjacent alleyway making his way to the gas station.

"Damn it, you better be alive still," he said to himself as he directed it towards the owner of the truck.

Natalie stepped back out into the store front and stopped. "Oh, sh**."
Their yellowed faces loomed beyond the glass door as they pounded bloody fists against it and clawed at the small but growing gap in between. Even as she stood dumfounded the gap widened and one of the infected pressed against it. The edges of the doors pulled at the skin of the face causing its eyes to bulge. Its face didn't quite fit through, lips puckered as its face squashed and a gurgling groan sprayed red from its lips.
Natalie stumbled backwards against a rack of sunglasses, spilling the eyewear to the floor with a clatter. At the noise the group of infected responded with louder groans and pounded at the doors more furiously.
Her hand tightened on the crowbar but there were too many to fight. Even even if the narrow gap forced them to funnel in one at a time, they'd each be coming at full strength while she would slowly tire. In fight or flight that left her with one option.
A 'personnel only' door on the other side of the counter turned out to lead to a small office area. The glow of the green EXIT sign on the opposite side of the room was a welcome sight. Her hand was on the handle before she stopped, and pressed her ear against the door, listening for that familair groan.

Jin moved through the alleys and he used his sharpening knife quite effectively shoving it into ears and eyes of the yellow skinned monsters. He had already killed five and this was just the alleyway. He came to a intersection and looked down another alley that showed the front of the gas station. There were more than he thought. He gripped his pathetic as he dashed across pulling to the backside of the Gas Station. He knew the town in general fairly well but he never cared for standard entrances and exits so he wasn't sure where an emergency exit might be located.

The hairs on Jin's skin stood on end as he heard shuffling and gurgling ahead and behind him. There were two ahead and the one behind was coming from the alleyway he had just passed. He figured he must have been seen.

Jin was more intimidated by the two rather than the one, but when he looked closer he saw the exit sign and the door right next to them. That would be his entrance or the person inside's exit.

Jin dashed quickly doing a quick vault to get on top of the trash bin and then quickly took small steps as he stood and jumped at the two shuffling zombies. He collided with them hard pushing hsi feet agaisnt their chests as they got knocked down and he dropped and rolled up. He pounced on the closest shoving the blade into the right eye and then kicked the face of the second and stabbed it in the left eye. The second was a young woman who probably was good looking for this all happened.
His adrenaline was pumping as his senses picked up the one from behind. He rolled away and looked at the door and then the zombie before him. The zombie was a huge 6' 6" man of african descent. Jin Adjusted the blade in his hand knowing he couldn't leave this guy behind him and dash for the door, unless there was a way to get to the roof from inside. He discarded the thought thinking that a normal person wouldn't be able to make the jump without getting hurt. No, he had to take this behemoth on now.

With the gunshots from the shopfront and the sounds of a scuffle beyond the emergency door Natalie was left deliberating which one was the safer option. Gunshots probably meant a survivor, but in this type of environment panicked people with fire-power might not always be her friend. She thought of the dead cashier with a whole in his chest. The sounds outside could be a waiting hoard of infected or a stray cat; it was hard to tell through a good inch of door over the sound of gunfire.
“Stuff this!” Natalie growled, growing impatient with herself.
She leaned against the wall next to the storefront door and pulled it open without putting herself out in doorway. “Don’t shoot!” she called, then poked her head around the corner.
She observed the infected fallen in the aisles and just inside the entrance, more outside her truck and another. A red head girl picking her way over the bodies in the entrance looked up at her, a shotgun propped ready against her shoulder.
Natalie, having taken in the carnage, raised her eyebrows impressed, “Good job.”
A sound from the back drew both their attention.
“Oh, um, yeah… There’s an emergency door back there. And I don’t think that’s a cat. And despite possibly better judgement I’m going to go check it out and hope I don’t let another emergency in.”
Concluding her sudden bout of rambling Natalie ducked back into the office. With her crowbar held like a baseball bat Natalie leaned against the door, pressing on the metal bar across it that allowed it to open outwards.

Jin stood over the body panting as the emergency door opened up and there stood a young woman high teens low twenties. She was shorter than him and she had slim waist but soft and curvy body. She had a fading tan, was lightly freckled, with long dusty blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. She's was dressed casually with faded jeans and tank top and a collared shirt over it.

His eyes then took note of the crowbar.

"Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on there, good looking," he said lifting his bloody hand and knife, "I just came to help, and apparently ... you are ok and in no need of it." He lowered his hands and his bloody carving knife. "Names Jin. Crazy day, huh?" He said as he stepped away from the dead body listening for groans and moans
"Okay, so if you aren't going to hit me with that, could you put it down?" he said his eyes travelling from the girls face to the crowbar. "So, What's your name?" He asked as he moved closer to her and nudged her back inside. "I saw your truck, Do you have anything important inside?"

Natalie didn't know exactly what she'd been expecting. Some of the infected wandering about perhaps. But the guy in a baggy sweater with spikey black hair and was certainly a far more pleasant sight, even with all the blood and an artist's knife. A tool she recognised from her own work.
She stood in the doorway for a moment, with the crowbar still at the ready, distracted by the sight. Apparently it made him uneasy. But not so uneasy as to prevent a compliment. She smirked and lowered the crowbar, letting it hang in one hand by her side. She was beginning to like the weight of it in her hand.
"My knight in shining armour, huh? Or a sweater anyway," she laughed. "My name's Natalie."
Jin came forward moving them back inside. He was taller then her, though most people were, and she was left sort of staring at his chest.
"And uh... the truck..." she stammered for a moment before regaining her cool. "Oh, it just has my travel bag in it. Until recently I was on a roadtrip, but yeah... crazy day. That was kinda impressive," she added, tilting her head to indicate the dispatched behemoth he had left behind. She frowned then, looking at the dark alley, and reached around him to close the door, lest something decided to sneak in behind them. She looked back at Jin. "Yeah... Speaking of which, come and meet company with me." She smiled rocking back on her feet and thumbed over her sholder in the direction of the storefront.

Jin took in the the young woman's frame. She would make a good model. At least he would he paint her. He liked the twisted scene with the crowbar now that she was more relaxed and he wasn't going to find his head on the other end of it

"I'll be your knight if you wish, Natalie. But I don't think armor will help much in this situation," he smirked as he sniffed the air of the store. He was feeling hungry again.

He stepped pass Natalie ,and looked around the store as he made his way to the front. His hunger hit harder as he was about to look for one of those Pringle Cool Ranch tubes,

"So where is this comp-" he started to say as he looked out the front door. "Ah, okay then. There it is." He looked back to Natalie. "I guess she is as trustworthy as me, right?" He stepped over the bodies on the ground getting closer to the window. He gripped his knife out of reflex given the current situation.

"Shall we?" he said as if they were going to prom or something. Jin had a weird mechanism where he tried to look at problems with a sarcastic light.

Natalie's stomach growled as the pringles reminded her of all the meals she'd missed recently. She smiled at Jin's remarks, but the smile faltered as movement outside caught her eye. She looked past him and the red haired girl to the truck that had just pulled up rather suddenly out front.
A man dressed all in black stepped out with a phone to his ear. Seriously? It was open season on the unifected and he was deciding to take a stroll and chat? But hey! More survivors! Movement in the truck's cab suggested more than one. Even as she thought this a bruenette got out and stalked towards the gas station door in -where those frickin' stillettos!?
"Oh goody," Natalie said in a deadpan voice thick with sarcasm.

(OOC1: Just a heads up it's the wee hours of the morning for allimagination and I so we won't be posting again for a few hours yet so don't do too much without us. Also I don't wan't to post much more until pink's done an update)
(OOC2: Also, If I'm incorrect in the assumption that's your gas station's the same as our gas station let me know and I will renege this post)

Darcy screamed as she tried to stop the thing - it didn't even look human any longer - from biting her. But it was too strong and just when Darcy thought she was a goner a shot rung out and the thing slumped down on her.

Darcy pushed it away as fast as she could, breathing heavily. It's lifeless corpse fell back with a loud thud.

"Ew!" She said looking down at herself, her grey top was covered in blood. She pulled the top over her head and threw it on the floor. "So gross!"

Standing there in her black skin tight leggings, designer heels and a bright pink lace bra, Darcy posed pouting, popping her hip out at an angle and resting one hand on it; she looked up at a bunch of gobsmacked faces.

Huh? Darcy hadn't seen these people before when she walked in. They were awfully quiet. Coulda helped! She thought irritably. Marcus had come in and shot the thing straight through the head. She could kiss him right now! Tempting . . . but she'd make him work for it.

Lilith and her barking dog stood by his side. Utter terror written all over her pale face.

"Thanks." She said as casually as if she hadn't just been attacked by a weird ass creature "Anyone got a spare shirt?"

"I am me and this is her," Jin said in response to the foul language and rudeness of the man in the black jacket. It didn't really matter to Jin whether he pissed this guy off or not. Jin didn't really take kindly to authority or bullies. The establishment needed an overhaul anyways. Granted this, he thought looking around, was not what he had in mind.

"You got a plan? Has anyone heard any news about what is happening here or what is being done fix this situation?" Jin's knife was by his side but his grip was tense. People were hard to trust in times like this. This guy seemed high strung and quite paranoid. Dangerous mix when put into stressful situations. Jin's knowledge of such people ended that. He dropped out of the psychology fairly early and changed his major to the Art.

"What does biting have to do with anything?", Jin said with a raised eyebrow looking at Natalie with a shake of the head and a shrug. He popped open the pringles containing and pulled teh seal off and reached in grabbign two chips and eating them at the same time.

He looked at the other people with the man.
'Pink lace,' he thought as the image was seered into his brain. 'Interesting group, but they don't seem particularly reliable,' his thoughts continued.

"At least you have wheels," he said as he offered Natalite some chips. " You going someplace in particular?" he asked as he reached in offering some to the high strung man and his group.

"Are you alright?" Lilith asked Darcy, as she poked the horrific thing with her sword.

"Yeah, I'm fine . . . thanks." Darcy answered hesitantly and slightly annoyed.

The others haden't even bother to help whilst she was being attacked by this freakin' creature! And Marcus? Marcus had just gone into Solider mode and started questioning the strangers, it seemed he didn't even care there was a half naked women in front of him! Yeah, that was annoying her the most. Besides the slight interest he had shown.

Lilith's dog was showing her more attention as he sniffed around her, she laughed genuinely for the first time since this whole mess started as the dogs slightly cold wet nose prodded her here and there. She ruffled his fur with a hand.

"I have some spare clothes in the truck," Lilith added thoughtfully, "But I doubt you'd want to wear any of them." Then she called towards Marcus. "Jake recons their clean, I'm going to grab some more food."

"As long as they're clean and not covered in Zombie gore, I'll wear anything." Darcy replied taken by the girls generosity, although Lilith clearly disliked her. "But first food sounds like a good idea."

Not caring she was half naked, Darcy grabbed a sandwich and a cool drink from the fridge and sat down on a chair behind the counter. Tired, she contemplated the day so far whilst eating and watching Marcus with interest as he delt with the strangers efficiently. Darcy studied him quietly as she ate. Marcus Foiler . . . The man held a lot of secrets, like that mysterious phone call; his name was only the tip of the iceberg . . . And she liked him . . . really like him . . . This could be a problem.

Her thoughts drifted away not wanting to deal with the enigma that was Marcus Foiler to Josh. He was still out there somewhere and as soon as Marcus found whoever he was looking for then he could help her because she knew he wouldn't let up until then. She just had to bide her time till then. Her brother could take care of himself . . . but for how much longer? Darcy shied away from the scary thought.

Looking across the counter Darcy noticed a small rack with packs of safety pins hanging from it. Perfect she thought as she snagged a pack. If the clothes Lilith had in the truck were as baggy as the one's the girl was wearing now then she'd need these. There was no way Darcy was going to walk around in a shirt that was probably actually made for a man and was XXXL and that looked liked it had eaten her up. Argh!

"At least you have wheels,". She heard the Asian kid say to Marcus as he offered him some food. " You going someplace in particular?"

Interesting . . . But it wouldn't do well for him if he kept antagonising Marcus, she'd had first class experience, remember?

"Any lower and it would be on the ground, so no way. You are going to have to deal with it soldier man." Jin left the blade by his side still not relaxing his grip. The racist remark hung in Jin's mind. If the man was in fact was military, which was quite likely, Jin didn't stand on the same footing with this man. Not in any combat situation anyways.

Having a man like this was a double-edged sword. He showed little interest in the survivors around him. He would probably leave them behind he he.deemed it illogical. That was one reason Jin disliked government flunkies. They were just fucking cold robots.

"I didn't say I would go with you. I asked if you heard what's going on?"

This kid liked to play hard ball didn't he? Freelancer didn't like it, he was going to be a problem. It was obvious he wasn't going to give him what he wanted willingly so he turned to the red head and the other women beside her "How about you ladies? You know a James Hill?" completely ignoring the Asian.

"Who cares what the fuck is going on!? Can't you see with your own damn eyes, we're surrounded by freaking Zombies! All you need to worry about is getting the hell out of here." Darcy stated over the counter, annoyed at the kids defiance. She didn't have time for this bullshit. Josh didn't have time. "And this guy is probably you best option, so why don't you do as he says and put the knife down before he kicks your ass."

"Three. There are three of us," Natalie out to the rude man in black. "You know, that number that comes after two."
Though she supposed he could have been distracted by the infected, where had it come from? Buried under the pile left by the red-head probably. Or perhaps he was more distracted by the bruenette waltzing around in her lace underwear.
She munched on the pringles from Jin, not her favourite flavour but by this stage she wasn't about to complain. she had food in her bag but they were travel supplies, she'd grab a snadwich like Miss Shirtless in a moment. Meanwhile she had to adress this dude was such a racist arrogant jerk.
"Listen GI Joe, everyone here is fighting for their survival so we're not goin to put down our weapons just because your feeling insecure. Red over here had a shotgun for crying out loud. And both she and I have wheels of our own so not everyone's relying on your 'generosity'. And I don't know anyone in town. I only rolled in a couple of days ago. With any luck I'll be rolling out again soon."

Darcy smirks at the girls front and asked sarcastically, "You mean that piece of crap outside?" Referring to the girls car. She was surprised that thing hadn't fallen apart yet.

Natalie laughed, "Oh honey, it's like you think you're actually insulting me. It's my second car, bought on a fickin' student's salary. It runs, has aircon, and radio. It's only meant to get me from one side of the country to the other before I sell it again and fly home."
This bitch was hilarious, probably some pampered princess living on daddy's money. Natalie grabbed a sandwhich and hopped up onto the store counter to eat it, crossing her legs and placing the crowbar less than discretely next to her. She grinned like a cat with cream and raised her eyebrows challengingly at Sassy and Soldier.

Freelancer looked out the door and saw that a few zombies had crawled out from the woodwork and began wandering around the vehicles There were bound to be more of them soon, he had to make a decision now "Look I don't need you people I'm looking for somebody and your holding me up. Stay here or come with us I don't give a shit." Freelancer walked towards the door "Anybody who wants to live feel free to tag along." He looked at each survivor with cold emotionless eyes "Otherwise you can go off on your own and end up dead. And that I can guarantee you." He looked to Darcy, she was a beautiful women "I do hope some of you are smart enough to come with me." he gave one last look at Lilith and opened the door "Don't take too long, I don't have all day." he said before drawing his silenced pistol to take care of the infected that had stumbled into the street. Live or die it didn't matter what happened to them as long as Ghostfather was secure...well at least by the government standards, He thought of Lilith and Darcy. But maybe not his. Not anymore.