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Intangibility & X-ray Vision
#837A23 | Outfit
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Superhuman Agility, Endurance & Strength
#678773 | Outfit
JOLENE CARTER
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Ergokinesis & Telepathy
#72B0B4 | Outfit
The sound of the alarm blared in Joleneâs ear. She groaned as she slammed her hand all over her nightstand, missing the damned noise maker each time. After the seventh try she grabbed her spare pillow and pressed it around her head as she cocooned back under the blankets. She knew she had work soon or else the alarm wouldnât be shouting its blood curdling wail right in her ear. But did she care about going to work? No.
Jed was already awake, dressed and nearly on his way out of the apartment when he heard the struggle with the clock going on down in his sisterâs room. He sighed, setting his crossbow down on the couch before trudging down the hallway towards the bathroom. Before going straight to Jo, he bee lined for the medicine cabinet. He grabbed two pills from her prescribed pill bottle and a glass of water.
He then headed towards her bedroom, throwing the bedroom door open with a single good bump of his hip. âGet up you lazy ass.â
Jo groaned. âI canât hear you⊠Thereâs an odd buzzing in my ear,â she said with dry sarcasm.
Jed rolled his eyes, before walking over to her nightstand, switching off the clock. âGet up before I get you up.â
She sighed, rolling over in her bed before sitting up. Her short dark hair standing up in every which way except for the right way. âWhy do I have to?â
He took her hand, setting the pills into the palm before holding out the glass of water towards her. âBecause you need to go make money.â
She blew air out her lips before taking her medicine. âI donât see you going to work.â
âItâs Saturday. Shopâs closed.â
âI knew that.â Jo said while rubbing her eyes.
âGo to work Axe.â Jed walked towards her door, stopping just before he passed the threshold. âShower first though. You smell worse than Ms. Bernice on litter box day.â
âPlease. I donât smellââ She turned her nose towards her armpit and took a big whiff. âYeah, yeah, fine.â
Jed smirked before heading back towards the living room. He snatched up his crossbow and duffel bag full of all his hunting gear. âIâll be with Wyatt. I should be back before youâre home from work but if Iâm not Iâll be down by the crick.â He gave Jo a quick two finger salute before exiting their apartment and heading out to his old Ford pickup.
It took Jolene longer than it should to shuffle her butt into the shower, clean herself decently enough and then climb back out. She truly detested her job, and in a town like Mullen there wasnât much in the offering of jobs. Getting ready and going to work was like pulling teeth. She wasnât as lucky as Jed who had a good set of skills to get him a fairly decent job. No one in town wanted her working for them because of her âinstability.â
Mr. Johnson knew her father and were really good friends long before Jed or Jolene were a sparkle in their parentsâ eyes. It was probably only because of that that Jo was able to get a job at his hardware store. It wasnât glamorous and didnât pay very well. But it got her out of the house. Since sheâs been there her conditions gotten better. Only on a couple occasions of customers knocking over the shovels has she had a serious melt down.
Maybe it wasnât so much her job she hated but the looks she got from the people who came in there to shop. Her and Jed were definitely some of the more talked about it town. Probably why they both worked so hard to save money and get out of there. This is at least what she told herself everyday as she dragged herself through the ritual of getting ready.
Once she was groomed and decently enough dressed, Jolene headed out of her place and down the street towards the hardware store. It only took her a whopping two minutes to get to work and assume her post. Saturdays were particularly slow, so when no one was in the store Jo tended to read to pass the time. The poison of the day was The Iliad.
A few hours had passed since Jed and Wyatt got themselves deep in the woods around the outskirts of town. So far as the day had gone neither one of them had got anything. They spent most of their time bullshitting and smoking up half of their cigarettes.
Jed was about to suggest wrapping it up and calling it a day when they heard a rustle in the woods several feet away. Wyatt grinned, tapping his nose with his index finger. A silent gesture the pair made up years ago to call dibs on prey. Jed sighed, deciding to light another cigarette and lean back against an adjacent tree as his friend disappeared into the brush after the noise.
He quickly lost track of time at how long his friend had been gone⊠ten, fifteen minutes? At least enough time to make Jed start to worry. He didnât want to make a bunch of noise and potentially scare off their only prey all day, so instead of calling out he held his crossbow at the ready and headed in the direction his friend disappeared in.
Jed quietly followed his friends trail. He wasnât particularly worried until he saw Wyattâs hunting knife laying on the ground, the blade covered in blood. Not wasting anymore time, Jed called out, âWyatt!?â
His pace quickened as he continued to follow the trail of not one but two sets of foot prints now and blood. Jed cursed at himself for waiting too long before chasing after Wyatt. âDammit man where are you?â he mumbled to himself before calling out once again, âWyatt?!â
By the time Jed reached the creek the trail had disappeared and he was left just staring in all directions without a sign or clue. âMan if youâre pulling a prank on me I swear to God Iâll kick your mother fucking ass when I find you!â He shouted out towards the forest.
Not trying to let himself get too worried, he placed the strap of his crossbow over his head before deciding to head back to his truck. Although he was becoming more and more certain that this was just some shitty trick, he couldnât help still look around, hoping to see Wyatt tucked behind a tree or something.
Jedâs pace slowed as his truck came into view along with a person seeming to be hidden behind the truck bed. âI see you ya fucking prick! Have fun walking your ass home!â He tossed his crossbow into the passenger seat of the truck. He sighed before walking around towards the back of the truck, âDude stop with the damn games Iâm tired of your shââ
Jed nearly fell as he stumbled backwards at the sight of Wyatt on the ground soaked in his own blood. His throat looked like it had been torn open by some sort of wild animal, the wound too rigid to be created by a weapon. His hands were trembling as quickly fell to his knees beside his friend, pressing his hands to the gash in his throat. He tried with everything he had to stop the bleeding but deep down he knew it was too late.
Before he had a chance to even shed a tear a strange and inhuman snarl caught his attention. Just as he looked over his shoulder a blood covered man with flesh falling from his face sprinted out from the forest towards him. âShit! Shit!â Jed didnât have a chance to stand up before they reached him. He put up his hands to barely catch the person by their chest as they growled and reached for him vigorously. With a swift shove he threw them from him and scrambled to his feet.
âHey man⊠Youâre not in your right mind. Just⊠Just calm down. I can take you to the hospital, get you some help.â Jed said as he backed away, holding his hands up in a surrendering manner. But the person didnât hesitate to get back up and dash towards him.
âFuck.â Jed ran around his truck and hurdled over the truck. He quickly pivoted on his heels, reaching in through the open passenger side window to grab his crossbow. Just as he grasped the stock he felt a sharp pain flare in his right shoulder.
âAhhh!â He glanced over to see the thing hungrily chomping at his deltoid. Jed threw his elbow back into its head before spinning around with weapon in hand. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger, lodging an arrow right through its eye. The⊠thing fell to the ground with a thud.
Jed leaned back against the passenger side door, his hands shaking more furiously than before as he tried to catch his breath. As he pealed back his torn shirt to look at the bite another snarl came from the woods. He tried to pull back the bow string to nock another arrow but the pain in his shoulder quickly flared up making it harder for him to exert any strength with his right arm.
Just he pulled out his hunting knife and turned towards the rustling branches, he saw Gunner Jackson sprint out of the woods towards him. âJed! Run! Theyâre coming!â
His brows furrowed and just as he was about to ask what was coming, another crazed person busted out of the tree line behind Gunner, getting it clutches on him and digging its teeth deep into his neck. His blood curdling screams echoed through the forest. Jed prepared to take on another one of⊠Well whatever it was but it looked up and saw him standing there another five came barreling out after it, the growling sending the hair on the back of his neck straight up.
âFuck this.â Jed quickly opened the passenger side door, climbing in and closing it as quickly as possible. Although it killed the bite in his shoulder he rolled up his window as fast as he could manage, getting it closed just as the first one slammed into the door. He slid down the bench seat while his hand trembled as it searched his pocket for the keys. Jed nearly dropped them on the floor when he found them and tried to stick them in the ignition. Without wasting a second he put the truck into drive and floored it, not giving two minds to the things he ran over as he sped out of there.
Jolene was nearly finished with her book by midday without a single customer stepping into the store. No surprise there but Mr. Johnson always wanted the store open in case anyone needed something. Not like they couldnât call him up and ask him to open up. But Jo didnât mind getting paid to sit around and do nothing.
So it was safe to say she was a bit surprised when she heard the bell ring indicating that someone had entered the store. The smell reached her nose before she had the chance to glance up. âHello Ms. Bernice what is it this week?â Jo turned the page in her book, not caring to look up. âYou know if youâd just call Mr. Johnson either him, his son or I could come over and take care of whatever is wrong. Then you wouldnât have to keep coming in here every day.â
Ms. Bernice didnât say anything, just snarled in a deep and quite frankly, disgusting way. âThere is no need to get sassy with me maâam. It is you who keeps spending all your money on the wrong things. Iâm just trying toââ Jolene glanced up from her book, stopping mid-sentence as her jaw dropped. Whoever it was, it wasnât Ms. Bernice. They stood there in the entrance just staring at her as blood and whatever else kind of excrement dripped from its mouth.
âUh⊠Excuse me? Do you need help?â Jo set down her book and walked around the counter, heading towards the young woman. âI can call the Sheriff if youââ Then in the blink of an eye the estranged woman sprinted towards her. She didnât have a clue what the woman was doing but she sure as hell wasnât going to stick around to find out.
Jolene ran down the aisle, grabbing on a shelf, using it to whip herself around and run down another. She kept swerve and zig zagging through the aisles but the strange woman wasnât far behind. She turned down another aisle coming to the tool section. Jo grabbed the first thing her eyes locked out, a crowbar hanging on a peg hook. She gripped it in her hand like a baseball bat as she turned to face the woman.
âDonât you come any closer!â Her hands shook so much she could barely grip the iron. Her breathing grew uneasy as she felt an attack creeping up her body and scratching at her brain. She had to keep it together. She canât melt down now. âLeave now⊠And I wonât call the cops. Ok?â She pointed the hook of the crowbar at the woman.
But almost as if taking it as an invitation the oozing woman ran for her. When she got within round house range, Jolene slammed the crowbar into the strangerâs gut, sending her back into a shelf and knocking it over. She quickly backed up until she bumped into a shelf, her eyes fixed on the woman.
âStay down.â Her hand fumbled around for her phone, but before she could get it out the woman was back on her feet and coming for her. Jo sprinted down the aisle, turning left at the first opening but then waited just out of site with the heavy iron still in hand. When she heard the woman nearly about to turn the corner, she swung the crowbar at her, this time slamming her right in the temple.
The woman stumbled over into another shelf, nearly knocking it over but then regained its footing and came at Jo. âWhat are you? The Terminator?â This time Jolene had no choice but to make her swing count, aiming the hooked end right at the side of her head. She lodged it in her brain which made the womanâs body go limp and fall to the ground, nearly taking Jo over with her.
Joleneâs began to hyperventilate as her shaking hands dislodged the crowbar from the lifeless skull. With jello knees, she made her way towards the entrance of the store, gripping the crowbar like she was in the major leagues. She looked out the window of the door seeing people running down the street screaming as more crazed people oozing and indestructible chased after them. She gasped quickly spinning around so her back was pressed to the wall beside the door, gripping tight to the shaft of the crowbar.
The bell to the entrance dinged and instincts kicked in. Jolene swung the crowbar at head level hoping to catch one as they entered. Jedâs hand barely was fast enough to catch the hook before it made a home in his face, âJesus Jolene⊠Check before you try killinâ people.â
Her eyes widened when she saw her brother, âJed⊠Oh my god this woââ
Jed cut her off, grabbing her by the arm. âNo time. We gotta go.â He let her take back the crowbar so he could hold his bow at the ready, wincing slightly as the butt pressed against his wounded shoulder.
âWhat happened?â Jo grabbed his good shoulder, turning him towards her.
âOne of them bit me. Iâll be fine. Come on.â He motioned for her to followed as he ducked out of the store. He ran towards his truck looking down the sights, ready to shoot anything that came close to them.
They were nearly to the truck when Jolene saw at least a dozen of them running at them from an alleyway behind the truck. âJedâŠâ
âRun!â He called over his shoulder to her. She slid the crowbar through her belt loop before running as hard and fast as she could to the truck. Jed was in the driverâs seat and starting the engine as Jo reached the truck. She couldnât risk running around to the passenger side and getting in, so instead she stepped up on the bumper of the truck and climbed into the bed.
Just as she was nearly in, one reached the back of the truck grabbing hold of her leg and sinking its teeth into her thigh. âJed! Go!â She fell back into the bed, using her unharmed leg to kick it in the head so hard that their neck snapped and they collapsed to the ground as Jed sped away.
Jed quickly opened the window that lead to the bed of the truck. âHey! Are you alright!?â
âThat bitch bit me!â Jolene put pressure on the bite, wincing at how tender it already was.
âJolene Axel are you ok?!â He asked again looking back at her.
âYeah, yeah. Iâm fine.â She looked towards him. âJed look out!â Jo pointed forward where numerous cars sat unoccupied, half smoking in the middle of the road. Jed didnât have time to react before the truck crashed into one of the idle cars. The airbag deployed against his face while Jolene was sent forward, slamming into the back window of the truck with a loud thud.
It took a few moments for Jed to shake off the effects of the airbag, the taste of iron spilling into his mouth from a bloody nose and split lip. He raised his hand to wipe away some of the blood before stumbling out of the truck. âAxe?... Jolene!?â
Jo was dazed, a gash in her forehead dripped blood down across her brow. âIâm okâŠâ She coughed.
âCome on.â He nearly pulled her from the back of the truck. Jed went to put her arm over his shoulders but winced when she touched his bite.
âI can walk.â
He didnât have to look behind him to know they were coming. He could hear their growls and snarls. âWe gotta goâŠâ He looked around trying to find answers but was coming up short.
âThis way, come on.â Jolene grabbed her crowbar and ran, slower than before, towards the police department on the corner.
âJo?â
âTrust me.â Just as she nearly reached the door, a former cop came running out. Jo barely had enough time to slam the crowbar into its head, sending it to the ground. Once down, she continued to beat its skull until it was a pile of mush. She pushed her way into the police station. It didnât look anyone had been in there since probably everyone in town started calling 911 about the lunatics running around.
Jed hurried her in, glancing back over his shoulder to see them closing in. âWhat now?â
Jo rubbed her temple, her brain was becoming fuzzy. She couldnât tell if it was because an attack was creeping up on her or what. âIâŠâ
âJoâŠâ
âLet me think.â
âJolene!?â
They busted through the door, charging towards them. Jed, making a quick decision, pushed Jo towards and into the prison cell, quickly following after her. Once inside, he slammed in shut and stumbled back to be out of reach of the hands that reached through the bars towards them.
âNow what?â Jo looked towards her brother who doubled over and fell to his knees. âJed!â
Jolene tried to move quickly to his side but ended up falling to her knees beside. She blinked her eyes as her vision started going black. âJedâŠ? JâŠedâŠâ Her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious beside her brother.
POST-INFECTION
Jed eyes slowly blinked as he became conscious. He rose a hand to rub his eyes, wincing when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He glanced over at it seeing it gnarled and torn but his brain started to hurt when he tried to remember how he got it. He looked around as he tried to get his bearings.
It didnât take long for him to notice he was in a jail cell with the iron bars prominently keeping him locked where ever he is. He went to curse under his breath until he saw a woman unconscious on the ground beside him. His brows furrowed as he tried to recall if he knew her or not.
Just as he reached out his hand to try and wake her, she coughed before sitting up quickly, smacking away his hand. âWatch your paws buddy.â
âSorry⊠I was just seeing if you were⊠Alive.â
âWhy the hell wouldnât I be?â Jo asked, shifting so that she was sitting up. The bite on her leg dragged on the ground causing her to curse, âDamn⊠What the hell?â She looked over the wound confused. âWhat happened to me?â
âI donât know.â Jed shook his head. ââŠWho are you?â
âIâmâŠâ Joleneâs face scrunched up as she tried to remember her name. âI donât know. Who are you?â
Jed parted his lips to speak but found no words to say. He just sat there frozen for a long moment. Then an idea struck him. He searched his pockets until he found his wallet. He opened it and read over his I.D. âJedidiah Carter.â
Joâs hands patted all over her clothing finding no wallet and she definitely didnât see a purse. Although something in her gut told her she never carried one of those stupid things anyways. She scratched at her neck when she felt a chain. Her fingers followed it to a pair of dog tags that rested against her chest. Her lips pursed as she read the name, âJolene Carter.â
They both sat there staring at their single forms of identification and each other. Somehow they were related or something but yet their faces were new to one another.
Jo was the first to break the eye contact to look around. There were obvious signs of a struggle that went down outside the cell. There was blood dried on the iron bars and she thought she could see feet of a corpse over by the entrance but no sign of anyone else in there. She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she stood up. âHow dâya think weâll get out of here?â Her hand reached out to touch the iron bars, but when her skin met the metal a spark shot from her fingers causing her to jump slightly, rubbing her hands together. Hoping the static electricity was gone, she grabbed the bars, looking around outside the cell to see if there was anything of use.
Jed didnât say anything as he moved to his feet but thought of how a key would be an obvious way out.
âWell do you have one on you?â Jolene asked.
âHave one what?â
âA key?â She looked over her shoulder at him like he was stupid. âYou said itâd be the obvious way out so I assume you have one on you right?â
âI didnât say thatâŠâ
âYeah you didâŠâ
Jed shook his head, waving off the weird situation as he walked towards the bars to look around. After a moment or two his eyes settled on a set of keys on top of a desk. âThere.â
âGreat. Now just shimmy through the bars and go get it.â
âYouâre smaller than I am.â
Jolene sighed. She was able to get a leg through but once she got to her hips she couldnât squeeze no matter how hard she tried. âDammit.â She slammed her hands on the bars causing another spark which made her squeal slightly. âWhat theââ
Jedâs eyes widened slightly at the sparks that flew from her hands. But he pretended not to notice as he tried to think of a way to get the keys. He sighed and went to rest his forehead on the bar. But instead of being stopped by the cold metal, his head passed right through it causing him to stumble forward until his hands reached out to catch himself against the desk.
âWhat theâ Howâd you just do that?â Jolene pressed her forehead against the bars trying to follow after him, even giving a little less than gentle knocks of her head against them.
âIâI donât know.â He held up his hands staring at them confused. He reached over and grabbed the keys, his hand tangibly grasping them. Maybe they were on some seriously good drug trip? He had no clue, but he didnât stand around thinking on it and instead went to the cell and unlocked it.
Jolene grabbed the crossbow that was on the ground and held it out towards him, âDonât forget your weapon Casper.â
Jed took the bow and headed towards the door, his pace slowing as he got sight of dead bodies scattered throughout the street. ââŠWhat happened?â
âUmmmâŠâ Jolene looked between Jed and the wall he was staring at. On the wall was a cork board with bulletins. âMrs. Nebraska is coming to Mullen for the county fair? Or Deputy Peterson got employee of the month?â
âWhat?... No. Out on the street?â
âI donât know⊠Iâd need to see it.â Jo watched Jed curiously because he was acting like he was a few French fries short of a happy meal. She didnât hesitate to walk right out the entrance onto the sidewalk. She stopped dead in her tracks as her jaw dropped in complete shock.
Too surprised at her surroundings, Jolene didnât see the estranged person that emerged from around the corner and sprinted towards her. Jed was just fast enough to pull out his hunting knife and slam it into the forehead of the person.
Jo turned around to make eye contact with them as they growled at her before collapsing to the ground. She gasped, stumbling backwards. âWhat the fuck was that?!â