(Storm) Kelly Hanson's Story

Storm was tired. She was tired and lonely. It was unusual, for someone of her persona, to miss the presence of other humans (taking into account her disregard for other people). She had found a dog, though. Cute little thing, about the size of her waist. I guess that's not small.. It's fur was silky and midnight black and one eye was green, the other blue. She had figured the strange eye colours were brought on when everyone else died. She hadn't seen any animals since that day. She never thought any survived, but it had followed her while she was savaging in a small mall alone and began to whine.

She didn't even know where she was. Storm had been walking for days to find resources she could use. She had a pen knife, sure, but nothing else. She just wanted her bass back, her band. She never realized how lonely it actually was out here to be searching for vitals without any other chance of hope for the world. The only hope she had was meeting other survivors, if there were any at all.

All of a sudden, she saw a man wheeling a cart. In a panic of crazed confusion and haste she called out to him, to see if he were real or a hallucination.

Jude was in the midst of whistling out the tune to Lady Madonna when a voice called out to him. He blinked in surprise and looked up to see a woman with black hair calling out to him. His hands slipped off the cart and it took him a moment to lift a hand in hello. "So I'm not the only one..." He said softly. A feeling of relief washed over him. He left his cart and went to the woman, he had quite a height on her and it was even more apparent when he was a few feet away from her.

He gave the woman a smile and looked at her as if she were water in the desert "I'm... I'm not the only one!" He laughed suddenly and lifted a hand to his hair and let his hand rest on top of his head a moment. "I thought for sure I was alone." He was talking to himself and then realized it was quite rude of him to do so and he looked at the woman and held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Jude." He said. "You look like a scrappy girl. I'm happy we weren't alone." He gave her a charming smile.

Almost skeptical, her eyes examined him a few times. The great height difference didn't exactly make her feel very comfortable, considering she hadn't seen anyone for days and had kind of forgotten how to detect if he was trying to intimidate her or not. "Can I.. just..." Not waiting for any sort of reply she raised her arm slightly and podded his chest with her finger. He was real. Probably. Storm didn't know a lot about any sort of hallucinations should could be having, but she was 99% sure that he was real.

She shook his hand, shaking gently. "It's nice to meet you, Jude, I'm Storm." Where others would have been insulted by being called a 'Scrappy' girl, Storm was just too relieved to see another person. "Heck yeah, we aren't alone." She chuckled, almost not believing the words she was uttering. "I'm sorry. It's been so long that.. I'm not quite sure how to act properly around people anymore.." She smiled at him, a sort of giddy smile like a child.

She had poked him in the chest to check if he was real and that made him chuckle. Her hand shake was gentle where as his grip was firm on her hand. "Very nice to meet you Storm." He let her hand go and his hand fell to his side. "I've not seen anyone in a long while as well..." His smile fell from his face a little as he thought of the death. Even now there was the slight smell of decay around them. Jude glanced down at the dog that had followed Storm and knelt.
"Well now, who is this?" He lifted his hand and the dog moved forward a little to sniff away at his hand. He was rewarded with a small lick and was allowed to pat the dog and then stood. "So Storm..." He moved his hands to his pockets and tilted his head a little "What do you suppose happens now?"

Now that he had found another human he wasn't sure how he should conduct himself around her. Did they team up? Was he to take her to his home? It seemed only right to stick together.

His question stumped Storm. What do we do? Find a hideout? Sticking together would be best, obviously, but what then? Go about our normal business? She sighed, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Maybe get to know each other a bit better. You could be a criminal or a rapist, or worse, a politician." She sighed again, rubbing the back of her neck gently. She bit her lip carefully as if trying to think up a plan, but resorted to petting the dog. Her eyes inspected the area they were in. Full to the brim with all sorts of produce, unlike the stores she'd seen. Probably ravaged on the days leading up, people stocking up to feel safer inside fragile walls. Storm rubbed her head, shaking it gently as if to snap out of a trance. "Do you live around here, Jude? Maybe we could go there."

She in her own way accused him of being a vagrant and he shook his head "Ex Cop actually." He made a small motion akin to a bow "At your service" He stepped back to his cart which was filled with a few items and sighed a little "Tell me what you used to be Storm. I'm thinking a poet." He looked up just in time to see her shake her head and she asked where he lived. "I've got a home in walking distance from here. I have been staying there. Its a mess." For some reason old world habits came into play and he apologized for the state of his home despite the world's troubles.

He continued to push his cart a little and whistled to the dog, "Shall we grab some provisions and head out then?" He looked over his shoulder but didn't stop walking. He would let her catch up if she wanted to.

When Jude mentioned he was an Ex-Police Officer, Storm seemed impressed. "Ex Cop, huh? Nice. Wish I could taze people freely." She said with a hint of humor to her voice, trying not to insult him. She smiled at his charming little bow, shaking her head.

"I used to be a bassist for a rock band. Not sure if you're into that stuff but we used to be called Snakes and Sinners, and we were pretty good. Had a few big hits." She exhaled loudly. "Theeeen everyone died." The bluntness of her words were almost amusing, though she was doing her best to be polite.

When he asked her if they should grab provisions and head out, she simply replied "Sure.". Storm followed behind. She kept the dog closer to her just as a safety precaution, but this Jude guy seemed nice. Nice enough to be polite to, anyway. She grabbed bags of candy and any alcohol she could see, even if it was off. She needed something to lighten her mood.

Jude shook his head and said "I can't say that I've tazed anyone of my own free will. Generally I just like to talk to them." He watched her place a few bags of candy and booze in the cart and lifted a brow but said nothing. "Well if you have a CD of your band I would love to listen." He said after a moment of silence. "Might be a nice sort of tribute to the fallen members." He shrugged a little.

when they were finished grabbing things Jude walked right out of the store with his cart and walked the few blocks back to his home along side with Storm and the dog. His house was a small three story house that was taller than it was wider. He had a small little front yard that was littered with shopping carts that suggested he had done this a few times before.

"You need to lighten up, Judey." She smiled. "I was only messin' about with that whole tazer thing." She did her best to sound light hearted, though the reality being much different. "Yeah. I do have a CD with me." Jude mentioned it being a tribute to the fallen members of the band. Her smile faltered. The memories of her sitting in their old studio and playing the CD's on repeat rushed into her head. She cleared her throat briskly. "I guess so, if you want."

Storm took one look at the shopping carts on Jude's front lawn. "...Bit of a hoarder, are we? You could have just taken them back." Chuckling again, she inspected the house it's self. It seemed nice enough. At least it wasn't a crack den.

Jude hadn't noticed the change in Storm's demeanor and so he continued on his way up to the front door. She made a comment about the shopping carts and he glanced over his shoulder and said "Some call it mess. I call it art..." He offered no other explanation and opened the door to his home. It was clear the home was very lived in. Jude liked to pick things up and just place them somewhere else and thus his house generally was pretty cluttered.

He pushed the cart into the kitchen and began to unload the cart and put the items in the fridge. He wasn't sure how much longer the power was going to stay on, with there being no humans to keep things running he assumed that eventually the power would run out. He hoped the day wouldn't come all too soon. He looked at Storm and cocked his head a little and said "Help yourself." He grabbed himself some cookies and bit into them. He munched thoughtfully for a moment and then asked "So were you famous?"

Impressed at the slight cluttered mess Jude lived in, she picked up one of the beers she had picked up and opened it. Storm took a drink from the unusually chilled bottle. "Famous?" She coughed. "Hah, that was an understatement. In our genre we were one of the best. Up there with Ozzy Ozbourne and Queen, we were legends! Well. We were constantly told we were. We didn't think too highly of ourselves. But we were famous, yeah, I guess." She smiled, the voices and faces of her band members appearing in her head.

She chuckled and shook her head before taking another drink from the bottle. "What about you, Judey? Did you have a family? Wife, kids? Brother, sister?"

Jude laughed a little and he said "Well I'm sure it must have been nice to have been famous. I often wondered what that was like." He grabbed a beer for himself and popped the lid off with a single fluid motion. She laughed a little and he found he liked the noise, it was nice to hear another's laugh. She asked him about his own family and he took a sip before answering.
"My parents..." He looked off for a moment and said "But they wouldn't want me mourning them, They're probably dancing naked in what ever heaven they imagined themselves in." He smiled at the thought and said "My group at the station was like my family, but I suppose they all passed on too." He did look sad at that but forced himself to lighten up.

"So lets hear this band of yours." He held out his hand for the CD or Iphone that held her music." He thought of another question and asked "So if you were on the guitar does that mean you can sing or no?"

"Your parents sound like.. strange.. ... funky.. people. Interesting." Storm said. Taking another swig of beer she felt the cool liquid run down her throat for a moment before paying attention again. She noticed, after he mentioned his co-workers, he seemed to be saddened by this. Though it was to be expected, she wanted to help cheer him up anyway. "Your group sound close. I'm sure they're all in heaven playing beer-pong or looking at PlayBoy Magazines, if you believe in that sort of thing." She grinned a cheesy, cute grin up at him. She adjusted her stance before drinking some more from the bottle which was growing warmer by the minute.

Then he brought up the band. For the first time in forever, she felt rather conscious of letting anyone hear their music. Hesitantly, she rummaged through her pockets to find a CD and handed it to him. It was see through, and the disk was plain. "I'm the bassist, but yeah. I can sing. ... Kind of." She smirked. It was such an odd experience to be talking to somebody else after so long alone.

He liked her take on where his mates were now and nodded, "Yeah they would like that." He chuckled thinking of the playboy magazines and at his own parents. He didn't bother to correct her on her thinking of them as she was true. They had been very out there. She smiled at him and he found himself thinking her smile was a nice thing to see. Be it the apocalypse or just the pretty girl in front of him, the smile was well received.

She brought out the CD then for him and he found his old CD player and placed it in. He then turned it on and let himself listen her band's music filled the room. He sipped from his beer and when the first song was over he turned it down a little and then gave her a thumbs up. "Not bad Storm. I would have gone to your concert."

It was then the Dog chose to bump him and he let his hand move over the dogs head and felt him nuzzling. "Hungry?" He asked the creature knowing full well it could not answer. He got out a can of beans and found and opener and pried the lid off. He poured some into a bowl and set it down for the dog. "Have you named him?" Jude asked.

Vlad shook his head. "Vlad, not those russian." The man grinned again, showing his yellowed teeth and put his rifle down by his bag and rummaged around in his backpack until he pulled a lengthy lead pipe out of it and rubbed the sweat from the stylized S tattooed on the side of his neck. "I ready, biker man."

"Where truck?" Vlad asked the group. "Broom broom?"

"Not bad Storm. I would have gone to your concert."
She smiled again, re-adjusting her stance. "Why thank you, Judey. You would've been allowed backstage with all the booze and girls and drugs and stuff. If, y'know, we could still do gigs."

"Have you named him?"
Storm was stumped. She hadn't named the dog, she didn't have the time. Well, she had all of the time in the world but that wasn't the point. She'd never had a dog. Ever. So knew nothing about naming one. "W-Well.. Um... No... This poor cutie just followed me, back at the mall. I think it was living there or something." She knelt down to the dog's height and petted it. "I just really hope it hasn't got rabies." She sighed, still petting the dog. The fur on her skin was a nice feel, though a strange one. The dog turned to her and licked her face gently, then barked softly and nuzzled against Jude again.

She smiled at him and he grinned back and shook his head. "Ah no drugs for me, I would have arrested you and your motley crew." He told her a matter o'factly. "but maybe should we stumble upon a bass guitar that suits you, you could play for a spell." He finished off his beer and set it on the counter. Knowing Jude it would take him at least a week to remember to throw it out. He didn't try to be messy he just often had other things on his mind. The end of the world for example.

When she shook her head on the name and wondered if the creature had rabies he lifted his hands a little and said "That doesn't look like a sick dog to me." He was nuzzled by the dog and he went and scooped out some more beans for him to munch on. "I suppose we'll have to name him now." Jude scratched his chin as he thought of an appropriate name for the animal. He was silent for a long while before saying "If we were to stick to tradition in my family, everyone is named after a Beatles song. For exampe JoJo." He smiled at that.

"Hey, hey, I didn't do drugs! To be honest it was the hookers, but I guess you could've arrested us for that too.." She tried her best to sound partially insulted at the thought of her doing drugs. "And if we were to stumble upon an unarrested criminal, you could do your job." She laughed lightly.She drank the final contents of her bottle and put it on a counter. She jumped up and sat on the counter.

"JoJo. Waaait, wait wait... JoJo.. Jude.. The Beatles? Really?" She laughed "I love your family. They sound brilliant. I really wish I could have met them!" She started to sing the words to Hey Jude.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better." She jumped off of her counter and moved towards Jude, singing dramatically. "Hey Jude, don't be afraid, you were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better" She stood right in front of him now, still singing dramatically and almost flirtatiously. Storm was almost serenading him, with he occasional giggle. "And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders, for you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder"

Will awoke in his station wagon on the side of the road trying to piece together where he was. He remembered crossing the Kansas state line after driving for two days straight with no sleep. He also remembered finding a good place to hide the station wagon in the middle of some field he stumbled upon. After that, all Will remembered was passing out. He checked his surroundings to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. His trusty fire axe was in the passenger seat where he left it. The back of the car still held his supplies of food and other necessities. He even looked through the pile of duffel bags in the backseat to make sure all of the books he had collected were still there. Will didn't think anyone would steal them and not his food or his weapon, but he didn’t mess around with checks these days.

After gathering his composure, he turned the key in the station wagon and drove onto a dirt road nearby. As he drove, he found a cassette on the dashboard and pushed it into the player. It began to play Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by BJ Thomas. As the optimistic tune played, a small smile crept onto Will’s face. The smile dissipated after about an hour of driving through seemingly endless empty fields and bumpy dirt roads, until he finally saw a sign, welcoming him to a town called Fort Yates. He entered the town, expecting more empty streets and buildings, but was met with an unusual sight; two people, a man and a woman, entering a house with a lawn full of grocery carts. Will thought he was seeing things because he even thought he saw a dog with them. Maybe it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him; either way, it had been some time since Will had talked to anyone. So, Will parked under a tree, placed a tarp over the wagon and with his axe in hand decided to try and talk with these people. After a few moments of waiting by the door, he finally knocked three times, hoping to not get instantly shot.

She was singing to him, the song that he had been named after. He liked her voice and found himself singing along softly. She was flirting with him as well, he could tell and he didn't mind in the least. He gave her a slow and easy grin and was about to speak when a knock came at the door.

The dog, yet to be named, scrambled up to his feet and started for the door and began to bark. "Woah now." Jude let instinct take over and he put Storm behind him, "stay here." He murmured. It was an incredible change, from one moment he was smiling to the next he was serious man. He slipped a cutting knife into his hand and cautiously went to the door. He wanted to shout, asking who was there but it didn't seem the right thing to do so instead he opened his door a crack and peeked through keeping on guard.

He saw a man on the other end of the door, with brown hair that stood on end and Jude found himself opening the door a little wider. "Another survivor then?" He asked. The man seemed to have no weapons, he looked just as alone as Storm had when he first saw her. "I thought I was the only one and now two in one day." Jude lifted his hand with the knife and scratched his chin. It was a sign of dominance, he wanted to show the man he was armed and he was comfortable enough to speak candidly but still kill him should the need arise. "You're not going to rob me are you? I'm a sharing man."