A small town in the midwest called Highgate

Clean slate? Facts? She doubted that anything clean or factual surrounded Marcus. Even his name - which she just knew for certain despite him denying it - was false . . . but, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to care about the fact that he was lying to her, lying to all of them. She still liked him.

"If you want facts," she said "it's pretty boring. My father's the Mayor of Highgate as you already heard, has been for quite a while. Or rather he was." She said quietly and then continued not wanting to bring up her father death at her own hands "My mom, now she's great. She's usually off her face on meds or alcohol or most of the time both. I have a brother . . . Joshua."

Josh, she had to find him. She had to tell Marcus about him. Ask for his help . . . later.

"Besides that I've had a pretty normal life. Went to UCLA and studied Art History. Lived in LA for a while after that and now I'm back. I love to shop, but you probably already guessed that right? And that pretty much summed it up."

Wow. It really did, thought Darcy. She was twenty five and she'd done nothing with her life besides, shopping and partying.



((OCC:Waiting for the others is good for me as I have to leave for work in 3 hrs and I'll be back 4hr after that. If that's okay with you andWhatsUpWazza))

He looked towards Lilith and the asian guy and the rest who were in a conversation and he didn't bother looking towards the truck incase something horrified him and scarred him for life. He picked up his phone and rang his brother and he waited until it went to voicemail.

"Sorry mate, couldn't make it to the phone right now, please leave a message at the tone." Liam said
Leon could listen to his voice all day but he knew his battery would probably die, he hung up the phone and held it in his hand. Why must he do this to himself? There was a message from his mother, he couldn't bare to look at it so he just shoved it back in his pocket. He started humming and looked around

(OCC, loved the 'deep inner soul searching' thing hahah c: )

Freelancer looked at her "I'm sorry about that, I had mother issues too." He looked her up and down again, she was so very attractive "What were you planning on doing with your life? Politics like your father?" wouldn't that be ironic, the guy who could barely stand the politicians that sent him on his missions falling for a politician. That would fucking figure now wouldn't it?

"It's okay, you get used to it when you grow up with it your whole life." Yeah, she had learn't to tolerate it.

That's actually why she never wanted to come back from LA. There she could just be Darcy, no expectations. Here she had grown up practically being her mothers carer because her father sure as hell didn't care about the women. At times she hated her mother for not being stronger and drowning her sorrows in liquor that's why Darcy was the way she was. In control, never letting anybody tell her what to do. Not taking shit from anyone. So much good it had done for her so far, she thought caustically.

"I wanted to be an Art Curator. My dad wanted . . . he forced me back to Highgate and had me working for him now." And how she hated it.

"So," Darcy said suddenly changing the direction of the dangerous topic. "What are your plans after you've got this Hill guy?" She asked feeling him out, because she sure as hell knew what she wanted him to do after he got Hill . . . and that was to help find her brother.

Here we go, Freelancer thought "Oh he is just an old friend, I want to make sure he gets out alright" a lie, probably an obvious one. But it had to be done.

Another Lie. Darcy knew it, but she wouldn't call him up on it. He was like a caged panther.

"Okay . . ." Darcy said, treading carefully "But I mean after he's safe, gets out and all? What then?" She got the feeling that he realized she was after something.

Sure, he wanted to get out of here as well, who in their right mind would want to stay in a Zombie death zone. But she couldn't leave . . . not without Josh. But she desperately needed his help . . . and what if he refuses? Said a loud voice in her head. He wouldn't! She argued. But what if he does?! Repeated the voice . . . Well . . . then she'd just have to go back alone.

I won't leave without my brother!

What did she want? Oh no, did he fall for the oldest trick in the book? Did he just get James Bonded? Was she using this whole attraction thing as a ploy? He did his best to keep himself calm. He figured now would be as a good a time as any to tell her "Look, It's probably best..." he looked her right in the eye, trying to read her....read her feelings "If I take all of the survivors to the National Guard outpost to be evacuated. They will let you out if I give the clearance. But it may before or right after I find James."

"And I can't go with them." She said simply looking into his dark brown eyes.

She wasn't playing him, Darcy prayed to God he realized because she knew if she said the words out loud he wouldn't believe her.

She wouldn't force him to help her. That was unfair and she really liked him, he was a good guy deep underneath all the shadows that he carried around with him . . . and, he must have family out there . . . a girlfriend? Children? He had to get back to. She couldn't believe how insanely jealous the thought of his having a girlfriend out there made her, pushing the unpleasant feeling away.

"I - " She began, looking away and chocking up.

I can't do it, Darcy thought frantically but she had to. For better, for worse. For Joshua.

Darcy smokey grey eyes looked straight into his eyes "I need to find someone too." She managed to get out "I need your help."

He totally needed to leave the country, thats if he didn't get to attatched to the group, he hoped he wouldn't. Well it didn't really look like we were moving, he took a chocolate bar from his duffel bag biting into it, despite the fact his hands had a bit of blood on it, he still ate it. He was way to hungry, it disgusted him but hunger took over. He finished the bar and got up and headed to the gas station bathroom his sword at the ready. One, Two, Three. Only three zombies to the way to the bathroom, not bad. He washed his face and hands thoroughly. He just wished he had his guitar with him, his instruments usually made him feel better. He walked out of the bathroom and straight back to his bike, well at least he got to stretch his legs. He slumped on the bike, resting his head on the front of it.

Jumping out of the passengers side before Marcus could say anything, Darcy popped her aviators back on her eyes. She needed space; time to compose herself. She'd gone soft.

It didn't matter what Marcus thought of her. Nothing mattered, only finding Josh, Darcy tried to convince herself but failing terribly.

Diverting her attention to the new guy, Leon who had just come back from the bathroom she guessed. Darcy walked over to him, heels clicking on the pavement. The black t-shirt felt more comfortable then it looked.

"Hey, Leon right?" She said to the guy on the bike, as he turned around slightly shocked and looked at her wearily, like a mouse that heard a cat but wasn't sure.

Darcy grinned. Yeah, this was more like it . . . This was the real Darcy, cold . . . but not completely heartless, but she'd never let anyone know that.

Lilith merely continued around the store as the others talked. She had every intention of staying with Marcus and Darcy, even if they could both be a little annoying, she felt more comfortable with them by now. They were off talking anyway, she had time to gather supplies and no one was talking directly to her anyway. She was slightly curious about the gut with the swords because...cool swords. Yeah, it was hard to remember that her compulsive interest of collecting swords was no longer relevant.
"Oi, Jake, c’mere boy," Jake's head popped up from where he'd torn open a packet of food and he trotted towards her obediently. Arms full of food Lilith began heading out of the station, she turned towards the others as she got to the door.
"Sorry," she offered uncertainly, "I'm staying with them. Sorry if they said anything offensive...or for everything they said that offended you."
That said she pushed out of the building and started towards the truck. She went slowly though, she didn't want to walk in on the other two having some deep and meaningful conversation. That would be awkward, and she didn't handle awkward. Jake trotted along beside her, apparently in a better mood now that he'd eaten.
(OOC: Sorry for disappearing! You guys did so much...Sorry if this post is a bit disjointed.)

"Yeah Darcy." He looked up at the woman.
Why did she come to him? Hadn't she just hated him a second ago? Plus every time he looked at her he thought of her kissing Marcus, he didn't know why it bothered him maybe his childish ways had come back after this tragic incidents. She finally put a shirt on, he tried to show no expression at the shirt that was far too big for her and she had used safety pins. He rubbed his eyes and ran his finger through his hair, trying to smile. He didn't know why but he felt so awkward.

"Relax, Leon." She said with a toothy smile "I won't bite."

The poor guy didn't know how to act around her. She felt kind of sorry for him and thought she'd give him a break. Darcy half sat, half leaned on the motorbike seat behind Leon. The sun was high in the sky and blazing, she was glad she'd brought her shades, Darcy mussed at she peered through the tinted lenses up at the huge ball of fire in the sky. You weren't suppose to look directly at it, even with Sunglasses on but if the world was ending what did it matter?

"So . . ." She asked causally "Where in Britain exactly do you hail from?"




((OOC: It's fine allimagination :) we worked around it, don't worry your still with us =D ))

"I come from London." He said causally trying not to show a lack in confidence. It still didn't fit the situation but she was making conversation and no one else was so he might as well talk. I mean most American chicks digged his accent but these people seemed to want him to shut up, it was at times a bit relieving.
"And I suppose you don't come from here, not with the clothes you were wearing." He said eyeing her top yet again.

"You don't like my new shirt?" She joked. "Or maybe you just like me better topless, huh?" Lips curving to one side as she waggled an eyebrow.

That got a genuine smile and laugh out of him.

"Actually, believe it or not I am from here, the middle of nowhere Highgate. I lived up in LA for a while, just came back a few months ago and if I get out of here alive, I plan on going straight back, or maybe New York. How about you? London, that's pretty cool. I've always wanted to go there. How did you come to be here in BoringVille? Hey! Maybe I'll go to London instead. There's no Zombies there right?" She smiled, it was too hot to be unpleasant.

She could be civil to the guy. Marcus was right, Leon wasn't so bad. Darcy turned and watched as Lilith walked out of the Gas Station with her dog and headed towards the truck. Marcus was still inside. Her stomach flipped with nausea but she tampered it down and concentrated on what Leon had to say.

"Well yeah, no zombies in London and My father.." He almost hesitated.
"My father came here for buisness and I plan on going straight back to tell my family. If they'll believe me."

He looked at the dog and Lilith and smiled. "So you and Marcus aye?" He said quickly. not sure if he wanted to bring it up but there was nothing else to talk about.

Yeah me and Marcus mussed Darcy with an internal sigh.

"Yeah we're a barrel of laughs ain't we?" Darcy laughed as she tried her best British accent and then remembered what Leon had just said about his father.

"Well yeah, no zombies in London and My father.." He said hesitating "My father came here for business and I plan on going straight back to tell my family. If they'll believe me."


She understood completely.

"Well at least you didn't have to kill your dad with your own hands." Darcy said thinking of making him feel better but just ended up bringing back the disturbing memory of earlier today. The shot she had fired. Her fathers lifeless body on the floor by her feet, the carpet soaking in blood. She shivered at the memory . . . She'd have to live with that all her life.

That being, if she lived that long.

Leon laughed at the failing of a british accent she attempted then his face grew dark.
"Well actually... I did have to." Leon looked down at his necklace
"And my mother." He said his voice almost cracking.
He was always so close to his family yet they had just died right in front of him. He had to tell his family at home that he killed them and what would they think of that. They'd tell him he's crazy and should be put into gaol. The only one of his family he could trust was his little sister. He patted Darcy's back understanding if she had to kill someone to live.

Leon patted her back, she had to smile at that.

"Well, I'm sorry about your parents" Darcy said calmly. It seemed like it had been a long day for everyone. "Looks like we have something in common. Something horrible albeit, but still something."

It was weird, they had to laugh and smile it off at the worst of times; breaking down was the slim line between life and death. It was the only way they were going to make it through this nightmare. All of them.

Still half leaning and sitting behind Leon on his bike, Darcy looked back at the truck. What was she going to do? She'd fucked things up Royally.
Pushing the glasses back on her nose a little she turned to Leon. "I'll be right back." She said and headed for the restroom.



((OOC: Whatsupwazza and everyone :) This is my last post for now, have to go to work. Sucks major! But I'll be back in about 5hrs, hopefully everyone's caught up by then and we can finally be on our way outta this Gas Station. See you guys soon. Scarlett x ))

"Alright." he had said after she had left and he lay his head on the motorbike again.

((OOC: I gotta go as well, its 2:03am and I gotta go somewhere tommorow so, see ya when I see ya!)

Darcy jumped out of the truck and ran slowly walked over to that new Leon kid. She really didn't like asking for help did she? And who did she want to find? Her father? Maybe. Well shit, there wasn't time to go digging now, he would ask when she got back in the car. He might have time to go looking for just one more. He sighed as he put his head back on his seat, well Richard, you old fool, falling in love all over again are we? And in the the middle of a mission none the less. he thought to himself. He shook his head and went back to the file and flipped to the section "Research and Development" and began to read

That candidate for the the SEALs, Richard McCarthy and that other one, James Hill, have been showing signs of sickness. It would seem the parasitic spores aren't doing well in the blood type B- (Richard) but are thriving in the A+ blood type (James). This could be the breakthrough we were looking for. He could be the start of something great. We theorize Richard will die, but James...he will live. At least to our calculations.....
(Notes)
Poor guys must think they have the flu or something. Ha, one down side of this job is watching your patience suffer like this and not even know what happening. Oh well we are doing good work here. Good honest work...

Freelancer looked around, yeah good honest work alright. He then looked to Darcy, he still couldn't read her. Figures. He tried to push her out of his mind but she kept creeping back in until a thought had began to sprout. One that made his stomach turn. Pretty soon he would have to decide something...what was going to be more important, the governments mission and humanity's possible salvation....Or the brunette girl he was falling in love with. Hell but now he dosen't know if this whole scen in the truck was real or not so that choice may become easy. He closed his eyes, he was tired, real tired. He stuck the folder back in it's bag and looked at his watch, just a few minutes before he said he was leaving. He set the watch alarm and lay his head back as he zipped the backpack and put in on the foll between his legs and locked the drive side door, just in case. He then slowly dozed off for a short, short nap...

(OOC: I go way for a few hours and you guys add 2 pages, lol.)

Natalie finished her sandwhich as people continued to talk, insult and argue. While they made their way outside she sighed and flopped back onto the counter. She lay on her back and rested her hands on he stomach. She was beginning to feel weary, understandable considering she'd spent a very long day living on adrealine and next to no food.
She turned her head as the third member of the Mr and Mrs Rude's party, she girl with the dog, apologised for the couple's behaviour. That's nice of her, Natalie thought with a tired smile as she watched the girl go. Dammit.
Natalie quickly sat back up, waited a moment for her head to stop spinning from the sudden movement, then swung her feet off the counter and dropped back onto the floor. "I'll be right back," she called to a scowling Jin as she grabbed two somethings off a rack on the wall and jogged out to the trucks.
She gave Darcy, who was with the new kid, a wide-ish berth and went towards the truck. She actually considered approaching Marcus since he was apparantly the leader of the small band but the big bad boy was napping, she smiled. She'd much rather talk to the Lilith girl anyway.
"Um, hey," Natalie called. Lilith stopped and turned towards her. "Here," she gave the girl one of item she'd grabbed. Absent-mindedly she pat the dog's head as she explained. "It's a two-way radio, a walkie-talkie. Not massive range but it's only a small town right? I'll give you a mobile number as well, but just in case the network goes down or something... There's not many of us, and while I question your choice of travel companions, I see the benefit of sticking together and pooling resources. So, uh, you guy's have your whole secret John Hill mission thing going on, but once your done, if you've some spare seats on a clear ride out of here or you need anything from us... we should keep in contact and know each others locations. Have each others backs, sorta thing."
She drew a breath realising she was talking heaps. "So um, yeah... we'll keep ours on channel seven. We might turn off the conserve battery but we can check in every couple of hours, like 6am - I mean - 0600, 0900, 1200 etc. You know, if the boss-man agrees."
She nodded her head towards the sleeping man in the truck.
"And... good luck," she put a hand on the other girl's shoulder before turning and making the return run to the store without looking back.

She walked back into the store and looked at the place. The bodies of the infected and the other dead littered the floor along with their various fluids. The glass doors were still wedged open around a pile. Food had been pilfered, although there was still a good deal left. Not really the best place to spend the night.
"I want to get high up," she said alloud to herself. "I want to get out of town. Marcus is a jerk but he might actually know more about what's going on than we do. So maybe we should what and see what the brute's got planned. Meanwhile, I want something more secure, more defendable. Somewhere where I can push an infected off the edge and know he won't be coming back." The thought made her smile darkly, even as she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

~~**~~**~~Dream~~**~~**~~

James' eyes blasted open wide. Immediately ghostly white light flooded his senses. Was he dead? Is this what heaven feels like? As James became accustomed to the light he was now able to see. He was laying down on something hard. Not being able to tell exactly what it was he moved his hands. The touch of cold metal greeted him, he could feel something around his wrists...and now his ankles. It was a heavy feeling, rough and hard. James realized what it was: shackles.

James wiggled in a panic, he shook his hands and moved his feet, but he could not move them far. He tried to sit up but he noticed a pressure on his chest. He moved his eyes down, only to find a large strap spanning across his chest and around his back. Where was he? He knew he was not dead, but should he? Was this a hospital of some sorts? Was he injured? James moved and inched his body around trying to feel if he had any wounds, but he could not feel anything. Perhaps he was not hurt, but then why would he be here. Was he captured? That would be a possibility.

His hearing came back. James was welcomed by a faint buzzing noise. It sounded as if a insect was floating around inside his ear, this drove him mad. His restraints tightened as he shook his head clearing out the sound, however, a new sound came forth. It was voices! People, there must certainty be people near by. James tried his hardest to hone in on the voices. Russian? Chinese? James was having a difficult time. No. English! James was now able to recognize the language and began trying to listen.

Suddenly a shadow came over James' face. Instead of the blazing light above James now saw a dark and faceless figure.

"Well you shouldn't be awake." Said the figure. Suddenly James felt a sharp pain in his arm. Then blackness was everywhere.

BEEP BEEP BEEP
The alarm shot Freelancer out of his sleep and he awoke in the truck with his pistol in hand. That voice, the one that screamed he knew it well. It was James...

~flashback~
It was a time before he knew about everything that was going on and he still went by his old name. He woke up in a hospital at Fire base Phoenix in Afghanistan, with him were all six members of his squad. His body had hurt like hell, and he had multiple injection sites on his arms. He tried to get it up, but as soon as he tried to move he hurled all over the blankets that covered him. What had happened? He looked to his right, and there sat James, out cold like he had been knocked out. What the hell had happened? He tried to call out for a nurse or doctor but he could barely speak, he felt like he had been run over by a long line of buses then shit on by a parade of animals. He called for James, but he didn't wake up until Freelancer threw a pencil at him. He jolted out of the sleep and looked at Freelancer with shocked and frightened eyes. He then vomited all over the floor like he had an extremely bad stomach virus.
"What's going on?" James mouthed as he looked at Freelancer

"I don't know" Freelancer mouthed back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later they would be told that their squad got lost in a sandstorm two weeks earlier and were captured by Taliban forces. The doctors found multiple chemicals in their blood stream that suggest that the Taliban had been drugging them which would account for the memory loss. Freelancer would discover the truth later...discover what the Government he now works for did to them all...about what they put inside them....

She'd intended to go to the restroom but detoured when she got near the truck and saw Marcus was fast asleep. To the far side was Lilith, who was engrossed by that pretentious girl with the crowbar; she was giving Lilith something. The two didn't seem to notice her at all. Darcy opened the passenger side and rested the side of her head against the door, watching Marcus sleep.

What she was asking of him wasn't fair. He had his own things to deal with. How had she ended up here anyway? She'd just gone to the HGPD to get some help and now she was in some sort of whirl wind. Looking down at her seat she saw her backpack, gun and leather jacket. Peering back over at Marcus made her heart bleed, she could clearly see all the worry and tension on his face even as he slept. She wondered if he'd ever have peace.

That's when she decided, not allowing herself to feel any emotions; she pulled on her cropped leather jacket followed by her backpack over one shoulder and grabbed her gun and walked towards the restroom at the back of the gas station.