Deadly Guilt

'Higher.... Faster.... Further.... Squeeze tighter... It's all just a dream...' She whispered to herself repeatedly in her mind, over and over. Her legs pumping back and forth as she kept her speed on the swing. She dared not open her eyes, even after getting slightly dizzy. A few tears slipped past her eyes, squeezed closed. She continued to try and shut out the truth. 'Zombies... Infected... Virus.... It's all my fault.'

She blamed herself for what her parents had become, one of the infected. She hated herself for not having the guts to end their suffering. She went out, against their warnings, pleading, begging. They saved her life, the life of their only daughter. But at what cost? Their own body, life, sanity. She ran from them, not looking back as the screamed and chased her. Forgotten was the gun at her side, loaded and ready. Forgotten was the promise they made. Forgotten was they were no longer her parents. She managed to get away for the mean time, and found herself at a park. She collapsed into the swing and began to move without thinking.

'What have I done? Why?' her swinging slowed down a bit as tears poured from her eyes, like a waterfall, endless. "I didn't mean too... I shouldn't have... I'm so sorry." she whispered. Her face buried into her hands as she sobbed softly.

Her eyes picked up a sound... someone or something was near. Not bothering to look up, she whipped out her 40 Glock and pointed it towards the sound. "What?" she asked barely audible. Her Free hand wiped the tears that still lingered on her cheeks.

He sat slouched forward lazily, chin resting on a fist. He was trying to rest as well as he could in the obviousely dangerouse times. His titanium, bat shaped weapon was strapped tidy to his back and his knives were tucked inside the outer lap of his boots. He wore no shirt, but a tan, leather, full length trenchcoat was draped half buttonned acrost his shoulders.

The wind rustled his light brown hair, bringing him the sounds of her sobbing and alerting him to her presence. He made no visible moves, only his eyes darted towards the direction of the noise. What he saw interested him however, a girl with a gun pointed as if she was taking sight. He, however, was not one to trust easily. The infected had more then once tricked him, and he had made it this far more by luck then actual skill.

His hand slowly wandered to his boot and grasped a kershaw handel. Then he thought better of it knowing that anyone with any skill would have him shot long before his knife hit them. He began to move to the other side of the tree, slowly, trying to keep his buckskin pants from stirring the leaves on the ground next to him.

His hand rested on a stick, and before he could correct himself he had leaned his weight onto it. The stick cracked loudly, Cleaver held his breath.

Knowing all full well, that fast moving zeds would've pounced upon her in her weakened state, she didn't relaxing, still knowing it could be the undead. "Who's there? If you're human answer now, or I'll be forced to shoot....." Her voice cracked a bit as she tried to calm herself. 'You're a useless shot when you're tense...... Focus... breath.... relax....'

Hearing the twig crack, she tensed once more and gripped her gun tighter. "State who you are...." Her breath quickened as she tried to relax herself. She braced herself and got ready to run. 'They couldn't have found me so quickly....' Her eyes scanned the scene, taking in what could possibly give away what was hiding in the bushes. If it was a zed, wouldn't it have attacked by now, or was it toying with her?

A strand of hair fell into her eye as she bit her bottom lip. Taking a small step forward, she used a hand to quickly brush it out of her eyes. "Stupid hair..." She mumbled softly. She slowly reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small blade. Aiming a bit, she threw it into the bushes. "Warning one... Next time i shoot, and i aim to kill...."

Cleaver grinned widely, realizing that she had no clue where he was. Being a michivouse person since birth he picked up the stick he had crushed and skipped it acrost the leaves in the direction she was aiming. "Lets see what she's got" he thought to himself. He slipped behind the tree to watch her actions, just a tuft of his hair in view as we watched the stick skid acrost the ground.

His hand slid down to his boot again and he removed two blades from the sheathes inside his boot. He held one in his left hand lightly while clenching the handle of the other between his teeth. With his right hand he gripped a branch on the tree and began pulling himself silently up it.

He could see her clearly now, her posture and worry. Instantly he was sorry he had thrown the stick. A person in that state of mind was not one to be tormented. Even so, Cleaver had not found it easy to trust a stranger, his loyalty was to the death to ones he called freinds, but a perfect stranger was not his worry, except that they didnt see him. Silently he removed an unrolled cigarette from his pocket and wrote "Don't shoot me" on it. Slipping his blade through it silently he threw it, it's blade sinking deeply into the rubbery matirial of the swing next to her.....

Yuri had stopped at the doors that led to the playground. Looking out she spoke softly to herself. "Maybe there is kids out there. If I was still a kid I'd think go some where I feel safe." Her hand reached down and she pushed the door open. The air was fresher here. A soft wind blew her hair. See took a step out into the world. Her hand went to grab one of the 40cals but she decided against it. There was enough light out to see so she thought a light would only draw attention. Her hand felt the stock of the SKS she had picked up. "Well there's not many shells left but I guess it's better." She pulled it around front and held it ready.

She walked silently around. Green eyes looking from here to there, scanning for any signs of life. The minutes passed and she walked slowly. This was a new area for the zed to hide. She didn't want to run up on one in the dark. She'd rather know they are there before they knew she was there. Yuri froze. Her ears picking up a voice off to the left. Something about shooting to kill. Yuri listened and decided to check it out. She approached slowly and seemed like she was a SEAL or something. Something she picked up from her video games. Yuri ducked behind a large tree and looked out.

She saw them both. The guy off to the side and the girl by the swings. She saw the stick fly and thought. 'What the fuck? Why is he doing that?' She turned looking to see what the girl would do. But a flash of movement drew her attention back to behind the guy who threw the stick. She had to think fast. She drew up the SKS and tensed up. Taking aim like her father taught her in the years of hunting. Lead your target. Lead it, lead it, lead it, inhale, lead it, squeeze. The slight pressure from her finger made just the slightest noise before the quiet air was broken. Fop,fop,fop,fop,fop,fop,fop,click,click,click. The sound rose and the bullets flew. The shells flew out and slammed into the speeder rushing in from behind the man. It fell forward from the bullets hitting it all over. Hitting the ground it slid forward, face in the dirt, to about five foot from the guy.

Yuri dropped the SKS to the ground and pulled one of her 40cals. The red laser pointer clicked on in mid-pull. The red dot pointed strait to the head of the guy. Yuri felt like a hero,saving another woman from this cruel man. She called out mockingly. "Now I think that is why you should pay attention to what's around you instead of toying with a poor girl." She didn't know what to do about the girl so her other hand went to her other 40cal, pulling it quickly. The red dot clicked on and landed on the girls chest, shaking the whole time. "Now are both of you not human?"

Cleaver grinned, watching the red dot ride up his chest to what he could only assume was his forehead. Dropping to the ground he grasped the fast mover by the neck and lifted it with one hand before studying it's eyes carefully. Dropping it as if disatisfied he turned back to the trigger happy chick.

"Eh, can't a guy ave a lil fun?" He grinned widely then motioned towards the other girl. "Never take chances with a nervouse person holding a gun. The stick was to see how trigger happy she was."


He studied the new girl carefully, She had a fresh unafraid look about her that even he had to admire. "You come outside much?" he querried, half in mocking jest. He wasn't about to act like a trapped little boy even with her guns aimed at him. Walking up to her he leaned in as if to press his forehead against the barrel. "We all die someday, might as well die to something beutifull as to one of these vile brutes." he said, gesturing towwards the dead speeder.

His eyes never faltered and his smile was steady, he stood there waiting for her response. He honestly preferred not getting drilled through the skull, but fear was a comodity that could not be afforded in the life he led. Nodding at her he said, "By the way, name's Cleaver. How did you see me? I usually am able to get by without being spotted."

Yuri frowned at the guy as he spoke. She called back out with a slight attitude. "I'm sure if you would have called out to her she never would have pulled the trigger. You're just an ass hole. If it was me I would have done shot you. You knew from the time she spoke that she was not one of those fucking things so you could have been a man and showed yourself rather then play games." She squeezed the trigger safety on the glock. Just a bit more and the shell would come flying right into his brain. "Who cares how much I come outside. I am here now and that is what's important."

Her frown deepened as he began walking forward. Instantly her other hand swung forward and he now had two red dots pointed on him. One on his face and one on his groin. She smiled thinking it would be funny to shoot a man where it hurts, especially one who acted like a dick. She back up a few feet and held the gun strait out towards him. Moving away as he closed in and leaned in she walked backwards toward the other girl. Her eyes never leaving the one she considered a threat. Where was Riley when she needed him? Her mind raced. She wondered if she should just pull the trigger and be done with the whole business, but murder was still murder even if it was to an asshole.

Yuri didn't bite her tounge when he spoke. "It doesn't matter who you are. I don't like you and that is all you need to know. Just like you don't need to know my name or how I saw you. You aren't that slick. I should have let that speeder just eat you and helped her." She motioned to the girl behind her with a movement of her head. Backing up next to the girl she spoke to her. "You ok? Sorry to bust in on you like this but I couldn't let him toy with you anymore." Yuri smiled a bit to her with out actually looking at her.

Cleaver scowled, "Persnikedy bitch" he thought to himself. He stepped out of the lasers quickly then back in front before beginning to back away. "Coulda just told me you like the ladies" he joked, before diving into the brush and circling silently around the park.

He had never yet fought an actual human, and wasnt about to start by hurting a woman. He lit a cigarette, knowing full well it would give away his position.

A movement in a tree above the women snapped him from his nicotine repreive. It was a sprinter, and was crouched for the pounch. Jumpin from the brush Cleaver yelled at the trigger happy chick while drawing a knife at the same time. A split second later he had let the blade fly, but the distance threw his aim off, and the knife stuck the creature in the belly, merely slowing it. The creature dropped a couple branches before the handle caught a branch, Cleaver reached for anoher blade...

Yuri watched as he spoke, the scowl growing deeper. She didn't like this guy. He gave her a bad vibe. Something about him just alarmed off in her head. "Look mister. I just think you......" she paused as he dove off. "......go." Yuri scanned the area with her eyes. Looking for any signs of danger. Her ears listened intently for any signs of life. She relaxed just a little bit. Her finger released the safety on the G27.

She heard a strange noise back toward the tower. Her gazed shifted quickly. "Riley you did it!" A big smile grew on her face. Like a child seeing all their christmas presents. Her mind raced back to what he was off to do. She knew he could do it. Her eyes and head moved around. The smile never leaving. Turning quickly she took off in a full sprint back towards the towers.

-Exit area-

Moving towards the sound of voices, she watched the girl turn and walk away. She tilted her head slightly she licked her lips. "Who are you" She asked, looking at the man behind the tree, smoking. A frown played on her lips as she furrowed her eyes brows.

Her hand gripped her gun tightly as she stood her ground, staring at him. "Why the hell are you sitting here?" She growled as she moved her hand up and brushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes shifted around, scaning the area once more. "You threw the stick and have been hidding in the bushes, freaking me out the first time... Haven't you?"























((Ugh >_> sorry about not posting -_- i've had net issues and crap -__- been a long week...... ))

"Well, you looked ready for blood." Cleaver explained. "And I wasn't prepared to have it be mine." he jested, pulling his blade from the dead sprinter. He whiped the blade off on his leather chaps before resheathing it.


"Whoever she was is in a horrible mood, or that's her interpretation of freindly." He laughed again, offering the girl his hand. "Name's Cleaver," he introduced himself politely. "Forgive the mess I'm in, it's been a rough day." His eyes wandered over the distraught girl. "So... been a rough day for you too it apears." he commented.

Taking some jerky and a canteen from his pack he offered her some food and water. "Aint the best there is but it's what I got." he apologized for the meals crudeness. "So what's your story?"

Elvena licked her lips as she looked at him. Reaching out slowly, she took his hand. "She seemed like she knew what she was doing. And I'm Elvena." She replied softly. She stepped closer to him. Dropping herself to the ground next to him, she gave a weak smile and took the jerky and canteen offered to her.

Shrugging slightly, she looked down at the ground as she bit a small piece off of the jerky. "My parents. They were infected after being bitten, trying to save me. My stupidity got me attacked when i left our small hidding place. They heard me scream and came to save me. They changed and tried to attack me. I didn't... I don't have the heart to shoot them...." She bit her bottom lip, trying not to cry once more. She took a small breath to calm herself.

Lifting her head up to look him in the face she gave a faint smile. "Cleaver, right? So what's your story?" she asked curiously taking a small sip from the water.

"Nice to meet you miss." Cleaver responded politely.

"Not much to my story" Cleaver sighed. "All I can figure is I fell and blacked out, cause one day I woke up and all this was gone bad." As he spoke he made a wide gesture with his hands as if indicating the world.

"I headed east from the farm and found myself here in Sagaku." He finished, flopping to the ground next to her and keeping an eye on the treeline. A racoon came out of the wood and Cleaver greetedit warmly throwing it a dried gnarly apply rind. "Ello Ike!" he petted the coon. Looking towards Elvena he grinned, "Eh, found him when he was just a wee thing, trust me, finding milk for 'im was more then a chore." After givin the coon a final pat he continued.

"Yeah, I aint sure what family I got left if any, looking for em to be honest." He bowed his head. "I meen, I'm here right? So there's gottah be at least one person alive who will recognize me eventually. I aint changed much since the farm." He grinned at her before taking a peice of the jerky himself and gnawing off a peice...

"Nice to meet you too." She sat listening to his story, she heaved a small sigh and shook her head. Sitting haunched over, her hand gripping the jerky, she set the canteen on the ground. Her eyes fixated on the ground infront of her. "This is a shit full of mess we've gotten ourselves in. And with little or no way to end it. I just want my parents back, they were and are the only thing i had left in life."

She licked her lips and ate more of the jerky. "Where'd you get this anyways?" She indicated towards the jerky by twisting her hand side to side. She looked up as the racoon came upon them. Raising her eyebrow questioningly, she watched him feed and pet the racoon. "Are you sure he's not rabbied or something? I mean he... her.... it is a wild animal after all."

"Where do you plan on going from here? I know there are other inhabitants to the city." She indicated half heartedly in the direction of the girl who had just been here. She yawned slightly and stretched.

"You're parents are out there?" Cleaver querried. His brow furrowed as he contemplated. "Well, if they survived the infestation they could be in Sagaku tower. There are a lot of people there." He paused, holding a peice of the jerky up. "This? I make it every time i come acrost an uninfected cow or deer."

Taking a drink from the canteen he shifted his feet into a more comfortable position before stretching and resting his back against the swingset. "Back to your folks though, where did you last see them?"

She nodded slowly. "Doesn't it take a long time to make though?" She raised an eye brow slightly, watching him shift and move to a more comfortable spot. Bending her leg at the knee, she rested her cheek on it. Her ears listening for the slightest sound of disturbance besides them.

"My parents....." She shook her head and bit her lip. "won't be at the tower.... ever." She gave a small shrug and blinked back the tears. Her hand absent mindedly drawing small shapes on the ground next to her. She raised her other hand and rubbed her eyes.

Licking her lips, she raised her hand from the ground and slowly massaged her temples. Shaking her head, she gave a small shrug. "So it doesn't matter. The last time i'll ever see them will be to put a bullet in their head, or to give them the cure. If there's a cure...."

"Ah, so their like, yeah." Cleaver paused. "Sorry to hear that." His mind wandered around back to the last time he had seen his family. He saw people without faces, and laughter in vouices he did not recognize.

"Well, life is rough now, but not rough enough to stop us that still have hopes and dreams for the future I guess." He bowed his head and began petting the small racoon gently. "Ike here and I are each others family." His eyes wandered back to the girls face then to her guns before resting on the coon again...

She smiled at Ike being petted and nodded slightly. "It's better to have someone or something then nothing right?" She watched his eyes, move from her face to her guns to the raccoon. "What?" she asked softly.

Her hand slightly flexed as she shifted. Laying her gun next to her, she tilted her head back towards the sky. Groaning softly, she ran a hand over her face and through her hair. "Whatever compelled you to come to Sagaku?" She licked her lips before grazing her bottom lip with her teeth. "I mean out of all the places you could have gone and stuff.... Why here?"

Shifting once more, she moved to lay on her stomach. Stretching out, she rested her cheek on her arms and looked at him. Blinking sleepily from all the crying she had done earlier, she rubbed her eyes.

He grinned slightly emberassed to her querry as to what he was looking at, then mumbled. "Just some people don't look like the violent type, that's all." He answered her next question.

"Well, I dunno for sure, I could survive fine in the wood, but I like some of the foods I find in the grocery store, like this for instance." He pulled a can of peaches from his satchel. "Fruit trees don't grow well in the wood near here, and as of yet travel is impractical as well as improbable in the tough times we are in now." He paused. "Gah, hate tryin to sound smart. I just don't think it's safe to travel alone. I really wanna ravel north to where the cold discourages the zeds." He smiled at her breifly before pulling the racoon up into his lap.

The sun began to set slowly, dusk began to fall on the city of Sagaku.

She laughed softly and gave a half hearted shrug. "Times have changed. To survive, violence is a form of must." She blushed lightly and averted her eyes away.

"I hate the city....." she shrugged slightly. "I've never liked it. They're dirty and smelly and overly crowded. Only thing useful is the stores, some of them." She nodded, listening to him talk about practicality in these times. "You seem like a smart individual anyways..." She smiled and lifted her head slightly. "They stay away from the cold?" she raised her eyebrow slightly before dropping her head back down.

Without much thought, she moved closer to him. A large yawn escaping her as she rubbed her eye again, watching the sun go down. Sitting up she looked over at him. "Isn't it unsafe to be here at night?!" Her eyes grew slightly wider.

Cleaver nodded in agreement as she talked about how the cities were. In the last week he had run into at least seven people. Uninfected people that is.

"Eh, yeah, well their dead, so it's my theory that their bodies no longer generate heat, making em coldblooded like a snake or lizzard. And snakes and lizzards slow way down in the cold." He grinned slightly emberassed, "Well, it's my theory anyways."

He looked towards the flaming sunset. "No more dangerouse then the daytime, except the visibility is gone. Cover is always my first choice." He stretched slightly from his seat then asked. "You been to the tower yet? There's plenty of empty rooms there, I'm sure you could find one."

She relaxed slightly, trusting that he knew what he was talking about. Darkness would give them some cover. Could the zeds see in the dark though? She licked her lips and smiled at his theory. "Well it would be most logical would it not be? But can they feel the cold and hot heat?" She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do they even know the difference? And if they are as you say... dead. Doesn't that mean there's no cure for them? You can't cure the dead." She said as her voice slowly got softer, ending in a whisper.

She dropped her head onto her chest and heaved a small sigh. "No... I haven't been to the tower. I didn't know there was one." She gave him a small smile. "Mind taking me? I don't know where it is, and I don't think I'm ready to be alone at the moment...." She said, blushing lightly.

Cleaver grinned, "Ok, follow me. It aint far!" As they walked Cleaver took a carefull look on either side of the road, making sure they remained alone.

As they aproached the tower Cleaver held the door open for her, "The residence rooms are about 40 floors up." He apologized. "But it's a good bit of excercise." He then startred climbing the long narrow stairwell.

"So, uh, you were hoping for a cure?" He glaced at poisen as they walked. "As far as I know there aint know cure cept what a gun can administer. Just to be terribly honest withy you." He trudged in silence after that, awaiting a response."

She fallowed him as they walked, her eyes scanning the area around him as his did too. She kept a tight hand on her gun, ready in case of an attack. Her body in step with his as the worked their way from the park and through the city, to the residential tower.

Her eyes scanned the building as the approached it, taking in it's great height. "Awww.... That's a long walk...." She groaned softly as she began to fallow him up the long stairwell. Her head turning back to look behind her ever so often.

"Well... there must be a cure... Shouldn't there? I mean it's an infection after all. All infections have a cure, we just haven't found it yet. But I mean I'm sure that after a certain stage in the infection, there's no help. You will... ultimately... die." She whispered the last part softly, her knuckles white from her grip on the gun. She nodded slightly and smiled some at him. "Brutal honesty is the best kind there is though." She gave him a sad smile as she ran a hand through her hair. Placing her gun into the holster at her side, she quickly placed her hair into a high pony tail as she continued to fallow him. "How might one get a room around here?







x__x... we need to move this to the tower o-o;;; *nods* )))