Streets of Nachton - Infected Area

‘Waiting on you.’

‘Don’t.’

‘Waiting on you.’

‘I always hated when you did that.’

‘Still waiting on you.’

Simon Huntington and Ellis Duban stood precariously on the edge of Nachton’s industrial district and watched the flurry of large men move crates of something heavy from the warehouse one hundred yards away from them to a waiting moving truck. The gun runners in Nachton were easy to find, at least the human ones were, it was the infiltration of werewolves that made this otherwise quiet outing unbearably difficult.

‘Still waiting.’

Simon rolled his eyes and looked over at his ex lover and recalled that he had killed her once and almost let her die again. Stupid choices and poorly executed ones put him here now, listening to her odd sense of tainted humor as they watched the humans load the guns into the truck.

‘We’re here to watch.’

Ellis sniffed with disdain.

‘It’s called reconn.’

With a dramatic sigh, Ellis pulled out a cigarette and lit it, not caring that she was undoubtedly giving away their presence. ‘I don’t recall ever teaching you this pussified way of doing reconn.’

Simon turned away and rolled his eyes again, no her way was just going down and killing them all but the driver, who undoubtedly knew where he was going, if he didn’t know what for or for who – the rest they always winged. Her way was painful, reckless and … well her way.

‘My way. I said we’d do this my way.’ Simon said with a firm voice as he knelt down to peer over the side of the building roof top.

Ellis recognized the tone and immediately wanted to shoot his fucking brains out of his head. Flicking her cigarette off the side of the building, which landed next to one of the large men who was keeping a look out, Ellis held her hands up and signaled surrender.

‘Fine, your way.’

Ellis would have gladly continued with her scathing advice for Simon if it had not been for a series of car accidents in the surrounding area. Both vampires jumped at the consecutive car crashes all around them, evening garnering the attention of the humans below.

Slowly Simon stood. 'What the hell was that?' Looking over at Ellis he saw that she had already crossed the roof top behind them and was looking down at an accident. 'Ellis?'

'What the...' Ellis' eyes widened and she began to wave Simon over, her hand finally realizing that anything less than a frantic wave would not be appropriate. 'Simon. Simon come over here. Simon...SimonSimonSimonSimonSimon.'

In a blink he was beside her on her right, looking over the edge. That could not be right, he thought to himself as the sound of soft whispered wailing filtered up into the night air to them.

'That is SO not my fault,' Ellis said quietly.

Our apologies, you are in grave danger, no pun intended. The streets of Nachton are NOT safe and are filling up with infected zombies with only one thing on their mind - to feed. There are a random mix of species that are infiltrating the streets and alley ways - human, werewolf and vampire. Please travel at your own peril.

Gosh. Good luck. (wink)

Shaking his head, and grinning like an idiot, Nic was sated from feeding, and sort of wandering a bit aimlessly.

The night air was crisp, signaling the change in seasons, a faint glimpse of cold weather to come hung on the air along with vehicle exhaust. The industrial area wasn't some place Nic frequented often, but he'd followed his prey toward that area, without second thought. Once he'd finished what he'd come out for, he just started walking, with no destination in mind. Thus he found himself headed towards the bowels of the concrete and steel mini-city within Nachton.

The prospect of what he might find if he continued his path turned his feet in the opposite direction. Even if he continued to just walk along unfocused, he didn't see any reason for not heading toward someplace more interesting.

"Holy shit! What the hell...?"

Before he had gone a half block, a god-awful noise pierced the semi-still night, and Nic did a complete about face. The sounds of metal smashing into metal was all he could associate with the offensive intrusion into his silence, but even in that particular area of town it sounded a bit out of place. Unusual.

With nothing better to do, and plenty of time before he had to begin worrying about returning home, Nic shrugged, and began a trek toward the still disruptive noises. Curiosity wasn't a general fault of his, but tonight he saw it as a possible enhancement to his evening, and not anything that would over tax his well fed lethargy.

What he really hoped for, in the back of his mind, was that whatever had happened, there wouldn't be a lot of human injury. He really didn't want to face the aspect of trying to help anyone, especially if they were covered in blood. In fact, just thinking about more blood, on top of his full stomach, slowed his paces a bit. Instead he hoped he would just come upon some industrial accident involving a large crane maybe...or some other type of heavy equipment, where twisted metal would be splayed about...bodiless. That could be interesting.

Aishe poked her head out from the alleyway, her latest 'victim' swooning against the wall. Her eyes widened and she took in the spectacle around her. People were milling about the streets... and sure, Nachton was a lively place at night and this being Halloween and all, she expected a little carousing. But what she was watching was... well, unusual. Very unusual.

It was as if a Star Trek convention had hit town, only instead of Trekkies, the streets were full of live-action roleplaying Zombies trying to chew on each other. Not that she believed it for a second... probably some well-meaning trick-or-treaters had played a part and the spirit of the night had caught on.

A motion behind her pulled her away from the spectacle on the streets, and Aishe turned to see her victim being molested.

"Hey, leave him alone!" She hadn't bitten him just to have him mugged afterward. She wasn't THAT kind of vampire. He lived right around the corner; she was going to escort him home and hopefully he'd wake up thinking he'd had a great night. Or whatever...

A well-placed knee here, an elbow there, convinced the muggers they were best off harrassing some other poor stranger, and Aishe reached out to catch her last meal before he collapsed. Winding one arm around him she guided him onto the road and toward his building, looking down when she felt an insistent pinching on her bicep.

"What the..."

Peering closer, not overly concerned about her flesh (though it was nice to have a thick sweater on), she frowned and pushed the man's face away. He clung on doggedly.

"Are you trying to bite me?"

A woolly grin confirmed her guess. Aishe hopped back a step and shook her arm, trying not to knock too many of the man's teeth out. "Off. No. Down. Bad."

None of her commands seemed to work. Muttering to herself she dragged him to his apartment, shoved him inside, and closed the door.

Standing on the doorstep, she turned once again to see the commotion on the streets. Zombie roleplayers?

Suddenly she was snatched from behind, yanked into the now open doorway, and roughed up a bit as her erstwhile dinner stubbornly persisted in chewing on her arm.

"I said cut it out! Go home!"

Finally disengaging and shutting the door on him once more, Aishe ran down the steps and out into the street, where, she realized, several pairs of very hungry eyes were turning toward her. Where the hell was the hidden camera? Kem or Pak would pop out with one any second now, right?

Right?

Ellis was completely enthralled. Both she and Simon stood on the edge of the roof top looking down at the multiple car pile up that had happened during their reconnaissance of the human black market and they were so rudely interrupted by what appeared to be...

'Am I seeing...'

Simon nodded.

'SO *I am* seeing...'

Simon nodded again.

'Ok, we need to go.' Ellis pulled on Simon's arm but he had become completely entranced by the blood scene below as well. She knew it wasn't so much the blood that was captivating, it was the sheer speed of which the zombies were traveling. They weren't the lumbering, easy to dodge - tie your shoe while running away, moaning zombies from movies like Night of the Living Dead. These were 28 days later, blood lust filled, speed demon zombies who ripped bodies to shreds, tore with their teeth and then moved onto the next screaming being.

They were fucking fast and fucking coming to get you, Barbara.

Another set of screams went off like fire crackers behind them, causing them both to whip their heads around to where they were standing just a minute ago. Racing back over both she and Simon looked over and again was greeted with blood, flesh and zed filled massacre. All the gun runners were dead or dying - preferably dead. This time it was Simon who pulled at Ellis. 'Oh shit,' she yelped and pointed.

With nothing alive to kill, the zombies had all turned their attention up towards the roof top. Ellis didn't even want to speculate on how they knew they were there - probably some insane blood smelling...zombie feature, who the fuck knew but what she did know was that the zombies began to run towards the fire escape and in high shrieks, began to climb up.

It was, quite literally, something out of Amberelle's nightmares. Stories whispered down in New Orleans to scare children, tales of the undead called forth by powerful Voodoo priests to extract revenge on their enemies. Tales long forgotten with childhood that come crashing back to mind when the reality of your darkest dreams is staring you in the face.

The Anantya had stared in slack jawed disbelief when she rounded the corner on her way to the docks to try and lure "dinner" and saw a woman and her children struggling against several bloodied figures. When the woman's blood curdling scream had pierced the night as one of the figures literally ripped a bite from her arm the Creole knew this wasn't a pack of vampires or any other kind of monster. This was only one thing. Zombies. Real, breathing, wild eyed and very hungry looking zombies. It wasn't hard to swallow, there was little doubt of the supernatural in the mind of someone raised by vampires, and certainly not growing up in a city like New Orleans with its roots deep in the folk magic. You just knew that monsters existed.

It had been a long time since the blonde had known true, honest to God, grab you by the guts fear. But as she ran through the darkened alleyways towards her car she was fully in its grip. No guilt entered her mind for leaving the poor woman behind, and only a slight bit for the two children. She knew by the time she could have extracted them from the mob they would have been bitten, and anyone who has seen a zombie movie knows what that means. The rational part of her brain kept saying not to look back every time she felt herself glancing over her shoulder but she felt almost compelled. So far nothing was on her trail but her luck couldn't hold out forever. Stumbling as one of the heels of her high heeled shoes snagged and snapped she didn't even curse at ruining her favorite, and quite expensive, pair. They were simply kicked away without a thought. Sounds carried on the wind of screams and the crunch of metal on metal and glass shattering. It only added to the surreal feel.

When she reached the dark blue Aston Martin and popped open the trunk with her key fob, it was barely rising up before she was ripping back the lining that covered the hidden compartment within without a care to the vehicle. Cases were flung open rapidly and in under two minutes she had changed into the spare set of 'work' clothes she kept in there. A dark blue leather bodysuit with reinforced armor pads and kevlar lining and steel toed combat boots topped off with a matching leather duster. Buckling on her nylon belt she thrust both of her guns into their holsters and shoved every spare clip and bullet she could quickly grab into her pockets. Her katana and wakizashi clicked in, spare knives slid into her boots and wrist sheaths. Closing the trunk quietly, she blew her car a soft kiss. No way would she try to drive through this madness back to the manor.

Looking upwards, her golden eyes glinted brightly in the dim light as they assumed their feline shape. She needed to gather information, see what was going on, see if somewhere was clear. That meant heading up to the rooftops. Her agility came in handy as she lept up onto a fire escape ladder and quickly climbed up until she reached the roof.

As the blonde climbed into the gravel roof and looked over towards the opposite side her eyes grew wide, watching two figures running at her. If the zombies had scared her, then that figure running at her terrified her. Her mouth opened but no sound came out at first, and she just stood there.

Fuck.

Oh good god! Nic couldn't believe his eyes, but yes, as he rounded a corner, and saw a glimpse of the carnage that explained the noises, he also saw Kem's girlfriend in the middle of things! What made matters worse was that he saw nothing of his white haired pal, anywhere near the young Egyptian woman.

Picking up his pace, Nic flew down the street, and caught up to Aishe in a matter of minutes. Though he didn't know her well at all, having only met her briefly, the fact that Kem loved her was all Nic really needed to know.

Of course Nic would have tried to assist anyone in a similar situation. Whatever was going on was bad. Even if his brain hadn't grasped what that was exactly...he hadn't lived as long as he had without some natural instincts on certain situations.

"Aishe...that's right, isn't it? Are you okay? What the fuck is going on around here? I heard a crap load of noise and was coming to investigate..."

His explanation was cut short when some deranged creature lunged in his direction, and Nic did the only thing he could think to do...he kicked out, and effectively deflected the thing against the brick siding of the nearby building. He could see there was only a matter of minutes before the ... woman...regained her wits...or whatever it was that had her going, and returned.

"Don't guess we really have time to chat...you have a car nearby, or should we just start running?"

Simon blinked. One moment they were staring up at them, the next they were halfway up. Backing up he grabbed Ellis' arm and turned back to the other side of the roof top, only to be greeted by a dozen that had already made the trek up. Looking off to the west both vampires broke out into a run and began to leap across to the next building. He wasn't sure if the zeds would follow but he wasn't going to look back to find out.

'Go GO GO!'

Ellis did not wait for him, but then he didn't wait for her either. With each building the spacing seemed to increase until finally Simon was using all his strength just to clear them. Ellis' agility was making them no problem at all and he reflected on this fact when he lost his footing landing and slipped. He scraped his chest and chin on the side of the building before he caught hold, cursing loudly. Whispers and finally screaming roared out from underneath him. Looking down he saw more zeds busting into the buildings and the screams filtering out from open windows.

He started to pull himself up when Ellis grabbed him and lifted him back onto the roof top. Even through the running she gave him a smile.

'Yes, I know, I know. I owe you.'

His perception was now going wild, the smell of the infected flesh was penetrating his nostrils and it was repugnant. Ellis again grabbed his arm and pointed. There was another figure on the roof top across from them but alone. It saw them and he narrowed his eyes.

'That's uh...god what's her name.' Ellis snapped her fingers trying to recall.

'Anantya,' Simon replied.

'Yeah, Amberelle. The french chick. Let's go.'

Again they raced off in the direction of the rival clan member but right that second Ellis really didn't care. It was another vampire and three standing together was better than two. Leaping across to the Anantya's roof top Ellis' perception again picked up more of the infected blood in the building below them.

'Do you smell that?'

Simon nodded.

'Jesus fucking Christ - the smell is rank.' Running up to Amberelle they paused only to grab her arm and rush her along.

'Hi. RUN!'

(ooc permission to touch amby))

Amberelle was in a mild state of shock, her brain just not registering completely as the throng of snarling and hungry looking, blood and gore covered undead burst forth in front of her. It was a nightmare, a simple dream gone awry the blonde told herself. There was no way she was running, no more like being dragged along over a rooftop by an ancient vampiress and the leader of Tacharan as they fled from a mob of flesh eating zombies. Soon she would wake up and find herself in her warm and soft bed, snuggled deep in the covers next to her beloved.

Instinctively she moved along next to Ellis as the three rapidly approached the roof's ledge and they leapt almost in unison for the far building. On the ground below snarls and howls could be heard as the undead on the streets looked up and saw the flesh they craved. A few seconds before the trio landed, the roof's access hatch burst open and a man, screaming hysterically with a large chunk of flesh missing from his bloody cheek, ran out. His wild gaze turned towards them and he screamed incoherantly, words tripping over themselves. Several of the snarling creatures emerged where he had just been and cried out in triumph that their prey was now cornered. Spying the addition of more sweet smelling, succulent flesh sent them nearly into a frenzy.

Too many years of training and a survival instinct honed for years kicked in and as the young vampire landed she let her momentum carry her and tumbled forwards. Her hands planted on the concrete and she shoved herself off into a leap at the terrified man. He might have been alive for the moment but she had already tagged him as a threat. Might be now or it may be in five minutes, but he was already dead. Her coat fluttered behind her as she drew her katana and a gun in one smooth motion. Landing a few feet in front of him she winced as he reached out blindly, probably to throw her at them and buy himself time. The silver glint of her blade flashed and his head rolled towards the Tacharans as his body fell down beside the Creole. Turning a cold eye at the seven bodies rushing at them she began to fire, 9mm bullets hitting them neatly between the eyes.

Aishe was contemplating whether or not vampirism had altered her fight or flight mechanism when someone else appeared right beside her. Reflex almost won, and she would have sent a roundhouse kick to the man's head had she not recognized Nic, another Evenhet, Kem's friend. A moment's glance showed her he was definitely not trying to eat her brains, and she gave him a quick nod to confirm her identity.

"Uh, it's either some kinda of roleplay gone VERY bad or we're being hunted by zombies. You pick."

As Nic launched a flesh-craving zombie into a wall on one side of them, she did indulge in instinct after all, a good solid punch sending another one flying.

"No car. Kem's got it, and he's not that close by." He was on his way home from one of the universities just an hour or so away, where he'd been doing some appraising for their archaeology department. "He'll be here in an hour or so, he says. I gather the interstate is a mess."

She meant that literally. Her brief and muddled sending to Kem a few minutes ago and been met with equal confusion as her bewildered boyfriend tried not to run anyone over while attempting to acheive warp speed in a BMW.

"I'm thinking 'run' for now," she said, aiming another punch, "but I can't tell you how nice it is to know you're not trying to eat me."

Of all the conversation to make... she couldn't help but chuckle at the irony as she was reminded, of all things, of a line in a Wierd Al song... "I hope I'm not being forward, but do you mind if I chew on your butt?"

Simon pulled out his glock and Ellis her .38's and began shooting down the incoming zeds. Without a real plan, they just started aiming for the head and hoped to God that the movies were right. The building roof top surged with more and more zeds, streaming out of the roof top access door when their numbers began out numbering their ammunition. Their only hope now was to get off the roof top and get towards somewhere uninfected.

'WE NEED TO LEAVE!'

Ellis looked back at him, currently in the middle of snapping a zed's neck and throwing it back at its friend. With a nod she yelled out to the Anantya and signaled behind her.

Simon kicked another zed away as the three were pushed back towards the edge of the building. The fire escape was clear now but who knew for how much longer. He yelled to the two women to climb down and he wondered briefly how close they were to a gun shop.

Aishe's actions weren't lost on Nic, even when his focus was on the zombies. Kem had himself quite a capable woman there, and Nic was a little relieved to know she wasn't going to need to be carried off to safety.

In fact, if he wasn't sure word of it would leak out, he could have easily relinquished all responsibility of getting them to safety to the woman's capable hands. He never did like playing hero, and only did when he had no other alternative.

"I swear I never thought these things existed. Pretty arrogant opinion, I guess, but...man are these things butt ugly."

No car...neither one of them had one...what luck.

"Gotta tell you, I feel the same." How god-awful it would be to tell Kem that Nic had put his girlfriend down, rather than be changed into one of those things.

"Then we run, ready?"

Unable to do more than mince words, Nic started to grab Aishe's arm, but thought better of it. It was another instinct, yet he felt it to be unnecessary.

"Too bad we don't have an hour to kill....so to speak."

The next body Aishe took an aim at, was pushed toward Nic, but since he saw it coming he added to its momentum and partially helped fling it to the ground. A satisfying crack accompanied the fall, and Nic didn't think that one would be getting up again.

There was just no way to have much of a conversation with the increasing number of the monsters now seeming to focus on the two vampires in their midst. So when Nic saw a small parting of bodies, he shouted to Aishe, 'NOW', and took off through the void.

Once he had put a little distance between him and the clamoring crowd he turned to make sure Aishe was alongside, or at the very least following closely behind. This time it was gunshots that caused Nic's head to whip around and focus on the rooftops overhead.

"Somehow I don't think zombies are able to use tools...I could be wrong, but do you think we should see where those shots came from? Maybe whoever it is could use help...or better yet, maybe the could team up with us and broaden our chances?"

Because the enemy seemed almost overwhelming, Nic just knew it would be better to increase their forces. He hoped Aishe agreed, and he wouldn't have to try and force her...he wasn't sure he COULD force her.

Amby had heard the authority there in their voices and reacted accordingly. Besides what would have been the point of arguing, it was painfully obvious they were outnumbered and running out of ammo. The thought of an infected Ellis sent a wave of nausea churing through her gut. Turning and running for the fire escape they had indicated, the blonde sheathed her weapons and leapt off, grabbing onto the railings. Superhuman agility with natural athletic ability made for quite the spectacle if anyone had been alive to witness it as she twisted and spun, swinging down the levels at breakneck speed and dropping the last two stories onto the sidewalk below. 'Much faster than running down,' she thought smugly and drew her weapons again.

Crouched with blade and gun at the ready, she looked to see just what kind of shape the streets were in while she waited for the other vampires to join her.

Ellis was suddenly reminded of a particular phrase from a favorite movie. It actually made her smile as she jumped off the roof top.

Express elevator to Hell. GOING DOWN!

Free falling from the roof top, she landed feet first onto the ground, causing a crater four feet in diameter. Simon landed next to her, choosing to take the quick way down. They could hear the screaming coming from above them, a noise that was slowly starting to drive Ellis insane. Psychological warfare, she thought. These zombies were not stupid, not feral animals at all.

Together they began to move quickly down the alley ways, away from the screaming. 'It's like they move together, as one. I've never even heard of anything like this happening before - like its some sort of...chemical or bio weapon? Nothing I've managed to get my hands on and oh my god don't look at me like that, Simon.'

Simon blinked at her expressionless as they began to trot away from the docks and back towards downtown.

'We need to find out what happened - what the clans are doing.' Self preservation, for the moment, was extended to beyond just her little circle in the world. Ellis had a single minded purpose, her purpose, but this was much bigger than anything she had ever seen. 'God if it spreads.' She didn't need to finish her sentence to know if it did spread, a bullet to the brain was better than anything she had seen tonight.

Simon had not heard what Ellis was saying. In fact, he was concentrating as they ran down the alley away from the zeds. He had never tested his bond with Carol this far out and he wasn't sure if her being a human would affect the range having heard of vampires connecting from half a world away. Without being able to stop and full concentrate, he reached out and called to Carol.

The silence was deafening, as well as terrifying. He had hoped it was distance or maybe she had to be concentrating as well...just anything but his call not reaching due to no one being there to receive it. He then heard Ellis' final word and all his concentration was lost. Looking around he recognized where they were heading and he moved them further east, dodging the screaming when it popped up around them till finally they reached their destination.

Rounding the side of the building, he found the back exit door and pulled on the it, breaking its lock. He ushered the women in and closed it behind him. Moving through the darkness was easy and his perception told him nothing was waiting there so in the darkness he moved towards the front of the building and with his elbow, started to break open the cases. Looking up he read the stenciling on the front shop entrance glass.

Ellis smiled in the dark as she walked into the front end of the gun store. With a wistful sigh she pulled a modified 12 gauge shotgun off the wall.

'I'm so happy.'

Her senses straining, feline eyes saw perfectly well in the darkness. She followed along after the two Tacharans mutely. As Simon began to break the glass she pulled out her cell phone and tried dialing Alex, then her cousin. Naturally all circuits were busy. Amby rapidly typed a text message, hoping it got through. Next she sent one to her cousin, letting Cel know she was safe for the moment. Sighing she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

Reaching in she grabbed boxes of 9mms and began shoving then into her pockets. When the ancient spoke, she turned to look at her, not quite believing what she'd heard the woman say. Amber eyes watched Ellis cradling the gun and she just shook her head faintly. Somehow she'd gotten herself into a fine mess.

Aishe had to agree on the butt-ugly score, but any comment she might have made would have been wasted. Nic was off like a shot, and she was right beside him. He was fast, but she was agile. between them, they managed to bum rush their way over the few individuals who hadn't quite cleared them a convenient avenue of escape.

The clear sound of shots from above turned her attention upward, and she noted her companion was doing the same as they both sought out the source of the noise.

"I would have to agree with you there too... strength in numbers, united we stand, et cetera."

She was still trying to rid herself of the vision of Nic hurling a zombie to the ground, as well. A part of her had quailed at that; these were still people. Whatever was happening, they deserved to be fixed if there was a chance, didn't they?

She wasn't about to complain however. Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.

"Nic... do you think they could make us zombies too? We're vampires. If they bite us we'll just heal up, won't we?"

Aishe knew Kem considered Nic to be incredibly youthful, and it did color her perception of him a bit, but thankfully she had the presence of mind right now to remember that Kem's view of his fellow vampires and hers were coming from two opposite ends of the spectrum. Nic had lived several lifetimes for her, and although he didn't seem to know any better than she what was going on, it was natural for her to at least pick his brain a bit.

Of course, she had the good sense to pick his brain as they hightailed it toward the source of the gunshots. Aishe was a big fan of trial and error, but somehow this didn't quite fit her idea of acceptable test parameters. Even if she would heal right up, being a source of endless food to a zombie wasn't her idea of a hot night on the town.

He followed the shots for as long as they lasted, and then tried to figure out where to go to meet up with their hopeful allies. It was a great comfort to have Aishe along, even though they were virtually strangers. Nic had always respected Kem, for many reasons, but a top one being his incredible wisdom. If there was no other reason to trust Aishe, that would have been plenty. So not only was she physically able to be of value, she also had to be intelligent, if Kem found her worthy love material. All those things, plus just not being a zombie, gave him some needed relief in the perilous situation they found themselves in.

Running along the sidewalk, looking into storefront windows, Nic kept hoping to see a reassuring light, or some friendly movement. He refused to think he wasn't still in the general area of those who had the guns, though he had no way to know otherwise.

And then he heard voices...intelligible voices...that seemed to be saying understandable words. Aside from the apparent need to want to chew off a limb or two, another thing the zombies looked to have in common was their inability to converse. So when he heard the words in the distance, Nic felt even more hopeful.

"I wish to Christ I knew more about these...zombies, but I'm afraid they're just never anything I've run up against."

He laughed then, but it was more a laugh of chagrin, than humor. He felt bad that he couldn't give her the reassurance she seemed to need, but he couldn't lie to her. Yet he also felt he had somehow failed again. A man of his years should have a lot more knowledge than he obviously had. Knowing how to make a buck was not going to help them now...knowing how to drive fast cars and motorcycles was of little use...being able to change characters, and pretend to be someone else...nope...no help.

"So for now, its just not an option...okay? No getting bit!" And again he chuckled...who'd have thought a vampire would be cautioning another vampire about that?

The subtle sound of things breaking had caught his ear, and because zombies didn't seem to care how much noise they made, Nic had to trust these new noises were those they sought. Trying to be more quiet himself, Nic moved alongside Aishe, before he spoke, so he wouldn't need to shout.

"I think there are more like us ahead..." And it was then he saw the placard hanging off the roof, which read 'Westin Ammo' "Hopefully they're in that gun shop, but even if they aren't we should probably stop in there anyway...I know I'd feel better if I could get something else to use as protection."

Along with riding horses, ballroom dancing, and other various skills, Nic had learned to shoot for the westerns he'd made, as well as a couple of the war, and mystery movies. He had been taught to use a rifle, a shotgun, and small caliber pistols, but felt the most comfortable with shotguns. Knowing how to shoot didn't always coincide with accuracy, but a shotgun eliminated the need for a perfect aim.

Nervous as she was, Aishe spared a moment to sympathize with Nic. It didn't take empathic ability to discern the nerves and chagrin in his voice. "Don't worry," she said, trying to sound lighthearted. "Kem doesn't seem to have any idea what's going on either, and if he hasn't run across this in 1600 years, well... I think you're off the hook, too."

His caution against not being bitten made her laugh, perhaps a little harder than she should. She kept following Nic, pausing for just a moment to let fly a satisfying roundhouse. As she laughed, she explained, "But you see, that's exactly why I came to Nachton. To get bitten!"

They reached the entrance to a store and stopped to look at the sign. "It never rains, it pours," Aishe said, still chuckling over the abundance of biting opportunities. Giving Nic a pointy little grin she added, "I wonder how they'd like to be bitten back?"

The store was... oh, convenient. Ammunition and guns. That would explain the gunshots. "If they're not there now, they probably were not too long ago," she said. "You're right though. I'm all for extra firepower. I don't want to kill anyone if I can help it, but I'm not going to lie down either."

If not being bitten was the game for the day, she would play it and put her best effort into it... but what sort of Evenhet would she be if she wantonly slaughtered the helpless... even if they were trying to eat her?

Ellis was falling into habit and as they armed themselves she immediately opened up her perception, probably what Simon was doing as well, and searched the area. She knew Simon had the upper hand and quite possibly better range - where she excelled in fortitude, his ability to sense everything around him, to be able to never be surprised was Simon's upper hand. Lucky bastard. Between the two she knew Simon was more capable of surviving in the shadows since her coat of arms would be nothing against whatever is being transmitted in the infection. She had brute strength and agility at least.

Ellis watched Simon load the shot guns quickly in the dark, the clicking of the shotgun shells soothing in a way. Turning back towards the display wall, she began to pull down semi automatic weapons - nothing that compared to Tacharan's stash - but their armory was customized for minimal blood loss whereas what they needed right now was good old fashion 'fuck you up' weapons. Modified AK-47s and sub machine guns caught her eye and she began to load those as Simon moved towards the back, more than likely to search out the shop owner's personal stash. She almost called out to him, to watch himself but her eyes flickered over to the Amberelle and she thought better of it.

Her attention broke away from her perception and focused now on the other female. An unlikely partner in an unlikely war.

'So - what's a girl like you doing in a zombie infested city like this?'

It was kind of like working on autopilot. Amberelle went through the motions of pulling down weapons, loading them and then securing them on her belts. Extra clips were loaded and put on in a speed load position and when she ran out of room for that just shoved into her pockets. Each weapon another chance to remember just what she really was, what she was capable of. Some days it paid to be a trained killer, even if that thought gave her mixed emotions. Sure it had kept her alive this long but if they didn't come up with a plan and find out just what the hell had happened to make Nachton into a literal Hell on Earth they were just putting off the inevitable.

Looking up when Ellis spoke, the blonde studied the other woman for a moment. Stories of what a ferocious and unfeeling killer the Ancient was had been told to her since she was a child, along with the evils of the would be third clan. It was probably all propaganda that her sire used to mold them but there could be truth in the lies. So far none of that had made itself visible, but it was still hard to trust someone who you'd believed was Satan and the Boogeyman rolled into one.

Giving Ellis a faintly wistful smile, she shrugged a shoulder lightly. I'd gone down to the docks to feed. I prefer.. she paused then decided it didn't matter what the woman thought of her. They were unlikely allies, but for the moment they needed one another. I only like to feed on criminals and such if I'm getting it "fresh". Trust me if I'd had any idea what tonight would hold I think I would have nuked a bag and curled up in front of the TV with my boyfriend. Her eyes clouded a moment with worry when her thoughts turned to him. She had no idea what her beloved's plans for the night had been and she sent up a silent prayer he had stayed in working.

Her feline sharpened senses were picking up bits and pieces of movement outside and she kept half her attention there, making sure nothing came into the darkened store for them. The Creole registered the small noises that were Simon, obviously looking for additional supplies in a back room, and some movement outside the window but so far nothing close enough to alarm her.

What about you two? Down at the docks for a moonlit stroll? And umm.. She leaned a hip against the counter lightly as she slid shells into a sawed off pump shotgun. I was wondering if maybe we had a plan? Or some destination in mind because we will run out of night eventually.. That scared her. No way did she want to try traveling the sewers with these things about.

Kem was a lucky sod, Nic thought, as he listened to Aishe go out of her way to try and make him feel better about himself. Especially when they really didn't have time to blink, much less converse. The creatures around them were growing more anxious and blood thirsty, as well as in numbers. Nic was briefly faced with the fact that he might have finally found something that could put an end to his existence, and it scared him shitless.

"For the sake of argument, lets not go there. If they can infect us with a bite, I'm thinking the same would happen if we became the biters..."

He was gave thanks again that he had just fed, knowing to have done otherwise, and then be faced with even this tainted blood, he might have been sorely tempted.

"I think there may be someone inside, but we can't just stand around out here. If they're more zombies, we'll need to eliminate them first, then see what we can get together for protection. If its whoever that was doing the shooting earlier, we need to be careful that they don't eliminate us before we can show we're clean.

Stand behind me, and when I get through the door, drop. If they're prepared to shoot, hopefully they'll aim high, and we'll have a few moments of safety, to identify ourselves."

Sometimes old movie scenes really did come in handy, out in the real world. Funny how "Shoot Em Up In Albuquerque" would come to mind now.

Looking at the door, and lock system again, Nic could only hope if he hit the door with enough strength, it would open.

"When I say now, push yourself against me. With luck, our combined thrust will do the trick."

And there was always the chance they wouldn't budge a thing, but until faced with that result, Nic didn't think there was reason to worry.

"Okay...ready? NOW!"

And while he felt a pain radiate up his side, from his hip to his shoulder, the door cracked, and opened, and the two fell to the floor as planned, with Aishe landing somewhat less sharply on Nic's prone body.

"We're not zombies!!"

Nic yelled, before trying to maneuver Aishe to a more appropriate position on the floor.

It definitely said something for her time spent with Kem and Pak, Aishe thought, when her most prevalent opinion of this situation was something along the lines of, "If this weren't so not-funny, it would be funny!"

Since Nic seemed to be willing to take charge, Aishe simply went along with him. She certainly didn't have any better ideas about how to get themselves to safety. So when he went at the door, she did him one better and instead of pushing against him, she reached around him, pressing close, but bracing her palms against the door next to his.

As they toppled through, she landed on top of him, giving a muffled squeak as he shoved her down below him. Grateful for his protectiveness, but fairly certain (or at least hopeful) that she wasn't about to get her head blown off, she rolled away into the shadow of the now-open door. It would give her a little protection if anyone did have an itchy trigger finger. Nodding at Nic, a sort of, "thanks, I'm fine - you?" she looked into the interior of the shop, trying to make out the faces of the figures inside and determine whether or not they were familiar.

Once again she felt her lips twitch up. The urge to add, "We come in peace. Take us to your leader," was very strong. Instead she simply said, "There are just two of us."

She waited for a moment to see if any shots would be fired... once she knew they were safe, she'd begin pounding the door back into place. Judging from the noise outside they had a few seconds, which was all it should take for them to figure out if they were about to be opened up on.

There was a time it was alright to let yourself get distracted and this was unfortunately not it. Amberelle was wondering about the Ancient there in front of her and even with her senses on full alert barely registered the two forms pressing against the door before they came crashing through, quite loudly. With a very feline sounding growling hiss, she pumped the shotgun in her hand and was a nanosecond away from filling the two newcomers with buckshot when the man's words registered in her mind and her nose confirmed he smelled normal. At that same time the fact that two more figures who reeked with the undead's stench were about to be darkening the now broken doorway also clicked. Plus, the sounds of more creatures not far away could be heard.

Her heart was pounding from the suprise and adrenaline raced through the Anantya. Ellis, catch, she called out, her tone strained but kept low so as not to attract any unnecessary attention from outside. The blonde's free hand reached down towards the crouched figure, her fingers digging roughly into his bicep. As she yanked him away from the entrance Amby shoved the loaded and primed sawed off shotgun at his chest. Here take this, she hissed. She didn't take the time to see if he grasped it or not as she jerked him with all of her vampiric strength and half slid, half tossed him further back into the weapons store and hopefully in the general direction of the other woman. She wasn't taking time to aim and so she hoped he didn't end up face first through a glass case. As she got him out of her way, the Creole lunged towards the door. The crouched figure in the shadows was noted in her peripheral vision but there was no time to get her to safety.

There was also no time to barricade or bar the door, she realized so Amberelle simply reached out and grabbed the gore covered undead women as they threw themsleves through the opening at her. Falling backwards she then send both of them sailing into the store towards the rear display cases. Hopping back to her feet agilely the blonde kicked the busted door closed then reached up and grabbed the heavy metal security grates, bringing them down over the store front's windows and doorway. It was much louder than she would have liked, but as they clicked into the recepticles in the floor and locked in place the vampires were almost completely obscured from anyone passing down the street, as well as effectively stopping anything else from getting in.

(Nic manhandled with permission)

She really should have been paying attention. With Simon disappearing further into the store and trying to keep a mental eye on their surroundings, focusing in on a conversation with Amberelle wasn't the brightest of ideas.

'Welp - just a little look see at the competition, basically.' There was no point in telling her just why she was with the new Leader of Tacharan, her ex lover and culprit of her attempted murder - the what was fine though. With a shrug she shifted her weight on her feet. Ellis found herself trying to be friendly figuring man eating zombies was a good a reason as any.

'I...,' And that's when the two figures just outside the door suddenly appeared in her mind. Her inner alarm caught just as Amberelle did. Ellis grabbed a shot gun off the display case and aimed it just as the figures came through the door and Amberelle grabbed the male. Much to her surprise, it was the fair haired Nicholae, the other female she did not recognize and they brought company.

With Nicholae on the ground and two zombies flying in her direction, Ellis considered her options. A shot gun spray to the face seemed like a great idea but would definitely attract more attention, so as the two zombies landed, Ellis planted the butt of the shot gun directly into the face of one zombie and then swung it like a baseball bat at the other, hearing a satisfactory snap and crunch. Resisting the urge to utter a ridiculous baseball comment, she crushed the head of the second one just in case. Her blood lust had immediately risen but the smell of the disgusting zombies quelled her thirst.

Wiping the sudden sweat from her face, Ellis stood back from the zombies and looked up at Nicholae. 'Jesus fucking Christ, Nic - what the hell was that? 'We're not zombies'?'

With a dissatisfied snort she grabbed a camouflaged t-shirt off of a clothes rack and wiped the disgusting blood off her shot gun. Glaring at the pretty boy, Ellis reflected on the fact that some people just weren't made for zombie war.

The shop itself had a small store front with your typical green awning, but as Simon moved towards the back of the store, he realized that there was much more to it. From front to back it was short, but lengthwise it was much longer than he thought. Moving away from the front end of the store, moving down the middle section he happened past the front office of the shop owner but after some poking around realized it was more for accounting purposes than personal use, probably not even his office. As he moved lengthwise down the store, he ascended a flight of steps taking him to the second level and it cut back across the direction he came from, effectively zig zagging back.

Again Simon thought of Carol and the rest of the clan. Reluctantly he tried again to send Carol a message and was only rewarded with more silence. The hallway had several office doors on each side and quietly Simon moved from door to door, nudging them open with the tip of his gun. The lights had all been turned off except for the last that had the flicker of a bad fluorescent light struggling to turn on. Taking a step inside that office, again nudging the door opened, he suddenly heard the clashing of gates downstairs and he turned his attention to the noise.

'Simon?'

A small tinny voice in his head quietly called his name - Carol's tinny voice.

'Carol?' He responded back in his head.

Relief washed over him, just as the repugnant smell of tainted flesh wafted past his nose.

The second the words left his mouth, Nic was reminded of a horrible B movie he'd done back in 45, and wished he could do a quick retake. Unfortunately, life didn't often offer up retakes, especially in crisis situations.

It was a short lived thought, and nothing that would be considered again, as Nic was unceremoniously yanked from his place on the floor, and literally thrown toward the back of the store. Funny enough, his life sort of flashed before his eyes, before a very heavy counter stopped his flight. He was able to rouse himself enough to look back to Aishe, and make sure she wasn't in any danger from the Amazonian on crack, before he realized it wasn't the illusion of his life passing before him, but an actual Ellis, in the flesh that was in the room with them.

Of course she would pick up on the corny line he'd read, and quickly feed it back to him. Try as he might, he couldn't help but cringe again.

"So don't tell me Ellis...are you responsible for these things?"

He wouldn't have put it past her to find a way to try and take over Nachton with the aid of the undead. Nic did expect Ellis would have had better sense to let something like this go awry though. He was certainly no authority on the attractive brunette, or her behavior, but he had to credit her with the ability to get things done, and protect herself in the process.

Remembering their last encounter, Nic also had to worry about protecting himself...and Aishe. There was no way he could face Kem if anything were to happen to the young woman, while in his care, even if it were a self imposed guardianship.

Moving a bit slowly, and gingerly, Nic moved away from the spot he'd landed on, and in the general direction of Aishe, dodging the last remnants the 'blond bomber' had cast aside.

Aishe was relieved to see the people inside the shop spring into action... fortunately, on their side. She flattened herself against the wall out of the way while a figure with blonde hair dashed forward and resecured the door; there wasn't room for two of them. She'd only be in the way if she tried to help.

Once everything died down, and her eyes had focused on he interior of the store, she recognized the woman at the door and gave her a friendly, if somewhat sheepish, wave. "Hello, Amberelle."

Giving Nic the once-over, Aishe figured he was alright and flashed him a little smile. She'd have felt terrible if anything happened to him while he was helping her out, and he was a friend of Kem's. That alone gave her reason to make sure he was all right.

Another slight smile crossed her lips as the second figure had the presence of mind to pick up on Nic's entrance line. She wasn't about to tease him, but apparently this woman had no trouble with it. When Nic called the dark-haired woman by name, Aishe regarded her with interest. She'd never met Ellis, but she'd heard rumors. Lots and lots of rumors.

"Sorry to crash the party," she said with irony, "but a gun and ammo shop seemed like just the place for a happy cuddlefest, sans zombies."

Giving Aishe a slight smile, Amby brushed her hands off and nodded to the other woman. Oui, in case of the end of the world, or zombie infestation as it may be, I think a gun shop is probably the best place to head. Pausing a moment, she amended, If you know how to use them, of course. The blonde kept glancing out the tiny slits of the rolling grate as a small number of what must be zombies was moving past on the opposite side of the street.

Not liking the direction the crowd seemed to be moving as it brought undead closer to them, the Creole moved quietly away from the front. Pausing at the counter she had been standing at before the intrusion to pick up another shotgun and a box of shells, she began loading it. I think we should get back some, she looked towards Aishe as she spoke. No sense in having them notice us and bring the whole area crashing down on us, non? Maybe we could look through the place for a radio or something. I'd really like to know just what the fuck is going on. She smirked and chuckled softly. It was rather obvious what was going on. More like where, why and how was what she was curious about. And if it was being contained to a certain area so she could get the hell away from there.

You two are OK? Her attention finally turned to the man she'd rather roughly tossed around and she gave him a beguiling grin. Amber eyes studied him briefly. No hard feelings, mon ami?

Ellis blinked slowly at Nicholae and gathered up her armory as she moved back toward the inside of the store with Amberelle. 'I see someone's still a little bitter,' she sang with a smile. 'Get all that glass out, yet, Nic?'

With a chuckle she grabbed a duffel bag and loaded it with more weapons and ammunition. She paid no mind to the brown skinned woman having never seen her before; therefore she registered on Ellis radar as less than interesting. Right now they needed to find a radio or a television. Moving further into the back, following where Simon had disappeared to, Ellis poked her head into the office closest to the front and found a television. Stepping back out into the hallway, Ellis whistled quietly to Amberelle, getting her attention.

Ellis walked back into the office and left the lights off, then moved to the window and closed the blinds. It was a flat panel TV, nestled behind the desk on a small table; for boring nights, apparently. Without waiting for the others, Ellis picked up the TV and turned it towards the door, turning it on. Locating the remote, she flipped through the channels. There was nothing but static or channel logos until finally a local station broadcasting through the static.

There was a repeated warning for what she was about to see on the television and after a few moments, her eyebrows furrowed together.

'Oh...shit.'

Aishe nodded to Amberelle when the blonde spoke. Ellis seemed to have glossed over her presence here, which as far as Aishe was concerned, was fine with her. She'd heard plenty of stories, and Kem seemed to have a healthy respect for the woman... the sort of respect that involved not getting involved. She decided to take a page out of his book.

Getting herself away from the door, Aishe began to poke around in the store for anything that so much as resembled a radio. A television would do. Whatever they could find. Nic seemed to be looking for an appropriate weapon, and Aishe kept her eyes peeled for a handgun, as well. She didn't know much about firearms yet, but her experiences at Meridian thus far had at least made her competent with something like that.

Ellis' whistle didn't seem to be intended for them, so Aishe simply kept her search going. Coming up alongside Nic, she murmured softly, "This is your call. Stay or go, its up to you."

She knew Nic had a history with Ellis, and she wasn't sure how he'd feel about holing up with the woman during a crisis. Aishe wasn't opposed to trying to find someplace else to be.

"Kem's in the city now. He's headed our way after a brief stop. I've told him where we are, but we could just as easily try to meet him at the Towers or someplace."

Jet Donovan's hair was as dark as his name and had an arrogance that lit up hundreds of thousands of televisions every night in Nachton. In the news center helicopter above the skyline of Nachton, Jet with his microphone in hand, turned to his camera man and checked his hair in the reflection of the lens.

'Ready? On me in three...' Counting down quietly Jet put on his broadcast, 'make me an anchorman' smile and reported the terror that was sweeping the city.

'This is Jet Donovan, channel 2 NBC affiliate with KTUU reporting high in the sky this Halloween night. The streets of Nachton have been infested with could only be described as the living dead.'

The camera man panned away from Jet and pointed his camera down at the streets, taping the rushing zombies and screaming residents. He is jerked back to Jet with a smack from the dark haired hand.

'Reports are coming in that ground zero seems to be originating from Duibne Industries - Nachton's crown jewel medical research facility. Is it an illegal genetic experiment gone wrong or an unfortunate accident?'

Not that the latter mattered now that Jet implied that Duibne was involved in doing illegal testing. He'd probably get sued for it but with zombies running the street, most coming out of DI itself, Jet really didn't care. He was very much aware of this horrible disaster affecting his career, in fact he was banking on it. The helicopter banked back down towards the industrial area to circle around the towers of Duibne Industries. With a signal from the pilot, Jet undstood that they were running out of fuel and would have to touch down soon, so the helicopter took footage of the zombies surrounding Duibne Industries and then headed back to the broadcasting tower of KTUU.

As Jet, his pilot and camera man returned to the tower and began their descent, they noticed that all personnel on the roof had disappeared. With a shrug Jet turned back and signaled to his camera man that he was ready to do the final tape. Exiting the helicopter as the swoosh of the rotary blades slowed down, Jet started his countdown again and smiled on cue.

'The Center for Disease Control has reported that the entire city of Nachton has been closed off, effectively isolating this aggressive virus. All residents of Nachton are to stay indoors, barricade their homes and do not attempt to search for loved ones. These zombies are unusually fast, aggressive and violent. Nachton Police Department, its Immediate Response Swat Team and Duibne Industries Security force has been dispatched to contain affected areas and protect the uncontaminated.'

The camera dipped for a second as the camera man's face paled. Jet dipped his head to keep his face in the shot when he realized he wasn't going to be able to do that with the camera now on the heli pad.

'John, what the fuck?' Jet yelled increduously as John the camera man and apparently the pilot ran to the opposite side of the helio pad to the emergency ladders. That's when it hit Jet. 'Oh god, there's something behind me, isn't there?'

With the bites of at least a dozen zombies who had quietly ascended the towers of KTUU, killing almost everyone in the building, they reached the roof of the building and rushed the helio pad. As his mind numbed to the pain, Jet had the foresight to look into the still rolling camera and finish. As he choked on his own blood, Jet still managed to gurgle.

'This is Jet...Donovan...out.'

Amberelle had walked up at Ellis' whistle mildly annoyed but all thoughts of responding to the woman were long gone. Golden eyes were wide with horror as she stood frozen in the doorway, trying not to scream as she pressed her fist to her mouth. The situation was hammered home quite clearly as she watched the hungry horde swarming the reporter. Her tall frame shook slightly and she swallowed hard, fighting to control the mixture of terror, nausea and fear that ran through her unchecked.

Slowly her gaze swung to the Ancient standing a few feet from her and she again was struck with the eerie thought of what would happen if someone like her could be infected by these foul things. For several seconds she just stared mutely. Finally she spoke, a thin whisper managing to come out past the lump still in her throat.

How.. what can we do, where can we go? They're trapping us in here with these things.. How do we stop it from spreading? The Creole had reverting to speaking French without even realizing it.

The only gun Nic could ever remember using in a movie was a Glock. It had been a pretty simple gun to operate, just jam the magazine into the gun, and fire. It was a semi-automatic, and could fire off up to thirty some bullets, which seemed to be what would be handy now, with all those things outside growing in numbers. He thought the gun he'd used in the movie was a model 18, but couldn't find that now, so he took the one closest in number, a 17, and opened the box. Below the shelf with the guns on it, were boxes of ammo. Luckily they seemed to match up, otherwise Nic could have lost valuable time searching.

Setting the gun down, he opened a box of magazines, and removed as many as he could fit in his pockets. Unfortunately his jeans were pretty tight, so that didn't mean much. However, looking around the store his eyes caught some canvas backpacks in a corner. Nodding to Aishe as she talked, he ran around the other side of the counter, to grab up a couple of the packs.

"If he has a car, it might be better for him to meet us here...don't you think?"

Nic might chance making a dash for the Towers, now that he had a gun, but he really didn't want to risk Aishe's life. He knew she was more than capable to defend herself well, he'd seen evidence of it, but even well might not be good enough.

Dumping boxes into the backpacks, as well as a couple loaded guns, Nic handed one to Aishe, and slung the other over his shoulder, keeping the gun in his hand.

"Unless you think you can use that, and prevent anything from getting close enough to bite..."

The sound of a television interrupted the semi quiet, and Nic turned toward the noise. Patting Aishe on the arm, trying to be as reassuring as he could be, Nic made his way back to the part of the store where Ellis and the blond had gone. Before he reached the doorway, thoughts of Livia hit him like a ton of bricks, and he was suddenly close to throwing up. It was both the fear of what she might be finding herself subjected to, as well as his inability to do anything for her, that was making him nauseous. When he got to the doorway and looked around Amberelle, the feeling grew rapidly.

"Fuck."

Aishe watched with a quirked eyebrow as Nic tried to jam ammo into his amazingly tight pockets, while she grabbed something for herself too. A brief thought entered her mind and made a mental note to come back and return the gun when this crisis was over.

Responding to Nic while he grabbed some packs, she said, "He's on his way now with Pak and the car. It'll be a tight squeeze but we can go with, if we want."

Very tight squeeze... it was only a two-seater, after all. Aishe doubted raging hordes of zombies had been foremost on Kem's list when he'd gone car shopping. But a little discomfort was definitely all right in this situation and she doubted they were going to get pulled over for a traffic violation tonight. As long as they got there intact, they should all be able to get back out again.

Nic, meanwhile, wandered into the next room to watch what was on TV. Aishe didn't bother. Instead she posted herself as lookout, her back to the wall, handgun loaded and ready to fire if necessary. She had a clear view of the windows and the door. It didn't matter what the TV said, in her opinion. She'd seen for herself what was outside, and she had been taught never to leave your back unguarded. While stealth wasn't one of the attributes the zombies seemed to possess, Aishe wasn't willing to take any chances.

Ellis' mouth opened in awe. Not that she reveled in this type of carnage and death - she just preferred not to be included in it. Still, the swiftness of the virus and its abilities had to be respected. Shaking her head, she blinked again as she watched the live feed of the reporter's death.

'I seriously...I don't know. And no Nic', she added softly as she felt him stand at the doorway. 'I didn't have anything to do with this.' Turning she gave him a shrug. Inwardly her fear was rising and being quarantined in the city only meant one thing. Her nervousness was undoubtedly showing as she made a face and looked at the television again.

With a sigh, 'It originated from Duibne. If it were me...I don't know I'd call the clan home or at the very least, isolate what's going on at DI. We should...'

Her lack of concentration was one thing, but Simon had been gone far too long and it had been equally as quiet. The hairs on the back of her neck came to attention and her perception suddenly opened up to the rest of the larger than it looked building. Before she knew it she was stumbling past Nic and racing towards her bag. Grabbing a shot gun she sprinted towards the hallway stairs heading up to the second floor.

And to where Simon was being attacked by a group of zombies. Oops, her bad.

Simon grunted as he fell back over the desk and hit his head on the windowsill. The zombie lunged for him and planted its knee in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. It also surprised him. Reaching up he pushed back on the zombie's face, avoiding its already gnarled and rotten teeth when his surprise was explained.

Two pairs of sharp fangs bit down on where his fingers had just been, elevating his blood lust to painful proportions as his fear mingled with the pain in his stomach. With his other hand he pushed back on the vampire zombie's torso and managed to use the little bit of ancient edge he seemed to barely have on the zombie and got a leg up to push it back against the desk. With all his strength he kicked the zombie back and he heard a satisfied snap as its spine hit the desk, both going back against the door, slamming it shut., but that's not where the zombie came from. No, it came from the hidden side door that apparently was a panic room for the store owner and out of that came at least three more.

'Ah, shit.' Simon picked up the desk chair and flung it at the panic room door, cutting off two of the three rushing out of it.. His desire to contact Carol was completely lost as he basically ran around the room, trying to avoid the new zombie. His shotgun had been left downstairs - not his most brilliant of ideas - but he had his glocks and as the zombie rushed him, he pulled it and shot a bullet right through its head, causing it to fall back again on the opening panic room door. Racing over Simon braced himself against the heavy hidden door. It would take several rounds of bullets and he hoped effectively keep them in. That problem taken care of, he now could hear the screams of zombies that were alerted to their presence outside the window.

Turning he looked at the window just in time to see the vampire zombie fly back across the room and against the window, shattering it along with the desk. The door had been kicked in and with it came Ellis. Standing with an incredulous look on her face she slumped her shoulders and then raised her shot gun. Walking towards Simon, she motioned him away from the door.

'On three.' He nodded as the two zombies pushed back against the panic room door.

With a calm and steady voice she murmured, 'Waiting on you.'

'God damnit it, Ellis!' He yelled and then with a final push against he door, backed away, letting it fly open.

She managed not to slam into the middle landing of the stairs as she took the steps double time. Her agility was the only thing keeping her from breaking her neck as she ran down the hallway towards the commotion that had started just as her perception picked up the extra bodies in the building. Muttering under her breath she cursed herself for paying attention to the two useless young vampires and distracting not only herself but Amberelle. They both should have caught it.

'Fucking...god damn...' Ellis grunted as she tried the door at the end of the hallway and felt it was blocked. Taking a step back she lifted her foot and kicked in the door as hard as she could, clearing the debris. Upon entering she saw Simon trying to keep what looked like a hidden doorway closed. With an annoyed look she lifted her shotgun and motioned him away.

As the door flew open, the two zombies rushed out but Ellis stood her ground. The spray from the 12 gauge would make this an effective if not loud ending.

'Eat this.'

The zombie heads were obliterated in a second and after cocking the shot gun, turned it towards Simon. 'Are you alright? Were you bit?' The shotgun was leveled at his head and despite over a thousand years together, she would not hesitate to blow his fucking head off.

The blonde blinked quietly a couple of times as Ellis rushed past her. Something about Dubine and the clan? Wait, what? Icy fear still crept through her and kept distracting her with grisly images of her friends suffering similar fates to that of the recently deceased Jet Donovan. She'd been trying to focus on Ellis' voice but it wasn't an easy task. The fog began to lift and her scrambled thoughts suddenly solidified with a jolt as the Anantya became aware of the sounds that had sent Ellis tearing upwards. Gasping, she spun on her heel and brushed past Nic as she unsheathed her wakizashi and one of her handguns. A string of curse words filled the air around Amberelle as she tried to catch up to the inhuman speed Ellis was moving at.

Amberelle was probably about 6 paces behind the ancient and came up behind her at full speed, sliding to a stop. Her golden eyes were thin slits, glinting in the soft light as they focused on Simon. She sniffed cautiously, not gagging at the putrid rotting stench left behind but searching for something fresher. Blood, still clean smelling, would tell her if he was now tainted. Part of her cringed at explaining to her friends just why she had done it, if she had to help the other woman take down their father. But she would. God help them all if kindred could catch this. There were far too many old ones in Nachton.

Quietly, she spoke. Her voice was pitched to be soothing and non threatening. Calm down Ellis. We don't even know if our kind can catch this.. thing. I'm sure if Simon was injured he'd tell us, non? Her leather gloves made a faint sound as her grip tightened on both weapons and she subtly planted her feet to move if needed.

Nic just didn't know what to do with quiet, un-sarcastic Ellis. He had feared her, and learned to accept her for who she was, but that wasn't who he saw now, and he wasn't sure how to respond. Ellis didn't fear...she was fear. Or at least that was what Nic expected.

Yet he barely got that thought planted in his head, when she made a mad dash past him, only to be followed closely by Amberelle. Choosing not to follow, Nic ran back into the front part of the store where Aishe was, and smile. Yes...she was holding down the fort, so to speak, and for the umpteenth time, Nic saw reasons why she was a good match for Kem.

Gunfire rang out upstairs, and Nic cringed. It couldn't be a good sign.

"Sounds like we have company up there...wonder if they came in through a roof entrance."

He was pretty much just talking out loud, finding a minor amount of comfort in the sound of his voice, and a way to organize in his mind, what events were unfolding.

Looking at his gun, and remembering the shotgun Ellis had, Nic was about ready to drop the Glock, and seek out something similar to the shotgun. But his knowledge of the one was slightly better than that of the other, so he gave up the idea.

"You be okay if I run up and see if they can use another gun?"

So far the pounding coming from outside, on the sidewalk, seemed less threatening, than what might be going on upstairs. But if Aishe wanted back up, Nic would remain. He saw her as his number one priority right now.

Simon pushed back against the wall as the double barrel of Ellis' shotgun grazed his face. In a rare moment of panic, one Simon Huntington had a cow.

'Jesus NO. NO I WASN'T!' He brought his hands up and turned them in front of Ellis. Then he pushed off the wall and stripped his jacket, turning in a circle and pulling at his collar. She lowered the shot gun but he reached out and grabbed the tip, pointing it at the zombie that had flown across the office with the desk. 'And yes, we can catch this.'

The vampire zombie was writhing on the floor, trying desperately to pull itself towards the three of them. Its back had been broken, along with its legs, but its need to feed was still evident. Simon threw his jacket on the floor and pulled open the panic room door to check the inside. It was a 20 by 20 hidden room with food and water provisions that were scattered on the floor, along with some loose cash. He nudged some of the items around but found nothing of interest.

The sound of broken glass brought him out of his thoughts and his attention back to Ellis and Amberelle. Ellis was knelt down, looking at the vampire as it tried to reach out to her. Two perfectly shaped fangs were protruding from its bloodied mouth. Shaking her head slowly she looked up at Simon.

'I know,' he said, 'We are seriously fucked. That thing was fucking strong. Ancient strong. This virus has a mutating enhancer of some sort. Even the humans - they're stronger, faster. And if it can affect us - it must be able to affect them.'

Ellis rolled her eyes. 'See, that aint right.' Ancients weren't easy to come by, she should know, she spent the better part of the last three years researching the city for her blood letting purposes. But the few ancients here in town against a growing population of vampire zombies?

'Vampire and werewolf zombies. Oh that's awesome. That's fucking awesome.'

Reaching out she took a sharp piece of the broken desk and pierced the vampire zombie's skull with it. Its soulless eyes lost focus as it finally stopped moving. Standing she wiped her hands clean on her pants and moved past Amberelle, back into the hallway.

'We need to get out of here and get to Duibne. It started there. The answer to this has to be there. Some...fucking host with anti-fucking-bodies, I don't know, but we just need to get out of here.'

The shattering of glass through out the building emphasized Ellis last statement. They were coming in. It was time to go.

Aishe, listening to the commotion above, was tempted to run and help... but her leaving meant there'd be no one to watch things on this level. Nic solved that for her and she flashed him a smile while she nodded.

"Go for it," she said agreeably. Then, before he could get out of earshot, she added, "Pak and Kem are almost here."

That was a bit of a conundrum... she and Nic could hardly leave people here, regardless of what clan they were from. There was no way they'd all fit in Kem's car though, even if they squeezed.

They'd have to cross that bridge when they came to it. She'd just be happy to have everyone together.

Feeling like he was taking part in some B zombie movie now, Nic ran up the stairs, stopping at every corner, gun poised to shoot the first thing he saw.

Reaching the area Ellis occupied, he couldn't help but cringe as he watched her smash a piece of wood into the head of a zombie, and effectively stop him.

"Getting out of here is definitely on my list of things to do today. Think any of us will make it though?"

From the sounds of things outside, and what he'd seen on the tv, the five of them were vastly outnumbered. Would their gun power be enough to get them to safety?

For the moment Nic was rather glad Ellis was there. If anyone knew how to escape death, she was the one. That had to increase the odds for him, and Aishe as well, right? He couldn't help but grin as he looked at her, and waited to hear her plan.

Looking over at Nic, Amberelle's golden eyes narrowed and she glared. Of course we will make it, don't be stupid and start thinking like that! The last thing she wanted was to let doubt creep in. There was no room for doubt, she told herself firmly. The young vampire was already far too close to being completely terrified. It wouldn't take much for her to start freaking out, 'And that will just get someone killed...'

Looking to Ellis, the Anantya swallowed hard then nodded. If there was a chance to get some kind of immunization against this, or even a cure then that was what they needed to do. Dubine it is. I just hope we find someone still uninfected there.. Wincing, she added quietly, I really hope so... The idea of finding her friends turned into flesh craving monsters just added to the lump in her gut.

Shattering glass broke her train of thought. The hoard was upon them from the sound of it and her senses began to pick out the sounds of multiple figures swarming the outside. Spinning and moving quickly she called down the stairs, Get up here now Aishe or you're getting left behind!

Come on you three, we have to get to the roof. The blonde was positive trying to get out via the street was impossible and the rooftops had worked before, she only hoped it would again.

Nic was a wiz when it came to money. He just had a knack for investing well, and always had, but he knew he wasn't always the sharpest blade in the drawer. However, him knowing that, and being talked down to by some random, strange woman, wasn't the same.

He refrained from making any kind of comment in response, knowing now wasn't the time. He had to get back to Aishe, and make sure Kem would be waiting for them, or convince her to go with Ellis and her gang, and meet up with Kem later. Nic just couldn't risk anything happening to Aishe...not while he was still able to watch over her. Once again the matter of her ability to take care of herself was immaterial. He was a man of the past in too many ways to just give over to feminist practices of the present now.

So even before the blond yelled down the stairs, Nic was on his way in that direction.

"Okay Aishe...unless Kem is sitting outside waiting, we need to leave, NOW."

He placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to be a comforting, and strong presence, but wouldn't have been surprised to find Aishe thought him to be neither. Sometimes he just felt so damn useless...and he really hated that feeling.

Simon grabbed Ellis' bag off the floor and pulled out a shotgun for himself. After heaving the bag's strap over his frame, he followed Amberelle out the office door and started down the hallway back to the stairs. 'Ellis,' he said moving and was relieved to hear her footsteps but was startled by what he heard next.

'Who you tryin' to get crazy with ese? Don't you know I'm loco?'

Ellis risked a peek out of the window and quickly stepped back. Simon called out her name softly and she replied with an equally muted, 'Yeah...' when she turned to move out the office door.

Beep, click.

The butt of her shotgun caught what she thought was the door frame but when she looked down at the electronic beeping her heart sank.

Who you tryin' to get crazy with ese? Don't you know I'm loco?

Her gun had hit what appeared to be the control panel of the store's radio system. All at once the rhythmic thumping of 'Insane by Cypress Hill' began to play loudly over the speakers in the office.

'Oh shit...shit shit.' Ellis reached down and began clicking the buttons to no avail.

To the one on the flam
Boy your temper just toss that ham
In the fryin' pan
Like spam
Feel done when I come in slam
Damn
I feel like the son of sam
Don't make me wreck shit hectic
Next to the chair got me goin' like General Electric
EEEN!
The lights are blinking
I'm thinking
It's all over when I go out drinking
Oh, makin' my mind slow,
That's why I don't fuck wit da big four-o
Bro', I got ta maintain
`Cause a nigga like me is goin' insane.

Simon appeared at the doorway with his eyes wide. 'I KNOW I KNOW! I CANT TURN IT OFF!' Then with great rage Ellis reared up the butt of the shotgun and crashed it down onto the control panel. Suddenly the music began to blare throughout the entire store, not just the office level they were standing in. Ellis slumped her shoulders and sighed. If the gunshots hadn't been a tell tale sign of prey, the music blasting into the dead silence of Halloween night was like a fucking neon sign.

Glass was breaking around them and the sound of feet began to tremble the floors. Simon again turned and began to run back down the hallway and Ellis followed closely behind him.

Ellis slid into the side room on her right shoulder and landed back first against the materials in what appeared to be a storage room. The clank of metal filled her ears as she raised her shotgun and began shooting at the door frame that was filling up with zombies. Pumping the 12 gauge, the room filled with smoke and the walls were sprayed with blood. Rising onto her feet quickly she nearly tripped on the stored items behind her; looking back and down she saw she had backed into metal shelves of propane containers ranging from small camp fire size to large grill tanks. She reached down and picked up a smaller container.

'HEY!' She yelled to Simon who appeared at the doorway, now using the butt of his shot gun to pummel the faces of zombies advancing forward. She held up the propane and then cocked her head behind her.

'LAST ONE OUT GETS THE LIGHTS!'

When she reached the top of the stairs the Anantya jerked to a halt as a strange voice carried up from below. It was only a few seconds before the music followed and she whispered a string of curses in several different languages, drawing her guns again. If they'd had any chance of escaping unnoticed it was long gone. Golden eyes swung around, surveying this floor for any threats. Her senses, heightened by her vampiric gifts, strained to detect movement and the Creole sniffed cautiously, searching for any rotting stench nearby. She moved quicky to the end of the landing and to the large glass windows there.

Out the somewhat grime coated windows of the third floor storage area Amby could see the Strip below them was a mass of wrecked cars burning in the dark night. Moving through their orange glow were shuffling and darting forms that could only be the infected. Even if she'd thought there was a chance that way, she knew now the roads wouldn't be clear enough to navigate as fast as they would need to avoid being overwhelmed. A soft sigh escaped her as her heart sank. Below the shattering glass, yelling and shots ringing out told her what happened even if she couldn't see.

Amberelle De'Espionne was a survivor by nature and despite her good intentions and desires all thoughts of helping her friend downstairs and the two ancients she's just left behind fled when the stairway behind her began to fill with undead, effectively cutting her off from the other vampires below. Even the insanely loud music suddenly coming from everywhere couldn't drown out the frantic pounding of her heart in her ears as she franticly looked for a way out. Shrugging the weapon laden backpack she carried over her shoulder on completely, the blonde began firing at the aproaching zombies with both of the handguns she carried. She was alternating weapons and keeping a count of her shots. Somewhere inside a part of her laughed almost hysterically at how eerily similar to an arcade game this felt as she ducked and wove her way to the far end of the hallway. Instead of stairs up to the roof like she'd hoped for what greeted her was a dead end.

Roaring with frustration she pressed against the wide windows and kept firing until first one, then the other was depleted. Each of the now useless guns fell to her feet and the hungry hoard of almost a dozen pressed faster forward, thinking her easy prey now. Reaching to her back she drew out her katana. Her mouth was clenched tightly shut, her eyes narrowed. She wouldn't let their taint infect her, she just couldn't. Outside she could see a fire escape, over to her left just a few feet. All she needed was the chance to climb out the window onto the ledge and reach it.

Time was blurred, seconds stretching then rushing past. As if locked in some kind of unholy dance they moved, vampire and zombie. One supernaturally graceful, obviously skilled, eternally golden and the other a mass of seething darkness, wildly flailing limbs and raw hunger. The glow from the street below lit the occupants of the sporting goods store's storage loft in tones of orange and yellow as the many undead moving within cast deep shadows across the walls. Her leather bodysuit and overcoat were splattered in blood from the limbs that littered the ground, her golden tresses matted with it and it was smeared on her sun kissed skin. The smell of the tainted blood hung in the air and reeked of death yet under it all the succulent aroma of an untained one waifed outwards to them, sending them into a frenzy.

A hand darted out towards her from one side and the silvery katana blade spun to meet it in a spray of foul blood. Even as Amby dodged a different lunging part of the hoarde, two hands grasped at her from behind and a gleefuly triumphant zombie bit down hard on her bicep before groaning in rage at being unable to pierce the thickly lined armor to reach the sweet meat he craved. His reward for reaching his goal was a clean death as she spun and chopped downward, removing his head from his shoulders amidst a river of blood. Several of his companions crashed to the ground, slipping on the slick linoleum floor. Light as a feather the Anantya spun like a ballerina across the wet surface, her blade slicing through the air true to its mark. The sturdy sword continued cleaving flesh from bone in a flash, yet the zombies paid it no mind.

'Damnit, if I have to die at least there's music. Too bad it couldn't be something decent.. maybe some Britney Spears. That's the right stuff to move to.." Amby's thought was cut off by a sudden deafening roaring noise and then near silence overwhelmed her after the blast. Her senses were going crazy as the building shook and boxes rained down around them. The blonde had managed to manuver herself across from the window leading to the fire escape and just before the second blast rocked the store she saw it. Her path was suddenly clear, her goal within sight.

Swirling the sword nimbly she grasped the hilt with both hands then shoved it through the neck of one next to her, with it pinning him to the crates behind him. With her hands free now, she snatched up another as it lept towards her and spun a full circle before tossing the zombie with all of her vampiric strength through the large window access to the fire escape. Shattered glass rained down on the sidewalk as the wailing infected sailed over the rails to plummet to the ground below even as the vampire planted her foot in the one next to her's stomach for leverage to remove her blade. Another slice and it too fell down headless.

Her head swung back to the opening. Her gold eyes filled with a feral rage as she surveyed the ones closing in on her, pinning her. Her lip curled and she roared at them. Running at the remaining few with a sneer as they rushed towards her quickly, Amby raised her sword to strike when the second blast rocked the building. This time it was erupting beneath her feet. The floor twisted, buckling and ripping and the force sent her up and forwards even as it knocked her foes back. Twisting in mid air she arced out the window and almost overshot the fire escape. Her free hand darted out and grasped the railing tightly, jerking her to a stop with a scream as her shoulder popped out of joint. Gritting her teeth against the pain she clumsily pulled herself up onto the steel landing. Below her flames were already licking at the building, smoke swirling up around her. Fire. That sent a jolt of fear through Amby since nothing burned as quick as a vampire.

The Creole turned and ran up the steps to the roof. Dubine wasn't far away and she needed to keep moving if she hoped to make it there alive.

This building was crawling with zombies. If they were any smaller, Kem could easily see himself getting a bad case of the heebie-jeebies, but that term just seemed a bit of an understatement when in connection with a horde of 300-pound flesh-eating zombies.

That observation aside, Kem managed to send a quick warning to Aishe and dart out of the car and around it, the short distance to the jammed door. He pounded on it once but it didn't give. Putting more force into it, he managed to bend it some. Vampire strength came in handy as he took a step back, and bent his shoulder into the door.

"Ow."

Whoever had jammed this door back in place had done a damn good job, but he needed in! The critters who'd been climbing up the sides of the building were taking notice, and one or two of them had already turned.

The door finally gave way a bit, and he could feel someone pulling from the other side. Aishe's face peered out and Kem said one word.

"Gun."

Her brows furrowed through the crack in the door. Kem waved his hand frantically. "Gun, damnit!"

Finally the weapon was offered through the crack in the door. Kem spun it once to settle it in his hand, and then fired. His brain was babbling incoherently at the act of violence, but while he found it repugnant he was willing to do what was necessary for survival at the moment. He'd done worse in the past, he thought, grimly aiming and pulling the trigger once more.

He was no crack shot, but he could fire at near point-blank range as well as the next person. Zombies out of the way for the moment he grabbed Pak from behind the wheel of the car and virtually carried her the few feet into the doorway. Their combined weight collasped it and they tumbled into the shop, scrambling to their feet as fast as they could.

Kem gave Aishe a relieved smile, handed her gun carefully back, and began jamming his other shoulder into the door to re-set it as well as he could.

Aishe looked back at Nic.

"I know we've got to go... just give it a second."

A thump at the door made her jump, until the coinciding sending from her dear vampire boyfriend reached her.

"See? I meant a second!"

Un-barricading the door was an event in and of its own, but Aishe was up to the task, and hopefully once he saw who was there, Nic would help. Kem's face appeared in the crack of the door and he said something she couldn't make out. Peering curiously at him he repeated it. It echoed soundly through her mind and she complied hastily, handing the loaded gun out to him.

There were a couple of shots fired, and then the doorway exploded inward as Kem crashed through with a disgruntled-looking Pakpao in tow.

"Oh, hi Pak."

Aishe held her hand out to their friend as Kem handed the gun back and then began furiously jamming the door back in place.

When everyone was on their feet once more, Aishe began to assist Kem with a hastily constructed barricade.

"You missed all the excitement," she said, "but I imagine we could still manage something."

With a glance at Kem, she winced. "There's just one problem. Aside from the zombie throng."

Touching Kem lightly on the shoulder she nodded to the stairs.

"There's only one way out."

Flat tire, zombie hordes, smashing up a perfectly nice BMW and now being treated like a rag doll. Yes, this was her idea of a great evening out, now if some one would just drive splinters under her fingernails and mace her she’d call it complete. She’d also broken the heel off one shoe and missing a three-inch heel will effect anyone’s gate, but still that didn’t mean she’d have to be forgiving of Kem’s man handling.

Oh great, now they were up to gunfire.

She was opening her mouth to make some sort of smart assed yet extremely cross remark to both Kem and Aishe when there was a rather smashing, no pun intended, explosion that knocked her off her feet.

Was it possible for vampires to develop agoraphobia or post traumatic stress disorder, both at this rate. Pak made absolutely no effort to stand back up.

“Hi Aishe.”

Yes let’s cling to the perfectly normal and mundane and exchange greetings with one’s pals. Any shred of normality in a storm!

Kem looked around at the interior of the shop, finally noticing Nic. He offered the younger vampire a solemn nod, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips. He was glad to see Nic.

"In trouble again, eh?"

While he might tease, Kem was glad Aishe had linked up with Nic. Mischief might walk hand-in-hand with him, but Kem was certain Nic would have done everything in his power to make sure no harm came to Aishe, regardles of how self-sufficient she was. A thought struck him just then and he gave Nic a funny little glance, then shook his head once, at himself, and turned to Aishe as the weight of her words sank in.

He felt warm, then hot. Aishe's hand was cool on his shoulder as he realized the truth of her words. He and Pak had barely made it inside. Judging by the thumping at the door the undead horde wasn't far behind. They might be able to get away if they went up and out. The prospect was about as appealing to Kem as gouging his eyeballs out with a swizzle-stick, but he didn't see much of an option.

"Okay."

He crossed the room and peered up the staircase. Already, his mind was babbling incoherently at the idea of what they were supposed to do once they actually got onto the roof. One step at a time though... they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

Or everyone else could cross it while he sat there like a lump and refused to move.

Oh, thank god Aishe had a plan. Any plan that didn’t involve her strapping twenty seven guns to her body and shooting her way out in the fashion of B grade action flicks was welcome. As relieved as she was, Kem seemed less than happy about it. Pak, however, was not willing to deal with anything less than decisive action.

Finding her feet, which with her missing heel was a bit of a challenge, hell even after she found her feet she was a bit wobbly. Of all the days to wear three inch heels! But pulling herself up to her full five foot and change intimidating as hell stature she put on her best T-Rex face; the face that had launched a thousand programmers in to untold hours of over time.

“Good. Then those of you that can shoot get something to shoot with and lets get moving. Standing around here is getting us nothing but closer to slobbering uncouth undead and I’d rather not be one of them thank you very much.”

When it came to Kem she could be extremely patient and understanding. He was her brother, she’d adopted him even above and beyond the clan. Tonight, now, however, was not the time for Pak the super patient and anything she had to do to help Aishe get him up the stairs she’d do.

Nic… well she’d seen him but Pak had never warmed up to the other man and he’d only gotten the barest of nods.

If he had stopped to give the past several hours any thought at all, Nic quite probably would have had a minor melt down. Good at maintaining a quiet calm, even he had his limits, and if anything were to threaten to push them over the edge, tonight would have come damn close.

It was good he had Aishe to give thought to though, as it left little time for any breakdowns. The whir of activity around him also acted as a nice buffer, and didn't allow him time to even consider just how dire their straits were.

He still had an uncanny ability to gather good luck more often than not, so when Kem chose that time to finally appear, Nic was pretty non-plussed. The older man's entrance was such a relief that Nic was immediately aware at how so much of his stress seemed to just seep right out of him. Now that Kem was there, Nic no longer had to worry about Aishe, and now that Kem was there, Nic could shift a lot of his concerns onto his friend. In Nic's eyes, Kem could solve just about anything.

He wasn't totally thrilled to see Pakpao join them, but he didn't let on. There was something about that woman that seemed to make Nic's hackles rise. To him it seemed as if she were thinking of some joke, every time he caught her looking his way. And to make matters worse, he imagined himself to BE that joke. It served to make him edgy, to say the least.

Once the two newcomers had joined the group, Nic started edging slowly toward the stairs. Knowing that was the only way to go, he figured everyone else would follow, as soon as they all got their bearings. He didn't see any reason to elaborate on the situation there, since Kem and Pakpao would find out about Ellis, Simon, and ... what was that other woman's name again...? No matter, there could be time for introductions later, once they found a safer place to hang out in.

The explosion rocked Nic back a few feet, but he kept his balance. As Kem passed him on the way to the stairs, Nic regained his purpose, and sidled past his friend.

"Gotta go now! The fire is spreading, and I doubt any of us wants to be baked alive down here."

Making eye contact with Kem, Nic saw the man was 'with it', and without further ado ran up the stairs, toward the roof. Once he found the opening, he looked back briefly, to make sure the others were there, before climbing out into the cooler air outside.

Aishe made quick work of grabbing several more easily accessible weapons, mostly automatics. Shoving one into Pak's hand she said, "Here you go. Use it if you need it."

She was pretty sure Pak's statement hadn't been meant to include herself, but she also saw that Pak had two working hands. She'd said 'those of you who can shoot,' not 'those of you who are willing to shoot.' Of course, that statement included Kem as well, but as Aishe turned to offer him another weapon, she saw he was already stocking up.

Tucking the offered handgun into the back of her jeans, Aishe inspected Kem's work as he held out the guns to her. It didn't take a genius to load a clip into an automatic, and Kem was equal to the task. She flipped the safeties quickly, tapping them to show him where they were and then gave him a quick kiss on the lips and a reassuring smile.

She should have known Kem would do what had to be done. She knew him as he was now; quite opposed to violence and happy to live peacefully. But she also knew he had done far worse in the past than shoot a few zombies, and when it came down to them or him, his innate sense of survival would kick in.

Making her way to the stairs, Aishe beckoned to Kem and Pak. "He's right... I'm not sure how well any of us will recover from being burned to cinders."

With that she headed up to the roof right behind Nic.

Kem was loading up on weaponry even as Aishe spoke. He didn't expect to enjoy it, but with any luck they could count on speed and evasion to get them to safety. Where were they supposed to go, anyhow? Liefde, he assumed, but if that wasn't safe?

Shaking his head at himself with annoyance he repeated again, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Aishe hopped onto her toes to give him a quick kiss before darting off up the stairs, and Kem followed, turning to make sure Pak was also coming. Watching her run he furrowed his brow and peered at her feet more closely.

As she got to the stairs Kem put a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on, and don't kill me."

He bent down, lifted her foot almost as if she were a horse, grabbed her one good heel and quickly broke it off. Now at least she had a semi-decent pair of flats. And he wouldn't get seasick watching her run.

Holding the heel up for her to see, he gave her his quick grin. "They might have been expensive shoes," he said, forestalling any complaint, "but my car was more expensive!"

Tossing the heel away he gestured to the stairs, offering to let her go first before joining Aishe and Nic on the detestably high rooftop.

She might not like him much but at least Nic was action oriented and willing to run into the fire/zombie hordes first. Ten points for that.

Now was not a good time to argue with Aishe, but the truth of the matter was Pak had never even held a gun before. It would probably be worse if she tried to shoot than if she just threw it. Undoubtedly there would be enough rubble on the roof tops for her to just throw things rather than try to... pop a cap in their ass. God what a horrible expression.

"Do I look like I'm arguing?"Â?

And she started toward the stairs and door stubbornly clinging to her broken shoes and making surprisingly good time.

As Kem stopped her she let lose potent string of Siamese profanity . He broke her -other- shoe! What the hell was the man thinking?

Standing there, mouth agape she finally shouted at him.

"The car will be easier to replace!"Â?

Stupid thing to be worried about, shoes, but she did like this pair and they had been expensive. She'd yell more later.

Darting up the stairs she found Nic and Aishe. It was also easy enough to see where the explosion had come from and a simple enough decision for her to go the other way. Besides the other way was the most direct route to the towers and she had a distinct urge to hide under her bed.

"I'm voting that way."Â?

She pointed. Actually having made that decision she suddenly felt a great deal of empathy for Kem. If only she hadn't watched Vertigo the other day...

Ellis blinked slowly into the debris that littered the partially dismantled floor. The explosion had torn her body asunder and she could feel the open wounds along her back like a dull knife being ripped down her. With great pains she rocked her head forward and rolled onto her forehead, trying to settle the grey matter in her head that felt like scrambled eggs. Her entire body was slowly trying to regenerate and she could even feel it in her ear drums as her hearing ebbed in and out with a dull vacuum tone. She managed to bring her knees and arms underneath her and rocked back against what was left of a wall. Her head bounced off it, again reminding her of her stupidity.

Ellis lifted her hands and looked at them confused. 'One...two,' she paused to count her fingers and was disappointed to find that three were missing. 'Six...seven...and a half?' She dropped her hands and nodded. 'Ok...I'm gonna get some sleep and in the morning I'll feel better.'

Her voice was muffled but started to regain some sense of normalcy towards the end of her declaration. Still, she did not hear what was coming up the stairs besides her but was too out of it to resist when a hand reached down and pulled her up and over someone's shoulder. She could not even recognize his distinct scent as Simon swiftly moved her out plain sight of the gaping hole she created and further into the building. The jostling only worsened the disorientation and she thankfully slipped back into unconsciousness.

Once they were all safely on the roof, if being on a roof, and being chased by zombies, and fire could at all be deemed safe, Nic waited and watched Kem.

From the first day he'd met Kem, he'd been aware of his friend's fear of heights, and now he was concerned that Kem may have distinct issues with their travel route. He doubted Kem would make a federal case of any of it, preferring to suffer in silence. But Nic wasn't sure that would really be helpful either. For now Nic was depending on Aishe to be what Kem needed as a support system, and would have to hope she had it in her to get Kem through the immediate perils they might face.

Giving a cursory glance to Pakpao, Nic wondered why she was walking so strangely, but didn't give the thought more than a seconds consideration. The fact was she was moving, and under her own power, so that was good enough for now.

"If in 'that way' you mean the Towers, I'm all for it."

Trying to catch Kem's eyes, Nic sprinted toward the edge of the building and looked across to the one on the other side of the alley.

"Everybody ready?"

In his various acting roles Nic had been instructed in numerous activities, from horse back riding, to martial arts, and gymnastics. It had been a while since he'd jumped tall buildings with a single bound, but didn't think this first one would be difficult. He was in peak physical shape, after all.

A jump across the width of an alleyway presented itself to them, and it seemed like they were heading in the direction of Liefde, which seemed like a reliable gamble. There were no undead hordes on their rooftop, but Aishe could make out several shapes on surrounding ones. They had gone unnoticed thus far but she didn't see that lasting. The sooner they moved, the better.

Nic was standing at the edge of the roof, looking encouraging. Aishe glanced back to make sure Kem and Pak were close behind. For a moment she thought it would be better to stay behind with Kem until she realized he'd probably be more likely to make the leap if she were already on the other side waiting.

With that she nodded at Nic and said, "Geronimo." With a decent-sized running start to compensate for her height, she planted her feet securely on the edge of the roof and pushed off.

For a moment she was flying, as the wind hit her face and her hair blew back behind her. Her stomach did a pleasant little flip-flop, and then she was folding in on herself, letting her muscles relax, landing in a crouch on the next rooftop. Rolling once, she came up gun in hand, pressing her back to the chimney on this roof and looking for zombies.

She flashed a thumbs-up to her waiting friends to let her know she was fine and this next rooftop was clear.

Kem did have a moment to spare Pak his best wounded-puppy look before they hit the stairs and emerged onto the rooftop. Kem watched as Aishe jumped, feeling nothing but panic as she soared gracefully through the air, landing on the roof next to them with room to spare. She was up in a heartbeat, cool as always, and waving at them to join her.

Easier said (or gestured) than done. He eyed the gap between buildings with abhorrence. The zombie horde was almost a better option than this, he decided. But there wasn't much choice; the way down was a bust. Any minute the door on the bottom floor would be broken, or the hordes would simply reach the rooftop, climbing up the outside of the building. He took a deep breath and was reassured just slightly by Aishe's calm, resonating across the bond they shared.

Hell, it couldn't be much worse than sliding down a pyramid on your ass blindfolded, on your first date with your girlfriend. Right?

Still he hesitated, staring at the next rooftop, unable to make his body do what his brain wanted him to do. He could hear them coming, up the sides of the building. Time to go. Really... time to go. After what seemed like far too long a pause, he looked to Nic, who was obviously staying behind until the rest of them made it across. He shrugged and then held his breath, ran, and leaped.

Out over the air, wishing he could scream but completely unable to, Kem hit the ground with a crackle of something that probably shouldn't have crackled at all, skidded to a stop, and decided the zombies were a much better way to go.

Aishe's face appeared over him, and that was good enough. He let the edges of his vision fade to black for a moment and then shook himself awake and rolled onto his hands and knees.

"One down." He gave Aishe a shaky smile. "Lots more to go."

Pak had the good grace to cringe a bit as Kem gave her the big eyes. She’d apologize later, well maybe not apologize but … well she’d do something once they weren’t in a life or death situation.

Oh, fine let the two super heroes make this look easy. She really didn’t want to do this, but damned it she didn’t want to get caught by the zombies either. Pak adjusted her laptop bag (she had managed to pull it out of the remains of the BMW as Kem had removed her from the wreck of a car and it hadn’t occurred to her to get rid of it). Then, following Aishe’s lead, the shiny new vampire was closest to her size, made a mad charge across the roof and hurled herself across it. Unlike Aishe, however, she didn’t have the good sense to roll, nor would she have known how, hit the next roof rather hard stumbled both fast and clumsily for several steps and hit Kem with a convincing ‘oof’. She was –so- not cut out for this.

“OK not that I’m trying to be a downer but what do we do when we have to cross the street? Does any one know this neighborhood? Is there maybe a shop we could break into or a car we could hotwire?”

Not that she could hot wire cars… no. She never would have learned that while doing repairs and maintenance on the Lil Bird. Of course not, she was sweet and innocent.

The other thing to consider was, yes she’d managed this leap but Pak wasn’t sure she could make a much wider leap and she wasn’t sure how much longer Kem could handle this. That and she’d eventually knock him over.

He wasn't sure why he felt any pride in Aishe's jump, other than he did. Perhaps it was more the fact that she was a young vampire, yet handled herself so much better than even some of the older ones he'd known. Not that he had a lick to do with it.

More concerned that Kem might not be able to follow his lover, Nic found himself feeling even more emotional when Kem made it to the other side safely. The sound of something cracking wasn't reassuring, but it also wasn't anything to be overly worried about either. Maybe Kem was finally getting over this fear of heights that he had, Nic pondered.

Pakpao was the last to go before he went, and she also made it over safely, albeit slightly more awkwardly. Nic bit back a chuckle when he saw her collide with Kem, and Kem become her cushion. He didn't spend any time laughing though, and soon followed the other three over, landing firmly on his feet.

Running to the four corners of the building, and peering down the sides, it looked to him that the zombies had dispersed some, and were no longer 'everywhere'. In fact there seemed to be a curious absence of the creatures on the street behind the building next to them.

"Down there...if we make it over to the next building we may be able to get down to the ground from there, and hoof it to Liefde from there?"

But whatever they were to do, they couldn't waste a lot of time thinking about it...they had to keep moving...it was the only thing keeping a decent distance between them and the creatures around them.

Walking back to Kem's side, Nic clasped the man's shoulder affectionately, and gave him a slight shake.

"Think you can manage one more jump?"

As Pak made her jump, Aishe winced at the resulting collision. She knew Kem's landing hadn't been soft and fluffy, and having Pak barrel into him was probably going to leave a mark. Helping them both rise, she watched Kem with some concern. He looked as if he were wishing he were anywhere but there, and while she sympathized she knew she didn't feel it anywhere as strongly as he did.

There was no fire escape on the building they stood on; or not a working one anyhow. A few scraps of metal showed fresh stress, and a twisted heap of metal in the alleyway below them showed what had happened to it recently. Too many zombies? Maybe. Aishe tried the next best thing; the door to the stairwell. It was jammed, or locked, or both, and no amount of ramming it with her shoulder was even budging it.

Aishe looked at the building Nic indicated. It wouldn't be as simple a jump, since the roof was on an
even level with theirs and this building had been lower than the last. Still, if she could make it she figured everyone else could too. As the youngster of the group she assumed she was a pretty fair representation of the weakest link, physically speaking. The building had a fire escape that led down to the ground, and oddly enough it did seem clear of undead.

[Are you all right?] She sent to Kem. [Can you do one more?]

Her sending echoed Nic's question and she flashed a grateful glance at the younger man, for his consideration. Aishe turned to Pak next.

"How about you, Pak? Are you up to it?"

The question was mostly rhetorical. They'd have to be up to it unless they wanted to remain here as a zombie appetizer. Kem would follow, she knew, if he had reason to. So it was up to her to give him reason.

"Geronimo is old... maybe Bansai this time," she said out loud.

Without any preamble, she took a decent-sized running start again and tried to repeat her previous performance. Both feet planted securely on the roof's ledge, she bent her knees, keeping her eyes on the next building, and shoved off with as much energy as she could muster.

Once again, the flying sensation. Once again she had the notion she was almost having fun! The landing wasn't going to be as smooth... but she stretched her arms out and twisted slightly. Her feet fell below the level of the next roof, but her jump had been good enough to land her at about waist level. Her twist and her outstretched arms were enough to crank her up onto the rooftop, in another roll, and she came up on one knee to perform an identical surveillance as the last time before waving to the rest of her friends.

Nevrat. Aishe Nevrat. Zombie Survivalist.

Something crackling appeared to be a rib, from the pretty wicked pain in his side. Kem wasn't displeased with that; for someone terrified of heights, and considering he'd made almost no 'landing' to speak of, save in the rudest sense of the word (ie: his body made an impact on something solid), he had expected worse.

That said, it didn't help when Pak slammed into him at full speed. He tried to get his arms around her to help cushion her fall and was only marginally successful. But they were both intact and Nic was sailing gracefully over the gap behind.

As Kem tried to catch his breath, Aishe's sending and Nic's question registered. He looked over the chasm once more. He'd managed with room to spare the last time, he thought, putting it into strictly analytical terms. Physically, sure, he could make it. Even with something busted. Mentally he was a quivering mess of vampire-jello, but he didn't see an option. Aishe had pounded pretty hard on the door to the roof and he wasn't sure that the noise had gone entirely unnoticed.

[Cracked a rib, I think,] he responded to Aishe. [Nothing life-threatening, but damnit we're watching a movie and having some drinks later.]

Outwardly he nodded, wincing a bit when Nic shook him slightly. "One more, ten more," he said with resignation. "I'm certainly not staying here with the zombies."

Watching Aishe cross the next gap, his heart leaped into his throat as she made a fairly risky leap, but she was up and over and waving disgustingly cheerfully. The excitement resonating across their bond helped dampen his panic. She was enjoying herself, he realized. Not the zombies, but the jumping. That, he mused, he could never understand. But if he turned off his brain, he would be able to get through this.

In life, Kem had been active. Running, jumping, and swimming had come very easily to him. He was thankful for that as he stepped back a few paces, and thankful for the fact that he didn't actually have to breathe. He'd stopped that when he'd determined it hurt too much.

Taking a running leap as Aishe had just a few seconds ago, he hurled himself out and up. It was the run and jump that were the tough part. In the air all he had to do was scream psychotically inside his head; he figured he was pretty committed at that point.

Landing was better in the sense that he didn't hit the rooftop sideways, but worse when whatever had cracked before decided to snap all the way. The remaining air that had been in his lungs came out with a gasp. Staggering upright, he groped gently around his side with his fingers. Something was sticking through his side, probably his rib, but he'd mess with it later. For the time being he turned his attention toward Pak, hoping to help her across or avoid another collision... whichever seemed most prudent.

The leap from the burning store's roof to a nearby building hadn't been difficult. The blonde was still crouched and creeping along cautiously, planning out her route before moving on to the next building. But, she quickly realized, it was getting harder to stay moving with the pain in her shoulder distracting her. A fine sweat had broken out on her brow and her vision was blurring from the tears gathering in her eyes. She had plenty of experience functioning and fighting through pain but that didn't make it desireable. Plus, her right arm wasn't very useable in its current state. That was a liability she couldn't afford.

Amberelle stopped next to the stairwell access, beside a puddle of water standing in one of the roof's low spots. Carefully removing one of her blood coated gloves, she pulled a bit of cloth from the backpack with her clean hand and moistened it. She grimaced at the stagnant smell but firmly wiped down her face and neck of all the blood splattered from her earlier kills. Ripping off the now tainted and filthy section she tossed it far away, then she bit down on a wad of the clean cloth and stood. Several deep breaths hissed out and she clamped her jaw down tight before twisting and slamming her injured shoulder into a corner of the brick wall. What was to her an extremely loud popping noise indicated her shoulder had slid back into joint even as she screamed into the cloth gag. Her knees buckled and she dropped down to the roof roughly. The Anantya sat there blinking away the tears that streamed down her cheeks now and shaking off the waves of pain that radiated through her. If it was for seconds or minutes, she honestly wasn't sure.

Shakily spitting out the cloth, the vampire pulled her glove back on and gingerly moved her arm, rotating it in circles to ease out the stiffness. Hunger gnawed at her gut as her body repaired and recovered. That was a sensation she found almost comforting because it was so common. Also it was much easier to ignore as she pulled herself back to her feet and pressed her sweaty forehead to the cool stone. A few deep breaths and she straightened and turned to look across the way towards Dubine.

Merde.. I sure hope there really is a cure, she whispered.

Amberelle moved towards the edge and built up to a good run before she pushed off, sailing over the now eerily empty street below to land smoothly on the next roof over. Only a few more and she would have to figure out where exactly in Dubine to go. And without the Tacharans here with her now, the young Anantya wasn't even sure she could get in to aid them. If there was anyone left alive to aid. 'Non! No thinking like that,' Amby refused to believe all of her friends could be.. changed. Her golden eyes shone in the night as they scanned the rooftop ahead, her jaw clenched. There would be some interesting zigging and zagging now.

It had taken her a second to get her head back together and realize she'd nearly killed Kem. Wincing when she got a good look at him and noticed he was more than slightly frayed at the edges.

[Sorry. All right?]

She half laughed when she hear Nic ask about the same thing and she could only imagine Aishe had put in her two cents as well. The half laugh turned into a full out giggle. For no apparent reason she remembered the first time she'd met Kem, that time it had been him plowing over her. Now look how well that had turned out, maybe this would have a happy ending too.

The humor, however, was short lived and she nodded grimly at Aishe.

"Guess I'm going to have to be."Â?

The jump didn't look at all easy and Pak bit her lip thinking about it. Oh look, fangs; must be the stress. She accidentally broke the skin and neatly licked away the small bit of her own blood she'd drawn.

No, no she couldn't do this in the make shoes. As much as it pained her she kicked them off. Roofs were not made to be walked on and she could feel some thing sharp poke her almost immediately and realized how much this was going to hurt. Well at least she'd had a good dinner, that should help with any repairs and minor injuries.

Backing up she again adjusted the bag and took off running. With out the advantage of a drop to the next roof she concentrated on using her mind to help her push off and gain any little advantage she could get. It worked, mostly.

She made it across to the next building with some room to spare, but again missed the landing this time falling to her knees, ripping her pants and skinning her keens and cutting the palms of her hands. Thankfully Kem, who she'd been trying to avoid this time, managed to catch her and keep her from falling flat on her face.

Looking up at him and Aishe with what dignity she could manage,

"Can I get a cape or a utility belt for the next roof top chase? Please?"Â?

Realizing he was thankful to have wound up with these three, instead of Ellis, the blond and the mystery man, Nic again felt a stab of pride. Right now Kem was as close to family as Nic had in Nachton, or anywhere else for that matter, whether Kem knew or approved or not. And knowing the man must be fighting terrible demons to continue on with what they faced reinforced Nic's feelings. How lucky he had met the man when he did.

Once more hanging back till the others made it safely to the other side, Nic joined them immediately after. This had been a longer jump, and he hadn't really taken the time to check it out as thoroughly as he should have, so when he reached the next building the heel of his shoe caught the rim along the outer edge of the roof, and even he took a tumble this time. Ever thoughtful of his face, his forearms broke his fall, and came up slightly scraped, but not bloody.

The scent of blood was in the air now though, and Nic knew it had to be coming from one of the other three.

"Kem? You doing okay there old man?"

As he waited for a response, his eyes skimmed Aishe, and Pakpao, but returned to the other male in the party. He held himself back, and didn't approach any of the other three. With the stress he was under, coupled with the energy he was expending, Nic knew he was going to need to feed soon, and he certainly didn't want to be tempted at this time and place.

Apparently she was the only one who'd fared well this time around. Even the confident Nic stumbled and came up with a few bumps and scrapes this time, but it was Kem who was worrying Aishe. She could tell something wasn't right. Cracked rib, maybe something worse. He'd managed to help steady Pak but now the unmistakable scent of blood tinged the air and it was more then the minor scrapes Pak and Nic had, which were already beginning to heal over.

She narrowed her eyes and peered closer at Kem. If she could smell blood, what might the zombies smell? She had no idea if their sense of smell was as keen as a vampire's. But judging by he expression on Kem's face, they had to figure out something. Not only was it dangerous, but she didn't want him having to contend with a wound and the fire escape together.

Gently, she moved Kem's arm away from his side to reveal a spreading red stain. He looked down at it in some surprise and cursed softly. Even as he did so Aishe could feel pain, her odd empathy noting jagged zigzags of black and yellow.

Lifting his shirt, ignoring the darkening stains and the drops that clung to her own sleeves, Aishe winced as she saw the disformity on Kem's side. There was a jagged cut in the skin and the bloodied end of something that looked like a broken bone just visible through it.

"We have to fix you up. You can't keep going like this."

"Well shit."

Was Kem's initial response when Aishe pulled his shirt up. He'd felt and smelled his own blood, but he hadn't realized it was quite that bad. Aishe was right though. Not only was it approaching something closer to agony than he liked, but the scent of blood was everywhere.

He pulled his shirt off over his head, followed by the white t-shirt underneath with a hiss of pain. Balling them both up he pressed them to his side as he bit his lip, and stuck his right hand underneath. Gently groping around he put his back to the nearest solid object which happened to be another chimney, and pressed down until his rib began to slide back in.

He lost track of where everyone on the rooftop was for a few seconds as his vision went white, then black, and then sparkled with pretty lights for a bit. He had no idea where his rib was really supposed to be but he figured as long as it got out of the way so his skin could heal, he could stop leaving a scent trail. Gingerly pressing some more to be sure the bone was going to stay inside, Kem removed his fingers from the open wound and wiped them before the blood could crust over.

"Remind me again why being eaten by zombies was worse than this?" He panted, resting his head back against the chimney for a moment. At some point he seemed to have slid down the chimney so he was sitting, and he really didn't want to get back up immediately.

Somthing creaked and grumbled inside as his rib readjusted itself. That was pretty unpleasant, but apparently it was somewhere in the right vicinity if his body was trying to fix that up, too.

Finally deciding he could manage to be vertical again he took Aishe's offered hand and shoved himself upright with a lurching motion. He looked at his shirts all bundled up and then with a sigh, tossed them over the opposite edge of the building, as far from where they had planned to go down as he could. They landed in a bloody heap well across the way, giving them a good half a block from where they'd planned to descend.

"May as well be a diversion," he said. "I'll be all right." He focused on Nic, whose face was turning from one face to three faces and back again. "Just as long as we don't play Superman anymore."

He wiped a slight sheen from his upper lip, then rubbed the back of his neck, pausing to massage the taut muscles there.

Kem looked better than death, but Nic could imagine there must be a decent amount of pain associated with his injury. Focusing on who and where the blood was coming from gave it a bit less appeal, and for that Nic was grateful. He was also fortunate to be one of the vampires that ate little, and fed infrequently. He wasn't all that old, as the way of vampires went, but his constitution had always been a bit heartier than many. He assumed that went hand in hand with his need for a lot less sleep than most too.

Whatever the case might have been, watching Kem put himself right again gave Nic the time he needed to do the same. Once Kem had thrown away his bloodied clothes, Nic had made his way over to the next corner, where there was a ladder that went over the side of the roof.

Grabbing the iron tubing, Nic swung his body over the side, and stepped onto the second rung down. He bounced on the ladder a few times to make sure it was sturdy, then bellowed to the other three.

"Good show Kem. The area down here is still clear, but that might help it stay that way even that much longer. If we move, I think we'll make it to the ground without drawing any attention..."

'...I hope, anyway.' He whispered almost imperceptibly under his breath.

Right now they seemed to be having a stroke of awesome luck in eluding the crazed hordes. He briefly wondered how Ellis was fairing, but the thought was so brief it might not have even taken place. Nic's mind was back on self preservation, and he extended that to include those in his immediate group, but anyone else would need to fend for themselves.

Placed where he was on the stairs, he made up his mind to go down first this time. That way, he figured, he'd be able to stave off anyone who might come upon them, before the rest got down. If he could have thought of a way to carry Kem down, without inflicting that much more pain on the man, he would have. But Nic just couldn't see how he would do that.

Instead he would be there to help his friend when he reached the bottom, it help was needed.

Some day, say when she was five or six hundred years old, Pak was certain she’d get her subterfuge working perfectly. At the moment however, the combination of stress, fear and a nice bit of guilt was causing it to crack. Now, was not the time to let it get the best of her and she knew it.

Leaving Kem in very capable hands, she just cringed as Aishe put him back together again. Not able to take much more she followed Nic over to the ladder. Using the time and space to get her game face back on.

Maybe she had sold Nic short. OK so she still wasn’t his number one fan but he wasn’t as big an idiot as she’d originally thought and defiantly not a coward. She might try being nicer… maybe.

“Here, let me.”

Ladders she could handle and as one of the smallest members of their band of merry men she could test it, if it didn’t hold her it wouldn’t hold any one and you never knew when some land lord had skimped on maintenance or paid off a building inspector. So, Pak quickly scrambled over the edge and down the fire escape with no problems.

However, she was now on the ground, alone. For some god knows what reason she pulled out the gun Aishe had shoved at her and did her best to imitate a movie cop. That didn’t feel right so Pak hid in a door way instead. She could see a large group of shadowy figures traveling in a pack about a block away and they seemed to be moving this way.

Not willing to risk a shout and not wanting to push Kem harder than they had to she sent to Aishe.

[We’re going to have company here pretty quick. You two going to be able to manage?]

She started scanning the street for a likely car to steal and for some reason no one seemed to have parked on the street tonight. Bastards.

If their situation hadn't been so urgent Aishe might have taken a moment to admire her boyfriend's build. Broad-shouldered with a narrow waist and plenty of lean, wiry muscle in between, Kem wasn't too hard on the eyes if one could ignore the sticky blood caked over his left side and the odd lump that was obviously something sitting wrong.

All right, so she took a moment anyway.

[We're coming,] was her answer when Pak's sending jolted her awake. [I'm sending Kem down first.]

She would cover the rear. Pak had slid down the ladder with surprising ease, and Nic was following quickly behind.

"Your turn love," she said to Kem. "Sleep later."

Peering quickly over the rooftop, she noted the group Pak had warned her about. They were heading for the area the explosion had been in, it seemed, which wasn't far from them at all. There wasn't much chance they would go unnoticed, Aishe thought, but maybe they'd get lucky.

As Kem contemplated the side of the ledge, Aishe brushed her fingers across his cheek and pressed close to him for a brief, very gentle, hug.

[I'm proud to be with you, Kiamhaat,] she sent.

Kem was tempted to sleep, indeed. Normally being treated as an invalid of some sort would have irritated him but he was starting to really feel it. Themental strain, the fact that his rib had seriously just been poking out of his side and he'd stuffed it back in place with his figners.. yeah, he felt justified in a tiny break. No rest though, for the undead. Because they were being chased by -other- undead who wanted to eat them. And stuff.

His mind was really wandering. Straightening up again he smiled back at Aishe and felt his cheeks grow warm when she sent to him.

[For trying not to be a liability? I guess that's all right then...]

At her urging he headed for the side of the building, stood in contemplation for a few moments, and then gripped the cool metal of the fire escape with white knuckles. Almost through with it... and then, he swore quietly to himself, he was never going up anything again. Ever. Nothing good ever comes of going upwards.

The action of climbing the ladder was a whole lot less enjoyable than it might have been otherwise. Between his sweating palms, his shaking hands, and the fact that his still-broken rib was creaking around in his torso like a loose bearing, it seemed his entire body was conspiring to mentally and physically screw him over.

Catching a glimpse of a pack of zombies, he noted that no one had mentioned anything to him.

[Look, I know I'm the weak link right now,] he sent to them each in turn, [but if you don't tell me where the danger is I can't help you or myself.]

Stifling his mild irritation he hung briefly from the ladder with the arm on his good side, then forced himself to let go for one last painful drop to the ground. A burst of light hit his face and for a moment he thought it was a car's headlights until he blinked and realized it was his side again.

Looking down he noted it looked mighty angry with him, but the skin wasn't broken. And he was on the ground. Hallalujah. Let the raving hordes come.

"Women."

Nic sighed under his breath when Pakpao deftly maneuvered her way past him on the stairs, and reached the ground ahead of him. Oh well, the best laid plans, and all that rot.

Holding the bars, with his feet pressed along side them as well, Nic slid the rest of the way down the ladder, and landed with a soft thud. He ignored Pakpao, not really aware of where she was at the moment, while he looked up to watch Kem cautiously make his descent. It was obvious there was something wrong, but Kem managed to make it down the ladder pretty quickly, all things considered. Along the way Nic received one of Kem's messages, which startled him this time just as much as it usually did.

'Sorry dude, I just now noticed them myself...guess I had my mind on something else...'

Nic apologized, turned, and scanned the street around him. Looking back Kem had reached the ground but seemed to waiver a little, so Nic set his hands on the back of his friend in an attempt to offer support, and help to steady the other man.

Looking up again he could see Aishe was following, and seemed to have complete control, so Nic moved over to stand next to Pakpao. Looking down at her bare feet, Nic shook his head.

"You going to be able to keep up, running without shoes?"

Grinning wryly Nic's eyes batted innocently at the woman, as he recalled their first meeting and some strange happenings with his own shoes. Not that he KNEW if Pakpao had been at all responsible for the occurrence, but he did have his suspicions. One day he might find out, but he wasn't holding his breath for it to be today.

It was Pak's turn to give Kem the wounded puppy look. She sure as hell wasn't coddling him; she'd helped to hurt him. Hell if any one was a weak link it was her, all she could do was run and throw things, she hadn't a clue what to do with a gun or any of that survival/self defense shit. She certainly had -no- idea what to do in case of zombie invasion, this was a learning experience all the way around. But, if they were all undead enough to indulge in wounded feelings and ego though more power too them. So she didn't press the issue and just let it go.

"If I have to regenerate half my toes I'll keep up."Â?

Pak stated with determination, although she did manage to soften it with a half smile. It had taken a bit but she'd recognized there was some humor in Nic's statement. She couldn't quite figure it but she heard it.

Good, every one was on the ground. That was a great first step.

"Run or walk? I think walking might attract less attention..."Â?

But she really wanted to run. It would be really handy if they could tell where the hordes were and if it was safe to run or not.

((LOL! Poor Nic he keeps getting caught in her moods.))

Climbing down the ladder behind Kem, Aishe let herself drop lightly to the ground and stood straight once more. Tilting her head slightly, she considered Kem's rebuke and decided she, at least, was certainly guilty of what he'd pointed out.

[I'm sorry,] she sent simply, unwilling to draw any attention to them by saying it aloud. [You're right. I won't try to keep you in the dark.]

Injured he may be, but she knew Kem was up for a fight when the situation obviously called for one. And it was unfair of her to claim a lover's right to protect her beloved while denying him the same.

[But you're not the weak link, or you wouldn't have leaped across two rooftops, shoved your own rib back into place, and managed to get down that ladder without passing out.]

He could have half his argument, Aishe conceded. Kem was anything but a weakling. He was living proof... or undead proof, as it were, that one could be mild-mannered and unassuming without being a pushover.

Hearing Nic's softly-voiced question to Pak, Aishe looked down at her friend's feet. Sure enough, the Thai was barefoot. Her response made Aishe grin a little though. Trust Pak to be plucky under dire circumstances.

The question-asking went full circle as Pak voiced her own concern next. Assessing the situation Aishe responded by pulling out one of her hastily-grabbed handguns. "I don't think attracting attention is going to be a concern."

The small pack of zombies that had been heading toward the explosion was now veering in their direction. She counted six. Loathe to simply begin shooting, Aishe glanced around for a solution. There was nothing on the street that could really help them, she didn't think. And while the idea of safely firing at them as they approached was somewhat appealing, she didn't want to kill them if she didn't have to. Furthermore, the shots would only alert any more zombies in the immediate area.

So she hesitated, and waited for Nic or Kem to confirm their course of action, gun at the ready.

Kem offered Nic a nod of mixed apology and thanks as he steadied himself. he hadn't meant to come off as an asshole, and being grouchy and in pain wasn't much excuse for lacking manners. He wasn't buying Pak's puppydog eyes though. They were just wrong, on her. Besides, she'd have had the same issues as he did.

Aishe, as usual, was her calm self. Readily admitting what she'd been doing her response in his mind was flavored with understanding, and it was more than soothing. He did feel like a heel, however. His friends were trying to help, and here he was snapping at them.

Apologies would have to wait, however. The very objects of Kem's disgruntlement had decided to switch directions and come at them in a slavering, flesh-hungry mob. Aishe was quick to raise her weapon but she stopped before firing a shot. At first Kem misunderstood her hesitation but it didn't take him long to figure it out. Where there was a small pack of zombies, it seemed, there would quickly be more. He'd thrown his shirts away to avoid drawing unwanted attention, and shots being fired were certainly going to negate that.

Not to mention, Kem thought again, as he had in the car, these were people. Bad enough he'd fired on them once already. he wasn't sure he could do it again. Glancing around as Aishe had done, he reached out and put his hand on her wrist, pointing down and away a few yards.

"There."

He was indicating the nearest manhole.

"Can we take them out quietly? At least without drawing any more attention? If so, we can get down there. Hopefully they're not in the sewers. We can get to Liefde that way."

Not to mention, snappiness aside, he was pretty sure there was a limit to the abuse his body could take, and poor Pak was starting to look stressed out as well. They couldn't rely solely on Aishe and Nic to fight them back through the streets.

There wasn't much more time to expound upon his theory, and hopefully he wouldn't have to. Like a bloodhound to - well, blood, the first of the small pack barreled into them, cruising straight for him and doing its best to bowl Nic over in the process.

Sewers! Of course! Mentally kicking himself for not thinking of it first, it then dawned on him WHY he hadn't thought of it first. THEY WERE FULL OF SEWAGE!!!

Casting a pained look at Kem, Nic abruptly turned to see what Aishe was aiming at, and drew his own gun. Before he could fire though, he was knocked off his feet, and thrown to the ground, a heaving fetid mess of writhing weight trying its best to have Nic for dinner. No thought to keeping a low profile, Nic's gun fired into the flesh on top of him, and after four shots, it went limp. Nic pushed the bloody, pulpy mess off, and rolled over to stand up.

Deciding he'd rather brave the stench of sewage, in lieu of rotting bodies, he ran to the manhole cover Kem had indicated, and pulled it away once he got a good grip on it.

"Ladies first?"

It was merely a stall tactic, for he was quite aware he had no choice but to go down into the hole as well. Seeing more zombies getting perilously close, he raised his gun and aimed at the closest, firing before his brain threw up any arguments. There just wasn't any time to mess around, and he couldn't think of any 'quiet' way to dispense of the creatures.

“Yuck!”

Every one deserved a gut reaction, especially considering she was barefoot. It was an inspired suggestion and logically she approved, but ooey gooey … blech… between her toes? The gunshots, however, made up Pak’s mind. She jumped at the sound and was officially more than willing to run through the swears.

Still less than comfortable with her gun she mentally threw several trash can lids, one after the other Frisbee style, at the closest zombies knocking them down. It wasn’t perfect but it did slow some of them down. With out further stalling she found her way down into the dark, damp, smelly mess and tried REALLY hard not to think about what she was stepping on, it was squishy. But at least it seemed to be safe; it would be a bit cramped for Nic and Kem, hell she was having to crouch a bit but beggars can’t be choosers.

Once below she reached out and gave an experimental tug on the man hole cover. She could move it, barley. The thing was more substantial than Pak had thought. Once Kem was below though he could help pull the cover back into place and hopefully keep them from being followed.

[Get every one down here and we’ll lock them out.]

She sent up to Kem. Weak link her ass, he could pull that thing a lot better than she could and the two of them could make short work of it. Granted she hadn’t been terribly specific there, but Pak trusted Kem to understand her thought process.

So much for playing it quiet, Aishe thought as Nic went down under the first assailant. His gun went off several times... muffled, perhaps, but still loud enough to draw the attention of anything within a few blocks. She watched as Pak disappeared down into the dark, following Kem's idea and Nic's quick actions. Everything seemed to be happening at once.

Another one went down as a shot rang out from behind her and she realized Kem had pulled the trigger that time. She managed to get one off as well, but one of the remaining undead shoved her out of the way, sending her flying on its way toward Kem.

The last one caught her as she toppled and reeled her in with an impossibly strong arm. Aishe tried to get her gun up but the creature gripped her tightly. Praying Nic would help Kem out first, Aishe fended off her attacker with her free hand, bringing the heel of her palm up and slamming it into the zombie's nose. It squealed with horror as the bone shattered and cartilage popped out of place, but still it came on.

Quickly she reset her hand under its chin, shoving out just before it connected with her face. Her own hand was slipping in the blood that poured from its nose but she jammed her thumb into the skin under its jaw and kept pushing. They wrestled like that, held in a stalemate. The pavement was grinding into her back, but Aishe knew Nic would assist Kem soon and if she could hold on long enough, they'd get to her. She wished she could get some leverage, but she was lucky to be holding it off from biting her, at this rate.

Her delicate little fangs had poked out in the meantime and she found herself biting into her own lower lip. Opening her own jaws slightly to keep from drawing blood and frenzying the thing any further, she growled with irritation at the monster doing its best to snap at her and wished she could bite it and give it a taste of its own medicine.

Still dazed and confused, Kem's first emotion was slightly guilty relief when the first zombie tried to reach him by ricocheting off of Nic. It was dispatched rather noisily, but Kem preferred that over having a zombie eating his face. The second, as well, went down in a similar manner.

There was a brief respite and Pak had a chance to hop down into the sewers, but the remaining four zombies bore down on the other three vampires too quickly for escape. Without thinking, Kem raised his right hand with its gun and fired, glad Aishe had had the presence of mind to flick the safety off back in the gun shop. She took one out as well, and Kem registered Pak sending something to him before his world exploded in a burst of dazzingly bight lights and he felt himself sailing across empty space.

The zombie hit him with the force of a linebacker, throwing him back against the wall of the building they'd just descended from. Going with gravity, Kem simply let his knees do exactly what they wanted to do, which was buckle. The zombie snapped ineffectively above him. With his left arm clamped protectively against his injured side, Kem mustered up the energy to rise quickly. Sixteen hundred years of vampire brute strength went into the uppercut he launched with his right hand, and the butt of the gun cracked the zombie's jaw, knocking it back several steps.

Luck was finally with him; the undead critter staggered over the corpse of its pal and fell backwards. While, admittedly, Kem's first reaction to danger was to run, his ten-mile wide survival instinct kicked in before the flight mechanism had a chance to. He was over to the zombie before it could rise, slamming down into one knee and driving it with all his weight into its throat.

Still the thing struggled against him, even pinned down as it was. What the hell were these things made of, anyway? bringing his gun into play once more, he pressed it against the zombie's forehead.

And couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger on the detestable weapon once again. How much killing were they do to in one night? And why couldn't this thing just have the good sense to take its collasped trachea somewhere quiet and die in peace where Kem didn't have to see it? It had a face, for crying out loud. Its... his... his eyes were blue. He had a beard.

The hand clawing at his leg had a ring on it!

Kem was stuck there. This man had a life. He was at his limit. He'd already watched Pak take his car on a killing spree. He'd shot two zombies on the way into the gun shop. He'd jumped over buildings, turned his rib into jelly, and now this.

He knelt there as the zombie thrashed and clawed, unwilling to complete his move.

"Fuck this shit!"

Nic couldn't believe his eyes as the last of the lot seemed to split apart and go after both Aishe and Kem at the same time. Perhaps Pakpao could have remained behind a second or so longer? Perhaps not...and that was the last of the conversation in his head. Looking at Aishe, then Kem again, Nic had to make a decision quickly, or risk losing them both. These zombies might not be able to kill vampires, but Nic sure didn't want to see what the alternative might be... He had grown more than fond of Kem, and was liking Aishe pretty good now too...and it had taken a hundred years, give or take, to find these people...he didn't want to lose them now!

Whipping his head toward Aishe, Nic leveled his gun and fired off three shots, as he ran to Kem's side. Later he might look back on his actions, and shake his head in amazement, knowing how over dramatic he must have looked. But for now he really did need to get his head in gear, and do what he could to help these two get down below.

Kem had a gun shoved up against one of them, but wasn't pulling the trigger for whatever reason. Nic had no compunction, so he placed his gun to the creature's temple, and clicked off his shots in rapid succession. Three bullets were undoubtedly overkill, so to speak, but now that Nic was on a roll, he couldn't quit. Hoping Kem would have the ability to get up on his own, Nic moved to Aishe next, and saw his previous shots didn't do as much damage as he'd hoped. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd hit this one or not.

Reaching down he grabbed the zombie's hair with everything in him, and jerked back with a force he had no idea he had.

"Can you get up?!"

He frantically yelled down to Aishe, as he flung the zombie as far away as he could, then looked back to Kem again, anxiety over his friends condition becoming huge. God help him if he had to carry both of them to the sewers. Nic would try, no question, he just didn't hold out a lot of hope in succeeding, and couldn't bring himself to consider what that might mean.

There just wasn't enough time!

Aishe heard shots fired and figured that was probably a good thing; she hadn't heard or seen too many zombies wielding guns, so either Kem or Nic was still up and active. She could feel Kem's emotions clearly, as well... and realized her lover was very much at the end of his tether. She'd been pleasantly surprised at how well he'd been holding up, but he had his limits, she knew.

Suddenly the zombie on top of her was yanked back with such force she could hear its neck snapping. Nic was there, asking if she could get up, dark muddied blue and red stars flying from his lips as he spoke. Fear, anger, insecurity, the back of her mind analyzed. Nothing unexpected, but it would seem the actor's calm was merely skin-deep and being shaken.

Snapping her mouth closed Aishe hopped to her feet. Her sweater was covered in zombie blood, so she pulled it off and lobbed it a good distance away. The light shirt she had on underneath would suffice for now.

"Kem."

Running over to him, she noted his face, pale and washed out. His left arm was clamped against his side but she could see fresh blood beneath it. His right held his gun loosely in fingers that seemed locked around it. He was staring, unblinking, at remains of a zombie's blown-off head, but somehow she didn't think he'd pulled the trigger.

[Kiamhaat, let it go. We've got to go now!]

Reaching out, Aishe gently uncurled Kem's fingers from the gun and slid the safety back into place. "No more guns. No more killing today, I promise. Not for you."

It was a promise she hoped very much she could keep; she knew Kem wasn't up to any more fighting. Mentally and physically taxed, she figured it would be all he could do to make it the few blocks back to Liefde in one piece.

Looking at Nic she said, "Thank you." Aishe was well aware that they'd be far worse off without him. Taking Kem's right hand and helping him to his feet she nodded at the manhole. "We're not far."

She said it for all of them. They were all strung out, all ready for a break, a bath, a drink, whatever their particular needs were. They were close now, and if Kem's route was clear it was a matter of minutues until they reached what was hopefully a safe haven.

Kem winced with every shot fired, once, twice, three times. The man's head caved in. Blood spattered anew onto his chest and stomach along with little meaty bits of zombie/human. He just stared, feeling a mixture of horror, revulsion, and guilt, as the light faded from the remains of the man's eyes. It took him a moment to realize he hadn't pulled the trigger, but even that thought was scant consolation.

It was Aishe's voice that roused him from his stupor, awakening him once more to the fresh heat of injury in his left side and the reality that faced them all. He looked up at Nic, gave him a nod; it was his udnerstanding of what the man had done, his thanks for doing what he hadn't been able to.

He grasped Aishe's hand in his and braced himself, not completely able to ignore the fire in his side as he got to his feet. Only then did he recall Pak's sending, and as they made their way to the manhole cover he finally responded.

[Still clear down there? Are you all right, senet?]

Giving Nic and Aishe a quick once over as well, Kem noted they seemed to be shaken, but still well. Echoing Aishe's sentiment, he looked in the direction of Liefde. He could see the tops of the towers rising above the smaller buildings they stood among now.

"We're almost there."

His voice sounded ragged even to him, but he imagined none of them were exactly at their peak right now. He gestured down the ladder and nodded to Aishe. "I'll follow you." he looked at Nic, aware that being last man down was not the ideal spot. "Can you get the cover back in place?"

Nic was looking frazzled but hopefully the stench of the sewer would mask their own scents as they journeyed back to Liefde, and this would be the last difficult task any of them had to do. Kem would have been willing to be the last down the (ugh, not another) ladder, but he knew there was no way he could cling to the bars and maneuver the manhole cover back over the passage.

He waited for Nic's response as Aishe began to descend into the darkness below the city streets.

Pak could hear the gun fire, but all she could do was cringe, feel useless and hope everyone was all right. Cursing herself for a coward quite creatively in her native language she started up the ladder a bit, but only got one or two rungs up before she could hear well enough to know that what ever happened had gone down quickly and the other three would be on their way down.

She would kill for a clove right about now. Some how though she didn't think the sewer would be a good place to light up. Kem's sending temporarily jostled her out of feeling sorry for herself.

[Just a few rats down here. Should be fine.]

She refrained from answering how she was, as she didn't think any of them were too good at this point.

Fidgeting and waiting Pak remembered her laptop, she'd been dragging the thing around all night, and in the laptop bag was her blackberry! Fastest surfer on three continents and it wasn't much, but it's what she could do to aid them in getting the hell home. Whipping the mini computer out she managed to get a weak signal if she stood right under the open man hole cover and that was enough. Before every one had made it down she had a clear lay out of the sewer system between here and the Towers including heights. They'd have to make a few round about turns to avoid crawling but she had it and saved it to an off line file, knowing the signal couldn't possibly last.

Waiting for Nic to maneuver the cover she'd offer what little aid she could there as well. It would help steady it, at the very least.

"I found us a road map. We can't take a straight shot, but its not too out of the way."Â?

She had no issues being navigator but wanted every one to be ready.

God it had been a long night.

It took a little restraint on his part, not to just grab Kem and toss the man over his shoulder, but Nic managed. There wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for his friend, and keeping that in mind he stayed close to him and Aishe as she tended to getting Kem moving. And the look from Kem, as well, told Nic he would manage.

Even as dull as Nic could be on occasion, he still figured out Kem was a very proud man. And with the bit of pride Nic held onto personally, he could just imagine what it would do for a man of Kem's stature, to be bandied about like a small child, whether it was the only alternative or not.

A half smile and a nod, was Nic's answer to Aishe's gratitude. It was odd accepting it, for something he had done almost instinctively, but there was also no time for false modesty either. Instead he merely followed his two friends to the opening to the sewer, and stood back to allow their descent first.

"Yes, yes, of course, no problem..." Nic waived Kem on, sure he would have no trouble pulled the heavy metal cover back into position. He spared another couple seconds mentally praising himself for his dedication to working out, and as he'd done a few times in the past, vowed to always keep that a part of his life's routines.

Just as soon as Kem was clear of the top few rungs, Nic took place on them, and started tugging on the manhole cover. There were more of the zombies down the street, headed their way, but Nic was pretty sure they hadn't smelled or sited the vampires yet. Of course Nic didn't want to do anything to test that theory either, and didn't feel any modicum of safety until he was on the floor of the sewer system, ready to move on.

"Let's get a move on, just in case, shall we? Everyone able to do that...anyone need help?"

He had to ask, even knowing it was a pretty good bet none of the other three would take him up on his offer.

Aishe descended the ladder to find Pak at work on her little blackberry. The woman had obviously thought of something she certainly hadn't, and she was wililng to bet no one else had either. It wasn't until Pak mentioned it that Aishe realized she'd have been completely lost in the dark of the sewers.

"Nice job Pak," she said, hopping off the ladder and landing with a sickening squish on the bottom of the sewer pipe.

Ugh. She had to hand it to Kem for this idea... it was nasty but she couldn't imagine being followed down here. Even her vampiric sense of smell was overwhelmed by the odor. She was glad she could see very little. She didn't want to know what she was stepping in or through. Already she could feel muck seeping in through her sturdy shoes, and felt a good deal of respect for the Thai, who was truly barefoot.

Reaching back to the ladder she slipped her arm through Kem's as he came down after her. She wasn't sure if there was any way to support him that wouldn't hurt him, but she was there for him to lean on if he had to.

Trying to focus, Aishe gave up. She could see very vaguely the glistening wetness on the floor, and every once in a while some light filtered in from the streets above to show them the walls.

"Lead on Pak," she hissed once Nic had slid the manhole cover back into place and was safely down with them.

Seemed they were all hanging on by a thread. As far as Kem was concerned they'd all had a chance to shine, and Pak was taking her turn now. Although she must have been completely freaked out by the fact that she was tromping barefoot through the Nachton sewers, she'd had the presence of mind to use her computer skills to map them the quickest route back to Liefde.

The smells down here made him want to heave, but that had been the point. He could only imagine their reception, however, walking into Liefde like this. At least there was something to be said for wearing Doc Martens. They'd been serving him well all night, and now as he dropped into the sewer muck he could at least enjoy the fact that his feet were dry. Face it, there had to be a perk to this night somewhere.

The sewers weren't really built for the tall of stature. For Kem, at the moment, it wasn't a problem. He doubted he could straighten all the way up even if he wanted to. His bleeding side was healing over, sort of. The regeneration was sluggish at best. getting better would require a whole lot more blood than he currently had available. So he slogged along with everyone else, left arm clamped down, right hand plugging up the hole in his side.

The last bits of real light disappeared as Nic replaced the manhole cover and he and Pak came down the ladder. They moved to let Pak through and Kem turned to Nic.

"You all right?"

Kem could honestly say he'd been in worse places over the course of his sixteen centuries, and the same probably went for Pak, from what he knew of he past. Aishe was Aishe, and while he knew she found this pretty revolting, she handled it with her usual sense of calm and purpose, focused on getting them to home base. Nic though, Kem wasn't sure about. He didn't know a lot about the younger vampire's past experiences. Hell, for all he knew he was claustrophobic. At any rate, diverting his attention to his friends' well-being got his mind off the fragments of rib-bone that grated over his fingers every time he moved.

As disgusting as it was, Pak had accepted the situation rather quickly. The stench and the squalor weren't that much different than where she'd started out, she just didn't care to be reminded of those place. Of course, she wouldn't really want to be reminded of this places either. Yes, lets get together and go drinking and remember the time we ran through the sewers, some of us grievously injured while fleeing from zombie hordes! That was not going in her date book any time soon.

Hissing the Siamese equivalent of 'fucking no light' as Nic secured the cover, she again rummaged through her bag finding what she wanted. A tiny flashlight powered by a single double AA (it came free with the batteries) and a nifty little tool that had a screwdriver at one end and a pen light at the other. No sense stumbling around in total darkness.

"Flashlight?"Â?

She offered in general. The AA one was up for grabs, the pen light she wouldn't part with for money.

Balance was a bit tricky without shoes but she managed and headed them off towards home. They were going to have to cross several 'streets' and while she didn't relish that idea barefoot she at least had the grace to be the first one though taking solace in the knowledge she couldn't get tetanus, or rabies from the look of those rats.

"I just hope MARI lets us in."Â?

There were days even Pak wasn't sure about her AI friend, and arriving at the towers in this state... well they'd just have to see. It was very probably all of Liefde was locked down, but that was a bridge they'd have to cross when they came to it.

Watching the tenderness between Kem and Aishe reminded Nic of Livia, but those kinds of thoughts had no business in his head now. He knew if he considered her at all any anxieties he had been trying to belay, would hit him ten fold, as her safety would become an issue as well. And Nic logically knew there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. So instead he pushed thoughts and images of Livia from his mind, and looked to the other three to follow now.

Then too, more things to worry about could be what Nic would need, to allow him to move at all down there in that cesspool. Nic did not do sewage. Hell, Nic nearly gagged any time he even considered cleaning his bathroom, and now he was down in the bowels of all the bathrooms. He felt a small amount of imaginary bile climb up in his throat, before he held the sleeve of his shirt to his nose. Wearing cologne was something he had done for years, and now reaped another benefit from that action. Invariably what was on his skin was eventually transferred to his clothes, and as he breathed in the slight and softly scented fabric he felt his stomach start to settle. It was one thing to be able to ignore the vile offensiveness going on above ground, as his mind had been occupied more with survival, and a multitude of other distractions that prevented him from genuinely seeing what was in front of him. Now that his main objectives had dwindled down to reaching Liefde, and helping Kem to not fall apart, there was more room for other things to creep in. He had half a mind to make a mad dash ahead and run so hard that he wouldn't have time to let the sewer sink in any more than it already had.

"Fair to middling."

Was Nic's response to Kem, and as honest as he could get without breaking down and letting ALL his feelings spill out. Kem had no need to worry about Nic. Nic might be having a small mental breakdown - though that still remained to be seen - but at least Nic was still in one piece. Kem's injury had Nic very worried, but to keep his calm demeanor afloat, Nic would not let on. It never occurred to him that by letting Kem worry about him, Kem would be receiving the same distractions from his own condition.

"But that may change if we don't get moving."

Nic's grin was real, and it was taxing for him to not embrace the man before him, in gratitude, as well as support. Nic knew if he did that, he would probably inflict more pain to Kem than affection though, and stopped himself. There would be time for that later. There would be time to sit, look back and commiserate on tonight as an experience shared, and survived. But there would only be time if they got their asses out of these forsaken sewers!

Seeing Pakpao's flashlight, Nic shouted an expletive, and reached into his own pocket, and pulled out a similar flashlight he had attached to his keys. Not accustomed to carrying his keys around with him, for fear of losing them, which he did regularly, some reason had made him drop them in his pants pocket earlier.

Shining the light on the bottom of the sewer, Nic quickly raised the beam ahead of the group. He rapidly decided he didn't want to see whatever he was standing, and soon to be walking in. As long as nothing too large appeared, that might trip them up, he was a lot less disturbed just not knowing.

"Oh she'll let us in...she likes me."

And at the absurdity of that statement, Nic laughed. Sometimes his conceit really knew no bounds. His laughter quickly died down, once they began their trip.

Judging by the sounds of their voices, none of them were thrilled about their current situation. That was pretty much to be expected. They were reaching the figurative (and literal) end of the tunnel though, and hopefully the proverbial light there wasn't the pretty white one where all the angels go.

Pak offered a flashlight, and Nic quickly produced one as well. Aishe relieved Pak of the second one and tucked it in her pants pocket, just in case any of them got separated somehow. She and Kem would still have light. She didn't intend to let go of him. Although, she had to admit, he was holding up pretty well. If it weren't so dangerous for them to stay in one place for long she'd have insisted he bolster his strength with some of her own blood but this wasn't the best time for that, and if he was still bleeding then it would be useless anyhow.

Trudging through the mud, she chuckled at Nic's comment about MARI. "I somehow doubt she'll deny us entry. Though the cleaning crew might have something to say about it."

She adjusted her position slightly, tucking herself up under Kem's good arm. "Truth be told," she added, "I can't imagine any three vampires I'd rather be stuck fleeing on foot through the sewers from zombies with."

It was said with a cheeky smile no one but her knew was there, but the inflection in her voice was plain. The absurdity of their situation, if one took the time to look at it from where Aishe had been just two years ago, was astounding.

Silently, she sent to Kem, who was leaning a bit more on her now, [Will you be all right, 'Isu-mery?]

Kem heard the others talking, vaguely. He knew he'd asked Nic a qeustion and his response had been failrly noncommittal, but at the moment moving one foot after the other was taking precedence over humor, no matter how much it helped diffuse the stress of the situation. Each step was more difficult and while he didn't really think he was in dire straits, he would be thrilled to get to safety and have a chance to recuperate.

Certainly, he wasn't about to point out that they didn't know for sure if Liefde was safe, but at this time it was as good a bet as any and he doubted any of them wanted to consider what would happen if it weren't.

He knew he was leaning on Aishe a bit hard but she didn't seem to mind. She just tucked herself in and let him use her shoulder, which was conveniently just the right height for leaning on. Very fitting.

Aishe's sending filtered into his brain and he looked down at her, although it was difficult to make out her features in the darkness, even with the flashlights.

[Nothing a few pints can't take care of, merit. Don't worry about me.]

Pints of blood, pints of beer, whichever happened to be forthcoming first, he'd take at this point.

He did manage to get one more question out, just so Pak and Nic would kow he was still there.

"I don't suppose we're, say, right around the corner or anything are we?"

Ellis struggled to regain her footing as she followed Simon back out the smoldering building and back into the shadows of the alley ways. He was irritated with her, to put it mildly. She smiled as she silently admitted to herself that the explosion was stupid and pointless - but still she enjoyed making things go boom. I mean - who wouldn't? The pyro in her looked back at the fiery destruction with glee but it was quickly squashed as she watched the streets surrounding the fire fill up with hundreds of zombies.

Instinctively she tried blend but instead was rewarded with intense throbbing in her head. Ellis was still too weak to utilize the one ability that could mean the difference between escaping or being eaten. Simon suddenly pulled her into a doorway and broke the lock off with a twist of his fingers. He pushed her in silently but she stumbled from another wave of pain in her head. Quickly he caught her arm and eased the door closed.

'I can't...,' was all she could manage. The explosion had done severe damage and it took everything to try and pull herself together. Her legs threatened to buckle, the pain ebbing to and fro. Simon reached out and steadied her with his large hands, one hand cupping her elbow while the other encircled her waist. Ellis shook her head, trying to chase the tunnel vision away when she looked up into Simon's face.

It was there, as if it had never faded away. The warm comforting look of concern he always had for her. The pursed lips and disheveled thick auburn hair that she just wanted to run her hands through. He had saved her...again. Painfully she wondered if it was just a thousand year old instinct or a real desire. Maybe?

A cold sweat covered her body as she was suddenly reminded of another time this kind of pain over took her. Angrily she pulled her arms away from Simon's steady hands and she pushed through the building to find an exit without so much as a thank you or a look over her shoulder.

Simon picked up his jacket and stood with a look down his nose at Ellis. He said two words.

'Keep up.'

With that he quickly made his way through the building out to the alley way, away from Ellis' fiery cluster fuck. The streets were filled with the pungent smell of zombies, from one end of the street to the other they were running towards the orange glow emitting from the flame engulfed building, like proverbial moths to the flame. Simon tried concentrating again to try and contact Carol but he could not focus without pulling away from his perception which was barely keeping them and their scent far enough away from passing zombies.

Just then Ellis moaned softly and within his short perception range something slowed down enough to force Simon to seek refuge in another building. As quietly as he could they broke in another door, away from the alley and the street. He had to hold onto her arm to keep her from falling as he closed the door and backed them away from the windows and entrance.

'Ellis?' If she heard him, he couldn't tell by the dazed look in her watery green eyes. The explosion had wiped her out and the amount of blood he was able to give her without causing further damage to himself was barely enough to help her regenerate but not near enough to maintain. Her legs wobbled and she fell against him, forcing Simon to grab her around her waist and steady her.

'Whoa, hey hey.' For as reckless as her antics always are, they were memorable and even though he was fairly certain she had nothing to do with the evil rampaging that night he found it ironic that they ended up trying to survive it together. His rescuing her was automatic and without thought even after all these years of servitude and underlying hate - Simon was still there to catch her. He thought all of this as she finally focused her gaze onto his face and seemed startled. Despite everything, he felt himself grin.

The look of complete and utter innocence crossed her face. In a split second it was a warm early evening near a lake. A constable and a lady meeting exchanging smiles that would fuse two lives through a dozen lifetimes. The softness in her eyes changed just as quickly as it came and it was replaced by something seething with hate. Ellis tore away from him and regained her composure as she walked off to the back of the building, leaving him there and as always ...he followed.

(Ellis and Simon out to Duibne)

His eyes were like hot pokers from staring ahead into the darkness, only the small beam of light showing anything. Listening, trying to hear anything different in the sewer tunnel, Nic didn't think they would ever reach Liefde, and wasn't sure he'd know it if and when they did.

Without being too obvious he tried to also keep track of Kem, concerned still that his friend might be worse off than he had let on, and wanting nothing more than to find a safe haven for them all, where Kem could renew himself. NIc had always thought of Kem with the highest regard, and always felt the Egyptian could do just about anything, but with Aishe by his side, Nic didn't think there was anything Kem couldn't do.

Thoughts now traveling to Pakpao, Nic had to give her more credit than he had earlier. Even without shoes, down here in this dank, smelly hellhole, Pakpao forged ahead, and was doing fantastically. Maybe, just maybe Nic would try to get to know the Asian woman better, the next time he had the opportunity. Perhaps he had been hasty in his suspicions of her, as he now thought he was seeing a much better side of her.

"I think by now the cleaning crew must be pretty used to cleaning up after my messes." Nic joked, remembering the time Ellis had thrown him through the Liefde Tower lobby doors. Besides a ton of shattered glass, there had been a bit of blood strewn about that night as well. Blood...mud...sewage...was there really any difference?

Aishe's next comment made him chuckle again.

"I appreciate the sentiment, though I doubt you'll ever have a chance to check that out...at least I hope you never again find yourself traipsing through the sewers, fleeing from zombies. God help us all if this is a common occurrence."

They hadn't traveled much farther before the sounds around them changed. Above them he could have sworn a different set of noises had began to get louder. Metallic sounds, sounds of plumbing, and a hum of what he initially thought sounded like...bees? As large a building as Liefde was, Nic wondered now if they had finally reached there destination, and the new sounds signaled that. Stopping, he held up the flashlight for a couple seconds.

"Listen...do you think thats it above us?"

See her bag of pointless gadgets was useful in some situations after all. She would be using this as an example of why she couldn't take things out of her laptop bag the next time any one mocked her for having odd things easily accessible. Pak also decided she'd be getting herself a GPS as well, that would be a handy little toy about now; although, they were doing quite well with out it.

She was concentrating too hard on navigating to be very entertaining, or even responsive, although she did quirk an eyebrow at Nic for his comments about MARI. In different circumstances she'd be quite curious about his relationship with her creation. Pak was also a bit worried about Kem. However, a sister is a poor substitute for a lover and besides she didn't think he'd appreciate any one hovering over him. So she would trust Aishe to say something if either of the two of them needed help and stick to the task at hand.

"Yes."Â?

Pak answered Nic, although it was said a bit cautiously.

"And there should be a man hole cover just...."Â? she scowled at her blackberry, "just there."Â?

The little pen light just barley managed to illuminate a ladder back up to the street.

"There's no good way in from the main line to the Towers themselves. We'll have to go street level and in the front door."Â?

She let the question of who would be sticking their neck out, quite literally, hang in the air for a second before deciding that it might as well be her and climbing up the ladder a bit.

"If I can get a hand with this, we'll have a look and see if we've struck lucky."Â?

Please god let it be clear and let Leifde be safe. She didn't think any of them was up to more fighting, or running, or jumping, or anything else.

Before Nic could scoot up the ladder, Pakpao had, and pretty much all Nic could do was sigh. Jeez, what a pushy broad this one was, he thought, completely to himself of course.

Not that Nic didn't like strong, self-sufficient women, but there was a time and a place when they could let a guy take care of the more dangerous things. Not to mention, he wanted out of this cesspool tunnel badly!

Remembering Pakpao had no shoes on, Nic grew more generous in his estimation, and followed her up instead. At least if something bad was waiting, he'd be able to prevent Kem and Aishe from being swallowed up in its grasp.

"If you move a bit to the side, I can probably push it out of the way."

He said very calmly, and without a hint of displeasure. In fact, he even smiled at her as he shined the small flashlight beneath his chin, probably giving her a ghastly image of his very cute face.

If some one else wanted to risk their neck, more power to them. Pak simply hadn't been willing to ask any one to do something she wasn't willing to do herself.

She nodded to Nic and agreeably dropped back off the ladder making a rather nasty squelching sound that she did her best to ignore.

"All yours."Â?

Pak resisted a rather powerful urge to call him 'pretty boy'. She was still there and ready to scramble back up if he needed her to help or to grab the flashlight so he could have two hands.

In fact...

"Here let me hold the light for you."Â?

After all Nic had needed two hands to move the previous lid, he'd probably need them again.

She almost sent something to Kem about playing nice, but thought better of it. She couldn't remember if she'd ever told him she and Nic were... well... not the best of friends.

Aishe waited at the bottom of the ladder with Kem as the two vampires shuffled for position above them. Finally it was Pak who hopped off the ladder with a sound made even nastier by the remembrance that the Thai was in bare feet.

Nic, who'd given Pak a funny look from where he stood, had popped his flashlight into his mouth and moved the manhole cover away. There was some noise from above, but no shots or combat sounds.

Aishe peered up into the light from above as several faces looked down upon them. All familiar, all Liefde Security. Best of all, all Evenhet.

As they ascended to the streets finally, Aishe found that the Towers had been turned into a bastion of safety. Guards were stationed everywhere. there was some fighting, but not as much as she'd have expected. Apparently, zombies could find easier meals elsewhere.

Steping into the building, being greeted immediately by friends and kin, Aishe had the distinct feeling that they'd finally reached home.

Kem was mostly asleep on his feet by the time they reached a new ladder. It occurred to him to send to both Pak and Nic, and thank them for being such good sports... or whatever appropriate term fit, but focusing his mind on that task, no matter how second nature it was to him, was impossible.

How he made it up he ladder and into the Towers was a bit of a mystery to him, but he suspected that more hands than Aishe, Nic, and Pak's were involved because within a few minutes he was off in another room and there was a very comforting IV dripping blood directly into his arm and a few people who decided that, yes, that rib belonged back inside his chest cavity.

Aishe was standing next to him, that much he knew, and he vaguely saw Nic and Pak heading for an elevator, presumably to escape to their own rooms for a well-earned break. That was observation enough. Tipping his head to one side he rested it against Aishe's chest and decided that was enough for one night. In a quiet corner out of the way of the more dire emergencies that seemed to be coming through the doors every few minutes, Kem simply let everything fade away into dim shadows and sounds.

Better luck next time, zombies. Muahaha. And all that.

((ooc: Kem, Nic, Aishe, and Pak all out for well-deserved showers))

The area directly around Dubine was definatly not where any one still alive and remotely sane would want to be right now, Amberelle decided. She peered down cautiously off of a roof top at the steets below, not liking was she saw. The blonde's brows drew together and she tapped her chin lightly, then stopped and grimaced at the foul smelling blood that still clung to the leather. In fact she practically reeked from it now, but she knew they could somehow still smell her scent above it. A fact clear to her as several of the ones below seemed agitated and began looking around hungrily.

Silently she stepped back out of sight and was suddenly inspired. She grabbed up a handfull of gravel from the roof, sifting out several larger pieces. The Creole was thankful for her good aim as she used the rocks to smash out a couple of the windows on a building down the way, drawing all of the nearby undead's attention with the noise. Watching with glittering golden eyes as they rushed over and swarmed inside, she timed it just right so that none of them saw her quietly drop down onto the empty street and rush over to the corner.

Another pack of the frenzied zombies ran around from the cross street and towards the building that had captured so much attention, but none saw the small golden furred cat that dissapeared into the storm sewer drain. Amby moved under the sidewalks, now safe in the sheltered gutters. The cat began to run furiously along, right under the crowds above and towards her goal.

((Amberelle out and to Dubine))