Thoughts (OPEN)

[Sterling]

A small sigh escaped her parted lips, joining the air outside. She listened, as she always did, to the sounds around her. The gentle rustle of the leaves as they were tousled by the wind. The quiet hiss of the green grass brushing together. And of course, the gurgling groans of the infected that echoed throughout the park, sending shivers down Sterling's spine. She knew they couldn't see her where she was perched, in the topmost boughs of a tall tree. Though they still milled around below her, maybe they smelled her, or perhaps they spotted her climbing the tree. She didn't know, and quite frankly Sterling didn't care, she knew she could kill them if she had to. She hefted her most trusted friend from where it lay beside her legs and rest it on top of them. She ran her fingertips, torn, ragged, dirty fingernails and all across the crossbows hefty frame. She loved it for many reasons, it wasn't as large and cumbersome as some other weapons, and definitely wasn't loud, like a gun. She gently touched the rarely touched scope and smiled, it had been her 17th birthday present, from her father. She leaned against the scratchy bark of the tree, which tore at her exposed shoulders and sighed again. She was running out of food and other supplies and most of the houses had already been raided. She needed a game plan, and she needed one soon.

[Raven]

One foot hit the ground after another, her bag tugged tight against her back to prevent it from bouncing around and her arms worked in the natural motion of a runner. A small trail of stumbling zombies chased after the young teenager. Running was the only objective on Joanna's mind but soon her lungs had started burned and exhaustion started to hit her. Her brown eyes darted from one area of the park to the next as she ducked from the arms of an infected being. With a swift elbow she hit the dead creature in the chest and continued her streak across the park. For being an athlete this run seemed to be the hardest one ever. Maybe it was the fact she was being chased by infected human beings who wanted to rip her flesh off her bone or maybe she was finding this task so difficult because she was tired from scouting the day before. Either way she knew she had to get off the ground or out of their reach so she could catch her breath. Only if she hadn't been separated from her brother, he'd easily be killing off the infected but sadly she didn't have the heart to kill someone even given the current circumstances. Her brown eyes had finally locked on the slide, which had some height but not much and hopefully the infected didn't know how to climb. With an out stretched arm she grabbed the first rung of the ladder up to the small, smooth platform kids would sit on before zooming down the metal slope. Fear rattled her heart as an infected grabbed her shoe. She screamed a high pitch wail and held on the later with her hands while kicking furiously at the infected head before it could possibly bite her. Cautiously she glanced back toward the ground and gave one more swift kick to the infected head before hauling herself up on the flat platform. With shaky hands she pulled her knife out of her pocket and watched as a fair amount of infected gathered around the slide. Never before had she been so worried that her life would end shortly.

Word Count: 363
Comments: Sorry for the quality of the post and the rambling, I didn't really know what to post ):

[Sterling]

Sterling hummed quietly and looked down at the infected below her. There were only three and all of them appeared to be female. She sighed and scratched her shoulder idly as her thoughts once more shifted onto lighter things. She thought of her brother and her sister and smirked, the little brats... She chuckled ever so quietly but froze mid-breath. Right... Quinn and Brendan were dead. She choked a little and the infected paused, looking up, squinting against the fiery, bright, blinding light of the sun and gurgled. "Ugh... Can't you ugly things go catch a squirrel or something? I'm tryin' to relax." She sighed and shook her hair out of her face as she looked down at the groaning things which hissed and gurgled at her. They continued their staring contest until the bloodcurdling shriek of a girl reached her ears. She froze but the infected turned around and started shuffling toward where she knew the playground was. "Really... NOW someone has to choose to try and die near me?" With a grunting hiss of effort she heaved herself and her crossbow up and started down. The rough bark scraped her hand but she didn't mind as she all but let herself fall from the tree, trying to get down as fast as possible. "Don't let her be dead..." She sighed as she hit the ground and scanned the park. "Now where are you... Oh..." She went rigid at the sight of the infected which had gathered at the bottom of the playground equipment. "How on earth am I supposed to get you out of that mess?!" She shouted and sneered as all the attention was suddenly on her. "Did I disturb you?" She ran a couple fingers through her hair as the infected turned and started running toward her. She lifted her crossbow as soon as the words left her mouth and fired her first bolt. It hit with a satisfying squishing noise in the middle of one their eyes, it fell over, dead. "One down..." She sighed, she had some distance between her and them but she didn't have much time. She loaded and fired again, loaded and fired, loaded and fired. Now she was a good shot, and managed to take down at a good many of them, however she managed to miss three times, her bolts lodging in trees nearby. "Tch..." She leaned down and picked up her baseball bat and sighed. She hated close combat but she wasn't going to let that girl get hurt, and they were getting to close for comfort. "Hey battah' battah'... SWING!" CRUNCH She sneered as the first infected heads split open from the force of her blow. That's when she started running, she may have been a good fighter but it wasn't worth the risk and- She yelled as she felt a hand close around her arm and ripped her arm loose, running as fast as she could managed toward the playground equipment. She would have to collect her bolts later, "HEY! MAKE ROOM!" She raced across the park at surprising speeds, ah the beauty of adrenaline. When she reached the ladder she threw herself at it and started to climb. Throwing herself over the edge she pressed herself against the very edge where she couldn't be reached. She panted, her breath coming and going in harsh pants. "Are you..." Pant pant pant... "Stupid or somethin'?" Pant pant... She had her crossbow loaded, aimed, and ready as she stared at Joanna with fierce stormy gray eyes. The tip of the bolt aimed at Joanna's rib cage, an obvious message as any.

Word Count: 603
Comments: Sorry it's kind rushed and not many details but I was tired and hehe... Sorry.

[Raven]

Infected figure upon infected figure had gathered around the slide, some of them Joanna had known. Her heart lurched as she saw a few class mates that had turned, bits of flesh torn from one limb or another and blood had stained their clothing. The grip on her knife tightened as she fought of tears. Why must she be such an emotional person now a days? A few hands of infected tried to grab at her but she was safely out of reach for now, until one of them learned how to either climb the ladder rungs or run up the sloped side like some kids had managed to do. She crossed her legs and rested a hand on her fist sooner or later she'd have to either start killing or make a break for it an take the higher chances of being bitten. Then the startling sound of another voice touched her hears and she shook her head in disbelief. Slowly she scanned about for the source of the voice and then set into watching where the infected stumbled to. Another girl. Joanna searched her thoughts for a brief seconds in an attempt to recall if such a figure was there when she had been running. No. Certainly the girl couldn't have been there because the infected had been wandering around like they normal did when a fresh meal wasn't around.

The young seventeen year old watched as the new face stood rather fearlessly in-front of the hoard. One of the infected dropped to the ground finally dead. Then another one fell. Joanna was amazed at how one person could take down several of the animated dead alone. Anxiously she clenched her knife even tighter as she watched the infected get even closer to the teenager. If only she had been smart enough to bring her bow along because she would help the stranger get out of the mess. Instead she closed her eyes and covered her ears. This was probably the only chance she had to get away but for some odd reason she was held to the slide in fear. Her eyes shot open as the strangers voice sounded again, this time much closer than previously. Quickly she shifted to a new spot of the flat portion of the slide. Steadily she watched as Sterling bolted along the ground at a quick pace. Adrenalin must have kicked in or something. By the time the stranger had made it to the slide she was out of breath and Joanna felt a bit bad for the whole incident. After all she knew that the park was containing infected. She listened to the speaker ask her a question and was about to reply until she noticed the crossbow being pointed at her rib cage.

Joanna took in a deep breath of air and slowly set her hunting knife down on the slide, she certainly didn't want to be seen as a treat to someone who could easily murder her. "Depends on your definition of stupid," She replied slowly, "I'm almost positive you 'saved' me in order to save your own butt; to get my food and whatever supplies that I could carry in my bag." After stating her theory she sighed and studied the dirty face of Sterling. The crossbow and the fierce stormy gray eyes certainly were the most intimidating features that Joanna could pick out at this moment. It was hard to determine the height and weight of this stranger because of their current situation but she could easily assume that her possible killer was certainly stronger than herself or possibly could use height to an advantage.

Word Count: 607

[Sterling]

Sterling stared at Joanna, her finger rested near the trigger but not on it. The last thing she wanted was to be startled and impale Joanna with one of her bolts on accident. She reached up and scratched her the top of her head. "Listen short stuff." She sneered, she shifted as she slowly rose to her feet, a few of her joints audibly cracking. "I don't have time for your ungrateful a-... " She struggled for a moment, Quinn had always berated her for cussing. "Listen short stuff, I saved you because I felt like it. Not because I want your cheap useless crap. I didn't even know you had that junk when I decided to save your useless self." Her lips tightened in anger as she glared daggers at the girl in front of her, she straightened up and lower her crossbow. She was certain that the pipsqueak of a girl wasn't going to hurt her. "You know just as well as I do that not everyone is as nice as they used to be. Professor Pain here." She twitched the crossbow, "Is my insurance against potentially crazy people, and of course the infected." Her sneer grew ever colder, "Though I don't think I need to use ol'Professor at the moment. Pretty sure if I breathed on you the wrong way you would die."

She quickly used nimble fingers to remove the bolt from 'Professor' so that if she were to drop it, it wouldn't fire. "Now, do I get a thank you? Or should I just leave you here for the infected to eat? Pretty sure they could climb if they wanted to." She hefted the crossbow onto her back, using the leather strap her father had made for her. "I can get you out of here, but only if you promise to be nice." She sarcastically sweet. She picked up the wooden baseball bat and smacked it's gore splattered shaft against her palm.

Sterling leaned against the metal bars, but kept her legs a good distance from biting range. She watched Joanna and lips tightened further as she tried to place her. Maybe they went to school together or something... Whatever, what really hit home was how much Joanna reminded Sterling of Quinn. "So tell me kid..." You call her kid even though she looks to be about her age, yet significantly shorter then you. "Why didn't you try to hurt the infected when they tried to you know... Kill you?"

Word Count: 414
Comments: Blah, short post is short.

[Raven]

Joanna could feel her blood pressure rise as she was called short stuff. Sterling was certainly not the most charming of people and reminded her of a snake, cold blooded. The seventeen year old brunette bit on tongue to hold back her words and listened silently as her savior continued to insult as well as explain. Well good to know that she wasn't saved for her "useless crap" and that this stranger felt like being nice. She rolled her brown eyes when she was called useless. All through out her life she wasn't useless especially in sports at school, she was one of the best players on the team. There was a lot going through her mind as Sterling continued talking. Does this girl every shut up, she thought silently to herself while watching with brown eyes. Sterling's facial expressions kept on getting colder and colder. Definitely a snake, she confirmed to herself but it was good to know she wasn't going to be impaled by a crossbows bolt. With a slow hand she reached out for her hunter's knife, smoothly put it in the leather case that she had attached to her hip and then grip a strap on her backpack.

"Thank you," She spoke through gritted teeth, the two simple words felt like acid on her tongue. Slowly she could feel her own heartbeat slow down as the threat of being skewed by an arrow was lessened by just a bit. The blood splattered bat however also wasn't very comforting seeing as it could be a skull crusher in the right hands and this cold person was clearly capable of that. With her free hand she gripped the handle of the slide, leaned back and popped her back before sitting back. "I can not guarantee a heart felt promise to be nice to someone who towers over me spitting insults in my face and had just held a lethal weapon toward my chest. However I know when to hold my tongue and now is one of those times," she replied bitterly. "I'd appreciate the help of getting out of here so I can get back to my brother. In return I'll give you whatever food we can spare just because you did save me form being a meal." This stated in a gentler tone but Joanna still wasn't going to be the sweet teenager she had once been, 'specially not to a bully who kept flinging insults at her.

Lazily she straightened her back, removed her hand from the metal bar and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked past Sterling at the wandering infected who seemed to be gathering again. Her thoughts drifted, like a balloon into the breeze, back to school and the clicks that would travel through the halls. For some odd reason the infected seemed to for their own clicks, whether it was a conscious decision Joanna would not know and hopefully never would. Now that she thought about it she was apart of a click, she hung out with the jocks and other sport fanatics. The sound of Sterling's voice brought Joanna out of her thought process and she looked back at the freakishly large teenager. "Why don't I kill something that seems programed to tear someones flesh off? I'm not a fighter, much less a killer. They were people, people I knew, people I hung out with at school or helped at some point in time. I don't have the heart to kill a fly so I can't see how I would kill a person." She replied in a mummer, eyes focused on her black vans.

Word Count: 603

[Sterling]

Sterling reached up and raked her fingers through her dirty black hair. Grabbing it with quick deft fingers she removed the band from her wrist and tied it around the handful of thick tangled hair. "Gotta be able to see..." She grumbled, her voice sharp and clipped. Now that her face was clear of scraggly black hair it was easier to see her gaunt bony face. Though she wasn't overly skiny she could still use a few good meals, just like everybody else. "My name is Sterling, S T E R L I N G. Got it? Good... That's the name you scream if something grabs you." She smirked as she studied Joanna's face. She rubbed her own face idly, scraping off dirt with her ragged nails. A sudden breeze brought the pungent musky scent of the infected. A small noise of disgust left her throat as she raised her dirty hand to cover her nose. "I hate to rush your heart felt apology but I'm starting to get sick from the smell. And you're welcome" She sneered, turning from her temporary companion.

"Who knew, you do know a thing or two about staying alive." She hissed softly, "Your brother huh? So that's why you're still alive..." Rolling her shoulders she looked out across the park, about three were clawing at the playground equipment trying to get to her and Joanna. "Rules of the Road." She started, keeping her sneer in place, one hand on her hip and the other wrapped firmly around the handle of her bat. "Always listen to Sterling, no matter what. If I tell you to run into the horde you run into the horde, I know what I'm doing." She used the butt of the bat and slammed it into the nose of an infected trying to grab at her boots. It groaned and stumbled backward from the impact, "Rule number two, stay out of my way. The last thing I need is to accidentally shot you, or break your face when I swing my bat back." Yawning she rolled her shoulders, turning she gave her a very serious look. "Rule number three... Those who have gas travel at the back of the pack." She smirked at Joanna. "Rule four, if you get bitten I'm going to kill you, no exceptions. If I get bitten I expect you to do the same, understand?" Her stormy gray eyes narrowed dangerously, her mouth turned down severally.

"Now that the basics have been covered, tell me when you're ready to go. I hope you're good at running because we're going to be doing a lot of that." She rolled her shoulders idly and turned, resting her arms against hot metal, "I understand you know... Not wanting to kill them." She murmured scratching her cheek, "I knew some of them too." She yawned and turned back to her, all signs of softness and the quiet spoken words gone. "Just got to realize, they're not who they used to be. They're shells, our friends are dead." The breeze brought the smell back and ruffled her hair, "Come on, we need to get going, I don't want to get caught outside after dark, and I need to collect my bolts, I fired seven of them off."

Word count: 543

[Raven]

Yuck! The smell of the infected brought on by the sudden breeze was sickening and overwhelmingly strong. Joanna struggled to hold back the urge to gag and covered her nose in an attempt to block the smell. After the smell had subdued she moved her hand away from her nose and looked at Sterling. "I'm not a child so don't treat me like one." She replied sharply making sure to put extra emphasis on the 'don't' portion, "Lets get out of here then because neither of us can stand the stench." Lazily she pulled her dark brown hair back into a pony tail that she would wear during soccer games. With Sterling's onslaught of smart alike comments, Joanna could feel her blood pressure rise and her mind working working over time just to prevent her from saying another that would start a fight but sadly that didn't last for very long. The next round of hissing just set Joanna off. "Who would have thought that I actually knew a thing or two about surviving? I'm not stupid." She snapped back, "My brother would be dead if someone didn't keep him in check. He's the muscle between the two of us."

Rules. Four rules, three of which made complete sense and actually had some sort of intelligence put into them however one was completely immature. Naturally Joanna rolled her eyes at how immature some people could be especially in a time like now where maturity would keep them alive. However being someone who always thought her actions through before actually doing something. So in all actuality the first and last rules that Sterling listed off would be a challenge for the brunette soccer star. Running through a mob of infected didn't seem remotely safe but neither was sitting on this slide forever. With a deep sigh and a slight scowl Joanna finally confirmed with herself that she had to follow Sterling's rules no matter how challenging it would be. "Understood." she stated flatly.

After another one of Sterling's rather cold comment, Joanna heard a different tone in the tall teenager's voice. It was more hushed and actually made it seem like she cared about something for once. But sadly that tone was to good to last. With a delicate hand Joanna rubbed her eye for a brief second and afterward looked at the infected. "I guess so." Her voice was hushed and she sighed once again. "Can we get going? I really want to get back to my brother before he does something stupid."

Word Count: 421