Jugger x Sippie

The sounds of heavy sobs fill the room that would be otherwise filled only with the sound of their footsteps. Bill holds the barrel of one of two pistols up to his mouth and makes a barely audible shush noise. Four lights click of simultaneously as everyone turns in a synchronized circle, searching for the source of the crying. Everyone knows it is a Witch but where she is is a complete mystery, a dangerous one that could cost all of them their lives if not solved.

Zoey sees red eyes glowing less than twenty feet away from where they stand in the middle of the parking garage. Zoey touches Bill, who in turn throws his arms out to both sides, stopping Zoey and Francis from moving. Louis bumps into Francis and accidentally drops his gun, which startles the Witch.

Immediately she jumps up, screaming furiously and running right at them. Zoey, Bill, Francis, and Louis all scream at the top of their lungs and begin shooting. Zoey can see the bullets lodged in the Witch's body, but she continues to run. The Witch leaps at them, slashing Louis's throat as she lands. Francis bellows from the pit of his stomach and continues to blast her with his automatic shotgun. She staggers back, then reaches out and puts her hand right through his chest. Bill and Zoey see his eyes widen in shock before the Witch removes her hand and he falls to the ground.

Bill backs up and stands beside Zoey, pushing her back with one hand as he continues to fire. Zoey looks at Bill, but he doesn't look back. Zoey turns her head to return her focus to the Witch in time to see her jump in the air, throwing herself in their direction. Bill pushes Zoey in the chest screaming, "Run, Zoey, run!" The Witch lands on Bill and begins tearing his chest and face to shreds while a horrified Zoey watches. Before Zoey can force her feet to move, the Witch looks up at her. Zoey screams and pulls the trigger, only to realize that her clip is empty. She curses and looks up in time to see the Witch's claw coming right for her face...


Zoey sat up in her bed, having woken up to the sounds of her own screams. It took her a couple of minutes to realize that she was alive and relatively safe back in her own bed in Philadelphia. The Infected still occupied the city, but they had abandoned the neighborhood once they made sure everything with a pulse was dead. Her group and probably anyone she had ever known was dead. She was alone, no Witch in sight to tear her face off.

She took a deep breath before forcing herself to leave the comfort of her bed and getting ready to head out. After everything she had been through, she refused to believe that there were absolutely no survivors in Philadelphia. Every day since her return she had gone out in search of one, to no avail. That fact had shaken her resolve a bit, but her memory of Bill and his effort to save everyone he possibly could kept her going. Zoey showered, dressed, and disembarked quickly, her stomach in dire need of something of substance to fill it.
 
Nathan had arrived in town two days before this, taking refuge in a fast food restaurant for some food while he looted stores for things he needed. The other day he had found two pistols that could have been of some use, were they not empty of bullets. Now in present day, he is still holed in the restaurant, though time is running out for him as the infected begin to come back into town. Even now, he sees one or two walking around the place, but he paid no mind to them so long as they didn't see them. Later, once the coast was clear, he holstered his pistols and kept a cracked, wooden baseball bat in hand as he ventures down the street in search of refuge. He had heard that to the west of Philadelphia was a army refuge center by the name of Jericho. "Damn...if only the car's engine didn't bust..."
 
After all the crap the citizens of Philadelphia had been through with the local public transportation, SEPTA, one could never say they didn't miss those constantly late buses and overly loud subway trains. Traveling to Center City took hours on foot. She did it only because if there was a chance that there were people alive in well in the city of brotherly love, they were probably in hiding somewhere downtown.

Zoey had made her way to Center City on a can of uncooked baked beans and stale potato chips. She was beyond thirsty and the sustenance she'd had had long since worn off. She could feel the acid corroding the lining of her stomach. She would loot the first restaurant she found before she started her search.

She stopped in front of what she believed used to be a Wendy's. The sign had fallen off and the inside looked like it had been the scene of a horrendous battle. She believed it used to be Wendy's because she remembered one being in that exact location. Whatever it was, she climbed in through one of the many broken windows. She pulled out her pistol, checked the clip, and cocked it before she continued further into the restaurant.

"Hello? Anybody here?" She held the gun at the ready and moved over to the counter. She checked under it to make sure no Infected were hiding there, then jumped over the thing. "Hello?"
 
Hearing a voice, Nathan looked up and readied his gun. He was in the back in the closet, a small place where he could sleep safely what with him being able to lock it as well and hear the infected pounding against it, should they come. He reached for the door handle and slowly opened it to the sight of a girl. The door had opened no more than enough for a small bit of him to see out of, his eye the only thing visible if she were to look. He kept his pistol ready at hand. It may be an empty gun, but it was still good for a blunt force. The baseball bat wouldn't last much longer, so he would save it. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" He said as he gripped the gun harder, ready to attack if it was survivor who was undergoing the effects of the infection. They were somewhat more dangerous than the regular infected because they could still use guns and such to kill their victims until they'd fully turn.
 
Zoey choked back a scream as a voice came from behind her. She turned quickly, pointing her gun in the direction of the source. She looked around, not seeing anything immediately. "My name is Zoey." She said, talking just in case whoever it was had a gun pointed at her head. She made a show of taking her finger off the trigger so that, if she was being watched, the person would know she wasn't dangerous.

"I was just looking for survivors, maybe hoping to find some food along the way." She looked around, not seeing any in her direct line of vision. Her eyes did fall on a cracked open closet, a single shiny eye the only thing visible. "Who are you?"
 
Nathan still did not open the door. He pointed his gun out the crack to show he had a weapon, though he hoped she wouldn't know it was empty. It was moreover another way or keeping her at bay if she attacked. "I'm...My name is not of importance...if you're looking for food, cook some up out of the freezer and get out...but be careful...try not to make too much noise, the freezer door scrapes against the ground and it makes the worst of sounds."
 
Zoey rolled her eyes. Normally people were happy to see other survivors. This guy acted like he didn't want to be saved. Though she knew she couldn't help anyone who did not want help, but she'd never be able to live with herself if she didn't at least try.

She put her hands in the air as she stepped back towards the grill. It took her a moment to figure out how to turn it on, but she got it eventually. Then, with her hands still up, she moved to the freezer. She glanced in the direction of the hidden survivor and his gun as she tugged at the cold door, wincing at the scraping sound it made as it budged. She stopped, then lifted the door slightly as she pulled. She retrieved two burgers, then put her hands back into the air as she went back over to the grill.

"Are you going to come out so that we can talk?"
 
Seeing she was safe, he exited the closet to show who he was. Just another average looking person, aside from the bandage over his eye. He sat down on a nearby chair and laid forward so his head drooped down as he rubbed his head. "This world has become hell...everyone's one of those walking shits out there and we're all gonna die..."
 
Zoey holstered her gun and grabbed a spatula as the survivor emerged from his hiding place. He was attractive, at least to her standards, if a bit average looking. The bandage over his eye added some rugged appeal to his features. "How long have you been hiding here?"
 
"I just arrived in town two days ago...My car broke down but I've been hiding out here for some time now. I've got no ammo...just this crappy bat, its near about to break. What about you? Why're you here, are there others?" He looked up to her and holstered the pistol he had used to bluff with.
 
Zoey's heart lurched as she thought about Bill, Francis, and Louis. She missed them terribly, and she thought about them constantly. Especially Bill. He was like her second father. Something in her changed the day he sacrificed himself to save the three of them. "I'm here to look for more survivors." She replied, flipping the burgers on the grill. "So far you're the first I've found."
 
"There are no other survivors...well...except for any who might have gotten to the military base Jericho west of here. Thats where I'm headin but I'm probably not going to make it far alone so...how about coming with me.since we're both survivors?
 
Zoey stared at the stranger as he spoke. How could there be no other survivors? Philadelphia was a such a huge city. But deep inside she knew that he was probably right. She sighed, her heart heavy, as she grabbed some buns that had been left out, probably by him, and put her burgers on them. She went to the counter and grabbed some ketchup packets. "I don't even know your name."
 
"Nor I to yours...well...my name's Nathan Stone...you can call me whatever you want." He got up and looked past the counter to a zombie that was walking by. He crouched down so that the zombie wouldn't see them and he motioned for her to do the same since her food was done.
 
Zoey looked around, wondering why he ducked all of a sudden. She spotted the zombie and quickly fell into a squatting position with her gun in her hand, her finger on the trigger, and her burger balanced precariously on her thigh. "My name is Zoey."
 
"Alright cool...listen, know that you might want to use...silenced weapons more than guns...these...these things have gotten smarter...they hear one gunshot and more of em will come in small groups, a volley will just attract the horde. Before we go, we should stop by a sporting goods store or a gun shop to find ammo and silencers for our pistols."
 
"I know of a pawn shop around the corner. They sell weapons and weapon accessories in the back. We might have to break down the door, but we could make a stand there if the noise attracts a group." Zoey whispered. She put her burger on a napkin on the counter, conscious of how dirty the thing was. The zombie looked into the window, peeked its head in, then continued on its way. "We should go, like, yesterday." She said, knowing that the Infected barely moved alone. Where there was one, there was usually at least ten close by.
 
Nathan nodded as he grabbed the baseball bat. "Okay...so there's a backdoor we can try. If we're quiet, we can sneak out without alerting any of the horde. Whenever you're ready Zoey, though you'll have to take lead if you know the way."
 
"You get us out of here, and I'll get us to the pawn shop." Zoey replied. "After I eat though. I am starving!" She exhaled on the last word to emphasize her hunger. She grabbed her burger off the counter and ate it quickly, slowing down only to avoid the pain she got in her stomach when she ate to fast. She stood, pointing her gun at the door as she backed up towards the grill so that she could grab her second burger. She ate that at the same pace, then turned to Nathan. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here."
 
He looked in surprise at how fast she had eaten the burger, to a point she actually felt some pain from it. "S-Slow down...?" He said still a bit shocked. Whens she was finish, he nodded as he began to crouch-walk his way toward the back of the restaurant. When he was out of sight of the zombie, he stood up and looked through the window of the back door. His heart fell at the sight. A horde of zombies walking through, even a boomer hiding around in the back alley which wasn't good. "Zoey...we got a problem..."
 
"What?" Zoey replied, grabbing his arm and moving him out of the way so that she could look through the window herself. "Holy mother of God!" She whispered as she backed away from the door, memories forcing her to close her eyes and shake her head to get them to stop. She hadn't seen a special Infected since she got back to Philadelphia.
 
"Get a hold of yourself Zoey, the worst thing we can do is panic about this. We'll simply just wait it out...alright? A few hours at most, thats all. Now cmon, we need to get into the back where the storage is, we'll be safer there. One entrance and no windows for them to break." He said as he got up and stealthily got into the back room.
 
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