RP: As They Rise (randomname98766789 x celebstars)

A 2015 Toyota Tundra sped through the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. The vehicle stopped outside a large house away from civilization. The remote location was perfect for relaxation and living. It was the exact lifestyle thirty-year-old Master Sergeant of the United States Army Declan Ross wanted to live. After graduating high school from the big city of New York, Declan spent four years attending the Westpoint University Army Academy in Westpoint, New York. At the age of twenty-one, he enlisted in the army. With prior experience in the academy, he enlisted as a corporal. Nine years later and he was quickly climbing the ranks. His experience in the field and ability to lead granted him swift promotions. He was well respected by everyone and had a bright future in the military. Only another eleven years then he could retire at the age of forty-one with full benefits and find a new hobby. The plan of his life was all laid out until the universe decided to throw some wrenches in that plan. The prospect of dead people roaming the Earth sounded asinine only last week. Today, with fear in his soul, Declan knew better. He witnessed firsthand what these creatures were capable of doing.

Nobody knew anything specific. Rumors were that the outbreak started in a Somalian refugee camp. A mobile hospital was overrun and various ships were carrying infected people into the United States. The United Nations held multiple meetings about the situation. It was supposed to be contained but the virus quickly spread. It had been present in the United States for a week. The government and military tried to quarantine the issue. The media did not help. Recording events of attacks were leaked, theorists were interviewed, and some officers and military officials were leaking information to the public. Mass panic was caused because it was the end of days. Looting, murders, and crime took over the streets. Society had collapsed and no chain of command existed anymore. Master Sergeant Ross was in charge of a quarantine zone outside of Denver. His squad managed one of the mobile hospitals because the actual hospitals were too overcrowded and filled up quickly. It was impossible to contain the order and caused Declan to spend many hours away from home. As a higher ranking official, Declan knew more about the outbreak than the others. He saw an infected individual reanimate and attack. He knew they were slow and could not climb. He knew they could only be killed by deactivating the brain.

Declan could be described as benevolent, calm under pressure, loving, loyal, dominant, disciplined, objective, and well-rounded. Sometimes he could be too aggressive, ambitious, and intense. Though he was a nice guy, his temperament easily fluctuated. Declan stood at over six feet and four inches tall. His hair was jet-black and curly. His beard was a matching color and it was full but neatly trimmed. His body type was phenomenal. Muscles lined his body and he was in excellent shape. Notably, Declan was rather freckled and has a large scar on the lower back of his body from an incident he was involved in overseas years before. His voice is deep and dry most of the time. When he got flustered, Declan would speak faster. Normally, he talked slower than most people but there was a strict difference when his voice grew angry or serious. His family has a rich history of being in his military. To name a few, his father was in the Air Force, his grandfather was in the Army, and his brother was in the Marines. His brother was sadly killed in combat five years ago and his father recently passed due to cancer. The only living family he had was his mother across the country in New York. After his last tour, Declan moved to the one state he always dreamed about. He loved the cold, he loved the weather, and he loved the activities. Plus, the local Army Reserves needed someone to train the recruits and get into the community. Most of his work for the Army was done from his home unless he was deployed.

Here, he met the love of his life. Her name was Kate Upton and she was the most gorgeous woman he ever met. She was a fantastic artist and she had stolen his heart. They have been married for three months and were enjoying life until this happened. Declan had kept Kate informed about what was going on, even the gruesome details. Thankfully they lived far enough from the city to not be bothered. Running water, gas lines, and electricity were all shutting off. No cell phones or internet existed in the larger cities. It was almost like the time turned back to the American Revolution time period. After gathering himself, Declan took a deep breath and exited the truck. The Commander told all post leaders to abandon the posts. There were too many undead to deal with and there was nothing they could do now. They just needed to get their family and get to a safe zone. There were various safe zones set up. In the case of drastic measures, the military considered bombing the larger cities in hopes to stop the virus spread. Regardless of outcome, Declan knew it was imperative to distance themselves from the city. There was supposed to be a military camp not too far away. They could check it out. With his ranking, they might get special treatment. Still dressed in his military outfit, Declan slipped the key inside the lock and entered his house. It was after midnight and snow was starting to fall outside. It was the dead of winter. His combat boots pounded the wooden steps as he jogged towards the bedroom. He knew Kate would be sleeping but they needed to leave tonight. Now. After approaching the blonde, he reached down and gently placed his hand onto her shoulder.

“Kate… Wake up.”

It was hard to sleep in times like this. Especially when all alone in middle of nowhere, but Kate somehow managed. Her husband always told her that they were safe at home and she needn't worry. That didn't help much, any noise she heard outside scared her and made her nervous, was it one of them things? Maybe an animal? Or just something in her head? Declan made sure Kate knew how to use a gun, there was a weapon in every room of the house now just in case something happened. So much for saying she hadn't needed to worry...

At twenty four years of age, Kate had a promising career in art and design. She was very creative and started to design work tailored to companies designs. Organisations wanted to offer her money in exchange for art work, things were taking off for the young blonde woman. Now a new wife, she had the husband she dreamed of to accompany a job she loved and enjoyed. Never before had she loved someone like Declan. Trusting him in every way, she could forgive him for anything he did, she would have lied for him, stole for him, possibly even killed for him. Kate found herself devoted to the man.

Tonight, as the beauty finally fell to sleep, she couldn't anticipate her husband waking her up only twenty five minutes later. Laying on her side, back to the door the hand on her shoulder made her turn over to look at the man gazing down at her. "Declan? What's wrong?" It was unusual for him to be doing this. "Turning the nightlight on, the room filled with an orange like glow. Honey?" Sitting up, her black night gown revealed her cleavage while the bed sheets fell down.

"You are scaring me...."

Declan paused and took a deep breath before sitting down onto the bed beside of his wife. His rough, calloused right hand gently gripped Kate’s softer one and gave it a squeeze.

“Baby, we need to get away from the city. Tonight, we were given orders to evacuate the safe zones. Everything is getting overrun. We will not be safe here much longer. I do not have time to explain everything right now. I need you to trust me. On the bright side, I won’t have to go anywhere else during the night or day. We will be together and survive together. I know of another military compound just fifty miles away. It is supposed to be safe. We can check it out.”

It would take too long for Declan to explain everything to Kate right now. He needed her trust.

“Just get dressed and gather everything you need. We will pack everything in my truck.”

His truck usually got better gas mileage and was more durable than Kate’s vehicle. That was important during this time. Declan packed clothing and other bodily essentials before gathering all the water they had along with any non-perishable food. If they had room for anything sentimental then that was arranged. His large collection of guns and knives were already in his truck. Declan was thankful it was four-doors and had a large space inside.

The male worked feverishly, trying to clear out the house. They needed to get going even though it was nightfall. For gasoline, Declan brought a few gas cans, siphoning from Kate’s car and filling his tank. It took Declan almost half an hour before he felt satisfied. The male was sweating and breathing heavy from his physical exhaustion. His only objective was protecting Kate. During the final sweep of the home, Declan found himself searching for his wife.

The way he spoke frightened her. She knew what was going on, but it was all meant to be contained, or at least appear safe. What did he mean by overrun? Things were hurried and rushed, she was told to trust him, get dressed and gather anything she may need. As he left, the woman stood up, a little tired and with a stomach full of worry.

It wouldn't take Kate long to get ready. Her husband had made her pack a holdall a few weeks ago just in case things did get bad. That way they could be moving faster, eliminating the time needed to pack. Inside were clothes, bottles of water, a first aid kit and some essentials like a tooth brush, tooth paste and deodorant.

Needing to get dressed, the lady pulled up some fresh panties, a light pink colour and then put a leg through each hole of her black jeans. Buttoning them up at the waist, a clean bra held up her 34DD breasts and a black blouse covered her skin and chest.

When Declan was searching for his wife throughout the home, he would have found her coming down the stairs towards him. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail as she pulled the holdall behind her. "I think that is everything." An item she did take was a golden locket from her jewelry box. It was one of the first gifts her husband had give her after their marriage. Placing it around her neck, she tucked it under her blouse and let it rest between her breasts.

Inside the truck, Declan already packed everything they needed. Guns, suppressors, magazines, knives, multi-tool knives, walkie-talkies, a radio, various toiletries, MREs that he had from the camp, canned food, supplement pills, and other various everyday items such as zip ties, rope, tape, and clothing of course. The extended cab was packed full. Declan used his position of power to start preparing in the case of an emergency when the outbreak first started before the general public knew about it.

When Declan saw Kate and heard she was ready, the soldier grabbed her by the hand and rushed outside. He grabbed her bag and stuffed it inside the truck before ordering the woman to get into the passenger seat. The snap of a twig in the woods behind Declan startled the male. He jumped into the driver’s seat when Kate was secure. His fidgeting hands shoved the key into the ignition.

Out of the rearview mirror, he could see a figure exiting the woods, walking slowly and stumbling back and forth. Thankfully, the truck started without an issue and Declan sped down their long driveway. The backroads they lived on were isolated and abandoned tonight.

Declan had no idea if the military compound he thought about was going to be safe. They had to try, though. He reached down to hold his wife’s hand as they drove, pressing a soft kiss to the center of her palm. “I love you, Kate. I am going to keep you safe. I promise.” This was a tough time for everyone involved but Declan felt confident he was going to protect Kate.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Kate pulled the seat belt over her and clicked it in to place. Watching Declan move in to the driver's chair, she saw his gaze linger in the rear view mirror. Turning her head to see out of the back window a figure walking like a drunk man came out of the woods.

Looking ahead sharply, a fear overcame her and just like that, the man's hand held hers and kissed it. "I love you to." Leaning in she kissed his cheek and then returned to her seat. "Are you sure we should be going to this camp or base or whatever it is? If your one was overrun than this one would be to? Or could be? Can't we just go somewhere quiet? Just me and you? Maybe we could wait it out?"

Having been sheltered from most of the outbreak, it still felt very new to the blonde woman.

“I was assisted a quarantine zone. We basically monitored a few neighborhoods. This place I am talking about is a legitimate military base with supplies and defenses and places to sleep. They are used for emergencies like this. We were told to evacuate the area and try to find a base. This is the closest one and I worked there for a while. Trust me, Kate. I think this is the best place.”

After saying this, Declan squeezed her hand tightly. He hoped she knew he would only do what he thought was best for her. If he had any doubts about this base, he would never take Kate there. The last radio signals showed the camp was functioning well. They were overcrowded but nobody was being turned away yet. It was imperative they get there soon.

“You should get some rest, honey. We should be there by morning.” Declan plugged the auxillary cord into his cell phone and pulled up a special playlist. This was a playlist he developed when they first met. He would add or delete songs based on knowing if Kate liked the songs or not. Essentially, the entire playlist was full of songs he knew she loved and he kept them on his phone. It might have brought out some teasing among his peers when he was in charge of the stereo and shuffled his music and one of these less masculine songs played, but Kate always seemed to enjoy the gesture so he shuffled that playlist now and let the music play, hoping it was going to soothe his wife.

The idea of going to a base scared her. There would be many other people, she could imagine herself being left there with strangers while her husband was out there with his fellow comrades. A slight squeeze on her hand made her drift back in to reality as he drove.

"Yeah. Because I can rest with all this going on..." Looking away, she rested her head on the window and looked out. As the music played, she smiled to herself and the hand which held his moved it's thumb to slowly caress the man. But her gaze never met his. "I love you and I trust you. Always."

To her surprise, Kate had fallen asleep. Opening her eyes, it was a beautiful sunny morning, a day where she would of loved to of painted outside. "Hey....how long until we are there?" Asking as she yawned, stretching her arms and wishing she could do the same with her long legs as they felt cramped.

“We’re only an hour away.” Declan responded quickly. Though he did not sleep, his body was full of energy. Thankfully, it looked like his wife rested and was ready for the day ahead. During the night of driving, his only problems were a straggling amount of the undead here and there. It was ten minutes after Kate woke up before they encountered their first real problem. Somehow, a tree had fallen in the road and it was partially blocked.

Only a small slither of space was open. Declan thought he could fit through but he was apprehensive. There was no storm last night. How did the tree fall across the road. Going off the paved road, Declan had to brush his truck against another tree and squeeze through the opening.

Thankfully, they made it through though his right side mirror was damaged. “I don’t like this. I’m getting us out of here. The quicker we get to the base, the better.” Declan murmured lowly, speeding past the downed tree and heading down the road with Kate. Again, he reached to lace their fingers together and hold her hand as he always did when they drove. “How do you feel today?” He asked his wife now that was well and awake.