Bad Karma (Open)

[mirko]

The night was young, brilliant bluish light setting the field of lush, frost bitten grass on fire with dazzling color; it was a full moon tonight. The unforgiving wind, which whirled across the park, rustling through the trees with a very sinister intent, as if it was just begging for the local zombies to pick up on the scent of human flesh. The stars were shining marvelously bright on this particular night, and almost everything seemed serene, if it weren't for a cruel aura which had recently began to hang over this ruined city, like a cloak of pure evil, unnerving all the inhabitants on a daily basis.

The silence was broken by the shrieks of three men, their boot steps falling heavily upon the barren fields. "RUN!! They're catching up to us, damnit!" shouted the man whom seemed to lead the two others, out in front of them by a foot or two, just a touch faster and more in shape. They all seemed horrified, gasping for breath, but forcing themselves to continue on, sprinting as quickly as they could make themselves go. "Break left, form a firing line at the entrance of that building!" he barked, finally drawing his revolver from it's leather holster inside his jacket.

He was wearing plain clothing, a tighter-looking leather jacket, undone of course, with denim jeans and a tight-fit, red shirt. As opposed to his two friends, which wore military-oriented clothing, one of which was carrying a smaller modeled assault rifle; he was tanner than the other one, and a bit bulkier. "Jericho, to the front! Isaac, cover our flank." cried Mirko, whom was obviously flustered. Off in the distance, one wouldn't notice the dangerous threat which closed in on them, as they blended in perfectly with the night, but once they had stepped into the clearing, and the moonlight had livened up their devilish features, it became painfully clear what was about to happen.

There were dozens of them, maybe even close to 200 beings of chaos; the zombies were hungry, you could see it in their red, tainted eyes, and they were a gruesome thing to look upon, flesh tearing away from their head and fingers. Their snarls were horrific to look upon, teeth grit, and broken, they were ravenous beasts, led only by their lust for flesh. They dashed across a river of black pavement, their feet clanking and crashing upon the street as they darted from the park to the suburban homes, where Mirko, Jericho, and Isaac stood, in a line, on the porch of a faded, grayish home, having finally grown tired of running, after reaching the higher side of five miles.

Mirko checked his gun, followed by his comrades doing the same, and aimed it toward the mob of zombies before him. Accuracy wasn't an issue at this moment, but it was best to aim for the head, as it dropped them in one shot, where as it could take multiple bullets to the chest, which they couldn't afford in this situation. He licked the sweat from his lips, focused himself on the closest threat, and let his instinct take things over from this point on, gently squeezing on the trigger, shooting off a round from his .44 magnum revolver.

It quickly burst through the skull of the first zombie, the chamber of the revolver rotating to load the next bullet, his adrenaline pumped, filling him with a tingling sensation, now excited with the standoff. Everything grew silent, he heard nothing, felt nothing, but only moved his gun to face another zombie, popping off another round which quickly dropped it's target. He came back to reality as he turned his head to see his friend, Jericho, letting loose round after round from his assault rifle, the recoil shaking his shoulder where it's butt rested. He fell to a knee, continuing to fire, and the first sound he heard after falling down from his high was, in fact, the bursts of fire from that rifle.

"Isaac, sweep the house. We're going to need to fall back. Jericho, covering fire." he ordered again, his voice unusually firm and calm given the situation. Mirko stepped back, and whirled around, driving his boot into the frame of the oak door before him, which quickly swung open. "Go! Now!" Mirko barked to Isaac, motioning with his free hand. The slender man quickly infiltrated the house, leading with his pistol, and Mirko could only attempt to give him a bit more time, as he turned back around, facing off the zombie rush with Jericho. He fired off a round, which pierced into the skull of an attacker than nearly made it to the porch.

It couldn't have been more than twenty seconds, Mirko and his military friend pumping round after round into the mass before them, blood and zombie flesh falling in every direction. Isaac peeked his head out of the front door, "Let's go!" he beckoned with the motion of his arm, and it didn't take long for the two to move inside. Mirko shot off the remainder of his bullets, before Jericho and Isaac slammed the door shut on the leading zombies. Mirko made haste to find something to keep the door sealed; he found a large wooden table, which he quickly placed in front of the door. A few minutes passed before the adrenaline subsided and they were thinking calmly once again.

It took them equally as long to finally seal the door, needing to locate thick, longer nails, and using their handguns as the hammer. They were now alone, sealed off in an abandoned, dark house, surrounded by a massive threat of reanimated corpses, only seeking to rip into their flesh. "What now, boss?" questioned Isaac, as he turned from the door, leaning against the barricade. 'I don't know.' Mirko thought to himself, turning slowly to his men, ".. This might not end well for us, boys."

[brighteye]

[/color] The man ordered her through gasping moans of pain. She quickly lifted the decaying material of the zombie, shuddering at the feel of it, and thrust it out the door, before slamming it shut behind her. Thankfully it was wood and not glass. Glancing around, she found nothing to barricade the door with, but she found a chair which she shoved under the door knob. Hopefully that could slow down anything that came after them. That was the least of her worries, though. She was more afraid that she'd lose the man lying on the ground, because he'd just been doing his job in defending them on this errand that may or may not prove to be fruitful.

"Did you..." "Don't speak. Conserve the strength you have to living." She ordered him, cutting him off briskly as she came to kneel beside him, heedless of the blood that was now soaking into her stockings and skirt as she tugged off her pack and set it in her lap, ready for usage. Then, she quickly, but carefully, ripped the shirt off of the man, eying the wounds on his body. The shoulder was the worst, as it had been in contact with the zombie's mouth. It would need sterilization, quickly. "This will hurt." She told him as she tugged out a bottle of alcohol, opening it and pouring a small amount straight onto the wound, heedless of his muted, yet pained, cries. Once she was sure that she had most probably defeated whatever infection was there, she took the alcohol to the other two wounds, using much less on them than she had for the first one.

As she was looking for bandages in her pack of medicinal supplies, she absently noted that there were gun shots going off. She shrugged it off as echo's from the war zone - that had been known to happen from time to time. As such, she tuned out all other noises to focus everything she had on the man before her. She finally found the bandages, and was winding them quickly and efficiently around the mans' arm - a large, but relatively shallow wound - to stop the blood flow, when she heard footsteps in the hallway, coming from deeper inside the house. Her eyes widened fearfully and she looked to her guardian - but he was in no position to help her. Shakily, she drew the gun and pointed it towards the door, her hand unsteady. In her haste, she didn't even realize the safety was still on.

(( Hope you don't mind that I replied already >.> ))[/ul]

[Cloud Strife]

(OOC: If your talking to me, I was waiting for you too.)

Cloud came up upon the city, dressed in his Lieutenant uniform. He slowed to a stop, placing his right foot on the ground. He sat on his motorcycle, Fenrir, at the entrance. The city had really gone down hill since the zombie outbreak. It was sad really. The city used to be a very busy place. It thrived in its former glory, only to be reduced down to a decaying ruin. Cloud sighed. There was a large number of zombies that came to take residents here. He knew the sound of Fenrir would attract them easily but it was the fastest way for him to get through. Plus he could easily out run them if he needed too.

His mission was simple. He was ordered to get some documents in the safe zone. The fastest way to get there was going through the dying city. It shouldn't be to much of a problem though. Cloud lifted his foot back on Fenrir and twisted the throttle. He moved rather quickly. The faster he went through the less likely he would have to deal with any zombies today. His spiked blonde hair moved violently in the wind, but somehow managed to somewhat keep it's general shape. It was rather dark out at this time of night. Though, he could steer very well with the full moon's light. That meant he wouldn't have to draw attention with headlights.

However, the sound of bullets filled the air in the distant. Was it from the battle field? No, it wasn't far enough away. Great. So much for that. Cloud complained to himself. He turned down an alley toward the sound of the shots. He wasn't sure what was going on but he knew it couldn't have be good.

There was a house surrounded by a large amount of zombies. 100? 200? More than he had hoped for. Oh well. Guess it's not my lucky day. Cloud slid the large broadsword off his back. He preferred it over a gun or rifle. In his mind it took more skill to use a sword then a bullet and you didn't have to worry about running out of shots. He drove forward slicing his way through the pile of rotting flesh. He stopped inches in front of the door, pounding on it with the back of his sword's handle. Hey! Is anyone in here? His bright blue eyes darted back to the zombies closing in on him. Cloud's fairly muscular arm swung the large sword at them. slicing 4 at once. Someone better answer soon. He muttered.

[mirko]

Isaac had made his way down the main corridor of the house, which was dark, and musty. The only light in the building came from the flashlight he held in his off hand, crossed underneath his handgun- as if he was once a police officer, or something of the like. He was sent to sweep through the house more thoroughly this time, and wasn't particularly happy with that order, as he hated being alone with everything that had happened, if he had one fear, it was of the zombies, never wishing to suffer any sort of cruel end at their hand.

He came to the last door at the hallway, after having cleared three rooms, and he tucked his flashlight away, before reaching to the rusty brass door handle. His hand twisted, and he slowly pushed the door open, 'I swear to God, if there are zombies in here..' he thought to himself as the door fully opened, revealing a younger female kneeling next to an injured man on the ground. His paranoia kicked in as he realized a gun was pointed at him, and acting instinctively, he dropped to one knee, aiming his weapon at her, "Put the gun down!" he barked, before turning his head to the side, "I've got two civilians!"

Mirko shrugged to Jericho just a bit, the two of them beginning down the hallway after their friend, before a fierce bang cracked on the door they'd just sealed off. "Hey! Is anyone in there?!" shouted an outside voice, just barely audible through the thick walls. Mirko gave a nod to Jericho, sending him after Isaac, glancing into the far room, and at the girl they'd discovered, before he returned to the front door, "We've sealed the door! There's a door on the south side of the house that's open, get in over there." Mirko said calmly, almost as if commanding this new person.

He quickly turned around, jogging through the house to the back room, where the girl still sat, gun raised to the three of them, he patted Isaac on the shoulder as he passed by, giving a light nod to the girl, as if trying to relay that he was no threat. He proceeded to remove the chair from the door, and swung it open quickly. His hand found the revolver which was tucked into his belt, and swiftly shot off a round into the forehead of a zombie that waited on the other side of the door, "Over here!" Mirko shouted, mainly for the person whom was outside, but indirectly drew the attention of the zombies, who quickly began ravenously rushing toward the open door.

"Jericho, covering fire." he ordered, unnecessarily, as his ex-military comrade had already moved to the door frame, covering his body with the wall as he led with his assault rifle, shooting down one zombie after another, his kill count was over twenty now, and things began to look grim as the amount of reanimated corpses rose from a small handful to nearly two dozen. 'You better get here now, my friend, or we can't help you.' Mirko thought to himself as he squeezed back on his revolver's trigger, dropping another infected man.

[brighteye]

[/i] he ordered her, before turning his head away from her. "I've got two civilians!" What did that mean? He's 'got' two civilians? Did that mean he was capturing them, or something?

Only a few moments after he yelled, two more figures appeared behind the man with the gun. There was no way she could face off against three of them - but if they were a threat to her or the man that was bleeding next to her, she'd sure as heck try. A bang drew one of the men away from the door once more, before quickly returning. Fearlessly he walked into the room, patting the gunman on the shoulder and nodding to her. Confused, she let the barrel of the gun drop so that it was pointing at the ground. What was he doing? She soon had her answer as he opened the door she had just blocked off.

"Don't!" she said, afraid of what might be behind the door. He paid her no mind, instead using the revolver that had at some point entered his hand and shot at the oncoming zombies. She jumped at the explosion of sound, and the man yelled. "Over here!" What was he trying to do, get them all killed? Krystal knew she should have turned her attention back to the man at her side - these three didn't seem to have any care that she was here, not really. But she couldn't turn her back to the door, not while it was open and the enemy could get inside. She didn't know these men - they could be incompetent and get killed, leaving her to die as well.

"Jericho, covering fire." He said, though it didn't seem to be needed - the man who hadn't held a gun on her had already come up next to him to help fight at the door. Gun shots towards zombies she could no longer see reverberated through the room. Okay, maybe they did know what they were doing. But that didn't matter as a pained groan from the soldier drew her attention back to what was more important. Since she didn't want her back to the fighting - something might happen that may end up being life or death for her - she quickly moved to the opposite side of the bleeding man, before once more dropping to his side. In her haste, she dropped the gun to snatch the pack filled with medical supplies on her lap.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm here, don't worry." She whispered to the man. He had suffered unnecessary pain while she had stared at the fighting. Now she let it flow away from her - if she kept jumping at each gunshot she'd be useless to the man. Quickly, she started wrapping his arm once more, stopping what bleeding she could.[/ul]

[Cloud Strife]

"We've sealed the door! There's a door on the south side of the house that's open, get in over there." Sounded a voice on the other side. "Tsk." He said to himself, before stepping back on the bike and moving out to the other side. "Over here!" He heard the voice say in the small distance. Much to his displeasure the zombies heard it too and moved in. More shots rang out in the night air.

Cloud rounded the corner of the house, digging his blade into the rotting flesh of the undead army. He moved a little too fast too carelessly. A bullet grazed past his right cheek, giving him a slight cut across it. It wasn't bad. It felt like a paper cut, only slightly bigger and with more blood. "Nuh! Watch it!" Cloud shouted rubbing the cut with the back of his hand, sword still in it. He stopped at the door, slid off Fenrir, and pushed it into the man holding the door to take. "Here." Cloud's bright blue eyes turned to the man shooting at the door. "Take out as many as you can on the right. I'll take the left." He ordered before swirling around and slicing through the group on the left side.

When a large amount of the zombies around the door were killed, Cloud retreated in the house, slightly panting. Regaining his composer, the blue eyes glanced around the room. There was another man in the doorway of the hall. He was wearing an army uniform, however, Cloud didn't recognized him. A girl wearing what looked like a nurse's uniform was tending to what appeared to be a wounded Soldier.

Cloud sighed and sheathed the sword on his back. He took Fenrir from the one he shoved it to and walked it to the nearest wall, kicking out the stand. Quickly, the sound of the zombies attacking the door could be heard. "Persistent, aren't they? I haven't seen so many gather at one place like this before." He said more to himself than anyone else. "I was passing through when I heard the shots. Is anyone else hurt?" He asked wiping the blood that was running down to his chin with his right hand, though he was actually referring to the Soldier the nurse had. The scratch was the last thing on his mind.

[mirko]

Mirko peeled away from the door, his body spinning to face the inside of the room, as he popped open the chamber of the revolver, pointing it upward to allow the empty casings to fall upon the dark, tattered wooden floor. He quickly pulled from a satchel on his belt a six round clip, violently shoving the bullets into the empty housing, and dropping the black plaster holder to the ground afterward. The small room was now cramped, and everyone had grown nearly deaf from the constant gunfire laid down by Jericho, which now oriented toward the right side.

"Boss, I'm low on ammo!" Jericho cried, just before shooting off another burst of fire. Mirko, gritting his teeth a bit, turned back to face the door once more, the frustration imminent on his face. He dropped his hand upon Jericho's shoulder, which the ex-soldier had taken as his cue to back away from the door; as he did so, still crouched low, he continued to fire, until the clicks of his gun, signaling an empty clip, began to ring out. Mirko stepped forward, one shot driving into an infected man's forehead, "That's enough!!" he barked, before shooting off two more bullets, his newly acquired friend launching himself into the room.

His foot swung upward violently, finding it's way into the abdomen of the nearest zombie, whom stood just a foot into the room. As it fell backward, and outside, Mirko slammed the door shut, flipping a little knob to lock the door. He turned around and with the snap of his fingers, Isaac wedged that same chair under the door knob; not a very effective stopping mechanism, but it would prove useful nonetheless. Mirko's off-hand found its way to his temple, rubbing it a bit, and this allowed him to regain his composure, before his attention shifted to the stranger wielding a large blade.

"We've only just caught a break long enough to assess our injuries." Mirko said plainly, in an unusually calm tone considering the situation. His attention quickly turned to the nurse, whom was attempting to fix an injured, broken man, "But it seems not all of us are unharmed. Those.. look like bites from the infected." he said with an increasingly drab tone, as if he had just realized the worst thing possible had happened to this newly civilian. His pale, hazel eyes darted toward Jericho and Isaac, whom stood in the corner of the room, watching the front-side door.

"Jericho, make sure you're reloaded; Take Isaac and thoroughly sweep the house. Check upstairs, the attic, basements, EVERYTHING. Make sure we're alone in here, I don't want anything to get worse." and Mirko was only answered by a nod from Jericho, and an unnerved look from Isaac. They swiftly left, closing the door behind them, which Mirko made his way to, placing his off-hand onto the thick wooden frame, "That man.. will change into a zombie if we don't dispose of him." Mirko said in a cruel, monotone voice, aimed more for the nurse than anyone else, not particularly willing to debate the subject, but saying it in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

"But that is only our first matter of business. Who are both of you? And why are you two here?" Mirko questioned, toward the two of them, before he patiently awaited any sort of response.

[brighteye]

[/i] Until today, she'd seen maybe one or two zombies. Never had she seen the amount that had attacked her and her guard. Krystal hadn't seen the horde outside, but obviously there were a lot of them if the men here said so. "I was passing through when I head the shots. Is anyone else hurt?" Krystal glanced up at his words, pausing her search for the bullet to look at the four men that now were in the room with her. A bloody scratch was on the new guys' face, but other than that there was no sign of damage.

Krystal was about to resume looking for the bullet - she was nearly there, she could feel it. "But it seems not all of us are unharmed. Those... look like bites from the infected." The first man, the leader of the other two she had assumed, said. His tone made her look up, her hands coming away from the wound, bullet firmly grasped in her forceps. He gave orders to the two men that were with them, before speaking to her once more as the other two left, shutting the door behind them. "That man... will change into a zombie if we don't dispose of him." She didn't like his words or his tone. She knew she was defenseless against anything this man would do to her or her patient. Yes, he was bitten, but she had sterilized the wound... she could save him yet, couldn't she? Her gun - which she had no skill in using, but they couldn't know that - was on the other side of the man, out of her reach.

"Dispose of him? Like trash? I don't think so." Her eyes were wide, fearful that he'd kill her guard as she sat next to him, even though she argued. "What if I can save him? I sterilized the wound almost right after he was bitten, he should be fine." She was lying to herself, she knew, but she didn't want to concede the point. No one had managed to find a way to stop a zombie from being created once someone was infected. Not even the one who had created it, if rumors were to be believed. There was nothing she could do for this man, but she refused to believe it. She'd saved men from death's door itself before, so she could save her guard. Right? "But that is only our first matter of business. Who are both of you? And why are you two here?" He asked, his tone almost commanding, as if he had a right to know. And, really, he did. He was extending protection over her from the zombies, right? He hadn't thrown her out to be fed upon, and they hadn't shot her, so that was always a bonus.

"I'm Krystal, a nurse from the Safe Zone. He-" Krystal paused to look down at the injured soldier. "He was my guard. He kept the zombies away from me when they attacked. We sheltered here because it was the first building we found that had a door we could get into. As he stood his ground, they caught up to us and one of them... one of them got him." She sighed. "We came to the City to find medical supplies - if we had extra, it might help the Safe Zone. But at this price?" Her last words were almost a whisper, as if she were talking to herself. She hadn't wanted anyone to die for her, and this man had selflessly put himself at risk to keep her alive. And now he was going to die.[/ul]

[Cloud Strife]

"We've only just caught a break long enough to assess our injuries. But it seems not all of us are unharmed. Those.. look like bites from the infected." One of the men said. He seemed to be the leader of the other two, giving them orders to check out the rest of the house, before turning to him and the nurse. "That man.. will change into a zombie if we don't dispose of him. But that is only our first matter of business. Who are both of you? And why are you two here?" Cloud lowered his eyes to the ground. It was true. It seemed it was only a matter of time before the poor Soldier reverted to what had attacked him. However, Cloud was not going to kill him. There was a difference in striking zombies or enemies in a war and killing one of your own men for the simple reason that he will most likely turn on them. There was a small chance he would live. Small but still a possibility.

"Dispose of him? Like trash? I don't think so. What if I can save him? I sterilized the wound almost right after he was bitten, he should be fine." The nurse defended. She didn't seem to sure of herself. Cloud didn't blame her. She continued, "I'm Krystal, a nurse from the Safe Zone. He- He was my guard. He kept the zombies away from me when they attacked. We sheltered here because it was the first building we found that had a door we could get into. As he stood his ground, they caught up to us and one of them... one of them got him. We came to the City to find medical supplies - if we had extra, it might help the Safe Zone. But at this price?" She seemed like she had gotten hurt herself. Not physically though, she probably felt responsible for the Soldier.

Cloud ran his bloody hand through his hair with a sigh. "Lieutenant Cloud. As I said before, I was headed through the city when I heard the shots. I went to see if anyone needed help." He leaned on Fenrir. "I believe it's your turn." He directed to the one asking all the questions. If you asked someone's name or business it was only fair to answer the same question you gave. At least that's how he thought anyway.