apocalyptic superstar

my favorite activity is pretending i can sing

[idiot-allison-blog]

“Kinda shitty? The government can pretty much be summed up at a steaming pile of bull crap,” she said, a tad incredulously. It really only made sense that they decided to eradicate the U.S. Hell, would anyone have been surprised if they found out the rest of the world was fine and just decided to let them crash and burn? Probably not. “It’s okay, you can tell her. I could probably beat her in a fist fight anyway… Or, y’know, at the very least hide behind someone bigger than me.”

[cecily-riaz]

“Agreed,” She nodded with a laugh, listening to the other’s theory in 100% genuine curiosity. “You have a really good point. Have you ever read The Hunger Games?” She asked. “I mean, I haven’t, but I watched the movies... You get my point. Anyway, they basically never mention anything besides North America... Which they called something else, but I can’t remember. But the whole time I was watching, I was like, ‘What are all the other continents doing? Just letting America annually kill a bunch of kids?’ And then I was like, ‘Actually, I’m not surprised’. Maybe our Hunger Games is this virus.”

[johanna-spencer-blog]

The words made Johanna laugh freely, if nothing else, she could always count on Cecily to make her smile and laugh at any given moment, and it was refresing. “Very well, I’ll rummage around for what we need, then we’ll get to giving you your red hair.”

The request wasn’t one she had been expecting, she had been considering her own side project of fixing up something similar to what Cecily was asking for, so it would be good practice. “Oh yeah, totally doable, no problem. We just need the guys to help us move the whole thing to The spot of your choice and I can put it together and do the modifications for you without a problem.” She accepted with a resolute not and a smile, happy to do something to give the girl something that would hopefully bring a small sliver of normalcy.

[cecily-riaz]

“Really? Oh my god, thank you so much!” She said, nearly hopping off her skateboard in excitement. “For this, and the hair thing,” She chuckled. Cecily would’ve never asked for the apocalypse to happen, but in some weird way, she was almost thankful to have been stuck there-- it seemed she’d gained a bunch of older sisters she’d never thought she’d have, in some weird way. Daisy, Jo, Wren, and even Allison were all girls that Cecily had grown to look up to in the few months prior. “Um, it used to be on this shelf thing, but it did fall over on the ground--” While she was in it; she wouldn’t disclose that part-- “and it’s not even that heavy, so hopefully it’s not too hard to move,” She grinned, flexing an arm with very little muscle. “I bet I could do it.”

[walker--ollie-blog]

“–Well, considering how few marine biologists there may well be when all this blows over, you might be right.” Ollie followed her outside and lit up the cigarette in his mouth, casting his eyes over the rooftop garden before heading over to his usual smoking-haunt; the ledge, more out of a lack of wanting the smoke to spread further than it had to than anything else. “–Okay. I’m listening. Ask away.”

[cecily-riaz]

“Okay! So... Daisy and I were talking, and I’m pretty sure we’re just about to get to half a year in here,” She began, excitedly following after the other. “I’ve been trying to keep track on a calendar... Anyway, that’s beside the point! You know how big this place is on wine and all that fun stuff, so I was wondering if we’d be able to have, like... A party, or something?” She asked, before chewing on her lip. “That makes it sound a lot more reckless than I meant it to, but I mean, Daisy thinks it’s a good idea, so I promise it’ll be tame. Maybe just, like, a night where everyone can relax... Or try to. I don’t know.”

[johanna-spencer-blog]

“They are light enough to be taken as hazel so there’s that.” She fired back with an impish grin, letting Cecily know she was merely teasing, though not lying. She understood the struggle was stronger with the little things, so she raised a hand in the hair with a nod. The safety and peace of mind their location afforded them, made them all think of, and miss the little things, those that were done by choice without a second thought before the outbreak, dying your hair being one of them. “I know a way to make your hair red semi-permanently, but pink is a no-go, sorry to say.” The change of subject was, indeed, very random, and it made Jo narrow her eyes in preparation before agreeing to anything. “What can I do you for, my friend?”

[cecily-riaz]

“Well... My driver’s license says brown,” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “Technically, it says ‘BRO’, ‘cause it’s shortened. Look at these bro eyes, bro,” She chuckled, pointing to her eyes with two fingers like the first motion in the I’m watching you gesture. 

“I can roll with red! Pink’s always been the dream, but I don’t really care that much. It’d be nice to make a change,” She said. “Only at the ends, though. I don’t wanna look like Ariel the rest of my life. Plus, maybe it’ll turn pink when it fades!” She said, beginning to skate alongside the other. “Oh! Okay, so-- you know those playhouse things, that you’re supposed to put in the backyard? I was wondering if you might be able to take out all the plastic kitchen stuff in there so there’s more room inside. Totally understandable if you have better things to do, but I thought I’d give it a shot.”

[idiot-allison-blog]

Quite frankly, it seemed more than a little plausible that it could’ve been a virus sent out by the government. With the overpopulating and things of that nature happening in the world, Allison really wouldn’t have been surprised if she ever found that to be the case. “Maybe it’s the pessimism in me, but that sounds more likely than it having been some other disease that got out of control, honestly… Don’t tell Wren that though…”

[cecily-riaz]

“Girl, that’s not pessimism, it’s logic. My brother would be all over this shit if it was an essay topic,” She said matter-of-factly. “He’s really into, like, articles on class division and the government basically being kinda shitty. Plus he makes me read ‘em all. That’s why I’m so smart!” She smiled, before looking down at the ground. “Don’t worry, though. My lips are sealed.” That was a lie-- theorizing with Wren was one of Cecily’s main hobbies, just before theorizing with everyone else. “Maybe.”

[leon-hastings]

With every excessive, drunken nod, Jamie’s head felt like it could roll off his shoulders. He thought he heard her say something about a mega blaster as she stood up and it was what prompted the boy to follow suit. 

Gingerly he got up and followed the girl back inside the warehouse. They were all provided with flashlights to use and it was, according to Oliver, for dire situations only… supposedly is what Jamie decided. And wasn’t losing a nerf gun shootout a dire situation?

Through the darkness, he made his way into the aisle where the toys were, his fingers lightly touching the guns on display until he found what he was looking for: The Nerf Doomlands 2169 Persuader Blaster– deciding that the zombie collection was just needlessly cliche. He grabbed for the vest and sluggishly put it on, stuffing his pockets with the ammunition while shouting that they had one hundred seconds to prepare. He eyed the Vagabond Blaster and decided that a second firepower was in order. This was war after all.

“Get ready to be Nerfed, Ceecee!” Jamie shouted, not caring if the other survivors heard him. Where was Ceecee anyway?

[cecily-riaz]

Everyone was sleeping, but as far as Cecily knew, she was being as quiet as a mouse-- especially as she laughed under her breath as she stole the two biggest guns she saw in the aisle before running off. Jamie would never catch her now. Flashlight, She thought, digging around in the bag she kept on her at all times, pulling hers out and getting the gun together as quickly as possible while her head was still spinning from running down the aisle.

“Right here, motherfucker!” She yelled as she ran out of the aisle and shone the light in Jamie’s face, completely forgetting her previous concern about the sane people who were all asleep. Though, her attempt to shoot the gun was volatile at best, and the foam dart ended up hitting the shelf behind him. “Shit, hold on,” She frowned, checking the gun quickly before aiming again and hitting him in the shoulder. “Ha!” She said, pointing at him victoriously before darting off in the other direction (but not without unintentionally zig-zagging the entire way).

[cillianlewis-deactivated2016092]

“Yeah, I guess - it used to be a lot different out here, before all of this bollocks going on outside happened. I would get ID’d all the time, but back in old Blighty I could have wandered into a pub at your age and ordered whatever I wanted,” he chuckled, “it’s like they try to protect you for that little bit longer - at least, that’s what it seems like.”

He laughed out loud at her comment about Shaun of the Dead, walking along the aisle slowly as he replied, “I mean, I guess, if they weren’t trying to eat us it could work, somehow?” Cillian had had one too many run ins with zombies in the months before he had arrived at the Costco, and really, he would much rather remain inside with stacks of supplies and a handful of people than try to live in harmony with them. “Yeah, I suppose it is. Remember when we were all glued to Facebook? I think I prefer not to have to keep up with what a hundred odd people are doing now.”

[cecily-riaz]

“Yeah, great how that worked out,” She snorted at his comment about protection. The government didn’t want her to drink but they seemed cool with everyone dying. “You still sorta have a babyface... I think. How old are you, anyway?” She wondered. She knew most of the others’ ages, but if he’d ever told her, her memory was doing her wrong.

“I’m holding out for anything at this point,” She said, nodding in agreement. She’d surround herself with zombies as best friends if it meant she wouldn’t die, but unfortunately, that seemed like a long time coming. “I kind of miss it. I can’t even imagine what my Vine feed would look like right now,” She chuckled, silently damning their lack of cell service for the past several months. “Too many do it for the Vine vines of people dying... Sounds gross. Still miss it, though.”

[nevershrinking]

As much as Daisy appreciated the rules – she really did. She understood the need to be strict in order to keep everyone safe. If she were in Ollie’s spot, she would be the same way – she was also a teenager. She may have been the teacher’s pet outwardly, but even she liked to break the rules sometime if she saw no harm in it. So when Cecily said it was basically set in stone, she couldn’t help the instant excitement that coursed through her.

“A whole party?” The idea of this was sounding better and better. For some reason, she had originally envisioned only the two of them sitting in a blanket fort, downing less than half of a wine bottle before practically passing out. But decorations equated to more people, at least in Daisy’s mind. It was a slightly scary thought, getting everyone together for something other than meal times and group meetings, but she was sure that with the help of a little alcohol, she could manage.

[cecily-riaz]

“I mean, why not? Everyone could use a break, at least in my opinion,” She said with a shrug, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Like, something that’s not a group meeting or something that just kind of has this... weird stress hanging over it,” She murmured, trying her best to explain what she meant without the words she couldn’t find. However, there would most likely be plenty of time for what Daisy had in mind-- there was enough wine in this place to last them through the Cold War. 

“It’s nice to have everyone around, anyway. It’s hard to find anything dislikable about someone,” She began. “At least, in my opinion,” She repeated with a snort. 

[walker--ollie-blog]

Ollie nodded simply, walking towards the stairs to the door to the roof and…no, he did not know that.

“–I’m pretty sure you need more than two facts about eels to be a marine biologist.” A pause. “Though I can tell you that male sharks have two penises because they’re really bad at aiming.”

All of this was said with his usual straight face as he held the door open for her, removing a cigarette from the carton in his pocket and holding the carton out to her questioningly. “–And dolphins get way more handjobs from tourists than they really should.”

[cecily-riaz]

“Who knows? Maybe all the qualifications might change by the time we’re out of here,” She shrugged, thinking of how fucking cool it would be if the informational video about eels she watched once out of boredom might someday equate to a marine biology degree.

“Oh, that’s true. I knew that, too! Dolphins are the only animals that experience sexual pleasure besides humans,” She declared. “I learned that from a trivia book I checked out in high school. Ooh, thanks!” She picked one of the cigarettes out of the carton, walking through the door and taking a look around as she dug her lighter out of her pocket.

“I have a question for you,” She began with a hand on her hip, but not before sticking the cigarette between her lips and swiftly lighting it.

[sophiavanderwel-deactivated2016]

Ruby’s raising her eyebrows. “I mean, yeah, I’m sure some scientists are looking into it now. Or you know, they managed to kill themselves trying to understand it. Or died being eaten by zombies.” And now she’s imagining different scenarios for scientists to die out. She furrows her eyebrows, looking away for a moment, before glancing back up at Cecily. 

“Okay, no, if anyone is going to summon spirits, I’m throwing them out with the zombies. We already have one horror movie trope, we don’t need to find out if there’s actually demons, too,” she’s pointing out and she’s being serious about that thing. Yeah, she knows you don’t fuck with spirits. That shit’s not happening.

She’s following after Cecily, shaking her head. “Yeah, thanks. One of the good things we have here is the unlimited amounts of products I can use. Not what I’m used to, but I can make do, right? You kind of have to.”

[cecily-riaz]

“Well, I mean, we do have Wren,” She began, “And she’s so smart I might cry. I’m hoping she’ll figure something out soon, even if it is small, y’know?” She asked the other, unaware of how rambly she was being. “Okay, okay, no ghosts, I promise.”

We already have one horror movie trope, She repeated Ruby’s words in her mind, thinking of them almost comically. It was kind of funny in a way, how much her life had become like some sort of fictional horror movie. At least everyone in the so-called movie had been making it through alright, and they were able to distance themselves from the actual horror of it. “Yeah,” She agreed, chewing on her lower lip in thought, glancing down the aisles as she skated slowly. “I actually think my hair looks better after being stuck here, even though I kinda wanna cut it all off half the time. Thank god they stock Bedhead.”

[cillianlewis-deactivated2016092]

“Hey, don’t you take the piss out my accent, I’m proud to be Yorkshire born and bred,” he chuckled, “and I’m serious! You feel like you can do anything when you’re nineteen, I kind of wish I could go back there again. But then, you can’t drink till your twenty-one out here, can you?”

He watched as she sped past him on her skateboard, watching as she didn’t so much as wobble - it was impressive, the best he could do was cycle, and even then he’d never got his cycling proficiency. “Yeah, I guess - don’t get your hopes too high though, they might just stick around forever,” he pondered, “but we can only try to be optimistic, can’t we?” He placed the tin can he had been reading back on the shelf, leaning against it as he spoke, “not too bad really. Threw my first rock off the roof today I felt quite pleased with myself. Probably too please, but who cares?”

[cecily-riaz]

“Nah, but what use do laws have when you’re nineteen and stuck in a store full of alcohol?” She said, only half-joking. It was nice not having to worry about the illegal part of underage drinking now that humanity had sort of crumbled, but that was simply one pro on a list of many cons.

“Yeah, they might. Or, we could learn to live with them, like in Shaun of the Dead!” She proposed, imagining having a zombie best friend-- or better yet, if she was somehow able to find her brother, not die in the process, and keep on living with the zombified version of him. She hid a shudder. “There’s a silver lining to everything,” She agreed, slowing to a stop before hopping off the board. “Oh, man, really? Your first one?” She grinned. “That’s kind of an important accomplishment. Wish I could post about it on Facebook. ′First rock thrown off roof. July whatever, 2016′.”

[johanna-spencer-blog]

“You know what?I’ll admit to having forgotten all about Anna Kendrick, and yes, I know, that makes me a horrible person.” Johanna admitted with a embarrassed chuckle, looking down at her boot-clad feet bashfully for a moment, before lifting her head again to look at Cecily. “So yeah, I retract my statement, Anna would be the perfect you in that badass motion picture.” Taking a moment to try and recall just whom the other woman was talking about, Jo narrowed her eyes for a long moment, until it finally clicked in her head, which she expressed by snapping her fingers. “I know who you’re talking about! I guess I can see it, the fair skin, hair color, pretty hazel eyes… yeah, I definitely see it now.”

[cecily-riaz]

“I hope she’s okay,” She sighed, briefly imagining Anna Kendrick herself in a nice summer home away from all this chaos and zoning out of the conversation. Would a Pitch Perfect 3 ever exist?

The snap of Johanna’s fingers jolted Cecily out of her momentary distraction, and she let out a snort at her words. “See? My eyes are brown,” She offered in defense. “Man, I was thinking about putting pink in my hair, too. The one thing they don’t have here,” She said, shaking her head. One huge store devoid of hair dye. “Oh! Super random change of subject, but I actually had kind of a weird favor to ask.”

[idiot-allison-blog]

It amused her greatly that people often saw Oliver as a hardass and Johanna as…cool, apparently; she could only wonder what people’s first thoughts were when it came to her name being mentioned. “She’s always looking for shit to do. Next time she starts bugging me, out of boredom, I’ll send her your way,” Allison said with a small, but warm, smile. 

A year ago, if someone had asked her to walk the length of the store just for the hell of it, she would’ve laughed in their face - if it was for shopping purposes, sure - but, now, having walked it multiple times on a daily basis, it seemed like one of the easiest things in the world. 

“And, to think, they’re only going to get better looking, the more you keep making this trek. The zombie apocalypse: cure to overpopulation and obesity?”

[cecily-riaz]

“Oh, okay! I’m, like, always bored, so that won’t be a problem,” She chuckled, beginning to walk alongside the other. It was actually nice walking around the store, sometimes-- she very rarely came inside the store before the apocalypse had happened, but it was always crowded. It was almost eerily peaceful seeing something so beloved as a superstore so empty. 

“Y’know what, I actually have a theory,” She began. “Maybe it’s ‘cause I was hanging out with my friend Dean too much before this all happened? ‘Cause he’s, like, super big into conspiracies and stuff, but a government-powered virus? That would be so fucked up. ‘Cause y’know what? You’re so right!"

[leon-hastings]

“Well that’s because that’s exactly what my mum used to say to me” Jamie replied with an understanding nod.

Cecily’s anecdote about dueling over a donut got him cracking up, nodding and laughing as he agreed that it was indeed good training. He went to ask her the other instances where she fought for food and joked about putting her on a leash lest she devoured their supplies.

Stories and musings were exchanged as beer bottles were emptied and before they knew it, Jamie and Cecily had finished everything– bags of chips included.

“Hey,” Jamie spoke after a while, his eyes shifting from the night sky to where she was, “I saw some nerf guns in the toy section, d'you wanna go test them or something?”

[cecily-riaz]

It had gotten to the point where Cecily didn’t even remember how many beers she’d downed-- seven? Nine? Attempting to recall was about as useful as trying not to smell death around them. 

“Test them out?” She began, a grin slowly making its way onto her face. “You mean have a nerf gun fight in a badly-lit Costco? Do you even know me?” She grinned, stumbling a little as she moved to stand. They could pick everything up the next day, right? “First one downstairs gets the mega blaster!”

[leon-hastings]

“Oh wow, hmm,” Jamie scratched his head as he tried his best to ignore her more than commendable eating habits, “I dunno Ceecee, that’s…hm.”

When will things change, he thought? They could incinerate all the zombies but what if there’s a cure? When they finally run out of supplies what then? 

“The fate of the world is a big deal, who knows what’s instore? Best to stick with the small stuff first like surviving.” He knocked back another bottle before finally commenting, “You eat like a pig, child.” He laughed.

[cecily-riaz]

“You sound like my mom,” She snorted as she popped open another drink and leaned back, but not before grabbing a few more chips out of the bag. “Except, y’know... More manly,” She smirked. It was the apocalypse, after all. Not that she ever really cared what she looked like when she was eating, anyway, but now she supposed she just really didn’t care. There was no one there to impress. She was going to be herself while it counted-- even the gross, mildly embarrassing parts of herself.

“You haven’t even seen the worst of it, man. One time, I physically fought one of my friends over the last donut at the snack table at work... I think it’s given me the combat experience I need to get out of this place alive.”

[johanna-spencer-blog]

“Perhaps not the zombies, per se, but the virus or whatever it was that reanimated their bodies has to be a living organism in order to take over. A parasitic one, but living all the same. You saw how fast it all went to hell, so would it really surprise you if this thing, whatever it is, managed to evolve stupid fast? ‘Cause i wouldn’t be surprised at all, just terrified.” Jo ranted as she shared the thoughts that had been running through her mind since she had found shelter, and as long with it the time to analyze just what the ever loving fuck was going on. The nest train of thoughts shared by the brunette earned an honest but of laughter, head thrown back and all. “Oh man, it would leave Resident Evil in the dust! And I so call dibs on Michelle Rodriguez to play yours truly.” Jo said with a toothy grin, green eyes narrowing as she regarded the younger woman a few feet from her. “You are so an Emma Stone, though.”

[cecily-riaz]

“...Yikes,” She responded, not so much about the parasite thing Jo had spoken terrifyingly in-depth about (she’d forgotten completely about that already), but the fact that in someone’s mind, Emma Stone was going to be cast as Cecily in the inevitable live-action retelling of the gang’s Costco-fueled survival. “If anyone over 25 is gonna play me, it’s gonna be Anna Kendrick, ‘cause I trust her with my life and if she’s playing me then maybe I can convince people I’m a good singer. Which is kinda funny, ‘cause a ton of people have told me I look like that chick from Pitch Perfect 2-- I don’t see it, though,” She frowned, shrugging her shoulders. “Michelle Rodriguez would make a rockin’ Johanna Spencer, though.”

[nevershrinking]

Daisy could feel her face practically lighting up. This must be what if felt like to have a little sibling, she thought. Someone who, though they wouldn’t say it, looked up to you and valued your opinion. She mused about it for a moment, wonderful how her life could’ve gone, had Cecily’s smile been one she started every day with at the breakfast table. She wondered if it would be just as nice a feeling as it were now, or if this was the best it could be, since she was no longer taking a single moment for granted.

“You think you could talk to him?” The older woman asked, her face alight with excitement. She hadn’t had wine in ages, and despite her inner battles with her faith, she couldn’t help but long after the familiar taste and the feeling of community and warmth that came with it. Only now, she didn’t have to pretend in front of the other kids that it was grape juice, so she figured it’d be even more enjoyable. “You’re right. Worse comes to worst, we grab a couple of those fancy Bermioli Rocco wine glasses, a bottle of Napa Valley Merlot, and hijack it back to the tent.”

[cecily-riaz]

It was nice to see Daisy smiling-- it wasn’t that unusual, but Cecily had become quite accustomed to the other being rather unexpressive. If she had to brag, she’d say it was one of her talents-- making people smile. That, eating, and skateboarding. A terrific combo.

“Totes mcgotes! Just aim for him to say yes, ‘cause even if he doesn’t, this is practically all set in stone anyway,” She shrugged. “I can throw a killer party, and I know there’s gotta be decorations in this place somewhere. One night of celebration isn’t gonna hurt anybody, right?” She asked, slowly moving to stand and beginning to skate around the aisle again. Kind of a shame there’s no weed in this place, she thought to herself, but (thankfully) thought twice before saying it out loud to Daisy. “I mean, unless you’re allergic to happiness. Now there’s a virus to stay away from, huh?”