The Skater (H)

Edith. 23. Neighbour.

[deadbcywalking]

“Probably wouldn’t be a good idea for both of us to leave camp.” He commented, staring into the fire. “And that was a joke. Mostly. I don’t know about you, but willingly staying in a mental hospital even in the world as it is now? I think I’d rather blow my head off.” He let out a single huff of a laugh, then moved to grab his black backpack. “I’m gonna go scouting. You good here?”

[edith-curie]

Edith simply just shrugged her shoulders. She honestly wouldn’t pass up making a mental hospital her shelter, if she felt it was safe enough. Besides, if most people thought like Keith, then she figured the chances of them finding supplies, and being secure, would probably be a lot higher. But now wasn’t the time to argue any of that, half of their group was missing, and they needed to be found soon. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she answered, nodding her head. “Go find them.”

[deadbcywalking]

“How about a loony bin? Not many doors in there. Maximum security. Plus, if one of us loses our minds, I’m sure we can find some little white pills lying around somewhere.” It was as though his smirk was permanent. Finishing up the border of cans, Keith found himself leaning against a tree as he watched the blonde start a small fire. That so called permanent smirk died down, however, as his thoughts drifted to the reality of their situation. “You know where Liv and Alice went off to?”

[edith-curie]

“...Maybe,” Edith replied after a bit of thought. “If we did that, it would probably be best to just like... seal off a small area of it for us. I think a place like that would be hard to keep secure with just the four of us,” she chuckled, sitting down in front of the fire once she figured it was good enough. She put her hands out in front of the fire to warm up, her shoulder shrugging at Keith’s question. “No idea. But I don’t think they would’ve gone far. At least Olivia wouldn’t have... Think we should go look for them?”

[deadbcywalking]

“It’s not like I’m gonna send us out on a row boat. That’s suicide.” Keith smiled back to the blonde as he began rounding the camp. The wooden spikes were one thing, but they needed just a little more warning if walkers came wandering their way. Pulling out a few empty cans from one of the bags and some wire, he went around tying it to the surrounding trees. “If the yacht idea goes to shit, we might as well try to find a building secure enough. Not too big, but big enough. Preferably with multiple stories.”

[edith-curie]

“But I think we should go for the yacht idea first,” Edith said, finishing up the fire pit. “There aren’t a lot of us, and I think a house would be harder to defend,” she admitted, now beginning to build a small pile of kindling from sticks and twigs on the ground. “Either that, or we find a place that doesn’t have a lot of doors or windows.” The blonde went over to the bags, pulling out a box of matches from one of them and taking out a match, striking it against the side of the box, and throwing it into the kindling. “Though...” she started, getting down on her knees and gently blowing into the fire to try and get it going. “I think building fires would be harder on a boat. And I don’t know about you, but sometimes I like my gross canned food warm.” she chuckled, continuing to blow until the flames her big enough for the fire to sustain itself. Edith then added some bigger sticks to the fire, letting it grow. 

[deadbcywalking]

“I don’t know, that tent looks pretty damn secure to me. Like the Goddamn Taj Mahal.” Keith picked up the sharpened branches he’d been working on and began shoving them into the ground. Pointed outward. “Once it starts getting dark I want everyone within the barrier. Last thing we need is an accident.” He added briefly before straying back to the yacht conversation. “…if we set anchor out about a mile, that would keep the dead away and give us good warning if anyone was trying to raid us. Someone would always have to be on watch, but that’s not much different than how things are now.”

[edith-curie]

“Right-o, boss,” Edith replied, nodding her head once. “After I finish setting up, I’ll round up the troops and We’ll get some dinner going. How’s that sound?” She asked, grabbing a couple sleeping bags and laying them down on the ground under the tarp. After that, the blonde began wandering around the area close to the tent, picking up rocks she could use to form a fire pit. “...Yeah, if we can find a sound enough boat, I think it could work. I just don’t wanna be sinking in the middle of the night, y’know?” She laughed a little, starting to make a circle from the rocks.

[deadbcywalking]

“Just be happy this crazy bastard is on your side,” he nudged her, that smirk not letting up until the moment passed. “Good. We should only need a few more of these. The tarp’s in the black bag, too, if you wanna set that up.” He said, gesturing over to where their bags sat in a small pile. “Wasn’t planning on staying longer than a day, but I think it’s time we consider setting up a camp somewhere secure. Maybe a house, or a yacht.” Keith grinned to himself. “Wouldn’t hurt to check the harbor.”

[edith-curie]

Edith smiled at his comment, letting out a bit of a laugh as well. Her gaze drifted to where Keith pointed and she nodded her head, putting down the stick she was trying to sharpen, and making her way over to the bag. “A yacht might not be a bad idea, actually,” she replied, opening the bag and pulling out the tarp. “If we can make sure it won’t float away, or anything, it would probably be easy to defend. And a pain in the ass for walkers to get onto.” Grabbing a long piece of rope, the blonde tied it high around the trunk of a nearby tee. “Besides,” she started as she moved to another tree nearby to tie the other end of the rope. “It might be nice to have somewhere a little more permanent. “And a roof that’s a little more solid,” she added with a laugh, tossing the tarp up and onto the rope. She then secured the edges of the tarp to the ground using some sharp wooden pegs, creating somewhat of a makeshift tent. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Armed and ready, Olivia swung her spade at the walker, hitting it’s stomach and then at it’s chin. It fell to the floor and before it could scramble up, the witch smashed it’s head once. Twice, just in case. Her gaze flickered to Edith, but through er peripheral, she spotted a zombie surging towards the blonde. Quickly, she pushed past the older girl and swung when it came closer, hitting the corpse square in the head. It stumbled but didn’t fall, Liv trying to hit it again.

[edith-curie]

Edith barely had time to react as Olivia pushed past her and swung at a zombie she didn’t see. Quickly, she turned around and helped out the other girl, hitting the walker hard in the head. “I think we’d better get out of here,” she said, spotting a small group of undead making their way towards the pair. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

“Sounds good,” Liv replied, keeping her gaze on the zombies. Her least favorite thing about the situation, but it had to be done. “Let’s go,” she said, quietly, but quickly, making her way over to the corpses.

[edith-curie]

With Olivia’s words, Edith moved forward towards the zombies. It didn’t take the walkers long to notice the two of them, but that didn’t matter much as the blonde was already in the middle of swinging her bat. She struck one of the zombies right in the head, knocking to the ground. She then swung at it a couple more time, just for good measure, before turning around to see how the other girl was getting on with her target. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Blue eyes scanned the area around them, hands gripping the spade tightly. “I’m good,” she replied, nodding her head once. Her eyes locked to the right of the pair; a couple of walkers about thirty feet away. “Four o'clock,” she whispered, “What should we do?”

[edith-curie]

Edith looked in the direction Olivia said, spotting the walkers a short distance away from them. “I say we take ‘em out quietly,” she answered. “And then we get the hell out of here.” The blonde took her bat in both of her hands, waiting for Olivia to agree before she went after the zombies.

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Olivia ran as fast as she could until she heard only her and Edith’s huffing, slowing down into a brisk walk. “That actually worked,” she breathed out, inhaling deeply. She shut her eyes for a moment, snapping them open to look at the blonde. “You okay?” The witch asked, continuing to walk along.

[edith-curie]

“Yeah.” Edith nodded her head, looking back at Olivia as they continued on. “How about you?” She continued to keep her eyes and ear peeled, knowing that they could run into another horde of zombies at any moment. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

“Count of three,” Liv whispered to Edith, looking over the wall once. Easier said than done. The witch nodded her head to count - one, two three. She tossed the bottle. It sailed past the zombies and shattered on the ground. The monsters distracted and moving towards the sound, Olivia dashed in the opposite direction, glancing over her shoulder quick to see if the blonde was following.

[edith-curie]

Edith nodded her head and set her gaze on the zombies, waiting for Olivia to throw the bottle. When she finally did, and she heard it shatter on the ground, the blonde wasted no time running in the opposite direction, right behind the brunette. When she finally felt like they were far enough away, Edith slowed down to catch her breath, looking behind her, just in case.

[deadbcywalking]

“As far as I knew, you could have been one of the dead. Lesson learned, though, huh?” He smirked, lowering the weapon. “You know, guns shouldn’t make you nervous. I shouldn’t make you nervous. It’s all the other assholes out there that we have to worry about, that and… well, the zoms.” He rambled, resuming his work with sharpening the branches he’d gathered.

[edith-curie]

“Yeah, whatever.” Edith rolled her eyes, dropping her hands back down to her sides. “Guns only make me nervous when they’re pointed at me,” she said, stepping closer to Keith and taking a seat on the ground beside him. “Especially when a crazy bastard like yourself is the one pointing it.” The blonde pulled a small pocket knife out of her backpack and grabbed a branch, beginning to sharpen the end, just as Keith was doing. “The area looks alright, by the way,” she said after a moment. “We should be okay here for a day or two, but I don’t think we should stay beyond that,” she admitted. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Olivia smiled sadly at Edith’s comment, nodding her head. “I miss those days, too,” she whispered back, wanting to add more, but stopping herself. While she trusted the blonde the most out of her group(not that it was hard to be), she still didn’t know her that well. Stopping at the edge of the building, the witch peered over the wall and spotted the zombies. Not seen yet. She looked back to Edith, holding up the empty bottle as she murmured, “I’ll throw to distract them and we’ll run away?”

[edith-curie]

Edith looked around the corner, keeping a close eye on the walkers as they wandered around aimlessly, having no idea that the two of them were right there. “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she said to Olivia, nodding her head. 

[deadbcywalking]

The sound of his pocket knife scraping against a thick stick echoed through the woods. A temporary camp, and it needed a boundary line. He’d already sharpened at least twelve of these damn things, and they were all propped up and ready to pierce of the flesh of whatever poor dead or alive asshole stumbled upon them. Still not enough to keep everyone in his group safe, however. It’d always been risky, stopping for shelter out in the middle of nature, but sometimes it was the only choice. Especially when moving between camps. The crunching of sticks behind him had him rolling his eyes, and with a quick cock of his gun, he twisted around to point it at whoever was lurking up behind him. “Might be best if you announce yourself before creeping up behind me like that.”

[edith-curie]

Edith had spent the better part of the day wandering around the area they were setting up camp, making sure there wasn’t anyone, living or otherwise, that might try to cause them problems. It seemed safe enough, at least for a night or two. Wandering back towards the camp, Edith didn’t think about announcing her presence, at least not until Keith had his gun pointed at her. “It’s just me, dude. Edith,” she answered, holding up her hands. “Can you please put that gun away? You’re making me nervous.”

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Freckled hands tight on the spade, Olivia trailed behind Edith through the store and outside, taking the beer bottle that was holding the door. She quickly scanned the area, the two safe so far. She glanced over to the right, glancing to the blonde. ’This way,’ she mouthed, gesturing with her head as well. Quiet, she shuffled that way, nearly holding her breath as she made it to the side of the building.

[edith-curie]

Edith walked closely behind Olivia, holding her bat tight, ready to bash in zombie skulls if she had to. “Why can’t it ever be easy?” She whispered, looking around them. “I miss the days when I could go out and not be worried about getting eaten by dead people.”

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Olivia nodded at Edith’s request, heading towards the back exit. She checked the area, calling out, “ Back’s clear!” before placing an empty beer bottle to keep it slightly open. Quickly, she pulled her backpack off her shoulder and set it, her spade, and the bottle down before shrugging off her jacket. Wrapping the bottle carefully in the fabric, she placed it in her bag and zipped it up, slinging it back onto her shoulder. She fixed one of the straps as she grabbed her spade, making her way over to the front exit. However, after she got closer, she stopped in her tracks. Three to four zombies shuffled near to main entrance, their attention not on her… yet. Quiet, she shuffled to the counter, her voice a sharp whisper as she said, “back exit, now,” to Edith.

[edith-curie]

Searching around, Edith managed to find a small first-aid kit tucked away in a corner. She opened it up to find that it still had all its supplies inside. “Score,” she said to herself, smiling as she took off her backpack and quickly stuffed the kit in it. Just as she zipped up her backpack and put it back on, Edith heard Olivia’s command, taking it as a sign that there were zombies hanging around out front. Getting a good grip on her baseball bat, the blonde nodded her head and quickly made her way towards the back exit, taking a quick peek before stepping outside, trying to find a way out of the area before they had to fight their way out of it.

[owleyedolivia-archive]

“We’ll be living large,” Olivia said with a breathy chuckle, one hand tapping on the handle of her spade. She cleared her throat, smiling faintly as she spotted the blonde heading down her aisle. “Probably, but we should check to see if this place has a first aid kit behind the counter,” she said, holding up the bottle. “And i should put this in my bag before I drop it.”

[edith-curie]

Edith grinned at the sight of the bottle. “I’d probably kill you if you dropped that,” she joked. “I’ll go check for a first-aid kit. Can you go check the exits and make sure there aren’t any surprises waiting for us?” The blonde asked as she walked over to the counter and behind it, searching for a kit, or really anything else that might be useful. 

[owleyedolivia-archive]

Olivia scrunched up her nose as she looked at what was once the liquor section of the drug store, bending down to look at the bottom shelf. Her eyes lit up for a moment; amongst the broken bottles sat a sole bottle of vodka. She grabbed it quickly, smiling to herself for a moment before hearing Edith’s voice. The witch called back, “Yeah, I did,” before gazing back at the shelf. While there may have been something else hidden underneath the broken glass, she didn’t want to take the risk of cutting herself on the shards to look. Liv stood up, keeping a firm grip on the bottle as she shuffled out of the aisle and to the next. “What about you?”

[edith-curie]

“Yeah, I found a can of corn,” Edith answered, kicking over some debris in case there was anything good hiding under it. “We’re gonna be eating like kinds tonight!” She laughed, wandering over to the aisle Liv was in. "But I think we should probably start heading back soon, it’s starting to get back.”