we're all infected

to kill the monster, you BECOME the monster. you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back. it is alive... it is HUNGRY... and it devours.

[liquerlips]

[differentemmag-blog]

“Is that safe?”

[nctnormal]

          ❛ it’s probably not life threatening. that counts for something. ❜

[evanthcmas-blog]

right back to square one. there’s a slight feeling of disappointment, but more prominent than that is a sense of relief. there’s comfort to be found in the idea of completely pushing his sister away again. if alicia hates him again, if she believes he has truly lost it, then maybe she’ll finally give up on him and leave him alone. maybe he can finally stop making empty promises and she can stop waiting up for him. maybe, maybe, maybe. fingers nervously scratching at his arm, nick watches with wide eyes as his sister lashes out at him. he’s used to being on the recieving end of her anger-– it’s a familiar feeling, but one that he doesn’t quite welcome at the moment. he’s not sure what type of reaction he had been expecting from her, but it’s foolish to think it would have been anything but anger ( or is that disappoinment he’s detecting ? ) .

❝ a whole city. ❞ he repeats with child-like fascination. he hasn’t even had time to explore, but he already knows he won’t be staying for long. nick never stays in one spot for too long. there’s far too many places he wants to explore and new york isn’t one of the them. it’s too dull for his liking. he finds the people to be too sophisticated, too fancy and it makes him wanna hurl. ❝ i don’t like it. ❞ he just wants to run. he wants to run until his feet ache and bleed. the further he gets from alicia, the better. but still, he can’t bring himself to actually leave. he can’t even walk away from their conversation and it’s kind of pathetic. ❝ but don’t worry, ‘licia. i’ll be gone in a few days and you can go back to living in your perfect world. ❞ there’s a chance he’ll go back to mexico, maybe even LA if the feeling strikes - – he’s not entirely sure yet. all he knows is that he can’t stay in new york. 

[nctnormal]

      it’s ODD. that’s the best way to describe the feeling that’s been sitting in the pit of her stomach, floating around in the back of her thoughts, since the Fall happened: nick almost seemed to function better in the apocalypse. maybe she’s grasping at straws though, trying to hold onto any shred of understanding she can when it comes to her older brother. or perhaps it should be expected, shaping up and SURVIVING is a necessity when the dead start to hunt the living. regardless, all she does know is the nick before her, who looks so ready to just take off, is not like the one she left from the bed of the truck or the one that stayed up with her on the boat, a moment that seems like forever ago. it can’t have been that long since the apocalypse happened and yet she already feels like she doesn’t remember how to handle this growing disappointment that’s leaving such a bitter taste in her mouth.

         ❛ on what planet is my life PERFECT right now. ❜ she huffs out, arms crossed protectively in front of her. her cheeks are puffed from barely contained annoyance because she knows that argument. the perfect daughter and the druggie son and the dead dad and the mother who stopped being able to balance them all together and and and --- the variables never seemed to stop piling on top of each other. ❛ i don’t want to be here either. i don’t want to go back to that damn boat and those infected or any of it. i had ONE MORE YEAR. ❜ it’s something she hasn’t thought about often, if only because her thoughts drift to matt and then she just wants to cry. as it is, she ends up biting the inside of her cheek to keep her bottom lip from trembling. ❛ you’re not the only one who deserves a pity party; you’re just the only one who needs to be high to actually get through it. ❜ it’s always a low blow with her, or at least an attempt at one. she doesn’t know anymore if he even cares.  

[ghostlydiangelc]

he lets out an annoyed huff but doesnt complain about her lack of helpfulness. “do you know where the nearest park is? or could you at least tell me what part of new york we’re in?” 

[nctnormal]

      ❛ look --- ❜ she’s frustrated by the hint of annoyance and it’s all too obvious in her voice, ❛ i’ve never been to new york in my life, nowhere even close, and two days ago i’m on a boat in the middle of the ocean and then suddenly i’m HERE and it’s 2016 and no --- i don’t know where the closest park is, i’m not even sure this isn’t some weird, long ass dream i’m having. ❜ so maybe she’s been holding in some grievances. 

[ofvixxxen]

laughing nervously, she nodded slowly at the other girl, expression that of surprise a few seconds later. “of course, one shouldn’t kabob their own mother. seeing as she did birth you!” her smile changed to that of ease, “i can show you, of course. i’ve been training for awhile now! it’s easy— i promise, at the end you won’t even go near your mom with it!” 

[nctnormal]

     ❛ yeah, can’t imagine that’d be good for anyone. ❜ there’s a quirk of her lips upward and alicia tries to fight the smile that wants to break through. this girl’s attitude is infectious enough. ❛ easy for you, you mean. but alright, if you seriously wouldn’t mind --- oh, right, i’m alicia, by the way. ❜

[beaniewashington]

“you couldn’t let me believe that i was somewhere better for at least a few more moments?”

[nctnormal]

      ❛ how exactly do you expect that to do you any good?? ❜

[spielberq-blog]

alicia clark + tv tropes

[officerfricndlysaved-blog]

                Rick didn’t miss the sound of hunger echoing off the trees. He had developed an ear for it now. With his hand on his gun holster he rushed but quickly stopped at the sight of another person, a living person, taking out the walker. He was ready to move if something were to go south, to stop which ever needed to be stopped. When the young female turned around he raised his hands, knowing the dead was going to stay down due to the head shot. ❝No, I get it. You’re not in trouble, girl. What’s your name? I’m Rick an’ I’ve delt with these walkers in the past.❞ He had to inhale, gathering himself because she reminded him so much of Beth. It made his stomach and chest pang with guilt and grief. ❝Just, Just come with me and I’ll get you outta this mess.❞ He promised, his NYPD police uniform only giving the reassurance most people needed.

[nctnormal]

       for a minute, all alicia sees is the uniform and it strikes a fear into her heart. she’s seriously going to be stuck in a jail cell babbling on about walking corpses and time travel. soon though, his words finally take hold and she blinks away the confusion clouding her mind enough to actually form coherent words. ❛ i’m --- my name is alicia. ❜ he mentions getting her away from this and it’s enough to get her to take a few steps forward. ❛ you know about them --- the infected?? ❜ it doesn’t click that he had called them walkers until her own familiar title for them leave her lips. his accent leaves her questioning just how widespread this thing had been. ❛ wait, yeah, you’re right. i just want to get out of here first. i hate this. it was supposed to be OVER here. ❜

[evanthcmas-blog]

he remains perfectly still, tired eyes never once straying from alicia’s face. he knows her words hold some truth to them ─ celia had been a bit off, but he liked it. she had managed to show him a whole new side of things, had taught him that the infected didn’t mark the end of the world, but were simply what came next. in some ways, it made him feel FREE. ❝ don’t talk about her like that.❞ it’s a bittersweet moment. he’s happy to be back with alicia, of course, but he knows he’s meant to be with celia and it makes everything feel off. 

❝ it would have lasted. we could have lived in peace there, alicia. ❞ he holds back a sigh, frown twisting at his chapped lips. he can try until he’s blue in the face, but he’s very aware of the fact that he’s never going to be able to get his sister to see his side of things. he’s never going to be able to get anyone to see his side of things. the only people who had ever seen things his way were gone, and he knows his family is to blame. ❝ it matters because i couldn’t do it anymore. don’t you get it ?? the— what do you call them? INFECTED. yeah, the infected. they’re still people. they still have families and people that love them. but you guys don’t care. you kill them without thinking and it’s e x h a u s t i n g. they aren’t the killers, we are. ❞ he was so tired. all of the KILLING and DESTROYING had taken its toll on him and he wanted nothing more than to return to his life among the dead. at least he could find peace among them. ❝ and i just couldn’t face you guys anymore. ❞

[nctnormal]

      her jaw feels completely unhinged with how she’s gaping up at him. for the moment, she finds herself stumped --- when it came to nick, she’d never been like her mother: patient, stern, hopeful. maybe she’d been getting better with him because he seemed better, for awhile anyway. this, however, is not better; in fact, it’s the complete opposite and it’s suddenly entirely too familiar for alicia. it’s calls from a jail cell at odd hours of the night and rehab centers that never worked. it’s the moment alicia decided she couldn’t INVEST everything into believing her brother would get better time and time again so she instead just stopped trying. they were tumbling and unraveling piece by piece again and she feels her gaze harden when the realization hits her.

      ❛ people don’t eat each other’s face off, nick. no matter what your precious cult leader tells you otherwise. ❜ she retorts coldly. the hand that had remained loosely clutched in his shirt drops to her side. she’s defensive, detached. everything she’d been before the Fall and, evidently, everything she still was when they’re thrust into a world that had never known about the infected at all.  ❛ we can’t kill something that’s already dead, but it doesn’t matter. tired or not, i wouldn’t put rotting corpses before mom because i feel bad. ❜ this is a familiar routine, alicia on her high horse, childishly lashing out at a brother she’d long given up on anyway. it’s almost comfortable in a way. she wonders if somewhere down the line this had become a coping mechanism, but, truly, that’s not a road she’s quite ready to walk down. ❛ forget it. they aren’t here anyway. you don’t want to face me and my big, bad murdering ways?? then you’ve got a whole city to runaway to. CONGRATS. ❜ she doesn’t mean it; she never quite does because, despite it all, nick is still her older brother. alicia is hurt though and she’s confused and, truthfully, she’s scared. this is all she knows to fall back on.

[ghostlydiangelc]

shadow travelling could be unpredictable at time and he scowled as he put a hand on the wall nearest to him and studied his surroundings. at least he was still in new york. “can you point me to the nearest drinking fountain?” if he wanted to be on the move again and stay on the lookout for any sign of meg he needed to stay hydrated and keep his strength up, otherwise will would kill him for being reckless.

[nctnormal]

      ❛ honestly?? no. ❜ she’s not particularly apologetic, if only because it’s an honest fact. instead she shrugs and makes a vague hand gestures towards a random direction, ❛ i’m not from here, not even close. i’m sure if you find a park, you’ll find a fountain. those are everywhere. ❜

[beaniewashington]

“please tell me this has all been a horrible nightmare and any minute now i’ll wake up in the lodge with a horrible hangover from drinking too much.”

[nctnormal]

       ❛ yeah, no can do. time to suck it up and accept reality. ❜

[evanthcmas-blog]

it’s something of a surprise to nick when his younger sister latches onto his shirt. at first, he thinks he’s hallucinating again, thinks he’s FINALLY lost his mind. it had only been a matter of time ( the countdown had been ticking ever since he left the church ) , and a small part of him is relieved that it’s finally happening, but another part is absolutely terrified. he doesn’t want to be crazy. not again. 

only when alicia speaks does he realize that she’s real. she’s not a figment of his WILD imagination and that’s something he finds solace in ─ even if she is calling him out for breaking his promise and leaving her. ❝ i’m sorry. ❞ he’s not, but he can’t stop the words from leaving his mouth. he’s never sorry. he’ll do it again and again; make a promise, break it, then leave. it’s what he’s best at─  letting his family down, letting alicia down. ❝ i couldn’t go with you guys. not when celia was right about everything, about us. ❞

[nctnormal]

    for a moment, she’s left suspended in her own thoughts. there’s a hint of disbelief etched into her features and slowly, but surely, an inkling of ANGER begins to overtake it. ❛ celia?? the crazy old bat you knew for like two days?? ❜ she doesn’t even address his apology. alicia won’t accept it, if only because she’s doing them both a favor but not pretending like it means anything, probably. it is celia that leaves frustration still burning bright in her eyes though --- who exactly did that woman think she was to do this to nick??

  ❛ what are you even talking about, nick?? celia wasn’t exactly right in the head. none of those people were. ❜ she scoffs loudly and throws her hands up in the air around her, as if that someone is meant to help get her point across. she hadn’t liked the boat either. she had wanted to think there was something good in that place they’d ended up; but to see what those things could do and to know celia treated them like some sort of calling from God?? even alicia has a limit to how much bullshit she can be fed. ❛ it wouldn’t have lasted, not with the infected literally living beside them. things are, were, different. we didn’t do anything. ❜ she’s not actually sure what happened that night, so caught up in the flames licking their feet and the infected snatching their jaws --- and nick, stumbling along like he was one of those things. ❛ why would it even matter, nick?? we’re your FAMILY. i thought...why can’t you ever get that through your head?? why doesn’t it mean anything?? ❜ granted, alicia hadn’t exactly been the biggest family man either, not for awhile, but things were different. there was no one left but her family now.    

[nctnormal]

@movesamongthem liked for a starter!!

     the last time alicia had seen her brother, he’d been covered in blood and walking among all of the infected that had started to worm their way into ANOTHER fallen safe haven. she’d been resigned then, just as she’d been every other time nick broke a promise ( i’m not going anywhere ). travis was gone. chris was insane. her mother was trying. and nick?? nick was making a choice --- just as he did every other time before. alicia just wonders why she had allowed herself to hope this time might be different. 

     ❛ you LEFT. ❜ she doesn’t know why it’s the first thing that tumbles from her lips when she grabs onto her brother’s shirt. alicia had spotted him in the crowd near the apartments and instinct had reached for him before he could pass. but now that the words have escaped, it’s all she can think;  to see him looking considerably less bloody is almost disorienting though. maybe she’s just not thinking straight.

[bisexualrosita]

(#aesthetic: the clark siblings making sure chris is okay)

[ofvixxxen]

slipping her katana sword back in it’s holder, she nodded. “it is yes,” a proud smile tugging at her lips, “i’ve been training with it today!” sweat puddled on her forehead from the intensity of what she was doing. “are you interested in something like this?”

[nctnormal]

   ❛ sort of. ❜ her eyes have been glued to the weapon thus far, but soon enough they drift upwards to meet the other’s. ❛ i mean --- yeah. mostly the basics. like how to swing to hit something, but not, y’know, kebab my mom or something. ❜  

[nctnormal]

@svesnell​ liked for a starter!!

   ❛ so i know everyone’s all about pizza around these parts, ❜ alicia rolls her eyes and laughs softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she does, ❛ but i got this two-for-one coupon for a frozen yogurt place across the street and i wouldn’t want them to just waste away. ❜ the coupon in question is in her hand, which she waves in front of her to show the other girl. ❛ feel like joining me or am i gonna be stuffing my face by myself?? ❜

[nctnormal]

@officerfricndly liked for a starter!!

       she thought it was SAFE here. six years into the future with no clear effects of an apocalypse unraveling in the past had evidently given her a false sense of security. the INFECTED, whose head was now a mush of brain matter and bits of rotting flesh thanks to alicia’s baseball bat, had come out of nowhere. she’d been alone in the park beforehand so it would have stuck out like a sore thumb regardless, but the guttural sound of hunger had clued her in quick enough too. she’s breathing heavily, her heart racing in her chest, and her hair a ragged mess from when she’d started swinging. at least, it hadn’t been CENTRAL PARK, where the crowds would have seriously given enough pause to cause even bigger problems. as it stands, she’s sure she could slink away without anyone --- wait, no. when she turns to leave, there’s a man close behind her. alicia doesn’t know how much he saw, but it wouldn’t be hard to connect the dots between her bloodied baseball bat and the corpse behind her.  ❛ hold on. please. you don’t understand --- i know what this looks like, but he was ALREADY dead and i...i had to. ❜ wonderful. not only does she have to deal with a sudden infected appearing, but now she’ll be thrown in jail for a murder because he wouldn’t understand, much less believe her.