Standing up from the balcony he had spent the past few days on, Arthur went back inside and rummaged around in the drawers and everywhere for a few pieces of paper and something to write with. Inside the desk, he was lucky enough to find a few sheets of note paper and a pencil. Arthur set the phone down and examined the map Matthew had sent him and redrew a simple version of it, labelling and marking it. The past few days he had been here the Briton had searched the room over for a map but had been unable to find one. It was a little odd in his opinion, but he could only assume that the precious renters of the room had taken it with them. At least it was something to set his mind steady. Deeming the makeshift map good enough, he turned off the cell phone, wanting to save as much battery life as he could. He had no charger cord for it, and half of the city seemed to be out of power anyway. He quickly set to work on another note for Francis if he were to return.
Frog,
Don’t take it the wrong way, but I couldn’t wait for you
any longer. I’ve been in this hotel for too many days as it is
and I simply had to move. Besides, I’ve managed to make
contact with Matthew and Alfred——they’re fine——
and I’m going to meet up with them. If you aren’t dead
by then come join us. Matthew is worried.
That was good enough, yes? He thought so. And so he made a quick duplicate of the map he made and make it obvious where the boys were and where Arthur would be heading. There had been some scotch tape in the draw with the paper and he simply taped both the note and paper with a crudely drawn map onto the glass door of the balcony, hoping that it would be seen if he had come back. Arthur certainly wasn’t worried. Not in the least. Though hearing from him again and knowing that he wasn’t eaten alive would be a nice relief, he supposed. Only because the only one going to take that frog down was going to be him. Simple as that.
With a sigh, satisfied with the note and map, Arthur set to work packing his things again, double checking he knew where everything was and had everything he needed. The small supply of medical gear; the even smaller supply of food and water; his knife and gun and metal pipe. It was all good enough for the short trip, and pulling up the hood of his sweater he descended the fire escape carefully and made his way down the street. The stench from the few rotting bodies was becoming rather strong and he supposed maybe that should be hint enough to leave the area. Who knows what really attracted those monstrosities, but he certainly wasn’t going to stick around and find out. There were more important things to worry about, like finding his boys and staying alive for his people. It was the least he could owe to them. Glancing down at the paper, he made a sudden right down another road, his quick footsteps light despite his haste.
He realised right about now, he should be going down a long stretch of road, and pausing, he stared down it with critical eyes. Long, open stretches of road were never a good thing, even during the war time he was familiar with. Nonetheless, he hadn’t wanted to waste all of his energy running circles around the city. Just getting to the location indicated would be tiring enough for his exhausted state. Just take it slow; just take it easy. Stay quiet. And Arthur did just that, his steps measured and soft, sticking close to buildings yet avoiding open windows. A few abandoned cars lined the streets and he was half tempted to check them out on his way, but kept going past, not wanting to disturb anything as it was. He would probably feel much better about doing things of that sort if he weren't on his own, only reassuring himself with the idea that if all went well, he wouldn't be for much longer. Maybe things could come to some sort of normality in this hellish hole of a city.
There was a scrape of something rather heavy just behind him, and his steps stopped instantly. His sense of alertness shot up and he listened for anything that could clue him off as to what that was. It couldn't have been anything natural or something simply shifting from the unstable wreckage. No, it was something moving. His hands griped the pipe even tighter. A loud crash of glass and other debris, and Arthur quickly turned around, emerald locking onto a woman. No longer a woman. She looked like she used to be quite a beautiful woman. It stumbled over itself, and its left arm was obviously broken beyond use. It didn't seem to notice, and those dead eyes met his. He took the pipe into both hands and steadied himself. No sudden movements...
→ Matthew, what is the best way to get inside? I'm not far off. Please be quick. Thank you. -Arthur
snowghoul
origamiaround
gamechangershow
kianamaiart
amandla
prguitarman
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
