#| ruination |

[samantha-bradford]

Ruination

[Concerns of a Daughter]

[Not Too Late…]

[Uncertainty]

[Lakeshire Massacre]

[Horror in the Hills]

[Hysteria]

[samantha-bradford]

Hysteria

Sam awakened the next morning to a dry mouth, sore throat, and a cold chill. Her head throbbed as she climbed out of the armoires sanctuary. Every bone and muscle ached from exhaustion. Legs faltered as she shuffled across the abandoned cabin, nearly collapsing to the floor as she narrowly caught the edge of the nearby table. Pain scorched through the right arm like a red-hot poker to the flesh as her weight was put upon it; her first instinct to scream was squelched by her raw throat. The fear of ghouls linger just outside the door played a part in her desire to remain silent.

Grimacing, she rested her rear on the table and peeled back the blood-soaked cloth which had hastily been wrapped around the jagged wound. Sam groaned and gagged as she looked away, covering her mouth with the back of her other hand to resist vomiting. The sliced flesh had become inflamed and the opening filled with a vile, vicious puss. Unsure if this was an infection or form of plague Sam's mind began to race, she wanted to cry, but her body offered no tears.

The fear of death was overwhelming as she frantically searched for food or water within the cabinets, only to find molded breads and broken jars. Dehydration, starvations, infection, zombies; it all weighed heavily on Samantha as she sank to the floorboards on her knees. Her body felt cold, yet a fever soared.  She wondered if she should have remained in the City and perhaps her mother would yet live had she not intervened. Quinn, Zeehva, and her regular patrons all fluttered briefly through her thoughts before the memory of her mother's death wiped them all away.

"Mom..." Sam choked on her sob as she rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "...I'm so sorry."

At the furthest window, something moved. Catching Sam's attention as her breath froze. The leaves outside rustled silently as something shuffled around the corner of the cabin. The chair propped against the door buckled as the entity beyond attempted to force the door in several repeated thrusts. She looked to the door, too weak to stand, and her entire body trembled with fear, convulsing as she sobbed into the bitten lip as she mustered enough strength to crawl towards the corner. Between each breath, she whispered hopelessly for help, knowing none would come.

[Mentioned/Implied: @quinn-varden​, @zeehva​, @theparkhurstalchemists​, @melorica​]

[pt.I] [pt.II] [pt.III] [pt.IV] [pt.V]

[samantha-bradford]

Horror in the Hills

Sam and the others fled into the hills beyond Lakeshire as her arm throbbed with pain from the geist's attack. A townswoman had hastily wrapped the wound with a torn sheet during their brief pause, but such an injury would require proper treatment from a trained hand. The respite was cut short as skeletons and ghouls followed their trail, forcing the fatigued and defenseless villagers over the crest toward Three Corners. Expecting soldiers and salvation, the group was instead met with a harsh reality; fiends and wrights were consuming the corpses of had-been defenders, whose attention now shifted to the living upon the hill.

Everyone panicked as they were pursued from both sides, sprinting into the forests which bordered Elwynn. The slowest of the group were picked off one by one, their blood-chilling cries of agony rung within Sam's ears as her heart pounded with every wide stride. Within the dense woodland, she had become separated from the others who yet lived, sending another shot of adrenaline and fright through her core as she ran out of breath. The sound of a ghoul several feet behind forced her to push onward, to fight through the burning pain in her legs and lungs.

With a sharp turn, she ducked behind a tree and pressed herself firmly against the truck. The ghoul had slowed to walk, gurgling and shambling around the area it had last seen its prey. Sam stood as straight as a board, covering her mouth with a hand to muffle her panting breath. She choked on several sobs as her eyes clamped shut; the overwhelming fear of death had her paralyzed, assuring herself that this would be her resting place.

As the ghoul continued to search behind rocks and trees, Sam quivered, looking up the sky as if seeking divine intervention. The image of her mother torn to threads haunted her thoughts; the screams of the dead echoed in her mind as she resigned to the fear of dying.

The ghoul's rotting hand slammed into the tree beside Sam's head, and it let out a guttural groan into her face. She screamed at the top of her lungs and threw herself from the tree, taking off at full speed again as the undead creature remained one step behind. The pounding pulse drowned out her footfalls in her ears, the tears of fear that began welling up in her eyes threatened her sight. Shouting for help until her throat was hoarse as she ran, no answer ever came.

A cabin emerged as she raced through the forest, looking abandoned from afar. Reaching for the door, Sam felt her heart jump as no lock resisted her entry, and with haste, she spun around to slam the door in the ghoul's face. Both hands planted against the wooden barrier as the ghoul slammed against the other side. Her eyes swiftly searched for a barricade, finding a knocked-over chair within reach. Taking the chance, Sam propped the chair under the door handle, backing away slowly as the ghoul continued to slam its weight against the door.

Terrified and exhausted, she continued to panic, scanning the empty single-room cabin for somewhere to hide in the event the door gave way. With heavy breaths broken by sobs, she climbed into the sturdy-looking armoire and curled into herself, pressing against the corner. Arms wrapped around the knees, which touched her chest as she sat in fear, trembling with icy tears pouring down her cheeks.

[pt.I] [pt.II] [pt.III] [pt.IV]

[samantha-bradford]

Uncertainty

Fear surged through every fiber of Sam's being as she felt the ghoul's rotting hands grasp the hoe and staggered forward. Her eyes pressed shut even harder as the creature's roar rattled the eardrums and drowned out the panicked cries of her mother, the spittle splatting on her skin. She was frozen in place as her heart thundered in her chest, the weight of the ghoul pressing against her.

Suddenly the opposing force lurched and receded as the sound of a blade piercing the air silenced the undead gurgles. The ghoul hit the dirt in a pile as Sam slowly peeled her eyes open, quivering in place as her mind raced to catch up.

"Come on!" An armored man shouted as he grabbed her by the arm and tugged "Into the barn with the others. Go!"

With a speeding heart and hazy mind, Sam followed the instructions. Collecting her mother's hand as they ran across the fields toward the cattle barn with the rest. Everyone stood nearly shoulder to shoulder as the guards pulled the barn doors shut, barring them from the inside. Panicked murmurs and cries of fear hovered over the crowd of civilians.

"What are you doing here?" Sam's mother, Heather, frantically asked. Her hands cupping either side of her daughter's face.

"There were rumors in the City. I came to get you." Her voice broke as she pulled her mother into a tight hug, towering over the woman who stood nearly as tall as Quinn. "I can't lose you after losing dad."

"You always had a good heart," Heather spoke into the fabric of Sam's shirt, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "You're all I have left of your father. It's you I can't lose."

Tears welled in Sam's eyes as she sniffled, the sounds of destruction echoing outside, the fear of death sinking in. "Mom, I'm sorry I never came to visit much. I'm sorry I never wrote often."

"Shhh," her mother cooed, "it's alright, dear. I never stopped loving you."

"I never stopped loving you," she choked out.

Suddenly the murmurs and troubled conversations ceased, all eyes now pinned to the few green droplets which hit the barn floor. Anxiously Sam turned her gaze upward, spying the loft door which had been open before noticing the half dozen geists clinging to the ceiling and rafters.

In the blink of an eye, chaos erupted, the geists descending upon the group who screamed in fear as they frantically struggled to unbar the door in the commotion. Like fish in a barrel, they were trapped.

[ Mentioned: @quinn-varden​ ]

[pt.I] [pt.II]

[samantha-bradford]

Not Too Late...

Hooves thundered against the road and over the bridge leading towards Three Corners as Sam swiftly approached the border of Redridge. Breath heavy and sweat beading on her brows as horrific thoughts plagued her mind. "Please, by the Light, be alright." She pleaded in her panting breaths. As the only child, her mother was the only family Sam had left, and the fear of the scourge slaughtering the older woman stoked the flames of fear and despair.

Three Corners came into view, and it became clear she would be unable to pass. Barricades from salvaged sheds and carriages littered the road as soldiers battled back the undead. The sight alone made her stomach drop as the sinking feeling that she may be too late set in. However, her approach did not falter as the reins jerked to one side, and the steed was diverted to the mountain trails. Sam knew these paths like the back of her hand, guiding the swift equine through the brush and across narrow passes until they emerged on the backside of Lakeshire.

"No..." She whispered, nearly out of breath as her eyes looked across the once quiet town now assaulted by the undead. "Mom." Her heels kicked as the horse took off again towards her childhood home across the farm fields.

"Mom!" Sam shouted out as a zombie had the older woman cornered against the house.

Sam dismounted and ran across the yard in a panicked frenzy, grabbing the nearest thing she could use as a weapon. A garden hoe. With a fierce cry, the tool swung downward. "Get off her!" And while the hoe connected with the zombie's skull, it did little to stop it—the undead creature turning its empty eyes on Sam as it lurched forward with claw-like hands reaching for her.

Instinctively she recoiled, holding the hoe with both hands as her eyes clamped shut and head ducked down with a scream of fear as the boney fingers grasped at her wrists. She could hear her mother shout her name over the vile shamblings of the ghoul.

[pt.I]