The Mount, Ex-Los Angeles

[spin_kick_snap]

The last time anyone from Fandom had been in Kathy's LA, the heroes had been living inside the walls that surrounded Paramount Studios, with the exes and the South Seventeens laying claim to everything else. Since then, they'd expanded; the Big Wall pushing the borders out almost a mile in all four directions. In some spots, it was hard to tell that there had ever been a zombocalypse; the streets were clean, the buildings repaired, the blood all scrubbed away. There was a proper school, lots of farms and gardens, several churches, and even a small library. The studio was still the heart of the community, but people had started to spread out and settle. It was still a tight fit, several thousand people into one square mile, but honestly not much worse than Los Angeles used to be, back before the world died and reanimated again.

Life had fallen back into a rhythm again. People got up, got ready for the day. Kids were sent off to school, adults took themselves to various jobs, though there were fewer sales people, baristas, and aspiring actors and a lot more guards, scavengers, and farmers these days. There was a brewery down on Larchmont and a still over on Monroe. Burns Park let people enjoy a bit of nature where the kids could run around and burn off steam and a Gold's Gym practically against the Big Wall. That was where the Unbreakables spent most of their free time, with curious gawkers watching them put more and more weight onto the machines.

It was a bustling little community of survivors, as safe as a place could be, surrounded on all sides by millions of undead waiting to find a way inside to devour them all.

[For them that are there! NFB, and please wait for the OCD is up! Previous entry Next Entry]

Comments

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Kathy's apartment was a little suffocating, in a way - though Dante wasn't likely to tell her.

Still, after a few hours, he felt the need to do... something. To move. Get a breath of air.

He slipped out the door and walked aimlessly into the streets.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"Well, well, well. Look at what the zombie cat dragged in. My, how time does fly."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

... and just like that, the aimless ambling came to a sudden stop.

"Didn't I kill you?" Dante said, voice sharp but restrained.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"Mmm, technically," Max said, lounging against the wall, all studied insouciance. "But that doesn't really seem to stick around here. Didn't for our dear little Banzai, did it?"

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, but I didn't think you were that high up on anybody's 'Nice' list," Dante said.

Okay, now his voice was inching towards a growl. He looked at Max, at last, eyes narrowed.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"See, I never paid much attention to where other people try to put me," Max said. He grinned at Dante, ignoring the rising hostility. "Pretty sure we have that in common. Among other things."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"What the fuck did you do to get Kathy here?" Dante snapped. "And why shouldn't I kick your ass for it?"

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"I did a magic ritual," Max said. "Obviously. And I did it before I died the first time, when I thought she'd be traveling a few miles at worst. Surely she explained that it was all one big misunderstanding?"

He gave Dante sad eyes. "I feel just horrible about it, really. And even worse now that the rest of you are here, too."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante considered that argument.

"I'm going to fucking punch you."

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"Whoa, hey hey!" Max said, holding up his hands. "I would have thought we were beyond the random acts of ultra-violence! What is this, a night club in 2015 again?"

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante said nothing.

Dante just stalked towards him, fist raised.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Max said, scrambling backwards. "I thought reunion sex was supposed to mellow a dude out!"

Not gonna help your face look less punchable, dude.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

It didn't.

Which is probably why Dante gave in to temptation and punched it.

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

Dante had been gone awhile now. It was probably stupid for Kathy to worry - okay, it was stupid of Kathy to worry - but she couldn't help but pace back and forth and watch the ticking clock. Everyone else had gone wandering, driven to it by the closeness of the walls, but Kathy was staying put, just in case.

If something happened, she'd be close enough to the Wall to hear it.

If someone happened, they'd know exactly where she was to tell her.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

It had been a while, but eventually there was a fumbling noise by the door, and then a knock.

"Kathy?"

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy flew to the door, unfastening all the locks and wrenching it open. "Oh thank god," she said, flinging her arms around him. "You're okay."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, I'm good," Dante whispered, hugging here tight. "Exes still can't hurt me."

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

"I know," Kathy mumbled, but she was still running her hands over him anyway, looking for cuts and bruises or tears in his clothes. "And, I mean, it's not like there were any alarms or anything, the inside of the Mount is safe..." But it had been hours and he was the only one who hadn't checked in.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

There was probably a bitemark or two on the arm of his coat, but he wasn't going to bring it up. Those wounds had long since healed.

"I went out to get something for you," he said, reaching into his pocket.

He held up the tin.

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy frowned, confused. "You got me sewing supplies?" she guessed, since it looked like the kind of tin cookies used to come in. Except there was no way there were anymore cookies like that in the world. "Did you go exploring the scavenger warehouse?"

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Nah, we went down to Koreatown," Dante said quietly. "Open it up."

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

"You went - with who?" Kathy asked, frowning as she tugged on the warped metal. "How? Did Stealth authorize--"

Her words fell away as the lid popped open and she was left staring at what were possibly the most precious things left in this whole world. One burned and mangled clay Christmas tree and six tiny metal fans.

"Oh," she said, breath catching in her throat. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"It was all I could find," Dante said. He stuck his hands into his pockets. "I know it's probably not all of it..."

Re: Thursday

[spin_kick_snap]

Not even close to all of it. They'd had boxes and boxes, mostly made of cardboard. It wasn't even the all the stuff that had been in this tin originally; most of that had burned, from what Kathy could tell. But the tree had been made of fired clay and the fans were made of steel and neither of those had burned, though the painted enamel that had covered them had melted away.

She shook her head, still crying. "It's more than I had," she said. "So much more than I had. You know, these fans aren't even supposed to be in this tin. But the wire they were strung on had gotten tangled up with another ornament and so Dad just threw them in and said we'd deal with it next year."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Well, better late than never, right?" Dante said, his mouth curving like he wasn't sure whether to smile with her or cry with her.