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

[hollywoodex_tras]

Hey now. Max was fully prepared to say that Dante had started it. Because there was no other way to take that 'demon ride' comment, come on.

"Resorting to play yard taunts and name calling now, Dante?" Max tsked and shook his head. "You don't have to act out for attention. I'm right here and listening. You can talk to me."

Beat.

"Think about how much easier things might have been if you'd been willing to listen the last time."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"I don't remember you saying anything worth listening to back then," Dante retorted.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"I told you that you were brimming with demonic energy back when you were still protesting you weren't demonic...scum, wasn't it?" Max reminded. "I would have told you more but then you punched me and flounced."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Oh please. You barely knew shit," Dante said, pushing some of his hair out of his face. "And you fucking deserved that."

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"I knew you for what you were," Max said quietly. "Knew better than you did."

He stared off into space for a second, brooding. And then he shook himself, kicked his legs out, and grinned up at Dante. "And I stand by Kathy would be good at magic. She's precise, she's exacting, and she's constantly overreaching what she can do. That says sorcerer to me."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante snorted.

"There's a version of her in my world," he said. "A lot more magic to go around back there, and yet - Lady's all about the guns."

There was something seriously off with Max. More than before. He couldn't figure it out.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

Well, he'd died and come back a zombie and now was stuck in the Mount surrounded by millions of exes and a demon howling for his blood? He was entitled to be not entirely on his game.

"Did she have anybody to teach her?" he asked. "Anybody she wanted to teach her? I don't know if you noticed, but under that whole obedient porcelain doll thing, your girlfriend's pretty stubborn."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Did you just call Kathy an obedient porcelain doll?" Dante said, staring at him.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"I called it a thing," Max protested. "She looks all sweet and quiet and kinda meek." His mouth twisted. "And then she opens that damn mouth."

God, he'd wanted to throttle her the other night.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"Think you got some racist bullshit rattling in that head of yours," Dante said, rolling his eyes. "No, she doesn't let douchebags like you roll all over her."

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"That's what she's got you for," Max said sweetly.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're what, 80?" Dante shot back. "Fuckin' old perv."

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"You weren't worried about my age at the club," Max reminded.

Like a dick.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're a fucking asshole," said Dante, which was not a denial.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"And here I came over to see if you wanted to go for a walk outside the Wall, maybe pick up a souvenir or two," Max said. "Hurts my feelings how you always think the worst of me."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante stared at him. "You want to go outside the Wall?" he said. "Why?"

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"What, you don't feel like getting out of the Mount for a little while?" Max asked. "This place is a goddamn prison and I'd like a chance to stretch my legs a bit. Besides, what's left of Koreatown isn't more than a few miles from here. Maybe we can go, poke around, find something nice for Kathy as a proper apology." He rolled his eyes.

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"You wanna head into zombie-infested territory to go shopping?" Dante said.

He had a feeling there was more to this.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"No, I wanna get out of here for awhile and, unfortunately, everywhere that isn't here is zombie-infested territory," Max pointed out. "The shopping is just a nice bonus."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

Jesus fucking christ.

The problem was, Dante couldn't even disagree with him. He'd been here for a day and he was already starting to develop cabin fever.

And Kathy could use something to brighten her day.

"If we do this, I'll kill you if you try anything," he said.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

Max rolled his eyes. "You're my ticket out there," he said like he was talking to an idiot. "Didn't Kathy tell you anything about how she got her phone? You know, besides the part where Nick used her like a battery made of meth?"

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"She didn't," Dante said, and the expression on his face read I need to go punch Nick, too.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

"Weird," said Max, turning and strolling towards a deserted section of the wall. "I would have thought she'd wanna mention sleeping at Nick's place the other night."

But hey, who was he to pry into their relationship, right?

"Anyway, Cairax is looking for humans. Not demons. Get someone out there that reeks enough of demon and it'll take Cairax longer to notice them because they're not giving off human signals. It's like camouflage. I can spread that camo over to me, at least for a little while."

Re: Thursday

[rebelseekspizza]

"So you need me," Dante parsed, as he followed right behind.

One of his eyes twitched a little. No reason at all.

Re: Thursday

[hollywoodex_tras]

Max just chuckled, low and a little dirty. "Your words, not mine. But that's how you know I won't be trying anything. Something happens to you and I'm hoping that whatever it is gets me, too, before Cairax shows up."