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spin_kick_snapThe ex that had once been known as the superhero Banzai shambled along the overpass of the highway. For once, it wasn't being bounced off of others of its kind, this section of the overpass was clear of cars and exes both. The ex could continue its mindless walk along, far faster than any zombie had any right to be, staring at the city's iconic high-rises standing tall and strong in the distance ahead of it. For once, hunger didn't plague the ex, it still had a single-minded purpose, to get to the people who lived in those buildings, but not to rend and tear and devour. No, the ex that had been Banzai just wanted to see them, going about their business, alive and happy, moving like tiny ants about their daily lives. Surely if it just made it into the city proper, the ex would see LA alive and bustling once more. And then - and then -
"Hey, puta!" A voice called to it. To her. Not to the ex that used to be Banzai, but to the dead girl who was once Kathy. Rodney Cesares was calling to her, a withered head, misshapen and huge, on top of a rusting car, eye sockets empty and teeth shattered stumps. "Where you think you're going, eh?" the head asked her.
"To the city," she said, or tried to. She pointed towards the skyline that she'd known her whole life, an indelible mark on her heart.
"No reason to go there," Rodney said. "It's all dead, just like you."
The dead girl shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm all alone--"
"Look around," Rodney interrupted. "The dead are never alone. LA's a corpse and you're a maggot feeding on the dead flesh."
The ex shook her head, stringy hair flying about her face. The glint from the setting sun caught her eye and when she looked at the city again, it looked like it was covered in blood. And that's when she heard it, the constant low hum, omnipresent enough she could feel it vibrating in her bones. Clack clack clack. The sound of thousands - millions - of teeth clattering together. The ex stumbled over to the edge of the overpass and looked down...
Into a sea of writhing zombies, nigh uncountable and stretching all the way back towards the city.
"Told you, bouncy-girl," Rodney said with a laugh. "The city's as dead as you are."
It laughed and laughed and laughed and the ex started to scream as the hunger came back, twice as strong as before and then there was nothing left but the hunger, but the need to bite and tear and feed--
Kathy woke up with a start, Ronin nudging at her face with his nose. Her jaw was sore - she'd been grinding her teeth again - but her throat didn't hurt. Ronin was getting better at waking her up before she actually started screaming. "Good boy," she said, petting him as he cuddled closer. "Thank you, Ronin. You're such a good boy. You are."
She'd been quietly having nightmares off and on for the last few weeks. She hoped that they'd ease out some, but no, they seemed to be happening more and more often and they all centered on LA. Not exactly a surprise, considering, but these weren't memories from the year she'd been dead, but some kind of weird subconscious remix about LA being a dead city.
"Except it isn't, is it boy?" she murmured, scritching Ronin's ears. "It's alive and well here. I just haven't seen it. But maybe if I do, I can convince my dumb brain to chill out. That would be a first."
Still, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. It was Spring Break for NYU. She could go to Fandom's LA, verify for herself that it was still a bustling metropolis filled with living people, and maybe shake whatever bug had gotten into her brain about it otherwise.
Decision made, it didn't take long to turn 'plan' into 'action.' She'd made rounds of all her bug-out bags recently, checking to make sure they were still stocked and ready to go whenever the guys had been out of the house. It took just a second to grab the one under her bed, add Ronin's paperwork, and sling it on over her shoulder. Portal was faster than flight, plus they made less fuss over dogs. And weapons.
Yeah, okay, portal to Los Angeles based on nothing but bad dreams. Sounded like a great idea.
[For that guy who might have concerns]
"Hey, puta!" A voice called to it. To her. Not to the ex that used to be Banzai, but to the dead girl who was once Kathy. Rodney Cesares was calling to her, a withered head, misshapen and huge, on top of a rusting car, eye sockets empty and teeth shattered stumps. "Where you think you're going, eh?" the head asked her.
"To the city," she said, or tried to. She pointed towards the skyline that she'd known her whole life, an indelible mark on her heart.
"No reason to go there," Rodney said. "It's all dead, just like you."
The dead girl shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm all alone--"
"Look around," Rodney interrupted. "The dead are never alone. LA's a corpse and you're a maggot feeding on the dead flesh."
The ex shook her head, stringy hair flying about her face. The glint from the setting sun caught her eye and when she looked at the city again, it looked like it was covered in blood. And that's when she heard it, the constant low hum, omnipresent enough she could feel it vibrating in her bones. Clack clack clack. The sound of thousands - millions - of teeth clattering together. The ex stumbled over to the edge of the overpass and looked down...
Into a sea of writhing zombies, nigh uncountable and stretching all the way back towards the city.
"Told you, bouncy-girl," Rodney said with a laugh. "The city's as dead as you are."
It laughed and laughed and laughed and the ex started to scream as the hunger came back, twice as strong as before and then there was nothing left but the hunger, but the need to bite and tear and feed--
Kathy woke up with a start, Ronin nudging at her face with his nose. Her jaw was sore - she'd been grinding her teeth again - but her throat didn't hurt. Ronin was getting better at waking her up before she actually started screaming. "Good boy," she said, petting him as he cuddled closer. "Thank you, Ronin. You're such a good boy. You are."
She'd been quietly having nightmares off and on for the last few weeks. She hoped that they'd ease out some, but no, they seemed to be happening more and more often and they all centered on LA. Not exactly a surprise, considering, but these weren't memories from the year she'd been dead, but some kind of weird subconscious remix about LA being a dead city.
"Except it isn't, is it boy?" she murmured, scritching Ronin's ears. "It's alive and well here. I just haven't seen it. But maybe if I do, I can convince my dumb brain to chill out. That would be a first."
Still, the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. It was Spring Break for NYU. She could go to Fandom's LA, verify for herself that it was still a bustling metropolis filled with living people, and maybe shake whatever bug had gotten into her brain about it otherwise.
Decision made, it didn't take long to turn 'plan' into 'action.' She'd made rounds of all her bug-out bags recently, checking to make sure they were still stocked and ready to go whenever the guys had been out of the house. It took just a second to grab the one under her bed, add Ronin's paperwork, and sling it on over her shoulder. Portal was faster than flight, plus they made less fuss over dogs. And weapons.
Yeah, okay, portal to Los Angeles based on nothing but bad dreams. Sounded like a great idea.
[For that guy who might have concerns]
