ebonymxckinnon-blog

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“No, but honestly it’s probably gone amongst all the rubble.”

Have you seen my notebook?

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Ebony looked her up and down and slightly lowered her weapon when the girl didn’t make a move towards her. “Are you okay? I mean there was an earthquake and everything.”

Cordelia turned quickly and stared at the girl, tilting her head. She didn’t feel particularly threatened, people weren’t known to give warnings before killing you. “Y-Yeah?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the girl.  

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Ebony had decided to go on a short run outside of the walls to inspect how big the damage was to area. The town was pretty much deserted and was rubble much like the airport. It was Ebony was going to check another store for food and head back to base when she heard rummaging from a pharmacy. Deciding to check it out she held her machete out in front of her in case there was someone dangerous within the store. At the sight of the unknown girl Ebony didn’t lower the weapon, but instead cleared her throat to get the person’s attention.

It was almost miraculous that she survived that earthquake on her own. Delia would be the first to admit that hiding in an broken down SUV wasn’t the best way to ride it out but it served its purpose with the exception of the large gash she now had on her right arm. It was heavily dressed with a bandage but that wasn’t enough, she needed to disinfect it before she caught a fever. Delia cautiously rummaged through the shelves of the abandoned drug store for an antiseptic. It was in times like these that she found everything she didn’t need, things that would definitely weigh down her backpack. She began to grow frustrated, sorting through the shelves a lot more quickly now, knocking several expired items down in the process. Delia shut her eyes at all the noise she made and gripped the handle of her hatchet just in case. She strained her ears to hear if anyone, or anything, was approaching her.   

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Much like Bradley, Ebony hadn’t been able to sleep much since the tragic events of what had happened only a few days ago. The airport was by no means safe anymore, in fact it was terrifying how open they were to attack and danger. So these past few days Ebony had been wherever they needed her, mainly that was keeping a lookout and stopping any rotters from getting too close to where the earthquake had hit the hardest.

Ebony grunted a sound of approval before she stood next to him, “Good. We need to get everything secured before more rotters decided to come.”

Days had gone by and sleep was bare. How could he sleep when the airport was still so susceptible to invasion by both humans and rotters? The thought scared him and so he worked endlessly to create a new blueprint for the airport. It was his time to shine now, having been an architect before the outbreak, but he knew it would be difficult given their limited supplies. For now, he worked on cutting trees and forming planks, at least until he could find a more suitable alternative. He spent his days hammering away, shaking each platform to ensure its sturdiness. If the wall didn’t go up, he couldn’t imagine what would happen. Rotters still got in every now and again but with heightened patrols, most were killed before they got in.

A human noise sounded behind him and a frustrated sigh escaped his lips. “I’m busy.” He mumbled.

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Ebony shook her head, “I don’t bloody care if I’m wasting time. I’m going to get your out from under this bastard.” Ebony moved forward and carefully began to move her arms under the rubble until she felt the pieces that were holding her down. It seem that some of was weak enough she’d be able to push out from so Ebony focused on the heavier pieces. Making sure she had a good grip, she looked down at Elise. “I’m going to count down to three and lift this okay? That’s when you’ve got to move otherwise you’re not getting out.” Ebony breathed in deeply before she began to count down. When she got to three, with all her strength she lifted the rubble, beads of sweat falling from her forehead.

Elise shook her head. “You’re wasting time…” She said holding back tears. Elise didn’t cry but between the pain, being trapped, and possibly dying, she couldn’t help it. “Other people need help..” She said pulling again trying to get out from under the rubble. 

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Ebony sighed as she looked at the hole. It was going to be a tight fit and that was if she successfully managed to worm her way through. She could try and go feet first or head first, the decision frustrating her more than it should. “I think I can... But it looks like my shoulders are going to be a problem.” Ebony rubbed her face in anger as she inwardly cursed herself.

“Okay,” James sighed, that small gap was a tiny ray of hope in this seemingly hopeless situation, “okay. We can work with that.” Now he had to come up some sort of plan to get her through the very small gap. He saw Ebony test the structural integrity of the hole, but he knew he needed to see for himself, and pushed at the lower hanging pieces of rubble. 

“It seems sturdy,” he started, “do you think you could fit through?”

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Ebony crouched down and examined the rubble constricting Elise from moving. There had to be something that she could do to help the girl, anything because Ebony wouldn’t give up until she managed to get her out. “I’m not going to leave you here okay. We’re going to get you out of there and will go out and kick rotter ass, okay?”

Elise called out again when she heard a voice. Finally when she heard who it was and heard what she said, she let out a shaky breath trying to steady herself. Her body was in pain and she had blood all over herself as she heard Ebony trying to get her out. “Ebony, I’m stuck… there’s a metal beam… I don-…” She didn’t think Ebony could get her out without endangering her. “If you can’t, help yourself and the others, okay?”

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Ebony was already looking around for way to get out, panic slowly ebbing its way into her. “Not if it means endangering yourself. I mean it James, you leave if rotters come.” As she spoke she didn’t stop her search, now finding herself on the ground to see if there was anything to give. Ebony noticed a gap in the rubble, it was tight but she might be able to squeeze through with help. “I think I’ve found something,” Ebony muttered loud enough as she reached through and waved her arm in hopes he not only see it but to check if things were stable enough..

James felt a horrible sinking in his stomach hearing that Ebony was stuck, he was positive this day could not get any worse. “It’s okay, Ebony - I’m going to do everything I can to get you out,” he said in an attempt to reassure her. “Are you positive there’s no way out of there?” He was looking around the rubble, trying to find either an exit, or a way to move it out of the way. 

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Since the earthquake had settled, Ebony didn’t hesitate to run through the buildings in order to make sure that everyone was okay. It was when she was scouting one area in particular with her machete out that she heard a small voice call out for help. Moving forward slowly in case of causing more problems with shifting rubble, Ebony cursed when she saw the body buried by rubble.  Rushing over to begin lifting of rubble, Ebony hushed the girl. “Hey it’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you out of here and everything will be fine.” Despite her words Ebony was worried about the rotters that could infiltrate their home.

Elise hadn’t been doing anything out of the order as she walked through the grounds of the airport. It was a completely normal day before the ground started to shake. It happened suddenly and she was nowhere near a doorway or exit. She began to run but the room around her collapsed and trapped her under a huge pile of rubble. When her vision was no longer blurry or filled with dust she tried to pull her legs and torso out from where they were trapped but intense pain followed. She winced and stopped, not seeing anything but rubble. She was practically buried and didn’t know if anyone would ever see her. “Hello!?” She shouted. “I’m down here!” 

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Ebony heard the voice and immediately ran towards it, her eyes wide in panic as she looked around to see if much damaged had been caused in the area. “I’m fine, but we should probably head closer to where the building collapsed. Their might be people injured and we need to defend the place from any rotters.”

Kate had been collecting a few things from her bunk before she went to check on if anyone needed anything. The shaking started as a slight tremor that made her pause, bag in hand. Then suddenly and all at once it was worst. Things were falling off the top bunks, and things hung on the wall came crashing down. Kate hurried to put herself in the doorway for safety as she tried to ride it out; the bag dropped and forgotten.

Something collapsed, she knew it. She had heard the crunching and sounds of destruction as debris was kicked up in the air. When things finally settled, Kate had to take a minute to process. Even she knew what a earthquake felt like and this was indeed an earthquake. A god awful one at that.

“Oh my gosh…” She muttered in horror, afraid to know the damage done and if anyone had been killed. No no, she was a medic. She had to save lives. “Is anyone there! Does anyone need help!?”

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Ebony robbed her head as she came back to her senses, the shock of the earthquake knocking her off her feet. Stumbling up onto both feet, Ebony pressed her hands against the rubble only to jump startled at the voice that called from the other side. “James?” She called back as she pressed closer to the rubble, “It’s Ebony, I think I’m stuck over here...”

“Hey!” He yelled into the rubble, not exactly sure who he was expecting to yell back. 

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Ebony nodded her head along with him. Both Riley and James were two people who Ebony owed quite a lot to. James let her into this group when she turned up being one of the biggest messes there was. And Riley, the person who would listen to all of Ebony’s bullshit and when she was particularly homesick.

“Yeah, we owe a lot to them.” Ebony paused and pursed her lips as she looked Bradley up and down. “So what’s got you walking around this far? We’re quite a distance away from the others.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. He could see her features fall and he noticed the uncomfortable shift. He missed his home too, even if it was incredibly close to the airport. He couldn’t imagine how she felt with her home so far away. Parts of him wished he could try and return home in hopes that his sister would show signs she had returned but he refused to allow himself to hope. Hope could ruin a person in this life. “Even after all this time, everything seems just as hard.”

Bradley nodded then. James had saved them all but it wasn’t just him. “Riley too. They saved us all. But that’s why I - we - all try so hard. Somehow we’ve made it work.” More than just survival, Riley saved his humanity.

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Ebony appreciated the distance. She wasn’t someone who was good at receiving comfort from others, especially those around her age or older. Ebony was good only really good with two types of social situations; kids and the men she’s sleeping with. Anything else she usually fucked up and had the person pissed off with her. “Do you ever think it will get better? That we will beat this? I mean you’re a medic -- doctor, you’d have an idea?”

Charlotte wished she was the type of person who could walk over and put a comforting arm around Ebony, do something to show that she understood exactly what the other girl was talking about. But she simply couldn’t, and even so she wasn’t sure if Ebony was the touchy-feely type anyway. Instead, Charlotte sat down next to her, keeping some distance between them. “No matter how awful things get the world keeps spinning. I used to think I’d wake up consumed by it all, but time just keeps going by. That’s something if you can learn to be comforted by it.”

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Ebony raised her hands in the air as a sign of surrender, “Woah -- I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you, love. I just think you should know that it’s okay to let your hair down every once in awhile. You don’t have to feel like this is your obligation all of them time, no one expects you to be perfect all of the time.”

“Sad?” She asked turning her head towards Ebony. “Not every kid has to grow up. I did but that happened way before the apocalypse.” She spoke plainly. “Growing up isn’t sad. Losing everything… that’s sad. But I am who I am and it’s not going to change.”

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“I’m going to admit I rather the loudness. I’d rather hear them all growling than not hear them at all. Silence just makes it feel like something is brewing...”

“Maybe it’s a grace period. I’d rather it quiet than something terrible going on.” Emma said quietly her eyes fixed on the outside as well. 

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Ebony rolled her eyes but shrugged one shoulder noncommittally, “I guess half a voice of reason is better than none at all. But I fully resent your lack of faith in my wisdom, I think I despite some reckless actions I’m one of the smartest here.” Ebony laughed softly and rolled her eyes again at the blonde, a fond smile crossing her face. “Don’t pull your face up like that,” Ebony scolded mockingly as she reached over and poked Nora’s nose. “You know I would still be gorgeous in death.”

Feeling the small nudge from the other girl, Nora glanced over at the girl and shot her an innocent smile before she let out a laugh. “Okay, fine, fine! I’ll give you that. I’ll give you that point because that is true. Without your royal stuff ups you make sometimes, I would probably have been stuck in places you’ve been stuck before. So I’ll admit, you’re a half voice of reason.” Nora’s nose scrunched up in slight disgust, “Okay, that wasn’t an image that I was wanting in my mind right now, I have enough of the images to last the rest of my life.“

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“Yeah, asshole,” Ebony reaffirmed although she didn’t mean it. It was his question that had the small playful smile she’d been carrying to fall from her face. It wasn’t necessarily anything he had done, but the mention and thought of home still struck a cord. She missed it. There was no denying that. She especially missed it because of how far away it was. “Yeah... I do. It’s hard but I’m adjusting, there isn’t much room for pity parties nowadays.”

Ebony smiled softly and nodded her head, “Yeah, we do. This place wouldn’t work if we didn’t have such a good leader. We have James to thank for everything we have.”

Bradley smirked, allowing his body to be pushed. He noticed the falter in her smile, wondering if it was because she missed home. Even though he was from Vancouver, he missed his apartment with his mom and his sister. He missed the way it smelled and the added details his mother thought of to make the home look perfect. He missed his bedroom, which looked absolutely nothing like the rest of his house. His mother being an interior designer, she grew frustrated when he refused her help decorating but finally gave in. “Asshole?” His mouth dropped open, appearing insulted although a hint of a smirk showed he was playing. “Do you miss home?” He knew it was probably a stupid question but it looked like it was on her mind.

“Yeah.” He released a short chuckle then, although it lacked much amusement. “I thought that too. I’m just surprised it’s been standing this long. We have a good system though. We’ve got good people on our side.”