#oc: Eiv

[sh33bsart]

'Nother set of icons of my silly guys In order, left to right, starting with the top row, is Caspian, Ciel, Cleith, Coach, Cornlily, Dahlia [Sil'vina Edition], Dahlia [Lobotomy Corperation Edition], Day'da, Eiv, Faebot, Forzen, and Fisher

[the-faramir]

🕯️(For Nis'ien or Eive, or both. Up to you)

"Right," Midori began, "so the other day I was out an' about in Willowside, sellin' tickets for the Circus of Wayward Wonders (which, I should add, will start up performances again after we break the siege on Willowside), an' I saw this young lady who turned out to be from another planet!

"She introduced herself as Nis'ien. She was in town with friends buying materials. I had a really good conversation with her. First contact stuff, no big deal. I was going boldly where no kitsune had gone before! Oh, an' she gave me a fruit from her planet that tasted like chocolate! So tasty!" Midori licked her lips to the memory of the flavor.

"An' she offered to have me come visit her planet, Llixulia. I would love to someday, but… I'm kinda locked into some responsibilities here on Golarion for the time bein', so I had to tell her I couldn't anytime soon.

"But, yeah, my thoughts about her. She's really sweet. Maybe a bit shy, but I guess interplanetary contact an' conversation could lead to someone bein' a bit more…guarded. Interestingly enough, she smelled faintly of watermelons an' citrus an' not a lot more, but I'm not sure how body scents work with her folk. It could've been a perfume or somethin' she ate or somethin'

"I gave her tickets to the circus an' she came the night the dinosaur riders burned down the big top. Haven't seen her since, though. Hope everything's okay with her. She mentioned some trouble on her home world.

"Oh, but when Nis'ien an' I were talkin', Eive came by to join us. Nis'ien introduced her to me.

"Eive's a sweetie, too. We had a good conversation. She's also a little shy, I think, an' doesn't make eye contact as much as some other people (oh, not a problem, mind you, just an observation). Turns out, she's a musician, too! She was gonna demonstrate some of the songs from her home planet, but the xulgaths interrupted that night.

"But Eive an' I have met a few times after that an' she seems to be comin' out of her proverbial shell a bit. She's got a bit of mischeif about her, hee hee! An' we got to playin' a drinkin' game, so now we're drinkin' buddies! Yeah, we shared a lot of ourselves during that game. Well, maybe I shared too many of my experiences. Ha! Hope I didn't bother her with all my details.

"Anyhow, I think Eive and I are gonna be good friends. An' I hope I get to spend more time with Nis'ien and see if we can be good friends, too!"

@llixulia

[velzix]

First animatic posted here, hope you like my new art style

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[postsofbabel]

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[llixulia]

Hey there. New rp blog for my OC muses.

Info about the blog and rules.

My alien muses:

Here's some info about the Vor'iek (Gods in here too)

Hyperion: x

Eive: x

Sharcai: x

Arroth: x

Zaihnaeth: x

Nis'ien: (WIP)

Ixion: x

Liara: x

Verses

Wall

[riessene]

steal their looks  (ein is not here bc he dresses too plainly)

[nightingaletrash]

i’ve followed you for a while and i noticed that you have this oc named evie that you use for several fandoms. where is she originally from? are they all connected somehow or are they just like aus? is her personality pretty much the same throughout these games or are they all slightly different versions? sorry if this is weird lol i just want to know more about her

No worries, I love talking about my nerds :D

Evie started off as a self-indulgence character more than anything, namely for Deus Ex and HPHM, then the Arcana, and then as a sort of stand in character for VTMB when I got stuck on making an ‘Actual OC’ for that game. But the more I messed around with her character in those verses, the more she became an OC in her own right, and now oops she’s an Actual OC with a bunch more verses than my other OCs do.

Evie’s character varies in someways depending on which verse she’s in; her VTMB verse is capable of killing if the situation calls for it. She doesn’t like it, but she’s able to do so if she feels threatened. Her HPHM verse, however, outright refuses to learn the Killing Curse as she doesn’t want to kill anyone and swears that she never will. Her Arcana verse is in someways a bit like an older version of her HPHM verse; able to defend and attack, but averse to killing.

What all her iterations share is her inquisitiveness, her general desire to do the right thing and to help people, and a drive to take action even when discouraged or forbidden from doing so. She can be snarky and mischievous, and generally does love the people closest to her, and tries to help them if they need her to. Sometimes she rushes into danger unprepared, but given enough forewarning, she will try to prepare as best she can.

[firebuug]

deepsea metro time

ok nonny sorry this is kinda long and rambly and too repetitive but i enjoyed writing again after a while haha! the prompt was an oc of mine alone in a new place but the feeling that something was off lingers. I mightve strayed from it a bit but ajdjkkjdgf my first thought was DEEPSEA METRO! SPLATOON AU!

so here! i apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes i can’t speak recently! pls send me more prompts i like writing--

“Alright. He’s ought to be here.”

Buggy stood at the broken grates that led to the Deepsea Metro. He looked down and saw nothing but darkness and the occasional fleet of lights shooting by. He gulped.

“Are...Are you sure this is safe?” He asked, gripping his other arm tightly.

“I mean, as safe as an underground metro can get, city-slicker.” An octoling stood behind him, looking out to see if anyone was coming. “Get moving quick, squid, you can’t just loiter around places like these for too long. Who knows what trouble you’ll get into.”

“Skuggy...I can’t see the floor. How far of a fall is it? Will I fall in the tracks?”

“Not far enough to kill you, but far enough to hurt a bit. Just be careful and slip in, try to stick to a wall. You won’t fall into the tracks if you swerve to the left. Got it?”

“Y...Yeah.” Buggy took in a deep breath. “Okay. I can do this. Let’s go, let’s go….” He edged closer to the grate and went into squid form, poking his head over the edge. The height he sensed below him was a bit dizzying, so he quickly jerked backwards and went back into human form. “I can’t do it, I’m...I’m scared!”

“Oh come on, Bug. It’s not that bad. A little scrape isn’t going to kill you,” Skuggy scoffed. “Do it for your friend. Who knows what the hell they’re doing to him in there. I hear the shit that goes on behind those closed lab doors is despicable.”

Buggy shuddered, remembering brief blips of his own experiences. A small sting riled up in his forehead, as if the tentacle slapped on his forehead were trying to remind him of its coming to be..

“You’re right. I gotta find him. I need to…” Buggy took in a deep breath and paced around in place for a bit until finally he turned back to the grate. “Okay! I’ll do it!” He went back into squid form and inched over the gap. “On three, I’ll hop in! One…..two……..”

Skuggy leaned out and kicked him into the grate, getting a bit of orange ink on his shoes. The squid slipped through and let out a little scream as he began to plummet down.

“Remember, veer left, veer left!” Skuggy peered out over the edge, his eyes being able to see better through the dark due to being accustomed to it. He saw him falling, falling, falling…and then a wet plop noise, quickly followed by a strained “ow!”

“....You didn’t veer left.”

Buggy blipped back to human form, lying down on the tracks and clutching his arm.

“You’re such a….GREAT friend!” He groaned. “Why’s the ground so dang hard?”

“...You’re on the tracks. Better get off if you don’t want to become pancakes.” A faint gasp came from Buggy, and it was followed up with the shufling noise of him crawling off the tracks and onto the platform. Skuggy suddenly picked up on a noise nearby, ears perking up. He briskly changed into his octo form and slipped behind a trash box, peeking out ever so slightly. “I’ve gotta blast, squiddo. Too risky for a guy like me out here. These inklings’ll hop on my ass if they see me. G’luck with your friend and stuff!”

“Wait—you’re leaving just like that?! C’mon, help me, please! You know this place the best!”

“Yup, and never wanna go back either! I’ll consider it some other time, though. Peace out, pete.” Skuggy slipped away, shooting down the sidewalk and shifting back into human form to run away from the scene.

“Skuggy….Skuggy? Hello?!” Buggy called. “Oh, great…” He looked around. He could barely see, the only things visible being the ones washed in gentle sunlight from the hole in the grates above.

Well, time to get a move-on.

-

It had been quite a while of walking, and Buggy was feeling hopelessly lost. He tried to reassure himself as he wandered deeper and deeper into the Metro--There’s nothing to be afraid about! This is just big subway system, you’re ought to find a labeled stop in due time. Besides, nothing scary can lurk down here, maybe just a few mean Octarians…He’s already got that covered, anyways. In order to fit in and not cause suspicion, Buggy had used the magic of makeup to cover up the little bridge that connected his eye mask together, and put on his Sneaky Beanie to conceal any traces of inkling traits, only letting his little curl of an Octarian tentacle hang out from it. He was safe down here, he fit in.

...Hopefully. He hadn’t seen another living being down in the Metro ever since he fell through the grate.

Eventually, right as he began to start thinking about giving up, he heard a very familiar tune droning on in the distance.

“...The Squid Sisters? Down here?” He murmured to himself. He could’ve sworn that he was hearing the Inkantation down there. His eyes lit up. That meant civilization! The station! He picked up his pace, beginning in a jog, and then bursting out into a full on sprint as he heard the music get louder and louder as he approached, seeing lights in the horizon…

He had reached the main station. He skid to a stop at the sight of it, the sight of the banner hanging down in an odd language he couldn’t read, arrows with faded colors pointing in different ways. He laughed happily, glad to have finally reached his first destination in his little mission. However, once the little wave of excitement washed over him, he noticed something strange about this place.

It was completely empty, as if it had been abandoned.

His smile faded away, and he began to look around a bit. It was just a normal central station, but he couldn’t seem to make out any text in the place. He squinted at a sign, tried to pick up anything, but couldn’t. It was definitely Octarian, as the letters were more curved than they were in Inkling.

He gave up trying to decipher it and decided to move on towards the turnstile gates. There was a little slot in the gate to insert some card of sorts. Ah! Skuggy had warned him about this. It wouldn’t let him shove through the gate without it.

“Just hop over it,” he remembered Skuggy telling him, “nobody cares.” Buggy felt too bad about it, though, and got him to lend him his old card anyways. He reached into his pockets for the said card and stuck it into the slot. The little dusty screen on top of the gate showed a little spinny loading circle before a light shone green and he was let in.

He moved through the gate, tucked his card into his pocket, and continued to the main waiting station. It was much bigger, the ceilings being higher and the train tracks extending out from both sides.

But despite how large the place was, it was still completely void of any life.

He sat down on a little bench, listening to the faint Squid Sisters in the background, and tapped his foot anxiously. When would the subway arrive? Did he look okay? Was his concealer washing off? He brushed his tentacle out of his eyes and tucks his hands into his lap, waiting patiently.

Soon enough the subway came roaring down the tunnel, slowly rising from a blanket of darkness and coming to a stop on the tracks to Buggy’s right. He was quickly snapped back to reality from what was almost a nap. He gasped and quickly stood, running to the doors. There were people in there--he couldn’t make them out from outside, but it was most definitely people. He beamed in excitement, although in this gut was a continuous feeling of anxiety-- what if, what if, what if?

The doors opened up, and quickly enough Buggy realized why he was feeling so afraid.

[trashcanband4]

The Revelation of the Other Woman Chapter 6

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 7 Chapter 8  Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Chapter Title: Hope Explodes. Pairing: Rick x Oc x Daryl Warnings: None Word Count: 4,714

 The next morning I woke up to a pounding head and a face caked with dried tears. So I dragged myself to the bathroom and washed my face with a clean rag out of the bathroom cabinet. As I smelled my breath and my clothes I realized that I smelled like puke and sex. I couldn’t show my face to the group looking and smelling like that so I hopped in the shower and washed off the smell. Thankfully I had one more set of clean clothes, so I changed into them, a bright green tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans. Now that I looked and smelled presentable I made my way to the dining room where I hoped I could grab some breakfast. “Good morning.” T-Dog greeted with a bright smile as I walked into the kitchenette.

 “Shusssh” I waved him off and pulled the icebox open.

“Jenner said to make ourselves at home.” He reminded me as I grabbed a jar of orange juice then a glass out of the cabinet. “Got some eggs cookin’ if you want some.” He said and my stomach rolled at the thought of eating eggs. He saw my frown and laughed. “Hung over huh?” he asked and I nodded. “Got some bacon here too.”

“That sounds better I guess.” I grumbled making him laugh as he put some eggs and bacon on a plate and handed it to me. “Thanks…”

I took my plate to the table and sat down as Lori and Carl were making their way into the room with a groaning Glenn behind them. “Don’t ever, let me drink that much again.” He grumbled as he sat down at the table.

I smiled despite my headache and aching stomach. Puking so much on top of dancing really gave my muscles a workout. “Looks like Glenn’s not the only one who’s hung over.” Lori said as she looked at me, picking at my food instead of scoffing it down like I had the previous meal.

“You are…” I started as I sat up straight and took a sip of juice, “not wrong with that assumption.” I sighed before I looked down at my plate.

She laughed then we ate in silence as others made their way into the room. I ignored them all and focused on getting my food down without it coming back up. I was picking at my last piece of bacon when Rick walked in. My nerves instantly went I high alert. “Are you hung over?” Carol asked as Rick sat down. “Mom said you’d be.”

“Mom is right.” Rick answered his son with a smile.

“Mom has that annoying habit.” Lori commented with a sideways look at him.

He smirked at her before his eyes moved to me. I quickly turned my eyes to my plate and kept picking at my food. I didn’t know if he remembered any of last night, but I know I did and I was uncomfortable even being at the opposite end of the table from him. My conscious was telling me that everyone knew, that everyone was calling me a home wrecker, but in reality no one knew a thing and I was just being hard on myself.

“Where’d all this come from?” Rick asked as he held up a bottle of aspirin.

“Jenner.” Lori answered before Rick asked her to help him open the bottle. “He thought we could use it. Some of us at least.” She said with a smile in Glenn’s direction and he started grumbling again.

“Lori, could I steal that bottle from you?” I asked and she tossed me the bottle with a snarky smile. In that moment I wanted to say ‘don’t look at me like that. I stole your husband last night’, but even as I thought those words my stomach churned and my conscience told me I was a horrible human being.

So I kept my mouth shut and popped a couple of the pills. I was setting the bottle back down on the table when Shane walked into the room. “Feel as bad as I do?” Rick called to him and I had to restrain the urge to shush him.

“Worse.” Shane answered as he got himself a cup of coffee. When he turned around T-Dog asked him what had happened to his neck. I looked up from my plate to see three scratch marks. One was on his jaw and the others on the side of his neck. “I must have done it in my sleep.” He answered.

“Never seen you do that before.” Rick said and I hesitantly turned my eyes to him and Lori.

“Me neither.” Shane said before he turned is dark eyes on Lori. “Not like me at all.”

Lori looked at him and rolled her eyes before he stuck a piece of bacon in her mouth and wiped her hands. She was clearly avoiding his gaze, but why? Not too long after Jenner came into the room and everyone told him good morning. “Doctor, I don’t mean to slam you with question’s first thing-” Dale started as Jenner fixed himself a cup of coffee.

“But you will anyway.” Jenner interrupted.

“We didn’t come here for the eggs.” Andrea spoke up.

“I did.” I popped off and she rolled her eyes at me while a few others laughed.

Jenner just blinked at us for a second before he sighed. “Fine, follow me.” he led us back to the main room where he went over to the only computer that was still on. “Give me playback of ts-19.” Vi’s voice could he heard over the speaker then a picture of a brain scan popped up on the large screen. “Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few.” Jenner said as we walked closer to see the large screen.

“Is that a brain?” Carl asked.

“An extraordinary one.” Jenner answered. “Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV.” Jenner said to the compter.

“Enhanced internal view.” The computer voice said as the picture changed to a side view of the brain then zoomed further in on what looked like electrical bursts shooting through wires.

“Neurons.” I whispered to myself.

“What are neurons?” Daryl asked behind me making me jump.

“Um, internal wiring if I remember correctly, like a postal system bringing messages from one place to another.” I answered quietly.

“What are those lights?” Shane asked not having heard my answer to Daryl.

“It’s a person’s life.” Jenner answered. “Experiences, memories. It’s everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique. And human.”

“You don’t make sense, ever?” Daryl asked from beside me with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Those are synapses, electrical impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death.” Jenner said.

Daryl looked down at me, “I like the way you said it better. He makes shit complicated.”

I laughed then turned my eyes to Rick who was talking. “Death? That’s what this is, a vigil?”

“Yes.” Jenner answered, looking up at the screen. “Or rather the playback of the vigil.”

“This person died?” Andrea asked as she walked closer to the screen. “Who?”

“Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected and volunteered to have us record the process.” Jenner said before he started talking to the computer. “Vi, scan forward to the first even.”

“Scanning to first event.” The computer answered and the screen fast forwarded. We watched all of the little organic wires started turning black.

“What is that?” Glenn asked, sounding awed.

“It invades the brain like meningitis.” Jenner answered as if we could understand that. “The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown. Then the major organs. Then death.” He said as the whole brain on the screen turned black. “Everything you ever were or ever will be…gone.” He said and I sighed, aggravated at him for not giving us straight information that a normal person could completely understand.

“Is that what happened to Jim?” Sophia asked making us look at her and Carol who told her daughter yes.

When Andrea started crying Jenner looked at her. “She lost somebody two days ago…her sister.” Lori explained.

Jenner leaned down to Andrea and said, “I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is.” He looked at her for a second before he moved back to the front of the room. “Scan to second event.”

“Scanning to second event.” Vi answered and we all looked at the screen.

“The resurrection times vary wildly. We have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours.” Jenner said with a glance back at us. “in the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute…seven seconds.”

We all watched as a red light started shooting through the brains internal wires. “It restarts the brain?” Lori asked.

“No, just the brain stem.” Jenner answered with a look back at her before he turned his eyes back to the screen. “Basically, it gets them up and moving.”

“But they’re not alive.” Rick said as he stepped up to Jenner.

Jenner motioned to the screen. “You tell me.”

“It’s nothing like before.” Rick answered. “Most of that brain is dark.”

“Dark, lifeless, dead.” Jenner said. “The frontal lode, the neocortex, the human part… that doesn’t come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct.” A few seconds after he said that a burning white stream shot through the brain on the screen.

“God. What was that?” Carol asked.

“He shot his patient in the head.” Andrea answered. “Didn’t you?”

“Vi, power down the main screen and the work stations.” Jenner said ignoring her question.

“You have no idea what it is do you?” Andrea asked with her usual attitude.

“It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal.” Jenner answered.

“Or the wrath of God?” Jacqui asked.

“There is that.” Jenner said and I rolled my eyes.

“Somebody must know something. Somebody, somewhere.” Andrea argued.

“There are other’s right? Other facilities?” Carol asked what I was thinking.

“There may be some.” Jenner answered. “People like me.”

“But you don’t know? How could you not know?” Rick asked.

“Everything went down. Communications, directives…all of it.” Jenner answered. “I’ve been in the dark for almost a month.”

“So it’s not just here. There’s nothing left anywhere? Nothing?” Andrea asked. “That’s what you’re really saying, right?” Jenner just looked down, not having an answer for her pushy questions and Andrea scoffed.

“Man, I’m gonna get shit faced drunk, again.” Daryl said as he walked over to one of the computers and put his elbows on it, resting his head in his hands.

“Dr. Jenner, I know this had been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but…” Dale stated as he walked toward a big clock on the wall that was counting down. “that clock…it’s counting down. What happens at zero? 

“The basement generators…they run out of fuel.” Jenner answered and to me, the tone of his voice sounded as if he was sugar coating something.

“And then?” Rick asked and Jenner didn’t answer, he just walked off. “Vi, what happens when the power runs out?” Rick took charge and asked the computer.

“When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.” The female computer voice answered. The men ran off to investigate the basement generators.

While they were gone I went back to my room and started packing my things. I didn’t know what facility wide decontamination was, but judging by the way Jenner answered it wasn’t anything good. I was shoving my fully charged cell phone and it’s charger into my bag when the lights turned off and air conditioning stopped.

When I left my room I saw others doing the same. Jenner came out of one of the rooms and was bombarded with questions. “Energy use is being prioritized.” Jenner answered as he took a bottle of alcohol out of Daryl’s hand.

“Air isn’t a priority? And lights?” Dale asked.

“It’s not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down.” Jenner answered as he kept on walking and took a swig of the alcohol.

“Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?” Daryl asked as he started walking after Jenner, who didn’t answer. “Hey man, I’m talkin’ to you. What do you mean it’s shutting itself down?” he asked. “How can a building do anything?”

“You’d be surprised.’ Jenner answered.

Rick and the others came out of the basement. “Jenner, what’s happening?” Rick asked when we all met up.

“The system is dropping all the non essential uses of power. It’s designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark.” Jenner quickly explained as we all headed to the main room of Zone 5. “Right on time.” He said as we entered the room and the red clock came into view.

Rick followed after the doctor who stopped walking when he came to the stairs of the suspended circle of computers. The rest of us looked around at each other, confused. Jenner looked at Daryl, who was standing hear him, and handed him the bottle that he had taken from him earlier. Daryl jerked it from his hands, spilling some of the liquid in the process.

“It was the French.” Jenner told Daryl who looked at him like he was stupid.

“What?” Andrea asked.

“They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know.” Jenner answered. “While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution.”

“So what happened to them?” I asked, probably voicing what we were all thinking.

“The same thing that’s happening here.” He answered me. “No power grid. Ran out of juice. The word ruins on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?” Jenner said as he went up the stairs, headed toward a computer.

“Let me tell you somethi-” Shane started, sounding and looking pissed and aggravated as he headed after Jenner.

“To hell with it Shane, I don’t even care!” Rick said grabbing his friend by the shoulder in an attempt to stop him, but it didn’t work. So Rick turned to the rest of us who were still standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Lori, Jo, grab your things. Everybody, get your stuff. We’re getting out of here now!” Rick yelled and the others scattered, but I stayed where I was.

I jumped when a loud alarm started blaring. “What the hell is that!?” I yelled.

But I didn’t get an answer other than the computer voice that said, “Thrity minutes to decontamination.”

I was watching Jenner, hoping to see some sort of answer in his actions, but all I saw was him walk over to a computer and turn the alarm off. A few seconds later the door that led into the main area, the only way out, slid up, locking us inside. “Did you just lock us in?” Glenn asked as I ran over to the door, stupidly looking for a way to open it up.

Jenner ignored our questions and I watched as Daryl ran after him and attempted to beat the shit out of him, but Shane and T-Dog stopped him. Rick, looking more pissed and determined than I had ever seen him before, marched over to Jenner and demanded, “Jenner, open that door, now.”

“There’s no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed.” Jenner explained and I, like many of the others didn’t know what to do. Dale told him to open them and his response was, “That’s not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn’t open again. You heard me say that.” Rick looked from Lori to me, where it still stood on the platform of the thick metal door that led out. “It’s better this way.”

Rick turned to him and asked, “What is? What happens in 28 minutes?” Jenner ignored the question and Shane and Rick closed him on him where his sat in his computer chair. “What happens in 28minutes!” Rick repeated and Jenner jumped out of his chair.

“Do you know what this place is?!” Jenner yelled. “We protected the public from some very nasty stuff!” he yelled getting in Shane’s face for a second. “Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don’t want getting out! Ever!” he finished yelling and sat down in his chair. I was alone where I was standing so I headed back over to the group. “In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack, for example, HIT’s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out.” Jenner said.

I walked up to stand beside Rick as he asked, “HIT’s?”

“Vi, define.” Jenner asked.

“HIT’s: high impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear.” After just the words alone, tears started slipping down my cheeks. “The vacuum-pressure effects ignite the oxygen at between 5,000 degrees and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage of structures is desired.” The computer voice explained.

“It sets the air on fire.” Jenner whispered. “No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret.” He whispered and the others just stood around letting it sink in that he was going to let us die in this stupid building.

I had had enough, I snapped and slapped his shoulders as I balled up his lab coat in my fists then slammed him back against the desk. “Listen here you bastard.” Rick tried to pull me back but I resisted. “I am not a chicken. I don’t want an easy way out. Unlike you I am not afraid to feel grief and regret. And God knows I have a lot to regret after last night, but I will NOT let you kill me or these innocent kids.” Having heard enough, Shane wrapped his arms around my shoulders and lifted me from the ground. But I kept on yelling even as he hauled me way, “Let us out of here or so help me I will make ever last second of your death as painful and drawn out as I possibly can!”

When Shane sat me down I tried to make another run at Jenner, but T-Dog got in my way. “He ain’t worth it.” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders and I knew it was pointless to fight against him.

Daryl and Glenn had migrated to the big metal door while I was lecturing the doctor and when I heard Daryl growl I looked just in time to see him smash his liquor bottle against the door. “Open the damn door!” he shouted.

Someone tossed Daryl and Shane a couple of Axes and they began to pound pointlessly against the door. Lori and Carol were sitting on the floor against some cabinets with their crying kids in their arms. I wanted to go to Carl and tell him it was going to be okay, that we would get them out of there, but the look Lori gave me when she saw me looking in their direction put all of those thoughts to a stop.

“You should have left well enough alone. It would’ve been so much easier.” Jenner, who was sitting in a computer chair not far from Lori, Carol and the kids, said.

“Easier for who?” Loir asked.

“All of you. You know what’s out there.” Jenner answered and when Rick heard Jenner talking to us he walked over. “A short, brutal life and an agonizing death.” I felt like arguing with him again, but judging by what he was saying now my first lecture didn’t make it through his thick skull. “Your…your sister, what was her name?” Jenner asked Andrea, who was sitting on the floor not far away from the kids. Andrea told him her name. “Amy. You know what this does. You’ve seen it.” he said to her before he turned to Rick. “Is this really what you want for your wife and son?” Jenner asked.

Rick practically got in Jenner s face. “I don’t. Want. This.”

“And neither do I so just let us out.” I added angrily before Shane walked over and leaned on some computer, exhausted.

“Can’t make a dent.” Shane sighed then leaned his head forward. As I looked behind me Daryl had stopped beating on the door too.

“Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher.” Jenner said.

“Well, your head ain’t!” Daryl yelled as he made a run for Jenner with the axe raised over his head.

I screamed and ducked out of the way. It took Dale, Rick and T-Dog to keep Daryl from slamming the axe into Jenner’s head.

“You do want this.” Jenner said to Rick, getting all of our attention. “Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead.”

Hearing Jenner’s words shocked me and as I looked across the small space at Lori, she looked just as shocked. As she turned her eyes to me, I realized that we were both judging each other’s reactions to see if he had told one of us what he had really been thinking this whole time.

“So that’s what you really think? After all your big talk?” Shane asked what we were all thinking.

“I had to keep hope alive, didn’t I?” Rick asked in response.

“Not everything is your responsibility, Rick.” I said glaring at him as he glared right back.

“There is no hope.” Jenner spoke up. “There never was.”

“There’s always hope. Maybe it won’t be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere.” Rick yelled.

“What part of ‘everything is gone’ do you not understand?” Andrea asked from where she still sat on the floor.

“Listen to your friend. She gets it.” Jenner said. “This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event.”

“No, you listen you egotistical jackass, this is only our extinction event if we let it be and cowards like you are what’s gonna kill us.” I argued, even though it was pointless.

“This isn’t right. You can’t just keep up here.” Carl cried, speaking up for the first time.

“One tiny moment…a millisecond. No pain.” Jenner spouted his bullshit.

“My daughter doesn’t deserve to die like this.” Carol cried.

At her statement people started getting up and moving around. “Wouldn’t it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?” Jenner asked.

When I heard a gun cock I looked to see Shane headed over to us with a shotgun in his hands. Rick tried to stop him, but it didn’t work. Shane walked over and pointed the gun at his head. “You open that door or I’m gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me!?” Shane shouted.

The others tried to talk him out of shooting the doctor and it worked, but he yelled at the top of his lungs before he started shooting computers instead. I yelped and ducked down as I covered my head. Rick, however didn’t duck down, he instead fought the gun from Shane and knocked the man to the floor. “Are you done now?” Rick asked, not receiving an answer. “Are you done?”

“Yeah, I guess we all are.” Sane replied before Rick left him and gave the gun to T-Dog. “Rick looked around at all of us before he turned to Jenner. “I think you’re lying.”

“What?” Jenner asked, still sitting at his desk.

“You’re lying.” Rick accused. “About no hope. If that were true you’d have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn’t.” Jenner sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You chose the hard path. Why?”

“It dosen’t matter.” Jenner answered.

“It does matter. It always matters.” Rick walked over to the doctor and leaned down to be face lever with him. “You stayed when others ran. Why?”

“Not because I wanted to.” Jenner answered as he stood from his chair. “I made a promise…” he pointed to the screen, “To her. My wife.”

“Test subject 19 was your wife?” Lori asked. I personally didn’t care.

“She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should’ve been me on that table. I wouldn’t have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field she was an Einstein. Me? I’m just…Edwin Jenner. She could’ve done something about this. Not me.” Jenner explained.

“You’re wife didn’t have a choice. You do. That’s…that’s all we want. A choice, a chance.” Rick argued.

“And you’re not the only one who made a promise. I promised my mother that I would keep moving forward.” I spoke up.

“Let us keep trying as long as we can.” Lori pleaded.

Jenner sighed then said, “I told you topside’s locked down. I can’t open those.” He walked over to a computer and swiped his card then punched in some numbers on a keypad. After he hit enter the door dropped down and Daryl yelled for us to go. So we all made a run for it. But when I stopped at the door and looked back, I saw Rick talking to the doctor.

Lori ran to him and grabbed him by his hand, pulling him to the rest of us. As I looked back Dale, Andrea and Jacqui were still in the main room. It was a long run up the many stairs that led up to the main entrance area of the CDC and when we got to the top we realized that the glass wouldn’t break. We couldn’t get out of this place. After Shane shot at the glass with his shotgun Carol spoke up. “Rick, I have somethin’ that might help.” She said, walking over to Rick while digging in her bag.

“Carol, I don’t think a nail file is gonna do it.” Shane said making me want to slap him for being a smart ass in a satiation like this.

“Your first morning at camp when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket.” She said and I walked over to see her holding up the grenade that Rick had taken from the solider in the tank.

As Rick walked over to the window we all ran for cover. I hid behind a small set of stairs next to T-Dog. Rick was running our way when the grenade went off, sending him flying down the stairs. When the worst of the blast was over I ran to Rick and helped him up. “Go, go, get out.” He said as he took off to his family, helping them up. I went to the window and eased myself out, being careful not to cut myself on the thick glass as I did. Once I was out I helped the others. When everyone was on the outside we all took off toward the cars.

Daryl and I got into his truck. I ducked down sideways into the middle of the seat before I felt Daryl’s arm over my back as he leaned over the middle of the seat, covering my head with his right before the ground shook and the building exploded.

When the worst of the blast was over Daryl and I sat up then looked around, taking in the burning building. When my eyes slipped from the building to the man sitting to my left I found him looking back at me. “Thanks.” I sighed. He just gave me a nod before he cranked the truck and started following the other cars.

Tags: @neontiger007 @beltzboys2015-blog

[automaticvr]

The 4th Edition of the Global Online Marketplaces Summit in partnership with AIM Group and Rising Media was held online this year. Given the global situation, the theme for this year’s conference was "Value Creation in a New World". The conference was held FREE via ZOOM and had +1.400 registered Industry Experts from +80 countries and +650 companies gathered to discuss the issues around the new reality we find ourselves in as an Ecosystem. The Speakers and Agenda: Kick off (Simon Baker - Online Marketplaces Group) Value Creation in a New World (Malcolm Myers - EIV) The Future of the Marketplaces Post CoVid-19 (Ovidiu Solomonov - Adevinta) Disruption in Marketplaces Panel (Simon Baker - Online Marketplaces) (Jonathan Turpin - AIM Group) (Mostyn Goodwin - OC&C Strategy Consultants) (Shaun Di Gregorio - Frontier Disrupting the Brazilian Market (Andries Oudshoorn - OLX Brazil) The Rapid Digital Transformation of Automotive in the U.S. (Alex Vetter - CARS) General Classifieds Moving into the Transaction (Anna Polishchuk - LALAFO) (Wendy Jordan - Encuentra24) Long Term Impacts of the Pandemic on Automotive Retailing (Nathan Coe - Auto Trader UK) How Knock is Changing the US Real Estate (Sean Black - Knock.com) Jobs and Real Estate Markets in LATAM (Nicolás Tejerina - NAVENT) Wrap Up (Simon Baker - Online Marketplaces Group)

[prayin-for-starlight]

Knocked this one outta the park super quick. I think it's my favorite one so far, but I mean. Month's still young. AND SO IS THE FUCKING DAY HOLY SHIT IT'S 3AM WHAT THE FUCK ME. Anyways. My babies, Sevie and eiveS, two of my oldest... I guess they're OCs? They're pets of an OC of mine as well as her weapons and that's a story you can PM me for if you're actually interested. Goddamn do I love snakes.