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Post by Keith the Great on Feb 16, 2010 22:23:48 GMT -5
While Moro swelled with affection at Keith’s gesture, Keith himself swelled with pride. He’d handled that one much better than he’d fumbled the previous conversation. He’d have to make a mental note about Dave’s advice (no way in hell he’d thank the guy for it, but at least he could remember it). Starting up a little whistle, Keith got right to work on rolling the table to the door.
However, his simple task was quickly (and unfortunately) interrupted by Roy’s yelling from above. However, by the time Keith recognized the severity of the situation (a.k.a, when they started calling him for help), Mason and Moro had already jumped into action, and Tara dashed out of the bathrooms to help as well.
Keith found himself staring up the stairs at a full hallway, hearing the fuss and panic above, and wondering what the hell he could do to help. He’d been able to help Tara because she wasn’t dying, but Kami’s wounds sounded serious. As the saying goes: “Too many cooks spoil the pasta”. (Then again, in Keith’s case, it would be “A defective puppy in the kitchen drools on the spaghetti.”)
So Keith did all his brain (which was still trying to figure out where the stairs were and how to use them) could process. He picked Mason’s water glass up off the ground, trotted up the stairs, set the glass down next to (but not in front of) the man’s feet, then took a seat outside the door and waited quietly like a child in the time-out corner.
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Post by Moro Ashford on Feb 17, 2010 20:09:03 GMT -5
Moro had meant to move the girl to where Mason lay, as the situation seemed to warrant more help, but gave way under Tara's tide of "put her on the bed". The mechanic quietly backed off, allowing her and Roy to work, itching with anxiety but knowing more hands would only muddle the situation.
Roy had sobered enough to coherently follow orders, and had done his best to mop up the blood that muddied Kami's t-shirt. Even as he stood away, however, crimson puckered to the surface of the girl's wounds and spilled over.
"It's not stopping," Moro quietly thought aloud. They didn't have the tools they needed...she needed stitches, these were far too deep....
"Tara, she's in trouble if we don't stop this."
The mechanic had moved to the bed and was tearing thin strips off of the sheets, forcing them under the asian's back and tying them around her wounds. "I can't walk very well, or I'd go...you need to go back to the mall and find a sewing kit. A needle and thread, there's...we can't do anything else." There was a faint desperation in her eyes.
"Take Keith with you, stick together, Mason and I can hold down the fort..." she turned her eyes down again, inwardly cursing herself. She was suggesting they throw themselves into danger, and she loathed herself for it. "Roy, are you well enough to keep up with them?"
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Post by Kameko Hoshi on Feb 17, 2010 23:04:59 GMT -5
Peaceful. Everything was peaceful. Kameko found herself in her living room, seated at the table with a bowl of chips in the middle. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
It was all a dream. Tara, Moro, Keith, Roy, and Mason…they were just apart of her imagination. The whole zombie apocalypse and her mother dying weren’t true. That hunter clawing the shit out of her wasn’t real either. She was safe and sound in her house.
“Kameko!” an irritated voice snapped her from her thoughts. She looked to see her little sister glaring at her from the other side of the table they were seated Japanese-style at. “Stop ignoring me!”
“Oh! Sorry Akahana,” Kameko scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
The cream-colored haired girl blinked and was about to open her mouth to say something when their father walked up. The two girls looked up at him.
“Girls the weekend is almost over,” their father informed them. “Have you finished all your homework and stuff?”
Kameko perked up. “No,” she answered, getting up. “I’ll go do that.”
As she was making her to her room, she ran into her mother. She looked like an exact copy of her mother, with the same black hair and dark blue eyes. Her mother smiled as she turned to her daughter.
“Excuse me Kameko,” her mother said. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Just going to finish up my homework.” Kameko replied. She hesitated. “Mother, can I tell you something?”
Her mother’s gaze softened. “Of course you can sweetheart.”
“W-well,” Kameko looked down at the ground. “I had this weird dream. It was about the world getting plunged into this zombie apocalypse and you died during two weeks after it started, when everything got out of hand. Father and Akahana left, but I stayed and I met these people named Moro, Tara, Roy, Mason, and Keith.”
Her mother had tilted her head to the side as she rambled on.
“Then this big horde of zombies came and we were doing pretty well until everything turned against us. I was attacked by a zombie that wore a hood and it started clawing me and no matter how much I tried to push it off, it just wouldn’t budge!” Kameko paused. “Isn’t it such a silly dream?”
“It doesn’t sound so silly to me,” Her mother looked at her seriously. “In fact, Kameko, all that is true.”
Horror crashed over Kameko and her eyes widened. “Wh-what?”
Suddenly her mother vanished. Kameko looked away in shock before stilling as a low growl filled her ears. Her head whipped around to see one of those hooded zombies crouching in the place where her mother once stood. Without warning it leaped at her with a blood-curdling scream.
“No!” With a shuddering gasp Kameko sat up. She felt light-headed and her stomach stung like something had gorged scratches into it. She felt like shit and whenever she tried to take in a calming breath, her nose filled up with the sickening stench of blood.
Fearfully she looked down at her stomach and almost gagged when she saw the blood running out of long, deep scratches like a river.
That’s when she noticed the other people.
In her traumatized state, the black-haired girl didn’t know the people surrounding her were really her friends trying to help her. Instead she thought they were hunters about to finish off what the earlier hunter already started. She freaked.
“No! No! No!” Kameko cried pathetically, kicking and struggling at the hunters surrounding her. “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” She looked at them through pleading dark blue eyes. “Please don’t hurt me again.”
But she knew her pleading wouldn’t do a thing. These were undead for god’s sake! They didn’t have emotions. So instead she literally flew out the bed and barged out the room she was in. Her eyes widened when she discovered two more hunters waiting in the hallway for her.
Not even hesitating the least bit, Kameko took off running down the stairs with her blood trailing after her. She pushed past the front door of the Horseshoe Tavern and dashed outside. Looking around wildly for a minute, the teenager wasn’t sure where she was.
I-I have to get out of here! The Japanese girl thought in dismay as she took off in a random direction, not even knowing where she was headed. They’re going to kill me.
As she ran she started limping and she gripped her stomach with her arm, clenching her teeth against the pain as it raked throughout her body. Since it was pitch-black out, she was practically running around blindly. Eventually she tripped over something and instead of getting back up on her feet; she curled into a tight ball and began crying pitifully.
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Post by Mason Breaker on Feb 18, 2010 22:08:38 GMT -5
Mason gave an exhausted "Thanks" to Keith when he brought the water over. Lord knew he needed it. Realizing that Moro would have the situation under control, he leaned back a bit, taking slow, easy breaths. Maybe he should try walking......
Taking another deep breath, he took a deep breath and pulled himself to his feet, coughing and grunting. However, his efforts were rewarded with him standing on his own two feet. The large man felt like crap, yet he was also filled with the satisfaction that he wasn't letting his injuries stop him. Granted, it hurt like hell, but he wasn't letting it stop him.
His little pride time was interruped when he heard Kameko shreiking. Out she came, looking like she had seen a ghost telling her she was going to die. Of course, if she ran away like that.....
"Kameko? Kameko, stop! Wait!" He called after her, but did she? Nope.
"Keith, or Roy, whoever, go out there and get her! Unless neither of you want blood all over you, and would rather be a pair of pansies. If that's the case, then I'll *grunt*......Get her."
To prove this, he started to slowly make his way down the stairs and towards the door.
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Post by Keith the Great on Feb 18, 2010 22:42:49 GMT -5
Keith practically beamed at Mason’s light gratitude. After all his stunts in Georgia, he was used to being the center of attention, so being so useless in a life-threatening situation was foreign to him. (Usually, it was Keith’s life being threatened.)
He’d barely had time to appreciate his own selfless act when he was called to action once more. In a blur, Kami rushed past the whole group in a panic, racing down the stairs and out the door. Keith had to take a moment to realize the problem, but by the time Mason had requested help, he was on his feet and on his way down the stairs.
At first, the mad-dash to help didn’t go so well: he tripped over his own two feet and literally tumbled down the stairs, rolling a few feet further at the bottom. However, for a man who had broken both legs simultaneously and was currently running entirely on adrenaline panic, a trip down the stairs was like falling onto a mattress stuffed with pillows and plush bunnies. Before one could say ‘What the hell?’, Keith had hopped back up and gone on his way once more, bursting through the doors as though he were in an action movie.
Fortunately, Kami wasn’t in any state to travel. She hadn’t gotten too far; a quick left-right look was all Keith had needed to find her. Without a thought to it, he dashed to her side. Unfortunately, that was about as far as panic got him.
Suddenly clueless, Keith stared down at his rescue-ee for a moment, having little (successful) experience with calming sobbing women. (It was what got him so many death-threats from ex’s.) After a few blank moments, Keith decided that the social and medical aspects of this were best left to the others, and he should just focus on getting her back to the building.
Keith threw his brain into high gear, deducing that dragging Kami across the pavement in her current state wouldn’t do her wounds much good. After a self-conscious scan of his surroundings, Keith shrugged off his loose leather jacket, frowning when he noticed that his burn wounds were still taking their sweet goddamn time with healing. Sucking in a deep, calming breath, he knelt down and propped Kami off the ground enough to slip her arms into the sleeves and at least give her back and chest some protection from the hard gravel.
Content that he couldn’t do much more without going shirtless or pants-less, Keith retracted his bare arms into his T-shirt enough so that just his gloved hands poked out, then squatted down, grabbed the collar of the jacket, and began the process of returning the girl to the building.
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Roy Bivenmeijer
Junior Member
"Because I'm used to killing animals"
Posts: 76
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Post by Roy Bivenmeijer on Feb 19, 2010 20:03:20 GMT -5
“Please don’t hurt me again.” "Kameko? Kameko, stop! Wait! Keith, or Roy, whoever, go out there and get her! Unless neither of you want blood all over you, and would rather be a pair of pansies"
The world was a damn blur, so much so that Roy was frozen in place for a few seconds. Kameko had just... left. Mason was yelling, and from the window, he could se Keith chasing her down. "Oh Jesus don't die..." was the only thing to escape Roy's lips before he was down the stairs and out the door.
Keith had somehow gotten to Kami before Roy had managed, and now was dragging her toward the bar. "Move you dumbass!" A rough shoulder knocked keith's weak ass to the asphalt. He easily lifted the little asian girl, and, without an offered hand to Keith, he was off at a full run (though with kami encumbering him it was more of a jog).
With his one arm remaining, the other barely holding Kami up, he cleared the bar of everything, smashing multipul bottles to the ground. "Someone get some floss and a needle. We can't afford to let these wounds go unclosed. Some kind of thread, and a sewing needle, I can sew her up myself." 'Just like sewing up that deer... but a lot more importsnt... a lot more delicate' "Kami, love, are you there? It's Roy, c'mon, wake up..."
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Post by Moro Ashford on Feb 19, 2010 20:28:23 GMT -5
Moro was still attempting to stem Kameko's wounds when, suddenly, the girl's entire body tensed, her eyes flared open, and the girl let out a piercing scream.
At once the mechanic's hand's leapt from the asian's skin and she stood away, arms raised in front of her in an instinctive gesture. "Kami," she cried over the asian's screams, "Kami- it's alright-"
In a strangely fluid motion that was surprising for one in her condition, Kameko sprang off the bed and bolted for the door, which was unfortunate for Moro in the way that she was directly in her path. Slight as she might be, the force of their collision lighted stars in the mechanic's eyes; the breath left her lungs as her left side seemed to shatter. There was a second where she was suspended in the darkness of her mind, then with a flare of crimson her sight faded back.
She was staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling with her head propped slightly against the corner of the bedside table, the fragments of a shattered lamp inches from her right hand. Small lights burst in front of her eyes, and her side ached something awful; it was with ever fiber of willpower that the mechanic, very slowly, eyes sparkling with pained tears, dragged herself back to her feet.
Everyone seemed to be yelling; clutching her side, glazed eyes staring hollowly ahead, Moro stumbled down the staircase and resumed her seated position at its base, watching the going-on's helplessly. They had all the hands they needed...Keith and Tara could find this floss and needle...she needed a break.
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Post by Kameko Hoshi on Feb 19, 2010 22:48:37 GMT -5
Kameko had drifted out of consciousness while Keith was trying to drag her back to the building. When she woke up again she wasn’t outside, but back inside the Horseshoe Tavern. She was still in her traumatized state so she still thought Roy was a hunter.
SLAP!
“I said don’t fucking touch me!!!” Kameko screamed as she struggled to her feet with her blood running down like a red waterfall.
As she baked away, her dark blue eyes darting dangerously at the other hunters she reached into her back pocket of her pants. The next moment she swiftly pulled out a magnum and aimed it at them.
“Fucking touch me one more goddamn time and you’re dead.” the usually happy black-haired girl threatened in a venomous voice.
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Post by Mason Breaker on Feb 19, 2010 23:11:54 GMT -5
Mason sat quietly as Roy and Keith went outside. Deciding to make himself useful, he began barricading serval doors and the large hole in the wall that he had made. However, a fresh round of screaming got his attention. Kameko was still concious....And panicking. Sighing, he stood, filled another glass with cold water, and brought it with him as he walked outside.
The wounded asian girl was in a new level of panic, pointing a freaking magnum at them. Where she got it from, Mason would never know. He did, however, have a plan to fix this.
"Comin' through." He muttered. He continued to walk calmly and slowly to her. No need to get shot.
He stopped when he was only a few feet away from her. And it was then he put his plan into action. Part one consisted of splashing the water on her face. Part two consisted of him taking advantage of that and grabbing the gun out of her hands, careful not to hurt her.
He then grabbed her and started carrying her bridal style, making sure to hold her still to prevent further injuries. All these things he learned on the job at construction sites. Someone would get hurt, then often times panic. This generally calmed them down and kept them from hurting themselves further, or anyone else for that matter. But there were those times when it didn't......
Mason shivered slightly, but kept his pace going. His chest was starting to get that burning feeling again, and his legs were practicaly screaming at him. But he continued. Hopefully Keith and Tara would have the sense to go and get those sewing materials.....
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Post by Keith the Great on Feb 19, 2010 23:31:46 GMT -5
Keith had barely begun his rescue attempt when he was suddenly shoved aside. Upon hitting the rough pavement (which left some pretty little scratches on his arm), a slight yelp leapt up his throat, and he immediately reached to clutch his left arm. He could definitely feel a pebble or two in there, and some blood was already starting to push it’s way out. Damn previous injuries.
By the time Keith took a look around, his attacker (recognized by voice as Roy) had already carried Kami back inside. The Southerner stared forlornly at the door for a moment before recalling that he wasn’t completely useless after all.
Someone had mentioned a needle and thread. Furthermore, his name had been listed shortly after that request.
Excited at the prospect of becoming the center of attention, Keith hopped to his feet, brushed a few stray rocks out of his arm (which was steadily trickling a minuscule amount of blood that ran over jagged burn wounds and mower-blade scars), and began a jog towards the mall.
In the meantime, Keith made a mental shopping list. A needle and thread were definite necessities. (At the worst, he could grab a paperclip and dental floss.) Secondly, bandages would probably be nice, both for himself and Kami. Hell, he could probably stand to grab whatever medical crap he could find. (On that note, he might consider finding a backpack.) Lastly, he could use a temporary jacket.
On that note, the wind brushed by and sent a shiver down Keith’s spine. Illinois didn’t have the same heat as Georgia, and without his jacket the wind felt chilly. He glanced back towards the bar for a moment, wondering if going alone was such a good idea. After a moment or two, he simply scrapped the thought; after all, he could scream pretty damn loud.
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Tara Luketic
Junior Member
Witch Hunter and Pack Rat
Posts: 71
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Post by Tara Luketic on Feb 21, 2010 0:30:54 GMT -5
"Should be. I just washed it," Tara replied to Roy at his comment about the water being sterile. When he'd finished, the severity of what she now had to do hit her, and she blanched all over again. Sure, most of the blood was gone, but a decent amount was still welling up at the sight of red flesh wasn't helping. "Urgh... I.. I can't..." Tara sputtered out from behind her hand, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself down. "I know she is, Moro, but I just don't have the supplies..."
She finally opened her eyes and frowned a bit guiltily when she saw Moro wrapping up Kameko's torso with a few torn strips from the bed sheet. However, her twin's statement caught her by surprise, though she instantly nodded in agreement to it. Aside from Keith, Tara was in the best shape for a trek back to the mall. "O-okay. And, Moro? I... I'm sorry I'm so weak when it comes to this sort of stuff..." she replied softly. Her attire wasn't the best choice for what she was about to do, but it needed to be done.
But when Tara was halfway to the door, she suddenly heard screaming behind her and whipped around to see a scared-to-death Kameko sitting up on the bed. Eyes wide, not knowing how to react, she could only watch the scene with a dropped jaw until the slim Asian shoved past her and out into the hallway. "H-hey, Kameko, wait! You're in no condition to... run... what. The. Hell," she muttered, confused. Frowning, Tara dashed out of the room in time to see Keith barreling down the stairs, his fall making her wince and grimace. However, before she could even say "Are you okay?", he was up and out the door.
Roy came running out of the room behind her and followed after Keith, albeit a bit less clumsily. "This... is not good," Tara muttered, heading downstairs and grabbing her bags. When Roy dashed back into the bar with a semi-conscious Kameko in his arms, she had simply nodded at his request and ran out the door. Missing the black-haired girl's next freak-out, she pulled the flashlight from her messenger bag and turned it on. Tara also pulled out her well-used and dented frying pan, in case she stumbled upon any infected.
"Keith? You out here?" she called softly, shivering. After being with people for so long, she'd gotten used to the companionship and forgotten how lonely and scary it could be on your own. As such, when Tara's light caught a familiar-looking back and burn-covered arms, she practically fell over with relief. "Keith!!" she called, as quietly as her happiness would allow. Running to catch up to him, her arms were wrapped around his torso in a hug before she could stop herself.
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Post by Keith the Great on Feb 21, 2010 19:56:10 GMT -5
Fortunately, the tavern wasn’t all-too-far from his destination. Keith had grinned upon recalling that the mall was within sight of the bar, making the jog over a short matter. (He wasn’t big on running. If he had to get murdered by something, he’d rather not be conscious of it too long.)
Keith didn’t notice until he approached the mall doors and saw the dim lighting from within, but it was actually a fairly dark night. In that instant, he found himself wishing he had thought to steal a flashlight from Tara’s bag and wondering why the hell he had run off so quickly and all on his own. Had he brought someone else, odds were they, at least, would have remembered to bring a flashlight.
Deciding that the mall’s shelter was the best source of light he was going to get, Keith slowed to a halt in front of the first door inside he saw. And it was a good thing he was close: an approaching light bobbed up the pavement around him, and a voice that was clearly that of Tara, the clumsy teen who had nearly killed him previously, called out his name.
Keith’s mind, thrown into a fit of quick (but unintelligent) assumptions, could find only one reason for this combination: Tara had gotten a car to catch up to him, the car was out of control, and she was about to run him over. Figuring that he’d better damn well get out of her way, Keith reached out for the door and pushed, hoping to dive into the store and out of the car’s path.
The door didn’t budge.
Keith picked up on the fact that any door with a handle like that had to be a ‘pull’ door a little too late. He grabbed the handle and tried to yank the door open. Before he could swing open the gate to safety, something barreled into his side and Keith felt something constrict around his chest. Only his death-grip on the door-handle kept him from tumbling over. Vaguely, he heard something in his elbow crack (not the broken bone type of crack, just the ‘Ow, that’s not quite supposed to bend that way so cut it the hell out’ type of crack)
Keith gasped a couple times in terror before he realized that he wasn’t in that much pain, there wasn’t a car around, and the only threat to his well-being was Tara. (All she was doing was hugging him, though.)
“Oh, s’just Tarrie,” he sighed. “Damn, you scared the crap outta me. I only been gone a minute, y’know.” He would have continued the friendly banter had he not recalled that he was at the mall on a mission to save someone’s life. “I ‘preciate ya missin’ me an all–really, I do–but I–” He hesitated, realizing that she was probably out in the dark running around looking for him because she was supposed to help. “–We need t’ go find the needle in a haystack an’ whatnot. ‘Fore Kam-Kam dies?”
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Tara Luketic
Junior Member
Witch Hunter and Pack Rat
Posts: 71
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Post by Tara Luketic on Feb 21, 2010 21:13:27 GMT -5
By the time Keith had started to speak, Tara had already pulled away from him in embarrassment, face a bright shade of red. 'God, you spend less than a day with a few people and you lose your nerve that fast? You are such a wimp! Urgh!' she thought, mentally face-palming. Clearing her throat, she forced down her blush as quickly as she could and hoped that the darkness hid it from his view. "Er, yeah, sorry about that. I was just worried about getting caught alone, ya know? Got a little excited... again..." Tara apologized, remembering that she'd done and said very much the same thing at this same mall only a handful of hours earlier.
Talk about deja vu; at least this time they weren't on the floor, buried under books. "Um, right. The needle and thread. Of course. Keep an eye out for, uh, other stuff we can get. Okay? I probably have room in one of my bags for it," she replied, regaining her nerve at last. However, a shiver ran through her- much as it had Keith- because of her attire; she was in nothing but a light jacket and a makeshift sarong, for Christ's sake! Not exactly mall-exploring during the zombie apocalypse material; or mall-exploring at any time for that matter.
Tara shook herself to warm up a bit, then grabbed the handle of the second door and pulled it open. Hearing no alarm sound, she let out a sigh of relief and stepped inside, keeping her flashlight raised high to illuminate a good distance around them. "All right, come on. Let's start searching..."
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Post by Keith the Great on Feb 21, 2010 22:33:58 GMT -5
Keith hadn’t yet made the connection of the three times Tara had practically tacked him, probably because this time, he hadn’t ended up crushed on cold mall-tile underneath a pile of education. “Oh, right!” he said, the memories already coming back. He took a couple steps back and gave her a suspicious glare. “Tryin’ t’ off me again, huh?”
Laughing, Keith strolled right past her, obvious as usual to the more subtle human emotions. (Blushing? Too much work to spot.) He quickly scratched ‘backpack’ off his shopping list before running through it once more, both for himself and for Tara. “Lesse. We need th’ needle ‘n thread, some medical stuff, an’ I need a jacket. Or somethin’ similar. Just so I’m not so goddamn freezin’.” Accentuating this point, he shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.
Keith could easily have walked straight past every store in the mall, had a particular sign not dragged his attention back to his own universe. From his left, a neon ‘Open’ sign flickered with its last breaths of life. A quick glance at the store’s interior, which consisted of multiple shelves scarcely-stocked with bottles of pills; he assumed it to be a pharmacy.
Smirking, Keith pointed over to his discovery. “I got a good feelin’ ‘bout that one.”
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Tara Luketic
Junior Member
Witch Hunter and Pack Rat
Posts: 71
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Post by Tara Luketic on Feb 21, 2010 22:47:15 GMT -5
Tara rolled her eyes at Keith's reply to her comment, though a wry smile tugged at her lips. Seeing as he seemed in the mood to lead, she followed after him with the flashlight and kept her eyes peeled for certain stores. "You're one to talk. Have you seen how I'm dressed? I'd give anything for a T-shirt and a pair of jeans right now," she countered with a groan. Tara was so busy speaking that had Keith not suddenly stopped and pointed ou the pharmacy, she would have walked right past it.
She stopped as well and blinked, then grinned and smacked him on the back in her usual too hard fashion. "Good eye, Keith! Let's go take a look." Not waiting for a reply, she headed inside and started down the closest aisle (there were only three). "Let's see... cold medicine, hm, might wanna take one of those. Hemrroid cream.. ew.. and... cough syrup, nope. Flu medicine, better grab one of those... Dang, where the heck are the pain killers? I hope the place isn't cleaned out." Tara stated as she shoved the cold medicine and flu medicine boxes into her messenger bag.
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