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Post by Paul "Big Paulie" Viperelli on Feb 9, 2010 23:23:03 GMT -5
Paulie tuned out the lady, her bitchy rant still loud, but not as loud as the horde she attracted. As he'd expected, the Director was prepared for them, a pipebomb in their midst to prove it. As soon as the older woman was done blathering on abot respect for his elders, he turned to the hero.
"So tough guy. Playin hero ever done you any good?" A string of cusses and, shall we say, creative language halted in his throat at the mention of the little girl at his knees. Instantly the large italian softened. 'She doesn't need this shit. She shouldn't be exposed to any of the bullcrap goin' on out here.'
With a last warning glance -eyes of course, steely enough to get the 'I'll fuck your ass up if you cross me' message across- to Luigi, he knelt down to the little girl. "Hey miss. Where's ya daddy, huh? Why're ya out here all alone?" Paul Viperelli had never been a creature of much compassion, but this situation merited quite a bit- Especially if her parents were dead or... well, undead.
"I'm Paulie, what's your name?"
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Post by Dahlia Breaker on Feb 10, 2010 17:51:18 GMT -5
"I'm Paulie, what's your name?" Was the first thing that the big man said to her. Ordinarily, any other child her age might be frightened by him, considering he had just shot at them and said the most naughty words the nine-year old had never heard. However, his size and overall build reminded her of her father, and that made her feel more comfortable overall.
Coming out of her hiding place from behind Luigi, she (Cautiously) made her way over to Paulie. Looking him straight in the eyes for a moment or two, she suddenly broke out into a smile, followed by "I'm Dahlia!"
She promptly began examining her new friend, taking very careful notice of the sharp objects on his hands. But other than that, she decided that she liked him. Beaming she looked back at Luigi. "I like him Luigi! He reminds me of my Daddy!"
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The Director
New Member
"Anything else would be simply unprofessional."
Posts: 33
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Post by The Director on Feb 10, 2010 22:44:54 GMT -5
Now, Director hadn’t paid all-too-much attention to the kid’s hero-speech, but Viperelli’s suddenly soft and caring tone immediately kicked off a warning sign in the CEDA professional’s head. He slowly, hesitantly turned up to look through the hole in the ceiling at their visitors and immediately regretted doing so.
A kid. A little, tiny, useless child whom everyone would fawn over, cater to, and ignore common sense to protect.
Readjusting his sunglasses over his eyes Director strode over to the pile of rocks and took cautious steps up, trying to keep the dust and grime on his already-scuffed shoes rather than his good pants.
At the top, Director took a look at the new arrivals. There was, of course, the woman with the smokes who looked, almost literally, like she’d had her feathers ruffled. Approaching Viperelli was the little girl, Dahlia, who looked around nine. (Director supposed he should be thankful she wasn’t any younger, but he was bitter nevertheless.) And finally, there was Hero-Boy, first name ‘Luigi’ if the girl knew what she was talking about. Director was upset to see that the child was even younger than Alexander, but he kept the emotion off his face.
“Well then,” the Director began, brushing a stray stand of hair back behind his ear. “Since petty emotions and human need for companionship are likely to keep all of us as a group...” Despite minimal change in facial expression, Director still managed to make it known that he wasn’t particularly pleased with how the group’s composition was turning out. “...I suppose I should introduce myself once more. I’m the Director of the Civil Emergency Defense Agency.” Glancing over at the girl, he added, “I hope that’s not too much to recall.”
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Post by Melissa Luketic on Feb 11, 2010 14:42:42 GMT -5
Melissa had just finished off her cigarette when the horde attacked, and she didn't hesitate to drop the useless stub and raise her rifle. However, before she could even take proper aim, the begging man from earlier tossed a pipe bomb and took care of most of them. She picked off the last two or three with a few well-aimed shots, then let the gun rest loosely in the crook of her arm. Melissa glared right back at the suit, before promptly flipping him off. "Lesson learned, mom. Next time control your partner there, and maybe I'll consider it," she replied.
She glanced back at said man, a little miffed that he'd barely acknowledged her. It was then that Melissa finally noticed Luigi and Dahlia, and her expression instantly softened. She didn't let go of her assault rifle, but she held it loosely as she turned and walked over to stand near the little girl. For some odd reason, she felt drawn to the child, though she hadn't the faintest idea why. Melissa doubted they knew each other, seeing as Dahlia hadn't reacted to her much in any way at all- let alone in familiarity.
When she came closer to examine the man, Paulie, she crouched down so that she was at the child's level. "Hey there, Dahlia. I'm Missi. How are you?" she asked in a tone she didn't know she could use. Melissa couldn't help but wonder if she did have children; and if so, wonder if they were still alive. However, someone else speaking broke through her thoughts, and she glanced back only to see The Director. She couldn't help but scoff at his attitude; this guy was going to get on her nerves.
"Geez, lighten up, would you? Strength in numbers and the loyalty of companionship sounds a lot better than 'petty human emotions and need for companionship.' And okay, so now we know your job description. Got a name or what?"
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Luigi Martin
Junior Member
"If zombies are real, then does that count for vampires?"
Posts: 52
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Post by Luigi Martin on Feb 11, 2010 18:21:39 GMT -5
"So tough guy. Playin hero ever done you any good?"
The words hit Luigi like a hailstorm. For a minute he was too stunned to reply and relied on staring at Paulie–or whatever his name was–with his mouth slightly open and bright blue eyes wide. No. That wasn’t true. He wasn’t a hero, never was and probably never will be. As he stared at Paulie, he felt like he could hear his brothers’ words in his ears.
Luigi, just keep your mouth shut and don’t do anything stupid. His big brother would have told him urgently.
Idiot! His identical twin brother would have snapped hotly at him. Do you have a death wish?
And then, Luigi felt like crying. It wasn’t fair! The infection had taken everything away from him! He always told himself over and over again that if he ever was separated from his big brother somehow that he wouldn’t be able to go on. Nobody seemed to understand that the sixteen-year-old had always relied on his brothers for everything. That all changed when the infection happened and now, here he was, stuck with a bunch of strangers, and not even knowing if Bill, Louis, Zoey, Francis, and Mario were okay or even still alive.
At least he could find comfort with Dahlia. He liked the little girl, for she and him share similar things. And, on the bright side, he had someone to talk to.
“No,” Luigi whispered, more to himself than to Paulie or the others. “Playing hero has never done me any good. I suppose that’s why I was separated from my friends and big brother, or maybe why the infection took away my twin brother.”
Then again he could always look on the bright side. At least now he wasn’t wandering around Ryland alone, waiting to get pounced by a hunter or throttled by a tank. These survivors may not be to his liking, except Dahlia, but he could learn to cope with them. And there was the message he sent to Dahlia’s father and the survivors he’s right to be handled with.
He gave a startled jump as Dahlia spoke. The teenager spotted the little girl beaming at him. "I like him Luigi! He reminds me of my Daddy!"
Even though he clearly got the 'I'll fuck your ass up if you cross me' message from Paulie’s warning glance, Luigi couldn’t help but smile a toothy smile. “I’m sure he does sweetie.” he replied and remembered how Rochelle would call him sweetie as well as Ellis.
Reluctantly he turned to Paulie. “Sorry about earlier,” Luigi said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m usually not like that, honestly, but it’s just an instinct whenever I feel like someone or something is threatening my teammates.” He smiled at the Italian man. “Let’s start over, shall we? I’m Luigi and you remind me of Francis.” The teenager snickered as he remembered the biker. “He was a survivor I was with before we got separated after being rescued in the south.” He inspected Paulie closely, bright blue eyes round. “Wow. Are suits the fashion to wear in a zombie apocalypse these days? Who was that dude I know that used to wear a suit while we were in the south? Hmm…Nick? Yeah! His name was Nick. We never got along; I guess because I was a sixteen-year-old and annoyed him.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Ah well.”
He looked over at the other man clad in a suit and particular cool, but professional-looking, shades. “Civil Emergency Defense Agency?” Luigi echoed. “Sounds important. Wait a minute…” He trailed off as he suddenly remembered what Civil Emergency Defense Agency meant. “CEDA! You’re one of those CEDA guys all down in the south? Man, you really got to do something about those camps they send us to after we get rescued. I swear I wasn’t even there for more than 24 hours when the place got overrun by zombies.” He gave a dark chuckle. “Good thing I managed to keep my pistol. That petty little gun somehow got me out of there alive.”
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Post by Paul "Big Paulie" Viperelli on Feb 11, 2010 20:51:58 GMT -5
He placed a meaty hand on Dahlia's head and tosseled her hair ever so slightly. Don' worry, you'll be safe wit' me. I won't let nothin happen to ya while you're here, alright Dahlia?"
Alright. So he looked like someone's daddy (and not just the prostetutes he shook down for information when he needed it), and the Mega-bitch was not Mega-mom. The diector was like the friggen Don, but even more uptight, and Luigi was... Apologizing? And talkin about some dude named Francis and... Nick? The question was... Nope, white suit. It was the right Nick.
Keeping his tone conversational, Paulie's heart beat had more beats per minute then a Freight Train had cars. "So. I take it you've met some interesting people, huh? This Nick guy... did you say he wore a suit? You know what that guy did for a livin'? He conned innocent"-Okay, maybe not so innocent-"People out of their money. You know where he is?"
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The Director
New Member
"Anything else would be simply unprofessional."
Posts: 33
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Post by The Director on Feb 11, 2010 21:52:54 GMT -5
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the Director apologized insincerely, rolling his eyes at the woman’s gesture. Why she expected him to babysit the mobster was beyond him. The word ‘partner’ was particularly offending. Director gave her a dismissive wave. “I’ll keep him on a leash next time.” Though he didn’t put it in his tone, the sarcasm was obvious enough that even little Dahlia would have been able to get it.
The Director watched with mild interest as both the woman, ‘Missi’, and Paulie were drawn in by the young Dahlia. Had he not been a professional, rational man, Director would have blamed sorcery. Instead he merely raised a brow and commented, sincerely rather than sarcastically, “Well, I stand corrected. Dahlia isn’t a useless little child. She’s quite capable of silencing the two loudest people here. I’m sure that will come in handy later.”
Unfortunately, the woman was drawn out of her stupor, probably from the sound of Director’s voice or a hatred of his presence; he wasn’t able to pinpoint which was the cause. Nevertheless, he gave her a cold, analytical stare. “I believe,” he replied, “that the phrase goes ‘I call them as I see them.’ To answer your other question, my name is confidential during the current crisis. If it would console you, my assistants took to referring to me by the pseudonym ‘Tom’ and my secretary assigned me the nickname ‘D’.” He shrugged indifferently, showing a lack of attachment to either of the titles. “Personally, I would prefer to be the Director, but I’ll understand if your conscience needs the social attachments of a name.”
Shortly following his snippy remark, the Director just barely heard Hero-boy’s murmured sadness. He managed to catch ‘friends’, ‘big brother’, and ‘twin brother’ before casting the rest away and assuming this was some depression from the loss of loved ones. Now, the Director wasn’t a particularly empathic person, but even he knew when to choke down the smart reply and remain silent.
He recognized the name Nick (and from the man’s statement, Viperelli did too), but since he didn’t know the man personally he shrugged it off. (However, he did make a mental note to stay away from white suits unless he wanted to accept the risk of being jumped by mobsters.)
Director would have been surprised at the kid’s recognition of the name, had the company not painted it all over every truck they sent out anywhere. It wasn’t hard to miss. “Well, the Southern divisions of CEDA aren’t well known for their fortifications,” the Director mused. “The big cities are often better protected. As a matter of fact, I was on my way to the Chicago facility.” He frowned, recalling his temporarily-useless car. “On that note, have any of you come across a gas station near here?”
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Post by Mason Breaker on Feb 11, 2010 22:22:15 GMT -5
"Missi! I like that name! I had a friend at school named Missi! I'm fine now! Now that I'm not so lonely anymore! Oh, and do you think you can help me find...." The estatic nine-year old would have continued had the man in the suit not approached. He was looking at her...... Like he was upset with her or something. He started going on about being called the "Director" of those people that were supposed to prevent the scary people from getting the not scary people. And if Dahlia knew anything, it was that they kinda screwed up. But she knew better than to say anything. But she didn't like being called "Useless". It was mean.
However, upon the words "gas station", Dahlia sprung up again.
"Yeah! I saw one! When I was running away from the scary people, I ran right past it! It's not too far either, I don't think..." She thought hard for a moment, trying to remember which way she had come from, her face scrunched in concentration.
"Ummmmmmm...... Oh yeah! That way!" She pointed to the to the hallway past the resturant. "If you keep going that way, you'll find it reeeeaaaallllly quick!"
She stopped again, a look of worry coming over her face. "But I saw one of those really really big Bullys! You know! The ones that are all like 'Ragh rawr raaawg'" She imitated the thing for a moment, stopping after she felt rather silly. But she did it out of fear for running into something like that.
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Post by Melissa Luketic on Feb 11, 2010 22:35:04 GMT -5
Oh yeah, this Director guy was going to piss her off way too much for her liking. Narrowing her eyes into a glare at him, she promptly flipped him the bird before returning her attention to Dahlia. "Why thank you, Dahlia. Not that... well... this might sound silly, but I'm not really sure-sure if that's my name. It sounds like it fits, but... I just don't know. I can't remember much about myself at all, really," she admitted a bit somberly. Melissa had no clue what her real name was, but whenever anyone asked, "Missi" was the first name to come to mind.
Then, the topic of a gas station came up, and she got to her feet as Dahlia pointed one out and imitated a Tank. "She's right. I passed the same one on the way in, except the Tank was a lot closer to this airport. For all we know, it might be in here already. So we should be careful," she explained quietly. Though, Melissa had to admit that she wouldn't mind going back to try raiding the place for more cigarettes. The first time around, she'd passed it up because she'd thought the Tank was inside.
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Luigi Martin
Junior Member
"If zombies are real, then does that count for vampires?"
Posts: 52
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Post by Luigi Martin on Feb 11, 2010 22:42:40 GMT -5
Luigi’s brow furrowed as he watched Dahlia imitate a tank. It was weird, if the tank was so close to the restaurant how come he hadn’t heard its heavy grunting? He shrugged off the thought. Melissa was right; the tank could be in the airport already. The teenager reloaded his submachine gun and faced the others.
“Well, what are we dawdling around for?” Luigi questioned. “We’d best be off to find that gas station.” Suddenly he remembered something and snapped his fingers. “By the way, I managed to contact some other survivors and told them our location. If for some change they can’t meet us here I still think it would be smart to head off.” He raised a warning finger. “But before we do that, we have to find Mr. B.”
The brown-haired survivor then turned to answer Paulie's question. "That sounds like Nick all right. He wore a white suit and had rings on his fingers. He looked liked a con-man the first time I laid eyes on him. And...." the teenager trailed off.
Holy shit! I just gave Nick away to an assassin! Luigi thought in dismay. Oh man he's going to kill me if he finds out!
Clearing his throat anxiously, Luigi looked away so that he didn't have to meet Paulie's gaze. "I, well, I don't know where he is to tell you the truth." he answered at last. "I haven't seen him since we were rescued. He's not alone, though. He's with some people named Coach, Ellis, and Rochelle."
Godammit! This guy should have told me he was an assassin!
Then again, he couldn't help but think of Assassin's Creed 2.
Heh. Luigi cracked a smile. Lol.
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The Director
New Member
"Anything else would be simply unprofessional."
Posts: 33
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Post by The Director on Feb 12, 2010 17:21:29 GMT -5
Surprisingly enough, the child proved herself useful once again. The Director raised a brow curiously as the girl went on, directing him towards where she recalled a station. He added a note to himself to judge by age less often. He still wasn’t too fond of kids, but if all little girls knew as much as she did, they could be damn good informants.
He’d been about to thank her and go off on his own way when she interrupted his departure with a warning. Even before she took it upon herself to attempt an impersonation (‘attempt’ being a very key word there), the Director could guess exactly what kind of infected Dahlia was referring to. Needless to say, he wasn’t too happy.
“Thank you for the warning, Miss Dahlia,” he said, sighing. “I suppose that will have to be dealt with.” At ‘Missi’s use of ‘we’ in her statements, Director turned to her with a nod. “I assume that since you said ‘we’, this is a mutual effort to be made by all of us?” Rather than making some snide comment, the Director nodded once to himself, agreeing with her plan. “That would be for the best. I don’t particularly think anyone wants to fight a Tank alone.” He spared a glance back to Paul. “Well, Mr. Viperelli might. Research did point to the thing having a slight weakness towards strong blows from a sharp or blunt weapon, rather than bullets.
And speaking of weaknesses,” he continued, pointing over towards the restaurant, “have any of you checked the restaurant? I’ve also noted that fire is particularly effective against most of the infected, Tank included. We could find something flammable to turn into an explosive. And I assume that since Miss Missi has cigarettes, she also has a lighter.”
However, before he could get a response, Hero-boy (or ‘Luigi’) spoke up, mentioning contact with other survivors and one ‘Mr. B’. Director was almost afraid to ask. “I’m sure I’m going to regret this,” he said apathetically, “but who is Mr. B?”
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Post by Reilly Alexander on Feb 12, 2010 20:37:00 GMT -5
[sorry guys, I've been super busy and fell behind. Let's say through all of this Reilly has been quietly observing.]
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Post by Dahlia Breaker on Feb 13, 2010 17:28:03 GMT -5
Dahlia watched the ongoing conversation with interest, happy that Missi was able to back up what she had just said. But the preopect of the Bully being so close sent shivers up her spine. But when Luigi mentioned finding Mr. B, she did a few excited hops before turning to Mr. Director.
"Mr. B is my bear! My Mommy and Daddy gave him to me! I dropped him somewhere around here when I was running from all the scary people!" She explained enthusiasticly, looking around the group. "He really special to me! I know I don't know all you that much, but can you please help me find him?"
Her explanation done, she also realized that Mr. Director had mentioned the restaurant.
"I was hiding in there! I think there's some..... Flam-able, stuff in there! Come on! The sooner we get this stuff, the sooner we can look for Mr. B!"
Her anticipation of finding her beloved bear sent her running back into the restaurant and into the kitchen. Looking around the room, she tried standing on her tippy toes to find some stuff to beat the Bully. Not finding any (Although, truthfully, she had no idea what she was looking for), she started wandering around the kitchen , moving aside discarded objects and opening any shelf she could reach. Which wasn't many.
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Post by Paul "Big Paulie" Viperelli on Feb 13, 2010 21:19:31 GMT -5
Following Dahlia closely, he laughed as she passed the cooking oils and lighter fluids and passed directly over the alchohol cabinate. She began searching other cabinates as he removed some of the worse vintages of wine from the cabinate, and tied a rag aroung the cooking oil's top. "Little girl found the fire bomb materials. Get in here and make ya'selves useful, huh?" He found several more rags and began attaching those as well.
Not hearing the warning screeches left the large man unawares as a grey form came screeching across the landing. The Hunter landed square on his back. The thug was slightly suprised when he didn't fall directly over. After staggering a few feet and throwing an elbow in the gangsta's direction, Paulie finally fell. "Shit this thing's persistant!" Covering his already slightly scarred face with one hand, he started throwing punched at the zombie, brass knuckled cracking ribs and breaking bones, but apparently not enough of then to discourage the flurry of white-steel claws smashing into his forearm.
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Luigi Martin
Junior Member
"If zombies are real, then does that count for vampires?"
Posts: 52
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Post by Luigi Martin on Feb 14, 2010 20:09:30 GMT -5
Not waiting for the others, Luigi quickly sped-walked after Dahlia. He noticed Paulie was right behind the little girl and couldn’t help feel a twinge of jealously. The Italian man seemed to have taken a big liking onto Dahlia and, if Luigi remembered correctly, said that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. The brown-haired boy felt that it was his job to keep Dahlia safe since he did find her first.
Upon walking into the resteraunt for the second time that day, Luigi turned on the flashlight attached to his submachine gun and began searching. He quickly found two or three Molotov cocktails resting in one corner of the resteraunt. He bent down to pick one up and pocketed it.
“We have Molotovs over here!” Luigi called out instinctively to his new teammates as normally as he would have down with his old ones.
He stiffened suddenly as an ear-splitting screech rang out into the air. A minute later a hunter appeared from nowhere, landing squarely on an unexpected Paulie’s back. The two stumbled a bit before the Italian man fell with the special infected on top. The teenager could see Paulie desperately throwing punches at the hunter to try and get it off, but to no avail.
As he stood there debating whether or not to help the man, Luigi checked on Dahlia first to make sure she was okay. Then he returned his attention back to Paulie who, by now, was getting clawed mercilessly by the hunter. He was still a little angry about the Italian man trying to order him around and didn’t want to help him, but then again Paulie was his teammate now whether he liked it or not. And by gods did Luigi not like it one bit.
Maybe I should just let him be the hunter’s meal? Luigi thought to himself. For a minute he considered the idea before shaking his head. Nah. That’s just cruel and I’m not a douchebag like Dylan.
WHAP!
The hunter was flung off of Paulie as Luigi spin-kicked it before placing a bullet in its head. The teenager gave a rude grunt down at the corpse. He then turned to Paulie and began helping him up.
“Come on now. I’m half your size,” Luigi huffed. “Get your ass up Mr. Assassin!”
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