[Video | Near the start of the event]

[mypartnerintime]

[It's hard to trace exactly how Max got where she is now. Very early in the morning, in the cold dark, they'd heard some noise (distant, formless moaning) and gone to investigate. But they stopped somewhere on the first floor when they saw far in the distance some kind of... shapeless growth. When the air further down the corridor seemed thick with some sort of gas.

And when the distant moaning turned into rabid, strangled growls.]

[The video comes on to Max kneeling in a dark room, almost pitch black. The light of the device washes her face in a pale, cold light, enough to see her disheveled hair and panicked expression, and her eyes staring intently at the screen. Coming in and out of view behind her is Chloe noisily piling furniture, even an entire closet, against the door of the room. The beam from the flashlight in her hand shakes back and forth with her frantic motions.]

We... we ran into... something. [Max's voice is hushed and strained with urgency. There are gaps in her words as she struggles to catch her breath.] Some... Something chased us down here. On the first floor. I'm not sure exactly where we are... Can- can someone please help?

[Behind her a shadow shifts, and slowly peels itself away from the darkness. A man-like figure stumbles quietly into view behind the girl, taking halting steps that one by one become faster and faster.]

A-Anyone?

[A low, coughing growl erupts from the form behind her as he- it- jerks forward the last few feet. Max's eyes widen and she turns, attempting to stand at the same time. The figure's face is lit momentarily by the device - jaw slack, skin cracked and bleeding, unfocused eyes staring outward. The runner grabs her, lifting her off the ground in its strange, urgent motions, mouth wide as it brings its face closer to her shoulder. The device clatters to the ground, near the feet of the zombie, looking upward at the struggling figures through a cracked screen.

Max flails, kicking out in attempt to force the thing away, but it slams her onto the ground next to the device. The zombie's face fills the screen as Max screams.] No! Chloe!

[Chloe is busy barricading the door when she hears Max's screams. The sound scares her, beyond anything that they've seen tonight. She turns to see her best friend on the ground, fighting off someone. Chloe's not even sure if it's human. It has the shape of a man, but the way it moves, the way it tries to claw at Max makes it seem so... animal-like. It is fighting to keep Max pinned on the ground but from where Chloe is standing, it seems as if darkness is consuming her best friend, slowly enveloping her, making it difficult to see Max's face.]

Max!

[Chloe darts towards Max, taking out the revolver from her pocket as she goes. She kicks the dark mass on top of her best friend but it refuses to move. She doesn't dare shoot it while it's on top of Max for fear of hitting her best friend.

So Chloe launches herself at the dark mass, putting all her weight into it. She manages the get it off of Max but this time it turns its attention towards her, crawling forward.

Max backs away, pushing herself along the ground with her feet and hands as she scoops up the device, unaware that it continues filming the scene in front of her.

The gun still in her hands, Chloe aims at the approaching dark shape and fires. The bullet goes straight through its head but no blood comes out. It simply falls.

Breathing heavily, Chloe walks towards the unmoving figure on the ground. It is human... or at least it used to be. It--his eyes are still open, the white eyeballs tinged with dried blood. The mouth is also open but deformed, as if the jaw had snapped.

Chloe doesn't believe her eyes. She's seen something like this before but only in movies. She never thought she'd see one in real life.]

You have got to be shitting me.

[She turns to Max, the device still pointing in her direction.]

Zombie. It's a fucking zombie, Max.

[Max doesn't even respond to that. The two girls simply stare at each other until the video times out.]

[[OOC: Replies will be from Max or Chloe, or both. Posting this 12:00mn EST because we're just so excited! :O]]

Comments

[video]

[punful]

[Sans doesn't respond until he watches the whole video to make sure Max is okay.]

you guys okay? you safe where you are?

[mypartnerintime]

[It takes Max a while to realize her phone is still working, so the reply is delayed. When she finally gets around to replying, she looks disheveled and sweaty.]

...I don't know. I... I guess so. You?

[punful]

okay. good. man, guess those weird twins were right about needing to prepare.

[Of course Sans didn't pay attention because whatever he's Sans.]

oh, i'll be fine. don't worry bout me. what zombie would wanna eat a skeleton anyway?

you got supplies where you are? and a locked door at least?

[mypartnerintime]

[You ever seen a dog gnaw at a bone Sans? Max wouldn't put it past these zombies. But that's actually a really morbid thought, so she doesn't say anything.]

Just stay safe anyway. [She huffs, wiping sweat from her brow. Man this event sucks majorly. Her expression changes to one of worry.] Uhh. We put a ton of crap in front of the door and locked it... no idea what we're gonna do about food...

text

[rosswood]

[Alex has already holed up in his room. He's run duct tape along the cracks between the floor and the door, barricaded the windows to the best of his ability, but it's not perfect and he knows he's going to need to find a more secure hideaway, especially if this virus is airborne. His paranoia had to pay off sooner or later.

He recognizes both the voices on the video feed that pops up, and only hesitates a moment before typing a quick reply.

Then he mutes his phone. These might be the type of zombies that are attracted to loud noises.]

get as much food as you can and hide away somewhere
these things are all over

Re: text

[mypartnerintime]

[Hey Alex! Unfortunately Max isn't really the paranoid type.]

we lost all the foos we stocked up...

[rosswood]

goddamnit
events here last a few days at least you'll need something to get you throug h it

keep quiet if you can i heard some of htem clicking

[Video]

[luckynumberthree]

[ Nothing's guaranteed to catch Simon's attention faster than the Z word. Especially because he'd just had a narrow run-in himself. ]

Nice shot.

Are you two okay? Where on the first floor? Do you want me to come get you, or are you somewhere you can barricade yourself in safely?

video;

[mypartnerincrime]

[Chloe is still a bit shaken from her encounter with the Runner. But she does her best to not look scared when she talks in the video. But she does look around, trying to figure out where they are.

There is nothing but darkness.]

Fuck I don't even know where the fuck we are.

[She hears distant movement outside the room.]

But looks like there's more of these things outside and we're trapped here with nothing but a revolver and camera. No food, no water.

[luckynumberthree]

Alright, look. Stay put, okay?

[ His expression is tugged into a frown as his thoughts race to find a solution on how to find them. He didn't want to make assumptions when it came to these zombies, they already didn't look like the ones he was used to - he had no gauge on how intelligent they may or may not be, so half his plans got tossed right out the window with the sheer question of 'are they too dumb for doorknobs?' ]

What's your name, you and your friend?

[video]

[fulllifeconsequences]

[They're not talking to Max ever again. They don't care about Max. That's what Chara's telling themselves. But an actual literal zombie attack is kind of... it shuffles your priorities around a bit, huh?]

...Any wounds? Did it bite or scratch?

[mypartnerintime]

[What the fuck?

What the actual fuck, this is not what Max expected. Shit, this on top of having to deal with the dead asshole zombie in the room, it's just... Max can't hide the surprised and downright confused expression on her face.

...Wait, did she text something to Chara during that last event? Holy shit, she did, didn't she.

...What the fuck.]

Uh.

[fulllifeconsequences]

Answer the question.

[It's probably unfair of them, using the red voice when Max is already rattled, but the red voice gets results. The red voice makes people listen.]

Any wounds? Did it hurt you?

video;

[lifeskills]

<sub>[It's the two girls he'd met when he'd been... not himself. He recognizes them instantly, thanks in part to Chloe's ridiculous hair.

The adrenaline-pumping attack doesn't hurt in getting his attention, either.]</sub>

Were either of you bitten by the creatures or make contact with their fluids?

_{[Victor had turned a lamp on to see his device, and the low light makes his features look even more gaunt than usual. Being on the top floor, he hasn't yet heard the creatures outside yet, but he's already dressed and seated at a desk. And thanks to previous events, he has an idea of what the things are.]}

[mypartnerintime]

[Max replies while they're still trapped in the first floor room. She's still rather upset about the whole attack, and it shows in her fearful expression.]

No, it... it didn't bite me, but I think it bled on my shirt a little. [At least, she found some spots of blood on her shirt and hoodie. And she could have sworn she felt the thing spit a little when it was snarling at her.

She doesn't want to say any more than that. The possibility of infection is too scary to voice. She just stares at the screen with intense worry.]

[lifeskills]

All right. That's good.

_{[Unlike last time when she'd been masking her emotions, he can see her fear clearly. Fortunately for all involved, he's not the type to panic under pressure with or without his emotions.]}

You should have a lavatory and a closet. By my reckoning, the latter is still functioning. If the door is secure for now, get rid of your soiled clothes and wash off anywhere it bled on you.

video

[krmvgivv]

Max! [And Chloe, but Dipper doesn't actually care as much about Chloe.]

Zombies. Zombies are bad. Find somewhere to take shelter. Have you been bit?

[mypartnerintime]

[Max has had other similar conversations by now, but that doesn't stop her from looking really anxious as she answers the video. Especially since Dipper seems pretty worried, too.]

N-no I haven't. I checked. [The way she says that second sentence makes it sound like she's telling herself.] We're okay for now, I guess.

[krmvgivv]

Zombies are really, really bad. [He's being repetitive, but it's hard not to. He already died once from zombies.] Are you sure? Even a scratch might turn you.

[audio]

[agentxthirteen]

[ Sharon's already gearing up; there are clunking sounds in the background as she arms herself. ]

Where are you? Give me as many details as you can about what you see. Now.

audio;

[mypartnerincrime]

[There are sounds of crunching leaves and rustling movements in the background. Chloe answers hurriedly, her voice barely a whisper. She is worried that there are zombies nearby.]

Simon just picked us up from the first floor. We're on the way to Killian's ship now. What about you?

audio;

[agentxthirteen]

[ Good. They're already on their way to safety. Simon comes from a world filled with zombies, and she'd come to respect his abilities during the zombie event when she'd first arrived. He could get them to safety. She doesn't know Killian, but if Simon trusts him in a pinch, he must be good for it.

Which still left a threat on the first floor.

She secures her gun holster. ]

I'm going to make sure the thing down there doesn't hurt anybody. Did you see it? Can you tell me if there was more than one?

Video

[charlastan]

[Stan remembers one of these girls - the one from that tour at the Mystery Mansion. Secretly he worries as he watches the feed, but by the end of it he's groaning.]

Are you kiddin' me? We already had zombies here!

[UGGHHHHHHH welp. At least he knows what he was trying to stockpile for, before the mansion took it all.]

[mypartnerintime]

[Max can't help her own grimace as she answers the video.] ...I seriously did not expect this. And we lost all the shit we'd been stocking up on.

[Oh, yeah, she also got almost fucking murdered, but at least she feels safer for now.]

Was it... was it bad last time? Did people- you know?

[charlastan]

Of course we did. Even the stupid warning was a trick!

[He kicks something nearby. Mostly he's mad that he actually fell for it. He'd gotten swept up in the hoarding too, and for what? For nothing! He should've known better.

Stan tenses at the question though. It's all in the wording. Sure people you knowed, but one of them was someone he knows. One of them was his great-nephew.]

...Yeah. Yeah, they did. But look, that don't matter right now. Whatever this is, it ain't the same as last time, so we've just gotta focus on surviving this one.

[He's not going to have to mercy kill anyone again, damn it.]