Thread: Quake Wars

Anyone play it? Or have the demo installed? I was playing the demo for a while, and it's actually pretty decent. It's not as team oriented in the sense of squads and the like, but it seems (at least in the demo) that the teams MUST work together. As you go from objective to objective, you have to have people of specific classes to pass through.

If anyone has the demo, or is willing to get it and play a few rounds, let me know.

my room,ate has that one and it is not for me...

I had it and almost broke the CD. It was so bad.

I have ET:QW. It really is a great game but I dont know why it didnt get picked up like ET or RTCW. It has lovely gfx and weaponry. I think people did not like the whole nonparallel gaming. Otherwise it's great. If you get it I wont mind owning it up with ya.

Sweet, a taker.

I find the game is fun in the more rough-and-tumble kind of way. The graphics are clean, it runs great, and it's just kinda entertaining as long as your team understands that it's objective and not dm.

I was a fan of the first game, so I knew I would enjoy this. For me, 2142 and QW are 2 different types of play, so I don't compare them.

i was reading the quake forums that there was some issue with VoIP? Or did that get patched?

A story a friend and I are working on. Decided to share it on the web and see what kind of feedback we get.

Characters
Amika Reegan
Age: 20
Height: 5'7"
Ref: Jordana Brewster

Aubrey Cabral
Age: 18
Height: 5'
Ref: Adriana Lima

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve


Chapter I - Initial Outbreak

Two weeks after first infection...

‘What the fuck?’

Three words that resounded through Amika’s head ever since her first viewing of a Green Flu news broadcast. Even when intently focused on scoping out a safe house, listening to her surroundings and watching for any movement in the background. They repeated over and over faintly in the dark corners of her mind. Her black skater shoes carefully maneuvered around the broken glass.

“You see anything over there?.. It’s been awhile since we’ve run into a group of those things.” Amika spoke quietly but loud enough for her teammate to hear her. They had run into each other a couple days after Amika had escaped the hospital and lost Sebastien. The other girl was weary of her at first but they weren’t given much time until a horde of infected began to surround them. That was about a week ago and they were still in the city’s core.

Her shot gun was splattered with blood that glistened in the flickering light coming from a lamp post. She had picked it off of a dead police officer and found a box of rounds for it at a gun shop. There wasn’t much that she could grab, most of the shops in the city were broken into and confiscated of useful items. Amika had a pack of medication and some snacks, but those were beginning to run low. They needed to find a Walgreens or CVS soon. It seemed that the duo were immune to the Green Flu. They had been scratched, grabbed by tongues, pounced on, and vomited on. It had been two weeks and it seemed that none of the fluids or attacks seemed to affect them or turn them in any way. Amika looked over to the pretty girl in close quarters to her when a flock of howls erupted through the air.

Aubrey surveyed the carnage around her with disgust. She desperately longed for a good bubble bath and a manicure, but she doubted that would happen anytime soon. “Stupid zombies,” she glared angrily at the approaching mob. She had a nice life back at the mansion, why’d they have to go and ruin it? She pulled her pistol up and took aim at the nearest zombie, then quickly surveyed her surroundings. She saw a ladder behind her leading to a rooftop.

“Maybe we can spot a store from up here,” Aubrey shouted to the other girl. She fired her gun at the two approaching zombies and then turned to climb up; only she realized it was a fire escape and she was too short to reach. “A little help?” she called, as she turned to see a dozen zombies and one of those fat bulimic bastards round the corner of the nearest building.

“Shit!” Amika blasted a few of the closer zombies as she started to walk backwards. Amika heard the familiar sound of gurgling and smelt the stench of acidic puke. She slung her shotgun behind her quickly and grabbed the petite girl by her waist to lift her with ease. Once Aubrey’s fingers were wrapped around the rungs of the ladder Amika’s hands came around her gun once more. Amika killed half a dozen before she ran up to the big guy and shoved him with her shot gun. The fat infected stumbled back and gave Amika enough time to run back to the ladder and shoot him. The bile in his stomach exploded all around the zombies and they began to attack each other.

“Fuck this.” Amika muttered and with her running start she leapt up onto the ladder and pulled herself up. She was extremely thankful for her training and gym sessions in her routine life. She was physically fit for the zombie apocalypse. She knew Aubrey would never admit it but Amika felt she was somewhat thankful as well. It had gotten them out of several messes in the past, excluding the previous ten seconds.

“Took you long enough!” Aubrey muttered, brushing the dirt off her designer jeans as she eyed Amika. She knew she should be thankful, that she would probably be dead if it wasn’t for her kick-ass partner, but she had never said anything nice and actually meant it. She sure didn’t plan on starting now.

“Whew..” Amika sighed as she sat on the ledge of the building to peer down on the flailing mess, “you see anything out there?”

Her light brown eyes averted to Aubrey and she started to shuffle forward while reloading her shot gun.

Aubrey turned and walked to the edge of the building, surveying the depressing town around her. There were dead people everywhere, some the walking dead. It was hard to keep her eyes on anything else. She forced herself to look away. The city was starting to grow dark as the sun began to set, and she knew they had to find shelter soon. She could see the highway a couple blocks away, oddly quiet for this time of day. It was an eerie reminder that world she had once known was now gone.

“There!” she pointed, spotting the building they had been looking for, “It’s just on the other side of the highway.” The power was still on in some places, and Aubrey could make out the glowing lights of the CVS sign just on the other side. “We’d better hurry before the sun sets completely.” She checked her pistol, trying to determine how many shots she had left. She had dropped her Versace bag somewhere along the way, and lost all the supplies that she’d had. She still had some rounds that she’d tucked into her pants pockets, but that left about twenty shots at most. Then she’d be left to pistol whipping. She hoped to find another weapon along the way.

A loud snarling noise lit up the night; one that drove fear into Aubrey’s short frame. The zombies hadn’t figured how to get up the fire escape, but all the hooded infected had to do was jump. “I’m getting out of here!”

Amika tensed and cocked her shot gun at the sudden presence. The low rumble of a growl coming from its tattered windpipe sent chills up and down her spine. Aubrey’s reaction was expected but Amika mentally cursed at the girl. She gave away their position to the strong legged infected!

Aubrey saw a ladder that had been propped over two buildings as a kind of bridge, and figured that was the best bet. She raced across, careful not to fall. The roof entrance was open, but she sure as hell wasn’t going down the shadowy stairway by herself. She turned to see if Amika was following behind her, but didn’t see her. “Amika!” she yelled. Then she heard the growl.

“Just checking over here! Shut up or you’ll alert more-”

“AHHHH!!!!” she screamed as two glowing eyes emerged from the darkness. She was frozen in fear.

“Grrrr...” came the terrifying growl from the darkness. Aubrey braced herself, expecting the frog-like infected, but to even greater dismay, a little fluffy lap dog emerged from the shadows. Aubrey had a phobia of small animals. Aubrey’s eyes grew wide and she screamed louder.

“Get away from me!” she cried trying to run away, but the dog kept following her, snapping at her ankles. “Amika! Where are you?!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” Amika rolled her eyes before running across the bridge nimbly. She eyed the dog despairingly as it continued to nip at the younger girl. It was only a matter of seconds before the white fluff exploded into a pile of mush.

Aubrey sighed in relief as the stinking mutt was obliterated, only to be repulsed by the guts and blood that splattered round her feet.

“Happy now?- Guh- Ahhhh!! He-heelp!” Amika felt her arms tighten around her torso involuntarily and her shot gun clattered against the cold cement as she was abruptly whisked away. She struggled against the slimy tongue that had wrapped around her slender body. The special infected that was reeling her in was situated on the building to the far left. It was only a matter of seconds before Amika would be dangling in the middle of the air like bait.

“Oh, eww,” she looked disgustedly at Amika. “Why’d you go and do that? Gross. Oh!” Aubrey’s eyes widened from disgust to shock as she realized the Smoker had targeted Amika.

Aubrey waged a quick debate in her mind. Should she let Amika distract the mob as she ran for safety? She didn’t have much for ammo though and however badly she disliked admitting it, she really needed Amika. The only thing she was good at was flirting and looking pretty, and that was not much of a defense against blood thirsty zombies. If anything, it only made her look more appetizing.

“Damn, hold on,” she replied, her eyes following the path of the tongue until she spotted the clouds of smoke on the next building. Amika was almost over the edge; Aubrey would have only one shot at getting him before Amika was pulled over. She lifted her pistol and quickly took aim. She closed her eyes as her finger pulled at the trigger. “Did I get it? Amika?”

Aubrey looked up only to see a giant cloud of smoke. “AMIKA!?” Aubrey started to cough as she waded through the smoke, her foot suddenly making contact with something long and solid. “Oh!” she stumbled and then fell. As the smoke cleared, she saw that it was Amika she had stumbled over. “Thank god,” she sighed in relief.

Amika immediately stood up and tore the limp tongue from her body. She rubbed her sides gently to soothe them of the throbbing pain that was beginning to take over. She was certain she just obtained some new bruises. She panted quietly and was trying to catch her breath. That was way too close for her comfort level. She looked down at Aubrey who had tripped over her and shook her head slightly with wide eyes. Just two moments ago the bimbo was thrashing about and screaming like a banshee at a young poodle but just now the younger girl had saved her life.

“... Thanks.” Amika bent over slightly and offered a stretched out hand with one of her of half smirks. She wasn’t completely certain that her help would be accepted but it was worth a shot.

“Whatever,” Aubrey shrugged in response, taking Amika’s hand without any thought. She was used to people doing things for her. She then raised her eyebrow at the slender girl’s panting. “You sound like Stephan every time he pulls his wallet out of his pants,” she laughed at her own joke, “The man was loaded,” she explained to Amika. “He once made a bath for me in fifties. I wouldn’t recommend it though; all that paper makes your skin dry.” She waved her hand to dismiss the memory as she began walking towards the rooftop entrance she’d spotted.

Amika’s interest was piqued at the tid bit of information given to her and she gave Aubrey a once over as she walked away. Was this girl serious? Oh, if only they had met before the Green Flu plagued all of the cities and threatened humanity. The other girl seemed to only like money for some reason, she gathered from her other stories, and Amika wanted to explore the topic a bit more but a later time would have to suffice.

“Anyway, are you ready? We can head down the stairwell over here,” her green eyes sparkled like emeralds as she eyed her companion impatiently, then glanced at the dark corridor, wishing she had a flashlight. She tried to calm her nagging fear. She felt she was in a perpetual state of fear these days. “Pussies first,” she turned to Amika as she gestured for her to enter.

“Ha ha,” Amika laughed sarcastically, “You afraid a legion of Pomeranian puppies are down there?”

Amika bent down to pick up her weapon and made her way past Aubrey. She stood at the top of the steps and stared into the black hole that was about to swallow them up. An eerily serious expression came upon her pretty face wondering if this was such a good idea. They didn’t really have a choice and who knew if another Smoker was lurking about, eventually they would run out of bullets. Amika glanced back at Aubrey, a small reassuring smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Stay close in case of Smokers and Boomers. You can hold my hand if you want.” Amika offered teasingly. She faced forward again and slowly went down the stairs, disappearing into the blackness. If she were an animal her ears would be standing at attention as she listened for any type of inhuman sounds. She couldn’t see anything. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the lack of light but she still couldn’t make out shapes or any type of detail.

“Get real,” Aubrey rolled her eyes at the holding hands comment. She swept her long, silky black hair out of her face and forced herself to calm down as she watched Amika disappear into the darkness. “Hey wait up, I can’t see you,” she rushed to follow Amika down the narrow stairwell.

Aubrey realized almost at once that this had been a terrible idea; the darkness was overwhelming. She had hoped there would be windows shedding some light, but as they neared the bottom of the stairs, the darkness seemed to roll on endlessly. She stopped to listen for any sound of danger, but the only sound she heard was the sound of Amika’s footsteps echoing far ahead. Aubrey rushed to catch up, her arms stretching to either side in an effort to keep her balance in the darkness. Suddenly she felt herself collide into Amika’s back. She grabbed the back of the girl’s shirt, trying not to fall.

“Go a little slower would ya? You almost lost me! Jeez, what is your shirt made of? Did you roll in something, its all.... slimy.....” The smell of rotted flesh hit her nostrils and a responding snarl had Aubrey’s heart leaping into her throat. “Oh my god, oh my god,” Aubrey began to panic. It was not Amika she had run into, but a zombie!

“You seriously scared over there?” Amika asked over her shoulder while trying to figure out how long the hallway was. Aubrey had never been this quiet in the week that they were together and even in the midst of darkness she figured that Aubrey would still be babbling about that dog. After she lost her Versace bag Amika was about to shoot her point blank because she would not stop talking about it. As if she lost an appendage.

“You can still hold my hand if you want..” Amika needed some type of response from the girl. The silence was deafening and it was making the whole experience drag on.

Aubrey quickly raised her pistol, hoping the zombie had just as hard a time seeing as she did. She held onto its shirt as it struggled against her and pressed the gun into its back; she was assuming it was its back seeing as it hadn’t bitten her yet. She fired at what she thought was its head but she must have missed because it kept flailing against her, trying to turn around. ”Ew, you are so gross! Hold still so I can fucking shoot you damn it!” She fired off about four more shots until the zombie was finally still, and she let the dead weight fall to the floor.

“Aubrey?” Amika turned and swung her arm out behind her. When her forearm didn’t connect with Aubrey’s head she started to dash in the direction of the shots. “Fuck, those shots will definitely lure more of those things here.”

It was at that moment Aubrey heard a distinct crying to her far left. “Amika?” she called, adrenaline still pumping from the encounter as she began to follow the sound. Her hand met a door and she pushed it open. “Amika?” The crying was getting louder. Poor girl probably thinks I’m dead. Who wouldn’t be in tears over that?

She walked into the small room. Faint light trickled in between boarded windows, illuminating a slender figure huddled on the floor. “Amika, stop being such a baby. I’m right here. Did you really think one stupid zombie would get the best of me?” As she spoke the figure began to rise. “Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” she asked as it turned to face her. As it moved, she could see its face in the light. And it was definitely not Amika.

“Fuck! Why does this keep happening?” Aubrey raised her gun as the thing began to run towards her with a scream that sounded worse than two cats mating. However the zombie was rather small with the body of a child and she figured she could handle it. She fired the pistol, missing horribly. It raised its arms, and Aubrey gasped as she saw fingers as sharp and long as steak knives. She quickly changed her strategy.

“Mother fuck-!” Amika ran into another wall as she tried to find her lost teammate. Amika had opened a few doors and called Aubrey’s name into the room. When she was met with more silence she quickly closed the door and scouted for a new one. Amika heard a shriek of some kind close to where she was and she kept moving along. Aubrey had to be on the same floor as her. If only there was some way she knew that the screeching was Aubrey’s doing or not...

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Aubrey screamed as loudly as humanly possible, hoping Amika could follow the sound of her voice as she ran from the room, slamming the door behind her. However, now in the darkness, she had no idea where to run. She could only watch in horror as light began to filter through the door as the thing began to quickly shred its way through with its freakish hands.

Once Aubrey’s trademark scream was heard Amika was able to finally pinpoint her. The younger girl wasn’t that far, but Amika was sure that more infected would be on their way thanks to the screech set off by Aubrey. The pain in the taller girls ribs subsided as adrenaline kicked into her system.

“Aubrey!” Amika called out as soon as she saw her with the bits of light dancing around her petite shaking frame. The screeching continued from the other side of the door and it looked like daggers were slicing through it. “The fuck?!”

“I heard this crying and I thought maybe it was you so I opened the door but then there was this girl-child-freak. I mean look at those things! It’s like Edward Scissor-hands long lost twin,” Aubrey gripped her pistol tightly, nervous but glad that Amika was now here. She would know what to do.

Amika was quick to act and she rushed up to the door, being careful to stay a few feet away. The infected girl was almost through the thick wooden door when Amika used the butt of her shot gun and slammed it in between the eyes of the freakish infected. Amika quickly twirled her gun around and shot all of her bullets close to her head. With each blast from her shot gun she took a step forward until her upper body was poking through the middle of the door.

The infected little girl lay on the ground still. A supernatural sight to see. Blood was splattered all around the room, Amika was sure most of it was from some poor sap who tried to get close to it like Aubrey. Amika could make out more details of the infected with the small beams of light. Razor sharp nails, frayed clothes, and long stringy hair. Amika took a deep breath before dropping to one knee from the sharp pain returning to her constricted sides.

Aubrey surveyed the scene with disgust and awe, momentarily speechless. She didn’t think she would ever get used to such violence, even if it was now an everyday part of her life.

“I told you to stay close.” Amika tried to snap through her wheezing. She turned her head to glare at Aubrey, irritation oozing from her tone.

“And what am I some child?” Aubrey’s admiration quickly turned to annoyance, “If you wanted to stay close to me you should not have gone gallivanting ahead. Where were you when I was fighting off that zombie? You are a frustrating person Amika. Now stop panting like some animal and get us out of here!”

Amika had had it. She was in pain, just saved this girls life again, and now the plan was back on her to save their lives. This girl was getting under her skin. It could’ve been the extremity of the situations they had gotten in but Amika snapped just as a group of infected made their presence known. Amika grunted as she stood and she was on Aubrey like a flash. She grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall.

“Listen. The only reason we’re alive right now is because of me. I know you’re running low on ammo and won’t last much longer. If you want to live shut the fuck up and help me think of a plan.” Amika let her go and turned her attention to the approaching zombies.

Aubrey rubbed her bruising throat and scowled angrily at Amika. With the horde coming, she would have to restrain her anger for now. But boy, she would make Amika pay for it later.

“I have to reload. Shoot them!” Amika hurriedly began to fill her shot gun. They had to think quickly. Maybe the light filtering in was a good sign. With the hallway filling up with infected they had to get out of there soon.

“I only have ten fucking bullets!” Aubrey shouted back, her voice now hoarse, as she took careful aim. They were moving so quickly it was hard to target any of them. She fired a couple random shots, killing one and maiming another. There were simply too many. They would be swarmed in a matter of seconds if they didn’t act fast.

“In the room! Maybe there’s a way out!” Amika called over the screaming zombies.

“Fine,” Aubrey mutter, “Let’s go back into the room where the crazy witch-zombie tried to murder me, the room full of blood. The one that no longer has a door. Great idea.” But she followed Amika in, desperately surveying the room for an escape route.

“This room didn’t work for that fuckin’ bitch of a zombie, so hopefully it doesn’t work for them either!” Amika shouted as she slammed what was left of the wooden door shut and continued to strategically place her shots towards the rising horde.

If only I could see! Aubrey rushed to the windows, realizing not all of the boards were nailed down. Some had just been set to lean against the windows haphazardly. Someone must have put these up in a hurry, she thought, shoving the nearest one out of the way.

“Amika!” she cried, as her eyes watered in the sudden light. The rich pink and purple rays from the waning sunset outlined her seductive figure as she turned to look at her companion, “I have a plan.”

She covered her eyes as she shattered the window with the butt of her gun. Glass glittered like diamonds as it fell to the ground around her. She kicked the remaining shards out of the window frame and turned to Amika. “Hope you’re not afraid of heights, Lieutenant. We’re going to have to jump. See you on the other side.”

Aubrey took several steps back and closed her eyes. If it wasn’t for the adrenaline and fear of being eaten alive, she would never have had the courage to do what she was about to try. The zombies were now starting to pour into the room. Now was as good a time as ever. She took a deep breath and began to sprint. Panic shook through her as the edge neared, but she was running too fast and the edge was too close to stop now. At the last possible second, she jumped.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” she screamed as she felt herself suddenly weightless, flying through the air. I feel like superman... like spider-man... like wonder woman... like- WHAM! She hit the other building. Just short of the roof, she barely managed to grab onto the ledge with her hands before she would have plummeted the last four stories to the ground. “Fuck!” she moaned, “Amiiiiiiiiika!”

Amika heard that she had an idea but didn’t entirely believe it until she witnessed the girl leaping out of a window in her peripherals. She used up the rest of her shot gun rounds before propelling herself towards the broken window. With her built up strength she ran and ran then pushed against the edge of the window sill. She closed her eyes as she rose in the air but when gravity took it’s toll she opened them. She was stronger than Aubrey and actually made it. She rolled a few feet than heard her name yelled.

Amika was quick to throw herself towards the ledge of the building and grasped Aubrey’s hand. She brought her other hand around and wrapped her fingers around her palms to pull her up from her cliff hanger.

“I know you’re going to slap me.. again. I kind of deserve it for grabbing you like that.” Amika admitted once Aubrey had her feet on solid ground.

“Yes, you do deserve it. But I guess you just saved my life, so we’ll call it even,” Aubrey massaged her cramping biceps and gazed wearily at Amika, “Anyway, my arms are too tired from hanging on that ledge.” she sighed. “Let’s just hurry up and get out of here.”

Amika nodded and didn’t want to waste anytime in getting to that CVS. Her sides were an extreme concern and she could feel her legs shaking from exhaustion. She could barely breathe let alone run away from zombies while firing off a shot gun with a noticeable recoil. She knew Aubrey wouldn’t give a flying fuck about her injuries and decided to stay quiet about them for now.

Amika lead them back down on to the street level. She peered around the corner and was surprised to find the street remarkably bare. Aubrey’s scream must have lured them into that building.

‘If only she could throw her voice.’

Amika looked back at Aubrey and watched her for a moment. The visualization of it flashed across her mind’s eye and she chuckled at the thought. She turned her attention back to the streets and gestured for Aubrey to follow her. Amika raised her gun into a offensive position but she winced and lowered it. There was no way she could continue this without draining her energy levels into oblivion. She stopped and turned around to look at Aubrey before holding her gun out.

“That tongue guy fucked up my ribs pretty badly. I think I might’ve bruised ‘em or something. You use this and lead us towards that CVS. I don’t really remember where you saw it and the infected are surrounding the building we just left, so if we’re going to make a mad dash for it then now is our chance.” Amika instructed the young girl, hoping she would just take the gun and walk on.

Aubrey eyed the weapon somewhat suspiciously. She probably ran out of ammo too...although... Aubrey gazed at Amika. When Aubrey had first met Amika, she had seemed strikingly attractive with a vibrant energy to her. Amika now looked like she had been beaten with an ugly stick. Her hair was a mess and her skin was littered with bruises and cuts. She was spattered with blood and guts. She was wheezing like a chronic smoker. She smelled bad. She seemed to have the energy of a eighty year old woman. And she had terrible posture. “You do look pretty fucked up,” Aubrey agreed. “Alright, follow me.”

“Gee, thanks.” Amika muttered with a roll of her eyes at the comment as she traded weapons with Aubrey. As if the other girl hadn’t seen better days herself.

Aubrey handed Amika her pistol as she grabbed the shotgun from her. She tested it in her hands, trying to get used to the different weight. Her arms were shaky and tired, but she knew it was her turn to step up. Hopefully they would be able to rest once they got to the CVS.

Rounding the corner, she was pleased to see that it was like Amika said, the zombies were all at the other building, leaving the rest of the street deserted. And since the sun had set, it would be easy enough for them to stay hidden in the shadows of the buildings.

Aubrey led Amika as fast as she thought the girl would be able to keep up. They made it all the way to the other side of the highway without having a single infected come after them.

Amika was impressed with Aubrey's leading. She found the safest routes and wasn't afraid to walk ahead of the usual leader. Being in the front meant that she shielded Aubrey from most of the attacks since the two had joined up. She wondered if that thought ever crossed Aubrey's mind. Probably not, and even if it did Aubrey’s warped little mind expected Amika to take the fall for her.

It had been a good couple of days since Amika had any real sleep. The whole outbreak weighed on her mind and runner up was protecting Aubrey. It was strange to think that she would fiercely protect someone she barely knew. It must have been the fact that Aubrey was the only other human alive. For all she knew they were the only survivors. Her sister was dead, her girlfriend, that old lady who always bought grey goose on Thursdays, her best friend Farrah... She hadn't had time to grieve on her losses with the need to survive always taking over her mind. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice her body had gone into auto pilot and was mimicking what Aubrey was doing. Her vision soon became hooded by her eyelids and she didn’t even have enough energy to call out to Aubrey as her knees caved under her.

Aubrey heard a thud and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped around, gun ready, only to see Amika slumped on the ground. “Amika,” she whispered, trying not to make any noise. She nudged the girl with her toe. Damn it! She passed out!

Aubrey crouched down and shook her by her shoulders. Amika’s head flopped back and forth limply. Shit! What do I do now? Aubrey looked around, debating on whether or not she should just leave her there. How could she possibly protect herself and drag the girl along? Although, they hadn’t run across any infected for awhile. She could see the CVS was only about three more blocks, and the shotgun did have a strap. And as much as she hated to admit it, the girl had started to grow on her. Besides, with so few humans left in the world, she didn’t really like the thought of being alone.

Swinging the shotgun on to her back, Aubrey grabbed Amika by the hands and began the awkward three block walk to the CVS.

Characters
Ashton Long
Age: 22
Height: 6'4"
Ref: Nicholas Lemons

Farrah Delmar
Age: 20
Height: 4'10"
Ref: Kristen Bell

Characters belong to us, everything else is copyright to Valve

Chapter II - Explosion

Stumbling in the darkness, she tried to remember what had happened. Farrah could hear a dripping echoing close to her. She wondered vaguely if it was blood, but that was a strange thought. Why would there be blood dripping? Then suddenly it all came back. The zombie infection. The horde that had come and attacked. She had escaped to the gas station only to realize she had been bitten. She would become one of them. She shivered, remembering the reason she had locked herself in the small gas station bathroom. She knew her friends were out there somewhere, and she did not want them to find her like this. That way, when she became a zombie, she would trapped in here with no way to cause anyone else any harm.

She found the light switch in the bathroom, wondering vaguely if it would even work. Light flooded the small room, momentarily blinding her. She realized the dripping had been the faucet, which she twisted shut. She looked at her weathered reflection in the mirror. Her once honey colored hair was darkened with blood. Her clothes were torn, revealing scratched and bruised skin. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was swollen from the fight. Her gaze at last turned to the bloody mess on her forearm; the bite.

She was unsure how long she had been in the bathroom, but the wound had already begun to scab over. Strange, she thought, why would something that is going to kill me start to heal? Well, she had never experienced someone turning so she had no idea what to expect. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too painful. She sat back against the wall, hoping it would all be over soon.

Two weeks later...

Ashton gripped the axe tightly, his hands were covered in blood and guts from the wielding of his short range weapon. His exposed toned torso was surprisingly injury free. His powerful limbs and lack of strategy worked in his favor. If anyone knew better it looked like Ashton was actually enjoying himself. Why wouldn’t he? There were no more rules, no more authorities, and as much fighting and killing as he wanted!

He approached the gas station slowly. His brown eyes flicked back and forth across the gas pumps and he surveyed his environment. No one was coughing, gagging, or growling so he was in the clear from the mutated humans.... He wasn’t even sure if he could still call them that. They were too far gone to be considered humane. Groaning and shrieking for the sight of blood as if wild animals. Ashton rolled his shoulders before taking one hand off of his axe to pull out a flashlight from his backpack. A small click was heard before a beam of light illuminated the ma and pa sign above the door.

‘Go figure I’d be stealing from this place again.’

The inside was as sorry and deserted as the outside was. Shelves were knocked over and torn open chip bags littered the floor. Most of the beverages in the freezer were gone or spilled all over the tiled ground. This place had definitely seen better days. He ran a hand through his hair before kneeling down to rummage through the wreckage.

Ashton fitted as many snacks as he could into his pack and filled the side pockets with bandages and ointment. He was about to sling the backpack around his shoulder but his flashlight caught the bright colors of a Slushie machine. A wicked grin pulled up the corners of his mouth and in moments his head was laying face up towards the nozzle. He pulled the lever and got a rush of artificially flavored water contents all over his face. He grunted and kicked up into a sitting position as his nostrils stung from the sudden rush of sugar in them.

“Fuck! fuck! fuck! fuckity FUCK!” He snorted out some of the juice and shook his head. He picked up a water bottle from the ground and dumped it over his head. The last thing he needed was to attract the likes of those sick humans with his blueberry hair.

Farrah looked around the small bathroom, wondering what had startled her awake so quickly. She realized she had left the light on and rushed to turn it out. What if someone saw it and she attacked them? Although, she ran a hand across her wound, she still seemed pretty alive.

The sudden movement of standing had made her dizzy and stars danced before her eyes. Was that the change? Was she about to pass out? Or was it simply the fact she hadn’t eaten in days? She stood still, waiting for something to happen. The stars faded. Not a zombie yet, damn... Why is it taking so long? The wound was no longer burning but aching dully, the pain only sharpening when she poked at it. The rest of her still felt rather normal. Why am I not a zombie yet?

Her stomach rumbled angrily and she wondered how long it had been since she last ate. Farrah knew there was plenty of food on the other side, she had knocked over a shelf full as she frantically rushed to escape the horde. Did she dare step outside long enough to grab something to eat? She had been in the bathroom a couple days at least and she hadn’t yet changed, surely a minute or two couldn’t hurt.

As she started to open the door, she heard a noise. Quickly she pulled it back shut. It had sounded like muffled cursing; another survivor? She hadn’t seen another human since she’d fled her infected apartment complex; she had to fight the urge to rush out and investigate. I can’t risk hurting anyone...

He checked the machine and on closer inspection it had been unplugged in some struggle. The juice couldn’t stay cold and therefore slushie-like. He should have thought about that before spraying himself in the face and causing a ruckus. He hoped he didn’t catch the attention of surrounding infected. He grabbed his axe from the counter and draped his pack over his shoulder. He was about to head out but stopped as he went by the register. There was a small chance that the owners wanted to protect themselves from burglers and arm themselves accordingly. He hopped over the counter and sorted through the unimportant stuff.

A smile graced his lips when he found a pistol and a box of ammo. He tucked the ammo behind him in a small pocket on the side of his backpack. He slipped the gun in between his belt and his jeans, making sure the safety was on. He came to a full stand and a glint caught his eye. It was the key to the bathroom. Maybe there was some supplies in there that he could look for. Life was coming down to desperate measures and he figured a few tampons or pads would come in handy if he ran out of bandages. He grabbed the key and headed for the ‘Restroom’ sign.

He slipped the key in and unlocked the door.

Farrah quickly locked the door as she heard footsteps coming. But to her amazement the door still opened revealing a strange looking fellow with blue tinted skin. She wondered if he was another form of mutated zombie. Only as far as she knew none of them were smart enough to unlock a door, nonetheless turn the handle. And so far he wasn’t trying to eat her.

“Who are you and why is your skin like that? You smell like...” she stepped closer, sniffing the air around him, “Is that... blueberries?”

Ashton was startled to see someone holed up inside the bathroom. He raised his axe but when she didn’t attack him right away he didn’t move. Then she started to speak and even smell the fragrance coming from his face. He cleared his throat and lowered his weapon.

“Name’s Ashton... I... Are you okay? How long have you been in here?” It took his eyes only a moment to sweep across her body and notice that she was under weight.

“I’m Farrah. I’m not sure how long I’ve been here, or if I’m okay...” she replied honestly. She studied him, unsure if she should disclose the bite. What if he just tried to shoot her or something? Although she couldn’t really blame him if he did. Maybe it would be better that way but before she could say anything he started talking again.

“Did your mom put you in here? If you’re hungry there’s a bunch of chips out there. How old are you?” Ashton’s tone went softer and he knelt down so his 6 foot 4 frame wasn’t towering over her. Usually Ashton was an ass of sorts but with kids, especially in this type of environment and situation, he decided to play it nice. He couldn’t imagine losing a family in all of this and going through it so young. He guessed she was about 12 or 13.

Farrah raised her eyebrow at the insinuation of age. “Excuse me? I have no mom. Yes I’m hungry! And I’m TWENTY!!!” Standing at only 4’10”, Farrah had spent her whole life being mistaken for a child. It was clear, even at the end of the world, that some things would never change. She crossed her arms and glared at Ashton. She knew she shouldn’t be so upset, after all the guy didn’t even know her and at least he was trying to be nice, but she felt an overwhelming anger from the whole situation rising inside her.

“Just hand me a bag of chips, close the door and leave me be!” She held out her hand expectantly.

Ashton jerked his head back at her sudden reaction to his question. Then he began roaring with laughter. He ended up falling back on his butt and rocked forward and back with his arms clutching his sides. He wiped an emerging tear and finally caught his breath. He came to a stand and loomed over her.

"Listen here, kid, there may be humans attacking and eating each other out there but there is no way I'm going to believe you're 20 years old." He leaned forward and roughly poked her in the forehead at his last word, "Get your own damn chips, kid."

Before she could react he turned on his heel and started to walk towards the exit leaning the axe across his broad bare shoulders.

“How dare you be so rude!” Farrah snapped, appalled at his reaction. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed a piece of jerky off a nearby shelf and flung it at the back of his smart-ass head. After all, he thought she was a child. Why not act like one?

He stopped dead in his tracks. The jerky bounced off the back of his head and landed a couple feet from him. He suddenly turned around and started stomping towards her. He reached forward and grabbed her by the collar and picked her up as if she weighed nothing.

“Hey!” she struggled to get away.

“Listen here you-” His deep voice was cut off by the chilling cry of infected in the distance. Ashton whipped his head towards the doors and his expression darkened. He had heard that sound before and that meant a mob of them were coming.

“Shit.” He set Farrah down roughly and pushed the pistol against her chest, “Take this. You’ll need it. A horde of them are coming this way.”

Farrah glanced at the weapon in her palm, somewhat touched by the gesture. “Uh thanks. But I’m just a kid. What makes you think I know how to fire a gun?” she asked sarcastically, grabbing the ammo and tucking it into her back pocket.

“Unless you want the axe, I figured that would be easier for you to use. Besides, with your skinny arms and short legs I don’t think you’d get through their knee caps let alone behead them.” Ashton felt his heart beat quicken and his palms were turning clammy. He loved destroying those things though he didn’t know anything about them, aside from how to kill them. He hadn’t been bitten yet and he was discontent at the thought of dying at any moment.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here. Unless of course you don’t want to team up with a kid.” Farrah glanced at the horde that had now reached the parking lot of the gas station, then turned back to Ashton, her expression suddenly thoughtful, “Do you know, how long does it take someone to turn after being bitten by an infected?”

Ashton quirked en eyebrow at her question, giving her a suspicious glance.

Her line of thought was interrupted by a loud, deep roar. She had heard that roar only once before; when her small apartment complex had been leveled, leaving her the only survivor. And she had just barely escaped. “Shit, a Tank!”

Farrah fired some rounds at the nearing horde, taking out a dozen. She knew that tanks were tough, strong and nearly impossible to take out with bullets alone. She took quick stock of their surroundings as the tank let out another thunderous roar. Suddenly, she had an idea.

“I need you to find some matches,” Farrah ducked as half a car came hurtling through the glass windows above her head. “And HURRY!” she added as glass rained down over her head and the hunk of metal wiped out the shelving units behind her.

“A what!?” Ashton didn’t have enough time to feel impressed by Farrah’s aim and he practically jumped over Farrah as the car came through the store front. He heard the tone in her voice and he scrambled to his feet. He ran over to the register counter and swiped a pile of matches kept by the lighters and even grabbed a stack of those. The ground was beginning to quake as the Tank fast approached them.

“Got’em! What’s the plan, kid!?” Ashton dubbed her the nickname since he had already forgot her real one. He used his axe hand and sunk the blade into the forehead of an infected that was close to him. He would quickly catch up to whatever she was doing while trying to dodge the zombies that managed to get into the store.

“Cover me!” Farrah yelled, shooting her way through the mass of infected out towards the gas pumps. She hoped Ashton was following her, because she’d need his help. She made her way to the nearest pump and pulled the nozzle out. “I need you to sever the line with your axe,” she cried, holding her pistol in her free hand and shooting. She could see the tank approaching and yelled “DUCK!” as he slung a chunk of cement their way. The throw went wide, leaving eight dead infected in its wake. “We’re gonna barbecue that monster!”

Farrah let the nozzle fall to the ground where Ashton could easily hack at it, then continued on to the other pumps to do the same thing. Her small build and gymnast’s flexibility allowed her to move skillfully through the horde, but she wondered if Ashton was faring as well. Once finished, she maneuvered her way back to cover for him.

Ashton was a tall well built man that had exercised his muscles frequently in his fight for survival everyday. He was a one man team and needed to stay on top of his game. He was becoming to like Farrah more and more as he watched her gracefully remove the nozzles in a timely manner. She would definitely be a good addition to his team. He was having some trouble because one of his hands was full of matches and lighters. He had to keep turning around to slice up the zombies getting too close for his liking.

Once she came back up to cover him he focused on the gas pumps and brought the axe down on all the hoses. He ran through them smoothly and stayed close to her after he was finished. He wasn’t really sure the exact location of this Tank, but from the volume of his roaring and the weight of the items tossed at them he was certain that he couldn’t take this thing down with just his axe.

“I’m guessing we lure it over here and then go running for the hills!?” Ashton shouted over the Tank’s rumbling and the infected as they groaned and screamed. He saw a group of zombies fly by his head and he looked over to see the massive bulge that was the Tank. A car was raised above its head and it didn’t seem to care that it was killing other infected.

“Exactly!” Farrah yelled over the chaotic noise. Then she caught sight of the car in the tanks palms, “Run!” She shot down the zombies in her immediate path and then began leading the way through the middle of the pumps. The stench of gasoline was overwhelming and she tried to take as shallow of breaths as possible. Her shoes and the bottom of her jeans were now soaked in gasoline. They would have to be very careful not to set themselves on fire when the time came to light the gas.

Ashton allowed her the lead and was close behind her, being careful not to step on her heels. She didn’t have to tell him twice.

The tank hurled the massive vehicle and it wiped out the pump nearest to Farrah, spraying gasoline into the air like rain. She could feel the earth quaking beneath her feet as the tank continued thundering after them. Pistol whipping a zombie that had gotten too close, Farrah then shot the last three out of her way as she neared the edge of the lot. Turning, she saw the tank was in the center of their trap. “Quick, light the gas!”

Ashton’s face was curled up into a huge grin and he was actually beginning to enjoy the unraveling of her plan. He felt the gasoline drizzle across his chest and back and he felt a little uneasy carrying the load of matches. He dropped them and quickly scraped a match against the back of the book. He turned and flicked the lit match towards the Tank. He guessed what was to happen next and he dropped his axe as he turned back around. He wrapped his big arms around Farrah to shield her from the blast.

The Tank roared in pain as the flames engulfed the gasoline pooled at it’s feet. Flames licked at his meaty body and it didn’t have enough time to run before the gas pumps blew up around him. Surrounding zombies were immediately incinerated but as the horde fanned out the outer infected were simply blown back. Ashton picked Farrah up and put her over his shoulder, thinking that the blast would draw in another horde.

“Oof,” Farrah grunted as she tried to adjust herself. She didn’t particularly like being carried this way; it was rather uncomfortable with Ashton’s shoulder digging into her stomach. But Farrah was exhausted, malnourished and dehydrated and if it meant she didn’t have to run, she wasn’t about to complain.

“Watch my back!” He swiped his axe from the floor and started to sprint away from the burning gas station.

She took out half a dozen of the stunned zombies and was out of ammo. Farrah pulled the ammo from her back pocket and quickly began to reload as Ashton furthered the distance between them and the remaining horde.

“Keep to this road,” Farrah said, “There is a CVS about a mile down where we can stock up on supplies.” There were about twenty zombies still following, but she picked them off rather easily although her arm was harder to lift with each shot. She was glad that Amika had forced her to come to the shooting range with her and taught her how to handle a gun. Who knows if she would have lasted as long without that knowledge. All those first person shooter video games had probably helped as well. She wondered where Amika was and if she’d ever meet up with her again.

Exhaustion began to overwhelm Farrah and she found herself blinking, trying to keep her eyes open as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Too bad I got bitten... I would have liked to see Amika again. The zombies wouldn’t stand a chance against us... It was the last thought Farrah had before she passed out.