"Black Friday": A story from "The Walking Dead"

[HumanBean]

The men watched unseen as she began this mad route around the parking lot. She ran over Walkers initially. Then she began shooting them out the window with one shotgun after another. From what he'd seen firsthand and from watching Paige, Paul told Carl, "I think you have to hit them in the brain. In the head, the skull. It's the only way to kill them, I think."

"They're going," Carl said, pointing a finger past Paul toward the mall entrance.

Paul poked his head out a bit farther, looking around. "You're right. But let's let her work a bit more."

They waited, watched, and listened. They took turns at the door. The one not watching spent the time donning body armor, gloves, and face shields that Paula and Paige had brought up from the personal protection selection area. Additionally, Paul had set aside his compound bow for a simpler recurve bow, donning a quiver full of target practice arrows.

Paige continued to draw Walkers out to the parking lot and kill them, both. As the guys had already, she was learning that the only way to kill a Walker was to hit its brain. She raced around the parking lot some more, but ended up on the sidewalk just 20 yards from the mall entrance.

"Headshots!" she hollered toward the mall, uncertain of where Carl and Paul were. "They gotta be headshots to kill them!"

Then, she was in the parking lot again. Paul began whispering, "Wait. Wait. Wait just a bit more."

Then, he slapped a hand on Carl's shoulder and said, "Okay, let's do this."

They did their best to be quiet and inconspicuous as they ran for the mall entrance. By the time they got close, there were only half a dozen Walkers trying to push through the partially open door. Another dozen, though, were on their hands and knees, eating on a pile of corpses.

Paul raised his bow and started putting arrows in the skulls of Walkers. He picked them by the greatest danger they might pose. He'd killed (or rekilled?) six of them before they even knew that he and Carl were there. He got off two more arrows before tossing the bow away and swinging up the shotgun slung over his shoulder.

Before Paul could get his first shot off, Carl put some double-aught buckshot through a Walker's skull. With that blast, their presence was no longer a secret. They began blasting Walkers from every decreasing distances. They found themselves having to back off several yards when Walkers inside the mall pushed out through the door that the men wanted to close.

"Behind us!" Carl called out as he swung toward the parking lot, firing. His shots rarely hit brains, causing him to put two or three rounds into a Walker before it fell. He cried out in panic "I'm out! I'm out of ammo!"

"Switch guns!" Paul ordered.

"I did! I'm out!" Carl repeated.

"Behind me, to the wall," Paul ordered. He pulled a bandelier from over his shoulder and tossed it to Carl. "Reload!"

As the other man reloaded one of his guns, then a second, Paul continued firing. His aim had been much more accurate. Because of this, he hadn't burned through his ammo. He'd also brought two more shotguns and an extra bandolier. That made a difference.

Carl started blasting Walkers again. Paul stepped back to reload his own weapons. He kept his eye on what the other man was doing. The Security Supervisor had very quickly caught on and was dropping most of the Walkers with the first shot. He also looked out to the parking lot. Paige was taking down multiple Walkers by gun or by truck. Paul was impressed.

"Let's do this!" Carl suddenly called out. Paul looked his way, finding him pointing toward the door. "It's clear."

Carl was right. They'd taken out the last Walker walking. They ran for the door, weaving around dead undead. At the door, they jerked at hands and legs to get the bodies out of the doorway. They each put down another Walker approaching them from within the mall. Two more killed came from outside a moment later.

Carl tested each door one at a time to ensure that they would remain locked from both the inside and outside. When he was satisfied, he told Paul, "We're done here. Let's get the fuck back inside. Call your girl back."

Back at the door to Rick's, Paul started flashing the big, powerful search light toward Paige's truck. She swung her truck around their direction. Then, suddenly, there was a loud mechanical sound that Paul didn't like. The Ford came to a stop. Steam and smoke rose from the engine compartment.

"Oh, fuck, she'd blown the engine," Paul mumbled. Carl asked what he meant. Paul told him with obvious concern, "It means she'd fucked."

Paul ran back inside Rick's, calling back, "C'mon! Hurry!"

Carl followed him inside yet again. They hurried to the front counter with Paul simply dropping his remaining weapons. He snatched up semi-automatic rifles, quickly giving Carl a lesson on how they worked in general.

"What're we doing?" Carl finally asked with concern. "What's changed?"

"We have to go out there," Paul said as he threw a bag of clips over one shoulder. He handed a second bag to Carl, as well as two AR-15 style rifles. He clarified, "We have to rescue Paige."

"Out there!" Carl gasped. He'd been much more comfortable up close to the building with it's lockable escape door. "There's a thousand of them out there!"

"Yeah, and Paige is out there, too," Paul said with a bit more calm in his voice. He glared at Carl a moment before shoving a large sized magazine at him. Carl took it with seeming reluctance. He showed him how to rack the magazine. "Let's go."

Paul flew out around the counter for Rick's south entrance rather than back to the storeroom exit in the northwest of the store. He unlocked a glass door, then the grill beyond it. There were no Walkers here when he stepped out. Looking back, he found Carl just a few yards away. Calmly, Paul asked, "You coming?"

Carl hesitated, looked to the powerful, fast firing rifle in his hands, looked up again, and without a word rushed out the door. Paul pulled the grill shut, putting the lock in place without actually securing it. He headed toward Paige's truck as, out in front of him, Carl was already blasting away at Walkers he was running past.

Most of Carl's victims dropped in three shots or less. The man continued to get better as he went, though. By the time Paul caught up, Carl was dropping Walkers consistently with one shot. Of course, he was risking getting far closer, too. Paul got worried when the man aimed at a Walker just five feet away and the gun only clicked, jammed.

"Switch rifles!" Paul hollered. "Switch to a--"

But Carl instead flipped the rifle over in his hands and smashed the butt into the Walker's skull. Then twice. And finally dropping the monster with a third, skull crunching pounding. Paul couldn't believe the man. There was no time to discuss it, though. Paul could see a swarm of Walkers surrounding Paige's truck. It looked like they'd gotten up into the bed as well.

Carl had done as ordered and switched to a second rifle. Then, together, they charged the Ford, stopped just twenty feet away, and began efficiently taking the Walkers down from the center out. The creatures dropped usually with one shot, sometimes two. Paul warned Carl, "Watch your background. Don't hit Paige. Don't hit the truck's fuel tank."

A bullet to the diesel tank wasn't likely to lead to a fire on its own. But Paul couldn't know what was wrong with the Ford's engine. A fire or, worse, explosion, was more likely if the engine was extremely hot and they provide fuel to it via a misplace gun round.

"Watch your back!" Paul called at one point. He'd noticed additional Walkers coming in when the motion detection lights nearby turned on.

Soon, though, they'd eliminated enough Walkers for Paul to pull open Paige's door. He slung a rifle to her and demanded, "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

They took off for Rick's again as fast as they could.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

Kara Wilson, with Peter Jacobs in the Family Resource Center (FRC)
10:30 maybe?

OOC link for reference and profiles

"Let me," Peter said, asking to help Kara out of her boots.

She was more than willing to have his help; her hands were trembling so hard that she almost hadn't gotten her zipper down.

She watched him intently, her eyes never leaving his. Peter's gaze was all over the place though, checking out her generous bosom, her crotch -- which, from experience of so often experiencing unsatisfied horniness, Kara feared was dark with her natural, leaking lubricant -- and her face, which would have graced national fashion magazines had her father not called them Satan's staircase to pornography.

"May I?" Peter asked after he'd removed her boots and was wanting to remove Kara's pants.

She answered him by pressing her hands to the couch cushions and lifting up her buttocks. Kara continued to stare at Peter, her heart pounding fierce and fast as he pulled on one leg a bit, then the other, then back again until her tight-fitting jeans slipped off her hips. He fully removed them from her, slowly, carefully; in Kara's fantasies, she'd imagined him doing this a thousand times exactly as he was.

She felt a bit awkward, sitting here in just her bra and panties; she pushed her knees together, hiding her special garden, where Peter would want to soon plant his seed.

She contemplated on the thought of Peter impregnating her from unprotected sex. Kara obviously wasn't on any form of birth control. And she didn't know whether or not Peter was the kind of guy who carried a condom in his wallet.

In all honesty, at this moment, she didn't care whether or not Peter knocked her up. A child produced by the pair of them now would be a child of God's love, proof of God almighty and his protection of Kara, of Peter, and of their love for one another.

She waggled her fingers at Peter, saying "I want to see you. I want to undress you, too.

 

[HumanBean]

Peter Jacobs (with Kara Wilson in the Family Resource Center, FRC)
Sometime before the Walker hunting outdoors

OOC link for reference and profiles

Peter slid Kara's jeans slowly off her body. Her long, sleek legs only added to the twitching of his cock. He looked up to her face. He could see that the young beauty was nervous. Awkward was the word going through her mind. He set the jeans aside, wanting to alleviate her of that feeling.

Kara gave Peter his opportunity without him having to think hard on it. She gestured him closer, saying, "I want to see you. I want to undress you, too."

Peter had been sitting with his haunches on his calves. He rose high on his knees instead, moving closer to her. As he did, his lower torso came into contact with her knees. He rested his hands upon Kara's thighs, gently caressing them as he pushed cautiously forward. Peter wanted to see if she would part her thighs to him, allowing him closer still.

Either way, he would feel her fingers at his tie. It was loosened and pulled loose from his collar. Next, those delicate digits worked on the buttons of Peter's shirt. One by one, they came loose. His torso was fit and smooth. He wasn't a buffed up athlete type like Jay Johnson, over in the Dollarama. But he'd been told he was nice to look at by women before Kara.

He would never talk about those women with Kara, of course. Not once in their six years of lust-filled friendship, had he ever talked to her about his current romantic partners. It was as if they'd never existed. Oh, she'd known about them. Some of them. They simply hadn't been subjects of conversation.

Peter's shirt was shed from his shoulders. His eyes had again been roaming over Kara's beautiful and dramatic features. He wanted to slip her out of her bra to see, for the first time, her generous bosom without containment. But again, Peter was letting Kara lead the way, fearful of frightening her away from their destiny.

Whatever came next, Peter was Kara's to command.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

Kara Wilson with Peter Jacobs in the Family Resource Center, FRC)
Before the Walker hunting outdoors

OOC link for reference and profiles

At Kara's request to see him undressed, Peter rose high on his knees and moved closer to her upon his knees. His lower belly contacted her knees, which she'd been clenching together to protect her garden. Now, though, screwing up her courage, she relaxed her legs to allow his movement to ease them apart. Kara once again became aware of the trembling; it had been just in her hands but was now shaking her throughout her body.

Despite the anxious, scared feeling, it felt good to have Peter where he was ... finally. She, like he, had wanted this for a long time. She, unlike him, had never been in this position before, with Peter or any other man. She knew that he had been here, though, with others; despite the fact that they never spoke about his love lives, Kara -- who might have been innocent but was not at all naive -- fully understood that her love interest had had many love -- or lust -- interests before her.

Again, pushing herself to be brave, Kara leaned closer, reaching out to lay her hands softly upon Peter's chest; she caressed her hands upon his pecs before beginning the removal of his tie. She smiled playfully, reminding him, "I always hated this tie." With the knot loosened, she looked up into Peter's eyes as she pulled it slowly away from his neck. When it fell off, she playfully tossed it far away, stressing, "I hate that tie."

She leaned to kiss him as her trembling fingers fumbled for and began loosing the buttons of his shirt. One by one, his shirt slowly opened, revealing his smooth, hairless chest. Again, Kara smiled, remembering the three occasions in her life that she'd seen Peter shirtless; the first had been while he'd been doing yardwork for an older, disabled neighbor, and it had been the Cupid's Arrow that led to Kara's infatuation, then love for Peter.

With the last button loosed, Kara slipped her hands inside his shirt to caress his smooth chest. She had no experience with either hairy or hairless chests, so she had nothing to which she could compare what she was feeling. All Kara knew was that it excited her in a way that she'd never known, better even than her puberty-testing weekend with the cute female cousin who taught Kara to kiss.

She slipped her hands upwards, pushing the shirt off Peter's shoulders and letting her arms caress down his arms. Kara caught him looking down into her cleavage again and smiled. She reached a hand slowly around to her back, found the bra's latch, and flicked it loose. The lacy pushup, stressed by her full, firm, D-cups, sprung forward, causing Kara to giggle and blush a fiery red.

Suddenly, a boom erupted somewhere near, causing Kara to leap in her seat and instinctively protect her now-exposed body by crossing her arms over her chest. "What was that? Peter! What was that?"

She didn't know it, but the battle against the Walkers had begun, just beyond the south access door that was less than 50 feet from where she and Peter were preparing to finally become lovers.

(OOC: On the map, the arrow near Suite 335 is the door where the gunshots are being fired.)

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

Paige with Paul Granger and Carl Henry in the parking lot south of Rick's Outdoors and Sports

Paige was in full panic mode, with the Walkers at the passenger side of her Ford smashing the glass and trying to climb inside. Again, she lifted a shotgun across the cabin's interior and pulled the trigger, nearly blasting the invader's head off. As it fell, a hand reaching in through the rear slider window grabbed Paige by the collar of her camo jacket, pulling hard enough to not just scare her but hurt her as well.

She had the forethought to look into the rearview mirror, finding the Walker's face as it growled like a rabid animal. Paige's eyes widened in surprise; despite the undead-like ugliness that unexplainably altered the features of the bitten like some sort of reverse makeover, Paige recognized this particular Walker without difficulty. The combination of the wild, purple-colored hairdo and the facial tattoo, she knew that this Walker had once been a barista at the cafe she patronized just across the river that formed the southern border of the mall's property.

For the first time since this had all started, Paige suddenly found her thinking of how these creatures had once been people known to some of them, in this case Paige herself. As she watched the barista jerking repeatedly at her collar, trying to pull her near enough to provide a meal, Paige found herself asking Why is this happening...? To good people ... who didn't deserve this?

Regardless of her reluctantly newfound feelings, Paige snatched up the Desert Eagle near her, leaned it inverted on her shoulder with the barrel aimed directly at the barista, covered her right ear with the fingers of her left hand, and pulled the trigger. The explosion was incredible, causing Paige's ear to immediately begin ringing despite the protection she'd provided. In the mirror, in the illumination of the parking light on a pole just feet away from her, Paige saw the barista's brain matter splash over two or three Walkers directly behind her in the truck bed.

The sound of the herd had been growing steadily, becoming almost overwhelming, when a new sound came to Paige's attention: gunfire. She looked out the right side of the windshield at the repeating star-shaped fiery flashes from the end of a semi-automatic rifle. It didn't take a genius to understand that the cavalry had arrived, causing Paige to cry out in relief, "Yes! Yes! Jesus fucking Christ, yes!"

Suddenly no longer feeling as though the end was near, Paige's resolve returned to her. She scooted to the right as far as she could, flipped a shotgun around to point out the driver's side window, then pressed the button to lower it; despite her truck likely being at its end, Paige was reluctant to blow out the window if it wasn't necessary.

As the window lowered past the faces of the Walkers that had scrambled up onto the sideboard, Paige pulled the trigger -- once, twice, thrice. Each round of double-aught buckshot destroyed an ugly face and the brain and skull behind it. She continued blowing away Walkers one after another after another, tossing one empty shotgun into the passenger side floorboard and switching to a new weapon.

Out the shattered passenger side window, Paige heard a male voice call out, "Switch rifles! Switch to a--"

She looked that direction in time to find Carl Henry beating in a Walker's head with the butt of his rifle. Paige couldn't help but laugh before going back to blowing up Walker heads. The rifle fire continued, seeming to spread out in different direction as she heard Paul calling to Carl, "Watch your background. Don't hit Paige. Don't hit the truck's fuel tank."

Without hesitating, Paige hollered at the top of her lungs, "Don't hit Paige! Fuck the truck! Don't ... hit ... Paige!"

Ironically, it was Paige who nearly hit Carl as her coworker pulled open the driver's side door, commanding, "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

Paige snatched up a pair of fully loaded shotguns and slid out into Paul's arms before dropping to the pavement and agreeing, "Fuck yeah!" Later, she would realize that she'd used more profanity this night then she had over the course of a normal month. But right now, the only thing on her mind was getting back to Rick's without becoming a Walker.

They sprinted back toward the mall's southeast end, blasting creatures along the way. Although Rick's southern entrance had been Walker-free when the men had exited through it, there were more than a dozen of them in the general vicinity of the doors now. Paige's second shot gun expended its last round, so she slowed down to let the men with the rifles get ahead of her while she reloaded from the bandolier that had never left her body.

Suddenly, Paige was hit from behind, sending her forward to her hands and knees as the shotgun flew out before her. She rolled to her back to find a Walker moving in over the top of her. Screaming for Paul and Carl's help, she crawled backwards as fast as she could.

 

[HumanBean]

Peter Jacobs (with Kara Wilson with in the Family Resource Center, FRC)
Moments before the Walker hunting begins

OOC link for reference and profiles

"I always hated this tie," Kara teased as she loosened and then discarded it.

"Consider it gone," Peter responded. He actually liked it himself, but right now, he'd burn his entire wardrobe to continue watching Kara remove her clothes.

They kissed as she worked on ridding Peter of his shirt. The feel of her hands on his flesh was wonderful. As she caressed his chest, Peter caressed her thighs. He didn't know which was more delightful, touching her or being touched by her.

Even more delightful to Peter, Kara reached back and unfastened her bra's latch. The garment sprung forth, causing Kara to giggle and blush.

Peter was simply in awe. Kara's breasts were the largest and most perfect that he had ever had displayed for his own pleasure. He would have expected the wonder bra's release to cause Kara's tits to drop dramatically. They didn't. They were firm and practically gravity defying, drooping only slightly. Amazing!

The bra slipped a bit more. Peter's delight increased yet again as he got the briefest of glimpses at her large, pert nipples--

Then BOOM!

Peter flinched as Kara had. But he'd known immediately what the sound was: a shotgun. Peter had grown up around guns. He himself want a hunter, but his older relatives had been.

"It's okay, Kara," Peter promised. He snatched up her shirt, handing it to her as he reassured her, "It's just Carl. They're trying to clear those things so that they can close that door."

It destroyed him to see Kara dressing again before they'd finally consummated their 6 year long infatuation. But she was frightened. Peter didn't want that. This would wait. Hopefully.

The gunfire was continuing out at the mall entrance. One of the children began crying in the next room.

Peter was conflicted. He wanted to see what was happening outside. But he needed to be with the children. And with Kara.

He followed her to the backroom. Despite everything happening around them, Peter couldn't get his mind off how close he'd been to his oldest, most treasured fantasy.

(OOC: On the map, the arrow near Suite 335 is the door where the gunshots are being fired.)

 

[HumanBean]

Paul Granger and Carl Henry (with Paige with in the parking lot south of Rick's Outdoors and Sports)

The three of them battled their way back to Rick's, taking down at least another 20 Walkers between them. The guys took point with the semiautomatic rifles while Paige reloaded her shotgun.

Suddenly, she was on the ground, screaming. Paul hurried back to Paige, firing at, then slamming the butt of his rifle into heads.

Bodily fluids splashed out on him, soaking his clothes and face. Immediately, Paul thought contamination, infection, fuck I'm gonna turn into one of those things!

He continued killing Walkers until Paige was again on her feet. Paul commanded Carl, "Get her inside!"

Carl grabbed at Paige. He pulled her toward Rick's. "Let's go! Hurry!" He dropped his rifle, informing her, "I'm out!"

They ran, with Paul providing cover. The gate lock was latched in a way that looked secure and required a living brain to open. They threw it and the door behind it open.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC: Using HB's sensible tactic: this reply continues from here.)

OOC link (I like this, too, HB.)

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Abigail "Abby" Reed, with Jerad Taylor at Dollarama.

(OOC: This takes place at 3am, long after the Walker battle near Rick's.)

""You didn't have to come out here, Abby," Jared whispered after they'd sat there in silence for a while.

"I know," she whispered back. Abby met Jared's gaze, smiling. "I wanted to."

Another long moment passed. They could still hear Walkers, but they had moved away from Dollarama for now.

"I'm sorry that you have to be in here like this," Jared went on. "However. Well. I'm glad you're hear with me."

Again, Abby responded, "I know." Jared was contemplating reaching out for Abby's hand, but she beat him to it, reaching it her hand and interlacing her fingers with his. She smiled, asking, "Is this alright?"

Abby listened to his answer; she would have bet big money at long odds that he'd be perfectly fine with holding her hand. She sat up taller in her beach chair, turning more toward Jared. She just smiled for a long moment, then confessed, "I've never kissed a boy before."

Her smile widened, and her fingers gripped tighter as she hoped that Jared would take the hint.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

Paige Greer with Paul Granger and Carl Henry at Rick's Outdoors and Sports

Paige manipulated the unsecured lock on Rick's southside gate, threw it open, pulled open the also unlocked glass door, and ran inside, calling back, "Get the fuck in here!"

The two men finished what killing of Walkers they felt was necessary, then flew in behind her, securing the gate and door. They looked at each other a moment, the only sound that of their heavy breathing and weapons falling to the tile. Then, Paige began laughing hysterically. She didn't know what the others' reactions would be, but she didn't care; she needed the relief of this laugh.

"It's secure?" she asked Paul, gesturing toward the door and gate. He confirmed it, and she asked, "And the storeroom door?" Again, confirmation. She looked to Carl, studied him a moment, then held out her hand with curled fingers for a fist bump. "You really did it to it out there, Chief. Thanks for the rescue."

Paul was as much her savior as the Security Supervisor was, of course, but Paige had a different plan for thanking him. She asked Carl, "You probably have security things to deal with, don't you...? 'Cause ... I'm taking Paul here to the Employee Locker Room where we're going to shower together and fuck ... 'cause ... right now I desperately need to get laid."

She looked between the two men as casually as if she'd asked Paul what he wanted from a fastfood joint and Carl to go pick it up. She then turned away toward the indicated room in a far corner. As she walked, she shed her jacket, then her blouse, then her bra, dropping each to the floor; they were all dirty with blood, even the undergarment, but Paige knew that she could find brand new bras and boy shorts in the Women's Sports Fashion Department later.

Over her shoulder Paige called, "You coming...? Or do I have to take care of this myself?"

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

Kara Wilson with Peter Jacobs in the Family Resource Center, FRC
Moments after the Walker hunting began.

(Continued from #56. OOC link for reference and profiles)

Kara had never felt so vulnerable in her life as she sat there in the low illumination of a minimum of overhead lights, naked with the exception of her socks, and listening to what was progressively sounding more and more like a war less than 100 feet away past just two sets of doors.

"It's okay, Kara," Peter promised her as he handed her shirt, presumably to don it again. He did his best to reassure her, saying, "It's just Carl. They're trying to clear those things so that they can close that door."

Kara tried to get her bra back into position before donning her shirt again, but all she did was get tangled in the straps. For reasons that would make her laugh later, she stood and quickly turned her back to Peter, shedding the bra entirely, and pulling the thin, form-fitting, spaghetti strapped blouse back on. She snatched up her pants and was about to don them, too, when she heard one of the children crying beyond the closed door of the back room.

"Oh my God!" Kara cried out, running for the door, still half undressed. She threw the door open, found the child crying but still safe, then paused to don her pants. Looking to Peter, she asked with desperation, "What's happening? What's going on out there? Are we safe?"

(OOC: On the map, the arrow near Suite 335 is the door where the gunshots are being fired.)

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC link)

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Jared Taylor (with Abigail "Abby" Reed at Dollarama):

(OOC: After 3am, long after the Walker battle near Rick's.)

"Is this alright?" Abby asked when she took Jared's hand in her own.

She interlaced the fingers. Jared had always seen that as so much more intimate than simply holding hands. He returned her smile. "Very."

She repositioned herself to face Jared more directly. She told him, "I've never kissed a boy before."

Jared's lips spread in a wide smile. He simply didn't believe Abby. Oh, he wasn't thinking Liar, Liar! It simply seemed unbelievable that a young beauty so incredible as she could have reached 19 years of age and never pressed her lips to another. (He didn't know or even imagine that she'd learned kissing from a female relative, of course. Some girls did do that. But not his innocent Abigail Greer.)

But Jared's smile widened for another more important reason. Abby was obviously presenting herself for her first kiss with him! He studied her a moment. He feared that she was going to suddenly laugh and say Kidding! I kiss boys all the time!

When she didn't, though, Jared shifted in his own chair as Abby had done before him, leaned in close to her, paused, then pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He held the intimacy right there for a moment before slowly turning it into a French kiss that would increase in passion based on what he felt from Abby.

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC link)

.................................​

Peter Jacobs (with Kara Wilson in the Family Resource Center, FRC)
Moments after the Walker hunting began.

Peter watched Kara attempt to put her impressive boobs back into her bra and fail. He would have laughed if it had been the time for such humor. And if he'd never wanted to see her delicious bosom ever again.

She turned her back, shed the bra, and put her shirt back on. Then, it was off to the door to the other room as Kara asked with desperation, "What's happening? What's going on out there? Are we safe?"

"I don't know, Kara," was all Peter had to offer. He watched as she continued to don clothes she'd shed for his pleasure. He was torn, but right now he had to get past that. He told her, "Go in there. Be with the children. You're all safe back here, I promise. I'll go check and see what's happening."

Kara obviously didn't want Peter to take a risk. He reassured her, "I'll be safe. I'm just going to check the promenade and see what's going on."

Peter urged her into the room, closing the door behind her. Through it, he ordered, "Lock it, Kara!"

The lock clicked. Peter hurried up to the front of the Family Resource Center. He pulled up a corner of the paper they'd blocked the windows with. Peeking all about, he saw no Walkers. He moved to another window in the north wall of the FRC, then to two in the east wall. Still, no Walkers.

The gunfire was continuing, but it was much farther away by now. It didn't sound like it was close to the nearest mall access door at all. He moved to the door in the FRC's southeast corner. It was an emergency exit only, and because of that, it didn't have a window in it like the main doors. He pressed his ear to the back of the door, listening. He heard no growling.

That means no Walkers, right? he thought to himself. They got them all. That why the shooting's clear out in the parking lot.

The emergency alarm could be silenced with a code pressed into a nearby panel. It was a new feature that had been installed in case there was an angry parent or spouse or, much worse, an active shooter who was out front of the FRC or even inside. Peter punched in the code and saw the deactivated warning come up on the panel.

Peter pushed the door open just a quarter inch. He looked out into the hall, seeing nothing at all. No people corpses. No Walkers. he pushed it open a bit more and stuck his head out until he could see one of the two mall exit doors. There were bodies on the floor, bloodied and contorted. They'd obviously been partially eaten upon. Peter's stomach threatened to unload all over him and the floor.

He stepped out a bit farther for a view of the rest of the double door mall entrance. He'd made a mistake. He didn't have time to realize it though. He hadn't checked behind the door he was stepping out of. Suddenly, a Walker was all over him, growling as it grabbed his body and sunk its teeth into his neck.

Peter screamed in pain and panic as he struggled to get away. But the Walker had a tight hold of him. And within a minute, his mind became disoriented from the lacking blood flow. He collapsed to the ground. Over the next few hours, his body would feed a dozen different Walkers as they made their way up and down the hall.

(OOC: On the map, Peter got killed just outside the southeast corner of the FRC.)

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC thread.)

......................................

Paul Granger and Carl Henry (with Paige Greer at Rick's Outdoors and Sports)

Once they'd all gotten an opportunity to laugh off the madness and mayhem, Paige asked Carl, "You probably have security things to deal with, don't you...?"

"Well, I, um--" was all the farther he got.

Paige continued, "'Cause ... I'm taking Paul here to the Employee Locker Room where we're going to shower together and fuck ... 'cause ... right now I desperately need to get laid."

Both men stared at Paige in shock for different reasons. For Carl, it was simply surprise. They'd just spent the last 20 minutes or so running around in the dark of the Gateway Mall parking lot, killing dozens of Walkers and nearly getting themselves killed in the process. And Paige's first thought upon reaching safety was to put Paul's cock inside her?

For Paul, it was total disbelief. Not that Paige would want sex after such an ordeal. The two of them often talked with one another like drunken sailors. They'd often shared their lewd stories with each other, knowing that the other wouldn't shame them for their sexual depravities.

Despite this openness, the two of them had never considered sex with one another. Oh, it wasn't as if Paul hadn't dreamed of fucking Paige. It was just that she'd made it clear when they first started working together than they'd never be together. It was a workplace etiquette sort of thing.

And now she was announcing not just to him but to Carl, too, that she wanted Paul to fuck her? The two men looked at each other as Paige strode off, stripping away her bloodied clothing. Carl was the first to speak. "I didn't think you two were, you know."

"We aren't!" Carl responded. Then he corrected, "We haven't, I mean."

"You coming...?" Paige hollered from across the sales floor. "Or do I have to take care of this myself?"

They both looked at Paige, now half naked. Then they looked at each other again. Paul smiled, asking with a tone emphasizing the double entendre, "Well? Are you cumming?"

Paul laughed. He nearly turned and sprinted after Paige. But first, he offered out a hand to Carl. "Thank you, Chief. You did a great thing here tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow, we're going to find a lot of people out there still alive because you made the mall safer for them."

"Hopeful," Carl responded, taking the offered hand. He unslung the bandolier that carried magazines for the rifle he'd used, offering it to Paul. When Paul told him to keep it and the rifle, Carl said, "I'd rather have a pistol, semiautomatic with several clips, and maybe a shotgun and bandolier."

"Take anything you want," Paul said. Looking off toward the opening to the back hall and the locker rooms, he said with a devilish smirk, "I, um, I have to go wash Paige's back."

They bumped fists before Paul hurried away. Carl let the man disappear into the hall, then headed for the sporting department. He found a large bag in the baseball section to carry guns. Then, he spotted the golf section. He selected out a golf bag, then found a gym bag.

Carl took them to the firearms counter. He filled the golf bag with shotguns and one AR-15 style rifle. He filled the pockets with boxes of ammo. The basketball bag he used for pistols and ammo.

When he finished, he was loaded down almost too heavy to ascend the ladder in the storeroom. Carl managed, though, and a few minutes later he was back in Security, safe and sound. The monitors still showed Walkers scattered all about the mall. There was a body outside the Family Resource Center's emergency exit. Carl hadn't noticed it before. But then, he wasn't counting and recording every corpse.

It was almost midnight. He considered reporting the closed exterior door for everyone's relief. Instead, he just sat in his chair watching the monitors until he fell asleep there. Later in the morning, he'd move to the couch and roll up in a blanket.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(Continues from here. OOC link)

.................................​

Abigail "Abby" Reed, with Jared Taylor at Dollarama:

(OOC: After 3am, long after the Walker battle near Rick's.)

Jared shifted in his chair to better face Abby, just as she had a moment earlier, leaned in slowly, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and gentle, and Abby mirrored it exactly. Their lips separated a moment, then -- after she wetted hers slightly with her tongue -- met in a kiss that was open just enough to make Abby think of erotic things; a chill ran up her spine, causing her to giggle.

"Sorry," she whispered. "It's just ... I've ... I've been wanting to kiss you since the day I met you ... when I was a sophomore."

They reminisced in whispers a moment between more kisses; each was more passionate than the previous one, and along the way without her really realizing it, Abby had moved one hand to Jared's face and there other to his side, instinctively wanting to hold him close to her.

An unexpected Walker growl near but out of view startled Abby enough to interrupt the makeout session. She listened a moment, her skin crawling. Then, she urged Jared's arm around her while she wrapped hers around his torso.

"Hold me, please," she whispered. Abby loved the feel of Jared close to her, telling him, "I feel safe here with you. Will you protect me?"

They would hold each other, sometimes kissing, sometimes just looking at one another. Abby was exhausted, the four or five hours of sleep before waking for Jared's watch not enough for her. But the less-than-comfortable beach chairs and excitment from kissing him helped to keep her awake as she and Jared chatted about school, family, jobs, and -- of course -- Walkers.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC thread.)

......................................

Paige Greer, with Paul Granger at Rick's Outdoors and Sports
Not quite 4am

Paige had shed her bloodied jacket, blouse, and bra on the way toward the back hall but waited until she was in the Employee's Locker Room to remove what remained. She couldn't believe the amount of blood, now drying into her jeans and boots. If she hadn't been a hunter, she probably would have puked.

Naked, Paige slipped into her plastic shower shoes and padded her way into one of the two shower stalls. She was working on getting the blood -- and brain matter? -- out of her hair when Paul finally arrived. She cracked the door open plenty far enough for him to get an ample view of her womanly features. Paige wasn't a petite little thing like Abigail Reed down at very distant Dollarama; nor an overly buxom beauty like Kara Wilson in the much nearer Family Resource Center. She was what her similarly sculpted mother liked to call a real outdoors kind of woman: her 36B-26-34, 140-pound figure was fit and strong from a life of exercise, work, and sports, with just enough of a layer of winter comfort to hide the musculature beneath and keep her warmer than many women on cold mornings in the duck blind or slowly stalking along a deer trail.

She liked the way she looked, as did most of the men who'd seen her naked in the past. Paige wasn't naturally auburn-haired, of course, and because the carpet wouldn't have matched the drapes, the carpet had been fully eliminated via a very painful hot wax session at another of the mall's businesses.

Paige smiled to Paul as he took in the view, then -- ignorant of the fact that he himself had made the same lewd comment to Carl a minute earlier -- said, "I need you to wash my back, please."

Then, facing him with a devilish smirk and the shower door still wide open, she caressed the bar of soap in her hands over a firm breast while the fingers of the other hand slid downward over her belly, stopping just short of her pussy to wander about her skin there.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC link)

.................................​

Kara Wilson in the Family Resource Center, FRC; ; Peter Jacobs is in a nearby hallway, being eaten by Walkers.
Moments after the Walker hunting began, so before midnight.

Kara heard Peter's scream from 40 feet away and through a door and a wall; she wasn't immediately sure that it was, of course, him, but she would come to realize it once he hadn't returned to the FRC, to her, and to the children for whom he'd been providing daycare and, later, protection from a new, very harsh world of significant danger.

She'd managed to get the crying child back to sleep and comforted another stirring one enough to prevent her from becoming fully conscious again. Once all 8 children were once again unaware of their situation, Kara donned her boots again and moved to the backroom's door to listen with her ear pressed to it. She could hear nothing now, which should have been comforting but wasn't; she should have been hearing Peter knocking softly and asking her to unlock and open the door again.

It took several minutes and a lot of bravery for Kara to finally unlock and crack the door open. She would spent another couple of minutes simply creeping around the FRC, looking for either Peter or danger. She peeked out through the paper covering the windows as Peter had, but unlike him, Kara found Walkers making their way past the suite, all of them in the direction of the doors that the Security Supervisor and someone else maybe were supposed to be getting closed and locked.

Even though she had no intentions of opening it as Peter had before her, Kara ended up at the door that led out into the south-north running hallway to the east of the FRC. She stood there with her ear to the door again, listening; she could hear a sound that reminded her of a nature movie she'd watched in which a series of different carnivores had taken their turns at a dead prey animal's body.

Kara didn't want to believe that that prey animal outside the door was the man that she loved. But after a long while of trembling down deep to the core as she wondered, she backed up a step to look around herself ... and found blood just beginning to leak under the door from the hallway. Kara slapped a hand over her mouth as she screamed, not wanting to scare or even awaken the children who were sleeping not far away. She backed away, then turned and ran for the other room. She went inside, dropping into a bean bag chair in one corner to sob for an untold amount of time until finally her emotions and exhaustion sent her into a deep sleep.

(OOC: On the map, Peter got killed just outside the southeast corner of the FRC. The room with the children is in the southwest corner of the FRC.)

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC thread.)

......................................

Paul Granger (with Paige Greer at Rick's Outdoors and Sports)
Not quite 4am

Paul's eyes widened with delightful surprise as the sight of a very naked Paige standing just beyond the opened shower stall door. Rivulets of water streamed down her body. They cut paths between and around her modest tits. Down farther, they parted at her thighs, one stream cutting a path between them over smooth, hairless flesh.

"I need you to wash my back, please," Paige said with a suggestive tone.

As he watched, she caressed her fingers and a bar of soap over her body erotically. Fingers approached her womanhood. Paul thought Paige was going to begin fingering herself right there while he enjoyed the show. When she stopped short, though, he jumped into action. His clothes came off quickly, with him dropping to a bench to shed his boots, jeans, and briefs. When he stood, his fully swollen 7-inch cock was pointing directly at Paige as if to call out You! We want you!

He padded into the shower stall, immediately pressing Paige to the wall to begin their love making session. They kissed, caressed, pawed at (aka groped), and probed one another for several minutes. Paul was absolutely beside himself. He'd wanted Paige for so very long. He'd only resisted until now because neither of them had wanted to either lose their job or be reassigned to another location. The nearest one was almost 80 miles away.

Paul eventually slipped a hand down between them. His fingers found Paige's swollen labia. They played there haphazardly a minute or so before he began a consistent effort to drive her to orgasm. He asked between passionate, erotic kisses, "Tell me what feels good. I want you to cum. Here. Now. Like this."

He would do what she wanted, hopefully causing her to explode. Once she had, if she did, only then would he whisper, "I want inside you."

It would occur to him, obviously, that he didn't have protection. He was clean, of course. He'd only recently had a health care checkup, during which they'd tested him for STDs. He was clean. Ironically, Paige knew that. In another one of their very open backroom conversations about their lives, he'd actually told her about the checkup.

His real concern was of getting Paige pregnant. Yes, again, they'd chatted casually about that recently, too. She'd confessed to not being on protection at the moment. Paul couldn't recall what the reason for her getting off it was. But the important fact was that, as far as he knew, cumming inside Paige right now just might lead to him becoming a daddy.

"I don't have condoms," he said, apologizing, "I'm sorry. I, I wasn't exactly expecting this to happen."

 

[HumanBean]

(Continues from here. OOC link)

.................................​

Jared Taylor (with Abigail "Abby" Reed at Dollarama):

(OOC: About 4:30am, long after the Walker battle near Rick's.)

Jared turned his head a bit, trying to look into Abby's face. She'd rested her head on his shoulder a while ago and subsequently fallen asleep. He understood, of course. It had been a long day. They'd seen the beginnings of the apocalypse. And her sleep of only a couple hours had been interrupted.

The only reason Jared was still awake was the NoDoze. He'd taken a package from the locked case earlier during inventory. He'd downed two of them as soon as his alarm woke him at 3 o'clock. Add to that that he'd swallowed them down with a Red Bull. He wasn't going to sleep any time soon.

(OOC: I'm not going to continue for them until the rest of the characters catch up or unless Abby makes another post.)

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC link)

.................................​

Jefferson "Jay" Johnson (with Kimberly "Kimmie" O'Connor in Dollarama)

Just after 3am:

Jay had turned over the watch to Jared. He returned quietly to the Dollarama's backroom, not wanting to wake the others. He made his way to the bathroom, stripped off his shirt, and washed his upper body and face. He looked to the small shower stall and considered stripping down to use it. But the noise might awaken the others.

Back outside, the first thing he noticed was a voice-like sound from within the stacks of boxes. Now in his stocking feet and carrying his shoes, Jay wandered back to find the source: Kimmie. She was stirring about, murmuring. She seemed to be caught up in a nightmare. Not unexpected, Jay thought to himself.

She jerked, almost violently, slamming a knee into a stack of boxes. Jay panicked, fearing she'd bring the whole stack down on her. He set his shoes aside, stepped over another sleeping body, and crept back to Kimmie. Sitting close to her, Jay took her into his arms. He whispered to her, "It's okay. You're safe. You're safe."

As she calmed, Jay wrapped her multitude of thin beach blankets around her, then himself. Leaning into a stack of boxes, he watched over her until he, too, fell asleep.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC link)

Abigail "Abby" Reed with Jared Taylor, and Kimberly "Kimmie" O'Connor with Jefferson "Jay" Johnson at Dollarama:

About 4:30am:

Abby flinched awake for unknown reasons, likely a nightmare she had already dismissed once she opened her eyes and recalled her current situation. She was in Jared's arms, sort of half in her own beach chair and half in his. She blinked her eyes clear, looking into his face to find his eyes fully alive. How can you possibly be wide awake? she wondered, not knowing about the NoDoze he'd downed.

A shiver ran through her, leading her to whisper after giving him a soft kiss, "I'm cold. I'm going to go get us some blankets."

Abby understood that Jared was supposed to be on watch, which was likely hampered by too much comfort. But she'd been assured that the Walkers couldn't get in here, right? So why not have a blanket with which to keep warm?

She opened the backroom door slowly, lifting up on the handle as she did; one of the hinges had a squeal to it, but lifting on the handle as you opened it extinguished the sound. Once inside, Abby retrieved two of the little blankets with which she'd made her bed. She paused, looking over each of the others; Ronnie was lying down but was wide eyed, smiling to Abby, then winking her A-ok to the younger employee; Rose was very much passed out, wearing a sleeping mask and cheap sound-cancelling headset, blocking out the world; and back between the rows of stacked inventory boxes was Kimmie and Jay, both asleep with the latter's arms wrapped around the former.

That engagement was a surprise to Abby; as far as she knew, the pair hadn't known each other until tonight. But during moments of tragedy, strange couplings occurred. Of course, there might not be anything going on there except for Jay doing his best to comfort another distraught survivor of the apocalypse.

Abby looked to Ronnie, smiled and returned the wink, then gestured that she was going back out front again. Ronnie nodded her head against her pillow and closed her eyes. Returning to Jared, Abby didn't sit in her chair again but instead playfully kicked his feet farther apart, dropped a folded blanket between them, and sat down on them. The short-stature beach chair was perfectly sized for Abby to cuddle back in between Jared's parted thighs, and fluff out the other two blankets together as one to cover her entirety and Jared's lower half.

She took his hands into her, pulling them into her bosom, leaned her head to one side, and whispered, "It won't be long before they come to save us ... right?"

Abby wouldn't remember whether or not Jared responded. She almost immediately faded away into yet another deep sleep.

Back in the storage space, Kimmie jerked awake to a bad vision, immediately surveying her surroundings. She was surprised to find herself in Jay's arms and very nearly pulled away, challenging him. But her subconscious filled her in on him coming to her earlier, and the warmth and safety of his arms was instantly apparent ... and welcomed.

Kimmie looked down the gap between the stacks of boxes, finding the Dollarama Manager sitting up on her elbow to check on her; Ronnie's attempts to go to sleep after Abby's return to the front had been a failure, and Kimmie's sudden movement had alerted her. Kimmie smiled, waving casually to show her status as just fine. As Ronnie laid to her back, staring at the ceiling, Kimmie looked up into Jay's face, studying him a moment. He was a very handsome man, and even before feeling him wrapped around her as he was, she'd known that he was a well sculpted man. She could see herself getting naked with a man like this, whether before, during, or after the Walker rising.

For now, though, she simply pulled the blankets tighter over the pair of them and closed her eyes again.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC: Continues from here. OOC thread. BTW, HumanBean said in his last post for Paul and Paige that it was about 4am. It's not; it's only about midnight, I think. Not super important.)

......................................

Paige Greer with Paul Granger in the shower with at Rick's Outdoors and Sports
Midnight?

From the shower, as she erotically caressed her hands and the bar of soap over her nakedness, Paige watched with great interest as Paul stripped his clothing, the shedding of his briefs allowing his already fully stiffened 7-inch cock to flop out and point at her hungrily. A smile spread her lips as she stepped farther back into the shower, inviting him inside.

"Tell me what feels good," Paul told her after they'd caressed and groped for longer than Paige felt was necessary. She wanted Paul's cock inside her, thrusting hard, fast, and deep. He told her, "I want you to cum. Here. Now. Like this."

She very nearly turned away from him to thrust her backside out, demanding, Fuck me. But the feel of his fingers between her pussy lips and over her clit convinced Paige to be patient. She reached down, took his hand, and directed his fingers and she whispered, "Like this."

He worked her with amazing skill, like no one had in years, and just a couple of minutes into the manipulation of her clit, Paige cried out, "I'm cumming ... oh God, I'm ... I'm cumming!" She'd been holding onto the safety rails of the shower wall until now, but as she neared climax, Paige grasped Paul's upper arms, sinking her modest length nails into the flesh of his biceps and triceps.

Knowing she was there, Paige drew a deep breath, held it for a long moment, then released it in a loud gasp as she exploded. Waves of euphoria ran madly through her, causing her to lose her connection to reality; her mind swam in deep, dark, pleasurable waters, while control of her body was lost, with Paul hopefully catching her if she began collapsing to the floor

When she regained her senses, Paige found herself in Paul's arms, held tightly to him. She looked into his eyes, smiling as she whispered, "That ... was ... great. My god ... if I'd known you could have done that to me, I wouldn't have waited so long to invite you back here."

They kissed and caressed, then Paul said, "I want inside you."

"I want that, too," Paige said, immediately turning her back to him and grasping the safety rails again as she said, "I like it from behind."

"I don't have condoms," he apologized, "I'm sorry. I, I wasn't exactly expecting this to happen."

"It's okay," Paige said as she leaned forward and reached a hand back between her thighs to grasp his erection. She directed him to her warm, wet hole, telling him, "We're okay. Trust me."

Paige understood that Paul's concern was getting her pregnant. However, right now, her only concern was getting the two of them off. She needed him so badly; she'd take the chance that one of his swimmers reached its destination to have him pummeling her pussy with that impressive cock of his.

She felt him at her opening and pushed back, trying to force him inside her. It worked; she grunted at the mix of pain and pleasure as half of his length intruded upon her tightness in one movement. Arching her back and looking up toward the locker room's ceiling, she demanded, "All the way, now! I want you inside me, all the way. Come inside me, Paul."

They would set to fucking the way she'd wanted -- hard, fast, and deep -- until Paul had emptied his balls inside of her, and Paige had once again cried out in orgasm at the way the bulbous end of his cock caressed her G-spot, the access to it made possible by this particular position.

Paige looked back over her shoulder as her heart pounded wildly, saying suggestively, "If you're not done..."

If Paul wanted to continue, she would turn to face him, wrap her legs around his waist, and support her weight on the safety rails while he continued fucking her. It wouldn't make her cum again, she was certain, but she wanted to watch Paul as he again filled her with his jizz.

Once they'd finally given up on their shower, they'd dry off and wander barefooted out into the store to search for and don new clothes; Rick's had a wide enough collection of outdoor clothing that they'd be able to find everything from undergarments to their choices of outerwear.

And, of course, there was everything they needed for a good night's sleep. They'd select a two-person sleeping bag and laid it atop one of the industry's best sleeping pads inside a demo tent in the camping section. Battery operated lamps and more gave them all the necessities and luxuries they could want, including hot food over a Coleman brand stove, their first real food since before the sun went down six or seven hours ago.

They curled up together and, in their post-coitus level of energy depletion, were asleep in no time at all.

(OOC: Okay, I think I'm ready for morning posts.)

 

[HumanBean]

(OOC Okay, I'll jump to the morning when I get done with my family time, which is starting in a few minutes.)
OOC thread.

......................................

Paul Granger (with Paige Greer in the shower with at Rick's Outdoors and Sports
Midnight, yes.

Watching Paige climax was beautiful. He'd always loved a woman's climax. Cumming inside her was just as incredible, of course. Paul had fantasized about fucking Paige for a long time. Hiis cock leapt, spilling his seed inside her. He slumped over her back, his hands pressed to the shower walls as he moaned.

He would have been satisfied with just that. But Paige wasn't done with him. She thrusted her ass back at him, urging him to continue. And he did. Paul was knowledgeable of G-spots and the pleasure they could lead to if properly stimulated. But he couldn't honestly say that he'd stimulated a woman's most sensitive area like he was Paige now. She was crying out so loud that she filled the locker room with her sounds of pleasure and, ultimately, ecstasy.

When she could, she told Paul, "If you're not done."

He wasn't. He could have quit here. But he wanted more of her. She turned, and they fucked facing one another until they'd each cum again. (Paige hadn't thought she could orgasm a third time. But Paul had managed to drive her to climax again.)

They held each other in the corner of the shower until the water began getting cold. They dried off and wandered about the store naked, gathering clothes. Paul reminded Paige, "The internal security cameras are still on. We'll have to erase the recording."

They dressed, prepped a bed, and were very soon asleep in each other's arms. Before he slipped away, Paul whispered, "This was a good day. A very good day."

 

[HumanBean]

OOC thread

Day 2: "Black Friday", 7am:

Carl Henry had been awake since 6am. He'd been exhausted from the previous night's Walker hunt. But he'd been unable to remain asleep more than maybe half an hour at a time. Like many others in Gateway Mall right now, he was suffering from nightmares.

He was relieved to wake up and find that they still had electrical power. He powered up the security monitors again, surveying the situation.

The exterior of the mall was fucked! He easily estimated the Walker population within view of the exterior cameras at almost 500. Those were just the ones in view. How many others were out of his view? Or beyond the mall property? Or in the city?

Carl shifted his attention to the interior cameras. He checked the ones looking down on the mall entrances, both patron and service. The indicator panel said that all of the doors were closed. But that hadn't been true for the door that he, Paul, and Paige had had to clear and close.

"Good morning, Gateway Mall," Carl finally began via the Public Address System. "I know it's early, but it's time to get back to work."

He updated the mall's occupants on last night's mission, giving a big pat on the back to Paul and Paige from Rick's. He paused a moment, remembering Paige stripping. He couldn't help but wish that it had been him going off to wash her back and fuck her pussy.

"We have some more important tasks to complete this morning," Carl continued. He spoke about how they were on their own for now and likely for quite some time. "If you have access to television or radio or the internet, you've seen that the Walkers have overwhelmed emergency services. I think we need to plan on caring for ourselves for now.

"First, let's talk about security," Carl continued. He spoke about not opening doors unless absolutely necessary, as well as other safety issues. "Security can also be looked at as shelter, and shelter is one of the four needs in a survival situation. The other three are food, water, and fire ... or at least heat."

He spent a couple of minutes speaking about how all four of those elements were available inside the mall. He spoke of the Food Court and stores that sold food and water. He spoke of camp stoves and other heat producing devices, saying, "I'm sure that the crew over at Rick's will make sure we can cook our food and keep our spaces warm."

To be honest, Carl wasn't sure of that at all. He hadn't spoken to either Paul or Paige about them providing such things. But after what they'd done last night, Carl couldn't imagine that they'd hold out on the others.

"But our biggest priority remains discovering who exactly is still inside the mall and whether or not they are safe," Carl stressed. He then recalled an important topic that had to be driving some parents crazy with fear. "And I want the parents of the children who are being looked after in the Family Resource Center to know that last night I spoke with the staff there, and your children are safe and secure. Peter and Kara have tucked your children away in a very safe portion of the FRC. These Walkers won't get to them. I promise."

What Carl couldn't yet know was that Peter himself had been killed last night by walkers during but totally unrelated to the Rick's parking lot shootout. He wouldn't find out about that tragic death until later today.

"As I told you yesterday," Carl went on, "there is a network of passageways on the 2nd and 3rd floors that were originally part of the construction process and since then have been used for maintenance, sprinkler installation, and more. Today, I am going to follow those passageways to each and every suite in the mall. I'm going to tap on your ceiling three times, then twice, then once. When you hear that, you need to call up to me to let me know that you are there.

"As with yesterday also," he said, "if you are unable to use sound, if there are Walkers that might be attracted to you, if you can, I need you to hang a flag or cloth or sign of some type out your suite's gate. If you can't do that, put a sign up in a window that faces out. Or use a flashlight or laser pointer or mirror to signal the nearest camera.

"I promise you," Carl said with a sincere tone, "We are going to get to you, and we are going to help you. The first thing I'm going to do this morning is put together teams of people to search the mall for survivors. You can help by letting us know that you are alive. Then, my security teams will come to you."

He paused for a moment, looking for things he'd missed. Then, he finished with, "Paige and Paul in Rick's. This message is for you. I'm heading your way first."

Carl didn't actually say that he wanted them to head the new security teams. But he knew that they'd see that request coming.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

OOC thread

Kara Wilson in the Family Resource Center
Day 2: "Black Friday", 7am:

Kara had never been so exhausted in her life when Carl Henry began speaking over the PA system again. Still in the backroom of the FRC, the 20-year-old former jewelry-sales-associate-turned-reluctant-daycare-provider wouldn't have even realized that it was morning if the Security Supervisor hadn't announced it; the backroom had no windows to let in the light, and the only clock in the room -- a little battery-operated device that had once sat on the Intern's desk -- had been smashed against the wall by one of the 6-year-old twin boys. And she couldn't use the clock on her cell phone because she'd left it out in the other room after discovering Peter's blood oozing under the FRC's back door and then fleeing to the backroom again.

Further throwing off her concept of time was that Kara was up most of the night tending to the needs of one child after another. The 14-month-old awoke three different times: once she was wet, once she was hungry, and once ... oh, who the hell knew what that one was all about, only that it led to crying that awoke two other children who wouldn't shut up about where their parents were.

Other children awoke at various times, always just after Kara had gotten the last animated child back to sleep. She doubted very much that she'd closed her eyes for more than 15 minutes at a time throughout the entire night. Add to that Peter's death, and Kara was about to open all the doors to the Center and beg the Walkers to eat her at least and, if they wished, as many of the children as they liked.

"Good morning, Gateway Mall," Carl said, bringing Kara's mind somewhat close to the reality of time. "I know it's early, but it's time to get back to work."

Kara tended to continuing needs of the children as she listened to Carl. His mentioning of the heroics of Rick's Paul and Paige only reminded her of Peter's disappearance and presumed death. She began crying for the umpteenth time, leading some of the more sympathetic children to come to her rescue with hugs and offerings of their favorite toys.

Carl continued talking about what the morning held for the survivors, but it was his call to his fellow Walker hunters that got her attention. "Paige and Paul in Rick's. This message is for you. I'm heading your way first."

Kara remembered that Carl's trek to Rick's had taken him over the top of the FRC the night before. Hurriedly, she put an animated movie on the television, then equipped all of the children save the youngest of them with Bluetooth headphones that each of them was already familiar with from the day before. It took some doing, including some haggling over treats, to get all of the seven older kids to accept the headsets.

Then, standing a 4-foot step stool atop a desk near to the vent through which the Security Supervisor had spoken to her and Peter the day before, Kara got her head to within a foot of the ceiling and waited. It didn't take long for her to hear approaching footsteps, at which she called out, "Carl...! Carl...! Stop! Don't pass by! I need to speak with you. It's Kara from the Family Resource Center. Can you hear me? Carl!"

Kara's mother had taught her that persistence was a power, and just as the footsteps had reached their loudest, they stopped and Carl responded to her. She nearly burst out in tears again, then quickly explained her situation: Peter was missing and presumed dead; she was all alone in taking care of the children; she'd fed them the last fresh food that had been stocked for the previous day's daycare; she hadn't slept since sunrise the day before; and if she didn't get some sort of help ASAP, she was going to run out of the FRC and down the promenade in the hopes that a Walker bit through her neck and killed her before she had time to feel the pain.

 

[MarieDavisRPs]

(OOC link)

Day 2, Black Friday, at Dollarama:


Abby awoke with a start at a crashing sound, only to become even more shaken when she found herself no longer laying back into Jared's parted thighs while he held her but instead lying on the floor on a makeshift mattress of several yoga mats. She sat up quickly, searching for both Jared and for dangers.

What she found was Ronnie standing in the window of the Dollarama using an oversized posterboard marking pen to write a message on the glass; backwards and in huge letters such that they could be seen by Carl via the security cameras, the message read 6 people. We are safe. Have water food more to share. Will search mall. Come get us.