Darlene's Story

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Darlene West, known in the modeling world as Dare West, walked down the abandoned road. She twirled her metal headed pizza paddle in one hand, her runway stilettos clicking on the pavement. She was singing under her breath, though what the words were would be lost to anyone else. "We are young! Heart ache to heart ache we stand! No promises, no demands! Love is a battlefield." With a smile to herself, she skipped down the street a bit, her pleated skirt floating and showing off her hips. "We are strong! No one can tell us we're wrong! Searching our hearts for so looooong! Both of us knowing..." She stopped skipping, looking down at the street. A pair of small, leather gloves were sitting there. She picked them up and looked at the kids' gloves before pulling them on her hands. They were a little tight, but she would wear them in. "Love is a battlefield."

The area where Darlene was, certainly looked like a battlefield, and may have been at one time. There was craters where explosives had gone off, empty bullet casings and clips, any good ammunition had already been carted off by other survivors.

Reaching into her backpack, Dare pulled out her trench, stopping only long enough to take the bag off and put her coat on. She firmly reattached the straps over her shoulders, checking her gun, and picking up the pizza paddle again before she headed off. Dare wiped a hand across a dirty window, one of the few buildings still standing in this town. "You're making me go, you're begging me stay. Why do you hurt me so bad?" She peered through the window, seeing some old cans of food on the shelving units. The people around here were in a hurry. Canned food lasted forever. Or at least longer than other food. Pulling out her headlamp, Dare fastened it over her hair before checking the door. It was unlocked and broken. Great. "It would help me to know, do I stand in your way....Or am I the best thing you've had?" She held her pizza paddle tightly and made her way swiftly to the shelf, grabbing as many cans as she could and shoving them into her bag, which was still on her back and mostly zipped.

As she stuffed the food into her bag, there was the faint sound of movement from the back.

Dare looked up, grabbing one last can. Five in all, it was a good lot of food. It would keep her going for at least another week. Gripping the handle of her paddle, she moved down the crooked aisle. There was so much more food. This place must have been hit quickly, the survivors didn't even grab the food. If there were any survivors. She came nearer the back, but common sense grabbed her at the last moment and she started backing away once more, moving towards the door while still checking behind her.

She was wise to start moving towards the door, about the time she started back a zombie came around a corner in front of her. It stopped as it spotted her, then raised a hand and let out a moan as it began to shuffle towards her.

"Crap," Dare said, watching the zombie. This was just the sort of situation she preferred to avoid. She wasn't exactly a great fighter. She was good at scrounging, but that was because of her days in the poorhouse with her family. These zombies, though, were something else entirely. With a deep breath, she moved quicker towards the door, keeping her paddle in between herself and the zombie.

She made it to the door well before the zombie got near enough to try and grab her. However, she could hear the moaning of other zombies outside the building, she just couldn't see them.

Darlene paused and looked skyward. "There goes the neighborhood," she mumbled to herself. She just wanted some food. And now it was turning into zombie central out there. Dare watched the the zombie come down the aisle and couldn't decide if she should take her chance to make a break for it or just tangle with this one and head out the back. But there might be more out there. Giving one more glance skyward, she took a deep breath and rushed out the door, her paddle ready to swing at the first thing that tried to stop her as she ran for her most recent vehicle parked at the edge of town.

The zombies weren't near her at the moment, but she could hear them getting closer as she ran. A few more blocks and she catches sight of her first few shamblers, three of them between her and the car.

Dare hadn't gotten employee of the month for a year straight because she was good looking. She had the number one pizza paddle skills in the place. Moving to the leftmost zombie, she swung, aiming for the head or neck. She needed to hit the left one so she could move around it and still keep her dominant hand facing it. That was a modeling move when dealing with annoying paparazzi. And zombies were equally annoying.

The struck zombie let out a sloppy wet, snapping sound as the paddle struck it's neck before dropping to the ground. The two remaining zombies were on her in an instant, trying to grab her and bite her. They were close enough that the smell of their rot was invading her nose, and she could make out bits of flesh stuck in their teeth.

Shifting so she was fully facing the creatures, Dare transferred the paddle to her left hand, using it as a shield. Her right hand quickly pulled her gun from its holster. It would be loud, would attract attention, but her car was only a little ways away, and she only needed to make it there. Hitting out once with her paddle, she pulled off two rounds of her precious ammunition, for only the third time in her life grateful that her agent had forced her to learn how to use a handgun when she first started in the big cities.

At this range, missing was impossible. The bullets found their mark and the zombies both dropped in a perfect dramatic fashion. True to their nature, however, the sound of the guns going off had roused the attention of a multitude of others. Their moans could be heard echoing around the abandoned city streets.

Dare took off. She had her gun and paddle still in hand, ready to use, but hopefully she wouldn't have to. In a place like this, she never bothered to lock her doors or even take the keys from the car. All she needed was to make it back to the car without another incident. She was like a sprinter in her heels, running with her toes, and that added another element to her run. She was the finest of athletes, able to stand the most exquisite pain, so this was nothing.

She was able to make it to her car without further incident.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Darlene tore open her door and shoved herself through it. She shut the door again, throwing her things into the passenger side, and turned the key. Once the car was moving, Dare allowed herself a chance to put her seat belt on. She was on the road once more, looking for civilized people. Dare blew through the small town, catching glimpses of movement every now and then. But it did not concern her. She just needed to make it to the next stop.

She was lucky enough to have made it out of town before the zombie horde descended upon her, she may not be so lucky next time. The road ahead of her was littered with similar objects of the battle that had occurred here and the frantic retreat that the survivors had after the loss, tanks and jeeps and things like that.

Ignoring the many things littering the street, Dare stomped on the gas. She was still headed west, and this was the best car she had found as of yet. It had gone pretty far on the single tank of gas. She could attempt to siphon some out of another car, but never having done that before, Dare wouldn't even know where to start. She was still at a half a tank, though. So no worries immediately. The open road was comforting, and Dare pulled a CD out of the visor disk holder. Thank the gods for old model cars and their old things.

Once she made it through the obstacle course that was the battle wreckage it was pretty clear driving with only the occasional abandoned/wrecked car or zombie sighting. The one good thing about zombies is they don't seem to be very numerous outside the cities and towns.

Dare drove at a decent speed, looking around as she did. She wanted to find someone who wasn't a zombie, but in these areas it was near impossible. Maybe she would find someone. The disc was playing song after song, and she kept her eyes peeled for movement that wasn't twitchy. She would probably make it to the next town before too long.

It seemed her wish had come true, up ahead she could make out the shapes of a few people rummaging through something. She wasn't close enough to see them clearly in her headlights nor were they aware of her approach.

Finally, real people. Dare could have jumped in joy, but she was currently engaged in driving her car. Not to seem like a fool, she slowed her approach until she could see the people more clearly. With the crazy people who inhabited the world alongside the zombies, sometimes normals could be just as dangerous.

As she neared, one of them turned and saw her. It was a woman and two men, who looked downright filthy and about half starved. They looked more nervous about her then she was of them. Slowly the moved around, what she could now see was a car, to put it between them and Darlene.

Dare saw what they looked like and immediately thought that they reminded her of wounded and scared animals. She slowed the car, keeping her doors locked, and pulled out three of the pop tab cans of food. Coming to a full stop, she unlocked only the driver's side door and opened it, stepping out only far enough so she could stand fully.

The woman and one of the men watched her for a few seconds before cautiously moved back around the car towards her. They were eying the food that she was holding in her hands.

"This might get you through the night," Darlene said quietly, trying not to startle the woman. Hopefully they weren't those type of raiders that killed you and took all your stuff. Dare leaned in between the car door and the body, setting the cans as far on the hood as she could reach so she would still have the door in between her and the people.

The two finally reached Darlene's car and the woman reached out and grabbed one of the cans and looked to see what it was while the guy just watched her. Then the woman gave a nod before grabbing all the cans. Suddenly the man kicked the car door as hard as he could hitting Darlene and smashing her between the door and the car.

Dare didn't even stop to think. Before she knew it, her instant reaction was tripped and the gun was in her hand. Since she was next to the open driver's side, only her legs got caught in the door as she fell into the driver's side, her gun in her hands and pointed at the man who had rushed the door through the window. "Back off!" she yelled, ignoring the shooting pains in her legs. She would have bruises, but that could be seen to later.

"I'd put that down little girly." The woman said, now holding a shotgun aimed at her through the windshield "Wouldn't want to do anything to damage that pretty little face, now would we.", The other man was moving up closer, holding a rifle at the ready, incase he had to use it.

"Go ahead and shoot me," Dare said her face turning quickly into a scowl. "It isn't as if I have anything more to loose. You would be doing me a favor, actually, since it's a sin to kill myself." She gave the man a quick smile. Her car was still running, and all she needed was for him to back off her legs a bit and she would hit the gas. Not that they knew that she could do something like that. Dare had her share of rivals, after all.

"Ah, now you don't mean that. You can't be having that much trouble, driving around in your little car." The guy who hit her with the door said as he pulled out a pistol from his the waist of his pants. "Now drop your gun and take a few steps away and we won't have to hurt you any."

"I don't mean it?" Dare asked, her face becoming insulted and incredulous. "Try me!" She pointed her gun straight at the man holding the car door. "If I pull this trigger, you're friends might kill me, and better for them, but you will still be dead." She narrowed her eyes angrily. "So try me!"

"Enough of this shit!" the woman said as she came around the car. She grabbed the door and swung it open before getting ready to hit Darlene with the butt of the shotgun she was holding.

Dare immediately squeezed the trigger of the gun as soon as the woman swung the door open. She was close enough, which meant the woman was too close. As soon as the shot was off, she pointed it at the man nearest her and pulled a second shot off. Two more rounds out of her gun.

The woman and man at the door dropped as the bullet ripped into them. The man by the other car with the rifle popped off a few rounds that put holes into the car, before hiding behind a car for cover.

Not bothering to check anything else, Dare shoved the woman aside and pulled herself into the car, not even bothering to buckle herself in before putting the car in gear and hitting the gas. She hoped that the man hadn't done too much damage to the car, otherwise this would be a very short trip.

As she drove past the man, he stood up and emptied his gun into Darlene's car.

The extra bullets caused her to duck and swerve, and Dare did her best not to wreck. She felt one of the bullets hit her in the thigh, and she screamed, immediately putting her hand down to stop the bleeding. Her foot landed harder on the gas, propelling her forward. She didn't want to stop until she was somewhere without gun toting maniacs trying to kill her. It was ridiculous. And now she needed to find a store with medical supplies. This day just kept getting better and better.

And it kept getting better, as she soon started hearing a clicking noise coming from the engine along with a few small wisps of smoke from a bullet hole or two. The car was still running ok but didn't sound like it was going to last forever.

Dare hit the gas and kept going. She would go until the car blew up or she passed out from blood loss, whichever came first.

As she crested a hill and rounded a corner, the lights of a city came into view. There wasn't much in the way of lights, or really much in the way of a city. It was, however, better then the middle of nowhere when your car is near breaking down.

She heard the engine stutter a few times before it finally broke down on the outskirts of the city. Dare knew that the scent of blood would attract the horde, so she scooted away from the broken window as best she could and locked the doors, her gun in her lap, waiting for help, the horde, or her own energy to spike a little, whichever came first.

Not much of anything happened while she waited there. A few sounds off in the distance, sounded like gunfire. A hungry animal came sniffing by, but left as there was no prospect of food.

Dare pulled out a bottle of water as she waited. Her energy was slowly flagging. She was loosing too much blood. Taking an extra shirt from the back, she tied it firmly around her leg and opened the door slowly. Dare had her gun in its holster and her paddle at the ready. She needed to find help.

There was nothing nearby that would indicate help that she could see. Her best bet would to be to move into the city more and try to find a store with some medical supplies first.

Searching around, Dare found something she could use as a sort of crutch, a board in some rubble. With that, she held her paddle in one hand and limped her way into the town, her eyes peeled for movement or a store with medical supplies of some sort.

She made it to what looked like a shopping district, but there were no pharmacies or anything like that in sight. What was insight was a large group of zombies coming out from an alley near a health and beauty store.

Dare hurried down an adjacent alley, hoping to not meet up with any zombies. She needed to get into that shop, find something to pull the bullet out of her leg and clean it up. Moving around the building next to it, Darlene peeked around the corner to see if there were any zombies milling about behind it as well.

What she wound up in was the unloading area of the health and beauty store which was currently vacant. Then a door caught her eye on the back of the building which looked like it had moved.

Dare readied her paddle and limped forward. She made her way as quickly and silently to the door as possible. Flattening herself against the wall, she pushed the door open quickly, ready to take out whatever zombie might be inside.

As she moved closer she found that she had stepped right into Aaron's Story.

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Level Five