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Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)


Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

As the group headed for the bridge, Max responded to Bea's concerns. "Well, I have indeed thought about those issues, but we really don't have much choice. We can hold up here, with the monsters, and wait for the military to flatten us both, or we can try and leave. I suppose we could try and find a better source of supplies before we get out of here, but I'm not comfortable with just waiting here. It isn't safe." Max was open to the plan being changed slightly. He didn't seem all that confident about his own words. As for Frankie, he just kind of shrugged, content to let Max think for both of them. Slightly odd, considering his gung-ho attitude, but for the best probably.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Hm..." For a while Bea starts to trail behind as she thinks. The walk is going to be long and tiring, and the supplies they're all carrying would just make it that much harder. "This'd be easier if we had something better to carry our stuff in. Hey, either of you been out here? If we found a supermarket we could probably grab a cart and load up on stuff. If there's a Mega-Mart we may even find some more ammo." Even if those stores usually attracted the trashiest of white trash they had everything, a God-send in the apocalypse.


(Referring to the Walmart and Super Target types stores)
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The men stopped to think for a second. "We aren't from this neighborhood, but I can assume they'll be atleast one down in this upcomming suburb." Max didn't seem to sure, but it was sound logic. Most of these suburbs had their own shopping district.

The three reached the bridge and crossed it with no trouble. Everything was clear. These nicer houses seemed to have been looted, but the perps were long gone. However, the streets did curve a bit, making it hard to see to far ahead. At the first crossroad there was a pretty big accident, a wrecked police car. "Hey guys, I bet theres some cool stuff in there!" Frankie bounded for the car, but Max stayed back. "I'll stay on the lookout, you want to go help him look?"
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Sure. Frankie, wait up!" Bea immediately ran ahead to try and keep up with the excitable man. The looters may have gone through some houses, but wreckage tends to get overlooked, or at least she hoped so. Burning, twisted, pointy metal doesn't make for an appealing target. She took a moment to look up and down the connecting streets before diving right in. Her first target was the trunk. If it looked somewhat intact and unopened the first words would be "Frankie, pop the trunk!" Cops always hid the good stuff back there. If it didn't look like it would pop open then she always had her bat to fall back on, but that would cause a ruckus she didn't want to make. Maybe they could find a crowbar or something else they could use to pry it open.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The trunk wouldn't pop open, all the way that is. Bea could get it open a few inches, but the hinge was jammed. The bat was just a little too fat to fit in and help pry it open. The situation was made all the more frustrating by the fact that she could see something shiney inside the trunk, no doubt full of good loot.

After searching the car's interior, Frankie came up bust. He walked around back to help Bea. "Hey, I saw an open garage on that house of there, maybe you should go look for a tire iron or something. I'll see if I can get this open in the meantime." Frankie started trying to yank the trunk open, but wasn't strong enough, making for a comical sight.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Bea could see something, and she wanted it. Bad. Problem is the damn trunk was jammed. It opened just enough to catch a glimpse of something, and she couldn't manage to get the handle of her bat anywhere inside to use as leverage to pop that bastard open. She was going to need something thin and strong like that crowbar she though of earlier or the tire iron Frankie suggested.

After the man pointed out the house with the open garage he started to try and force the trunk open with pure brute strength. "All right, muscles, I'll be back." Before leaving she gave him a playful slap on his shoulder, and after taking a slight detour to let Max know where she was going she left to ransack the abandoned garage. As she approached her steps started becoming lighter and quieter, and she slowed while reversing her grip on her weapon and tucking it against the back of her arm. She carefully swept in front of the house, her attention sweeping the windows and rooftops of the nearby buildings to avoid getting pounced like last time. If everything looked good then she'd enter and start searching for some tool she could use. She'd make a mental note of anything else that could look useful, but for right now she wanted to get that trunk open.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Like many garages, this one had a tool cabinet. However, the drawers were out, as if it had been looted. One detail caught Bea's eye, however, a small note on a workbench next to it.

"Jerry, needed to borrow some tools.
Water heater broke. If you aren't
back before I am, just check me in the
basement. - Todd"​

As Bea looked up, she happened to glance what might have been the basement in question. Through the garage window she could see the neighbors had one of those outside cellar style basement doors, both sides propped open. Perhaps this "Todd" still had the tools down there.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Well, fat lot of good this has b-

Jerry, needed to borrow some tools.
Water heater broke. If you aren't
back before I am, just check me in the
basement. - Todd​

Bea wondered about that note, and the moment she started looking around she found an open set of doors people usually use on storm cellars. She left to take a look, and seeing that the doors did in fact lead to the basement she almost started walking down. Then she stopped. Normally people close doors when they're done with something. Maybe Todd was forgetful, maybe he simply rushed out of there when the apocalypse began, or maybe he was attacked before he could escape. Either way anything could have ran downstairs, and she didn't like the idea that there could be something waiting for her in that darkness.

But does she go back to get some back up? Not just yet. It would have been the smart thing to do, but that would waste time. Instead she stayed just out of sight if anything had been at the bottom looking up, and she simply listened. If anything was down there she should be able to hear it moving since she didn't exactly reveal her position, but then again it could just be a sneaky bastard. The thought of investigating alone wasn't sitting well with her, and after a good thirty seconds or so she decided to turn around and bring her muscle along in case this was an ambush.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Trying to listen for an enemy was out of the question, either way, as there was a faint, but persistant sound from the the pipes in the house. If something, friend or foe, was downstairs and being quite, the noise of the water would drown them out entirely. Bea couldn't see it in the darkness, but it also sounded like there was a thin layer of water on the floor as well. Getting help was the smart choice.

Back at the police car, Frankie was still banging away trying to get the trunk open and making quite alot of noise. Max looked like he had yelled at the man, but had given up hope for him to see reason. He looked happy to see Bea return. "Okay, lets go see what you found. Frankie, quit making so much noise and get over here." Hopefully nothing had heard the shorter man's attempts.

The three walked together to the doors and looked into the darkness. Max looked hesitant. "There might be something good down there, but I don't like the looks of it, even with three of us here." On the other hand, Frankie couldn't contain himself. "Are you kidding?!? That's a virtual gold mine in there I bet! Let me at it!" It seemed it was up to Bea to come up with a plan, once again.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Dammit, Frankie!" Bea quickly placed her hand over his mouth before he could finish what he was saying. "I know you're excited, but please keep the noise down!" Once he did finally settle himself she let go and took another cautious look down into the dark. "All right, if we're crossing the desert we need firepower. To get to it we need what's down there, so I'm going in." As she speaks she takes off her shoes and lays them down next to the doors. "The monsters are obviously behaving a little more differently around me, so I'm going in alone. Considering what's happened to the other people I've run into I want you guys to wait up here unless I scream for help. I do NOT want to be finding zombie versions of you two, got it?" Her bat is pointed directly at the two men, the end hovering just in front of one man then the other to drive home her point. She may have looked somewhat condescending, but there was a hint of something in her eyes that genuinely said she didn't want to see either of the men hurt. Not now, not ever.

With her somewhat indirect admission that she cared for the both of them over and done with Bea finally started heading for the basement. As she was going down she shot a hard look at the guys to remind them of what she said. Her eyes returned to the flooded basement, her bat tucked under her arm once again while her feet never fully touched the stairs. She simply stepped on the balls of her feet. Her heels were kept in the air to lessen the impact, a trick she picked up from those ninja movies she liked to watch. As she went deeper she'd proceed almost painfully slowly to let her eyes adjust and to cut down on any creaking the boards under her feet would make. If there happened to be a wall the stairs were attached to she'd hug it, but if there wasn't she'd make sure to stay on the right side to help distribute her weight and hopefully prevent any creaking. If she made it halfway down she would remember to pan her eyes around and make sure she snuck a look under the stairs if she could without drawing too much attention.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The basement was one of the nice ones. Not up the the standard of the rest of a normal house, but the wall were painted nice, the floor was nice, but not carpet thank goodness, that would have felt bad on Bea's feet. There were several rooms down, allowing Bea plenty of cover.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, Bea saw two obvious choices. She was currently in the utillity section, even fancy basements generally contained the water heater and whatnot, the exact things she was looking for. However, said objects were not in this room. Bea could see a small room down a hall to her right that might be what she was looking for. However, off to the left was a nicer den type area that might warrent searching as well, as well as stairs to the rest of the house. It might be nice just to check these areas for enemies first, as well.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Well, so far so good... Without any immediate threats leaping out at her Bea carefully made her away to the bottom, each step aimed to reduce the amount of splashing she'd cause in the slightly flooded floor. There were a couple places to investigate, the hopefully stocked utility room and the larger open area that looked like a den. The smaller room probably had the things she was looking for, but that would leave her cornered if something managed to sneak its way behind her. She needed to clear that other room, first.

With her goal in mind Bea snuck her way over to the open area to see if anything was waiting over there. Before she rounded the corner she would stop and listen while watching the water. She noticed that no matter how hard she tried to be quiet she still sent a few ripples gliding along the surface. If anything else was down here it should be doing the same unless it was standing dead still. Or maybe on the ceiling? She needed to remember to look up.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The room was clear, but as Bea got closer she began to hear noises. Footsteps from the first floor, no denying what they were. Something was off though, whoever it was was kind of shuffling about. Also, every once in awhile they were a "thud" sound, always from the same location about three feet away above her.

Whatever was making the noises was not aware of Bea. She could see light comming down the stairs to the first floor, the sounds kind of echoed from that way as well, but they were muffled too. Maybe she could get up the stairs and still be out of view of whatever was up there. Then again, maybe she could get what she needed down here without alerting it either.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Okay, nothing down stairs, but something up above me. Better not press my luck. Bea made her way to the utility closet and did her best to find something worthwhile to pry open that trunk. Whatever was walking around up there seemed to be focused on something, so she was safe for now. Most likely it was some zombie stuck inside a room since she could hear it shuffling around. The thud was most likely the zombie trying to walk through the door. No real threat. Once she had everything she could head outside and explain the situation to the guys. Then they could start peeking inside through the windows to see if they could find the problem.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

It was dark and hard to see in the small room. As such, Bea stepped on something sharp under the water. It wasn't bad, but she was now leaking a little bit of blood into the water. While frustrating, this was the first sign of the items she was looking for. Bea had stumbled over the tool hit, and what stepped on was a very large screwdriver. The kit was easy to fish out of the water, being a big box, but the prybar was missing.

A careful survery around the room and Bea found the bar wedged into the water heater. It was jammed in good, but she could remove it if she really tried. However, it was sure to make alot of noise, and probably would alert whatever was upstairs.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Ow! FFFUCK! Stepping on something sharp was one thing, but stifling the pain and preventing yourself from rushing back was another. Bea managed this by mentally screaming her frustration, and once she had more control over herself she fished out the offending little bastard that cut her foot. A screwdriver? Wait a sec... A quick search led to her discovery of the tool box, and that in and of itself could prove very useful down the line, but after a bit more searching she found what she was looking for, the missing prybar. Apparently fixing the heater meant jamming the thing into it. Todd sounded like an idiot.

With her target unable to be pried loose without alerting what was upstairs Bea left it be for now and made her way back to her comrades. She brought the tool kit with her and dropped it on the ground next to her dry shoes. "Okay, I found what we need, but it's stuck in a water heater. There's something upstairs shuffling around, and getting the bar will make too much noise. I don't think it's anything big, so I say we just go in and bust the monster's chops." Frankie would probably love this plan. With their target set Bea started down those stairs again, this time a little faster. "Oh yeah, forgot to say I cut my foot on a screwdriver. If this thing can smell then it probably knows I'm already here, so get ready for anything. If not we're gonna sneak and catch it before it knows what hit it."
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

The men seemed to agree, and Max looked willing to let the more agressive people handle the majority of the work, though he had one comment. "Upstairs you say? Let's just go in the front door then."

They entered the house and got their bearings quickly. It seemed something was trapped in the pantry off the kitchen. Nearby were the stairs down into the basement, sheltered from the sight of the pantry as things had sounded. A moot point, though, with the doors being shut. Frankie was about to open said doors when Max, ever the voice of reason, chimed in again. "Hey, atleast wait untill everyone is ready! Let us get into a good position before you open the door." He suddenly stopped, and asked a question. "If that door's been holding it, why are we even opening it now guys, couldn't we just grab the stuff and run?"
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Just because one thing was trapped in there didn't mean there weren't more monsters anywhere else in the house, but you're right. If it can't get out then let's just leave it be. Here that, zombie? Today's your lucky day." Bea tapped her bat against the closed door to get the trapped creature's attention before she left to get that bar out of the water heater. After that she'd pass it on to Frankie then return upstairs to look for some kind of bandage or something to keep herself from bleeding with every step. She really didn't want another one of those Leaper fuckers following her around.
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

Alerting the zombie was a mistake. It let out a mighty roar. Max and Frankie freeze, one of them clamping down on Bea's should out of instinctual protection. The roar passes, as well as a good amount of time, the men are about to start moving again, when two roars echo from another room of the house. More zombies.... In a hushed whisper Max speaks. "Run or fight?"
 
Re: Everybody Needs a Hero (Termite)

"Why didn't we check the rest of the house..." Okay, two zombies walking around and one trapped right here. Anything else would have howled or screeched or chittered or whatevered by now. Two immediate threats, one possible threat. Zombies aren't all that strong, and three on two should make it really simple to deal with everything. "Let's just deal with these things so we don't have to keep looking over our backs." As she started heading towards where she heard the pair of howls a voice sounded in the back of her head. Aren't you starting to act a little too much like Frankie?
 
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