Surviving: The End (IC)

[Azseth]

Teaser...

Derrik sat in the command center for the 3rd floor of this ward. He was a nervous wreck. He had ran out of cigarettes days ago, or weeks now, and he was craving one desperately. He watched the monitors, looking at the isolated individuals and wondering what to do. Everything was fucked, everything went to hell. He shut off the monitors from the other two levels days before, and then a few days after, he smashed them. He shouldn’t have but he couldn’t watch it. Some of those walking down there were his coworkers and one was his best friend. Him and Pablo had taken the better part of a week to block the stairs up. They secured the first door from one end and loaded it with everything they could find, including excess bed frames, old computer monitors, garbage and book shelves. Everything until the 15 foot hallway was filled. Then they closed the second door and wedged wood and metal in the jams. THEN they found a bag of cement and tried their best to get the mix in the jams, through to the other side and anywhere else they hoped it would stop something from getting in.

On rare occasion, he walked the hall and looked out the hallway at the end of the main passage. Most of the days, he moved close enough not to be able to see the ground, just out into the city and it almost looked normal. It wasn’t an overly large city, a few multilevel buildings and all. But sometimes, Derrik felt like it was another day at work, before all this. Before Shut Down.

He walked the hall now, room to room. The doors were made of Kevlic, a material that was see through from one side and not the other and made of a material a shade softer than kevlar. As he watched one of the subjects eat, he shuddered, thinking about how on one of the first days, he watched one of the infected beat itself to death on a door of the 2nd floor trying to get in. He also recalled the sheer panic on the face of the individual inside until the sound stopped.

Days after that, the keymen of the first 2 floors opened their doors and it was a blood bath. Derrik did not. He found himself back at the end of the hallway, a few feet from the window. He looked out a moment, then towards the doors to the left and right. He stared into the one on the right. It was where Pablo was now. He walked around the room slowly, as if asleep. Pablo stopped on occasion sometimes for a few minutes and just stood. He didn’t ever sleep, not since the night Derrik found him lying on the floor of the room, bleeding from both wrists and sobbing.

To this day, he wished he’d just put a spike through Pablo’s brain. He had married Pablo’s sister, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Note that ALL 3 FLOORS have the exact same layout, the only difference what the ORANGE area is used for, which differs by floor.


...Later...

Derrik stared at the computer monitors and drank. This bottle was supposed to be opened when he and Pablo were relieved of duty, but that change over was not going to happen. He was more than halfway through the bottle and suddenly he moved and started typing a into a computer.

“Elianna. I’m soryr for evrything. I came herre becusase I tought I’d be safe, and thy told me youd be safe. I thoht it was best and I shouldn’t hav left yo9u. I’m so sorrry. God Im sorryr.”

At this point he started to sob slightly and inhaled deeply to regain his composure, as if the monitor was judging him, or as if his wife could see him. He needed to be strong.

“I hope youi’re safe. I swer, ifI knwe thiat I woulnt see you agaain i would nevrr have takin this post. I just wanted us to mak the extras money and tehn come home and tak you to the virgin isalands like you said yu wanneted togo. I paray that you’r ok and that wheverver the gotvernmen took you, you are odk.

I lov ey ou so muhch, id’ give aneyning to just hold you. Wehnm this is all voer, we’l go to the islansd just like we said. I jus”

At this point, he just fell over, passed out drunk and leaning on the computers.

At the bottom of another screen, a large message was flashing.

90 day sanitation process auto-initiated…
Reminder: all doors will unlock for sanitation in:
0d:3h:28m:43s
To over ride auto unlock for 90 day sanitation, enter over ride code…

[Azseth]

90 day sanitation process auto-initiated…
Reminder: all doors will unlock for sanitation in:
0d:0h:1m:34s
To over ride auto unlock for 90 day sanitation, enter over ride code…

Derrik wasn't moving. The bottle he'd been drinking was now more than 3/4 done and there was another bottle of liquor on the floor. Not only had he drunk himself into a stupor, but it had lead to his death. His head was resting on the computer screen and barely half an inch below that was a puddle of vomit.

Alcohol poisoning, or vomit fumes (or possibly both) killed him. Possibly a heart attack. One thing for certain though. Derrik was dead. And maybe it was for the better.

As the countdown approached 30 seconds, a loud buzzer started to go off every 5 seconds, but none of the isolated individuals would hear this as the rooms were soundproof.

It is 4:30 in the morning on an October in Missouri and it is gray and gloomy outside. Were there any weathermen to predict the weather, they'd say that outside it was about 32 degree out with snow flurries occasional throughout the day.

When the timer his zero, at exactly 4:30, there was a continuous CLICK sound, one after another as the mainframe unlocked all the doors one after another.

Pablo was standing in the room he had been locked in, starting at the wall where a fluorescent light shined and asked an occasional question from the speaker below it. From his door, you would be able to see maybe his shoulder as he was in the corner. The light and sound combination had him transfixed since the day he rose in here as not much else really went on.

And so the day began.

Codenamed Southview Medical Record Facility.

Each floor is made up of 3 main areas:
1. Isolation rooms - the rooms where the individuals are isolated. They are rather nice rooms and most things an individual requested they would get. Doors are a hybrid of kevlar and bullet proof glass called kevlic. They are see through when you stand 2 or feet from them, but from further back, or from INSIDE, they look like a thick, non-transparent plastic.
2. Command centers - a room basically made up of small servers, monitors and computer stations. This is where those in charge could view everything going on in the facility. On the third floor, both the 1st and 2nd deck monitors and computer stations were destroyed by Derrik.
3. Each floor had a utility room. The first floor was an admin office for files and records. The second floor was a food and medical storage while the third floor's was an armory. Each floor's utility room is locked and requires a identification card followed by a 9 digit alphanumeric code. If there is one incorrect entry, it auto locks out for 3 hours.
Onthe second deck, there are only a handful of items left as many who fled tried to take them as the fled and died. While much of it is not in the facility, it may be in the rooms or hallway as victims dropped them when dying in the ensuing chaos.

In the armory, there are a handful of weapons. In terms of melee, there are (20) military survival knifes (compass on the bottom of the handle, magnesium strips and matches both to start fires inside the handle if you screw off the compass), a handful of (10) multipurpose hatchets and 2 tazers.
In terms of firearms, there are:
3 UMP9 assault rifles (9mm auto/single fire compact assault rifles. All have collapsible stock and red dot site with surefire light attachment)
4 9mm glock M19 (single fire, light composite/plastic handguns. All 4 have red dot undersight and mini sure fire attachment)
2 Benelli M4 enforcers (12 guage, automatic load shotguns. Collapsible stock, 9 shell capacity plus 1 in the chamber. Equipped with surefire light.)

There is then a hallway leading to the stairwell to the second deck, and the same going from 2nd to 1st. The entire hallway of the 3rd deck had the first door cemented, then barricaded with material. The second door was then also cemented and lightly barricaded.

The only windows are at the end of the hallway and the command center.

[Azseth]

(Jeremy Sumner)
Jeremy had just gotten out of the shower and was finishing getting dressed when he heard it. It wasn’t all that loud, but in a room where the only sound was the water dripping from the shower head, it was clear and distinct.

**CLICK**

He hadn’t heard it before which made it all the more curious. He finished putting on his boots and made his way to the mainroom. The rooms weren’t all together lavish (they had beds, lights, computers, requested work out equipment and other amenities) but they certainly weren’t barracks rooms.

His mind raced as he looked at the door and asked aloud, “What was that?” The rooms had been mic’d up for a long time, so he knew he was being watched and listened to. Prior to the last week or so, there would be answers is necessary and people would occasionally come to drop off things and clean. The only thing is that when this happened, Jeremy would have to go in a small chamber. For whatever reason, whenever anyone came or went, he was forced to go in there, stand while it sealed him off while whatever business needed to be done was done. This included only large things that wouldn’t fit in the exchange unit. He put whatever needed to go out in it, dirty clothes and dishes and the such, while clean replacements were put in for him to take. Only things like the exercise equipment and a replacement TV came in direct.

Eagerly, he wanted to get out, try to get word from his wife and see how Stephens was doing down on the first floor. They both found out the same day that they were going to be coming in together, shame the whole time there were here there was zero communication with anyone except the voices of the PA system.

Stephens was a Marine from his unit, a Korean and Arabic linguist. He was a trip and he couldn’t wait to see a familiar face, or a face at all for that matter. That was all assuming they were now free to go. “You guys are some real fucking assholes,” he said to himself, but loud enough so that he was sure it was picked up on audio.

He walked to the door and pulled up the door release and with another soft click, he opened the door and stuck his head out, looking from left to right.

Nothing…

[Kaonashi]

Cateline Dionne

Cateline was sleeping in her bed. Not exactly sleeping though, she was irritated that she couldn't just shut off her mind. She had lost about 3 hours of her usual sleep, which was a big deal to her. She had spent her time designing a lot since a burst of inspiration and realization came to her. For a while she had worked on the NanoBullet and the Acid Powder Pill, and this was her break through. But it also made her really tired. For those five hours all she drank was coffee, which crash not long after. Tossing and turning, she heard something.

*CLICK*

She chose to ignore it, but peeked her head out of the covers. Her room was messy, but nothing had happened to it. Papers that were filled with her notes, particularly NanoBullets, were scattered and piled all around the room. Her pants, shirt, and bra lie near the bed. Every now and then someone would come to clean and organize all her notes on a desk, and clean the rest of her room. Cateline would always have to be put in a different room for a while why they did it, she didn't know why, but she didn't really question it.

She started to think about stuff hoping to fall asleep. She thought about her brother, who she hadn't seen for a while, but knew he was safe. And about her father who they hadn't seen since all of it happened. She wondered if her was okay, and if he was safe.
"Damn you cursed gods of sleeping!!!" she screamed at the ceiling, flinging one of her pillows at the light, which came back down and hit her in the face."Agh,"she mumbled.

She wondered if she would go outside. Nothing had happened for a few days, and she was getting anxiety. *Nah, they'll come later* she thought. Finally feeling tired she went back to sleep, settling into a position that made her comfortable. Now she was relaxing, now she could fall asleep. And she hoped she would have pleasant dreams.

[Xionist]

Jace Coldwell


It's been two months since Jace Coldwell, student at Markwright Private Highschool, was taken to this facility. The timing of his arrival was rather annoying. Prior to his leaving of the private school he went to, many countries were in chaos. Bombs were being launched all over the Middle East, and rumors of the dead coming alive was popping up all over the internet. Jace was inches away from hacking into high security government files, trying to dig up the truth on what was going on, when men in black suits had knocked on his door. Jace was scared that these men were here to arrest him. Instead, they were to escort him to some facility in Missouri.

Now, here he is. Jace Coldwell, twenty years old and currently removing a finished Hot Pocket from the microwave. His room was bare, for the most part. His kitchen consisted of a microwave, his freezer was running low on the boxes of hot pockets that he had requested for food supply, large empty boxes of Dr. Pepper littered the kitchen floor, and empty wrappings of Top Ramen were stuffed into a trash bin. Usually people would come inside, and he would have to be locked in a small chamber as these people cleaned and resupplied Jace's food and drink. These people have come for days, and Jace was starting to worry. He was nearly out of Dr. Pepper!

Sighing as he grabbed the last can of soda, and kicking the empty box aside, Jace walked into the mainroom and set his food and drink down on the desk that held his computer. Upon request, he was also given a computer and television. Though, Jace had soon learned that the television was on some sort of shitty cable service and got hardly any channels, and the internet lacked public internet access. The computers were all on a private server that only the people in this building had access too, Jace had figured out shortly after arriving.

"Lets see..." Jace said as he took a bite of Hot Pocket, "Who to fuck with today...

Jace decided that if he was going to stay here, he might as well entertain himself as well. Because the entire building was all interconnected in it's own serverbase, Jace was able to directly mess with the other inhabitant's computers. Constantly he would have hundreds of windows pop up continuously on the other's screens, and he would have to defend himself as well as there also seemed to be another hacker in the building when one day Jace's own computer started screeching with the Window's opening sound, except it was several decibels higher and pierced at his ear drums.

CLICK

Jace was just about to open up cmd.exe when the loud noise shot through his room. Hot Pocket hanging from his mouth, Jace turned around and stared at the door. Curious, he tossed the Hot Pocket back onto the plate and walked over to the door. Had the staff finally decide to punish him for his computer antics and the absence of food and drink restocking part of his punishment and now it was finally over? He had no clue what was going on. Usually the door would have opened by now, these people would not have left it unlocked for so long without entering. Walking up to the door, Jace grasped the doorknob and turned it. With a click, the door opened a fraction of an inch. With a smirk on his face, Jace let go of the door and took a step back.

"Nothing stopping me now!!

Shifting all his weight forward, Jace sent an all-mighty kick to the door and bashed it open. There was absolutely no need to do so, but it made Jace feel a hell of a lot better. Running out into the hallway, Jace looked around with a smile on his face.

"Ahhh, open space... Well.. More open space than what that room gave!

[Azseth]

(Jon Erikson)

The CLICK woke him from his sleep and immediately he jumped from his bed and to the side of the door. He knew the doors were see through, so he stood to the side of it, listening and waiting. Still nothing. Always nothing. Since the communications inside here ceased, Jon had been on edge. Something was wrong. He had zero idea what he was in for, but he reached for the door latch and pulled it slightly.

It was open. His mind raced. If the infection had taken this place, who knew what could be on the other side when he opened the door. Maybe the whole process of infection was over and they were being let out. Maybe...but he doubted it in his gut, and that was based solely on the comm going down. What was the point to that if all was good?

He opened the door slightly and peeked out and all seemed quiet. He saw no one but heard what sounded like a door opening. Maybe two. He opened his door and quickly ducked out into the room next to his own, which he recognized as the command center almost immediately... and noticed the body immediately. He closed the door behind him as he heard a violent crash. After locking the door behind him he confirmed the body was dead and immediately started to go through the computers.

He glanced at the monitors occasionally while files and screens loaded, noticing a handful of people up and about. He came to the section where the isolated's files were kept, moving to his own. He wiped the TOP SECRET portion from existence, removing any trace of East West 6 or that whole life style.

From this point on, he was nothing but a computer tech to anyone and everyone.

He then started to browse the other individual's files briefly, shaking his head. "Fucking sucks." Jeremy Sumner: Father dead prior to Outbreak. Mother, KAO (killed after outbreak). Brother, KIO. Wife, KIO.

He was about to close the program when he saw something that caught his attention... He had to say the name to belive it. "Lea Peckre... No way." He turned around and went to open the door when something stopped him. He turned to face the body that was facedown on the keyboard moments ago.

It was sitting up, and staring at him...

[Kaonashi]

Felix Dionne

Felix sat in his room, lounged on his bed reading about the history of ballet. For the last few days no one had come through the door. He wondered if they forgot about him, or if this was a test.
Getting up, he looked around. Nothing was there, the room was empty, except a desk, a journal, and all the other furniture. He put the book down, and started to walk to the door. He hit his foot on something.

It was a picture, him, Cateline, and their dad. He picked up the photo, he wondered how they were doing. Cateline was definitely safe, but Dad...
"No, he's going to be okay, you'll find him," he said to himself. Tossing the photo onto the soft surface of the bed, Felix continued towards the door. Looking around, he remembered he couldn't see out the door.

*CLICK*

He heard something, the door. Slowly, expecting people to come through the door at any moment, he turned the knob. The door was unlocked! Opening slowly, he saw someone or something run into the hall. Immediately he closed the door shut, and went back to reading on his bed. "They'll lock the doors again in a little while, and they will be locked out. Ya, it's a test, to see if we follow instructions," he told himself.

Going back to reading, he considered one last time going out that door, but decided not to.

[Xionist]

Man.. It's so quiet!

Jace thought as he stood in the hallway. As he had walked out of his room, he saw a man walk into a different room at the end of the hallway. He considered following him, but he figured that it was one of the staff members of this facility and that he'd just shove him back into his room if Jace had talked to him. Looking around, he had three choices. Follow the man, go to the room on the opposite end of the hallway, or go back into his room. Glancing at the other rooms, Jace smirked.

"Lets choose option number four. Heh."

Jace walked up to one of the rooms that was near his. As he neared the door, he noticed the door had went from solid and imposing, to clear and lucid.

Huh.. Weird material. Interesting. Jace thought as he peered through the door. Inside was a rather messy room, papers with lines and lines of text and pictures on them covered the floor, and next to a bed lay some clothing. Getting a better look at the clothing, he realized this room was for one of a woman's. Looking at the bed, then looking at the clothing on the floor, Jace quickly put two and two together. Assuming all the doors were unlocked, Jace grasped the doorknob and turned it slowly. The quiet click of the bolt popping from it's hold and the door swinging slightly inward confirmed his assumption. Laughing silently to himself, Jace opened the door an inch or so. Then taking a step back, he filled his lungs with air.

"Rise and shine shithead!! This is your wake-up call!!"

He ran forward and kicked the door as hard as he could. The door shot inwards and swung hard on it's hinges and slammed into the wall next to the door frame. The resounding noise was so loud, he knew anybody within the room would not be able to sleep through it.

[Kaonashi]

Cateline was finally sleeping soundly. Her mind was relaxed and it was warm under the covers. Even though she hadn't gotten sleep for a short while it felt like she hadn't slept in forever. Things were quiet, peaceful, and she was just about to start dreaming.

Cateline heard a loud slam. She tossed thinking it was nothing, until she heard...

"Rise and shine shithead!! This is your wake-up call!!" she heard a man say. Some guy was in her room, and Cateline didn't like it.

Instantly angry she reached down and picked up one of her heels, and quickly chucked it at her door, whoever it was. She tossed her blanket behind her and sat up. Gathering up the voice in her lungs she yelled,"I'm not a shithead I'm BLONDE YOU BASTARD!"

She got up from her bed. She remembered she was wearing a blue jacket that sagged to her shoulders, but covered her torso, and yellow green panties. "Damn you..."she mumbled, then looked up to see who her awaker was. This guy better have a good reason for interrupting her short sleep, and if they didn't, well, she would get them.

[Cede9]

Sofia was one of the last people to be brought to the facility. She didn't even understand why she was there. All she knew was one minute she was working on her 1967 Chevy Impala, and the next minute she was grabbed, tied, and thrown into the back of a black van.

The first couple weeks consisted of her pounding at the door. Screaming for them to just let her out, or to give her some God damn answers. She didn't care what the answers were really, as long as there was someone else on the side of that door. But Sofia had long given up on that endeavor, instead she spent her days planning; Planning to escape.

There wasn't much to work with in her room. Even when she had found the ventilation system, it was fool proof, they barred it up.

Occasionally, she would be forced into an isolation chamber of sorts. She didn't like it at all. She felt like a caged animal being studied and watched insensitively.

Tonight was just like any other night to Sofia. She barely slept at all anymore. So at 4:30, when the resounding clicks echoed softly down the hall, Sofia heard it.

CLICK

Sofia turned quickly towards the door. Did her ears deceive her? Her heart was pounding. Two months of isolation she had forgotten what the outside of that door looked like. She wasn't going to pass up the chance to find out. Even if it was a test, what more could they do to her. And if it was a technological error, now was her chance to escape. Regardless of what was out there.

Soft footsteps brought her to the door. The cold handle in her fingers seemed to give her no trouble at all as she swung the door open to freedom.