Arden dozed most of the day, as she always did on Sundays. She had a routine. Scavenging on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Work on her hiding spot on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Rest on Sunday. The apocalypse was good for one thing at least, and that was routine. She got a day off on Sundays for mental health, because there was no point to surviving if she went mad. She had just finished reading one of her many books and had decided to take a nap when she heard someone clattering around down in the library. Wasn't much of a problem for her, since she was up in the ceiling. The panels could slide back and there were plenty of open spaces to make a bed in. She had poked a convincing-looking hole in the panel near her bed so she could look at anyone wandering through. They never stayed long, since they never had the smarts to stay in a place with so much information. They grabbed a few survival books, sometimes other stuff to pass the time, and then they left. She rolled over quietly and started to put her eye to the peephole when her hand knocked over an open bottle of water. And, of course, it spilled out of the hole and right onto the head of whoever was down there.

Matthew was trying to look for something - anything - to block the door with. He unintentionally Peter-Pipered a large group of zombies for the simple reason he wandered into a damn trap. He resorted to using a chair, then used the strap of his bag to secure the door handles together.. Hopefully that holds against however many he brought along with him.

Just as he started to settle down, he felt the water pour onto his head. He let out a girlish shriek and got out from under the torrent of clear liquid, briefly thinking he just stumbled into a zombie haven and just got drooled on.. he realized that was a dumb thought not long after. He looked up to examine the ceiling, looking for gaps or anything where it could have rained before, again, realizing that's a dumb thought. It's hotter than Satan's asshole out there and it hasn't rained during the whole event. That's when it hit him.

There might be someone else in here.

The blonde didn't know what to think for a moment, but a hard thud on the library doors told him he probably shouldn't worry about that right now. Besides, if the person wanted him dead, he'd be dead by now.. unless they're sleeping, or haven't come back from death yet. He shoved the doors closed when they threatened to open, then quickly exchanged the chair for a table - that'll surely be better, right?

Sapphyre Martel
^Survival...

Don't make a sound... for the sake of your own life DO NOT make a sound...

Sapphyre was leaning up against the low lying cupboard doors of a cafe with her left hand firmly pressed across her mouth and nose. She breathed both heavily and as silently as possible so that the creature on the other side of the counter couldn't hear where she was positioned. She had spotted it as she was rummaging through an abandoned fridge for some kind of food, but because of her foolish butter fingers and weak nerves, she dropped one of the containers and drawn the attention of the living corpse to her immediate location.

She didn't want to die here, and the feelings and emotions slowly built up inside her until they came out in the form of tears. So much had happened since that awlful day and every moment she spent living was a moment extra of survival. In a world that was turning to shit, survivalist was the only career choice left possible.

The zombie hacked and coughed as it wandered around the cafe, probably trying to bring up some lunch that had wedged itself with it's windpipe, but unless something else was going to happen it didn't seem like this hunter was going to leave her alone.

And then the horrifying scream was heard. In the streets that were left silent with the exception of shuffling feet and low level groans, a voice from a neighbouring building echoed throughout the entire neighbourhood. Sapphyre closed her eyes tight and pursed her lips together tightly. She didn't want to hear another death, she didn't want to live this nightmare any longer, she just wanted her old life back and one that she loved so dearly.

Opening one of her eyes, Sapphyre looked up at the stainless steel splash back and saw the shimmering image of her stalker wandering away towards the location of the scream. Carefully she crawled around the bench to get a better view, just as she saw the creature wander it's way out through the broken entrance door. She wanted to know who caused the scream, but a part inside her told her mind that it might be best not to find out.

"No, I need to find another living human..." she whispered carefully to herself as she kneeled up and glanced over to where the flame that was drawing the murderous moths.

"Read a book and Love your Library!"

The motto was prowly strung across the front of the building in steel lettering. That was when she noticed it. The door that was swinging open freely suddenly stopped before it was closed by a force that could only indicate that someone was inside.

There's someone in there! Sapphyre's hands began to shake as she realised that the building was slowly being surrounded by a handful of zombies and there was possibly someone inside. Someone like her that was simply trying to survive.

"There has to be people in here...." Alex thought to himself as he opened an upper story window and stepped into the library. He had found a small access point in the back and left a distinguishable trail for others to make it in safely as well. The hallways were messy and stained with blood, a few rotting corpses lay on the carpet, dead from zombies cannibalizing them. He reached for his satchel and pulled out his baseball bat, white-knuckling it as he made his way down the hall. He was nervous and was breaking out into a cold sweat. There was a hefty gathering of zombies outside. They were attracted to somebody running into the library and shutting the door. Even now he could hear the beating of their shambled hands against the entrance, meaning he wasn't too far away from the door and, consequently, whomever shut it.

Making his way down the hall slowly, he checked every door and every passage way, but did not find much. Most of it was scavenged already, some of it was even cleaned up. It was like somebody had been making this place their hideout. To him, it seemed really smart to do so. The library was still mostly intact and even where he was on the second floor there were bookshelves of rare and knowledgeable books to be found. Looking around for a moment and seeing nothing, he took a deep breath and took off his gasmask, letting it hang by the straps around his neck. He looked over one of the bookshelves, seeing if he could find something to calm him down a little. He found it in a black and green covered book about the Halo series. "Ghosts of onyx.... He said to himself. He opened it up and found a random passage.

"For a split second, Lash couldn't think. He was all animal, fight or flight . . . with an overwhelming portion of his mind focused on the flight portion of that imperative."

"Yeah, that seems about right now adays." Alex mumbled to himself. He was a bit lost in good memories now, remembering just a couple months ago when he was actually at a lan party for Halo and enjoying himself for once. Everybody got drunk and went online, making fools of themselves and their K/D. He chuckled as he remembered his brother Sebastian locking himself away for eight hours the very next day to fix his K/D when he dropped rankings. He felt a lot of emotions well up as he remembered he and Alicia making love that night as well.

Another bang in the distance made him jump and reach for his rifle, but freezing when he realized that it was just the entrance again. He took a deep breath and slipped the book into his satchel, making his way for the entrance. He secured his gas mask over his face again and tread cautiously towards the entrance.

Stepping onto a balcony, he saw somebody down below shoving a table against the entrance, trying to keep it secure even as the zombies on the other side of the door threatened to overwhelm him and smash the door open. "Hey! Hold on, I'll be right down!" He yelled as he gripped onto the railing and vaulted over, dropping to the first floor. He immediately regretted this decision as he landed and felt searing pain shoot up both his legs. "Yeaaoow...bad idea. Not a badass." He mumbled, smacking his own head and running towards the survivor.

He was trying in vain to hold the door closed with the table, but he wasn't doing much. The Zombies were starting to push against the door hard to get in. The table he was using was a shoddy metal one that was simply propped up. "Hold the door as tight as you can." He told the kid as he flipped the table upside down. He used the pommel of his baseball bat to strike at the joints of the legs and snapped them two of them off. He slipped the thick metal legs between the metal handles of the door, giving it a lot more strength. He did the same with the other two and propped them up on either side of the door, using the rubber feet to hold them in place while the broken metal at the top of each leg dug into the wood of the door. He took one look at the bag strap and knew that it wasn't going to hold. He dashed away for a moment, taking a quick look around. He found a small lounge where a few chairs, reading material, and desks remained. Next to one of the chairs was a small basket with yarn in it. He picked up the yarn and ran back to the door, unraveling it as he did.

Coming up to the door, he undid the satchel and wrapped the legs and handles in yarn, tying them together as best as he could. When it was satisfactory, he tried to put the yarn in his teeth to snap it off, but it only served to hurt his jaw. Cursing, he reached to the end of one of the legs and used the sharpened end to break the line and tie it together.

Now, a little more secure, the pounding of the door was a little less severe but just as loud. It wasn't going to go away any time soon, but it was better than nothing. He backed up, panting and sweating a little. He wiped off the sweat and took off his mask. "Heh. Picked that up from the remains of an empty survivor den up on northside. Place was empty, but at least their tricks were passed on." He looked over to the survivor, whom was still just standing there. "Oh. Right. Are you alright? No scratches or bites I hope? Name's Alex." He extended a hand.

When everything was settled and Alex had secured the barricade better than he would have alone, he looked to the older man. Examining him, it looked like the outbreak happened months ago, but he knew for a fact it was just a week - he had the notepad with the tally marks to prove it. Maybe the guy was a survivalist and was roughing it beforehand? That kind of person would be nice to have around, actually. Thank God he didn't just shoot him with that rifle on his back and take what he had.

"Thanks," Matthew said softly, jumping when the doors banged again. He looked over the knot Alex had tied, trying to see if he can undo it in his mind's eye, so he can hopefully commit it to memory just in case it's needed later. When Alex had asked his name, he looked up at him again. Should he really? There's no harm in it, really, right? This guy's not gonna use it against him somehow.. Right?

He took Alex's hand to shake, "Matthew. You can just call me Matt."

Arden had pushed back one of the panels so she could peek out and watch what the guy below her was doing. And then, to her dismay, another guy showed up. At least he seemed to know what he was doing when he kept the biters out. She'd have to ask him for a few lessons before she made them leave.

She watched the door for a few moments, waiting until she was sure it wouldn't give. Then, with a resigned sigh, she slid back the panel all the way and climbed down, dropping to the floor almost in between the two men. She had a Bowie knife in her hand, and she seemed to know very well how to use it. "Welcome to my humble abode," she said, looking anything but welcoming. She looked kind of ticked off. Understandable, since this 'Matt' had lured a dozen biters to her house.

"As soon as the dead wander off, I want the both of you to get lost. This library isn't very big and there aren't many places for people to hide out. I suggest the refugee camps in Golden Valley." ((Because I guess this just became Minnesota?)) Never mind that Golden Valley was two hours away by car, and was nearly impossible to get to on foot. And by now, they were also most likely crawling with zombies.

Matthew jumped back when Arden landed beside him and took a few steps back further into the library.

When the young woman had welcomed them, he stuttered back with a meek, "Uh.. Hi?" His sheepish smile went away as soon as she started talking again, and he took note of that look in her eyes. He kept his hand close to his pocketed Walther - it was more for his own comfort than to be threatening somehow.. how could a little gun like that be threatening to a guy with a rifle, or to a woman that looked like she'd probably cut his head off with that knife? He can't.

As Arden brought up the two of them needing to leave, he quickly replied, "Yeah, yeah, sure, ok, I-I was heading in that direction anyway! Alright. ..Please get that knife away from me?"

Sapphyre Martel
^Survival...

Sapphyre watched on as the hoard of rotten zombies began to beat at the front door of the Library. What started as a couple, grew into a few, and as each minute passed the noise that they made drew more and more from the surrounding areas. It could be seen how little control they had over their own bodies when some of the zombies lingering around the streets would trip over the gutter and dead bodies, an act that a regular human would be able to avoid quite easily.

But all that wasn't the concern right now, for Sapphyre she was growing increasingly anxious about what would happen to those that were inside the library at the time. If enough of the beast surrounded the building, they would eventually find an opening, and once that occurred they would flood into the building like water to a submarine that sustained damage. A shelter that eventually would become a tomb to those inside.

Feeling the adrenaline beginning to hit her, Sapphire glanced up over the window's edge for anything that could be used to cause a distraction... anything! Across the road from the Cafe laid a car that had recently been in a crash. The bonnet was buckled in as it hugged the telegraph pole that it had become attached to.

Maybe I can start it up... she wondered as she kept herself crouched and ventured her way out of the Cafe doors, carefully wandering over to the vehicle. Her eyes darted around the environment making sure that she wasn't seen by anyone or anything. The last thing she wanted to become now was dinner for the zombies. As she approached the car she placed her hand on the door and carefully lifted the handle. To her surprise it was unlocked and upon opening the door she was greeted by a drooling figure of a half decomposed body that laid there in the seat, strapped in with the seatbelt.

Sapphyre shrieked, throwing her hands onto her mouth and swung her body around so that she was on the other side of the door, using it as a shield between her and the rotting corpse. Muttering to herself "Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me..." she noticed that no movement, nor groaning was heard, and as she peered around the corner she saw that this body was completely dead. Whiplash had snapped the neck in a way that it was hanging out and staring at her, yet the rest of the body faced the opposite way.

Taking a sigh of relief, she scurried around the door and saw the keys hanging out of the ignition. Giving it a turn she heard the car click, but nothing within the motor was sounding like it was going to ignite.

"Shit!" she cursed, realising how stupid it was to think that a car this damaged would ever start up again, but as she sat there kicking her self for her stupidity, she heard the faint sound of music from inside the vehicle.

"This'll get their attention!!!" as she leaned over Mr Dead Dude, thankful that at least the electronics still worked, and cranked up the volume as loud as possible. With more and more danger coming to the Library, this was sure to attract the attention of the beasts. All that was left to do was for Sapphyre to run back to the Cafe and wait to see what would happened next.

Alex jumped a little when the woman landed next to him, making him reach for his bat for a second but stopping when he realized that it was just the woman. "Oh. Another survivor." He said as she spoke of them having to leave her domicile and speaking of Golden Valley. "Golden Valley won't be an option. Met a survivor yesterday on the outskirts saying that it was ransacked not soon after the outbreak. Nobody really has anywhere to go." He crossed his arms, unhappy.

"Seems your little abode was really unsecured too. One human breaking in and now the entire place is going to go up in smoke soon. Once they see food, they won't stop until they have it. We have maybe an hour before their sheer force alone breaks down the door." Just as he finished saying that, a loud smash stressed the door and the metal legs that held it in place. "Make that twenty minutes."

It was a little quiet between the three for a moment before a musical sound started to make it's way into their ears. "KKZX? They're still on the air?" He stepped passed the two and went upstairs to a boarded up window. He peeked through it and saw outside. "Seems we have somebody else looking out for us!" He yelled. "They turned on a radio in a car. Some of them are breaking off to check it out. If we're fast, we can make it out of here before they realize what's going on! I used a window in the back of the library to enter, we can use it to make our escape!" He yelled, excited that he might just be finally doing some good.

Arden flinched at the sudden sound of music and Alex's raised voice. "Yes, shouting will help. It's not like we just watched a loud noise draw the biters away or anything," she said, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. "How could more loud noises possibly bring them back?" She shoved her knife back into it's sheath at her hip and turned away, raking her hands through her hair almost violently. She took a few deep breaths, wondering exactly how her life could go so wrong in just ten minutes.

She bottled everything up, stuck it into that dark place where she kept all her fear. She could scream and cry later, when she left these two jokers in the dust and found a nice cozy ceiling to hide herself in. Of course, it wasn't like she had an iron will. She'd probably punch that Matt guy until her begged for his mother. And she'd also beat herself up. How could she have been moronic enough to forget to lock all of the windows?

When she opened her eyes, she was laser-focused on one thing: escape. She kept two bags handy for bugging-out, and she climbed up the nearest bookshelves to retrieve them. She shoved aside the panel and grabbed the bags. One of them was small, a messenger bag that could carry a surprising amount with enough thinking. The other was a large backpack that held just about everything someone on the run would need. Food, water, first-aid, spare clothes, and a spare knife. Finally, she tugged her gun from it's shadowy space and slipped it into the messenger bag before the others could see it. She wanted to keep that secret.

When she hopped down, she didn't even tell the boys she was leaving. She just turned and headed for the back of the library, assuming they'd follow her. They seemed like sheep to her. Thoughtless and scared, looking for a shepherd to guide them. Good luck finding someone like that. All the important people had holed up in bunkers or died like animals. And everyone else was crazy or hungry for brains.