Syben — Roleplayer Guild

Monday, June 1st, 2111
	Eli felt shell-shocked. Nothing existed in his mind except the sounds of war, gunshots and screams mixed with his own heavy breathing give soundless voice to his inner panic. His wild eyes searched the area around him, looking for safety, for shelter. Nothing jumped out at him except the bloodthirsty, twisted maw of a ghoul. The creature leapt at him from the side, careening into Eli and sending them both sprawling to the ground. The smells of acrid gun-smoke became obscured beneath a heavy overtone of rotting carcass. Eli grappled for his life, struggling to keep the ghoul's snapping jaws away from his everything. Even then, on the ground, Eli could hardly grasp the situation. He'd always been so careful, so concise with his plans, that it had actually been some time since he'd had a run in with ghouls. Even when he took the civvies out, everything was executed methodically. So how had it come to this? Where had this sudden darkness sprung from? A woman interrupted his thoughts as her bloodied body hit the ground a few feet from him. The sickening sounds of flesh tearing and snapping off was enough to tell Eli that whoever that woman was, she was nothing more than a meal now. 

	He pushed the ghoul back with every ounce of strength he could muster. As the ghoul stumbled back and fell into a crouch, ready to jump once more onto its prey, Eli whipped his sidearm out from his chest holster and put a round through its head. However, there was no sense of accomplishment or relief as the literal tide of bodies behind it began to draw increasingly closer. The only thing that had helped Eli survive this long was that the ghouls were too busy tripping over themselves, and the pile of rubble, to really form an effective charging wall. Instead it was more like a milling pile of bodies, slowing wrenching themselves free or tumbling far enough away that they could easily rise again. Eli scrambled to his feet, and nearly ran headfirst into a Humvee screaming back down the way they had come in reverse. Vaguely he heard someone shouting his name. It was just then that Eli noticed his ears were ringing.. still ringing? He took a quick look around, his eyes grazing across the flaming wreckage of one of the trucks before he saw Garsin of all people directing some of the stragglers into a nearby building. No, of all people it would be Garsin. Eli followed suit.

	Once the doors were closed Eli let himself take a few quick breaths to calm down and assess the situation. Jesus fuck I panicked like some fresh-faced rookie, he admonished himself as he took stock of how many people had made it. He managed to count six before the doors behind him began jarring violently. Garsin seemed to holding himself together better than Eli had and managed to get a bar through the door handles. What would Vicks think? he thought, scolding himself once more. Deciding that he was done berating himself Eli turned his attention back to the building they were in. Hopefully the doors would hold long enough for them to make a quick exit, or perhaps something else would come along to distract the ghouls outside—As morbid as that thought was. Otherwise, there wasn't much that would help them in here, clothing racks seemed like a poor barricade.

	"I never took you for a quick thinker Garsin," Eli commented, feeling a bit more like his usual self. He straightened the straps to his chest harness unnecessarily and pulled a plan together in his mind, "Why don't you grab a few people and see if you can reinforce those doors a little, and be quiet about it. I see two of my boys over there, I'll leave one with you and I'll take the other to see about a rear exit to this place."

	Eli took the other soldier, Recruit Thanes, and headed towards the rear of the store. It wasn't all that big, but Eli still kept his gun ready, and his head on a swivel. Especially since Garsin killed that mannequin, it was hard to tell what was what in the gloomy dimness inside the building. He heard the soft whispers of grass against his pants as he moved through, which prompted him to be more careful lest he trip over a stray vine—Something that nearly happened a few times as he and Thanes pushed their way into the back-stock area. The only things his flashlight highlighted of note were piles of decaying boxes, musty half-eaten clothes, and a small crowd of cheerfully creepy mannequins. Eli felt that there had never been another moment in his life where he hated mannequins so much, a thought that Thanes voiced quietly himself.

	"There's the exit," Eli whispered as he motioned the green municipal door with his light. They stacked up on either side of it, and on Eli's count he cracked the door open. Thanes swept through, gun at the ready as he pivoted into the alley, quickly checking both sides.

	"Cear," he announced softly.

	Eli followed him out into the garbage strewn alleyway. A soft breeze was carrying through, whipping up dust and small debris in small flurries as it came through. 

	"Stinks," Thanes said. Eli could practically feel the boy wrinkling his nose, despite facing away from him. There was something odd about that though. Thanes was right, the whole alleyway was ripe with the smell of rotting garbage and.. and..

	"Fuck, Thanes! Back Inside!" Eli commanded, though he tried to keep his voice down. 

	Thanes turned, confusion twisted across his face. "Wha-?" He started, but the words died off and gave way to a scream as a Stalker knocked him off of his feet. The creature had Thanes pinned to the ground, grappling his back with all for limbs like some sort of deranged animal and was ignoring Eli entirely as it tore of meaty chunks from Thanes neck. His screams became watery gurgles before Eli could even draw his knife and close the relatively short distance between them. His blade was poised in the air, just above the creature, a breath away from descending down into its spinal cord when a childish giggle and a series of loud, angry grunts stopped him short. He had only paused for a moment, but as he went back to finish the Stalker it was already scuttling away up the opposite wall. 

	Still wary of the Stalker, Eli looked around the alley for the source of the laughter. A small, tiny silhouette darted past the eastern exit of the alley. A moment later a larger, more adult looking figure followed suit. They both appeared to be running.. somewhere. It was away from here, and Eli was alright with that. He went back inside and pulled the door shut behind him, though he was still unnerved as he listened to the child's giggle fade off into the distance.

	"The exit seems clear, but a Stalker got Thanes.. we'll need to be vigilant," He announced somewhat quietly as he strode back into the main area. The few people gathered there were all huddled together, their terrified and weary eyes looked like they were desperately searching every dark shadow for potential danger. Worst yet, there only seemed to be a few real weapons in their collective possession.
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