Vaeltaja

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

1. Tallah - We, The Sad
2. Dean Ween Group - Garry
3. Promethee - Soiled
4. Atmospheres - Mezame
5. Bill Wurtz - this is a song for my next album
6. Kadinja - Dominique (Instrumental)
7. Damjan Mravunac - The Forbidden Tower
8. Divitius - Sky (Instrumental)
9. Entheos - White Noise (II)
10. Larry and His Flask - Ebb and Flow

Honorable, but randomized, mentions:
+ Orbit Culture - Obsession
+ Clown Core - Truth and Life
+ Atmospheres - Morph

What Are You Listening To?

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

E L I J A H

The French woman named Mallory, taller of the two, raised a question that seemed largely overlooked by the rest as they laid the groundwork for the escape plan. Elijah's eyes met hers as she searched for him, and he replied silently with a nod, a small smile turning the corners of his lips upward, though hardly noticeable.

He knew time here was scarce. They were safe for the moment, but this was a security room, not a cafeteria or any such place filled with resources. They had no access to food or water, and the space was cramped enough as it is. With a lack of knowledge about people within this room, chances for animosity and tension were high, especially with the older man who seemed keen on quarantining himself away for his own safety. Sliding off the edge of the desk, he maneuvered past the others and back to where the brass plate lay. Bruised hand shaking from the damage, he slowly began to thread the attached cord around and through itself, taking care to knot it in certain areas so the weight of the plate didn't place any extra stress on the cord.

Before long, he had a makeshift flail of sorts, the extra length of the cord wrapped a couple of times around his lesser-damaged hand. Granted, it was flimsier than what he assumed a flail to be, but its construction and use would likely mitigate damage to himself. He hissed as his bruised hand throbbed, holding it close to his chest to keep it from shaking too much.

He looked up briefly at Mallory, who seemed to be watching him; for how long, he couldn't tell. He smiled a bit more, if only to lessen the seriousness of the situation.

"Name's Elijah, by the way," he said, bringing himself to his feet. "Nice to meet you. You doing alright?"

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

Island or lighthouse, Elijah will choose either. He's under the impression already that Moresby is completely overrun, though he's unaware that we could gain even a small foothold in a piece of its territory. The lighthouse would probably be Elijah's top choice, due to safety in numbers and his willingness to help, but the island sounds like a safe bet, putting us a distance from most dangers.

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

E L I J A H

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news," Elijah interjected, running his bruised hand over the new, tighter-wrapped bandages over his arm, "but this 'Moresby' place you guys are talking about is likely fucked, especially if it's an urbanized area. Higher population densities mean higher casualties, and if these things are what everyone's turning into, you can expect a deathtrap waiting for us..."

Finding some free space on the desk away from the controls, Elijah took a seat and leaned against the wall, resting his hand in his lap. His breathing, still labored, staggered with a mix of adrenaline and stress. His mind was racing, trying to put together solutions to get to safety, but things were looking grim.

"Assuming we had to go through this 'Moresby'... how much foot traffic does it get? Is it possible to reach it from the underground? There's no possible way that all these people would have immediate access to the sewers; they wouldn't be strong enough to lift the covers off the manholes. If we're going straight into dangerous territory, the underground sounds like our best bet. Not the fastest, but the road of least resistance."

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

E L I J A H

_{@Athol@Zoey White}

"Heh, yeah, you're telling me," Elijah responded, another weak and nervous laugh following. He shifted his legs out from beneath him and sat back against the wall next to the doors, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his shaky, bruised hand in his lap. Again, he looked around the room at the group of strangers, his eyes eventually on the silent one next to him. He watched as she stared absentmindedly into space, eyes dark and vacant.

"Hey, lady," he called out to her friend, waving to catch her attention before pointing to the one he had previously escorted inside. "She gonna be alright?"

What Are You Listening To?

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

E L I J A H

Elijah's ears were ringing. Whether it was the gunshots, the blood rushing to his head, the spike of adrenaline, or the overwhelming stress of the situation, he couldn't tell. Everything sounded muffled, as if the sounds were coming through several layers of heavy blankets. On his hands and knees, he stared at the floor, hair having fallen partway out of the makeshift bun he'd made only some time before. His eyes trailed over to the brass plate on his hand, chunks of rotted flesh and blood caked across its surface. The smell of congealed blood wafted into his nostrils, and his senses became more clear. He could finally feel the pain beneath the plate.

An audible sigh erupted from his throat, his lungs burning with the strain of exertion as he brought himself up to lean back on his knees, hearing words he couldn't understand from one of the French women. His other hand deftly maneuvered through the knots of the power cord, slowly pulling them loose so the plug could slip through and unwind itself from his fingers. Once the wrap was loose enough, the plate slipped away from his hand and dropped to the ground with a clang, its sound masked by the encroaching roar of the things outside the office. He could see the bruises coating his hands, the misalignment of his knuckles from using such a makeshift weapon with no regard for padding. In hindsight, it was a foolish decision. In the moment, it was one he was glad to make.

In that same moment, he took a few seconds to look around the area, taking note of the people in the room. There was the blond-haired girl he met earlier. To his right, the women they joined on the way here. In front, the security officer, and with him were three others he'd never met. Beyond them, a small first aid box, and it looked like it was unopened. Elijah thought about his wounds; the broken knuckles on his hand, the cuts from the glass. He wanted to fish through the contents, find something to maybe alleviate the pain, but he knew consuming resources would deprive them from anyone else. Chances are others were hurt more than him. It was better to wait.

"So," he began, capable of a weak laugh, "how's your vacation going?"

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

I'll post after the door gets shut by Charlotte.

Big thanks to Elijah for saving Mallory, lol. June is going to be super grateful

@Zoey White

Glad he could be of service.

DEAD ISLAND 💀🌴

E L I J A H

_{@Athol@Zoey White@Delphio}

---

With every strike, weight and force amplified by the plate tethered to his knuckles, Elijah could see the person's face cave in a little bit more, visible features replaced with crimson mush and a thick flow of ruby fluid. Every hit connected with a grunt of effort, signifying intent. In seconds, the body was still and unmoving. Near him, a few more straggling bodies moved in his direction, but were cut off by another person, a woman gripping a bar in her hand. Her voice was tinged with the elegance of a French accent and she called to another woman following her to stay back, then proceeded to swing the weapon in her hand. His eyes followed the shower rod as it connected against the side of one of the bodies, a gray-skinned woman, who retaliated with a swing of her own.

Elijah got to his feet and made for another straggler, keeping them at bay as the other woman held her ground. Staring down its bared teeth and open wounds, he could see the horde down the hallway, crowded together. Just loud enough were the sounds of Toto's "Africa", however tinny it sounded at the time, coming from a phone on the ground. Judging by where the song was, there was a small amount of time left, but all time would be gone when the gunshots started.

---

^{S t . P e t e r s b u r g , F l o r i d a ; 1 9 Y e a r s A g o}

"What is that?"

The kid smiled, brandishing it in front of himself. "You know what it is."

"We're not supposed to have those. Ms. Forrester's gonna get mad!"

"She won't get mad if she doesn't know. Just relax."

He stared into the end as his thumb carelessly slipped through the hold. The other heard a click.

---

The bullets ripped through the stragglers coming up around all of them in the hallway. Elijah ducked instinctively, covering his ears. When it stopped, he dropped his hands, hearing another man's voice from down the opposite of the hall.

"Hey! Over here!"

Elijah turned and saw the man, who was dressed in a security outfit. His thoughts instantly went to the message he heard over the intercom, remembering the voice. This was the person who called out to the survivors.

"Come on, hurry!" the man exclaimed, waving over to the group. "Let's go! Now!"

"Mallory!" Elijah heard the woman exclaim as she pointed towards the security door. The other woman, who Elijah assumed was this 'Mallory', began shuffling toward the horde, only to be pulled towards the door by her partner, who then lunged for the door to hold it open. Past the window, he could see an older man reach for something. The woman in the doorway looked as she pinned the doors open, calling out to him with an outstretched hand. "S'il vous plaît ne pas!"

Mallory had slowed down, barely covering any distance as she shuffled quietly towards the door. Elijah turned around to the blonde-haired woman behind him, herself still being in the doorway to the stairwell. With as much as he could, he struck the crazed monster he tangled with, knocking it to the ground. In the distance, the crowd began to move towards the area where he and the rest were currently. Immediately, he sped to the doorway and grabbed the woman's hand.

"The security door's open," he said, short of breath. He began to pull her out of the doorway and towards the security door. "We don't have time to wait; just get to the door! I'll get the other one!"

He let go of the blonde-haired woman's hand and ran to the opposite wall, stopping just in front of Mallory. "Come on, lady, we have to move right now. Follow me and do not let go," he told her, grabbing her by the hand and leading her towards the door. Beyond the window, he could see the older man fumbling with the controls, putting two and two together with the woman holding open the door. With a free hand, he reached out to attempt to get his attention.

"Hold the fuck up, man, we've got survivors!"