not so NORMAL anymore }open

[Darrea Kal]

KAL, Darrea

Normal had left the building, it was hard for him to say that today was his day off. It was hard to have those when your constantly under attack but it more meant that there was no uniform of standard issue weapons involved, or at least not all of them. No tactics or pissed off Sergent. No... There were maybe a handful of military left in the area, they had regrouped some time ago but Darrea had long since spat in the commanding officers face and gone off on his own. Not to say that he was ignoring the objective completely but the military strategies they were trying to implement here were more suited to Iraq then an rural town. Having fought in Florida he knew what in city warfare was like and he never wanted to go back to it. So when the army had sent out groups to different areas he had opted for a fair sized town that he had hoped would hold little sup rises.

Think again.

Isn't that always the case? You choose door number 2 and the door your gut told you to go with was the one with prize. Some of the cities had already been cleared, larger groups had been sent there, there had been no idiot commanders and they had gotten their job done. It was a never ending job of course but now all that was left in some places to keep the perimeter safe. He sighed heavily and straightened from his crouched position, stretching his back and wincing at the rather loud popping noise it made. It was hard to break old habits, he was used to being able to sneak up on the enemy but here there were not only too many but they could smell you. He had his ACU pants and boots on but had opted for a t-shirt in the warmer weather. Not that the camo pattern would sheild him in any way shape or form from the creatures but they did a nice job of keeping him hidden from the civilians. His M9 pistol was tucked into the back of his pants along with extra rounds for it and the M16 rifle sling over his shoulder. All in all he looked like a typical army grunt other then the katana strapped to his hip.

The school had stood out to him in many ways. Yes it was over run by zombies but if cleared it could be easily maintained and defended. Thus Deo was here. He stood with hand on hips, eyes narrowed to scan the landscape before him. Though there were no creatures in the immediate vicinity he could see their shadows moving in the school. Hopefully they were the creatures, he always hated that split second when you didn't know. They look and move the same as civilians unless they have blood dripping from thir mouth or are wounded in some way and not bleeding. But that moment where you see a normal looking one and you ask them to speak... You just don't know, he had been haunted by nightmares of the normal looking ones, of his mother and sister. Eyes closed quickly and he shook his head before sighing and opening them and once again scanning the area.

[Marnie O'Malley]

Marnie had driven her GMC Yukon SUV to the high school. There was a room there that was dedicated to auto shop and she could pick up a few pieces of tools there. Her truck was modified with a large V shaped plow in the front and a few other modifications that would keep out Re-Animators from getting in. She'd stolen this from the presidents line, so it was bullet proof. Marnie really hated to think about the way she acquired it.


As she pulled in front of the school, she spied a military man standing in front of it. Marnie carefully pushed open her door and stepped out. She never went anywhere now without her scope rifle which slung over her shoulder. She was wearing a pair of gray jogging pants and a white tank top with spaghetti shoulder straps. The weather was warm, summer time, which was even worse. The scent of decay and death was more potent than anything. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, and some of the shorter strands had hung down. She had applied a little bit of makeup, but not a lot. Derrick had said that she was beautiful either way so she didn't feel the need to embellish. Her sneakers crunched over some dead leaves as she made her way up the steps. She stopped in front of the military man.

"Is there a way I can get into the auto shop room? It's on the left side of the building. I need some supplies there" she asked him and watched. She could see some of the Re-Animators walking around through the windows on other floors, but the auto shop was a completely separate building. It wasn't attached to the main one

[alison]

Alison kept her distance as she scouted the grounds of the high school. She was stationed in Maine by the older and much more power Radicals. Needless to say they weren't all angels as she but she was still ranked at the bottle of the totem pole. It may have been quite a few years since she had walked around in the halls of the high school. More like a decade or two but she could still recall all of the memories. Back when she first became an angel but still living a human life. When she stopped aging at twenty-one she knew there was no going back to high school no matter how many times she could pull it off by skipping generations. Instead she accepted what she was and lived life to its fullest. When the apocalypse came around she knew her purpose was to help solve the problem. Ali was not surprised when she was accepted as a Radical but being a scouter wasn't doing much for their problems. She wanted to be involved within the discussions and coming up with solutions but still she took on her role without complaint. What little thing she could do was worth it.

The blonde had patrolled her home town for the majority of the day. She had already reported back to the other Radicals, meaning she would have more time to herself. For now Alison would enjoy the memories of her past but focus on her job at hand as well. Early on she had noticed a military man in the area and as she followed him around, with great distance, she was not surprised that he ended up at the high school. It was one of the most infested buildings in the town. Most believed that the Animaters trapped themselves inside but the Radicals needed some place to keep them. Every now and then she would have to transport one to their facilities where they tested for cures. It was risky but it's what had to be done. No one said it was going to be easy. Ali came to learn that most didn't approve of choices the Radicals made either, which is why they kept quite the majority of the time.

As she watched another female come into the picture Alison realized that they planned to go in and she knew that wasn't the best idea. Normally she would stay behind and watch. A radical would analyze the situation and wait for an outcome but the Angel in her didn't want to see more people die. "I wouldn't go in if I were you." She spoke smoothly with her angelic voice. She emerged from around the corner and waited for their remarks.

[Darrea Kal]

KAL, Darrea

The military training in him shower when the sound of a car approaching caused him to instantly drop into a crouch. It felt like a life time ago when that trait would have matter but not vehicles where far from what he was worried about. Now the sound of a vehicle was almost soothing and slowly he stood back just, shaking off the tense muscles and frown. His sister had always scolded them when he was younger about how he'd get wrinkles if he frowned too much. He had frowned some more when she had told him that but now his lips stretched into a smile and a soft chuckle vibrated up his throat as he shook his head at the thought. He had gone to see a shrink for a session or two after returning to the military so they could assess his mental stability. They had discussed his sister and the shrink had told him that he should keep thinking of her as alive, to not think of what she had become and what he had been forced to do. Though at the time he had thought it was an odd request so far it was working fairly well for him. That smile remained plated on his lips as he waved pleasantly to the woman as she exited her vehicle and made her way towards him. But she was obviously on a mission as she strode towards him with a stern look. She skipped the greetings, something that made Deo's frown return and his arms cross over his chest.

Most might find it odd all things considered but he was a bit old fashioned, to this day he would still bow and kiss a woman's hand. Not just to pick them up, though he found that it worked well, but just as an every day greeting. His father had often told him before all this had happened that every woman liked to be spoiled and respected somewhere deep down. But this woman got straight to the point, saying she wanted to get in and get some things. He tilted his head and gave her a strange look but just as he was about to say that it probably wasn't the best of ideas a lyrical voice floated over voicing his exact thoughts. He turned to see a beautiful woman appear from seemingly nowhere and come to join their group. It took him a moment to collect himself and look back to the first blonde. "I agree, I came to see if there was something to be done here but this is a bigger job then even the group I was sent here with can handle" he said smoothly, addressing the first woman though his eyes were turned slightly so he could study the second out of the corner of his eye. "What exactly are you looking for?" he asked her, once again having to pry his eyes away from the second woman.

[Marnie O'Malley]

Marnie realized she'd come across as a bit direct and sighed, her expression relaxing into a more friendly one. She smiled at the other blond haired woman and turned back to the military man. For a moment, Marnie felt a bit like a third wheel at the moment. She felt a flash of jealousy at the fact that the military man seemed more into staring at the second woman. What? was she ugly? She knew she had Derrick and was totally in love with him but did that mean she gave off some kind of weird aura?

She was being stupid. Of course not. Marnie raised an eyebrow at the military man but her tone softened.

"I'm sorry to have come across as so direct" her tone was soft and gentle. "I'm Marnie. And I need some radiator caps and a carberator" Marnie relayed to him cheerfully. "Well perhaps then you can either A get the things for me, or accompany me. I do have a gun"

She motioned to her scope rifle which hung over her shoulder. Marnie had begun feeling weird lately. Emotional, irritated, then crying for no reason. what on earth was wrong with me? she wondered silently.

[alison]

Alison grinned softly at the two before her as the contemplated going in. The first blonde seemed more eager than any of them and for good reason. Sometimes it amazed her how far some humans will go to survive in this world. She couldn't blame them though. This world was not easy to live in. "It might be easier just to get them off another car. Or maybe theres a store in town." Ali was clearly trying to look out for them knowing how infested the place was but it didn't seem like the other female would budge. She could sense her mood all over the place and she didn't have to be an angel to understand what was going on. Any woman knew what drastic mood swings meant but she kept her nose out of the girls business. Being a Radical that was hard to do but little did most know that she was watching their every mood anyways.

"They are a lot to handle..." Ali responded to the male who was clearly from the military. His clothes gave it away. Her eyes locked on him for a moment before turning back to the female. "Well if you are actually considering going in then you aren't going alone." She nodded before glancing around. "Our best bet is to go in threw the side." Alison started walking off around the side of the building assuming the would follow. She knew very well that the Animaters were roaming the hallways freely and the front entrance was probably the most dangerous. She knew they would have to at least take on some of them and thankfully she had chosen to carry around a firearm. She didn't really need it since killing them wasn't part of her job but she could play pretend. She didn't necessarily want them to know she was a Radical anyways. Most gave her crap for the lack of job she was doing when controlling the virus. The last thing she needed was more complaints.

notes'' blah this sucks but i wanted to get something for you guys fast.

[Darrea Kal]

It was always women who were the ones to cause trouble and one day they would be the end of him, he knew it. Who knows maybe today would be that day because this Marnie girls wasn't giving him many options as to his choices. He really didn't have any time to put his two cents in because seen the second girl was talking, suggesting alternative routes. But she even seemed to come to the same conclusion that the first girl wanted to go into the school. Darrea threw his hands in the air as the second girl started towards the school. Women, he really couldn't live without them but he would prefer if they at least took a minute to think shit through! He grumbled before motioning for Marnie to follow the other girl. "I'm Darrea by the way but you can call me Deo. I guess we're heading off on a suicide mission together, nice knowing you" he said, pretending to tip his hat to her. He looked up at the girl leading them and frowned though.

Jogging to catch up he fell into step beside her, holding out an arm to slow down her determined stride. "Why is it that everyone just ignores the guy with military training?" he asked, half jokingly, though he kept his tone light there was still a serious edge there. He knew what they were walking towards. "Do either of you know this building cuz I sure as hell don't!" he said, tossing his hands up as well. Though he was well armed and was trained will in rural combat he didn't like blindly busting into a building that he didn't know the layout of at all. He also didn't know the second girls name and that was beginning to bother him. "And if we're all going to go in there and get ourselves killed I'd at least like to know who's name I'm going to curse for leading the way" he said, giving a pointed look at Alison.

[Marnie O'Malley]

Marnie beamed at Deo. She followed the other girl close behind too, leaving Deo to bring up the rear. Marnie looked at the blond haired girl.

"It would be easier getting it off another car, but the car I have is american made. Most of the cars I see out here now are german, or japanese with some fords thrown in. Mine's a GMC Yukon. I know for a fact this school has a GMC Delorean in there for shop" Marnie explained to her.

Marnie glanced at Deo.

"There is no way a Re-Ani would get in here. It's completely sealed off from the rest of the world. A separate building. Before the apocalypse hit this was locked from the outside so no one could get in. I used to work at this high school" She said to them.

Memories of life before her flashed before her eyes. She shook her head not wanting to dwell on the past now. She had a mission to do and was going to do it. Lily was back at home with Derrick. He had been against her going, but she had reassured him that she knew the school inside and out. It would not be any problem getting what she needed. She knew he cared about her greatly. It was nice being wanted.

Marnie shifted the gun onto a different shoulder and waited for the other girl.

"Hehe what is your name?" she asked grinning at her .

[alison]

Alison slowed her stride as the man, who claimed to go by Deo, placed his arm in front of her. "Not ignoring. Just assuming you'd follow orders. The blonde smirked as her long wavy locks hung over her shoulders. She meant her comment in a teasing matter. He was after all a military man and he was trained to take orders. Technically she had superiority over the two of them but they wouldn't know. "Do you think we should go about this another way?" Her blue eyes were piercing as she looked him over. He was very fit. Something most military man were but also had the looks. It had been awhile since Ali had been with a man but in fairness she had more important things to tend to.

She finally stopped in her tracks and looked back at Marnie was she spoke of the high school. "Well lets hope so." Alison considered mentioning her familiarity with the school but it had been had been remodeled with the last hundred years. She could remember the one classroom building that held a class of twenty at the most but that didn't mean she wasn't acquaint with the layout. She had actually been to the school several times within the past nine years and little did they know why.

Alison rose an eyebrow as Deo directed an indirect question towards her. She wanted to retaliate with her own smartallic remark but hesitated as the other female persisted as well. "It's Alison. You can call me Ali if you like." She lead the way for a few more yards before coming to another halt near a side entry door. "So how do we want to do this." She turned towards Deo. "You're the military expert. Should would come up with a plan or just go in?" She wasn't trying to act with an attitude but she didn't like this idea at all despite going along with. Her purpose was to save lives, not put them at risk.

[Darrea Kal]

He was supposed to be good at taking orders? He stuck his tongue out at her childishly at that comment then looked away quickly as if pretending he hadn’t stooped that low. He couldn’t exactly spit in her face. He had an authority issue which was probably bad for someone in the army but oddly enough it was also why he had accelerated through the ranks so fast. At least she followed by asking if he thought they should going about this another way so he stopped pouting fairly quickly. But he had no time to answer before Marnie spoke, telling them what exactly they were doing. Hold the phone…. They were going to get a carb and radiator caps? And they were getting them for a Yukon from a Delorean? He wanted to turn around and shout at her that she was the stupidest girl alive for risking their lives for this. He sighed and stopped walking completely, rubbing his hand over his face. ”Is it a two barrel or a four barrel carb? And the Delorean rad caps probably won’t A. fit your SUV or B. hold the pressure.” he said with a sigh. His father had been a journeyman mechanic, heavy duty and automotive so Darrea had learned a lot growing up. Hell even his sister, who would complain at the smallest sign of dirt, could get under a car and fix every aspect of it. He grumbled something about women under his breath as they discussed the school not having many Mudo’s in there and his jaw almost dropped. Marnie was kidding right? They were swarming around in there.

Finally the second blond introduced herself as Ali and Darrea felt a bit better at least having that out of the way. Then she stopped walking, thankfully, before she went in and asked his opinion. The attitude in her tone made him narrow his eyes but he stopped and looked between the two girls. ”Honestly I vote we grab Marnie, throw her back in her truck and send her on her way. Unless there are other things you need then we can get any of those off another vehicle, even a ford.” he said with a shrug, backing up to lean against the doors. ”If we do have to go in there guns are just a stupid idea, no offense, if we had silencers then maybe but the second a gunshot goes off in a building it echoes and all those Mudo will be on us. All in all I’d say we’re going to die if we go in there” he said, looking at Marnie with a hard gaze. It was very rare that he was serious; he went running blindly into stupid situations often but this… There were worse things than death waiting for them in there. The fact that his tone had such a sharp edge to it now surprised even him. But at this point unless she listed 20 things from the Yukon that needed replacing he wasn’t letting them in…

[Marnie O'Malley]

Marnie raised an eyebrow at Deo. Someone obviously knew cars, much like herself , but since the both of them were so dead against going in, Marnie shrugged.

"Fine. Let's go" she said throwing her hands up in the air in defeat. She began heading back toward her GMC. None of them seemed to trust her, so what was the point? Perhaps Derrick could find something to use. Marnie considered stealing one of the Volvo Suv's that were parked on the street, but then was against it. She had no idea where the keys would be for that matter. She smiled at Ali.

"Do you have somewhere to go Ali?" she asked the other girl softly. "I could drop you off"


She paused by the curb and watched Deo and Ali. Her truck would still run so that wasn't a problem. She could always find something else in the meantime. There were no police around so who would think about stealing another car off the street? Even now she really hated the idea of stealing another one , but if her truck eventually broke down, she was going to have no other choice.

Derrick could probably snag something when he went out hunting. Perhaps he'd come across a GMC truck he could borrow from or something.

"What about you? Are you stationed here or can I drop you off somewhere?" Marnie asked Deo. Like maybe off a short pier? she wondered silently to herself still annoyed that she wasn't able to get what she needed. Her expression was polite though and her tone.

She beamed at Alison, glad that maybe she'd possibly have a girl bud to talk to. She had Derrick , but girltalk was something she missed terribly.

[Darrea Kal]

((sorry for skipping you Ains, figured I'd throw Deo's two cents in quick so maybe we can do the next thread))

He knew this girl didn't like him, but really he didn't care, usually he would be all about trying to get her to like him but she had been rude upon meeting him and the determined to get them all killed. Because of that he didn't want to be around her anymore. But at least she gave up easily and agreed to go. Marnie offered Ali a ride and Darrea folded his arms over his chest, something he very rarely ever did. She offered to him next and he wrinkled his nose but didn't reply to her, instead looked at Ali. "I was planning on heading into town to grab some food if your interested..." he said leaving an open ended invitation. He kind of wanted Alison to say no to Marnie simply because the blonde bothered him.

[alison]

Alison was quite shocked when their plan to go into the school had been put to the side. She hadn't thought it was possible with how driven Marnie was but you could say she was pleasantly surprised. The reason she had invited herself into the situation was because she didn't want the two getting harmed. Ali knew very well what they would have been walking to if they had proceeded, despite the other woman's confidence. The other blonde may not have been pleased with the outcome of the day but Alison was grateful that she had succeeded with her initial goal. She could sense that Marnie was annoyed. The chemical imbalance that she could read due to her angelic powers were off and annoyance wasn't the only thing she could tell. It may not have been an amazing gift but it helped when sensing danger and the moods of people around her. Those factors didn't seem important but in a world filled with disguised zombies, it helped to pick the out. It was one of the reasons why she was meant to scout the area. Luckily the negative emotions weren't targeted towards Ali. She felt for the woman who was simply trying to survive but she had a job as well.

Before she could answer Marnie's question another one was directed towards her by Deo and she slightly smirked at his proposal. "Actually...there's still some things I need do in town so I think I will follow him." She wavered her attention back and forth between the two. "But if you don't mind Marnie, I'd like to come by your place sometime. There's something I'd like to talk to you about. I know the town like the back of my hand. So if you give me your address I'll come by." In fact she knew a lot more than but giving away her identity freaked some people out. Hopefully her intention of wanting to see her again didn't freak Marnie out.

As Alison waited for what she hoped was a positive response, she peered back at Deo. She suddenly found herself hungry at the thought of food but she was also craving male attention as well.

[nikolai]

Nikolai hurried hearing voices and the purr of a large SUV around the corner, ramming the crowbar under the hood of a diesel short bus, the stench of what was probably dead 'tards. Damn humans. Damn Gods. He hated this planet. He hated the head of the gods for condemning him here, because his father was a hedonistic bastard. Other angry thoughts joined these as he popped open the hood of the small International bus, making a loud echoing clang as the hood's rusted locking mechanism broke in two, sending cloudy of powdered rust into the dead, desolate Maine air. Or what was Maine. Not that he cared too much. But hey as long as there were people willing to buy guns and ammo, he'd stick around. He paused briefly. Two bitches and an army man. The two girls could be bleeding hearts, and try to stop him from raiding and looting parts from something that wasn't his, or try to turn him over to the cops about the stolen bus. Happened to him once before. He decked the girl when he had the chance and took her gun, ammo, money and any thing else of value, probably sealing her fate. That would suck so hard if one of the two girls was the one who tried to turn him in. Knowing his luck it would be. And she would have Rambo kill him. "Damn" he growled drawing his .357 Python.

[Darrea Kal]

He studied Ali easily, standing in a more relaxed position now that he knew they weren't running blindly into danger any more. He let his arms drop to his sides now, looping a thumb in his belt loop and tilting his head easily to the side. Though he wasn't a huge fan of Marnie he was far from being openly hostile to her. Now that he knew they weren't going in a lazy smile had stretched across his lips again. Ali surprised him slightly by agreeing to go into town with him but saying that she wanted to see Marnie later. Girl time... He had always hated being a part of it so he quickly averted his eyes just in case he was addressed again.

It was the averting his eyes that brought his gaze to a shape moving in the distance. He pushed himself off from the door and slowly began to lift an arm in greeting. He was moving stealthily, creeping around a bus with his back to them. He pried open the hood and then turned as if to see if anyone else ah heard. This was when Darrea gave a wave but his hand dropped almost as soon his arm moved the guy had something in his hand. It only took a second for the military training to kick in. "Girls... Gun" he hissed, bringing his own firearm up with practiced ease, taking the rifle and dropping to the ground behind an old car. "Down!" he snapped, not bothering with politeness. He wasn't sure if the guy just assumed they were the undead or not but he wasn't taking any chances.