[private rp] Relic & Co.

[sataraxias]

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In no uncertain terms, Relic had told Siren to stay silent. The general definition of ‘silent’ meant no sound. None. Zero. Zilch. And what was that injured blond doing? She was practically hanging out the window shouting advice. That was directly undermining his advice and his attempts to deter from her. He liked this girl. She reminded him of someone. She’d be brave to the end, and it was his job to make sure that it wasn’t the end.

Before the world had casually decided to enter doomsday preparations by skipping the ‘preparations’ part, Relic had lived in the same place for his entire life. Acres of property and chores to do, and a rustic red farmhouse made of bricks and memories. There was a quote hung in his room - something that’d been nailed to the door by his mother when she’d been expecting, when she’d made that little space into his bedroom. A quote by one of the roman emperors, one that his mother had loved so keenly for its resonating words. He’d grown to hate his name - who named their child Aurelius? Seriously - but he’d never taken that quote down. He’d stared at it every night for nineteen and a half years. Maybe a little longer. It was funny the things that came to mind when one was running recklessly into a horde of hungering zombies. He’d thoroughly got their attention now, so he halted his calls and mumbled that one quote beneath his breath as he fought. Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not "This is misfortune," but "To bear this worthily is good fortune.” It was a pretty cool quote. Nobody could say that it wasn’t. He slashed and fought, and that quote stuck in his mind.

A cry rang out for him to turn around and he whirled to find… more creepers. One was startlingly close. “Very helpful,” he yelled up to Siren. He decided to speedily evacuate from the dead dude when he lost his knife to it, and in doing so he managed to find the bat that Riley had apparently dropped. There was the good fortune he was looking for. He scooped up that bat, swinging it easily in his aching hands. So much blood- so much gore. He tried to ignore it. They needed to hurry up, find a way - he needed to think. Groans seemed to become screams, his mind mistaking them for words- wait, had he just heard his surname? No, of course not… Just Riley calling him an idiot. Clearly an easy mistake to make.

He batted away a ghoul reaching with bony, rotted fingers and a clattering jaw towards him and fought his way towards Riley as she yelled at him over the racket. “Me? You’re the idiots who jumped down! You had the high ground!”

Siren’s heartstopping words rang out then, as another creeper came to block his vision, like those bells that were put to use in graveyards in the nineteenth century to determine if someone was buried alive. It actually kind of sucked that undead popping up from dirt wasn’t how the apocalypse had started… He downed the creeper in front of him with a harsh swing of the bat, eyes connecting with Riley’s just in time as she tugged herself back to back with what seemed to be a creeper.


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The world appeared to have such a frustrating vendetta against keeping his friends safe, and not just because they consciously made the effort to work against its efforts. It was wishful thinking, but he almost wished that he could backtrack to the moment two minutes ago when Jess’ arms were wrapped around him and just freeze it indefinitely.

But no.

Time moved on. Luca jumped out the window with nothing but a simple word tossed over her shoulder, some literal relic of his past, as if it justified his recklessness. And the problem was, in some irritating way, it did. If there had been a chance, even a small one, that it was his wife or his daughter… he’d be out there too.

Jess was quick to follow, leaving him standing there in their wake. Hand on his forehead, spinning slightly in a frustrated circle, Zeke groaned. He wasn't going to follow in their example and leap out the window but despite his frustrations there was no way he was leaving them to do this alone.

There was no time to waste staring out the open window. With a grunt, he’d shoved the desk blocking the door to the side so he could get out. Re-barricading the door had been a good idea at the time, though he had more than a few regrets now…

It was great that there were no creepers lingering in the house, because his footsteps on the stairs were executioner’s thunder. He ripped open the door he’d closed only moments earlier and ran, a hand falling to his side to get his gun from its holster.
Luca was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected, considering his head-start. Jess was a yard ahead of him, lagging in their blond friend’s wake, a creeper ambling towards her. His gun shot rang true, and he watched it topple, pushing himself to go faster to catch up.

[zara3447]

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　　𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚊
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　　Luca made it all of a dozen steps before the zombie horde finally got too thick to run through. Refusing to slow down--even to knife some well deserving creepers--he fixed his stare on that head of blonde hair and began shoving his way through the bodies. He'd always known that a public high school education would come in handy one day; he could throw elbows in jam-packed masses of people with the best of them.

　　Jessalyn hollered something at him from behind, sounding anything but happy. He had a lightning-fast moment of guilt. I'll make her some mac and cheese later. And apologize. Profusely. Just gotta make sure we all survive this first. A zombie interrupted his train of thought with a rather rude attempt at gnawing through his wrist. He paused to wrestle it off, shoving away from milky, sightless eyes and pallid, rotting skin. When he looked back, the mass of bodies had shifted, blocking his view of his brother. Jaw set in a stubborn line, he did his best to make his way towards where he'd last seen him.

　　An unfamiliar voice called Relic's name.

　　And then there was a touch on his back, a hand tangled in a fistful of his shirt. It tugged, and he followed. Hope was acid, was fire in his blood, molten and burning. Luca turned.

　　He looked down into blue, blue eyes; they were not the pair he ran into hell on earth searching for. These eyes were wide and thickly lashed, shadowed around the edges with dirt and fatigue. They did not belong to Relic.

　　Luca's expression then was one of blank incomprehension. "You're not my brother." His knife was wedged in his boot, his hands were empty, and this blood-splattered, armed stranger was so close he could feel the heat of her against his side. Plus, they were surrounded by zombies. Only then did it occur to him how much of a no-good-very-bad-terribly-stupid position he had put himself in. If she decided to take a swing at him, all he'd be able to do was duck.

　　Luca took a step back, opening his mouth. To say what, he didn't know, but another voice beat him to it. He glanced over her shoulder. And the rest of the world washed away into white noise.

　　He knew that voice like he knew the sound of his own heartbeat, pounding a staccato thunder in his ears. He'd seen those bold features more often in the past eighteen years than his own face in the mirror. His feet were moving before his mind caught up, flying unerringly in the direction of his heart. With a wordless cry of joy, he launched himself at Relic in a fierce tackle. Muscle and bone, so solid and so real in his grip. Golden hair coarse with grime rubbing against his cheek, as filthy as the rest of him. As the both of them.

　　For a moment they were weightless, airborne, suspended over all the world. Hope was the thing with feathers, and Luca had wings.

　　They had to fall eventually, as they always did, in a thousand hayloft brawls and barnyard tussles and midnight rooftop adventures. Neither one ever quite on top of the other. The breathless sensation of hitting the ground brought with it an overwhelming wave of deja vu. Luca was laughing, wheezing, clutching his brother so hard it was like he was trying to write a desperate apology in fingerprint bruises.

　　Enemies all around them, survival hanging on a fraying wire, and he swore he'd never been happier in his life.

[䏠xote]

[ "have a little faith in me, okay?" ]

faith didn't pause to watch where riley ran to, didn't stop to see what was going on in the chaos of shouting and screaming and... screeching. gunfire pulsed and faith could've sworn that every beat of his heart ricocheted just as hard against his ribcage. the bag in his dirty hands was just heavy enough, just full enough to be made a weapon of defense as he waded his way through monsters as fast as he could. one foot stretched out in front of the other, sprinting as blood rushed through his ears...

siren was yelling. she was trying her best to guide them, to be some kind of lookout from the high ground. then she was yelling his name.

his eyes locked onto the ivy that grew along the back wall of the garage, obscuring the hatch-cross pattern of plastic and wood behind it. yeah, he remember. he remember what it was like to climb all the way up to the top of the garage, to sit there and watch summer sunsets with a popsicle in his hand and siren at his side. it felt like faith had forgotten until now--forgotten those lingering summers and chaotic school years, dinners with the luss family where they'd be teased and doug would laugh that big, warm, almost scary laugh...

faith's eyes burned as he threw himself onto ivy, sticky fingers sliding against the wet foliage. he dug in, yanking himself up and issuing sharp puffs of breath as his shoulder stiffened with pain. he climbed as fast as he could, head pounding and drops of sweat and water rolling down into his sore, tired eyes. the undead shrieked below him, grasping at him and threatening to pull him down. he reached up, making one last effort to catch the edge of the roof.

the wet tips of his fingers barely hooked on the inside of the gutter, the thin metal creaking audibly under his weight.

crap.

crap crap crap.

he pulled his legs up, folding his knees to keep the toes of his shoes just out of reach of those clawing hands, unable to find purchase on the overgrown lattice.

come to think of it, where were siren's parents? she'd said something about her sister, and he'd had to assume... no, maybe she did mention it, and he just hadn't wanted to hear. he'd been real scared of them at first, especially siren's father and his wild, wiry look. when his own father was loud, it had never been pleasant; but doug had been loud in a good way. a safe way. if anyone could have made it at a time like this, shouldn't it have been him?

realization dawned on faith as he felt the metal give way again, balking. zombies grabbed at his dangling feet.

what a dumb guy.

who believes a stupid twelve year old's promise, anyway?

faith yanked upwards as hard as he could, slamming one foot down into the hands below, pushing off. the metal broke away, hard, and the ginger man grunted as his chest landed against the gritty roof paneling. it knocked the wind out of him, his vision swimming, and the grit tore at his palms and arms as he pulled his dangling legs after him. he rolled onto his back, panting, chest heaving... and when his vision cleared he saw siren, clambering out of the window.

"si..." he wheezed, voice crackling. he struggled to his knees, swaying as nausea built up in the pit of his stomach. "siren!"

[bailey.t136]

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------❛ siren lily luss ❜
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paragraph her father had been the first to go, in all of this. it had been unfortunate, really. the four of them had barely had time to react, but her father being a police detective gave them a bit of an advantage. or so she thought. he was the best father - loving, genuine, wise - but over everything, he was a protective father willing to sacrifice even his own life to keep them safe. when they'd first found out about the turning of neighbors and friends, her parents had locked her and her sister in the house and had taken off to find answers. "we're just running down to the station..." they'd said. "...to get the scoop..." that was her dad's favorite way of lightening the situation. but the "scoop" was never ever good.

paragraphthey'd promised to be back in fifteen minutes. but it had been fifteen days and they'd been long gone.

paragraphthe one who'd come for her though, faith, had been who she'd always relied on. people teased them as kids for being so close, but it was only because they were both so awkward and really just found each other at the right time. now, it was her turn to help him.

paragraphhis struggle up the lattice was excruciating to watch and she scrambled to the window in an attempt to climb out. her voice trembled as she watched him, "faith!!" she dragged her leg through the opening, whimpering as it leaked down her skin. she should've been more careful, but it was next to impossible now. suck it up, si. as she crawled through the opening, she managed to turn around and work it closed. if the zombies were able to break down her door, putting another barrier between them could give them the extra few moments they needed to possibly spare their lives.

paragraphsiren crawled quickly over to where faith had gotten to his knees, pale as a sheet and looking shaken to his core. what could she do to help him, other than to settle on the roof and pull him close... her own hands were shaking as she made her way over carefully and wrapped herself around him, "hey, hey... you're okay--" she pushed a few fingers through his soaked hair to get it out of his eyes, "--there are zombies at my door. i didnt know what to do... but i think we're safe here for now." her voice trembled but she did her best to steady it for him. everything in her wanted to ask him what they were supposed to do... to seek some wisdom from someone she knew always had answers. but he was shaken too.

paragraphshe leaned down gently to press a kiss on his glistening forehead and held him close to her chest, "catch your breath- it's okay, i've got you."

[ethereal .]

an idiotic thing to do really, to think that something could go right in a world full of wrong. and not just because the world she was in was right out of a horror movie. even before that it would've been foolish to do. riley used to be the type of girl who believed in fate, and because of that she was cautious with every little thing she did. she was afraid that if she did something wrong karma would strike her down, hard and painful as a lightning bolt. not now. not anymore. the end of the world wasn't fate, and it wasn't bad luck either. it was something entirely different and yet she had no idea what that 'difference' was. all she knew was she no longer had her fear to hide behind. it was something she had to face head on.

she'd thought that's what she'd been doing all this time, but nothing could prepare her for the moment she locked eyes with relic. it felt like her world was spinning, or maybe it was just really bad vertigo. either way, she felt like she was going to hurl right then and there. if relic was there, then who had so she confidently grabbed on to? the fact that it could've been another human never crossed her mind. hell, nothing crossed her mind in those few fleeting seconds. her brain screamed at her to raise her weapon to protect herself, but her body refused to move as if it had already accepted what was going to happen.

when she looked up she had one hundred percent expected to be met with milky white eyes that stared through her with an eeriness that couldn't be explained. instead, she looked straight into a shade of blue that felt familiar without being just that. fully expecting this stranger to express his distrust the same way faith and siren did only hours earlier, she clenched her jaw tightly. the gun to her face never came, neither did anything but four simple words that sent her into immense confusion. did she look like a brother? well that's a little insulting.

"i wouldn't think so." she stated just loud enough for him to hear her as he took a step back. she sucked in a sharp breath as she realized what it was about him that seemed so familiar. that shade of blue was almost identical to the eyes she'd been looking into for the past couple days, but it was the features more than anything that stood out. marcus, lucius, and julius wasn't it? one of an empire. the question was, who was this? before she even had a chance to open her mouth again he was gone, sprinting in a different direction. "oh-" her eyes widened slightly as she whirled around, watching him take down the person she'd originally gone after.

she wanted to smile as the seemingly younger kiethe laughed relentlessly, but they were still in the middle of a warzone. bodies were dropping like flies, but they'd be among them if they didn't act fast. riley followed after him, moving like she had a purpose, and she did. make sure they all lived to see another day. out of the corner of her eyes she could see the dead creeping in on the two on the ground, causing her body to go stiff. she was starting to panic for what must've been the millionth time that day. "son of a- ..relic!" she called breathlessly as she drove her knife into a soft skull. "we need to go, please!" she stared down at the two with pleading eyes. she didn't want to be that person, but there had to be a better time for this. then again, she'd more than likely do the exact same if it were brandon.

[sataraxias]

priority check! its not studying for my exams apparently~~

yeah this is relic i'm just very lazy to do format™️

here flew hummingbirds in the dirt, buzzing with renewed vigour as the world decided for once that miracles didn’t have to be subtle things, that they could be rare and announced and kind. luca had always shone, but now the brightness of his laugh rivalled the sun in all its brilliant glory as it hid behind rainy clouds from 149.03km away. it lit up his world and his face. family lost, and family found.

of course riley may had to ruin their moment. she had a point, of course she did. dumb riley may and her irritating mastery of common sense. the groans of the damned around them were a cacophony ruining luca’s central performance in his joyful attention. relic had to pull himself away and armed with a grin, take hold of the bat he’d dropped at his brother’s sudden collision into him, and vibe check a creeper. boink. ew, guts.

it was a teeny bit screwed up to do that while smiling, but that was the world now and not even the horrible violence they found themselves surrounded by could distract from the euphoria of his brother. the only thing that could do that was the lack of his other brother. his grin had faltered slightly as he looked around the chaos and wasn’t met with julius’ ugly noggin. but now was not the time to ask, because riley was right. they needed to go.

“gotcha,” he said. “speedy evac. let’s go. what’s the emergency plan, riley may?”

he wondered if he should mention that the car was not outside this house. it was in the garage of that other house. she probably already knew that.

his grin renewed as he focused on looking for an escape instead of his brother when he caught sight of siren and faith on the roof. that was freakin’ funny. how’d she get up there? he found himself proud of this stranger he’d only met like a few hours ago (or maybe less than that, his watch was broken, so his sense of time was surely skewered) for her sheer force of will. anyway, she was on the roof. he wondered if that’d be a problem.

relic turned again, whamming another creeper in the face.

“there’s a dead body inside,” he said, ghost of a suggestion that wasn’t spoken outright, because going there was not something he was sure he wanted to do, even to survive. but like, if the others wanted too... “like, a dead, dead body. should be six feet under, but instead its stinking up a blanket. rest in peace to jess- siren’s sister. kicked the bucket too soon.”

[Nightsent]

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indent The thicker the hoarde of undead became, the more Jess felt her heart sink and the more terrified she became. What in the world was she thinking, anyway? What was LUCA thinking?! Jess could understand longing for family - she's worried sick about her's since this nightmare started. But they couldn't help their families if they were dead.

indent She kept running. Going against the flow of the crowd would be more dangerous than running with it. But that didn't stop her from searching, eyes wild, for an escape. There was a treehouse hanging above where Luca had stopped, but the sea of undead was so thick there... No. She couldn’t do it.

indent Carefully, Jess wove her way towards the edge of the crowd. Her heart felt like it was going to burst, her lungs like they’d collapse. Every terror, every horrible casualty, every gruesome mauling she’d witnessed since the start of this nightmare fought for the forefront of her attention. Her brain seemed to say “Look at that! That’s what’s gonna happen! Won’t it be terrible?” with every step she took. Keeping her undivided attention on getting to safety and not disrupting the zombies’ flow was one of the more difficult things she ever had to do.

indent It took some doing - quite a lot of doing, actually - but Jess made it to a clearing and managed to scramble up a tree before one of the zombies pulled it’s attention away from the distant battle. She peered back the way she came, only to find that Zeke hadn’t been too far behind after all. And there was no more room in this little tree for him to climb to safety.

indent That, of course, left only one option. A few scrapes and bruises were the price of such a quick drop out of the tree. I mean, yeah, there were plenty of other trees around that he could have climbed up to keep himself safe, but Jessalyn wasn’t going to start using that noggin’ of her’s now. Would make the countless times she didn’t use it for nothing.

indent “Oh my god, Zekey, oh my god, oh my god, oh! my! god!” She exclaimed, “What was he thinking? What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking! What are we going to do? We’re so dead - he’s so dead! He just! Ran right into the thick of it! What if he gets bit? I don’t think I can do that again, Zeke. I can’t- We have to... W-what about the treehouse? Treehouses are safe, right?”