Park! ....So orange!

[TenderFoot]

A strong and chilling breeze swept across the park, rustling the orange and yellow leaves off of the trees. The gust of wind almost knocked Todd off balance while he was drifting down the concrete walkway on his skateboard. He stopped and kicked up his board, grabbing the end and holding it up. Winter was approaching and the air was getting colder, he shivered and grit his teeth. He was not looking forward to spending it in that dingy old safe house like he did last year. Well….maybe it wasn’t all of winter…but he had for a at least a month before he was offered a place to stay. Now he didn’t know what to do; his older brother Tadd had been out of town for at least two weeks and hasn’t returned. Tadd had told him that he was close; he was so close to finding their parents and the rest of their siblings. Todd sighed and watched dead leaves roll over his sneakers sullenly. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had a dreadful feeling that his brother was only saying that so he wouldn’t realize the truth.

He let his board fall to the sidewalk and stepped on it. Leaning forward and kicking off the ground, he started riding off again. Todd didn’t want to think about whatever knowledge Tadd was trying to hide from him. He shook his head and cleared is thoughts. No, now was not the time. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the weather before it started getting colder and snowing everywhere. When snow and ice started covering the ground, it meant he couldn’t skateboard. He always hated winter because of that, not so much because of the cold. It wouldn’t really bug the teen as much if there was an indoor skate park nearby….but yeah. Todd liked playing in the snow and then going inside afterwards to huddle under five blankets to stay warm. Fuck! Still no xbox!

He skated lazily through the park, lost in the extravagant thoughts of winter that he most likely wouldn’t be able to participate in for a while. Not until things settled down with the Green Flu and he found a proper place to live. Without even realizing it, he skated straight off the pathway. The front wheel of his skateboard caught in the grass and suddenly stopped, causing Todd to flip forward and tumble into a pile of dead leaves. “Ahh!” He yelped in surprise while he flew through the air. When he landed, leaves flew into the air until drifting back down to the ground. He groaned in pain and popped his head out of the leave pile. “Owww…. What the hell was that nasty spill?” Todd asked, rubbing his head which he had knocked on the hard ground. Wincing and shutting one eye, he quickly glanced around in hope that no one had seen that.

[TheOperator]

((alrighty then, here goes :3))

Olivia was hiding in a nearby bush, her hood down for a change but her visor beanie pulled down low over her head to shadow her green and brown eyes. She wore a white raincoat over top of her red hoodie due to the chill in the air that day. Her hoodie was so long though that the sleeves protruded past the sleeves of the raincoat and sufficiently hid her hands. As she crouched there, Olivia hid her Spitter mouth with her covered hands and was thankful that her white raincoat was relatively good camouflage for her white spit that seeped down. Her black cargo shorts showed dirty knees from crawling around behind the bushes earlier as she'd hunted down a squirrel's cache to examine.
The small girl peered through a small break in the thick bush, watching Todd with curious eyes. She'd never been this close to a human before (without being shot at, of course) and was puzzled by what he was doing. She'd never seen such crazy antics from anyone (aside from her mom's boyfriend).

[TenderFoot]

“Ah… What an embarrassing spill…” Todd grit his teeth and continued to rub his head as he stood up from the leaf pile, many of the crinkly brown and orange foliage clinging to the fabric of his sweatshirt. He tried brushing the annoying leaves off, wrinkling his nose as he did so. The pain against his head was starting to subside, and was soon forgotten. After years of skateboarding, Todd could get up and walk away from most injuries like they were nothing. The teen still had lots of practice before he deemed himself actually ‘good’ at skateboarding, but ever since the apocalypse happened, the only one who could really judge his performance was himself. A virus breakout is no excuse to slack off!

The short redhead furrowed his brow at himself and puffed out a cheek. He stepped over towards the sidewalk where he flipped off his board and bent down to pick it up off the grass. Sighing, he tucked his precious skateboard under his arm and looked up. The wind was picking up again, all of the vegetation was blowing in every direction, the splintery hands of the trees grabbing and swatting at the sky. All of a sudden, something white caught Todd’s attention. He jumped slightly, realizing that there was actually someone crouching in a bush about fifteen feet away. The teen felt his cheeks grow warm, oh God, that means that they saw him totally wipe out like three seconds ago! Todd bit the inside of his cheek, not sure if the other person noticed that they had been spotted. How awkward. He glanced around in discomfort for a few seconds before returning his gaze to the bright red hoodie he could see through the clear sections of the bush. He adjusted the board under his arm and took a step forward, “Uh…Hey, are you okay in there?” He half-wondered if whoever was in the bush was actually stunk in there!

[TheOperator]

Olivia froze, like a deer in head lights. She didn't want to show herself, lest the immune flip out and try to kill her. but at the same time if she didn't do something he was likely to come closer and then she'd be in real danger. She carefully scanned him over. Looked like the only thing that he had to be a weapon was his skateboard, unless he was hiding a gun somewhere. Though watching Todd Olivia had for a brief moment pondered as to how dangerous he'd really be. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Um...no, no. I'm fine. I was just looking for a squirrel's cache." she said slowly, carefully. She didn't want her voice to gurgle or do something else spitter like, cause that really wouldn't have helped her. "You don't need to come any closer. i'm fine really, I'll be on my way now."

Olivia turned away from him and began to quickly crawl under the bushes and away, hoping that he wouldn't follow her. She really didn't want to have to spit at him if he tried to hit her with his skateboard. She got distracted for a moment when she came across a mound of turned earth. Temporarily forgetting that Todd was merely twenty feet away she carefully dug into the earth and found a small cluster of seeds. At last!

[TenderFoot]

“Uh….what?” Todd lowered his head forward a little and raised an eyebrow dumbly. He wasn’t entirely sure if he heard the other correctly. “You mean like nuts?” The immune raised his head back again, yet his perplexed expression remained on his face. He could tell from the other’s voice that they were a girl, and they sounded pretty young. He pursed his lips to the side, he really couldn’t question why a kid wanted to collect nuts. Little kids always did weird and random things that didn’t require a reason. However, the girl in the bush seemed a little frightened by him as well; warning him not to come any closer. He wanted to reassure her that he was friendly. Maybe she was lost or separated from her family. That happened a lot in the city thanks to the Green Flu; in fact it was exactly what happened to him.

Todd’s own question was answered when he saw the figure emerge from the safety of the bush, only to bend down a few steps away to start digging in the ground. Yeah….last time I remember, squirrels bury all their nuts and crap under the dirt for winter. “Uh….” Todd stepped around the bush to try and get a better look at the young girl. He stared at the various nuts and seeds that were clustered in a fresh patch of dirt at the girl’s feet. “You aren’t….going to eat those…are you?” He moved the skateboard in front of himself uncomfortably, wincing at the thought of eating dirt covered nuts. But hey, she was a kid too. She could be just collecting them for a necklace or something. Best not to assume, best not to assume… He mentally reminded himself while trying to relax.

[TheOperator]

She shivered slightly in fear when she realized that Todd was able to see her.

Best to keep my face turned away.... she thought hurriedly.

"No, I just wanted to see what exactly they bury in their caches. Though I wonder where this guy found sunflower seeds...I haven't seen any sunflowers around here, have you?" she asked, not looking at him. "Acorns...pine seeds...this squirrel's been busy....hmmm...." she added in a mutter that was mostly directed to herself.

Mentally she kicked herself. She was doing her best not to show that she was an infected, but she was probably freaking him out with her current actions. Not to mention that she was more than scared being so close to an immune.

[TenderFoot]

A small laugh escaped Todd, and he found himself smiling a little. He had to admit that it was pretty interesting to see what kind of objects squirrels gathered and buried around in the ground. “Well… the park is in the middle of a city. I think you can find sunflower seeds pretty easily!” He laughed against and took a few steps closer to peer over the girl’s shoulder. He noticed that her hood was up. With another strong breeze, the redhead couldn’t help but shiver. That was actually a pretty good idea… Todd tugged down his hat over his eyes and then reached over his shoulders to flip up his hood. He tilted his head back slightly to peer out at the girl below him. “So what’s your name? I’m Todd… do you live around here?” He asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. He let a grin spread across his heavily freckled face. “Does your family know you’re here by yourself?” His usual concern for younger children was starting to well up in the back of his mind.

[TheOperator]

"I'm Olivia. My mom knows I'm here. And if I get in trouble Errick will see me and come to help. It's nice of you to show concern to a stranger like me. There isn't a lot of people like you in the world anymore." Olivia pushed the seeds back into the hole and carefully covered them. She patted the dirt and got to her feet, brushing her knees off. Then she started to walk along the sidewalk. She swung her arms along and looked at the sky, sighing.
"I hate winter." she muttered. "It feels like spring and summer were skipped this year. At least to me anyway."

[TenderFoot]

Huh… seems like this girl hasn’t had many people care about her or something. “Uh…” Todd leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees as he continued to watch the girl bury seeds. His board was resting haphazardly across his knees. “Really? I think there’s a lot of nice people still around…” He bit the inside of his cheek and thought for a moment, “That is unless you’re talking about infected! Cause those dudes usually are pretty nasty!” His eyebrows shot up as he explained, “Seriously, if they aren’t jumping at their throat trying to rip it out, they just insult you and make you feel like shit.” They then furrowed as he recalled a grumpy hunter named Victor who used to call him names. Todd felt his ears heat up again, and he puffed out his cheeks. Victor also thought it was amusing to embarrass the poor ginger to the point of hysterics.

“But uh…” Todd scratched the back of his head, about to say something about the hunter when the subject was changed. He blinked and looked up to the grey sky, straightening his back and standing up properly. “Yeah it is getting pretty cold fast….” Todd grimaced. “You got a home to stay at right? All I have for shelter is some crummy safe house.” He gave out a weak laugh. “It’s cold but at least it’s gonna be out of the snow once it comes, right?” The redhead was always trying to look on the bright side of things.

[TheOperator]

Listening to what he said about the infected made Olivia shiver.

"Yeah. My house is nice and warm. My mom and her boyfriend love me ever so much." Olivia fretted internally. Her house was behind her, but she'd have to walk by Todd to get to it. And to do so would risk exposing herself. Nothing to it. She could do it.

She tugged her hat down low, pulled her hood down around her head even more, then pulled her sleeves over her hands and put them to her face, hiding the deteriorated flesh around her chin and lower teeth. She turned and kept her head low, walking past Todd. She walked at a slow enough pace that she wouldn't - no, couldn't possibly - be deemed suspicious. As she moved by him, Olivia felt her heart falling to her stomach in fear.

But if he hadn't realized what she was by now, then maybe he wouldn't figure it out now....too much to hope for.

[TenderFoot]

Something pressed down on Todd’s chest, a slight pressure that made it a little harder to breathe. The teen couldn’t help but frown sadly to himself. It sure seemed like this little girl had a nice, loving and warm family. Her first impression of potential missing family members was almost the complete opposite of what Todd had originally assumed. “Wow, sure sounds nice….” To have family. A mom. A roof over your fucking head… Todd thought bitterly, tucking his board back under his arm while the girl rose from her crouching position. He didn’t watch her as she passed him; he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts. His dark blue eyes remained on the dirt patch on the ground. He wished that his family was all back together, or at least Tadd would come back before it got freezing. Todd hated being alone; the whole idea of it was always so alien to him and made him feel uncomfortable and unsafe. All of his life he was constantly surrounded by his large family, and even if they weren’t around he could always look to the side and see Tadd attached to his hip. This zombie apocalypse caused the longest separation between the twins, and although Tadd seemed fine with it, Todd was left feeling a little uneasy.

“Alright…” He finally looked up and watched the back of Oliva’s head slowly retreat from where he was standing. Todd felt his vision unfocus and he let his gaze drift towards nothing in particular. The older teen guessed that Oliva was going back home, since she was leaving. “Uh…bye I guess…?” He called after her lamely, not really putting any effort into it. He tucked his hands under his arms to warm them, keeping his board held tightly against his chest.

[TheOperator]

Olivia opened her mouth to say "bye" in return, but a sudden barking made her freeze, before a massive Infected wolfhound leaped onto her and flattened her to the ground, drooling and sniffing her with its tail wagging a hundred beats per second in pure joy. The dog jumped off and crouched, barking, eager to play. It froze when it spotted Todd.

Olivia let out a small squeal when she realized that the dog had knocked her hood back and her hat up, exposing her face entirely. White Spitter spit streamed out of the corner of her mouth missing a portion of her bottom lip, open wounds on her chin with the bottom as exposed bone from all the years of the currently weak acid dripping down her mouth. She stared at Todd in utter fear, completely frozen and unable to move.

Meanwhile a part of her mind wondered how in the hell she'd missed Wolfram in this open park. A wolfhound was a pretty big thing to miss. But then, if he was here, that would have to mean that her teacher was somewhere here as well. Her mind spun quickly. If Logan was nearby, she'd be able to holler for help if Todd attacked.

"I...I...I didn't want you to see..." she stuttered, tearing up. "You were so nice to me and all!"

[TenderFoot]

Suddenly out of nowhere, a huge muggy looking dog leaped at Oliva and knocked her over. Panic struck Todd and he ran over immediately with his board raised, ready to knock the beast off the small girl. “Don’t worry I’m-“ He stopped himself when he noticed that the dog’s tail was wagging furiously and it was yapping out friendly sounding barks. The older teen slowly lowered his board from above his shoulder, a confused expression stuck on his face.

The dog was staring at him, Todd didn’t want to provoke it to attack so he lowered his board some more until he finally dropped it at his side to the ground. He sucked in his lower lip, still a bit confused. “Hey, is this your dog?” He looked over to the fallen Oliva and nearly stopped breathing when he saw her face. The girl’s face was paler than a ghost and her lips looked battered, cut up and bloodied; like someone had grinded her face up against asphalt. What really made Todd’s stomach churn was the bit of white bone that was visible on the skinless end of Oliva’s chin surrounded in red. “Oh my- Oh my God! Oliva!” He rushed over, not even aware at what she was saying. The older teen hurried and grabbed her under her shoulders and helped her to her feet. “We have to get you to a hospital right now, those look like they really hurt!” He yelped, wrapping a strong and supportive arm around her. Todd watched her with concern, “Why didn’t you tell me before that you’re face was cut up!? You can get an infection or something!” Todd’s mind raced; he didn’t know what to do, where to go. Where was the nearest hospital from the park? Should he maybe try and find a police officer!? He tightened his grip around Oliva to make sure she knew that he was still there, “Don’t worry, you’ll be okay!” He looked around in worry and started to lead her out of the park.

[TheOperator]

"I! I! Wait, what? No! I'm not! What? Are you serious? A hospital? i don't think you'd be taken too kindly there personally. being Immune and all..." Olivia was utterly confused. Was Todd a bigger idiot than she thought at first? He certainly seemed oblivious. She strained to look behind when she heard a snarling growl from Wolfram.
"I'm going to duck now." she stated wisely. With that she knocked Todd's arms away and threw herself to the side as Wolfram lunged at Todd, snarling.

"Don't hurt him, Wolfram!" olivia shouted. "It would be bad to hurt such a nice -albeit, oblivious- guy!"

Wolfram thudded to the ground beside Todd, snarling. The wolfhound placed himself between Olivia and Todd, just in case. He looked at Olivia and whined, his clouded eyes darting over to Todd and his hackles raising every time he looked.

"No, no. Eating humans is a bad thing. bad dog." Olivia walked over to Wolfram and tapped his nose. He was pretty much as tall as she was, though maybe shorter by a couple inches. He whined again and licked her cheek.

Olivia looked at Todd and shied behind Wolfram.
"I'm sorry. he didn't mean to attack. he was just protecting me." she whispered, winding a finger through some of Wolfram's wiry hair. The dog snorted at Todd.

[TenderFoot]

The air was knocked out of Todd’s lungs when a huge mass of fur and muscles rammed into his side. “Ah! What the hell?!” The teenager was ripped away from Oliva and tumbled to the hard and cold ground. He skidded in the grass from the sheer amount of force that the dog knocked into him and felt his sweatshirt hitch up a bit under his armpits. Todd heard the dog growling and was aware of the stinging pain that radiated from his elbows, but he quickly forced himself to his feet. He breathed rapidly and tugged down his hoodie to cover his exposed stomach. Grass and bits of dirt fell from his clothing and returned to the earth at his feet.

Quickly glancing between the dog and the girl, his question from before was again answered. He raised an eyebrow at Oliva while he panted and tried to catch his breath. Todd felt his heart racing beneath his ribcage. He was so confused right now and he felt his adrenaline start rushing through his veins. What the fuck is going on?! He tried to make sense of the situation in his mind, but his thoughts were too clouded to think properly.

He took a step towards Oliva, trying not to show his fear when he heard her telling the dog not to eat humans. Todd gaped, giving the small girl a look of slight betrayal and utter astonishment. “W-what are you talking about!? He could of hurt you! Your face is cut and bleeding!” He threw his hands in the air, wanting to help this girl from getting sick. She should not be outside in this weather with open wounds on her face. His eyes returned to glaring at the dog that was standing protectively in front of its owner. He admired the animal for its loyalty, but right now it was preventing Todd from helping Oliva. He hastily picked up his board again, making sure to keep an eye on the dog as he did so, and then tried to approach her again. “Oliva we have to go get you some help or something!” Todd was practically pleading at this point, really finding himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

[TheOperator]

Olivia fixed him dry stare, before signing.
"I really don't need any help."

It was strange, but the more this random act continued, Olivia found herself becoming more bold and less shy of the human.

"Do I need to spell it out for you? Here, watch."

Olivia turned her head and spat a glob of spit to the side. it flew about 5 feet and hit the ground, instantly sizzling and soaking into the ground, creating a small patch of burned grass about an inch wide.

"My mom can do even bigger pools!" she stated proudly, spreading her arms wide to demonstrate. "it's so awesome! But she only does it to people who try to hurt us. Other than that she just goes for a fist fight.." Olivia droned off when she heard furious stomping drawing near. Turning around again, she spotted Logan storming over, eyes almost glowing, tongue waving about angrilly, and claws flexing. A torn leash was held in one hand and he pointed accusingly to Wolfram, stopping 20 feet away.
"There you are! Dear god you nearly tore my arm out and half my face off! Why the hell did you run off like that! I otta-" Logan looked at Olivia. "Oh. Hello Ms. Shroedir. i should have known. That dang dog goes so ballistic when he scents you. I always lose some skin when he goes running off to find you." The hybrid sent a death glare at wolfram, who pointedly looked away and snorted.

Then Logan noticed Todd.
"Who the hell is that?"

"Allow me to introduce you. Mr. Andersson, this is Todd. Todd? This is my gym teacher, Mr. Andersson." Olivia said sweetly, face glowing as she introduced them.

"Charmed, I'm sure." Logan replied dryly.

[TenderFoot]

Watching Oliva lob a huge pile of acid spit out of her mouth, Todd remained silent. He then stared at the patch of sizzling grass, appearing to be calm. “Ohh….” His mouth formed a quiet ‘o’ shape while he stared, refusing to remove his transfixed gaze. However, on the inside Todd felt like all of his organs were squirming and writhing around as if screaming at the ginger to start running before they were eaten by the flesh-craving Infected. A heavy droning buzz was blanketed over Todd, and whatever noise was coming out of Oliva’s mouth sounded as if his head was underwater. He lifted his glazed over eyes up to Oliva, noticing another figure nearing her from behind. The extremely long tongue flailing around out of the stranger’s mouth was enough to tell Todd that it was a smoker.

If Todd wasn’t pale already, he was now about the color of a sheet of paper. He swallowed hardly and let his mouth hang open dumbly as he stared at the couple, eyes suddenly zipping back into focus. The copper colored eyebrows on Todd’s forehead slowly came together in a perplexed sort of gaze and he closed his mouth. Oliva’s mouth was moving but all Todd could hear was his mind yelling at him. Run…..Run! RUN. He felt like his feet were suddenly cemented to the ground; he couldn’t move them. Then one of the infected took a step towards him and something in his consciousness cracked. His body pulsed with adrenaline and his heart started pumping like he had just run two miles without stopping. A frightened noise of terror erupted from Todd’s mouth as he whipped, nearly falling over himself in the rapid change in direction. Once he had gained his footing, Todd bolted in the opposite direction of where the two infected and dog were standing. Gripping his board tightly under his arm, he ran as fast as he could out of the park, not even daring to look back once. Infected! She was- Ahwah?! No! It’s impossible! She was the whole time! Auhgh! Why am I so stupid! She coulda killed me! He shut his eyes tightly when he imagined his skin burning from that Spitter acid just like those grass blades. Jesus Christ, her dog is probably infected too! While he was running, Todd tried to wipe any remnants of dog hair or slobber off of himself. The only thing that accomplished was making him look stupid; flailing his arms around like he was trying to swat away invisible bees or something.

[TheOperator]

Olivia and Logan stared after him with blank expressions, mouths hanging open.

"I thought we could be friends!" Olivia blubbered.

"He's an Immune, armed with a skateboard, facing a juvenile Spitter, a Smoker?Witch thing, and wolfhound who's infected. Would you want to hang around?" Logan pointed out dryly.

Olivia slapped a fist into a palm, eyes set.
"I must catch him and make friends with him!" she announced, pumping a fist into the air. She started to run after Todd.

"Wait! I just wanna be friends!" she wailed, flailing her arms.

Wolfram barked and took off, paws pounding the ground as the dog slammed into Olivia, flipped her onto his back, and then ran after Todd with a happy drooling grin on his face.

Logan slapped his face, drawing his claws down it.
"This is utterly annoying." he muttered, racing after them. "Wolfram, you get back here right now and leave that man alone!" he howled, shrieking like a witch at the dog. Wolfram ignored his master, having too much fun chasing down Todd.

[TenderFoot]

Behind him, Todd started to hear the heavy panting of the great beast. He also heard Oliva shouting something, but all he registered was that they were chasing him. “Oh God, oh God, oh God…!” Why did they have to chase him?? Todd was already scared out of his mind, and now they were chasing him. Probably going to pounce on him and then start tearing his skin off with their slimy infected teeth. He shook his head frantically, eyes clamped shut. “Stay away from me!” Todd lifted his board and swung it around himself to try and keep the zombies away.

Finally his sneaker met with pavement and he had breached the outer edges of the park. Todd sprinted across the street, careful to dodge an oncoming car, and then rush down the sidewalk. His shoes pounded against the hard cement and his own breathing was heavy in his ear. The redhead’s lungs were starting to burn but he didn’t slow down in the slightest. Adrenaline was still coursing through his body and his mind was frantic; in survival mode. He heard the two chasing him, and whenever something of the infected variety was chasing him…Todd really felt like his life was threatened. Luckily the safe house he had decided to take shelter in was near the park, and once he rounded the 2nd block it came into view. Silently, Todd did a mental cheer and urged his tired legs to run faster. Once he was near enough, Todd grabbed the edge of the metal door frame and yanked himself in, closing the heavy metal door shut in the process. He dashed for the thick steel bar that was sitting cheerfully in a nearby plastic chair and grabbed it. Turning around he frantically returned to the safe house door in two hurried strides and slammed the bar into the metal clasps that locked it in place. Todd whimpered once the door was bolted secure and quickly backed up against the opposite wall of the safe house. He could still see outside through the widow laced with metal bars. It was like a jail, except Todd never wanted to leave. His lungs suddenly burned with ten times more vigor and Todd clutched his chest. His heart was hammering against his hand and felt a dull ache with each time it pumped. Gritting his teeth, Todd tried to swallow but he found his throat to be painfully dry. He gaped loudly and then winced. All that intense running in the cold, crisp autumn air really wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but at least he was alive.

[TheOperator]

Wolfram yipped and his paws scrambled at the cement as he slid towards the door, trying in vain to stop. Olivia jumped off and rolled to a crouch as the massive dog slammed into the door with a loud "Bang!" The dog whined and whimpered, scratching at the door and snorting. He laid down in front of the door and pushed his snout against the door corner, snorting and whining again.

Olivia ran over to the door and knocked on it (conscious of staying out of view). She paused for a moment, then politely knocked on the door again. She hoped that Todd would reply. He didn't seem to listen to her very well.

[TenderFoot]

The frightened ginger nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud bang resounded from the heavy steel door. Immediately he leapt to his feet towards the weapons locker that was placed against the opposite wall. Grabbing his trusty assault rifle from the rack, he shakily reached for an ammo magazine. His hands were so jittery from the adrenaline he had to struggle for a moment before it finally clicked into the slot. Todd held his breath as he pulled back the operating rod, the loading noise deafeningly loud in the silent safe room. His blue eyes glanced over to the door, a knocking was heard but he couldn’t see the source of it. From the corner, he could hear the beastly dog’s great snorts and pants trying to nose though the small gap. Todd swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and held his firearm flat against his chest. “G-go away or I’ll shoot!” His voice cracked, but he hardly noticed it. His fingers flexed around the forestock, trying to get feeling back into the ends of his digits. All of the months after the outbreak had properly trained Todd how to use the overpowering weapon even though it made him look even feebler. He knew how to use it and he never hesitated to use it if he felt threatened. “Just….” Todd let out a breath and closed his eyes, opening them again once he felt calmer. “Just leave now and I won’t splatter your brains across the pavement.” He made sure they heard him click off the safety so they knew he wasn’t kidding around.

[TheOperator]

Olivia pressed herself against the wall, out of sight. She grabbed Wolfram's collar and pulled him away to hide as well. She wrapped her hands around the dog's muzzle to keep him quiet even though he managed to snort at her in annoyance.
"I just want to be friends!" olivia cried ;A; She rubbed her eyes, then scowled. She sat in silence for a few seconds before speaking. "Why are you so afraid of a 12 year old?" she asked softly yet loud enough to hear. "Is it because I'm Infected? I don't eat brains or other organs, you know. I prefer chicken and pork. And ice cream..." she drooled for a second at the thought and determined that she should make a stop by J. J. Scoops with her mother later. "And I've never hurt anyone aside from some bullies at my school. I don't like conflict. Besides, if I spit on you it would only be a mild irritation, like poison ivy. I haven't got the acid content of other Spitters yet." She frowned and pressed the side of her face against Wolfram's neck, sighing.
"I do hope you heard all that, cause I don't want to repeat." she grumbled darkly. She got to her feet and pulled Wolfram around the corner to be even further out of sight.

[TenderFoot]

Todd sighed. Oh Jesus, here came the guilt. “No…” he finally said quietly, licking his lips nervously. The shaken teenager took a step from the wall towards the safe house door. With his assault rifle still halfway raised in front of himself, Todd didn’t dare get any closer. “I wouldn’t mind being your friend,” He continued, “but when you say stuff like, ‘oh IF I spit on you it wouldn’t even hurt anyway’- Ahaha! No!” He sounded liked he was on near hysterics before he suddenly ended his sentence flatly. Todd laughed again, a little more crazy sounding like he did not believe he was actually talking to an infected right now. “No one… You are not going to spit on me. Ever. Got it?” He grit his teeth together and stared angrily at the door. Although Todd felt bad about threatening to shoot a 12-year old and her dog, they were still infected. The first thing about infected, is to not trust them, no matter what age they are. A feral infected baby could still try to bite and eat at him! Nope! No chances, not one! “Normal people… do not ever talk like that! About how they don’t even prefer to eat organs or brains or-“ Todd shivered at the mention of cannibalism and shook his head, “Just no!” He stuck out his tough, blegh, and actually felt like he was turning green.

[TheOperator]

Olivia snorted.
"I said 'if' because when i get scared or threatened it's an ingrained reflex. I'd do my best to aim away from you, and most often would hit something else. Unless i was stuck and there wasn't any other direction." She made a dismissive sound. "Besides, I said all that stuff about eating brains because all you survivors seem to think that that's all we like to eat. Some of us are vegetarians! I was just setting the record straight."

Wolfram snorted in agreement, his tail wagging. Olivia continued.

"I have grown up a young lady. My mother makes sure i have proper manners and don't entice survivors to attack."

[TenderFoot]

“Ahlalalalalala! I can’t hear you!” Todd shouted and clamped his hands over his ears, the strap of his assault rifle sliding down to hang off his elbow. His blue eyes were shut tightly and he grimanced. The last thing he wanted to hear from the infected was the different situations of what might or could happen if Todd were to choose to befriend the girl. Noooope. That’s not how Todd did things. He didn’t take any chances. Not anymore. “Just so you knooow….normal people still don’t talk about that kinda stuff sooo….just go away and leave me alone forever!” He removed his hands from either side of his head and picked up his weapon again. “Don’t talk to me unless you just…” He thought, mind buzzing with different propositions. “Unless you just… stop being infected!”

What had happened?? Oliva seemed so normal before, she didn’t feel the need to talk about how she didn’t eat brains because she was a vegetarian, or how potent her acid was. Why couldn’t she just shut the fuck up about being infected and just act normal again?! Todd certainly had no problem sticking his head in the sand about it. Ignorance was bliss after all, right?

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