Alice followed her glance to the sky and around the top of the wall, trying not to yawn herself. The night was fairly clear and for the first time in a long time, a recurring theme tonight, Alice found herself actually enjoying the stars. It was strange just how she forgot things such as beauty still exist. The world was harsher now, full of sharp edges.
Alice smiled softly, Magella had just captured the reason that Alice had followed her to Sanctuary. They were social creatures, even if you were turned into a zombie like she had mentioned, or just rough around the edges like Magella, everybody needed somebody to talk to. Alice didn't let her in on it though, just how much she enjoyed talking to her, even if both of their conversation skills were a little rough from being unused.
"I don't think I remember what having a sound sleep feels like." Alice let on, "I can't remember sleeping through a night without waking up fearing my life." To say it out loud stung a little, she knew she didn't have it that hard, people had actually woken up to experience their last few moments as a living human being. It was still hard though, knowing the lack of sleep was slowly taking a toll on reaction times and body health. All of the things that matter most now.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 21, 2015 12:49:53 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
The stars were starting to peek out as the sunlight faded. They twinkled down at them, like indifferent witnesses to their suffering. She took another sip of her coffee, the bitterness of it barely registering with her. Swirling the liquid around in the mug, she headed back for the door, shouldering it open and standing in front of it so Alice could walk in without it swinging shut.
"Yeah, I've had moments like that. I took to sleeping in trees. Tie yourself to a branch and you won't fall off. As far as I've seen, zombies can't climb so you're relatively safe." She waved her arm to direct Alice back inside to the kitchen. "There's another hall like this one, but its filled with bunk beds. The ceiling is open as well so I dragged a board up there and pulled up a mattress. I didn't trust being that low, not after sleeping in trees for a whole year."
Magella paused for a moment, taking the last mouthful of coffee and placing the mug in the sink. She twisted it a little, making the mug spin. "Do you think they remember at all?" she asked quietly. "The zombies, I mean. Do you think they have any memory at all? Or are they gone?" She let go of the mug, still staring down into the sink, her hands resting on the edge.
Alice followed Magella inside with one last glimpse at the stars. She wavered between savouring her coffee and finishing it as quickly as she could. She decided on the latter, simply because it was getting cold. She took large sips of the cooling liquid, barely letting it slide down her throat before taking the next gulp.
"I never thought about that, I don't think I trust my rope tying skills to keep me up in a tree while I sleep though." Alice said to the other woman. She supposed it would safe one problem, but only give her the problem of feeling like she was going to fall every time she woke up. Alice listened to the other woman talk about the other hall, she wondered what the beds were like, but ultimately, just having a bed and blankets would be more than she had had for more of the last year.
Alice finished gulping her coffee after she had finished talking about her horrible rope tying skills so she placed the cup in the sink next to Magellas. "I don't think so. Anybody that can kill somebody they used to love just can't have all those memories. Or they mean nothing anymore." She said to Magella. The zombies were so far off humans that Alice wondered if they could feel anything at all, if anything meant anything to them anymore.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 21, 2015 13:58:25 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
Magella grinned a little. "Yeah, the falling out part isn't so great. It only happened to me once. I was untying myself and I couldn't get the knot undone. So I gave it this great big pull and it worked, except it threw me really off balance and I fell out of the tree. Luckily it wasn't too far a drop, and there were no zombies around. I had to run around on a sprained ankle for the next couple of days."
She fiddled with Alice's cup, lining it up with her own then dropped her hand back to the edge. "I suppose you're right. I... I hope your aunt is still alive. She sounds like she'd be a tough lady if she owned a farm." She gave Alice a sideways smile. "I still hold on to the hope may family is still out there somewhere."
Her finger touched her pocket lightly, making sure the photo was still carefully tucked away where it wouldn't be lost.
Alice was surprised when Magella had told her the story of falling out of the tree, it wasn't something she expected of the older woman but Alice was starting to see that when it came to a zombie apocalypse even the strongest people made mistakes. There was a huge factor of luck in surviving, with her more so than most other people.
"I hope she's still alive, she was the closest thing I had to a real mother. She taught me things, vital life things. She was where I first learned to cook, standing on a stool next to her, making more of a mess than anything." Alice said fiddling with her bracelets, "I mean, I'm sure my parents are alive too, they were in Africa when all this hit, they probably have a good chance." She said but not sure if she believed it.
Her mother, despite being a nurse wasn't the most caring person, she was the sort to throw money at her problems and hope that worked. Her father was the cruel one though, never wanting anything to do with Alice, and spending more time overseas and working then he ever had with Alice. Taking all their family vacations without her. Luckily for her mother, her fathers main goal was making money, she supposed that's why they had gotten married, it had more to do with it than love Alice was sure. It was the complete opposite from what she wanted out of life, and was a little glad that money was no longer the be all and end all of everything.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 21, 2015 17:46:55 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
"Only child then? You didn't mention any siblings or anything, unless your parents played favourites." Magella inquired. "As much as I'd like to say that they're probably fine, there's no way to no. It didn't take long between the rise of the illness and everyone trying to eat everyone else. Maybe only Australia is affected, maybe the whole world is dark. Not a lot of information was getting in from the outside by the end of it."
Shifting over to the stove, she dipped her fingers into the water quickly, testing the water temperature. She hissed softly, a shot of pain running up her arm. Waving her hand around, she glared at the pot. "Definitely not cool enough to put back in the bottle." she muttered to herself.
Without another action she shoved her fingers in her mouth, licking at the burnt digits gently. Magella pouted around her fingers, avoiding eye contact with Alice. She felt like an idiot for just shoving her fingers in there. She'd been sure that it would have been cool enough since their coffees had been going cold. Obviously she'd forgotten that the water was sitting in the same pot it had boiled in and there was a larger amount of it.
Magella pulled her fingers out of her mouth, checking for any sign of a burn. "So what do you need to clean the tank out with? I might go for a run out tomorrow and see if I can find it. I wish I had some pen and paper though, a list would be so much easier." She looked at Alice with a hopeful expression.
Alice nodded, "Yea an only child. And my Aunt wasn't married, she had been married young but her husband died, she never really got over it." Alice wished she could have the sort of love that her Aunt had had, but hoped she didn't loose it so tragically the way her aunt had.
Pushing herself up to sit on the counter she watched Magella, holding in a giggle when she stuck her fingers in the hot water, "Still hot then?" She asked well Magella muttered about it being too hot warm for the bottle. She watched her suck her fingers and thought it was an odd gesture for such a well rounded woman.
Alice thought on her question for a bit, still perplexed watching Magella suck on her fingers, "Well I'll need a shovel and a bucket with some rope, maybe a ladder or two if we can. If we can get our hands on some tank purification chemicals that would be ideal, but a small amount of bleach would be okay since it's rain water."
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 21, 2015 21:03:19 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
"Yeah, yeah, its still too hot. Laugh it up sister." Magella noticed Alice watching her suck her fingers and popped them out of her mouth for a moment. "Saliva has anti-bacterial properties, or something like that anyway. Ever spat on a mozzie bite to stop the itching? Same principle."
Listening to Alice's tale of her aunt, she nodded her head. "Yeah, for what it's worth, I hope she's alive. Or at least... that she'd properly dead. I think I would lose my will to fight if... if I saw any of my family wandering around as one of those things." She shuddered, rubbing the back of her neck. "My siblings were pretty good, fighters, you know, and my parents would do anything for each other. So... they will have stuck together. I think."
Combing her fingers through her hair, Magella gave Alice a once over. "You should probably cut your hair off. Having it long like that makes it easier for things to grab onto it." She rubbed her eyes, trying to burn the requirements for the tank in her head. "Shovel, rope, bucket, bleach and... scissors."
Alice raised an eyebrow at her, "It does? That's kind of cool." She said, she had certainly never spat on a mosquito bite before, but it was nice to know you could. Alice's was getting tired, her eyes starting to droop, today had been pretty eventful and it looked like she was going to have a big day tomorrow as well.
"I hope so too. I can imagine nothing worse than seeing somebody you love like that." She said with a shudder, she hoped beyond hope that her Aunt was still alive, but she would rather her dead than one of those zombies. She had no doubt that she would kill somebody she knew should they turn into a zombie, because she wanted the same for herself.
Alice could barely contain a yawn and she was starting to slump where she sat, "So about those beds." She said with a smile, "Are they as comfortable as they are sounding? Because I could really use one right now." She said pushing herself back onto her feet and yawning once more.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 22, 2015 12:24:00 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
Magella grinned at Alice's barely contained yawn and nodded, slipping an arm around the girl's shoulder. "After a year of sleeping in trees... They are heaven on earth." she laughed. "Lumpy, hard and there are feathers in the pillows that poke you while you sleep. But... no insects, no birds, and no dirt. So I'd say its a pretty fair trade off."
She started to lead the girl from the kitchen, back through the silent and dark hall, the light from the sun finally gone and leaving them in a completely different landscape than it had been earlier. Magella left Alice's side for a moment and laid the plastic back over the table, checking the dust thickness before giving a nod.
"Come on, it's off to bed with you, young lady, we've got a big day tomorrow." she murmured, opening the door and gesturing for Alice to go first. "It shall be interesting." Once they were both out of the hall, Magella would close it again and lead the way to the barracks, helping Alice getting settled in.
