Thread: Hope in a Hopeless World (Sierra-117/Queen Chaos)

Lucy had arrived at the small, dusty town nearly a week ago, before the undead roamed in. With a backpack slung over her shoulder and a pistol in her hands, she had picked through the carcass of civilisation. The twon seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry, bearing the telltale signs of a fight. Bullet holes, scorch marks and broken furniture told their story. Having been born to this harsh, brutal world Lucy found it easy not to dwell on the pain of the villagers and instead focus on what they had left behind. There wasn't much but she managed to find a bit more food, an old radio and various other parts scattered about the town. Packing it all away, she found the tallest build, a five story hotel, and climbed to the top floor. She moved through the building silently, pistol in front of her, finger hovering over the trigger. But like everywhere else the hotel was devoid of life. After dropping her supplies in one of the larger rooms, she made her way to the roof with a pair of binoculars. Most of the horizon was much the same in all directions. Bleak, dusty and barren. She sighed, before turning to the west, where she spotted the horde of zombies. Shit. She muttered, watching them stagger along. They looked to be a week or so away. Lucy finally tore her gaze from them, before returning to her supplies. She closed the door to her room and placed her palm against it, concentrating deeply. A moment later the door locked itself and the wood began to expand, using with the door frame to become more secure. Turning to the room, she watched the setting sun from her window, before pulling her sleeping bag from her backpack and curling up on the floor. Lucy was one of the few, rare individuals affected by The Event. While many had been turned into monsters, or even outright killed, Lucy had been given 'abilities'. Ever since she was a little girl she had been able to manipulate the world around, bend to her will when she concentrated. Some people called it magic, others said it was science. But in Lucy's experience most people, even her family, called her a freak. Needless to say she hadn't been sad when the village she used to call home was overrun with monster. It was only because of her powers that she was able to escape unviolated. Since then she had been wandering the wastelands, travelling with no real aim. After finding the abandoned town and the radio, Lucy spent the following days doing her best to repair it, taking breaks only to eat, wash and occasionally scavenge. After four days she finally got it working. With everything repaired and wired together, she picked up a flat battery and held her fingetip close. A brief spark flashed from fingertip to battery. She slotted it back into the radio and it came to life. She surpressed a hopeful smile. It was too early to get her hopes up. Afterall there likely wasn't anyone out there, not anymore. Despite her doubts she spent the next day scanning through the radio. It was the dead of night on the fifth day when she finally heard a voice through the radio. ...so to all my fellow survivors out there who are hearing this, come south, to Liberty. We have food, we have walls and we have the numbers to keep the monsters at bay. A woman's voice spoke with passion, before listing off the co-ordinates of Liberty. Lucy hurriedly wrote them and checked her maps. She sighed. It was further South than she had expected. On foot, the journey would take months, maybe even years when it came to avoiding the various monsters and raiders that roamed the land. Still, it was her only hope at this point. After packing her suppkies away, Lucy curled up and managed to get a few hours sleep. The sixth day in the small town and Lucy was ready to leave. With her backpack over her shoulders, she left the hotel and froze in horror. The streets were flooded with zombies. The wind must have shifted, carrying her scent to them, speeding them up. As they caught sight of her she turned around and ran back up the stairs, two at a time. She slammed her door shut and concentrated, fusing it to the doorframe again. It wouldn't last long but it wouldn't need to. She ran to the window and climbed out onto the fire escape on the other side. Fuck! She growled under her breath. The lower floors had rusted and fallen away. Fucking shit! She swore, before moving to the railing. She swung her leg over, follwed y the other and dropped. Concentrating, she used the wind, manipulating it to break her fall. However she still landed heavily, collapsing onto her side. Her backpack was flung from her grip. She scrambled to her feet, grabbing for her backpack as more zombies began to swarm down the alley towards her.