𝚐𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚡 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗

[texas]

WHO: Joel Miller, Gene Hicks, Jai Kinvaio + whoever else ambles by
WHERE: dreams! dreams dreams dreams
WHEN: dreams
WHAT: also dreams
NOTES OR WARNINGS: cws: violence, gore, potentially mentions of child abuse.

notes: There are some open starters and a lot of closed ones, hit me up here or @vitarays on plurk if you'd like a character-specific starter! Or drop me a dream of your own for me to throw someone at! Just specify who you'd like.

starters in the comments;

Comments

[texas]

（ she's so goddamned gaudy that it actually makes him grimace, and as the words pour out of her mouth and continue escalating in pitch and tone he actually reaches out and slaps a hand over her mouth, pushing her back against the nearest retaining wall so that she's well and truly pinned there. there's a brutal sort of efficiency in how he moves — a man well-used to violence and all it entails. ）

Quiet.

（ he snarls in a low voice. but he didn't act quickly enough. the clicker swings around to face them and emits a high-pitched predatory shriek as it begins to amble towards them. joel shoves the girl, hard, to emphasize his point, and backs off in a crouch that strains the thighs. if she insists on being loud, at least he could always use her to bait it.

his one show of solidarity is to throw her the spiked bat. fine, he'll keep the gun. ）

[mahem]

[ she finds herself shoved up against the wall, unable to do anything but squeak around the palm clapped over her mouth, eyes narrowed in obvious protest even if there's a fair bit of curiosity in it too, his reasoning for being so overly aggressive about making noise.

really, she's about two seconds from licking his palm just to make him take it off her face before that horrible screeching noise distracts him, and harley staggers away from the wall, half from that shove, before making a show of brushing off herself like she's got dust clinging to her. ]

Sheesh, warn a girl next time before you — ooh!

[ that's her sound of delight over getting the bat, and she plucks it neatly out of the air, hand curling around the handle before she gives it an experimental twirl in her fingers to test the weight. it's a little different with these spikes sticking out of it, but fun.

regardless, that weird thing staggering towards them is definitely making a beeling for her, and she decides to cut it off at the knees first since it's got a few inches on her, aiming low with a vicious swing. ]

[texas]

（ — the hell? he barely has time to think it before the clicker is on them. he can hear half a dozen of its buddies a ways off, their screeching echoing down the halls. it goes for the girl, who seems fearless in a way he ain't used to, and he watches as she takes out its knees.

he's half tempted to leave her to it. but the problem with clickers is that taking out their knees doesn't actually stop them, just makes them try to scrabble along the floor towards you, so joel steps on its shoulder, puts the gun up close and personal against its spine and pulls the trigger. ）

Don't let them bite you.

（ his tone's terse. still quiet, though less so. the gunshot will have alerted the others, and now he's just braced for a fight. ）

[mahem]

[ she might not be working with all the info here, but if she's supposed to take these things out, then that's what she'll do. of course, her next step after cutting it down by the knees is to follow up with a big swing to the head, but mr. rude beardo over here decides to cut her to the punch and take it out himself with a clean headshot. ]

Wait, why? What happens if they — ?

[ another screech, and her head whips in that direction — in the dream, she actually has her freaking hair back, long enough for her pigtails to be restored, which means they flick around her head with even the slightest turn. ]

Okay, what the shit is goin' on here?

[texas]

I said, shut the Hell up and fight.

（ how many times does he have to tell this girl to damn well be quiet? joel is rummaging through his backpack for something else useful against these things, and eventually comes up with a molotov and a battered old zippo. he lights the tail of the bottle, and gestures for harley to get the hell back.

when the new wave of clickers stagger through the door, there's three, maybe four of 'em and joel tosses the bottle with expert precision. it arcs into one of them and bursts into fire on impact, the glass shattering. the noise draws the clickers' attention to their companion, and all of them start milling around, variously on fire or screeching.

there's a small, shuttered window near the top of the wall — an old ventilation grate, or something maybe. either way, while they're distracted joel grabs her by the jacket and hauls her over to it, bracing himself so she can put her foot in the stirrup of his laced hands. ）

Climb. Now.

（ while they're distracted. ）

[mahem]

[ of course, harley's going to be distracted as soon as that homemade molotov goes flying through the air to burst into flame on impact, lighting up whatever those things are and turning it all into a screeching, flailing bundle of limbs. she's drawn in by the sight of it, all that fire flickering and burning, until she's suddenly yanked back hard enough to stagger her by a few feet. ]

Hey, what — oh.

[ okay, they're getting out now, and she doesn't even require that much of a boost to get herself up, setting one hand on his shoulder and jabbing the end of the bat out toward the grate to pry it outward so she can climb up and wriggle through the space.

she has to do a little shimmying to get through before dropping down on the other side, but this time she actually waits for him to make it down with her before opening her mouth again. not conversational volume, but definitely not a full whisper either. ]

What were those things?

[texas]

Clickers.

（ he scraped himself coming through the grate, a long gash down one arm. he tears at his sleeve and starts wrapping it. ）

Stay moving. If they can get out, they'll come after us.

（ so, unbidden, he pushes her off towards the woods. damn things can't climb trees, at least. ）

[mahem]

Click — what?

[ it's while she's distracted and glancing back behind them, listening to those faintly horrible screeching sounds, that he's able to give her a good enough shove that staggers her forward a few paces before she finally notices his arm. ]

Hey, you're hurt.

[ she's still walking, at least, and scenery shifts around them, and it's quieter in the woods, tall trees and so much overgrowth that it feels like this part of the city hasn't been touched or seen by anyone in years. she falls quiet, for a while, glancing up toward the canopy as they move. ] ... wow.