03-29-2009, 08:44 PM
Sophia sighed and rubbed her eyes as she stood in the dressing room of the abandoned mall. Silence was not an uncommon thing since the priestess had joined up with Kaden and Piper—after all, there wasn’t much chit-chat to be had when they were facing death around every twist and turn. However, as she changed out of her dirty, grungy clothes, there was no sound to be heard. Just a deafening silence that pounded at her head. She supposed that this was probably due to the fact that she hardly had the time to even dwell on the fact that she was scared completely out of her wits.
It really seemed like a small world. Finding one person that she knew was surprising enough, but to find that two of them had been drawn in by some evil genius was almost too much to bear. She shook her head; she never thought that she would be happy to see someone in the game, but she was legitimately and sincerely delighted to find the courier. Memories flooded into her mind of their encounter with the bandits and the events that followed, and she couldn’t help but smile. Kaden had helped her out so much back then, but now, they were both in equal danger. Maybe she could do something to pay back his kindness. Firstly, however and perhaps to the courier’s dismay, she had to get dressed first.
It was amazing that she even found clothes that were similar to the ones she had already been wearing, though there was nothing to replace the armor she was wearing. Sophia smirked when she thought of the courier changing; he probably just found the exact clothes that he needed and put them on without even allowing the stray thought of looking around for a new outfit. The priestess, however, let her eyes wander, so to speak, and searched through the racks of clothes in search of the perfect new article of clothing. She quickly relented after a moment of weakness, however—she couldn’t afford to let herself sacrifice practicality and comfort for creativity and frivolity.
As if on cue, a loud bump sounded across the vicinity that made Sophia jump out of her new clothes. Worried for her friend’s safety, she quickly unlatched the door to the dressing room and ran outside. Kaden was still downstairs where they had left him, and had been apparently moving things around for one reason or another.
The red-haired medic had apparently finished faster than the priestess did and was there to inquire of his actions sooner. “What was that noise all about?”
“I think I found a way into the mall.”
And he had. It didn’t take long for them to see their ticket into the mall through the window. Sophia had doubts about how they would get there, exactly, but the different skills of her companions allowed for fairly quick access. As she hung there, latched onto the redhead as she floated in midair, a lot of things raced through her mind. That’s why even she was dubious when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“I thought I saw someone down there.”
“There’s no one down there. I’m pretty sure I’d be able to see them.”
The next few moments confused the hell out of Sophia, though she had the presence of mind to inquire once again about what their intent was in this death game. “Let me get this straight…you’re trying to arrest a psychotic criminal game show host.”
“…but to do it we have to get to a woman holding a special key,” Piper expanded on the situation with a sigh.
“But she’s hiding…in a mall full of…zombies.”
Sophia frowned and tilted her head. She had been able to spot some sort of beings inside the stores, but she hadn’t been able to determine what they were. But zombies…Sophia had her doubts, although she knew, as a priestess, that there was such a thing as the living dead.
“Zombies? You’re certainly being dramatic about it,” Sophia commented. “Are you sure they aren’t, like…homeless people, or something?”
Piper and Kaden looked at her in unison. Sophia blushed. “Okay, they’re zombies. What do we do now?”
“We…can’t turn back,” Piper stated, still staring down upon the hordes of undead.
“Right,” Kaden nodded. “So let’s keep going, eh?”
The trio took hesitant steps down the hallway of the mall—they knew they would have to engage the zombies at some point, as that was the whole point of having them there in the first place, but there was a sort of unspoken hope that they would pass by harmless if they were left unprovoked. The hall lights flickered on and off as they made a grinding pace forward. The priestess almost though she could see her breath with each step. Finally, they got within reaching distance of the nearest zombie. Initially, nothing happened.
“Maybe, if we stand really still, they won’t…” Sophia started talking, but she was cut off as the zombie’s fist crashed into her jaw. The priestess stumbled backwards in surprise and fell onto her backside, crawling backwards in order to get away from the flesh-eating, albeit clichéd zombie villain. Gasping, the courier charged a blazing azure ball of ki in the palm of his hand and threw it at the zombie, effectively turning him a useless pile of dust.
“Are you okay?” Kaden asked, extending a hand in order to help her up. Sophia smiled and nodded at him, allowing just a glance past his shoulder. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Frowning, the courier turned around as fast as he could and saw another zombie hovering ominously around him, threatening to crash down on him with its outstretched arm in one bone-crushing blow. The priestess acted on instinct and raised an arm, piercing the zombie through the chest with a beam of her own. The undead crumpled to the floor.
“Stay on your toes, lady and gent,” Piper commented with a sigh, dispatching a zombie of her own.
“They aren’t that tough, really, though they can throw a decent punch,” Sophia observed, rubbing her jaw tenderly. “I doubt that will be the case the further we get into the mall.”
It really seemed like a small world. Finding one person that she knew was surprising enough, but to find that two of them had been drawn in by some evil genius was almost too much to bear. She shook her head; she never thought that she would be happy to see someone in the game, but she was legitimately and sincerely delighted to find the courier. Memories flooded into her mind of their encounter with the bandits and the events that followed, and she couldn’t help but smile. Kaden had helped her out so much back then, but now, they were both in equal danger. Maybe she could do something to pay back his kindness. Firstly, however and perhaps to the courier’s dismay, she had to get dressed first.
It was amazing that she even found clothes that were similar to the ones she had already been wearing, though there was nothing to replace the armor she was wearing. Sophia smirked when she thought of the courier changing; he probably just found the exact clothes that he needed and put them on without even allowing the stray thought of looking around for a new outfit. The priestess, however, let her eyes wander, so to speak, and searched through the racks of clothes in search of the perfect new article of clothing. She quickly relented after a moment of weakness, however—she couldn’t afford to let herself sacrifice practicality and comfort for creativity and frivolity.
As if on cue, a loud bump sounded across the vicinity that made Sophia jump out of her new clothes. Worried for her friend’s safety, she quickly unlatched the door to the dressing room and ran outside. Kaden was still downstairs where they had left him, and had been apparently moving things around for one reason or another.
The red-haired medic had apparently finished faster than the priestess did and was there to inquire of his actions sooner. “What was that noise all about?”
“I think I found a way into the mall.”
And he had. It didn’t take long for them to see their ticket into the mall through the window. Sophia had doubts about how they would get there, exactly, but the different skills of her companions allowed for fairly quick access. As she hung there, latched onto the redhead as she floated in midair, a lot of things raced through her mind. That’s why even she was dubious when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“I thought I saw someone down there.”
“There’s no one down there. I’m pretty sure I’d be able to see them.”
The next few moments confused the hell out of Sophia, though she had the presence of mind to inquire once again about what their intent was in this death game. “Let me get this straight…you’re trying to arrest a psychotic criminal game show host.”
“…but to do it we have to get to a woman holding a special key,” Piper expanded on the situation with a sigh.
“But she’s hiding…in a mall full of…zombies.”
Sophia frowned and tilted her head. She had been able to spot some sort of beings inside the stores, but she hadn’t been able to determine what they were. But zombies…Sophia had her doubts, although she knew, as a priestess, that there was such a thing as the living dead.
“Zombies? You’re certainly being dramatic about it,” Sophia commented. “Are you sure they aren’t, like…homeless people, or something?”
Piper and Kaden looked at her in unison. Sophia blushed. “Okay, they’re zombies. What do we do now?”
“We…can’t turn back,” Piper stated, still staring down upon the hordes of undead.
“Right,” Kaden nodded. “So let’s keep going, eh?”
The trio took hesitant steps down the hallway of the mall—they knew they would have to engage the zombies at some point, as that was the whole point of having them there in the first place, but there was a sort of unspoken hope that they would pass by harmless if they were left unprovoked. The hall lights flickered on and off as they made a grinding pace forward. The priestess almost though she could see her breath with each step. Finally, they got within reaching distance of the nearest zombie. Initially, nothing happened.
“Maybe, if we stand really still, they won’t…” Sophia started talking, but she was cut off as the zombie’s fist crashed into her jaw. The priestess stumbled backwards in surprise and fell onto her backside, crawling backwards in order to get away from the flesh-eating, albeit clichéd zombie villain. Gasping, the courier charged a blazing azure ball of ki in the palm of his hand and threw it at the zombie, effectively turning him a useless pile of dust.
“Are you okay?” Kaden asked, extending a hand in order to help her up. Sophia smiled and nodded at him, allowing just a glance past his shoulder. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Frowning, the courier turned around as fast as he could and saw another zombie hovering ominously around him, threatening to crash down on him with its outstretched arm in one bone-crushing blow. The priestess acted on instinct and raised an arm, piercing the zombie through the chest with a beam of her own. The undead crumpled to the floor.
“Stay on your toes, lady and gent,” Piper commented with a sigh, dispatching a zombie of her own.
“They aren’t that tough, really, though they can throw a decent punch,” Sophia observed, rubbing her jaw tenderly. “I doubt that will be the case the further we get into the mall.”