Round 2 - Bulma vs Reijin

[Burter Jr]

Scenerio - It's the night of the living dead and one of your friends has just transformed into a zombie!

Assignment - Write the events just before, during and after the transformation of your friend.

Rules - Your group must have at least four people, including yourself and the friend who transforms

You have FIVE DAYS from this post to PM me your product. Put both your name and your oppenent in the subject

[Ashe]

What mood does this need to be written in? Example, should we be taking a "Dawn of the Dead" serious approach, or a "Shawn of the Dead" humor approach, or is that up to us?

[Burter Jr]

On matches, if it's not said in the rules, you can make it up.

[Ashe]

Ok, if this is allowed, this is going to be a regular thing for me due to scheduling.

I'm going to need till about 3am Tuesday morning/Monday night again.

Reason being that I work the weekends, and I work about two hours later and an hour earlier on those days. Friday after work I have other commitments away from home, as I do on Sunday as well (not getting back till around 5am-7am to get to sleep). Saturday I have just enough time after work to check the things here before getting some sleep to leave Sunday. So hopefully that will be cool with you and I won't be slowing anything up

[Burter Jr]

Your deadline isn't until Wed. Evening o.O

[Ashe]

Misjudged then XD Any weekday Mon-Thur should be fine for me then

[Ashe]

Ok, I am definately going to have to request a small extension since that discussion on AIM took a lot longer than I expected. I will need till at least 2am tonight (Wednesday night's 2am aka Thursday morning) if that is not too much trouble. I apologize for the inconvenience and can understand if its any trouble.

[Ashe]

Still requesting, though due to something that just came up, I'm about to have to leave so I may actualy need till further in the morning so that I can work on it tonight when I get back (might be 3-4 before I can make it back)

Gimme a yes, gimme a no.

[Celena]

I've been ill, but I should have something up pretty soon.

[Ashe]

Due to the fuckers at work, it will be up by midnight or within two ours after, depending on how fast I can get out.

[Burter Jr]

BULMA

Part 1

Beep beep beep beep. Nathan used his hand to try to reach for his alarm clock, but with his eyes closed, he missed each time. His hands slapped his wooden bedside cabinet repeatedly, trying to find the alarm clock, but to no avail. The boy had choice but to slowly open his eyes, as he turned off his clock in frustration. He yawned, while his head still rested on his pillow, he yawned once more. He could feel himself drifting off back to sleep, trying to resist the sleep; he slowly opened his eyes once more trying to keep them open. Going to bed at 3.40 AM was the course of his tiredness. He normally had a method for getting the tiredness out of himself. He began to sing quietly to himself.

?Wake up wake up wake up, it?s the thirty first of the month
Get up get up get up get up get up
Wake up wake up wake up it?s the thirty first of the month
Get up get up get up get up get up?

He yarned once more, and then rose up from his bed. He pulled his bed covers off himself and stood up from his bed.

It was the 31st of the month, which meant it was Halloween, also known as The Night of The living dead. Nathan has never celebrated Halloween before, nor partaken in Trick or Treating. On the 31st of October, for the last 12 years, his mother always told him, that it was the night when witches did their evil, thus discouraging him and the rest of his siblings to ever celebrate the day.
Today is also the day that he and his R&B group called Heard, perform at a music festival called Halloween Havoc, in Manhattan, New York.

He went to his bathroom, and then opened his bathroom cabinet, and brought out his toothbrush and a tube of Colgate toothpaste. He gritted his teeth as the white toothpaste, which he placed on the strong bristles, brushed against his clear teeth. The sound made while he was doing so, was the same sound as a broom being brushed against a tiled floor. He began splashing the mirror with the toothpaste, which came from the paste being brushed against his teeth. After doing so, he gargled the Listerine in his mouth, making loud noises as he did so. His mother popped her head into the bathroom. ?Must you always make that ridiculous noise?? He turned around, still with the liquid in his mouth. ?Mmph mph? he mumbled. She gave him a look of disgust, not hiding her feeling s about the matter. He spat out the Listerine. ?Sorry mom,? he said still looking down at the sink.

Singing inside a shower, was a common thing for him.

?There?s a jealous guy in our town oh babeh
There?s a jealous guy in our town oh babeh?

A large steak double-decked sandwich occupied the hands of the boy. He was just about to take a bite into it, when his phone rang. He dropped down the heavy sandwich and answered his phone. ?Nath, last rehearsals at my place, at three o?clock!? he confirmed.

?Yeah okay,? he agreed. George?s house was the meeting point for the group. Why was it the meeting place? There was not really a reason why it was, but it just was.

Part 2

Nathan left his house at half past 2. It was around a 25-minute drive to George?s house. He drove in his blue Toyota Yarris, which he had been driving for over 6 months. He parked his car in a parking spot a few yards away from George?s house. He recognised the red Polo, which had been parked along the group of cars. After parking his small vehicle, he checked the registration number on the Polo. It was without a doubt Michael?s car. He had arrived at George?s house before him. He rung the bell, 20 seconds later, an attractive light skinned teen opened the door, smiling at the boy who stood outside. ?Hi Nath,? she greeted in a sexy tone. The remained silent, he only smiled back. He knew how much of a tease George?s sister was, and knew the chances of himself hooking up with her are slim, from past experiences. She had a habit of leading on Nathan, making him look like a sucker on many occasions. The flirting grew so old that he refused to fall for it anymore. She sighed, as he ignored her. She knew her games were not working anymore. Her elder brother warned her never to play games with any of his friends, but she never did listen. Nathan gave George a high five. ?What up man??

?I?m all good!? he replied. ?Did she try anything?? he whispered to his friend, in relation to his sister.

?I didn?t give her the time of day. Man, your sister needs to change the record!?

?Tell me about it,? agreed the other.

?Catch you later,? said George?s Sister Naomi, as she slowly walked up the stairs, hoping Nathan would take a good look at her backside as she did so. He ignored her once more, turning his attention away from her, pretending he was not the least bit interested. ?What up Mike?? asked Nat entering the living room. The other teen was sitting on a sofa. ?Man your sister?s a HO!? he told George. Michael was not the type of person who held in anything. He was not afraid of saying anything, to anyone, at any time. Whatever was ever on his mind, he would let his feelings open to the whole world, regardless of whether he is your friend or not. Nathan on the other hand kept his personal feelings to himself, even though his view of Naomi was not pleasant.

The three friends sat in the room talking. Michael suddenly changed their topic. He looked at the time on his Cell Phone. ?Man, why do we always have to wait on Chris. That late ass mother fucker!? he cursed. ?My mom? coughed George, as subtle as he could be. The woman entered the room, like The Terminator. She stared down at Michael. ?Swearing in my house again are you? Boy, this is the last time. If I ever catch you swearing in my house again, I?m gonna put my foot so far up your behind, that you?re gonna have toes for teeth! You got that??

?Yes Mrs Smith,? he replied, as he lowered his head. Nobody said a word until the woman left, which told you about her reputation. The two others snickered. ?I told you,? said George, sure his mother would retaliate. The boy?s doorbell rang once. George looked through his living room blinds. ?Guys guess who it is??

?Daffy Duck?? guessed Nathan, sarcastically. They all laughed aloud. Everyone knew Nathan for his open sarcastic jokes. George went to the door with a smile on his face, from the joke made, and opened the door. ?Took you long enough!? he said to the guest, named Chris.

?I?m still here,? said the 6?4 teenager, who lowered his head, as he entered through the door. His height made confirmed him as the tallest member of the group. ?Well there?s your duck!? Nathan pointed towards the tall teenage boy. The others laughed, leaving the late comer stunned. ?Did I miss something?? he wondered curiously.

?If you had come here two minutes early then you would not have missed the joke!? explained the one responsible for the joke. ?Fuck you all then,? said Chris to them as he took a seat. Nobody said a word, as they all stared at the curser in horror. He gave them a bizarre look as his reply, wondering why they all wore the same faces. A woman, who was familiar to him, entered the room. ?GEORGE,? she roared out. ?I swear it was not me Mrs Smith.? Chris rubbed his corn rolls with his hands, while he gritted his teeth nervously. Everyone who knew George?s mother knew what she was like, everyone! She is known as the only person who can put Naomi in her place, and easily too. ?Oh so it?s Chris. Boy if I ever catch you swearing in my house again, I will slap your skin off your bones! Got it??

?Yes Mrs Smith? he said sincerely.

?I?ll be sure to come to your performance tonight. NOW START REHERSALS!? she roared out aggressively, making the boys jerk their heads back. The second she turned her back, they begun rehearsing. ?Now that?s more like it,? she said smiling, as she left the room. Naomi popped her head into the living room; two of her friends were with her. They all began giggling happily, as they listened to the group of boys practice. They all stopped singing. ?Continue,? said one of the girls, who wore a pleasant smile. ?We don?t need any disturbances while we rehearse no offence. Y?all can here us at the concert, you girls are gonna be there right??

?Of coarse,? said the other girl Dee-Dee, who seemed to be attracted to Nathan, and most of all to his voice, which she thought was very sexy. ?Come girls let?s leave em,? she told the others.

?No, lets stay,? Naomi insisted, determined to piss the boys off, especially Nathan, who she gave a seductive look to. ?Are you gonna let Naomi look at me like that?? said the boy, wanting to see a fight between the two. He was hoping he would see Dee knock some sense into her. She and Nathan liked each other?s company. The only person, who stopped the two from getting a chance to date, was Naomi. She would often tag along with them while the two went out, making sure nothing happened between the two. The only reason she did this, was to get back at him. She believed that he stole her brother George away from her. The two are best friends, but that was never the case. She was once her brother?s best friend until Nathan entered his life, which pissed her off so much. Dee-Dee laughed, she was not going to lay a finger on Naomi as much as he wanted her to. She did not feel threatened, because she knew her friend had no feelings for Nathan. She knew Naomi did it to wind him up. What George?s sister failed to realise was that the more she came between the two, the more they fancied each other.

"Scram!" said Michael, knowing what would have happened if he had used a stronger word on her. He hoped she would get the message. She loved his fierce and fiery attitude, which happened to turn her on. If Michael told her to jump off a bridge, she would tell him to get lost. If he told her to jump the fuck off a bridge and drown to death, she would do it without question. Therefore, when he told her to scram, she did so, leaving the four to finish off their final rehearsals.

Part 3

By the time it was 7.PM, they had finished their rehearsals. The concert opens at 9.PM, and their slot time is 11.55 PM. Their performance is the second to last performance of the night, which gives them enough time to sort out any other matter. Before Noami and her friends had left, Dee-Dee had wished the group good luck. Naomi on the other hand told them to break a leg literally, but her comment seemed to be more towards Nathan. At least that is what he suspected. He prayed to himself, so what she said would not happen, even if she were joking. The four left George?s house at 10.30 PM, to their journey. It was a fancy dress party, and only the performers were exempt. Of course, however nobody was going to stop a performer from dressing up as a Skeleton if the person desired to.
It was 11 PM, and the group had made it to Manhattan.

?Okay let?s move,? ordered Michael, who was eager to rock the crowd. He had been going on about how he would outperform the others, on their way to the backstage area of the open stage. The large area of grass contained over 700 people. The sky was dark, the music was blazing, and the vibe was as high as a skyscraper, which boosted Michael?s confidence. He could not wait to get onto the stage. He constantly began looking at the watch, counting the minutes go by, which went by very slow. Nathan on the other hand was nervous; he could feel his heart pounding heavily. The only thing he looked at the whole time was the people on stage. He was hoping that one of them muffed up, so if he muffed up, at least they would not really mind. Unfortunately, for him, the group had a good performance, and got an exceptional response from the crowd.

It was 11.52.PM and the female presenter got onto the stage once again. A full moon was now out in the open. ?You okay Michael?? asked George. The teen had his hands on his face; he then fell onto one knee. All the performers who were in the area made a circle around the group, as they tended to their fallen member. His vision became blurry, and everyone seemed to be spinning around him. ?Michael, Michael? yelled Nathan. Their calls seemed to be fading away in his mind, until it came to the point when he could not hear what they were saying. ?Shit shit shit? George panicked. ?It?s our time, what do we do? He?s the lead singer!?

?We?re fucked!? yelled Chris, stomping his right foot on the green grass.

?No, we?re FUCKED!? said George, correcting him.

?I?m taking the lead part!? Nathan explained to them softly, while still looking down at Michael, who seemed to be zoning out. His face turned pale in colour, they believed he was ill. ?Are you nuts? I?m not leaving him here!? George was not going to leave a member on the ground; he could not just leave him there. Nathan knew George was right; they could not just abandon him. He was part of the group and he did not feel it was right performing without him. Michael?s skin continued to turn even paler than before. It came to the point when his face turned grey. His skin slowly started to shrivel up, causing everyone to scream, even his friends. Chris held onto George?s arm. ?WHAT THE FUCK? he yelled. It did not take the crowd long enough to know what was going on. Like Piranha?s in the water, smelling fresh meat, they followed the trail, all the way to the large crowd, which surrounded the eroded teenager, who did not appear to look like a human being anymore.

The crowd grew so large, that it was impossible for everyone to see what was going on. It got to a point when people were jumping on the stage to see what was going on. It did not take for nosey instigators had pilled the stage up. ?Why the fuck is there a crowd?? asked Nathan in frustration. He had his hands on his head, and looked like he was about to explode. Michael on the other seemed like he was imploding. The ambulance had arrived, the loud sirens, which came from the white and red van, were evident of this. Michael lay lifeless on the ground, it looked liked his flesh had been sucked out of him thus making his physique look very lean. Nathan could feel his body weakening. His legs began to wobble and it seemed like he was ready to collapse in shock. He could not believe what he was seeing, nobody could. Some people began throwing up, and the sight of these people throwing up, caused others to throw up.

A horrible aroma circulated the area, a stench that came from the carcass. The large crowd separated into two, like the Red Sea being split into two. They watched the ambulance come through. ?A friend of yours?? asked the male medical doctor who was dressed in green. George replied ?Y-yeah!? Everyone was still in shock. He assumed he was a friend, by his facial expression. As the man kneeled down to inspect the humanoid, it opened its eyes, and put its hand around the nurses neck. It began to squeeze it tightly. The crowd, who were so eager to see what was going on, suddenly began to flee. ?Zombie Zombie? people yelled. ?Run for your lives!? others screamed. The creature took a bite out of the man?s neck, as the blood splattered on the Zombie?s face. ?Freeze yelled a police officer, who pointed his gun at the creature. ?No don?t do it,? he told the officer.

?Step aside boy.? George held Chris, who could not compose himself. His body dripped buckets of sweat. He tried to get him on his feet, but he would not budge. He needed to help defend Nathan against the police. The last thing he wanted was for any of his friends to be the victim of a bullet from a gun. A female pushed past the crowd and stood next to Nathan. ?Dee-Dee get away from here it?s dangerous.? The zombie now had a new target. It licked its lips as it slowly made its way over to the teenage girl; murmuring as it went did so. Nathan turned around, his eyes turned from Michael?s to hers. ?No stay back? he ordered, but the creature still did not listen, it continued to take steps forward. ?Stop or we?ll shoot,? said the head officer, growing more impatient. A shot was fired from the officer?s gun, causing screams. ?NOOOO? roared George darting forward. Chris, who had come to his senses, eventually with strained him, the sound of the gun going off was his wake up call.

Nathan opened his eyes, waking up from his silent slumber. ?Aaaarrggh? he moaned silently, inside the hospital bed. His arm had been placed in a cast. ?Michael, what happened to Michael?? he asked.

?He?s fine,? said a female holding his left hand. Their palms were sweaty, so Dee-Dee must have been holding his hand for a long time. ?Dee?so he?s aright but yesterday?he?I got shot??

?He?s fine, he?s just resting that?s all.? She kissed him softly on his lips. ?You will be too.?

[Burter Jr]

REIJIN

I clenched my jacket tightly around me as my frozen breath expelled in short gasps. Looking over to Bren, I couldn't help but shudder from the chill air as we peered over the side of the wall. "I guess that's them," I whispered as quietly as I could. It was the middle of winter when the disaster struck, less than a week ago. We were the lucky ones. We had been deep underground exploring the cave formations in the nearby caverns just a few miles out of the city when the power plant ignited, bathing the entire city in radiation and the surrounding counties. Thankfully, our radio had recieved transmissions despite the cave-in that had occured from the explosion.

Suffice it to say, we had plenty of time to listen to the carnage and its progressions on the ground above. Enough time that we were not sure if we even wanted to try to dig our way out, but after a week we couldn't contain our hunger any longer. "Shit, its cold..." My arms were wrapped as tightly as I could hold them while I glanced at the watch at my wrist. It was just past noon, and we had finally pulled ourselves out of the wreckage through one of the cavern entrances.

"Good thing those creatures didn't manage to find their way down to us. I don't think I'd have wanted to encounter them down there," my boyfriend mumbled. We had heard the reports of how gunshots did not affect the creatures, and that if you recieved the slightest scratch from them then you were doomed to their fate. Two of our friends were at the top of the building, having climbed the fire escape behind us. A rock hit my shoulder and I jumped, looking up quickly while stifling my cry.

Karen waved us up the ladder, glancing quickly to the side at the creatures that were in view of the wall that we were hiding behind. I grabbed Bren's sleeve and tugged, pointing to her and whispering for him to go. He shook his head and pushed me to the ladder, kneeling down. "No, climb on my hands and I'll lift you up, first." I nodded, scared to death but knowing that we had to keep our head's clear.

Placing my foot into his cupped hands, he lifted me as I used the building for leverage until my hands could grab onto the railing. I pulled hard, feeling my foot leave his hands and my gloved fingers digging into what I knew was frozen metal. "Gah!" I grunted, thrusting my other arm over the railing to swing my body over the edge. I struck the railing and heard it rattle, an echo spreading around. Everyone grew completely silent as Bren looked to both sides from the ground below. I leaned over and whispered to him urgently, "Come on! Let's go!"

I threw my arm over the side of the railing but he had already turned to the trash around him, looking for something to stand on. "You won't be able to keep your balance if you try to pull me over," he whispered loudly. I shook my head angrily, but he just ignored me and grabbed for a plastic trashcan at the back door to the building. Dragging it quietly over to just below me, he steadied it a moment before stepping onto it, testing his weight before placing his full weight upon it.

Just as he had his second foot on it and was straining to reach the stairway, the door suddenly made a loud thud. Both of our eyes darted to the door and saw the door jerking back and forth before hearing a loud shriek erupt from behind it. I looked back down and threw my arm down again. "Dammit, come on!" I cried out. He looked to the sides and reached up once more, ignoring my arm and stretching his fingertips for the rail itself. I grabbed his sleeve with my hand just as the door was pushed open. "Now!" I yelled down. He jumped up, the trashcan falling over beneath him as his arm wrapped around the rail.

A deformed figure pushed its way out of the door, missing one of its legs so that it was using its arms to support its body as it pulled its way towards us by way of the various dumpsters nearby. Bren tried to swing his weight up over the rail, but fell back, nearly losing his grip. I threw my hands around him and dug sharply into his shirt, pulling him up as much as I could just as the creature threw itself for his legs.

He came over the railing and we both hit the floor of the stairs, panting heavily as the creature three feet below us shrieked, throwing its arms up wildly in a vain attempt to get us. "Let's go!" Bren hurried me, pulling me to my feet quickly and turning to run up the flight of stairs. I winced painfully as every step we took sent a loud metallic TRANG! out to the courtyard, alerting every zombie nearby to our whereabouts.

As we reached the top of the building and jumped onto the rooftop, both of our friends ran over to us quickly. "I was afraid to look!" Karen cried to me, her breathing rapid and her eyes panic stricken. I hugged her tightly as her husband Sean ran over.

"We thought those things were on you guys! We were just about to get the hell out of here," he laughed nervously. He walked over to the edge of the building and looked down, seeing a larger group spreading at the bottom and gazing lifelessly about. "Looks like they know dinner is waiting," he voiced cynically. "Thank god, I found a way out of here."

Bren quickly surveyed the roof while taking in Sean's comments. "There aren't any doors or anything on this roof, are there?" Sean shook his head, but pointed over the side of the building.

"Not unless you want to count the possibility of those things getting onto that stairway through the windows. I think they can, but the news reports said they have problems with climbing," he reminded us.

"Good. Show me this exit you found while the girls catch their breath," he said, looking around on the building. "I want to get to our chopper as soon as possible, even if we have to land in the middle of the desert."

Sean approached him and the two continued talking while I held Karen in my arms. "You ok?" I asked, my lip twisted up in concern.

"Yeah..." she whispered, still shaken. "Are you... Did any of them grab you or anything?" she inquired, her gaze drifting down to my leg. I looked down and saw my pants had been ripped further than they had been during the cave-in and I pulled the pants leg up a bit to see a small scratch along my ankle just above my hiking boot. I shook my head to alleviate her concern.

"No, I think it happened when I fell over the railing down there. None of them even touched us," I promised her. She smiled, worried about her best friend becoming one of them.

Twining her light brown hair between her fingers nervously she looked over at the direction the guys had gone in. "Well, we found a way out of here. We've gotta get to the helicopter still, but I think if we can travel up here we'll be a lot safer than we would be down there," she said.

I walked over to the other edge and looked over it, seeing a nearby pizza shop with its windows shattered everwhere. Just like the rest of the town, blood and entrails soaked the street, with abandoned cars and even wrecked ones blocked pathways. Between, the walking citizens of the city continued their shuffling walk back and forth, waiting... We heard a scream from below and Karen ran up beside me, looking over as we saw two young boys running as fast as they could across the street, trying to reach one of the nearby cars.

My heart leapt into my throat as I fought the urge to cry out to them. Karen gave me a wild look and bit down on her lip as we both found ourselves at the edge of the roof trying to cheer on the teenage boys. "Come on!" I screamed within my thoughts.

Just behind them a group of six zombies ran after them, with all in the area snapping their attention to the boys as well. Bren and Sean ran up to the edge of the roof and froze, realizing what was happening. One of the boys suddenly stopped, turning about wildly as the other boy turned to look at him. He pointed to the car and then ran back a few steps, looking around on the ground. Finally, he looked back up to see the zombies nearly on him, and he turned, running as quickly as he could in the direction of the other boy.

"He dropped his keys!" Karen's husband cursed. "Dammit, why can noone get any slack?"

The two boys reached the car and threw the doors open on both sides, jumping into the vehicle and slamming the doors shut. I couldn't completely see what was happening inside, but they both turned and looked over the seats at the zombies as the creatures surrounded the vehicle, throwing their arms and fists into the vehicle. One of the boys dissappeared beneath the steering wheel for a moment while the other boy pressed both of his legs against the glass to keep it from shattering. Then the car's engine sparked to life, loudly sputtering a moment before the engine revved itself, the boy flooring the gas. Almost in response to the engine, one of the creatures managed to break the glass out of the back door of the car, throwing itself halfway through the window and clawing wildly at the boys.

"No.." Karen cried, Bren suddenly wrapping his arms around me. The only way we could survive was to cheer on the other survivors, and we knew that soon we'd have even that luxery taken from us. Our breath formed a spectral mist before us as we saw the car suddenly kick into gear, driving wilding down the street while twisting from side to side as the creatures chased after it. The other zombie was still hanging half out of the vehicle and grabbing wilding for the two as they attempted to fight him off. Just then the car veered to the left, slamming directly into a telephone pole, the impact folding the hood up immediately.

The creature's lower half was ripped from its body, flying off into the distance against a window as it still fought against the boys. A loud scream was heard from one of them and a door was kicked open as the driver stopped struggling. The second boy fell out of the door, pushing himself to his feet as blood dripped from a multitude of scratches along his arm. "They have him," Sean whispered pessimistically. On cue, the group slammed into the boy as he attempted to get to his feet, claws and teeth ripping into his flesh. He screamed, but suddenly his scream ceased, lingering on the frozen wind like a haunting opera.

"Oh god..." I cried out, seeing the creatures pulling long entrails from the boy's stomach as he looked down, gasping for oxygen and moving weakly. "He's still alive!" Nothing the news had warned us about had prepared us for the truth of these creature's eating their victims alive before the victim became one of them.

I turned away, unable to take it any longer and saw Karen throwing up next to me with Sean holding her hair out of her face. Suprisingly, after what I'd just seen, the vomit didn't affect me in the least. Bren took my hand in his and pointed to the other side of the rooftop. "There is a pile of poles over there. Looks like they were trying to erect some form of tower up here or something. We can probably use those to pole vault ourselves along these rooftops," he encouraged me, his face trying to convince me.

"I just don't want to be alive when they take me," I found myself mumbling, shaking my head. Bren suddenly shook me, shocking me out of my cynicism and pulling me close.

"Don't say that!" he growled into my ear, his warmth invading my icy skin despite the layers of clothing.

I couldn't help but cry silently into his chest as I felt his securing arms holding me. "I'm sorry."

"We need to go," Sean called over to us as Karen was wiping her mouth, attempting to get the taste out. "I think those things are going to be detained for a moment."

He put his arm around Karen and began to lead her to the other corner of the building, stepping over a trapdoor on his way. "I thought you said there were no doors up here?" I asked, eyeing the door as I stepped around it.

He shook his head and looked over his shoulder at me. "It doesn't have stairs below it. We already looked down there. Its dead quiet, no pun intended," he reassuringly laughed as I rolled my eyes. "Its got a drop down ladder attached to it, so they can't get up here." He reached the pile of poles and leaned over, grabbing one and tossing it to Bren who immediately handed his to me before grabbing another for himself. Karen leaned nervously on her as her fingers once more ran through her hair. I realized that my own hair was hanging loosely in my eyes, and reached into my pocket to pull out a hairtie before pulling my hair back.

"I'll go first," Sean announced, testing the strength of his pole by moving back and forth with it. "See if any of those things are over there. The chopper is only about two or three buildings down."

"Lovely," my voice dripped. Bren coughed, clearing the air a moment for informing me that he'd go after me.

Sean walked over to the edge and looked over, groaning in annoyance at the creatures below the alleyway. "More over here, too. Weren't here earlier." He looked grimly at Bren before he placed his pole onto the cold rock roof and then moved down a bit so as to get decent leverage while still being able to let himself freefall the rest of the drop to keep from sliding his pole from beneath him. "Here goes..." he swallowed, as Karen gripped my arm tightly.

We all held our breath as he pushed off, arcing gracefully into the air before dropping down to the ground in a roll. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and clapped his hands together. "See, no sweat!" He turned immediately, looking around for a moment but seeing nothing else on the roof. "Clear," he called over to us. Karen made it over with very little effort once she had collected herself enough to attempt it. I had no problems myself, and Sean caught each of us as our feet hit the second rooftop to keep us from falling or losing our poles. Bren came over a moment later, nervously looking around.

We walked to the edge of the second building and looked over to the next rooftop, seeing the helicopter sitting on it just behind a doorway. "Wonderful place for them to park," Sean muttered sarcastically. "I forgot we had a door up here next to our chopper. I forgot to tell you guys that this is our backup chopper."

In turn order, we pushed our way over the side onto the third roof, once more encountering no problems. "Easy enough-" Sean began, stopping as a loud shriek was heard below us. Bren quickly looked over the edge and cursed.

"Damn things saw us go over. They are pushing themselves against the wall."

"Well, that won't help them get up here will it?" Karen asked.

Bren shrugged. "I can't tell. They seemed to be climbing on top of each other like wild dogs. I think that given enough time, they could somehow create a pile of bodies large enough to get up here. Looks like that boy from earlier is in the group as well." Karen gasped and quickly turned to the helicopter to see Sean looking around it.

"Guys, we are out of gas..." he broke the news to us. Everyone turned at once to him but he quickly threw up his arms in defense. "Don't worry, we have more!" he quickly said, trailing off before gesturing at the door. "In there."

"I'll get it," Bren immediately volunteered. I turned to him in shock as he quickly placed his hand over my mouth. "Don't worry, I'll be back in one piece," he reassured me.

I protested to him, but he simply kissed me quickly before turning to the door. "Please, let me come with you!" I begged him.

He shook his head and Sean walked over to him as I watched him go, unsure of what to do. "Don't worry, its not far. Just get to the bottom of the stairs and look directly underneath the stairs. That's our storage. If its not there, then check the office at the end of the hallway." Bren nodded before giving me a smile and quickly pulling the door open, dissappearing into the darkness.

Sean motioned for us to move close to the helicopter and to get inside when I heard a scream. I jumped, looking quickly at the door but not hearing anything else. "I don't think that was him!" Sean quickly spat out, pushing us towards the helicopter and opening the doors for us to climb in. "Give him just a mom- Jessie!" he cried out as I pushed around him and ran for the door.

I didn't care what happened, I just had to see that he was alright. Throwing open the door, I ducked inside, pulling it shut quickly and stifling out Sean's protests. "Please be ok..." I found myself whispering, shivering despite the heat being on in the building. My body seemed to shut out the change in temperature unrealizingly as I slowly took each step with caution. I heard a noise in the distance down the hall and saw a shadow move just at the end of the hallway.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I held my silence just in case it wasn't Bren. Looking around the bottom of the stairs, I found no gasoline at all, and my heart returned to its newfound home in my throat. The movement was faint in the distance, and I turned towards it, approaching it slowly as I saw Bren stumbling down the hallway with the gasoline can in his hand. "Bren!" I cried out, my mood leaping when I saw him as he slowly stepped out of the shadows.

"Quiet!" he motioned with his hands before looking over the side as a loud unearthly scream erupted from behind a closed door. "I have a desk up against a door. One of those things are behind it. Jess... I'm sorry," was all that he could get out as the large gash along his stomach was revealed. "I fell backwards when it ran at me and it grazed me." he trailed off, the pain in his eyes struggling with his love for the spotlight.

"Oh no, no, NO! Please, you'll be ok!" I cried out, tears beginning to stream down my face as I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "You may have just scratched yourself during the fall!" I lied.

He pushed me back to look into my eyes, his voice choked up himself. "No, I didn't," he said gravely. "You have to take this gas and get out of here. I'm not sure how long this takes to take effect," he warned.

The door opened above us and a sillouhette appeared in the light that suddenly invaded the room. Bren's whitening skin was beginning to be seen in the heat, showing that he was much paler than I was even accounting for the hold air. He'd been down here longer and should have warmed up more than I had. "You guys coming?" Karen called from the doorway. "Sean has the helicopter ready, we just need the gas."

I turned to Bren as he pulled me close, kissing me deeply as he pressed something into my hands before pushing the gasoline tank at me and looking me in the eyes. "Jess, I love you more than you can ever know... Now go, please!" he whispered in panic. "I'll stay here!" The thunderous booms echoed down the hall from the door as he pushed me towards the stairs.

He kept his body turned to the side as he pushed me up, moving quickly to move back down the hallway as Karen grabbed me and pulled my unmoving body up the stairs. "Come on, girl, let's go! Where is he going?" she asked me as we let the door fall shut at the rooftop. I couldn't bring myself to answer her as she guided me to the helicopter, Sean quickly taking the gasoline from me and giving me one look before his eyes grayed over. My eyes could tell all.

We climbed into the seats as he fumbled with the controls to get it to start. Noone said anything for a moment as the blades began to rotate, and finally Karen wrapped her arms around me, crying for tears I could not show. "I am so sorry," she sobbed.

The machine lurched as it lifted slowly off the ground, leaving the rooftop to fade below us. I looked out the windows despite my heart warning me not to, and I saw Bren standing at the rooftop watching me go, throwing his arms wildly into the air after me. My mind shut out that his transformation had already taken place until I saw another creature emerge from the doorway and stand beside him, clawing the sky for us as they both followed our path until they fell over the side of the edge, mindlessly.

I could hear the other two trying to talk to me, but I couldn't make out their words for the sounds I heard in my ears. "Jess, I love you more than you can ever know..." My fingers ran over the object in my pocket and I slowly withdrew it, wondering what was more important than allowing me to die with him.

My tear finally broke as it fell onto the engagement ring at my fingertips, the most beautiful stone I'd ever seen adorning it, glistening as the water doplet ran over it, leaving everything I wanted behind.

[Burter Jr]

I'll be grading this one tonight, as I haven't read either yet

[Burter Jr]

REIJIN

OVER

BULMA

They were both too long for my tasted, but I finally sat down and read them. I think Bulma's kind of dragged, where-as Reijin kept me entertained from start to finish. I think Bulma had some great points, though, just wasn't consistant in the delivery. Reijin had a lot of little side-stories involved in the main story, which as usual, I love.