[Open] Over his Cold Dead Body

[walking_dead_walker]

Who| Kieren Walker and open
What| Arriving in the arena
Where| Birch forest
When| Late week 1
Warnings/Notes| N/A


It had all happened so fast. One moment he was at home, reeling from the shock of Amy's death, and deciding he wasn't going to leave Roarton, the next he...well, he was finally able to leave Roarton, but just as things always seemed to turn out, he was given no control over any aspect of it. He simply woke up in a strange place, and despite his protests, quickly shoved out into this...well, what seemed to be a battle to the death.

And he didn't have any medication.

He ignored the cornucopia. With what he'd be turning into in a day, he wouldn't have any need or use for those supplies. Instead, he turned and ran for cover. Maybe if he got himself lost in the wilderness, he'd end up wandering for days until he ended up waiting this all out. Or maybe, he thought with a shudder, he'd end up eating the competition. Or getting shot in the head.



He was jumpy, nervous, and anticipating the worst, even though he'd not yet decided what the worst would be. Would it be worse to have someone see him alone in the woods with no weapons and no supplies and pick him off as an easy mark? Or would it be worse once he went rabid if he was the one to find them? Would anyone even be able or willing to bring him back to his old self once he did go rabid?

Was there even an outcome of this that would turn out any way but disastrous?

Leaning against a tree, Kieren slid down to the ground. “Fuck.”

He was screwed. And sitting in about six inches of snow. Fortunately, being undead meant he couldn't really feel the cold, though he wondered if he'd end of freezing into an icy block of zombie where he sat if he didn't get up and keep moving.

Comments

[shiftingurbulls]

Searching for supplies, for weapons was always a hassle in the best of conditions for Ellis. They were usually stuck in a dead person's rigor mortis afflicted hand or unreachable. These were not the best of condition and right now, he's dealing with the genuine threat of animals that could eat his face off. You know, like the Hunters at home only he could skin these and not be called insane.

"Hey there...? Are y'all righ'!"

[walking_dead_walker]

Well, that was one worst case scenario right now. How long had it been since he had neurotriptaline? He wasn't sure, but he really didn't want to end up eating this guy's brains. Sure, he didn't feel any different, he didn't feel like he was losing control, but he'd never missed a dose before. Maybe it didn't feel like anything until it happened.

"No, I'm not, but I'm dangerous. You should probably get away."

He didn't look dangerous at the moment. He looked more like he was doing his best to freeze to death in the snow.

[shiftingurbulls]

"Nonsense, wind's pickin' up an' we need t' find sunnier pastures if y'know what I'm sayin'," El offered his hand over, "Wha's yer name? I'm Ellis, but you can call me El if you want."

There was a boyish charm about the young man as he got closer to Kieran, but do not be fooled. If Kieran were to turn, Ellis would be one of the people that didn't try to reason with the undead and start attacking.

[walking_dead_walker]

"Kieren," he answered. "My friends usually call me 'Kier' or 'Ren', though."

He didn't know why he bothered saying that. Maybe it was so if he did go rabid and end up shot in the head, someone, at least, would know who he was. He didn't grab the offered hand, though.

"You don't understand. Without my medication, I'll go rabid. I'll attack anyone I see if I'm like that."

[shiftingurbulls]

"Well Kier," El's smile grew a little wary, "Let's make sure we getcha as far as we can in this competition before that happens."

Trekking a long path, he was hoping to see what was inside those caves and the mountains, if they were valuable. "We can try an' see if sponsors could getcha som' meds. My" he almost let slip that Nick was his friend, putting the man in unnecessary risk, "My acquaintance tells me sponsors send stuff!"

Wait, 'rabid'? As in..."Are ya sick?"

[walking_dead_walker]

Kieren sighed, wondering if he should just let Ellis go on without him, but he sighed, following him. When El mentioned sponsors, he perked up a little.

"So how do you get sponsors to send stuff?" Because if they could, then maybe that was the answer he was looking for. "My medication is called neurotriptaline, if that helps."

He looked at Ellis, wondering if the connection would click with the name of the medication.

"Sick doesn't really quite cover it."

[shiftingurbulls]

"Well there's cameras everywhere so y'might just git some on th' next drop!" He paused for a moment, "That gets creepier every time I think about it." Kieran's condition was still in the dark for the young man, but he was already careful, "Are ya contagious?"

But there was something El had to mention and probably the most important, "But y'gotta survive as long as possible an' give people a good show if you want them to send stuff. Like a reality show, only with murder an'...stuff."

[foundafamily]

Even with the protection from his coat, Firo was sticking to the more sheltered areas to avoid the snow. And the other Tributes, to be honest. The fewer people he encounters, the fewer people can kill him.

The plans working pretty well until he spots a figure crumpled under one of the trees. He stops a few paces away. While he takes care not to hide the knife in his hand, he doesn't brandish it threateningly either. The last thing he wants is a fight.

"You hurt? This ain't a good place for a nap, you know." Keep moving, that was what he learned back as a kid.

[walking_dead_walker]

Kieren shook his head.

"No. I'm not hurt, I just...you should run away. I..." How should he say this? Well, he might as well just tell the truth. Normally he wouldn't be as blunt as he was about to, but if he wasn't clear and straightforward, it could cost this guy his life. "I'm partially deceased, and without my medication, I'll be turning into a terrible creature, and I'll probably eat anyone I come across once that happens."

His brow furrowed as he thought about it. "In fact, I'm rather surprised that hasn't happened yet. I suppose it hasn't been a day yet, though. It's really hard to keep track of time, though, what with the kidnapping and the wandering in the snow and all. And I don't know how long I was out when they were bringing me to this place, or if we're in the same time zone, or..."

[foundafamily]

This guy wanted him to run away, huh? While the man's face wasn't all that scary, Firo couldn't think of any way to view that statement other than as a threat. He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and started responding even as the guy was still talking. "Look, pal, if that's a threat--"

Only to break off when he actually listened to the rest of what he was saying. Oh. Well, okay, then.

He blinked and scratched his head. "...Run that all by me again?"

[walking_dead_walker]

"I'm partially deceased?" Was that the part he wasn't getting? Kieren looked at the guy, searching for any sign of understanding. "...a zombie? There's a treatment that makes us...well, not quite normal, but...not dangerous, at least, but they didn't give me my medication before releasing me in this arena earlier today. Do you happen to know what time zone we're in? It might give me a better idea of how long I was out before I woke up on that cot."

[foundafamily]

Since waking up in Panem, Firo'd heard a lot of strange things. An actual zombie came pretty close to taking the cake, though. "That's... Okay, fine." There was really nothing to do but accept it.

"You know, I don't really know if they've got time zones here. Even then, I'm not sure where the Arena's supposed to be in all of it." He shrugged apologetically. "Anyway I can tell by lookin' at you how long you've got until you're, uh, not-normal?"

That was probably the best he could offer. Though he was fortunate enough to scoop up some supplies at the Cornucopia, he knew there wasn't any sort of medication among them.

[walking_dead_walker]

"Not really. I mean, I'll vomit black bile when the time comes, but until then there won't be much of a sign."

And even vomiting black bile didn't always mean anything. He also did that if he tried to eat or drink anything.

[metalicarus]

He hadn't gone for the cornucopia this time and that meant scavenging for his own supplies right off and this time it was really going to be scavenging. Looking for tools and the like in the forest was drastically different from looking for them in a space station or mall or museum.

He'd gathered a few things by the time he came across the guy doing his best to give himself hypothermia, some long branches and long strands of thick roots tying them together for transport sat under one arm as Jet approached. If the guy was injured, Jet wanted to help and it was early enough he doubted anyone would try anything on him just yet...but he also wasn't stupid.

Quietly, Jet got close enough to nudge the guy's foot with his own to get his attention. "Hey, pal, you're gonna freeze your ass off like that. You hurt?"

[walking_dead_walker]

Kieren let the guy nudge his foot, but made no effort to move or get up.

"No," he answered, "I'm dead."

He was rather active for corpse, though, being able to answer and all.

"And any time now I'll turn into a flesh eating rabid corpse. Unless, of course, I end up freezing into a solid chunk of ice, first."

Whether he was being sarcastic or serious was difficult to determine from his tone.

[metalicarus]

Well, that was a new one. Jet couldn't tell if he was joking, so he decided to give the best answer he could. "Those sound like shit options."

Really, if the guy was dead, he could join the club Jet and Initiate had made. If he was going to turn into a zombie or whatever, it wouldn't be Jet's first time killing something like that...there just wasn't much else to say, Jet could roll with any of it, he just preferred not leaving some poor guy in the snow if he could help it.

He offered his hand for the guy to take so Jet could help him up. "Come on, sitting there won't help any of that, especially not the last part."

[walking_dead_walker]

Kieren took the guy's hand. "For a death arena, there aren't as many people trying to kill me as I expected."

Which was a good thing, really, though the circumstances were still pretty horrifying.

"I haven't really worked out any options that weren't shit, though."

[metalicarus]

"Yeah, most of them are gonna seem shit, but at least you're right about that first part."

Jet hadn't been so lucky, the first person he'd run into in his first arena was the guy who'd killed him and he hadn't even known about the 'bring you back to life' part. That was a thought.

"So, first thing's first: has anyone told you that when you die here, you wake up back in the Capitol? Cause I missed that memo the first time and it would have been nice to know."

[walking_dead_walker]

"Uh...no, they left that part out." And that changed everything. He'd honestly expected he would die in this place, permanently and irrevocably. He hadn't thought he had much of a hope of seeing another day, not when he wasn't willing to kill anyone. The idea that he might be able to survive made him wonder if he'd be able to get free eventually, maybe go home again, see his family and Simon.

"How is that even possible? Being brought back proper, I mean. You know, not partially deceased."

Sure, the dead rising wasn't unusual in his world, but they weren't exactly the same as before.

"At least, I assume they come back proper, since I haven't seen too many people like me around."

[pimpcanes]

Tom feels the cold, but it's nothing more than a vague irritant with how bundled up he is. The Sponsors have been exceedingly generous to him and Molotov, and his fluffy parka and thick scarf and winter boots are keeping him from the worst effects of the weather. He finds footprints and, with some time on his hands and a thirst for some sort of excitement to break up the monotony of scavenging for food and collecting water, he follows them.

It isn't long before he finds a young man sitting frozen at the base of a tree. It sends a bit of a shock through him - he hadn't realized the night had been so cold - until he realizes that the corpse isn't frozen at all. Pale as death and vacant in its eyes, but moving, ever so slightly.

He starts slightly.

"You almost had me there, lad."

[walking_dead_walker]

He looked up and froze, the statement being minor enough to not give Kieren a good idea of whether this was the sort of person who would follow through on the whole 'death match' thing or not. He wasn't outright attacking him, though, at least not yet, so that was a good sign.

"Are you going to try and kill me then, or are you one of the ones not going along with that?"

Might as well get that out of the way, so he'd know if he should run or not.

[pimpcanes]

"Everyone's going along with that. Some of them are just playing a longer game than others." Tom smiles in a way that's almost as paternal as it is predatory. It's a lie, but there's no harm in sowing a little distrust with the new lot. If Kieran doesn't recognize him then that means he's fresh into the Games and hasn't heard of Tom's reputation for villainy.

He leans against a tree, though, as if saying with his inaction that he has no intent to kill Kieran at the moment.

"Your accent - where in Britain? That would be Lancashire, wouldn't it?" Tom's accent is heavily Irish, from the coastline.

[walking_dead_walker]

"Right." Kieren believed that this guy believed that, at the very least, which meant that he wouldn't want to turn his back on him or lower his guard too much. However, this guy didn't seem like he was about to murder Kieren right then, so he didn't have to flee for his life quite yet.

"Yeah. Lancashire. You're Irish?" A question, even though it didn't really need to be asked with a heavy accent like that.

[pimpcanes]

"Well, I'm certainly not Dutch. What gave it away?" As far as he knows, he's the only Irishman - by nationality, at least - in the Arenas. He pulls out his knife and cleans off the edge with his gloved thumb.

"Might I ask why it is that you look dead? Or is that insensitive to you types?"

[walking_dead_walker]

"Yeah, guess that was a bit obvious."

There was a bit of difference in pinning down the area of England an accent came from, and realizing someone was Irish, after all.

"Not really. I am dead. Partially, anyway." He notices the man cleaning the knife edge, and it puts him on high alert, though he tries not to show it. Still, he climbed to his feet, figuring he should be ready to run, just in case.

"I'm taking medication to keep me from being your typical rabid, flesh eating corpse, but that'll be wearing off soon."

Half meant as a warning, half meant so this guy wouldn't think he was a safe, easy target.