Dim the lights... (Roland,Blaise)

[*Gill]

How far had they run?

Gill gave a low whistle to the survivors behind him, as holding up a hand or stopping abruptly would probably have caused a pile up, sending all three of them into the mucky sewage below. Gill quickly ducked down and pulled out a worn-out blueprint of the sewage service tunnels. They had made it...well, almost. They were on third avenue, about three blocks from central...three blocks from safety. "Alright guys, three more blocks..." he informed, a hint of worry clinging to his information. He steadied his flashlight against the .500 revolver in his hand and looked around, checking the next corner and sighing in relief. They had made it this far with nothing but the few zombies who had fallen down the man holes.

He counted them lucky...but he didn't wanna push it.

Gill gave a short run and leaped across the narrow waterway, landing clumsily on the other side. He turned back to whistle again to his comrades before turning around to keep watch as the others crossed. Damn this city, damn these tunnels...Gill wiped the sweat from his eyes and replaced the skullcap on his head holding his hair out of place. The teenager could hear everything in his fear, the blood pounding in his ears, the creaking and dripping of the water, the distant moans that haunted his every nightmare, which sadly were coming much more often. He quickly palmed his pocket, feeling the heavy lump of ammunition. Their recent raid of a broken down Smith & Wesson outlet had proven fruitful, as both he and Roland were now armed pretty efficiently.

He listened carefully around him, waiting for the other two to catch up.

[Blaise]

Three more blocks; they could do that. Hadn't they already gotten this far, for this long? Blaise stood at the edge of the waterway in the spot she'd stopped at when Gill had first whistled to the other two. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes; sure it was a precaution sort of deal, but come on. It made her feel like a dog jumping around in some dog show or something like that. Tricks weren't exactly in Blaise's general repertoire, and she wasn't about to add them now.

Casting a glance back over her shoulder at the way they'd come, the teen wasn't surprised to see the way empty. "Empty," of course, referring to the lack of visible zombie creepers following them, but not necessarily the actual lack of zombie creepers. While most of them were so pipped up on adrenaline levels out of this world - not unlike herself and her companions at this moment, some of the zombies were just so damn slow.

Another whistle returned her attention to what she was doing, and again Blaise fought the urge to roll her eyes, though she did so with a small smile. Stepping up, she sheathed her curve sword and placed her hand gently on the wall, trying not to notice how slimy and gross it was. "Ladies first," she whispered with a grin, and jumped. Her boots were big and a little heavy, but she made it across and caught her balance. She let her eyes linger for a moment on the light from Gill's flashlight before she nodded to Roland and followed the tunnel forward.

Though she was pretty sure she wouldn't need it at this point, Blaise pulled out two of her small throwing daggers and held them lightly, catching up to Gill and standing beside him to wait for Roland. "We gotta talk about that little all-clear of yours," she whispered.

[Roland Dischain]

Roland looked into the darkness behind him and listened intently for any sound of the undead. As Gill whistled the all clear and he waited for Blaise to jump past him, Roland thought of how close they were to reaching the City Central. He had traveled to the center of the city a million times before the outbreak, but never in such a unclean manner. He was used to being dirty, as his pre-z job was being a mechanic, the smell was kind of rough though. Roland watched Blaise jump and pull out her throwing knives as he prepared to follow.

Roland was glad he was last in the group, he never liked to rely on someone to watch his back, and helping the team in anyway he could was fine with him. His grimy hand reached his waist and he re secured the hefty pipe wrench he had clipped to his backpack. He adjusted the seven-shot revolver positioned on his other hip securely. The weight of his backpack was secure on his shoulders but not overbearing. He re checked his bag. He had a small portion of food and his father's old mountain climbing ropes and clamps. The equipment had made navigating the urban territory far easier and gaining hight on the zombs made traveling easier. Now that he had teamed up with these two though he didn't worry as much

He finally jumped and landed next to Blaise laughing at her remark. "aww come on Blaise , I haven't heard any music in forever. Hey Gill how about at the next all clear spot you whistle the chorus of a song. Heck me and Blaise could even make requests." He said with a laugh. His tone was riddled with sarcasm, but not hatefulness. He had a tendency to make jokes and hopefully Gill and Blaise had gotten accustomed to that by now.

[*Gill]

Gill fumed silently. He was only trying to be careful, if Blaise thought she could do better, then he'd be happy to let her go first. As Roland caught up and dropped his joke, the teenagers patience cracked a little. "Okay, fine; I'm sorry for trying to be subtle, I forgot you two had night vision. Maybe we can all stock up on air horns, flap our arms and shout down the dark, filthy sewers, I'm sure that'll-" but he was caught short as a muffled cry sent an icy chill up his spine. He turned around quickly, the cries continuing, echoing off the walls and making the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He held onto his heavy revolver with his other hand and did his best not to breathe, trying to listen. The cries continued, and he swallowed and turned his flashlight off, plunging the entire view in front of him into darkness.

He knew the other two weren't stupid, they would've heard the Witch as clearly as he did. But here? Now? Of course, especially since they were so close to the center of town. He edged along the side of the grimy wall, listening hard as the cries got louder. He didn't know where it was, but he knew that making the jumps necessary to cross and get to central would be downright stupid to attempt in the dark, especially when silence was necessary. He stopped short of the next jump and turned around to where his team mates would be with a "Any bright ideas?" look on his face. Not that it mattered, anyway.

[Blaise]

Halfway through Gill's little rant, Blaise raised her hand to cover his mouth when the sound that made her companion stop talking also stopped her hand dead in midair where it was. Her eyes widened and she could almost feel her pupils dilate with adrenaline. Shivering, Blaise instinctively gripped her daggers tighter, trying to debate whether or not she should get her curved grind out or just wait. In the end she decided against it; the sheath hadn't been waxed in a while, there was no doubt in her mind it would make noise. Of course, at this point, she had no guarantee they hadn't already been detected.

Clenching her jaw, Blaise took a careful step away from the wall of the sewers, hoping that with the flashlight out she would still be able to walk without tripping. She wasn't exactly the most coordinated person you'd ever met, but her hand-eye coordination was almost incontestable. These were two facts that had never made sense to her growing up, but it was something she learned to just roll with. Luckily for the trio, her footing was as steady as her hands as she glared into the darkness of the sewers, watching for any sign of movement. She crouched low, thankful her boots barely made any swishing against the stone floor.

As the wails continued, Blaise fought back shivers of fear and started putting a plan together. This was total bullshit; they were almost there! It was totally not ok this stupid Witch had to show up now. Three blocks; that's it, just three blocks! But no. Of course not. These stupid zombies never seemed to end; it was like for every one that the virus killed off, two more took it's place. This city was full of creeper zombies that survived the same way a Hydra did; and it was just their luck they'd wandered right up to it. The wailing tore at Blaise's insides, making her feel like if she didn't know what a warped creature was making the sounds, she'd almost feel bad for her. It scared her how much the screaming tore at her heart. She never, ever got sentimental. She'd been raised not to; but there was something about this stupid Witch, there always was.

Barely breathing, Blaise whispered, "Think we could avoid her?" Even though the words were barely audible and mostly just mouthed instead of spoken, she felt like the entire tunnel was ringing with them, and immediately wished she hadn't said anything. The panic running through her body was making her heart beat loud enough she was positive Roland and Gill could hear it.

[Roland Dischain]

Roland shuddered as the cries continued. In the pitch black the Witch's wails echoed and toyed with his senses. He was nervous now, but he tried to stay calm. He had heard about Witches from other survivors and knew a few things. First they emitted a red glow so in the pitch black hopefully they would see her first, and second whenever attacked the Witch would barrel at the assaulter as target number one, normally ignoring his or her companions till she had killed her assailant. As he stood in the darkness for what seemed like ever he finally saw a faint red glow emerge from a junction a small ways behind them. The Witch must have been one of the Wandering Witches he had heard of. "I doubt it, if we move in the darkness like this we will be louder and less efficient she will catch us either way." he barely breathed the words but was sure the others heard him.

Roland slide to lean against the sewer wall a foot behind him, and almost fell because to his amazement there was no wall. He groped in the darkness for a moment before realizing it was a maintenance outlet in the wall. Something snapped in Roland's mind and he whispered quietly, but excitedly to his companions. " I have an idea, it is kinda crazy but if it works we can take this bitch down," He felt for both of them and when he grabbed hold of Gill and Blaise shoulders he steered them silently into the indenture. They both fit perfectly shoulder to shoulder out of the main sewers path." It's my plan so I'll take the biggest risk. If I shoot her she will come at me full force. I'll haul ass and the second she passes you two lay into her from behind, Witches focus on their first attacker. As long as you aren't between me and her you should be fine. If i can run fast enough and keep her attention you guys can taker her out with little trouble. Just do me a favor and don't miss"

He knew the plan was crazy, but it was probably their best bet. He hated to have to rely on anyone to cover his ass, but he was part of a team and the team came first now. He trusted Gill and Blaise, they had been his partners for a little while now but had never let him down. They both had supreme aim and Roland knew in terms of muscle that he was a little more prepared for the run. Being a soccer player and mechanic had taught him to be quick, but he would be doomed if the other two left him out to dry. He felt himself sweat as he dropped his backpack into the hole, being sure to be silent, he was going to need all the speed he could get. He removed a length of the rock climbing rope, tossing it around his torso and shoulder. If anything happened he wanted to be ready for any outcome. "Unless you guys have any better ideas thats our best bet. Hand me the flashlight Gill." He reached his left hand out as he used his right to remove his revolver and check to be sure he was loaded. With a light click he re-closed the cylinder and prepared for what needed to be done.

[*Gill]

Hey, a plan was a plan.

He listened intently, if the man had a plan he was going to rely on it full force, because he certainly had no clue what to do. He carefully looked around and got his own peek and the evil glow coming from a pair of deep red eyes, full of a malice and hate he would never understand as a human. Turning back to his partners, he gave a small vocal confirmation and gently drew the hammer back on his own gun. "Don't worry, Roland, this isn't called the most powerful hand gun in the world to just attract customers," he confided. When Roland would make his sprint, he'd rely on Blaise to shine the light so he could blast the witch with the massive power of his revolver. The gun felt heavy in his hands, and the weight was comforting.

Witches, if he remembered from his studies, were light, fast, and extraordinarily strong. Their thick long claws could shred through brick and softer metals like aluminum as easily as a hot knife through butter. He clenched his teeth and tried to remember the dissection he did back at the college when the infected first started mutating. Their poor posture from lurking and hunching over all the time was caused by a weakened spine, the vertebra decaying rapidly. He took note of that, and decided he would shoot her in the back first, the force would easily shatter her spine and render her immobile, and then try to finish her off..

That was if everything went according to plan, of course. He looked over in the general direction where he thought Blaise was and sighed. He knew she was as freaked out as the rest of them, but he knew she wouldn't slack behind. Fear would make sure of that. For her, and for all of them.

[Blaise]

Blaise bit her tongue to keep from screaming when a hand landed on her shoulder and started to pull. Startled, she whipped her hand around and nearly sliced him open before she realized the hand on her shoulder must have been Roland's, since he was whispering. She hadn't caught the first part thanks to the pounding in her ears, but she got the basics that he had a plan. He pushed her to the side, and she braced her back to meet the wall that never came. Instead, he set her and Gill in a hollow in the wall and continued.

As she listened to the plan, she was torn between coming up with something else, or just letting him go through with it. It was a crazy plan, no doubt about that. But he was ready for it, and Gill seemed ready to help him. Biting her lip, Blaise looked around the side of the indention in the sewer wall and took in the Witch. She shivered again and quickly recoiled, shaking her head and thinking she was glad it wasn't her. She had no doubt she could do it, but the thought of having that... thing behind her was just not exactly going to settle her mind right now.

Holding onto two of her daggers, Blaise placed one hand on her double grind, hoping she wouldn't need it. Taking a breath, she took one last glance at the Witch and nodded. Then, remembering they couldn't see her nod in the darkness, she clacked her nails softly against the side of the sewers to signal she was ready. Her eyes stayed glued to the spot where she assumed Roland would be when she and Gill were ready to fire on the Witch, her body going into attack mode. She just hoped Roland would be able to run fast enough. He wasn't slow, nor was he completely stupid, but she'd never witnessed a Witch before. Well, not one in action. She'd saw a few of them in the streets from some safe houses, not to mention she'd heard stories, but she'd never actually witnessed one in action.

[Roland Dischain]

Roland couldn't help but to laugh slightly as he prepared to spring at the Witch, he knew the plan was crazy and odds are he was doomed, but just standing there talking to his companions as friends and equals in this new fucked up zombie filled world he was in was enough to make him smile. He reached over and picked up his flashlight from on top of his pack and as he left he whispered to his friends "Well I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a hot date, so don't wait up. He burst from the wall and clicked on the flashlight and fired off his revolver. The range was good and as Roland thumbed the chamber four times he watched as the witches body bent with the blows. Two shots entered her torso and the third her left leg. The fourth shot was slightly off and blasted the wall beside the zombie Witch.

He heard the screams from the witch and strangely he heard a similar noise from behind him, assuming it was the echo he took it as his cue to run. He spun and ran like hell, flinging the cylinder of his revolver open to attempt to reload on the run. He had tried the trick a few times and was getting the hang of it but at the moment his speed was more of a necessity in his mind. He blew away from the hole Gill and Blaise were hiding in and prayed to any God listening to have them save his ass. He was running faster then he had ever ran, and his legs were beginning to sting slightly as he burst down the poorly lit tunnel.

Roland reached the end of the sewer tunnel and saw the intersect, the tunnel was running from left to right and as he prepared to reach the turn he felt rather confident, he could still hear the cry of a Witch but he felt no hands on his back and he was sure the Witch would have caught him by now if she was going to. The last question on Roland's mind was what could be the worst possible thing to see turn the corner and face him. If he had asked the question the answer would have appeared before him. As he rounded the corner to the right he saw a second witch burst at him from the left. "Looks like its going to be a double date!" he yelled behind him as he spun and saw the other two facing down the first witch>

[*Gill]

One...

Two...

"Go!" Gill said quickly, much more to himself than to anyone else, the words fueled by adrenaline as the eerie Witch ran past their hiding place after Roland. It was like time slowed down as the gangly teenager ran to catch the infected creature from the side as it was distracted by Roland. Gill brought his flashlight and his revolver up together like he had seen in all the movies and video games, the light quickly illuminating the monsters face as it came to be parallel with Gill. It was a horrid sight, her hair was stringy and thin, her skin a pale, sickly grey. But her eyes shone a violent, deathly red filled with a hatred that turned Gills spine to ice. He clenched his teeth and followed through with his plan.

Of course this all seemed to happen in real-time, but to him each second dragged by. Gill pressed the barrel of the .500 revolver into the side of her head and squeezed the trigger. The sound blasted off the walls of the sewers as the Witch screeched and was knocked down off of her feet and into the murky water below. Gill followed with his momentum, leaping across the small chasm and quickly turning around, a spike of pain shooting up his leg as he landed on his ankle funny. Swearing in pain, he brought the gun up and fired again into the spot of water he saw the flailing creature standing back up, half of her head destroyed, and still clawing to get to Roland.

At the mans words of "double date," he thought "God dammit all to hell, can he not be serious for two....OH CRAP," and saw the man facing down another pair of glowing eyes in his flashlight beam. Ignoring the pain in his jarred ankle, he took a running leap and fell quickly on his face after reaching the other side. He stood up and began to make his way to Roland, shouting behind him "Blaise, get my back!" hoping that after she finished the Witch, she would cover him in case their sound had alerted anything else in the deep tunnels.

[Blaise]

Following Gill's lead, Blaise rushed out of the indention in the sewer wall and almost yelled aloud as the .500 squeezed off. You would think that by now she would be used to the sound of a gunshot so close to her, but she couldn't help but narrow her eyes and glare at Gill for a moment, wishing he'd scavenge around for a silencer or something. The echo from the walls of the sewers was murder.

Fingers clutching her throwing daggers, Blaise watched as the half destroyed face of the Witch continued to twist in rage, screaming her obnoxious wail. Looking up, she heard Roland say something about a double date, and her stomach dropped to her feet. Crap. What the hell were the odds of there being two Witches down here, and they just happened to fall between them? That was absolutely totally just her luck. Were these things onto them? Maybe their brains were starting to mold themselves to the virus. If these stupid zombie creepers had brains and could functionally come up with some kind of plan, they were all screwed.

When Gill jumped toward Roland and fell, Blaise realized she'd been standing there as the Witch got to her feet and tried to charge again. "Don't think so, bitch!" Pulling her arm back, Blaise threw her daggers at her head. In the dim light, thanks to Gill moving with the flashlight, she knew that one had missed the mark completely and instead lay embedded in the arm closer to Blaise. The other was much more centered to her target and had grazed the Wtich's neck, causing a cascade of disgusting mutated blood to flow down her raggedy shirt.

When the creature brushed off the attack and kept charging forward, Blaise kicked her foot out into her path, causing her to fall. "Still don't think so!" Working quickly, Blaise unsheathed her sword and swung down, pinning the witch to the floor by her neck. Normally the blow would have killed a normal person, but the teen had no idea if the zombie was actually dead or not, although her wails did falter and finally stop. Without checking, Blaise left her sword and turned toward her companions, digging out two more throwing daggers for the second Witch.

[Roland Dischain]

Roland felt his mind race and sweat beat down his temples as he struggled to find a solution that didn't involve him dieing. He heard Gill's revolver sound off. He grabbed the metal clasp on the rope he had and began to swing it as the Witch flailed at him. As the Witch passed him and Roland tugged on the rope, he felt the clasp re-clip to the rope and swing around the Witch's wrists. The positive side of this development was that the Witch could no longer freely swing her claws. The downside was she was now flailing him around on the rope like a rag doll. His head was spinning as he felt his feet lose grip on the sewer ground. He flew through the air and felt his back collide with a support pillar.

Roland spun around the pillar to cushion the momentum slightly and he heard Gill yell at Blaise. Blaise's cries made Roland pray that at least one of these crazy Witches was no longer a threat to their group. Gill was on his way to help, but the time between was crucial if Roland wanted to survive. He saw the Witch turn to charge at him and a lightbulb burst on in his mind. Roland did the stupidest thing he had ever done, he charged a Witch full force. The Witch was flying at him and in his last second before colliding, he jumped full force to the left. He felt a searing pain in his side as he landed and when he looked down he saw blood pouring slowly but continually out of his lower side.

Roland turned back to the Witch as he looped the rope around himself several times. Here came the hard part. Looking into the twisted face of the creature before him he knew he the old hag hadn't notice what he had done. When he jumped to the left he had crossed the rope attached to her claws over itself. HE pulled back and felt his side scream in pain as he reeled the Witch into the pillar he had spun around. The horrid screams echoed in his ears as he saw her become pinned. Roland tied a knot in the rope to steel grate beneath him, and now that the Witch was leashed like a dog he walked right up to the Witch. He picked up a slender pipe laying on the floor and thrust it into the Witch's face. Roland saw her twitch and then hang silently, and for a moment he felt sorry for her and who she used to be before he fell to the floor exhausted.