Home at Last (Hannah)

[Hannah Flatfield]

Hannah nodded at his question. She would be alright, after the initial shock wore off she would live and recover. That’s what she’d been doing all this time of being on her own. It was something that was happening quicker and quicker. ”I’ll be okay,” she feared the day she would recover immediately. The day she would lose her humanity, she was sure, ”at least I think.” She gave him a playful nudge, but wasn’t quite feeling herself yet. The numbness had settled and taken a hold of her. She hoped she would be able to sleep it off

She had to smile at Cole’s response. He was humor and light in a dark place and time. He sat down and she sat next to him, she was weak and tired and didn’t think she could survive another attack. She rested her head against the cabinet and studied the linoleum instead of looking over to the previous matron of this house. She turned her head to Cole when he asked if she felt safe here. It took her sometime to respond. There wasn’t a single safe place in this world any more. Everywhere one had to expect to get attacked constantly.

”I think we have gotten rid of the immediate danger,” she sighed, ”With a proper lock up, I think we could sleep through the night with out getting mauled.” she believed her statement. She knew that if she went to sleep she didn’t know if she would wake up if the instance of getting mauled occurred. Maybe that was better than waking up in the nick of time, only to be killed again another night. ”What about you?” she watched him look around, and she brought her knees up close to her and hugged them. She didn’t know she’d have the strength but was able to manage to hold onto herself as she awaited Cole’s verdict.

Word count: 335

[Cole Peyton]

Cole would have to say that he was a little relieved when he heard Hannah's opinion. He wasn't in much of a mood to get up and go again, and he would sooner take his chances here then anywhere else. The only real danger with staying was the slight chance that something, or someone, outside had heard their scuffle in the house. Not to mention, houses, especially like his, were prime targets for raiders. And from what he knew about today's humanities, survivors would think nothing of killing both of them and making the place their own. Oh well, that'd probably be the best way to die anyway.

"I don't have any better ideas." He sighed and lazily pulled himself up. He turned to the sink and studied it for a second, wondering if there was any chance the water was still running. He opened the faucet and waited a few seconds before the thing coughed up a steady stream of water. "Wow, talk about lucky." He grinned and looked down at Hannah. "Water still runs, might be a good opportunity to take a shower if you want." A shower sounded nice, even if it was going to be a cold one. Feeling like sweat and blood for the last week or so takes its toll.

His eyes darted over to what was his mom, and then over to where his dad was...he couldn't just leave them here, but where else would he put them? He went over to the glass door leading out to the backyard, he guessed that would do. "Never thought I'd ever be doing this." He mumbled and dragged the corpse through the door out to the backyard. Every second was a harsh reminder of the reality of today. 18 years he had maintained a fairly peaceful, happy existence with his family. Now they were all dead and humanity itself appeared vanquished. Most disturbing, it all happened overnight.

[Hannah Flatfield]

Hannah closed her eyes as he stood, just a second of rest she thought to herself, that’s all I need. She was sure she had already started dreaming when a faucet sounded. She opened her eyes and looked up to Cole, she then pulled herself up, a little less gracefully. The water was working, she could have leaped with joy if she wasn’t so tired. ”That’s some good news,” she ran a hand under the slowly warming stream of water. She nodded at Cole suggestion, she had always been a clean person, but these last few weeks she had let herself go in that aspect. There was no other option, but the return to a normal routine thing like a shower, may be best for them at this time. She looked back up to Cole but his eyes were else where, over in the direction where his mother lay still.

She didn’t know what he was thinking, but when he went over to her she turned off the faucet and followed, he began to lift her and set her outside in the back. She heard him mumble that he never thought he’d be doing this, and she couldn’t agree more. Cole shouldn’t have to do this alone, but she felt like she might get in his way if she was to assist in the hoist, so she walked back into the living room, where another battle had occurred. The sight of the ruckus that occurred brought chills to Hannah, and her anxiety levels sky rocketed as the familiar surroundings brought her back to what happened only twenty minutes or so ago. She walked over to where Cole’s father was laying.

She thought she was going to be sick, but was surprised when she didn’t throw up, she took advantage of this moment of strength and bent over to grab the permanently dead man under the arms and pulled. She didn’t make much progress, he was much heavier than Hannah had expected, and she hadn’t expected that her strength would have turned into fatigue. As she dragged him, the rug came with him underneath. Making noise as the small coffee table budged, and some of its toppings toppled off. The noise made her jump, and so she stood and straightened, trying to gain her composure and muster up enough strength to do this simple task. She didn’t want Cole to feel like he was going through this alone, so she had to help. She bent back down and tried again with as much success as the first time.

Word count: 436

[Cole Peyton]

Cole wasn't an emotional person, but was he ever fighting back every urge to faceplant in the gravel and empty the tears. This was not something anyone should ever go through, that he determined quickly enough. He knew though that chances were there were many others in his exact position all across the world...Well, that is if there is anyone still out there. There were some instances were he seriously wondered if it was just them and maybe a few strangers tucked away in some safe house.

He dragged the body under a tree and put some fallen branched on top, not that it was much of a burial, but it was the best he could do. He dropped his eyelids and turned back to the house, making his way back inside. He saw Hannah struggling to move his dad around anywhere. He wondered why she felt the need to take this upon herself, either she was trying to make herself excessively useful or...whatever.

Her struggle was made rather evident when the contents on top of a coffee table managed to find the floor. "Good job." He said with a bit of smirk, which only lasted for a fraction of a second. "Lemme take a side." He stepped by her and grabbed dead-zombie dad's left arm. He forgot that his dad weight 220, all the workouts they did together really paid off for his dad apparently with more muscle mass.

They managed to get the body to the door, except Cole was absent-minded about the door sealing at the very bottom, and consequently forgot to lift his leg over it. His right ankle made contact with the bottom, which wouldn't have been a huge problem except that he was throwing all his weight backwards while tugging the body. Unfortunately for Hannah as well, his right ankle getting caught meant that he fell to the right, right into Hannah, sending them both to the ground rather ungracefully. "Sorry." He groaned. "You alright?" He turned his head towards her direction. He made a mental note that he had to clear his mind before he went back out in the world. He had to be focused enough to at least be able to avoid tripping, right now he felt he was no where close to that.

Word count: 390

[Hannah Flatfield]

Cole came back to help, and as much as relief she felt she also felt bad. She wanted to help him with this, to prove she could, and also lighten the load on him. He deserved a break this was quite a trying day. But the help was appreciated. His smirky comment made her playfully glare back at him, but his smile quickly faded and she returned her features back to the mourning expression of respect. This was almost like a funeral, except instead of burning them (at least for now) they were going to set them outback.

They were almost out of the back door when Cole tripped, and landed right into Hannah, again they found themselves bruising one another up, just as they had began the day, it was an appropriate was to end it. She turned and crawled up to her knees, but sat there for a moment reclining on the heals of her sneakers. "I'm okay," she nodded, and brushed her hair back in its uniform place, she hated being so dirty, and she could feel how disgusting time had treated her hair, "I guess this was pay back, from the beginning of the day," she smiled a little, and began to rise from her relaxed position. She rested a hand on the sliding back door, and looked out into the darkness. She didn't want to look for too long.

She didn't want to see any of the monsters she knew that were out there. She looked back to Cole, "Are you okay?" the wording wasn't meant to be interpreted about the recent events, just the current fall, and she felt the need to speed up the conversation incase they were taken the wrong way. "So we're staying here?" she asked and looked back to the dripping candle wax, time was escaping them, it had been still out there- or so it seemed, but in here it seemed to go by so quickly.

word count: 353

[Cole Peyton]

Cole winced a bit as he brought himself back up from the ground, he felt like he may have just borderline re-aggrevated his back injury from a crash somewhat recently. If there was anything he didn't need at this time, it was a back injury. "Yeah I'm fine." He said in an attempt to cover his discomfort. His eyes went back to the body, and the task at hand. He was sooo ready for bed, and for this day to be over. Hell, for this month to be over. It was hard to imagine how the future could possibly get any better though. With every passing day that there was no sign of communications from any major source, and no evidence of a cure, it almost seemed like no matter what, their fate was sealed. There he was thinking all doom and gloom again, he struggled enough to keep that mindset out without knowing his parents fate, now it was only that much harder.

He stumbled over to the body and with Hannah dragged it out to where he left the first one. That would do for the night, he wasn't really sure what to do with his parents bodies. He wasn't sure what proper formalities were, if such a thing even existed these days. "Yeah, we can clean up here and have the best sleep of our lives here." He grinned as he thought of the feeling of sinking into his old bed.

He walked back in the house and locked the patio door once Hannah was in. "Speaking of sleep, I say we do just that." He took a look at their blood stained clothes. "After we shower anyway." He laughed. "My mom probably has some stuff in her closet if you wanna look, don't know how well her clothes would fit you though." He laughed as he made his way to his own room to do some digging around. He'd only worn this one outfit for, well, ever since the end of the world began.

[Hannah Flatfield]

Hannah helped finished the deed to the best of her ability. She climbed back inside, careful to not stub her foot on the set up over the sliding rail to the door. She watched Cole lock it and then turn, he was so tired. She herself was drained, but in no instance did she take as much as an emotional beating as he had just now.

She shrugged at the thought of wearing his mother's clothes, it was a kind offer, but she felt bad enough staying in the woman she just killed's house let alone wearing her things. She tried to push the thought out of her mind there was too much going on. She watched Cole turn into his room, and she looked forward to his parents bedroom.

She should try to take him up on his offer, in the east it was different, but south had their hospitalities. She saw the broken rope on the floor and quickly kicked it under the bed. Cole didn't need to see that again. She felt cold in this room, where they had been dangling for three weeks and found only by there son, when it was much to late to prevent the suicide. It saddened her. She ran a hand on the dresser top, where photos were neatly sitting up and waiting to be admired once again, dust had collected and she cleared some away as she looked and saw a little Cole holding his mother's hand. Maybe they were at the zoo. He couldn't have been more than five. He had a red little cap to cover his face from a sun burn. His exposed arms were pretty pink though.

She imagined standing beside his father as he snapped the photo, the smiles they were all wearing were great, broad and true. Her own family photos were nothing of the sort. For starters her father was rarely in them, nor around to take them. A majority of the family photos were of young Wes before Hannah was born and it seemed everything just got worse for the family. She set the photo back down on the counter. When they left, she would leave with that frame. There was no need for something so sweet to be left here and forgotten.

She remembered she had left her bag by the front door when they had first entered, she walked past Cole's room where she was sure he was eagerly finding a change in clothes. She had a jacket she could sleep in tucked away in her bag, she could probably sleep in that and soak her shirt to dry to get some grime and suffering out of it. She passed the living room once again and she kept her eyes low, no need to take in the struggle that had just taken place. She grabbed her bag, made sure the door was bolted and then walked back to Cole. She stood in the door way leaning against the frame. "Do you want to shower first? I'm afraid I'd use all the hot water if I did."

word count: 536

[Cole Peyton]

Cole tossed through what was almost a foreign stack of shirts and pants. He now finally realized that being an extreme simplicitist when it came to clothes had it's disadvantages, as he only had a handful of items to choose from. He finally found some stuff that wasn't completely wrinkled and set them aside. His eyes started glazing over the walls of his room, it didn't seem that long ago that he picked up some of those awards on the walls. Well, that was because it wasn't. He stepped over to a shelf that held some recent pictures, one in particular was of him and his dad by their race car after a weekend. Six months ago he would've looked at that and thought of the future he had in the sport, now he looked at it and wondered how the hell things changed so fast.

He stumbled back out into the hallway and threw his stuff into the bathroom next door, noticing Hannah patiently waiting in the hallway. "Everything too big for you?" He said with a small smile. "Mom didn't have your figure, I'm afraid." He said with a laugh.

Did he just hear what he heard? A girl offering him to shower first despite both of their messy conditions? She had to be the most selfless teenager he ever met, even in a world with a paradigm of kill or be killed. He was about to insist she go first, but truth be known he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep his eyes open...and she did have a point, women took long showers. "Alright, I'll make it short." He lazily said and shut the door behind him.

Those next 5-10 minutes were arguably the best feeling of his life, he never knew how much sand was actually in his hair until that point. It was hard to rip himself out of the shower, very hard. Soon enough he came out in his fresh clothes, ruffled hair dripping and all. "Your turn at paradise." He said with a bit of a smirk .

Word count: 360

[Hannah Flatfield]

She shrugged, ”Just don’t eat for three weeks,” she said and did a half spin like she had seen the models do on the few runway shows she had, ”that’s the secret.” she made a half smile, and realized how comfortable she had become with Cole. She nodded as he headed to the bathroom, and she returned to his parents bedroom and slipped the picture frame into her bag. Why did she suddenly feel like a thief? She didn’t know if they would be leaving in the middle of the night, or in a rush, and she wouldn’t have time to be like, hey Cole, so I think we should take some of your pictures, and awards, and books, ya know. For prosperity sake.

Hannah spied around Cole’s room while she waited for him to come back. She was growing more and more anxious as she waited though. She was feeling alone even though she knew he was no more than ten feet away. She sat down on his bed and reflected looking at his awards and ribbons and trophies. What a different life from her own. She adored it, and envied it. Even if it ended tonight the way it did, having that love for you family prior made up for a life time of lacking it. She would have switched spots in a heart beat. She wondered if she would have killed her own mother, or would her mother, even in infected form still find a way to tower over her and belittle her to nothing, a worthless daughter, when she wanted another son just like Wes.

Cole came out and tagged her. She went in the bathroom warm and steamy. She washed away the grime and dirt and pain and death. She even picked at the blood that was under her fingernails. She soaked her shirt in the sink, hoping there was another sink if Cole wanted to brush his teeth. She used some hand soap to scrub out the blood, but of course that didn’t work, she would just smell fresher, and have a very clean blood stain on her shirt the next time they went out. She pulled on her sweater and left the bathroom. Her hair dripping the way Cole’s had been. She needed a trim, she felt like she looked like an nongroomed dog. She tied back her hair as she walked to Cole. He was so tired, and she was too.

”You going to bed?” she asked, ”or are we gonna paint each other’s nails?” she smiled and looked down the hall. Her smile slowly faded. She didn’t for see herself sleeping well tonight. New environments never settled well with her at first. She looked back to Cole. ”I’m just gonna make sure the doors are locked, one more time.” she explained and headed down the dark hallway to the front door. Deadbolted. To the back door locked. She looked at the bodies outside, and then turned back around. Needless to say, if she slept at all, she would be getting torn apart by Cole’s mother.

Word count: 534

[Cole Peyton]

Cole had to laugh at her. "Sounds painful." He said with with a smile as he slipped behind the door. In a world where everyone had gone mad - both infected and living - he was so glad that she still retained her personality, it may have been something not even he wanted to admit, but her presence was what gave him motivation to even continue trying.

As Hannah showered, Cole went through the house once more to make sure there would be no middle of the night surprises, it was sort of creepy to think that just beyond these walls was a feral world of, he was ready to call them for what they were, zombies. Billions of them too, hardly any trace of humanity was to be found out there. The constant question of not if, but how he would die came back to haunt him, it was just a matter of time, wasn't it? One day, there will be too many of them, and not enough exits. That was just the bleak reality, and it was hard for him to get past that, yet he knew better than to keep that in his head, or even rant about it in front of others.

He could tell the shower had it's effects on Hannah. "So you are a true brunette, with all that sand in there I couldn't tell exactly what your hair color was." He remarked with a laugh, half expecting to get hit in some way knowing how conscious girls were about their appearance.

Cole held a wide grin at her 'question.' "As fun as that sounds, I'm destined for bed." He said with a small laugh and turned to his room. "Already did." He called after her as she went to check everything for herself. He set his M4 on that bedstand he never used and laid down on the far right side. As Hannah came back he nodded over to the left side, it wasn't the biggest tempur-pedic in the world, but it could hold two. "I'm assuming you don't wanna sleep in my parents room."

Word count: 362...thought it was more...

[Hannah Flatfield]

”Cole!” She laughed and ran her hand through her damp hair subconsciously as he made the comment on her hair color, ”I would have given anything to be blond,” the admittance was followed by a regret of exposing this wish. She might have been blushing, she didn’t know for sure, and hoped it was dark enough for Cole not to be sure either. ”Your loss, I’ve been told I give a fantastic French Manicure,” She exaggerated a pout, but that was quickly followed by a smile, as she turned down the hall to make sure everything was safe… well as safe as it could be.

She scanned the area, and found her way back to Cole’s door way. She shook her head at the offer to sleep in his parents room. ”Not really,” she dug her hands in the front of her pocket and clasped her fingers together. She didn’t want to seem to forward, but she learned from watching her mother, that if you don’t voice what you want you’ll never receive it, ”You mind if I grab a few pillows and crash on your floor?” She hoped she wasn’t being to forward, but she really couldn’t imagine staying out in the open space of the living room, or being in the room where his parents previously resided. She couldn’t really even imagine being alone when she finally lets her guard down and falls asleep.

She wasn’t looking forward to the dreams, but a part of her did hope that she would be too tired to dream at all. She wondered what the morning would be like. What would happen when they woke up and the sun showed them what they had seen that afternoon, hordes banding together to hunt the living. She tried to shake the image and look like nothing was phasing her, wasn’t as easy as she thought.

Word count: 330

[Cole Peyton]

"Nah dark hair suits you well, being blonde is overrated." Cole smiled and flicked the top of his hair. Every girl he ever knew always wanted to be blonde, he always found it funny how it seemed that they all thought that was every guy's favorite color. Among his friends as well as himself...not so much. He always had a thing for brunettes. "I barely even know what that is." He said with a laugh and turned into his room.

The floor didn't sound too appetizing to him, he had his fair share of sleepovers where he ended up being the guy on the carpet. Not the most relaxing place in the world. He scooted over a couple feet to the far edge of his bed. "Floor sounds harsh, there's space here. I don't bite too much." He said with a smile. "I say formalities are outdated now." He said with a small shrug. He didn't think that was too far, not that he really gave it much thought. But frankly, he'd probably sleep better himself with someone beside him than not. Besides, not like his parents were gonna walk in and get the wrong idea anytime soon...at least he hoped they wouldn't be walking in. With the especially recent events it was a wonder he managed to hold his sanity in check..oh that's right, he wasn't alone any more, he actually had a partner now, someone he could laugh with no less.

He took a look at his small window in the bedroom that overlooked the backyard. It was totally blacked out, he was used to hearing a few birds or even coyotes at night, but there was nothing, it was just an eerie silence. That's basically what the remnants of society were now, lifeless, void of any productive activity. Somehow, that window managed to capture that for him, maybe because he knew what was laying in his backyard.

word count: 333

[Hannah Flatfield]

Hannah nodded at the idea, she didn't need to be shy about it.... not like she hadn't slept in the same bed as a boy before... oh wait, she hadn't. She guys friends sure, but were they ever allowed in the house? Absolutely not. The only boys allowed in there were Wes and all his friends, which she might add were much worse than her own aged buddies. But whatever Wes told his mother went, she nodded along naively, listening to her miracle child spout his manipulative stories about how Derrick just got into Princeton, and how he was trying to get Wes to go with him... Derrick got a DUI the previous week that was swept under the rug, he slept with a drunk fourteen year old girl at a party, then bragged about it to his friends, and was headed to Princeton because his aunt was in charge of administration. But Hannah's mother had just placed a motherly hand on his shoulder and remarked, How wonderful for you, Derrick, you look after Wes while he's up there.

[/i]

Despite not having very many great guys in her life, she trusted Cole, he was kind and fun and a survivor, and she was coming around to the fact that maybe she was a survivor too. She would never look back fondly on this evenings attack, but she had the ability to look back. She lived. That was a testament in itself. "Okay," she agreed with a nod, she walked deeper into the room, and looked at the bed- then to Cole, "You have a side preference?" she inquired with a head tilt. Bed. She was almost there. Sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she relaxed when she closed her eyes.

Needless to say she probably wasn't going to sleep very well, there was too much fear in her, too much conditioning that once you think its safe. It isn't. At least Cole was here. She would stand a fighting chance, and oh man, could these two teenagers fight. Quite a team, she thought happily. Happy thoughts? What were these doing in this world? The light at the end of the tunnel. The bed at the end of a horrible three weeks.


word count:403[/size][/justify][/blockquote]

[Cole Peyton]

The feeling of his own house was still somehow distant to Cole. Yes, he was home, but he felt so disconnected. It was almost like he was coming home to a place full of ancient cobwebs and a cold feeling. The sense of joy in that household was gone, the light mood that circulated through the air was gone, and despite it being Arizona, it was cold in there. In short, the spiritual mood of that place changed drastically, and it was nothing like what he remembered. Cole actually kind of wanted to leave, he didn't feel near as comfortable here as he though he would. Of course, any idea like that would have to wait for tomorrow. For now, the idea was to get through the night and figure out how to live another day.

"Nope." He shook his head and slipped under the big sheet (whatever that's called), leaving enough room on the left side for Hannah to sneak in. He practically threw his head back on the pillow and let it sink in. Regardless of the invisible feeling, the feeling of something other than a leather seat or blanket to sleep on was a welcome change. As if on queue, one of the candles in the kitchen flickered out, making it even more darker than it already was, practically to the point where everything was blacked out. "I guess I'll find out what it's like to sleep with one eye open." He said as he took another look at the window for an unexplained reason.

He contemplated what the plans were for tomorrow...Make the best meal of all time, go to a small strip mall a few miles away and see if its clear enough for them to supply stock, then get Hannah comfortable with guns, however that was going to work, then go...somewhere. Hannah said she was from the northeast, right? Maybe they could head up that way, get away from both the desert and heavily populated areas. He felt like he had a new sense of responsibility now, not a liability by any means, but he had grown very protective of Hannah...maybe that was normal...in a marriage anyway...but with someone he just met about 5 or 6 hours ago? He liked her, a lot, that he wasn't going to deny, but ultimately she was the one source of comfort for him. If anyone could give him a warm fuzzy feeling in these times, it was her. And that made her more valuable than anything in the world to him.

Word count: 433
OOC: oof, that got cheesy, but you wanted a cheesy Cole to show up sooner or later so there you go

[Hannah Flatfield]

She slipped in the left side. The sheets cool and lacking body warmth, that was always the worst part about going to bed back home, it was always cold, and it took some thawing before the bed was ready to comfort the new occupant. The candle flickered out from the distance and the darkness was settling in, in a way that meant this was it. She was going to close her eyes and not open them again until the sun rose or possibly never open them again. She remembered the Notebook, such a tear jerker. She sobbed like a baby when they died in one another’s arms. But at least it was together. She cast a subtle glance to Cole. Would they die together? She hoped so, at least- if he had to go, if it was… his time? Then she hoped to follow right after… however she couldn’t wish the same for him if it was her time, she hoped he could survive, find refuge, find happiness. She really did want that for him. She never thought about anything quite like that before.

Her mother often referred to her as selfish and only thought about herself. Wouldn’t she be surprised. She returned to looking forward to the ceiling. Cole was looking out the window and that caused some concern to raise. She tightened her grip on the sheets. She whispered, like the monster was under the bed. ”Is something out there?” were they going to have to start running or would they fight off another attack. She wasn’t sure she was ready for either. She tucked the sheets tighter around her sides. Hannah relaxed her head. She closed her eyes.

She wondered what tomorrow would bring. She couldn’t have survived with out Cole, he had put her miles away from where she would have met her demise on the high way. He was putting a roof over her head, and a pillow under it. Blankets too keep her warm in this suddenly really cool room. She felt she was getting sentimental, and knew Cole deserved something she hadn’t really offered.

”Thank you Cole,” she turned her head to him again, ”For saving my life and everything,” she thought back to her walking on that asphalt with her flats in one hand and her bag to her other side, "I think I would be dead if we hadn't ran into eachother" A princess with out a ride out of town. A knight in shinning armor was waiting for her on the outskirts of town. Had she known that she would have rushed out of the city. But all things are meant to be, and she was where she was now because of all those choices, and suffering. She was in the only place she could imagine being right now.


Word count: 468