Knowledge is Power [Hannah]

[Thyra Henriksen]

<sub>Ok, so the world had ended.. that didn't mean Thyra wasn't going to pursue her regular academic activities. She had been known, in the last few weeks, to even have gone to museums, just to make sure that the artifacts were intact, and if they weren't, she had secured them. There was no way to truly make certain they were ok, she had always thought sadly.. sure, no one looted museums in an apocalypse, but many of them required regular maintenance, and with the power out moisture and and airflow of their respective cases became completely destroyed. It saddened her, and so she did what she could, every time she saw a preserved body her heart broke slightly. It was all their fault - hers. If they had simply left them where they had found them they most likely would last longer than in the deteriorating conditions of the museums. Very well, she thought, when she finally got to a library, she would simply preserve the knowledge about them in her own head. That should at least do some good.

Ever on top of roofs, she took a knee on top of the library. There were skylights in the roof, perfect for climbing in without having to climb over obstructions or enter into the building without having checked it out first. The streets had a few walkers on them, some aimlessly wandering, another repeatedly bumping into a wall for no apparent reason. She smiled, slightly amused by the stupidity, wondering slightly how anyone could ever get killed by something so incredibly clueless.. but she knew that all came down to numbers, or equal stupidity, in most cases. Ignoring them then, she peered in through the sunroof, spotting a single walker that looked as though it was following something. Before entering and taking it out, she moved to the other sunroofs and made certain there were no others. As far as she could tell, there weren't.

That was when she found a structure protruding out of the roof, something that looked like a small chimney.. which, to Thyra, didn't make any sense. She reminded herself to look up what it might be when she was in the library, before securing a rope to it, and opening the roof. Gripping it tightly, then taking her sword in her right hand, she slid down the rope at an alarming speed, before landing on the unsuspecting zombie, which resulted in it being knocked to the ground, where she did not hesitate to end its "life" swiftly. She did a quick sweep of the floor, closed the surrounding doors, and settled in with the Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder, and flipping it to the medical section. It was her first time cracking open a book, and the first one she chose wasn't so much for education, but rather amusement. The medical section included ludicrous ideas like tying fox testicles to your forehead to get rid of a common cold and other such nonsense. It was great fun, she always thought.

A sound was heard, however, and she dropped the book on the table, standing ready with her sword in the direction of the intruder.</sub>

[Hannah Flatfield]

Hannah had been to this town before, but it had been a simple dry past while her mother had her nose in the air. Hannah would never forget this town because of the toy shop she had seen while they were stopped at a red light. The toys were magnificent. They were not boxed up, name brand toys. They were hand crafted, they moved, they were unique, they were on the display. Hannah had begged her mother to stop and look at the toys.

However her mother would hear no such thing about stopping in such a place. So when Hannah was walking past the shop and saw the old toys in their display her heart began to melt and she was sure a break down was about to take place. She kept moving. Maybe later she could come back… even stay in there for a while? Wait this thing out while she played with the toys she wished she had as a child? That seemed insane…. Then again she was feeling pretty crazy these days. She still had no idea what she was thinking when she decided, no, I don’t need a car… I will just walk home!

She dug her hands deeper in her pocket as her messenger bag banged against the back of her thighs. These past few days it sure had increased in weight. She’d been finding things and finding it harder to leave them. Carbonated drinks… a book, a swap out pair of shoes, the gun she didn’t know how to use… now that was just embarrassing. She was hoping when the time came she would just… do it. Fortunately she had been pretty resourceful up to this point and was able find alternate ways to stay alive that didn’t involve as much risk. There were some around her, the infected, the zombies, the monsters, the demons, the dead.

She would be able to outrun a few, but if they got her cornered she might as well turn her gun on herself. She needed to find cover, and get a game plan. Maybe find a city map? She looked to her right and found the answer to her inquiries! The library! She bet there were plenty of city plans archived in there. She made her way forward. She crept through the door, every few steps she would remain quiet and listen for anything scurrying about, particularly the scraping, the undead, never really picked up their feet unless they were on the hunt. She came to hate and flinch at that noise. Nothing good ever followed it.

She worked her way through the main lobby and then entered the main library, the smell of must, and stuffy air filled her lungs and she stifled a cough. That was when she saw the very tall lady wielding a sword waiting for her a bit across the room. ”Oh my God,” Hannah exclaimed as she jumped. She certainty was sure she hadn’t heard anyone in here, let alone another human. She calmed herself, ”I’m sorry, I’m pretty jumpy these days,” Hannah brushed her hair out of her face that had fallen forward in her jolt. She looked to the woman, and began to feel for the temperature of the waters…


Word count: 553

[Thyra Henriksen]

<sub>At first, Thyra had been incredibly paranoid, gladly willing to compromise friendliness for a sword to the throat of any intruder who set foot on her path, and she still was, just less so. See, she had, with the meeting of the first person on her path, come to realize that not all humans were a threat, and with their blood she may well be destroying someone who could be worthwhile in the future. She couldn't treat this girl who now came through the door with the same hostility she previously would have. It was difficult for her to trust that her intentions were good, however, even if she looked like a scared little bunny. And so she did not lower her sword, only looked at the girl with some amount of scrutiny.

”I’m sorry, I’m pretty jumpy these days," the girl said, causing Thyra to crack a small smile. Thyra had not found herself to be anything but cautious and slightly paranoid since the outbreak, and considered being jumpy to only mean that you were unprepared for what was to come. That, she thought, was not a good thing in this situation. That being said, however, the girl's obvious surprise put Thyra more at ease. It at least indicated that this wasn't some elaborate set-up. "Not the best of qualities to have right now, I'm afraid to say, Squirt,"</sub>[/color] she said, willing to show some amount of friendliness toward the stranger. And yes, she did indeed call her squirt. Thyra liked random nicknames, found them amusing, and squirt seemed to suit the girl well... not to mention that it had a somewhat non-offensive sound of condescension to it.. Thyra, sadly thinking she was better than most people, generally liked that quality in nicknames.

Her sword was still held aloft, but was pointed more indirectly at the girl to show at least a small amount of trust, should she turn out to not be a complete waste of time. "Straight to business, then!"[/color] she began, wishing to assert the reasons for the girl being in a library, quietly hoping that she was there for the same reasons Thyra was. "What are you doing here? looking up gun manuals, or finding that extra glossy copy of vogue magazine for your next prom gown?"[/color] Thyra joke was presumptuous, but obviously said in jest.

Thyra's mind began to assess the girl's qualities, not waiting for her words to confirm that she might actually be worth some time - she was small (compared to the rather obnoxiously tall Thyra, at least), skinny, pretty athletic-looking, but not strong.. Thyra assumed from that her main defense was running away. A good defense, in her opinion. She wondered, though, based on the girl's look, whether she was more than she appeared or not. She wasn't one to assume that someone was useless based simply on their looks.. take Thyra, for example, if she had seen herself she would have assumed that she was useless in every way, based on her lean and not at all obvious muscle tone, and would never have thought in a million years that she had anything resembling a brain.. and yet she knew that she was indeed not a dummy, and knew how to use her muscles despite their look of non-existence. She knew looks were deceitful.

NOTE: I am SOOOO sorry it took me this long. I seriously kept forgetting about it. I feel awful. The next response will be instantaneous, I promise!

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