Post by Jessica Reed on Sept 22, 2013 14:27:59 GMT
We re-join Jessica and Cyrus as they stand back to back, firing their weapons into the oncoming swarms of infected who roar out to alert their brethren close by. Blood splatters the snow as the bullets find their mark but it is soon apparent that the pair are quickly threatening to be overwhelmed.
Cyrus Daniels: To your left pet!
Jessica turns and squeezes the trigger of her rifle, blowing a large hole inside the skull of a click who hits the ground with a thud.
Cyrus Daniels: You’re welcome!
Jessica scowls at Cyrus before turning and firing at a few runners who stagger erratically around the body of their fallen brethren. Cyrus turns to Jess.
Cyrus Daniels: We need to get to higher ground.
Jessica Reed: How do you propose we do that?
Cyrus points up to a small pass a few feet away, leading to the ridge above them which is acting as protection for their flank.
Cyrus Daniels: Clear a way through and get yourself up there.
Jessica Reed: How exactly do we know it’s safe? I am not acting as bait to save your skin.
Cyrus Daniels: Well, ye can either do that or we can get pinned in here and eaten together. Your party love.
Jess drops a few more infected before sighing, realising that her reluctant ally is correct. Realising a gap has opened she turns to Cyrus.
Jessica Reed: If you want to be useful, cover me.
Cyrus Daniels: With pleasure.
Cyrus grins at Jess who shudders with disgust before turning and running as fast as she can, stumbling slightly in the uneven snow. Grabbing on to the side of the ridge she clambers up the small pass, the sound of gunfire ringing out as Cyrus covers he ascent, as planned, slowly making his own way over to the pass. Reaching the top Jess peaks her head over but as she does so a pair of hands grabs her by the shoulder, practically tearing her up over the top of the ledge.
Jessica Reed: Get off me!
Jess struggles, trying to reach for her gun but as she does so a foot kicks it out of her hand. Quickly realising that the figure isn’t one of the infected she looks up to see one of Cyrus’ grunts wrestling her to the ground, trying his best to force her into submission.
Jessica Reed: I knew I couldn’t trust that creep!
Man: Settle down little one.
The man grins, his yellow teeth and foul breath repulsing Jess who tries as best she can to fight out of his grip. As the pair struggle the sound of gunfire grows closer, causing the man to become distracted. Using the opening Jess plants her knee right where it hurts the most, causing him to reel over in agony as Jess scrambles through the snow, desperately trying to get her gun.
Man: You’ll pay for that you little bitch!
Filled with rage the man leaps forward, landing straight on top of Jess again but as she does so he suddenly freezes as a familiar click is heard. The man looks down and to his horror Jess’ handgun is placed in the middle of his chest, her trembling hand pushing it into his ribs.
Jessica Reed: I swear, if you touch me I will kill you.
Man: No-now…easy there girl, I was only playing.
Jessica Reed: Sure you were. Now back up, slowly, no means no.
Man: Whatever you say…
The man begins to gradually pull himself off Jess Who lifts herself up out of the freezing snow, her barrel still pressed against his chest before the pair of them are on their feet.
Jessica Reed: Now… back up over here.
Raising his arms the man starts to inch backwards just as Cyrus appears from the pass, firing shot after shot into the body of the infected who struggle to keep their footing on the narrow route up the ridge. Breathing a sigh of relief his satisfaction is short lived as he turns to see Jess a few feet away, her gun raised and his ally back towards the edge of the, his arms high in the sky.
Cyrus Daniels: What the fuck’s going on ‘ere?
Jessica Reed: Drop the act jerk, your little buddy over there was getting a little too touchy feely for my liking. I knew I couldn’t trust you.
Cyrus Daniels: Now, steady on Jessie, we can talk this out…
Jess feels a rage building upside her as she screws up her face in disgust.
Jessica Reed: No! You promised me, no funny business, then the moment I get up here your men are giving me a forced pat down. That doesn’t scream trustworthy.
Man: Let’s just charge her boss, she can’t take us both down.
Cyrus Daniels: Oh, don’t be so sure about that…
Jessica Reed: I’d listen to your leader, I’ll put you both down if you take so much as a step forward.
Cyrus turns to the man, staring at him intently, leaving him in a position where he doesn’t know if he should fear Cyrus more than the women pointing a gun at him.
Cyrus Daniels: Did you bring what I asked for?
Man: Y-yes boss, it’s in my bag over there…
The man nods towards a small rucksack only a few feet away from Jessica. Cyrus turns back to her, lowering his rifle.
Cyrus Daniels: Listen pet, we had ourselves a deal, take the rucksack and get out of ‘ere.
Jess looks him, hesitating for a moment before stepping forward and gradually kneeling down, grasping at the strap of the bag before pulling it towards her, all the time her gun aimed towards the pair of them. Standing back up she starts to edge towards the trees, the sound of infected clambering up the rocks getting closer and close, much to Cyrus’ anxiety.
Jessica Reed: If you follow me, Cyrus, I will kill you. I promise.
Remaining silent Cyrus simply stares at Jess as she backs into the cover of the trees before turning and sprinting as fast as she can. A few moments pass as his friend lets out a sigh of relief, patting Cyrus on the shoulder.
Man: That was a close one boss…
The sound of the infected grows louder and louder, and as it does so Cyrus turns slowly, a sadistic grin on his face.
Cyrus Daniels: We need to slow them down.
Man: Sure, just let me get my gun…
Cyrus Daniels: Oh, that won’t be necessary…
Suddenly, without warning, Cyrus grabs the man by the scruff of his worn coat and before he can fight back he tosses the man crashing down to the top of the ledge, just as an infected reaches the peak. Screaming the man tries to pick himself up but before he can the first infected sinks its teeth into his neck just before a second arrives to pin him down. As his agonising yelps ring through the cool air we close on the image of Cyrus smiling to himself before we fade to black.
You know, I don’t know who I should be more concerned about this week.
The home wrecking Italian sleezeballwith absolutely no remorse, and for once I am not talking about Roberto.
Or, the supernatural psychopath with a tendency for kidnap, mental torture and a casket fetish.
I guess I can thank my lucky stars that I have myself a Conway in my corner this weekend! I have to admit she scared me a little when she popped out of that coffin, and it did get me to wondering how she managed to eat and drink inside there for the past month, but after that little dilemma I was totally thrilled to see her having my back.
The target on it was starting to get a little bit ridiculous!
So, let me get this out of the way first, because I know you guys don’t like it when we get all soppy and stuffs too much, but it kinda needs to be said. Thank you Kathy Conway for stopping those two from leaving me on my ass for a second week running.
I so owe you. I’ll get you something really awesome, I swear!
Things were starting to look pretty bleak for me but now, with Kathy in my corner, I am confident we can put on the fight of our lives to stop Eternity and Jezebella from snatching this lovely belt from around my waist and you know what, I don’t even mind if I let her get her hands on Eternity herself to get herself a chance at the Ruby Championship. I mean, after everything that woman has done to her family I guess it’d be sorta uncool of me to swoop in there and take away her chance for revenge.
Not that I won’t jump at the chance to put you in your place, Eternity. Let’s not go thinking I am going to sit back and let Kathy do all the work, because that so isn’t going to happen. I have a reputation to uphold.
It isn’t a very good one.
Oh, shut up you. Who asked you for your opinion?
You did.
Oh… right, I… erm, just shut up. I got this, Ok?
You know, Eternity, I talked a lot last week about how I used to feel quite sorry for you and that you were just misunderstood, or maybe it was another week… well, either way I always thought that perhaps I could help, that maybe I could bring you out of that shell. Can I be the first person to say I completely regret encouraging you to be yourself?
Yourself is kind of a burning itch.
I mean, it’s one thing carrying worms around in your pocket, I mean I remember I used to carry my pet hamster Louie around in mine when I was a kid and this one time, ironically enough at band camp, I shoved a rabbit in my…
STOP!
What? I put it under my shirt? What is that matter with you? Geez…
Anyway, there was a time when you were just a little quirky, now you’re just batshoot crazy! I mean, kidnap, assault, witchcraft? I am pretty sure in a few states they can still burn you at the stake for some of those. It seems that when you come out of your shell you bring the mental with you, it was safer for everybody when you were the awkward little worm girl.
At least I had a lot less headaches, quite literally.
Now that sweet little awkward girl has become this villainous bully who all the girls in the back are petrified of. It’s like Becky Whitehouse in 6th grade all over again. She used to be super quiet and really nice, but the moment she got over her shyness she turned into this horrible little brat who used to push us all around and flush our heads down the toilet.
Granted, you want to cause me to have a nervous breakdown and, as a small bonus, to take my belt, but the point stands.
You’re nothing but a bully, Eternity. For somebody who has suffered so much in her life, and let’s be honest my dysfunctional family look like a poster for perfect parenthood when we compare them to your upbringing, you sure don’t treat people with the same kindness you must have craved at some point in that black soul of yours. As a complete outcast you seem to be pretty good at acting like the head cheerleader.
I’ll admit it, I am scared of what you’re capable of, E. I won’t puff my chest out and pretend to be a big girl who isn’t afraid of your parlour tricks, because quite honestly you’re the most unpredictable woman I’ve ever had the displeasure of sharing a ring with. I mean, I am pretty sure you can’t literally possess me with a demon.. I hope, but you’ve got enough tricks up your sleeve to be able to throw something at me I never saw coming.
Your unpredictability is your biggest asset. It’s what’s got you so far in this company and it’s what earned you this shot in the first place. You are a real threat not only to me belt but also my personal safety.
But it’s going to take whatever spell or hex you’ve got in your arsenal for you to take my dream away from me. I have fought too hard and for too long to be frightened into laying down for you. I know you could seriously hurt me and I know that I could leave the ring this weekend in severe physical pain, but I just can’t let you take the Diamond’s Championship from me.
I can’t let your evil extinguish my dream.
Whatever you’ve got, I am going to take it, no matter what you throw at me. I might be scared, but fear has a funny knack of bringing out a resilience in the prey. I will bite, I will scratch and I will do whatever it takes to stop you profiting from your heinous behaviour.
I am going to go Buffy on your ass, Eternity. Mark my words.
But, we both know you’re not the only threat, of course that’d have been far too simple. Not only do I need to worry about you channelling the dark side to strike me down, I have to keep an eye across the ring on the woman who I have quite literally zero respect for.
I know, shock horror right?
You just couldn’t resist yourself, could you Izzy? You just had to stick your nose into my business, again, it’s almost like you get a kick out of making my family’s life a misery. All that’s changed this time around is that you’ve managed to keep your clothes on.
At least , I think you have. I don’t even want to begin to consider the mechanics of you and Eternity… together… just, no…
I will.
Really? I’ll tell Hannah.
…
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
I bet you thought you were pretty smart knocking me on my noggin two weeks ago, thanks for that by the way. I don’t know what you think you have to gain from aligning yourself to Eternity, beyond perhaps saving your own skin, but I have to accept that you’re here, again, and I will just have to deal with you like I did last time.
I mean, you do remember what happened last time, don’t you? When I beat you to start my road to this championship? The fresh faced stupid younger sibling of the women you totally screwed over put you in your place then and the Diamond’s Champion will put you in it now.
Hint, she's totally the same girl!
I know you’ll probably have something really clever to say and perhaps you even do it without sounding all superior but let’s be honest, we both know the only reason you’ve got yourself into this match is to take advantage of a situation that may be of some benefit to you. You’re not doing this to be a good Samaritan, are you?
That’s really not your style at all.
You must see something in this union that is going to help you out in some way and after Miss Lockheart’s little bombshell, I guess we’ll see just how loyal you are to your new friend. I know you’d love nothing more than to make me tap out, but then if you do, you just took away the Diamond’s Championship from your partner.
Your severly unbalanced, borderline sociopathic, law breaking partner.
You know, perhaps it is you I should have been feeling sorry for? I mean, I’ve been on the wrong side of Eternity of late and believe me, it isn’t a picnic. This week seems to be pretty lose lose for you, Izzy. You win, and you probably end up buried alive in the desert. You lose and, well… you lose, which, you know, always sucks.
I guess we’ll find out just how close you both are this weekend.
The crosshairs are going to be on me once again either way, both of you need to put me out of this contest for your own ends. It is a challenge I need to face head on, for all the bad things I think when I see your name Izzy, and boy it’s quite a few, I know that inside a ring you can be deadly and I know exactly what Eternity is capable of doing to a human being if given the chance.
I am going to need to be at my best to survive what you both throw at me, I need to forget all the successes of my past and just focus on the assault the pair of you will undoubtedly make on me this weekend. This is my biggest challenge yet, I have no doubts about that. You’re both dangerous women, but I know that Kathy has my back and I have hers too. I’ll do whatever it takes to leave standing.
Can you two say the same?
Snow begins to fall heavily on Jess who trudges slowly towards a deserted village, her blonde hair drenched with melting snowflakes as her cheeks begin to turn bright red. Eventually she reaches a two storey house but rather than entering through the main door she makes her way around the building to the garage before kneel down and driving her fingers underneath the large metal door. Lifting it up carefully she makes a small enough for to just about roll under and out of the torrid weather. Jess gradually closes the garage door, being careful not to make too much noise before gratefully leaning up against it, a sigh of relief escaping from her exhausted lungs.
Jessica Reed: I need to be more careful… that was too close.
Running her hands through her hair to get as much of the snow off as possible she begins to shake her whole body, doing her best to get the remainder off of her clothing as well. Stomping her feet as she goes she walks across to the side door, leading into the main house. Carefully checking for intruder she makes her way over to another door, this time with steps leading down underneath the first floor. Closing it softly behind her she gets out her lighter, flicking it open as she tries to get as much light as possible before making her descent.
Jessica Reed: Hello?
Jessica calls out but there is no reply, causing her to curl her lip anxiously.
Jessica Reed: I hope I am not too late…
Jess slowly creep down, putting her hand out against the wall to balance herself before she peers around the corner.
Jessica Reed: Thank God…
Dropping her shoulder she slides the rucksack off and hurries over the middle of the room where a small candle flickers. As she drops to her knees she begins to rustle through the bag, rustling for a moment before retrieving what appears to be a small contained full of pills.
Jessica Reed: I got them… just like I promised…
As we grow gradually closer can see a man lying under a large number of blankets, very small plumes of smoke rising from his lips.
Jessica Reed: … Roberto?
Jessica’s faint voice trembles as he lays almost lifelessly under the pile of sheets designed to keep him warm. As we get closer and closer we can see that it is indeed the body of Roberto Verona, whose face is covered in bruises and incredibly pale.
Jessica Reed: Don’t do this to me, please! Look, I got you some anti-biotics… please, you need them…
Jessica places a hand under the back of his head, cupping it gently as she pulls him up from the pillow placed beneath it. Prying his dry cracked lips open she hurries to pull the top of the container with her teeth, pouring the contents of the bottle onto the top of Roberto’s chest. Grabbing a couple of the small blue pills she gently slides them into Roberto’s mouth before reaching to a nearby bottle of water. Placing it against his lips she lifts his head up a little higher, carefully pouring a small amount of the liquid into his mouth.
Jessica Reed: Come on, you can do this!
Jessica waits a few moments, but Verona makes little effort to swallow the pills which sit inside his mouth. Jessica’s eyebrows drop as she starts to frown, a tear slowly forming in the corner of one of her eyes.
Jessica Reed: You can’t leave me! Not after everything we’ve been through. Please, just swallow these, it’s our last hope…
Moments pass with little movement from Roberto as Jessica can longer console herself. Flood of tears begin to fall down her cheeks as she sobs uncontrollably, wailing. Lowering her head she buries her face into the blankets that cover Roberto as she continues to cry.
Jessica Reed: Don’t leave me… I can’t do this without you… you never gave up on me, I can’t give up on you… I don’t want to be alone…
A few moments of silence pass as Jess begins to heave, tears still falling down her face when suddenly, she hears a faint noise.
Roberto Verona: J-Jess….
Jessica sits up quickly, turning to look up at Verona’ face where she can see his eyelids slowly flickering as he begins to swallow the contents in his mouth, albeit with some difficulty.
Jessica Reed: Roberto!?
Verona smiles.
Roberto Verona: Hey…
Jessica Reed: You’re alive!
Roberto Verona: I sure hope so or they were lying about heaven…
Jessica lunges down, hugging Verona tightly who lets out a painful groan, prompting her to relinquish her grip a little.
Jessica Reed: I’m sorry, I just…
Roberto Verona: It’s ok… where are we?
Jessica Reed: I am not sure, it’s the first place I could find. I kept you down her so nobody could see the light from the candles and I made sure I used the garage door, I didn’t want to leave footprints. The snow should have covered any tracks I did leave.
Roberto laughs.
Roberto Verona: That’s my girl, perhaps I underestimated you.
Jessica Reed: How are you feeling?
Roberto Verona: Like absolute crap… but I am still here… thanks to you.
Jessica Reed: You’d have done the same.
Roberto Verona: Don’t knock your efforts, Jess.
Jess smiles, her eyes read as she wipes away her tears, sniffing a little as she sits back up.
Jessica Reed: Are you hungry?
Roberto Verona: I think we both know the answer to that.
Jessica Reed: Then just wait here, I’ll get you some soup. Don’t go anywhere…
Roberto Verona: I can barely sit up, Jess, I think you’ll be safe to leave me for a few minutes.
Jessica smiles as she pulls herself to her feet, reluctantly leaving Roberto’s side buas ashe does so the scene fades before we re-emerge outside the village. Snow gently falls as we look at the home Jess and Roberto are hiding in before suddenly a boot plants itself in the snow as the scene fades to black.
Well howdy there pardner.