Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Needle In A Haystack « Thread Started on Jun 22, 2009, 7:22pm »
In the time that Jill had spent inside the Raccoon Police Department (How long had it been? Twenty minutes? Two hours?), nothing seemed to change outside the precinct walls. The city streets were still slick with fresh rain, street lamps still hung limp, battered and beaten, and the night air was still thick with smog and palpable anguish. The sight, indentical to the one she'd experienced just an hour before, made Jill wonder if time was still chugging along at all. Who knew? Maybe time had already flung its hands up in defeat, choosing to accept rather than deny the thought that clung to the back of Jill's mind: Raccoon is doomed.
When the woman's heels clicked onto the two-lane road that lay perpendicular to the RPD, her breathing sounded abnormally loud in the still night. She couldn't help but worry that her scent, her breathing, or a combination of the two would lead a new foray of monsters right to them.
They had to get moving. Fast.
The brunette sucked in a big breath of the air before glancing back at her partner and gesturing for him to follow her uptown, away from the feigned saftey of the police department. The trip from the station to her apartment should have been an easy one having travelled the distance countless times, but Jill was exhausted, and the tattoo of Raccoon on her brain was beginning to blur.
Hesitant - but itching to get out of the open - the woman made her way to a nearby sidewalk, paced down the street to her left, and hugged a sharp corner.
Jill wasn't a religious person, but she hoped that God (if there was one) would have the decency to get them to her apartment alive.
-----------------------------------------
Several wrong turns and bouts of cursing later, Jill was beginning to doubt whether or not she would actually find her old place, and in the stress of the moment the she couldn't even think of a backup for if this plan failed.
If this doesn't work, we'red screwed---
But just as she began to recite another slur of curses in her mind, Jill rounded another sharp corner, glanced to the right, and saw an outline of a building that was both familiar and vague. She stepped further into the darkness and blinked hard.
Get rid of the soot-streaked walls, the dirty windows...Bring back the green grass that Mr. Johnson always watered on Sunday...the sidewalk where the neighborhood girls would play hopscotch...
The image took a moment to register, but it finally clicked in Jill's mind. In a city that was hellish, distorted, and maimed beyond all hopes for repair...she and Chris had done it. They'd found her apartment.
Even though the relief would only be temporary, Jill felt a sharp pang in her gut that told her they were this much closer to finding Claire.
...and since we're looking for a needle in a haystack, I'll take all the help I can get.
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #1 on Jun 23, 2009, 2:26pm »
He'd thought they would never find it. He'd lost track of where they were somewhere around the fourth wring turn and had been content just to follow Jill and stay calm, or at least attempt it.
Worry mounted as he thought about Claire wandering the streets looking for them. Did she have a weapon? Surely she did, she was a cop's sister after all, well ex-cop really, if you wanted to be nit-picky about it -
Spotting the familiar apartment ahead, his spirits lifted a little, and he hurried ahead to check around the place. Miraculously, no living dead were walking the street or hovering in the garden.
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #2 on Jun 24, 2009, 7:46pm »
When Chris called out that the surroundings were clear, that was all the reassurance Jill needed to charge into the abandoned apartment building like a bull. Truth be told, she was too anxious to get out of the death-ridden streets and find a safe haven (if even for a moment) that she was prepared to blow the head off anybody - or anything - that stood in her way. A few picked locks and two flights of stairs later, the ex-S.T.A.R.S. member was staring a “9A” placard straight in the face. Her apartment.
The brunette jiggled the door’s handle and was unsurprised to find it unlocked. She could remember leaving the place in a hurry only a few nights ago and it would have been silly to lock up afterwards. What did she have to steal, anyway?
Jill cracked the door open with the tips of her fingers and let her eyes adjust to the darkness inside. No lights were on, so the only light permeating the apartment were the streaks of light shining through the blinds on the opposite end of the room. The streaks created lines on the floor that illuminated the convexities of balled up papers, rogue soda cans, and other miscellaneous garbage. The woman pushed the door open a bit wider, just enough for Chris and herself to slip through, and slammed it shut behind them, locking the deadbolt.
Trash jostling underfoot, Jill waded across the room and flicked on a tall floor lamp. The electricity was still operational (thank God) and bright, white light filled the entire apartment. Jill sighed and scoped the room with wary eyes.
Her apartment was modest, both in size and décor. To the immediate left of the front door was a tiny kitchen, complete with a refrigerator, sink, breakfast bar, and stove that probably hadn’t seen action for twenty years. Immediately opposite the front door were three large windows that overlooked the city and offered meek light to a living area. To the right, branching off from the living room, was a narrow hallway that split yet again into three rooms: a bathroom to the left, a laundry room to the right, and a bedroom straight ahead.
The brunette was a minimalist to a fault, and to the untrained eye it may have seemed like she was still in the process of unpacking, but she didn’t care. Jill liked her white walls, wood floors, and barely-there furniture. The place was (usually) clean and uncluttered, and that’s exactly what she needed after a long day of dealing with the details of grisly homicides.
Without reason, Jill wafted over to the breakfast bar where papers were scattered randomly. A worn, faded piece caught her eye and she turned it over in her fingers. It was a letter whose curvy scrawl made her smile despite herself.
Jillian,
Those pricks only just gave me your letters. What asses. But thank you for writing me. There’s a guard breathing down my neck so I can’t write long. I’m already in hot water (I won’t mention the “cafeteria incident”) so I might as well be a good boy. The last thing I need is another enemy. I’m sorry my letters have been far apart. I hope you’ll forgive me. For everything. I will never understand how I brought up such a righteous daughter, but I’m sure you’re making Raccoon proud. Take care of yourself and don’t take any shit from anyone down at the precinct, or they’ll be getting a phone call from a very rude and disgruntled inmate.
Thinking of you, Dick
The woman chuckled sadly and was beginning to get lost in her thoughts when she felt Chris’s eyes regarding her curiously.
“My dad wrote this,” she explained apologetically, holding the letter between her middle and index finger. “…for some reason it made me laugh.”
She felt embarrassed, but being back in her apartment made her begin to forget everything that had happened in the past few hours. Despite the flimsy lock on the door, she felt safe.
After she mentally smacked herself for getting too comfortable too quickly, she buried the letter beneath the stack of papers and turned to face her partner once more.
“Right…um, make yourself at home,” she said as she cleared off a space on the couch for him to sit. “I’ll go find some fresh bandages and some pain killers for your arm.” Jill whipped down the narrow hallway, flicked on the bathroom light, and met her tired-looking reflection in the mirrored medicine cabinet.
“Holy…”
The woman glanced down at her clothes and mentally gagged when she saw that they were soaked with blood, sweat, and dirt.
She hurriedly found a spare roll of bandages and a bottle of painkillers, marched them out to the living room, and jogged to the bathroom a second time.
“There might be food in the cupboards, if you want to check,” she called out, fingers clutching the door frame. “I’ll be out in a bit.”
If there was any justice left in the world, as Jill suspected there might be, the shower would still have hot water. She wanted nothing more than to be able to scrub away the blood - and the memories - that were caked onto her skin.
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #3 on Jun 25, 2009, 5:24am »
The offer of painkillers, fresh bandages and food made Chris offer her a smile in exchange. "Thanks Jill." he said, before she walked off to do whatever she needed. Chris himself headed for the kitchen, poking around the cupboards for the coffee.
Out came the milk and sugar too, and while the coffee machine bubbled away, the marksman stuck his nose into the fridge, frowning. Damnit, the sausage had gone out of date - aha, but the bacon was still good!
With a grin on his face, glad that something was looking up at last, he pulled out the bacon - oh, and the eggs too - and set to work cooking them up. Surprisingly he did better than he usually did. Maybe it was just his cooker?
At any rate, when Jill got out the shower, she would have some delicious bacon and eggs waiting for her.
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #4 on Jun 26, 2009, 5:10am »
Jill hadn't felt this good in a long time. Her skin was positively burning - she didn't want to miss even a single fleck of dirt or blood, and a spiny loofah was the only tool tough enough for the job - but she finally felt clean, renewed.
She waited for the rust-colored water in the bottom of the tub to return to its original color (a yellow-tinged clear) and shut off the water valves one by one. Grabbing the only clean towel off the floor, she wrapped it around her torso and headed for the door. She cracked it open just wide enough to peek around the corner into the living room.
It was empty.
She leaned a bit further so that the edge of the kitchen was in her direct line of view. Again, nothing.
Phew.
As quick as a whip, Jill lashed from the bathroom into the bedroom at the end of the hallway and shut the door behind her. She hadn't thought to check her closet for spare clothes before taking a shower, so if it turned out to be empty she was pretty much screwed.
And I don't want to put my uniform back on... The thought of slipping back into filthy clothes made her want to gag.
She walked over to the closet and ripped the doors open, sighing with relief as she saw a single outift hanging on the racks: a blue, form-fitting top and a black skirt.
Not the most desirable attire...but I'll take what I can get.
-------------------------------------------------
"Wow, look who's been watching Food Network," Jill said slyly, drying her hair with a towel as she walked into the kitchen, only to find a plate of bacon and eggs waiting for her. "That looks great Chris, thanks."
The woman sat down graciously and felt her stomach grumble. She waited until her friend took a seat next to her and began sucking down the meal as if it was her first time eating in a week. It took all of three minutes to finish what was on the plate.
"Hey," she said, breaking the silence, "I think we need to think of a game plan before getting some rest."
She bit her lip, searching for the right words.
"You saw the note I left at the RPD...I...I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like we're getting close. To finding her, that is. I don't know how to explain it, but I've got a feeling that it's only a matter of time. I feel like our best bet is to wait here for a while. If we keep moving we might lose her, but if we stay in one spot we might have better luck..."
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #5 on Jun 26, 2009, 2:26pm »
"Doesn't sound crazy Jill." Chris shook his head, plate cleared almost as fast as Jill's had been. "I thought it was a good idea. And waiting is probably a good idea as well. We just have to stay quiet enough so we don't attract unwanted attention." Staying quiet probably wasn't going to be a problem. It wasn't as if there was television to watch, no news would be on. People were too busy dying to put such trivialities on.
He'd wait for the rest of his life if it meant seeing Claire again.
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #6 on Jun 27, 2009, 12:38am »
"Right. We just have to..." Jill tried to fight a yawn but lost miserably. "...lay low for a while. That shouldn't be a problem, and since we have time to kill we should rest. I don't know about you, but I feel like I could collapse any minute now."
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #7 on Jun 27, 2009, 6:28am »
"You rest first then." Someone had to stay awake in case something caught their scent, or whatever it was that zombies were attracted to. "I'll be fine for a few hours. Got coffee and a full stomach, so you can take the first sleep."
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #8 on Jun 28, 2009, 2:49am »
Jill wanted to argue and be the type to say "No, it's alright, you can sleep first," but she was truly and utterly exhausted. In her twenty-plus years, she couldn't remember a single time being this fatigued, and it wasn't just physical, but mental. Emotional.
"Thank you," she sighed quietly, letting her hand linger on her partner's shoulder before easing herself from the table. "If anything happens, and I don't care how small it is, call for me, okay?"
She started heading for the dark hallway but stopped short and glanced back. Jill hoped - no, prayed - that the apartment would be safe enough to see them through the night.
But until you get some sleep you're useless, so hurry the hell up and regain your strength already.
She laid on top of the baby blue comforter covering her queen-sized bed, too tired to weasel her way between the sheets, and immediately felt herself beginning to doze off...
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #9 on Jun 28, 2009, 12:49pm »
Chris sat himself at the couch and tried to keep himself awake, sipping at his coffee in silence. In the end, he had to raid the place for a movie or a book to read, something to keep himself occupied and stop him sleeping on the job.
He was used to all-nighters, but usually there were spent in a hard chair and at a desk, not a comfy couch...
Joined: Dec 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 240 Location: Tacoma, WA Karma: 3
Re: Needle In A Haystack « Reply #10 on Jul 1, 2009, 4:06am »
Jill jolted awake after a meager two hours of sleep. Even though her eyes were cloudy, she could feel a thin layer of sweat coating her face and shoulders. Her heartbeat was irregular, too.
Damn...
She could vaguely remember the dream sequence that had caused her to jerk awake in such a manner, and it more or less contained scenes of a dark, sooty city, burning buildings with flames so high the sky looked as if it were on fire, and lifeless bodies littering the streets like wads of balled up tissue.
These sort of dreams - nightmares, that is - had never bothered the woman, but these mental images were a little too real. A little too close to reality.
Jill felt herself shiver. It wasn't reassuring to know that even in her sleep she would never be able to shake off the demons that seemed to eternally stalk her.
At this point, she was too emotionally exhausted to face whatever her over-active brain might conjur up were she to fall asleep again. And besides, in this state - a shivering, sweaty mess - would she be able to doze off?
Nah, it would be better to let Chris have the next "shift of shut-eye."
After making a pit-stop in the bathroom for a quick face-washing, Jill stepped out into the living room...
...and laughed more loudly than she should have.
Chris was asleep on the couch, looking not exactly peaceful, but comically at peace. His head was slung back over the couch and his mouth hung open wide enough for a fly to buzz right in. Was he snoring, too?
"So much for guarding the place, huh?" Jill jested softly, grinning despite herself.
With nothing to occupy her time (she was too impatient to read a book or anything), she decided to sit next to her friend on the couch.
As much as she was lonely and wanted to strike up a conversation, Chris deserved a good few hours rest. She was content to watch him snore peacefully.
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