The Last of Us - A Rp

A pale sunrise peaked over the horizon, it's fiery orange hues ever so slowly fading into the blue of the day. As dawn broke and warmth from the sun's rays flooded the world, a pair of sky blue eyes blinked open. Blearily glancing around, Allegra's hand reached up to shade her eyes from the dappled sunlight; she squinted, trying to locate the origin of said light. As her blue gaze focused on her surroundings, she realised that the sunlight was coming in through bullet holes in the door and gaps in the wood panelling that boarded up a nearby window. Dropping her hand from her face, she turned away from the brightness of the light and pushed herself into a seated position. She appeared to have fallen asleep slouching against a wall inside what appeared to be an abandoned house. As she began to adjust to the light peering in through the window, she became painfully aware of the distant wailing and incoherent mumblings of the people who had been unlucky; those who had been infected by the cordyceps.

For a small quarantine zone, Haverhill Q.Z had previously held quite a big population when compared to similar zones across the country. Allegra could only wonder how many others had fallen to the fungus in the days preceding; her legs still ached from running. She was one of the lucky ones. After becoming separated from her parents shortly after the chaos started, a soldier had told her to run, pointing her in a direction he'd hoped would be safer. She had heeded his words and had run as fast as her legs would carry her, dodging the other people, both normal and infected alike, until she had entered this building. Closing the door behind her, she'd attempted to block it with a sturdy dresser, but had given up half way in exhaustion, collapsing near the wall and drifting off into sleep.
Now wide awake, her thoughts returned to her family. Were they all right? Were they safe? She could only hope that they had been just as lucky as herself.

Slowly getting to her feet, Allegra massaged her aching arms before searching her pockets for the switchblade she always kept on her person. Her parents had given it to her years ago, just in case anything like.. well, this happened. The blade was thin and silver, and it had a pearly, turquoise handle. Locating the switchblade in the pocket of her jeans she took it out, holding it in front of her as she proceeded to check the rest of the abandoned house for signs of life. Swiftly she cleared the ground floor, spending more time than was necessary as if she wanted to delay heading upstairs. It wasn't a fruitless waste of time though, as she found an old can of fish in a corner of what looked to have previously been a living room; but she found nothing that would harm her. Deciding to hold onto the unopened, 15 year old can of fish for now, she finally turned her attention to the staircase. She was pretty sure that if anything was actually in here it would have heard her by now and attacked her, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Those words had been drummed into her mind many a time by tutors, parents and soldiers alike.

She reached the top of the staircase with little to no noise made on her part, despite some of the steps having holes in their wooden surfaces with half a step being missing in certain cases. Allie then began to systematically search each room for any hidden 'surprises,' keeping her switchblade pointed in front of her lest something leap out from the shadows. Heading towards the first of the doors on this floor of the abandoned building, she gently grasped the handle with her weaker hand, twisting it before giving the door a gentle push inwards. The door made a quiet creaking sound, made louder by the silence of the house. Peering into the room with the knife still wielded in front of her, she realised it was a bathroom. A quick glance told her that it was empty and she left the room, closing the door behind her.
The next room was just as empty, though she assumed it had previously been a bedroom due to how personalised it seemed; torn and dusty posters covering various parts of the walls.

Reaching the third and final room on that floor of the house Allegra gently twisted the handle and pushed the door open. This door was accompanied by little more than the noise of it brushing against the carpet beneath it, much to Allie's relief. Upon wandering into the room, she lowered her switchblade and let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. It too was empty like the others, which meant she was well and truly safe, for now. Checking the drawers of an opened cupboard, she found nothing but more dust and an old photograph that was likely of the people who had formerly owned this house; before the world went to shit of course. Taking the photo from it's long held position, Allegra stepped backward and sat down on a mattress that had been abandoned in a corner of the room. Lying down on it, she held the photo up to where it caught the light that came in through the window. They just looked so happy. No one ever looks this happy, at least not that she could remember. Not anymore.

"Where's dad?" The question wasn't one that was unexpected, no, but one that the woman had hoped the child wouldn't ask her. She stayed silent, wiping her knife off on the sleeve of her jacket before taking another glance at her son. The boy stood still beside her, looking up with the same cluelessness one would expect from a young child. Their surroundings were quiet, save for the wind occasionally blowing through the trees, rustling the branches and bushes that were scattered on the side of the road. The woman pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolding it to reveal a map, checking it to see where they were. If she was right, they were in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire, they still had some ways to go.
"Where's-" The boy immediately paused as she quickly folded the map, roughly shoving it back into her pocket.
"He's gone!" She told him, an expression of exasperation and anger appearing on her face before softening somewhat.
"He's gone, and we will be too if we don't get moving. Alright? We just have to keep moving." The woman crouched down and firmly grabbed his shoulders, putting on a small smile and nodding her head. "Got it, Vinny?"
The boy nodded his head, recovering from the shock of her outburst and listening to what she had to say. The woman let go, standing back up and turning away.
"Good. Now come on, let's go."

The memory seemed to resurface in Vincent's head as he crouched by the bushes on the side of the small street, eyes peering out at the abandoned, suburban houses lining each side, spaced apart. That was fifteen, fourteen years ago? He didn't remember exactly, but it was back when he and his family were trying to make it to Haverhill. They had heard from his mother's relatives that it was safe there, and tried to make the trip. Vinny had been young then, but he still remembered his mother's instructions clearly. It was the first time she had told him that or freaked out, and after that she always had made sure to remind him what she said should anything happen.

Everyone was gone now, nobody living that he knew of was still in the area, or at least shouldn't be. Sticking around a compromised quarantine zone for too long was a near suicidal thought in the teen's mind, nobody in their right mind would. Unless they had something to look for. Like supplies, if I'm going to be looking for somewhere else to go, I need to make sure I have enough. He reminded himself, quietly stepping onto the road and heading further down it. Vinny cursed mentally, knowing that he was right in the open, but hopefully it wouldn't be for too long.

The porch creaked as the teen stepped up to the door and crouched down, pulling a bundle of cloth from his pocket and unwrapping it, revealing a few silver utensils. Vinny grabbed one and carefully placed it in the lower part of the doorknob's lock before pulling out a second with grooved edges on top, raking it across the top and trying to push the tumblers up to release it. After a minute or so he managed to twist the doorknob, succeeding in unlocking it. The door slowly swung open as Vincent stepped inside, careful to close the door behind him. The house seemed to be abandoned at first, various objects and furniture thrown across the room and on the ground. At least, that's what he thought, until a raspy breathing came from behind a closed door to his right. Vinny paused, looking in its direction and noticing a somewhat crumpled and torn piece of paper at the foot of the door. The boy stepped over to the paper, debating whether or not to read it as he ran a hand through his dark black hair, crouching down and picking up the paper.

There's no stopping now, don't have time. The zone done for, somehow infected got in. Tried to get away, got bitten. Went back to house, exhausted running. Locked myself door living room head pounding hurts rest-
A loud banging on the door in front of him got Vinny's attention, jumping back up and stumbling a few steps back. The door was holding back the moaning remnant of what he assumed to be the man who wrote the note, but that didn't mean he was going to stick around. The teen opened the door, quickly and quietly running across the street to the next house. He reached for the doorknob of the bullet riddled door, finding that to his surprise it was already unlocked. Curious but cautious, Vinny opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him and taking a few steps into the room, looking around. After taking a few steps around the ground floor, he moved to the staircase, stepping up and heading to the second floor, putting his lock picks back into his pocket as he did so.

Allegra wasn't sure how long she lay there on that uncomfortable mattress, the springs digging into her back as she scanned the cheerful faces of the ones within the picture. She turned the picture over spotting a date and a small message from someone written in neat handwriting on the back. For a moment she lost herself within the timeless joy that had been captured for a lifetime in a simple photograph; and for a while, everything felt at peace once more.

That peace was abruptly shattered however at the sound of footsteps making their way up the old, wooden stairs.

It took a few moments for Allie to decide on a course of action. With each second precious time in such an unknown situation, she wasted no time quietly getting to her feet and edging back towards the door, leaving the photograph that had captured her attention on the mattress. She hadn't closed the door on the way into the room and so rather than risk it squeaking, she hit behind it, drawing her switchblade once more and taking a quiet breath to try and compose herself. Her blue gaze landed on the blade's pearly turquoise handle as she drew in her breath. For some reason the colour had always represented calm to her; perhaps it was because it was the same as the sky just after a storm... or maybe she just appreciated it's beauty.

Turning her head to the crack between the open door and the door frame, Allegra kept her sky blue eyes and sharp ears focused on watching and listening for even the slightest movement. She could hear no wailing or crying that would represent the presence of a newly infected person, nor echoing and eerie clicking that her parents had once described to her, but she was not about to take the chance that whatever was moving around was friendly. As she lay in wait, she heard whatever, or whoever it was reach the top of the staircase; the footsteps were too heavy to be a small animal and so she assumed it was human.. or at least vaguely human.

Vinny stumbled slightly on the steps, muttering curses to himself as he pulled his foot out of the hole in the penultimate step, looking around the second floor. He didn't notice anyone, and deciding the house was empty stepped into the first room, quickly figuring out that it was a bathroom through, well, some obvious features. Taking a quick look around, he crouched down by the cabinets, opening them and searching for anything of use. His search yielded nothing as he shut the cabinet doors quietly and stood up, taking a look at the bathroom mirror. The teen remembered how his mother used to search through cabinets, showing him that some mirrors could be opened like a cabinet door, and people would put medication in them.

He grabbed the edge of the mirror, carefully pulling on it and opening it up, noticing several orange pill cases, with words and terminology that made no sense to him. Still, if I need anything in the future... Vinny grabbed three random bottles, ramming them into his pockets. Not noticing anything else to take, he turned back towards the bathroom door, getting ready to check the next room. He made sure to be cautious about it, listening for any movement but not picking up on anything noticeable. Still, he felt almost naked without any sort of weapon, and decided on pulling one of his picks out, one with a somewhat jagged edge with several bumps. It was still blunt, and most likely wouldn't do anything to help whatsoever, but maybe it could help, somebody could think it was a knife, or he could just stick with his false sense of security. Both were welcomed possible bonuses.

Though her breathing was slow and quiet as a necessity to keep herself hidden, Allegra felt like her heart was going a hundred miles an hour. Despite this she found herself unable to think of anything, her focus solely on the foreign being that had entered the abandoned house. She had heard it's every step as it moved up the stairs, and listened to it's muttering as it stumbled slightly. The sounds sent a small shiver down her spine as they could easily be attributed to those who were recently infected.

Allie remained stationary behind the door, listening as whatever it was made it's way into one of the rooms. Though most of what she could hear was limited due to the walls of the house, she caught the sharp creaking sound of a cupboard or something similar being opened and a faint rattling sound for a few moments. Though Allegra couldn't tell what made each noise, she could vaguely discern that the person was in the bathroom she had previously classed as empty. It had occurred to her that an infected person would likely have not opened something so quietly and there would have been somewhat more noise than just a creak and some rattling. There hadn't been any other mutterings or vocal noises from the being either, unlike those that littered the streets outside.

Her thoughts were interrupted by more soft footsteps; the newly designated 'person' was on the move again.

The door swung open slowly as Vincent placed his palm on it, trying to open it as quietly as possible, but still managing to make the noises of footsteps and a small creaking from the door. He stepped out to the landing the stairs had brought him too, staying there for a moment. Great, just perfect. First the zone goes to hell, then I get separated, and now I'm stuck looking through houses for some kind of supplies. Probably won't find anything of use, considering my luck so far. As he thought to himself he glanced around, remembering the second door on the floor. With the silver pick in hand, Vinny stepped towards the door, placing his hand on the doorknob. Here goes nothing... The teen thought to himself, twisting the handle and pushing against the door. He kept his lock pick by his side, hand gripping it and arm tense, ready to try and act should something attack. Well, hopefully ready, Vinny made sure to remind himself that anything could go wrong at any time with one move.

Unwilling to leave the room she was in and lose the upper hand, Allegra listened as the person drew nearer, slowly and quietly shifting her position from directly behind the door, to a corner near the doorway. Switchblade in hand she took a quiet breath, the footsteps having finally reached the door to the room. She could feel herself tremble in a combination of fear and anticipation, small beads of sweat glinting in the light that still filtered in through the empty windows. She could hear the handle twisting, a mere wall away from where she crouched, hidden from view. Soon the door was opening, a gentle hand slowly and cautiously pushing it inwards. There was no doubt in her mind now that this was a fellow human being, had there been any in Allie's mind. But this left problems of it's own; how was she going to react? She had only moments to do so before she would be spotted.

In a sudden and swift movement, Allegra moved out from her corner and shifted her position so that she had backed out and into the room. She now stood in front of the person at full height, her switchblade still pointed at him lest he react badly to her sudden appearance.

The movement caught Vinny by surprise, opening the door and seeing a girl step out, switchblade held in hand. He immediately slammed the door shut and took a step back, crouching somewhat and raising his pick, pointing it at the door, despite knowing it wouldn't do much at all. Maybe she doesn't know that, so long as I act like it's a useful weapon, it might work in case she's hostile. The teen reminded himself, trembling slightly but trying to keep a confident expression.
"Friendly?" He questioned in a somewhat hushed whisper, wary as he watched the door and keeping his pick pointed at it. "I-I mean, are you friendly?" Vinny tried to explain further, doing a rather poor job as he spoke somewhat louder that time. A thought occurred to him that maybe he should lower his false weapon, but with the girl not being known as an ally or an enemy, he had a second thought on that idea, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a knife in the throat. Vinny listened for anything that could have gotten in while the two were skulking around in the second floor, wanting to make sure that something wouldn't catch them off guard.

The slightly older teen's reaction surprised Allegra somewhat, though it was definitely understandable. She was however more concerned by the amount of noise the door had made when it had been slammed shut, leaving him on the other side. Her switchblade still pointed in Vinny's general direction, Allie took a few steps forward, hesitating for a moment before speaking.
"I.. I am if you are," she replied, loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough that it only a little more than a whisper, knowing that the noise of the slamming door could have attracted any number of the infected beings outside if even one of them had been close enough to hear it.
"What's your name?" she asked quietly, pausing for a short moment before asking a second question, "You haven't been bitten or anything have you?"
She didn't know whether he would answer truthfully, but if he was in infected, she'd cut her losses and see if the window on the other side of the room was a viable exit.

Vincent heard the answer from the other side of the wall, standing beside the door and leaning against it slightly. Of course, there was no way to tell if she was telling the truth or not, but it was something. And slamming the door, that was a bad idea. Probably attracted more then a few infected, but I don't hear anything inside the house yet.
"Uh, no. I haven't been bitten," He responded quietly, deciding to answer that one before he went to the former. "And my name's Vincent. What about you? Bitten?" The teen continued, responding with a question of his own for the girl. Vinny placed his lockpick back into his pocket, standing up and taking a few steps over to the door, debating opening it yet or not.

"I'm Allegra... and no, I haven't been bitten either," she replied, relief evident in her voice even though she didn't have any proof that Vincent was telling the truth. She had lowered her switchblade, but instinctively raised it again as she heard a loud wailing sound from outside the window. It almost sounded like something was upset or scared, but the noise sent shivers down Allie's spine.
"D-did you shut the door on your way in?" she asked Vincent in her fear. As she asked, she twisted the door handle and only slightly pulled the door open so that she could look through the crack and into the hallway.

The sound of nearby wailing quickly got Vincent's attention before he could even feel somewhat relieved, the teen quietly stepping towards the door Allegra had been behind and staying quiet, listening for any more sounds coming from downstairs.
"What? Of course I closed the door, but I'd rather not be stuck up here if it breaks in. Unless there some sort of way out in that room, we have to head back downstairs to get out of here." He whispered, taking a look around his surroundings. Like he had said, nothing he could see to help on the second floor, so the stairs were his only option unless Allie had something in her room.
"So, is there anyway to get out in that room?" Vinny questioned, looking at the door and noticing that Allegra had cracked it slightly. He took the chance to look through the small gap, checking to see if she seemed in any sort of way hostile or friendly.

"Unless there some sort of way out in that room, we have to head back downstairs to get out of here," Vincent had pointed out, causing Allegra to glance back towards the window in the room. With how close the infected outside the front sounded, she didn't really want to chance going back out that way. Leaving the slightly opened door for now, she quickly and quietly moved over to the window. Glancing through the grubby pane of glass she could see that the garden belonging to this house was empty save for a few old things dotted here and there and a shed; the wailing from the infected had come from a few gardens down. The back door used to access it from the kitchen had been boarded up and blocked from the outside, but there was a section of roofing close to the window that they could drop from if need be.

"So, is there anyway to get out in that room?" he had continued, Allie glancing back towards the door as he spoke.
"There's a window I think we can get out of. If we're careful along the windowsill we can make it onto the roof and drop down into the garden," she replied in a hushed whisper, locking her switchblade and tucking it into her pocket so she had both hands free to try opening the window.

Stepping up to the door, Vinny nodded his head and slowly pushed it open as Allegra responded, quietly stepping on and closing the door behind him. On the chance any infected managed to get in, he didn't want them to be able to catch up with him and her so soon.
"Alright, that sounds like a good plan. From there if we're quiet we should be able to get away pretty quickly and without any of those things coming after us." The teen commented in a hushed voice, cautiously stepping over to the window Allegra was at and looking out it. He put his hands on the bottom of the window pane, slowly and quietly pushing it upwards to open the window. The sounds of infected made him wince slightly, somewhat unnerved and definitely uncomfortable with the idea of them catching up to the two.
"Ready to go?" Vincent asked quietly, looking over at Allegra as he did so.

"As ready as i'll ever be," she replied quietly before poking her head out of the window to better judge how far away the section of roof they were heading for was. As quietly as she could, she then ducked through the window, standing up as she reached the outside, leaning against the outer wall of the house for support. Slowly she edged her way along the windowsill until the roof was only a short hop away. Glancing down she took in a deep breath. Though it wasn't as far down as it could be, falling from here would definitely hurt. Angling herself for the jump, she remained perched on the very edge of the windowsill for a few moments before she finally plucked up the courage to leap.

Allegra landed on the other side without much hassle, though she slipped on one of the roof tiles knocking some of the looser ones off the roof to land on the ground below with a clatter. After regaining her balance she called out to Vincent in a hushed whisper.
"Alright it isn't that bad of a jump... though be careful cause the roof tiles are loose."