↳ school。

@▹ yoon jeonghan。 A hobby is something that a person would regularly do for enjoyment, typically for leisure time and not for pay. Ever since the pandemic started Jisoo developed a new activity that involved scavenging for resources and possible food supply. He had a peripatetic career as a hunter. It was the least skills that he ever wanted to incorporate in the new system that he's currently stuck with. He had to survive after all in this little game of life or death.

Consider himself lucky he was trained under his mother's supervision into forming a vigilant hunter. It almost made him an assassin somehow which was the same goal he never wanted to achieve. He'd love to be self-aware of the situations that may put him in danger but were the weapons necessary?

"Mother, your son isn't an assassin as you are..."

A sigh escaped his lips while he strode through the empty halls of the school. It was completely deserted, the perfect place to stay in if the location that he's residing with his step-sister right now deemed to be too risky enough for people to target. They always change locations and explore through the day while searching for sustenance that can sustain enough for both of them to consume.

He leaned his weight against a window that had large cracks in the middle. A small opening was made from the bottom right corner with its shattered pieces laid on the concrete floor beneath his feet. Yawning, he watched the sun slowly make its way to the sky above him. How life turned out to be like this.

From the corner of his eyes, he found someone walking into the same building where he ventured to. Who is it this time? An infected? In just a few moments of relaxation, he stood his ground and prepared for what would come next. He squinted at the figure outside before gawking at the sight before him. No, it can't be...

"Jeonghan...?"

( open; random starter )

He felt truly pathetic. While he believed at first that his cause was just, now he just felt foolish. He was breaking into the local secondary school in search of supplies, and he couldn't imagine just how bad it would have looked in any other circumstance. His lab coat had long since been shredded to make bandages and his shoes been stolen from his unconscious body; his hair was mussed up from rifling his hands through it out of sheer stress. Though he washed frequently, he felt filthy... in more ways than one.

He found a wing of the school that had most definitely housed the science wing. When he wrestled open a heavy wooden door, he found a classroom full of lab stations. His heart leapt into his throat and he held his breath. As silently as possible, he scampered over the ruinous chairs and scattered possessions toward the cupboards where he knew the required materials must be. He opened the cabinet door and practically squealed with glee. There were, thank god, microscopes remaining; beakers, phials, petri dishes and droppers also were located throughout this room and the neighboring one. He had found a secure place to set up his makeshift lab station and was about to draw a sample of his own blood to begin tests- but was interrupted by the sound of a locker slamming shut in the hallway just outside.

His mouth went dry and his heart skipped a beat. He ducked behind the counter and listened intently for the sound of approaching danger while slowly drawing his ragged switchblade from his pocket.

@▸ wang yiren。 at the sight of yiren before her, lalisa can only emit a sigh of relief, pinching the bridge of her nose. how distasteful it would be to have been attacked in the dark, in such a lonesome place. to disappear without a trace, without a word. to set the soul free and become one with the cosmos… perhaps such an idea isn’t a terrible one at all, and yet the woman keeps fighting, keeps striving for a future out of sight.

“no, that was smart of you. the light from outside should be enough to guide us anyway.” with a switch of her flashlight, the impending darkness of the hallways looms forth, deluging the damsel with stygian hues. as her vision shifts and adjusts to the murkiness, she can begin to distinguish vague shapes in their surrounding. perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all. “i’m ready as well. let’s head out.”

——

crumbling walls and broken stairwells invite the pair as they descend to a lower floor of the school, the ambience hazy, varnish of quietude defining the still building. it’s practically deafening, for nothing is heard except adept footsteps as the girls approach the bottom floor. heels against parquet, they first approach the nurse’s office. there isn’t much to scavenge beside spare bandages and the likes, but it’s better than an empty find. on the far side of the room, a shattered window sits upon the wall. the waning moon blankets figures outside with an iridescent glow, and lalisa can’t help but to stop and gaze at the world outside.

her moment of joy is filched only when the sound of heavy footsteps distract her.

“yiren?” the other girl is quicker than her, already on her feet and scanning the area for a predator. with a hand on her bolster, lalisa approaches the doors exiting from the nurse’s office. how tenebrous the halls are, as if creatures may jump from the shadows at any given moment. and that’s exactly what happens.

they’re stealthy, silent—the infected roaming the lot. they’re but a blotch of darkness amidst dusk as they move about, and their attempt at pouncing on lalisa results in an emptied pistol barrel. a single shot rings in the air and 9mm steel tears through flesh. vermillion finely coats the woman’s clothes as her victim slumps to the ground from afar.

“let’s move,” is all she manages to say to her companion.

@▸ lalisa manoban。 yiren just keeps getting entangled with more and more humans — with only a handful of them she's certain of their status (and honestly? by handful, she means people she can count of one hand, and it isn't exactly reassuring). while she isn't the lone wolf type, she has long realized that being alone in her survival makes things quite easier. well, for her morals at least. her sanity is still quite debatable, because she herself knows just how being deprived of companionship affects her — but at least she doesn't have to try and exert even more control on the uncontrollable urge she's beginning to feel more regularly.

but humans are social animals — that being said, no humans are truly capable of surviving alone for so long without losing something in return.

she has yet to know what she's lost other than the fact that she would never be able to live as a normal human being once more.

the weight of her spiked bat feels like second sense to her now, a part of her arm that her instincts determine to be her primary sense of defense. she can feel the knife by her boot, adding more to her sense of (not that much) security. she's decided not to use her flashlight for now, just in case, relying more on her sense of smell and the sounds around her. she'd rather not attract any unwanted attention, infected or not. but her companion for the night seems to think otherwise, as light finds its way to her face. she raises a free hand to cover her face, even if the light doesn't exactly quite reach her eyes yet. "sorry, sorry, i just didn't want to... you know, alert others — /if/ there are others, but i don't want to take chances."

she then grins and puts her hand down, while she places the weight of her bat above her shoulder. "i'm ready as we'll ever be. are you, though?"

@▸ wang yiren。 how long had it been ever since lalisa left that dingy shack? perhaps a week now? but it doesn’t matter to her anymore, for time has become a mere concept, one that has always driven the world forward. but it has no meaning to her anymore, for time can never be reversed, rewinded, and regrets are left to wilt in the past. this is the lingering thought that only makes the girl sigh as she lays in wait, standing alone outside a classroom. inside, her fellow groupmates rest for the evening.

it’s been a couple days ever since she arrived at this school—the high school just near where she was last residing. unbeknownst to the woman, a group of survivors had been hiding out there. for the most part, the lot had been inclusive and welcoming. everyone seemed to be in good condition, so the girl took her chances to join the group to at least increase her chances of survival. it surprises her for having made such a decision, for who knows what drives her anymore.

the group often take turns to scavenge at night, sending out a pair or so while the others rest. it’s not as if the school is exactly safe, which is why lalisa is armed tonight, her usual baseball bat in her grip, a pistol at her holster. tonight, she’s scavenging with yiren. the woman would have never guessed that the girl she had briefly spoken to over the radio had been residing so close, let alone affiliated in the group she’d be partaking in.

just down the dim corridor, footsteps echo and lalisa stays alert at the sound. the footsteps are light, with even pacing. panic arises in her chest and the damsel grasps her flashlight and hastily switches it on, being careful not to shine it directly into the eyes of her visitor. lucky for her, it’s just who she had been waiting for. “sheesh, i thought i might get sneak attacked. are you ready to go?”