Up On The Roof, tag: Open!

[EVANDER CAIN]

Evander had been feeling rather cooped up lately in the store he had been calling his home which wasn't a common thing for the ex-con. He hadn't had a place he called home either in his life, save for perhaps the prison he had been locked up in, but prison was hardly what he would label as home. It wasn't until he had escaped the confines of any prison facility that he had the chance to find a home which he finally did in the Sam's Club. They had accepted him without any suspicion, though he was certain a few might be catching on that he wasn't as harmless as he pretended to be. But Evander cared little for what people thought of him, though he had to admit to himself that it was in his best interest not to piss off those in charge. There was little doubt in him that if he showed his murderous true colors that they would have kicked him out. However, with the way he was feeling lately, he was becoming more and more restless and when he became restless it was possible he may lose control of himself. So he decided to get some fresh air in the only way he could, by climbing to the roof.

He dressed himself in his little section in the store that he had claimed as his own. He chose an army green tank top, a pair of loose fit cargo pants and a pair of black combat boots. Then the former convict gathered up a few things which consisted of some food items that he could use to make a sandwich and a bottle of water as well as a rifle that he had found. Yes, he was planning on having himself a little picnic and perhaps a little target practice on the hapless creatures wandering about the city. Quietly on his nimble feet he climbed his way up to the roof with his rifle over his broad shoulder and a sack with his foot and drink. Once he was outside, he sucked the fresh air into his lungs while a faint breeze brushed him, caressing his skin. It was a relatively nice day that afternoon, giving Evander a clear view of the once bustling city, now a comparatively ghost town. He carefully sat the rifle and sack aside before he sunk down to sit on the ground. The man took his time to make his sandwich, something he would enjoy once it was completed. He did love his sandwichs.

[Kalani Takada]

Lunch was perhaps the best time of day if you asked Kal, but that might be for purely selfish reasons, but she enjoyed the time, company. Kalani “worked” nights, that meant she slept through most of the morning in her box, although she might say she was simply reading, or enjoying time to herself, she slept like the dead when she laid her head down.

But she manage to drag herself up sometime before lunch and putter around the store, see who managed to slice their selves in the morning or the night before, tape or stitch them up before doing whatever she fancied, that was all to say on the matter, she helped out on occasion, kept watch on the roof, helped out in the kitchen, you could usually tell when Kalani was in the kitchen that day because the rice she made came out sticky one white grain clinging to another; checking on the entrances to the store, but aside from that, the woman stayed within the confines of the store until night fell until she strolled back in before the dawn rose as if she had never disappeared.

The woman climbed up the stairs, a bag with water and her cd player was all she carried with her in addition to her umbrella and short bit of rope to lash it against one of the poles up on the roof. She could watch the others for a few hours before taking a nap if she was going to today. It was more than just watching out for the group against walking biters, it was also a good way to see if there were any injuries in the construction group, or if any other survivors were making their way over. Normally it was only the doc on occasion, but you really never knew these days.

As the door to the roof was pushed open the woman pulled out her umbrella and opened it before stepping out into the days light. If she survived Zombies, dying a premature death of skin cancer was not a fun option, never mind how hot that little bit of sun could make the roof feel when there was no shade. Yet as she stepped out of the stairwell, umbrella resting against her shoulder someone else was up there. That wasn’t uncommon, someone really should be up there during the working hours, and the rifle he had with him would do more good than the pair of binoculars that lay against her chest hanging from a strap. But more than that, the guy was trying to get his lunch in.

If there was a name to the face Kalani couldn’t recall it, it wasn’t as if the woman went out of her way too much to make friends, but she did have a thing for remembering people, the fact that the man was fuzzy still on the edges of her memory simply meant he had neither been injured or pissed her off. That was usually a pretty good start.

“Hey.” Was all the woman said for a moment letting the man continue on with his task as the woman moved to the edge of the roof and looking out at the bodies that began to filter back out. She sat a bit away from the man, her bag at her feet, and umbrella lazily twirling on her shoulder as her fingers rolled the pole for idle amusement.

“I’ll be happy when the expansion phase is over and they go straight to the reinforcement steps.” The words were said to the open air, an invitation in a sense, to conversation as the woman looked outwards, her hands raising the binoculars’ to her eyes.

[EVANDER CAIN]

Evander heard the sound of someone joining him on the roof, but he didn't look yet, instead he focused on his lunch. He eat his sandwich quietly as he sat facing out onto the once bustling street which now looked like the street of a ghost town. It all made him smirk a little when he thought about it. He had gotten away with all of it, all the evil things he had done and now there was no law to get him. It was almost like lady luck had turned in his favor, if it wasn't for the fact that the country was overwhelmed by zombies. But of course, beggars couldn't be choosey. When the person finally spoke to him, He turned his head towards the greeting that he heard behind him. His gray eyes studied the source of the voice which happened to be a pretty and somewhat Asian woman, a female who could catch the eye of many men and perhaps a few women as well. “Hello,” he said in a returned greeting, his lips pulled into a light smile which barely reached his eyes.

Slowly his gaze moved up towards the top of the umbrella she rolled idly against her shoulder. He had no idea why it amused him, but for some reason it did, making him chuckle a little to himself as he took the water to his lips. “I'm just hoping we could get out every so often... getting stir crazy all locked away.” For once the ex-con was being honest, something that didn't happen all the time. Because of what he was and had been, he had to keep up good face for the rest of those in the Sam's Club. He couldn't let them on the fact that he had locked up in prison for life for murder. No, it wasn't the kind of murder people could forgive either. He had done horrible things to his victims way before he had ended their lives. He was a violent sociopath who delighted in the suffering that his body and his tools brought to the bodies of those unfortunate enough to meet him. There was no doubt if they knew things wouldn't be so good for him, so he put out that he was in fact an ex-con, but he wasn't a man who was untrustworthy or dangerous.

He offered Kalani a pleasant smile, or as close to pleasant as it could be considering their current situation. “What's going on down there?” he inquired as he finished up his handmade sandwich and took another sip of his fresh water. He had took note that she was in possession of binoculars, so he only thought it wish to ask what she saw going on below them. He wished he had brought his own to use, could bring to be useful in combination with his rifle.

[Kalani Takada]

Dark eyes looked out at the bodies down below, some were taking up posts, some going back to the tasks they had before the break, others…were gathering for their directions, and it was a rather compact operation that made her smile lightly as she looked on. The man returned her greeting and for a moment it made the corners of her lips quirk lightly , at least he wasn’t someone she’d pissed off already and forgotten. That was a good start.

The man spoke and the woman gave a nod her lips still quirked in that light smile. Yeah she remembered the feeling of being cooped up of having nothing to do seeing the same walls, the same sad sacks around, it got frustrating, it felt like things were staying the same just to mess with her.

“Well really nothing is stopping us from getting out…but I get what you mean. Rather miss the feeling of the sidewalk beneath my feet. I actually miss worrying about being mugged. Beats being on the lookout for biters.” It was funny to say aloud, but honestly, Kalani missed those days where all she had to worry about was could she make it to her car in the parking lot without being harassed at night. Being kept in the store, even for their own safety was grating after a few weeks, a few months she was surprised more people hadn’t just walked out and never came back.

That wasn’t how Kalani wanted to bite it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if someone else chose that way to end it….well to end the torture of captivity. Kalani let her legs go over the buildings edge feeling nothing but air beneath her feet as she watched the others work from a distance, safe and high from Biter reach, and in the shade of her umbrella. As the man asked what was happening down below the woman laughed before collapsing her umbrella.

“Bet if there was a working TV still and not just DVDs people wouldn’t even notice. Adrian had this bright idea to put up a fence to sort of expand the territory. I think he wants to open it up to be a marketplace with other survivor groups. I think most agreed with him to finally be doing something again. So they are going to clear out the area in front and set up a fence. Even if we don’t people want to trade…we’ll have some walking space again.” With her umbrella the woman pointed out, at least from her prospection the area where the fence was already set up, and the areas where it wasn’t. It was hard work because they were breaking into the asphalt to cement the fence poles. Others were done with knives and sharpen poles to kill off any of the undead that wandered too close to the base of activity.

She turned her head t regard Evander now though, he had opened the door wide open after all, plus he was the one with the really big gun. Rifle, still. “What about you? Providing air support? Or getting to smell the air above the filth and corpses?”

[EVANDER CAIN]

“Getting mugged... Guess I was never lucky to have that happen to me,” he cracked a playful little smile at her, putting on some charm to his usually dark personality. If she knew him, he was certain that she wouldn't want anything to do with him. He was a former convict who had been charged with enough crimes that he would have netted him a life behind bars. Most people tended to frown those who killed and tortured for their own pleasure, he figured she would be no different. So he kept it underwraps as he conversed with her. “They must have preferred pretty ladies like yourself to a big ol' lug like me.” Evander chuckled as he rested against the roof, sitting on the flooring above the store itself. He took another sip of his water, enjoying the taste of fresh water without worrying where it came from or what was in it.

“Would definitely prefer a good ol' breathing human bad guy to a flesh-eating freak who like to make me his lunch.” He continued to eat his sandwich, seemingly unaffected by the fact he had just compared himself to food. Unlike those that would run off into the unknown looking for death, Evander would rather live, it was one of the reasons he preferred to spend his time in safety, though he would not say he was a coward. He would face humans and zombies if they came at him, but he wasn't about to go looking for zombies, he was definitely smarter then that to risk something he had worked so hard to save, his own life.

He finished his sandwich after he inquired what was going on. He had noticed people were working, but he hadn't a clue what was going on. He figured they didn't tell him because he wasn't that important to the store turned shelter. Luckily, he found someone who knew what he wanted to know and could explain it to him. He nodded his head as he listened to Kalani as she told him that Adrian was making a safety zone outside for business and space to walk about in. It did sound like a good idea and he liked it, he had to admit. “Sounds like a good idea... might be nice to see some new stuff around here … and people,” he shrugged his broad shoulders as he looked over the roof to see what was going on. Evander looked at his gun then at Kalani as he picked up his weapon. “Unofficially... I suppose I am air support, but yes, I was looking for fresh air and a little target practice with the dead ones,” he offered her a toothy grin, not seeing anything he was doing as wrong.