((I am subbed, it's just been hecking busy over here for some reason! Sorry bout' that! And I usually stick to one character since I like to put all my effort into making my writing the best it can be, so if there are two characters to do that for it gets exhausting (or so I've found). ^^; I may throw in another character later, but for now I hope it's okay if I stick with one! ... And I may be a tad rusty at first - haven't RPed in months!))
Andromeda was a light sleeper at times, so when she picked up on something falling to the ground in her shared hotel room, she felt herself slowly resurface from sleep and crack an eye open to assess the room. Rajar, who was at the foot of her bed, seemed to be stirring as well as Andy tiredly gazed around the room. Her eyes fell on her roommate, Chrissy, across the room and what seemed to be a pile of clothes that had fallen off her bed. Ah, so Chrissy must have rolled over and knocked them off, as Andromeda distinctly remembers seeing the same pile of clothes on Chrissy's bed while wondering how someone could sleep like that.
'Oh well', Andy thought, turning her eyes to her clock,
'At least it's not too early. It's bright out, for one thing.' Sitting up, the girl rubbed her eyes and swung her legs out over the edge of the bed, springing up. Rajar was now definitely awake, peering at her intently as she threw a black hoodie over her pajamas and quietly grabbed his vest and leash. That was when he knew they were moving and got up, trotting over to her and standing still so she could attach the vest and leash. With all that accomplished, Andromeda slipped on some shoes and quietly left her room, making her way to the dining lobby.
When she got there it was pretty empty, but there were still a few students here and there, flipping through channels on the big tv, grabbing a snack, or doing whatever else on their phones. After releasing a big yawn, Andy walked over to the 'snack counter' (free, small pieces of food, courtesy of the hotel), grabbed a muffin, and plopped herself on a couch a little ways away from the tv. She ate absently as more and more people woke up and appeared in the lobby, many going to crowd around the tv. After a few more moments of zoning-out, Andromeda realized the tv volume got louder and an even bigger crowd of people gathered than before. There were even some concerned faces she could make out among the mass.
'What's going on?', she thought, suddenly giving her rapt attention to the news report playing out. Everyone had gone quiet so all could hear what was being said on screen:
"Reports are flooding in of attacks. The people who had been admitted into the hospital three days and released have succumbed to some sort of disease and many are blaiming it on the explosion that happened at Biotek Laboratories. We have some footage from one of the attacks that happened in the park. Viewers are advised that the footage we're about to play contains graphic violence and gore."
The fear in the room was palpable as the footage played out. Andromeda felt her eyes widen and her breaths become shallower as she watched a zombie-like creature lunge at an innocent person, clawing them from behind. It was like a horror movie come to life, but that
couldn't actually be a zombie,
right? And what they were saying was that a disease
had been spread by the explosion? They had all heard about the Biotek lab that had mysteriously exploded around three days prior, but there was said to be no cause for concern. As a small mercy, the screaming cut off abruptly and the news reporter continued, visibly shaken.
"That was just one of several attacks that have been reported. Police are doing their best to contain the attackers and the victims have been moved to a hospital for treatment. The Department of Defense has informed us that they will be sending-"
The audio cut off then, the screen going black. Looking around to see who had turned it off, and wondering if it was better to keep it off or if they should be hearing this, she saw it was one of the teachers. Ms. Hunt held the remote and shared a meaningful look with Mr. Anders, before he said that they should probably cut their trip a little short and head home by 10am, after breakfast. The teacher chaperons didn't seem incredibly worried, which was marginally reassuring.
Andromeda nodded slightly, not too worried about packing up seeing as she kept her stuff all in one place. She may offer to help her roommate though. Letting out a deep breath, she pat Rajar's head which was now in her lap after he sensed the mood of the room. Andromeda honestly didn't know what to think - was the media blowing things up again as they usually did? It didn't look like that, it looked serious. But where the attack had happened was quite far away, so if they left today they should be fine. "We'll be okay", she said to Rajar, not noticing the boy walking towards her until he sat down on the coffee table in front of her.
"Oh", she said, not expecting someone come up to her and talk. The boy was Charlie, if she could place the name correctly. Andy didn't know him incredibly well, but he looked pretty nervous or shaken up, so she decided to help with that by smiling good-naturedly as she usually did. "Well, I mean, I guess the same as everyone else? It was just...so unreal. That...
thing even sort of looked like a zombie, which is pretty crazy, right?" Andy scratched her dog's ear and Rajar went from gazing at Charlie to closing his eyes in contentment. "I'm...scared, of course, but the report said it took place a good deal away, so if we leave soon we should be fine. Also, the media tends to blow things out of proportion, so hopefully that's what's happening here too. That's my thinking, anyways." She shrugged and tried to smile at him reassuringly.
"I'm guessing you're feeling the same? Heh, it sure is too early in the morning for this, huh?", she tried a small joke, but the fearful mood made it a bit more somber than it should have been.
((Hey, @
AuguryDemon, sorry, just making sure you're subbed? ^^ I also forgot to say how great you set up the thread, it's really nice looking and explains what is happening perfectly! Thanks for the great start - and I hope mine is okay!))