Roleplay

Li Mei didn't say anything more about her situation, but she was pleasantly surprised that he didn't tease her. The only sign of her gratitude was a hint of a smile as she rotated the rabbit over the fire, making sure it cooked evenly.

She sat back and watched him, listening patiently. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at this new information. She assumed this "she" person was Mercury's mother or caretaker, but this only raised more questions about what had happened to him. "You couldn't remember the whole week?" she asked, eyes widening in concern. "I'm... sorry," she said, her tone a bit awkward but genuine. "It must be hard not knowing what happened."

Li Mei jumped again when Duchess came out from the bushes, but she quickly grabbed her gun as well, glancing back at Mercury. She held up her pointer finger, signaling to stay quiet before staring in the direction Duchess was looking. With her finger on the trigger, she raised her gun with narrowed eyes. Whatever was behind those bushes, it wasn't going to sneak up on them.

Mercury scratched the back of his neck, looking away "Maybe, it's better this way. Wouldn't wanna have nightmares, you know?" The teen's attempt at a joke was weak but at least it managed to put him at ease.




"W-wait," A shaky voice piped up, shifting could be heard "I don't have any weapons in my hand," The masculine voice was labored, like the person was having trouble breathing "Can I...can I come out?" His question was soft, almost pleading. "Slowly and hands up!" Mercury stated before Li Mei could talk. Feeling bold with all the backup he had at the time.


He was correct when he guessed man, but, he had to look away and try to calm Duchess down at the sight of him.


His looks were...disturbing to say at least. "Oh...you have a child with you..." The said man said in a guilty tone that made Mercury look at him again. His brown hair matted with blood was falling off, leaving bald patches on his head. Oh, he also had a big bite mark on his head that was decaying to...Mercury couldn't say the name of the color but it was...it was just wrong. So wrong. He was still in the early stage but by the looks of his fatal wound-covered body that wasn't bleeding at all with injuries already sailed off with the same wrong colored...thing. He didn't have much time.


"Please..." he started, flinching back as Duchess attempted to strike forward at the zombie that was way too close to her master.

The said man shut off, hands still up in the air but Mercury didn't try to say or do anything else. Looking at Li mei for guidance.

Li Mei was surprised when Mercury spoke before her, but didn't argue, instead scanning their surroundings suspiciously. It was possible this old man was a distraction and that they were about to be ambushed by humans, but she saw no signs of anyone else. She also had a feeling that if there were other people around, Duchess would be the first to notice.

While she maintained a neutral expression on the outside, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the old man. He showed clear signs of turning, so saving him was no longer an option. She had seen this happen plenty of times, so the gore didn't faze her anymore.

Keeping her gun pointed at him, Li Mei said bluntly, "I'm sure you know you're going to turn soon. The only thing I can do for you now is end your suffering. Is that what you want?"

(Sorry for the late reply! Exam week sucks lol)


"I-" The said man looked surprised by her blunt question, his glossy eyes drifting to Mercury who was keeping Duchess in check with both hands on the growling hound's hand-made collar. He kept glancing between two adults and the dog. An uneasy look on his face.

"Yes, I'm aware I'm gonna...turn. Soon." The man awkwardly looked away for a second, the somber expression on his face strong enough to make Mercury look away "Sorry, again- I didn't know you had your kid, I just, saw the dog, you know? It looked to be well-fed, and a collar!" He added an awkward laugh, the last 'ha' dragging out.


He sneaked a glance at them, well, they didn't look very alike but maybe the father was an another race? Sh*t, maybe he shouldn't have assumed. He would prefer his last breath to be NOT in fear or at least, not by a rabid-looking dog.


"So, I thought it would be a good idea to follow it.." The man finally got it together and get to the point "Look, I'm aware I don't have time, but," The older gentleman oh-so-slowly pointed at the backpack on his back "Look, I just wanted to do one good thing before I'm gone, okey?"

"I'm not gonna became a zombie, I refuse it" A loud growl from Duchess made the confidence in his voice retreat, aware that a kid wouldn't be able to hold a hound back if it felt threatened "I-uh, I have some resources. I wanna give them to you, and in exchange,"

He carefully continued, his head lowered "I want you to kill me... I can accept I'm too much of a pu-" He glanced at the black-haired teen ", coward. I'm not brave enough to do it myself but I think it would be better for me to...perish." He shrugged, a small patch of matted hair falling off of his scalp "The world has enough blood-thirsty monsters- Also! You have a kid, I'm sure you would need the resources. Better for you to have them than it ending up in a zombie den, or something-" He absurdly cut himself off "You can...check the bag if you want. It's not much but, I hope you appreciate it."



Mercury looked at Li mei again, his murmur of "That's a very noble thing to do..." was crystal clear in the awkward silence that even Duchess stopped growling. Making the older man feel pride in his deed, confident that it was the right thing to do instead of eating everything he can, destroying everything else, and jumping inside a zombie hoard as he originally planned.

((It's ok!))

"Oh, uh, he's not mine," Li Mei mumbled awkwardly, glancing over at Mercury. The idea of them being family would have been funny if it weren't for the unfortunate circumstances they were in at the moment.

Determining that this man wasn't a threat, she lowered her gun and watched him silently, her only hint of emotion being a grim expression when he lost another patch of hair. Once he was finished speaking, she stepped forward and took the bag, setting it on the ground and unzipping it. It was true, there wasn't a whole lot inside; a few provisions, some medicine, and bandages. But all of it would surely come in handy.

Li Mei nodded in response to Mercury before closing the bag and slipping it onto her back. She looked at the old man as she stood back up. It was rare for someone to help others simply out of the goodness of their heart, so she couldn't quite think of what to say. "Thank you," was all she could muster, but the look in her eyes showed that it was genuine.

Reluctantly, she looked over her shoulder at Mercury. "You... might want to look away. Be ready to run after the gunshot in case it draws a horde." She then turned away, meeting the old man's gaze one last time. "I hope you find peace," she said before raising her gun.

A gunshot rang out, sending birds fleeing from the trees above. Li Mei stared at the body for only a moment before turning away and snatching the skewered rabbit from the campfire. "Come on, and don't look back," she said quietly, picking up the pace.

The older man smiled with lips tightly pressed together, slowly turning away so he didn't see the gun. His brown eyes drifted off to the threes, to the skies. Somewhat, maybe because of his transforming, his ears managed to tune out the talking. Solely focusing on the slow wawing of the leaves, oh was that a bird? Such a small creature, hmm, must be a female, she has muted colors and, oh? Is the other one a ma-

The ringing of the gun didn't conceal the thud of the body hitting the ground.



Mercury had his back turned the whole time, unknown to Li Mei, he stared at the man avoiding eye contact after that last one until the older woman turned around. He deserved someone to remember his face, maybe not his name, but at least his face. He wasn't gonna turn into a zombie so it should be fine, right? They always said to never learn someone's name if you know they won't survive. It's much harder to shoot a zombie if you know its name, but, who cares? He is tired of hearing their voices in the back of his head non-stop.

He suddenly felt tired.



The teenager struggled to keep his gaze away from the still smoking hot rabbit even with the guilt of thinking about the rabbit when he just witnessed...that. But it was SO good but he didn't want to be greedy, but it was so... Mercury quickly spoke before his gaze went back to it "So!"

"Mei?...wanna go back to the questions? It was my turn" The teen grinned and asked before Li Mei could object "Before the apocalypse...when did you find your first grey hair?"