all these things that i've done || Adrian

[Ryder Stevens]

It was early...much earlier than even she was used to waking up. But the nightmares had been effected her all night long, and she wasn't having a good time with it at all. So she gave up on the idea of sleep and was soon moving silently around her room. She flipped the light on, and her eyes soon adjusted to the necessary brightness. The room was a mess, and Ryder knew that she was going to have to take the time out and clean it up soon enough. Normally she didn't have enough of that though...time. She was always way too busy with doing work around the hideaway and for the ones that sent her out on assignments. She was a runner, and did whatever was asked of her most of the time, unless she wasn't alright with it. Then she'd argue and fight with the assigner, but more often than not she went out. The young woman was just like that though.

Ryder sighed softly as she stared around, and then just shook her head. It would have to happen later. Getting up from the queen sized bed, she left her side unmade, and then tripped over the things lying on the floor to get to her dresser. Pulling out a pair of black bootlegged pants, she moved to get a white long sleeved shirt, as well as the black vest that had become one of her favorites. Moving into the tiny bathroom attached to her room, she showered quickly, making sure she was clean and ready for the day ahead of her. Ryder got out and got dressed, and was soon french braiding her hair to keep it out of her way. Making sure she looked presentable, she pulled on her boots and made her way out of her room. Her weapons were still locked away because she wasn't leaving yet, but she carried her handgun and her knife on her belt. She wanted protection no matter where she was, and she was going to make certain that she wasn't taken by surprise.

Soon enough, her long strides brought her to the kitchen. It was smaller than what she thought the hideaway would have, but it was efficient and had all the necessary equipment. Ryder wasn't a big breakfast eater anyway, and if she had the choice she wouldn't eat it. But she needed the strength and the energy the first meal of the day gave her during her job. Ryder wondered what she should have, and soon enough she came to the conclusion. Grabbing a bottle of water from the large fridge, she placed it on the top of the island in the middle of the kitchen, and then went for the milk and an apple. Putting the apple by the water on the surface, she got a bowl and a spoon, and grabbed the cheerios from the cabinet. It was simple enough, and it would fill her up. Filling her bowl with the cereal, she covered it with the milk and then put the box away. She took the bowl and set it in front of her, getting on one of the stools and starting her breakfast. Because it was so early, she didn't think anyone else would be awake, but that was alright with her. It would give her time to think about her plans and her ideas to find her brother again.

[Adrian Blakes]

This definitely wasn’t what Adrian thought it was going to be. At first when he had learned of the revolting thing growing inside of him, he had immediately thought that he was going to die. That had been over four months ago. By now the humans had learned that the infection took a different amount of time to spread throughout their body’s. The question was, why was it taking so long to spread through his? The longest time he had ever seen after infection had been one month, but did the infection decide to coarse slowly through his veins instead of eating at him until he became a monster.

Laying on his back, in his room, his bare feet hanging over the ill sized bed, Adrian stared up at the ceiling, not being able to see anything due to the lack of light. Sometimes things were the easiest to see in the dark, were the absence of light allowed the mind to think of things that it would normally sigh away from. Like death. After the first few weeks passed by, Adrian had believed that he had nothing left to live for, no reason to keep him connected to the earth. But as the time kept passing by, and nothing more than a bad cough started, he started to see the things that normal people would take for granted, even in a time like this.

Adrian sighed out, swinging his legs slightly off the edge of the bed. The moonlight broke through the boarded over windows and fell in small patches around the room. Idly Adrian raised on of his hands into a stream of moonlight and rolled his fingers around, marvelling at the silvery colour that his skin took. It was slightly eerie to him as well, like seeing the effects of what the infection would eventually have on him. A sharp pain in his chest made Adrian jerk to the side of his bed, his legs instantly drawing up to chest as his arms curled in on themselves. The sudden burning in his throat made a haggard cough lurch out of his throat. It wasn’t unusual for people to cough hard while the were asleep, but this was something different. This was--- another fit of cough made him clench himself tighter, his muscles starting to ache with the effort of it. And just as fast as it had come, it was gone, leaving Adrian breathing slightly heavily, a hand pressed against his chest. Laying on his back again, the runner wiped his hand across his mouth, and felt his heart almost stop as it came away wet.

Instantly Adrian was sitting up, his hands held out towards the pool of moonlight in front of him. The wetness in his hands shone a ghostly red. Blood. There was suddenly no mistaking that metallic taste in the back of his throat. Feeling his tongue run dry, Adrian pushed himself up from the bed, making his way towards the small bathroom that this room shared. Shoving his hands underneath the tap, he watched the water run red with his blood. He didn’t dare look up at his expression. Calming himself slightly, the metallic taste in the back of his throat not forgotten, Adrian went back to his bed, only to grab a white muscle shirt as he made his way through the door. His destination? The kitchen.

It didn’t take long as he walked down the hall, wearing nothing more than his black sweats and the shirt that he had grabbed. It didn’t really matter what people wore when they were inside, as long as they could move easily encase of a infection attack. That thought made Adrian smirk in irony. They were protecting themselves against things on the outside, whereas they didn’t know what was on the inside, tagging along with them. Running a hand through his hair, Adrian pushed open the door to the kitchen and went to the fridge, looking for a bottle of water to rid himself of that bloody taste. Finding one, he drained it before going back and looking for another one. Not bothering to close the fridge, the cold air felt good against his skin as he opened another one. Turning around, he was startled slightly as he noticed Ryder sitting there eating her breakfast. He didn’t know her very well despite them running a few missions together now and then. He flashed her a friendly morning smile. ”I didn’t see you there.... Your up early. Any reason?” Adrian closed the fridge door and moved to lean against the counter, his water still in his hand.

[Ryder Stevens]

Ryder didn't know how much longer they could hold out against the infected that wanted to change them or kill them so badly. Ryder wasn't afraid when it came to running missions, but she was afraid when it came to the idea of becoming the thing that she hated the most. How was she ever going to live with herself if she was to become an Infected? It was known that Ryder was a wanted person by them because of the amount of kills and narrow escapes she had under her belt, but that didn't matter to her. Ryder wasn't in it for the glory, and she certainly didn't brag about her skills or her ability. It was normally hidden until she had to use them anyway, and in that way, she could surprise her enemies. They underestimated her most of the time, and that was exactly what she wanted. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute as she thought about what had happened in her past.

Her family life had been perfect, and exactly what she had hoped for. Her parents were loving and provided for her and her brother. They had everything they wanted, as long as it was in reason, but Ryder had what she wanted the most. And that was love. She had had a friend, her best friend, that had been orphaned two years before she met him. His parents had been abusive, and not caring at all. His mother had gotten into drugs and alcohol, and she passed because of an overdose. His father was into the gambling business, and once he lost all of his money and couldn't pay it back, the people he owed money to had him killed. Her best friend had gotten out of that, and had lived with her for a little while, but he soon had an opportunity to go into a foster home. Ryder had loved him like a brother, and when he had to move away, she was devastated. But she was so happy for him, and glad that he had the chance to have a family like her own, which was exactly what he deserved. Ryder shook her head slightly at that point, not wanting to think about Matt any longer. She missed him, but she had no idea if he was even alive any longer. He could be among the Infected, and she didn't want that to be his fate in all honesty.

Sighing once more, the young woman focused on eating her breakfast, and soon finished the small bowl of cereal she had. Grabbing the apple, she took a bite and then set it down on the napkin she had gotten out. Heading to the sink, she chewed thoughtfully, and rinsed the bowl that she had used. She scrubbed it clean, using soap and the sponge that was provided for them to use. Once she rinsed the soap off of it, she dried it off and then returned it to where she had gotten it. Realizing she had forgotten the spoon, she groaned slightly and then repeated the process with the piece of silverware. Once she put it away, she returned to the stool she was sitting at and sat down once more. Taking a long drink from her water bottle, and then started in on her apple once more. Not finishing the entire thing, she tossed the core in the garbage, and then sat back down. Today was not going to be a good day for some reason...and she could sense it. She hadn't slept last night, and it was easy to see, and she didn't feel up to her usual health level. She didn't know what was going on with her, but she refused to believe that it could be the virus. She had never come into physical contact with someone with the virus without the correct protective gear, so she was at a loss. It was probably just a regular sickness, but that meant she was going to have to be quarantined anyway. She would not allow them to see her sick.

Perking up once her decision was made, she finished her water bottle, but held the empty plastic in her hand. Tapping it against the counter for a moment, she sat silently, wondering what would happen in this day. She didn't want herself to become infected, just like she didn't want the rest of her small family here to become infected. Shaking her head slightly, she was about to get up when she heard someone coming down the hallway. Remaining where she was, she tensed immediately, and quite visibly, and sat with bated breath. As she saw who entered, she exhaled softly, and then studied the newcomer for a moment. His name was Adrian, and he hadn't seen her yet. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she wasn't about to think about it now. Furrowing her brow as he downed a water bottle, her eyes widened when he tossed the empty plastic in less then a minute. Well, he was definitely thirsty. Watching as he took a hold of another, she didn't jump as he took notice of her, and was obviously surprised. Ryder just offered him a returning smile of greeting. Hearing his words, she nodded slightly, for she wasn't going to lie about it. She hated liars. "Just couldn't sleep. What about you?" She didn't know him personally, but she had to admit that she might like to. He seemed like he'd be a good person to know. Offering him another smile, she nodded towards his bottle, indicating the one he just emptied. "You alright, or do you normally down two water bottles in the span of two minutes?" She questioned with a grin, showing she was just joking with him, but she was a bit concerned.

[Adrian Blakes]

The water felt cool and refreshing as it rushed down his throat. He didn’t realise how dry this throat was until the cold water hit the inside of it and instantly soothed it. Despite the coolness of the tiles against his bare feet, there was something about water that would always cool the soul as well as the body. It was one of those small things that could be the matter between life and death. Sometimes it was a close call and water was hard to find in a outside source. Most of the lakes were corrupted and the tap water wasn’t safe either. The only thing they could really count on was the bottled water that filled their fridge. And of course those didn’t last forever. But hey, that was what Runners were for.
Smacking his lips together, Adrian sighed out, shivering slightly at the coolness on his tongue. At first he had thought that the water had done the trick, getting rid of the taste of blood. But after swallowing again, he knew that it hadn’t worked. Of course it had diluted it a bit, but he could still taste the bitter edge of it, the metallic ring that made blood so unique tasting. He scrapped his tongue across the roof of his mouth, hoping that that would help, but it only made it worse. Sighing, he tossed the empty water bottle into the sink, knowing that he would later have to place it in with all the other empty water bottles that had accumulated over the months. Adrian smirked slightly. At least with civilization going to hell, they didn’t have to worry about recycling.

A knot in the middle of his back protested as he pulled his upper body to one side and then the other. It was nice to sleep in a bed again, but sometimes sleeping in one was worse than on the hard floor. At least when you slept on the floor, your back was straight in the morning. Opening the fridge door again let a cold breeze swirl across his body, making Goosebumps appear on his arms and the back of his neck. Partnered with the cold tile floor, Adrian was suddenly very cold, and crossed his arms over his chest as he cracked open the new bottle. Turning around, he jumped when he noticed Ryder sitting at the table, looking like she had expected a wave of infected to come crashing through the door and land upon her. At that image in his mind, the taste of blood grew a little bit stronger and he subconscious took a small sip of water, being more careful with how much he guzzled down. They might have to go on another raid soon if he kept swallowing the water bottles whole.

After flashing Ryder his hello and a quick question as to the reason for her being up so early, Adrian leaned against the counter top, the open water bottle still in his hand, locked between three fingers. He had seen her raised eyebrows at his fast drinking and suddenly he hoped that she just thought that he was extremely thirsty. It wasn’t uncommon for people to crave a drink after they woke up. He licked his lips and kept his green eyes from wondering as she talked. At her question, his insides froze slightly, but his face remained neutral as his mind shot off in a hurry. What was he going to tell her? That he had woken up because all he could think of what the virus that ate away on his insides? About how he had laid awake, wondering where and when he was going to turn and start attacking those he cared about because he wanted their blood? No. He was dead sure that if he even told her that he suspected that he was infected, she would have a knife through his heart before he could blink. There was no cure for the virus, and the only way to stop those infected was death. There had been a few stories of people being immune to the virus, but Adrian was sure that he wasn’t one of those people. So in answer to her question he just smiled and shrugged. ”Pretty much the same. I’ve never been a good sleeper.”

Taking another drink of water, her next question left him thinking again. Was he alright? When was the last time he had felt alright.... Probably before the incident that led to his current predicament. Again he knew that lying was going to keep him alive. So he wandered over towards her and sat down at the table across from her. ”Yeah, I’m good. Laying up at night sometimes makes me really thirsty. “ There he hoped that that would cover his actions. If it didn’t, well he probably wouldn’t be a runner for very much longer. He toyed with the lip of his bottle, running his fingers around the top edge. He smiled again, looking at the table top tracing the grain with his eyes. ”So.....” He shrugged again. ”you probably already know this, but I’m Adrian. Just encase you were wondering. Or not.” And now he was babbling. Smooth Rian, very smooth.