xp_logs | Day Zero - taking refuge

On the second day of the crisis, Laurie and her father try to formulate a plan.

Laurie took the cup of water from Zach's hand and took a sip as she settled back onto the couch. It had been a long night, and despite the fact her father had let her take the bed in the loft apartment they'd managed to break into, she'd had little sleep. After the bridge had fallen, Zach had made her keep moving, forced her to leave the injured behind in order to get themselves to safety. She still couldn't believe the destruction she'd witnessed, there must have been at the very least several hundred on the bridge alone.

"What happened, Dad? Why'd they do that? They said all the humans had twenty-four hours to get out. That wasn't twenty-four hours, not even close." Laurie said, her fingers shaking slightly as she gripped the cup.

"I don't know," Zach said, cautiously looking out a window. "But we've got to get out of here."

After leaving the wreckage of the bridge, Laurie and her father had cut east for the bridges into the Bronx, only to find them impassible. Not destroyed, but strangely... deconstructed, as if stretching unfinished from the far shore and not quite reaching to the island.

Pulling back from the window, Zach pulled a subway map out of his pocket and laid it on the floor. "I think the rest of the bridges are going to be the same. But I haven't seen anything moving on the Harlem River. I think if we can make it down to the Roosevelt Ferry, we can find anything - a boat, a dinghy, a damn canoe and get to the other side. If they haven't gone across into the rest of the city, anyway."

"Okay, but should we wait till night? Wouldn't it be safer to move when it's darker?" Laurie asked, glancing at the map he'd laid out. She really didn't want to go back out on the street, not after yesterday and the sheer panic that had broken out as the zero hour got closer. Once people had realized they couldn't get out over the bridges they'd been to, it had been like they'd lost their minds. They didn't have a choice though, they had to get out of here, and Laurie had to get back to the mansion. She needed to make sure her friends were okay, she was almost positive there'd been some kind of trip planned into the city.

Zach thought, then nodded. "There's my smart girl. I figure we've got about... ten hours. I'm going to see what they've got for supplies here. We'll need food and clean water." He got up, then glanced back at Laurie. "Don't look at me like that, this is survival, Laurie. Whoever's place this is, hopefully they got out already."

"I know, I just...I don't like taking things from people." Laurie noted in a small voice, tucking her feet up under her on the couch and grabbing one of the cushions to hug close. She hated feeling this vulnerable, and this scared. She was just glad Zach was here, otherwise she wasn't sure she'd have been able to be this strong. "Can we leave an I.O.U or something? Say we'll pay them back later?"

Zach nodded, but rolled his eyes as he turned away. "Of course we will, honey."