forum I'm in the mood for another apocalypse roleplay... (CLOSED for now, welcome to stalk)

Started March 06, 2021 by @Becfromthedead group

tune

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine…" Kas leaned against Tohru as they walked, sighing softly again. "I guess they make crutches for kids too? I guess that would make sense… how long has this hospital been abandoned?"

"Yeah, of course they do," Tohru replied, thinking a bit, "Well… I'm not really sure. Probably almost two years at this point. About as long as this apocalypse has been going. It looks like one of those cases where zombies just kind of took the place over at the beginning. Most of the bodies here are pretty decayed at this point, and it doesn't smell as foul as the places with fresh corpses."

"Mm… yeah. Makes sense." Kas looked around warily, limping as he went along. "Are we almost to the… ortho… whatever wing you said the crutches are probably in…?" He asked weakly. "There's so many stairs in this place…"

"Yeah, looks like there's a few x-ray rooms right here, so we just gotta actually find the crutches now," Tohru answered, "You can sit and wait for me if you need a moment."

"Alright…" Kas sat down on a nearby chair to take a breather, panting a little to catch his breath. This is so stupid… I hate not being able to walk… hopefully he can find the crutches so I can at least move around…

Tohru found a supply room down the hall, and went to open it, but it was locked. He jiggled the doorknob a bit and stopped to think before proceeding. He took a screwdriver and some hairpins from his bag, hoping he might be able to pick the lock. Last thing he wanted was to have to kick down this door, especially since it might be reinforced.
After a few minutes of desperate attempts to pick the lock, it finally turned and clicked, and he was able to get inside.
Two corpses laid near one of the shelves, and Tohru did his best not to gag at the sight and smell of them. He went on his way, perusing the area for crutches that Kas might be able to use.
There were some pairs in the back, and he grabbed two, not sure which size would be best for the kid.

Kas was nodding off by the time Tohru returned, looking a bit pale and dizzy. He couldn't really focus on anything other than the pain in his leg, which was only getting worse as he sat there with it extended forward. There wasn't really a comfortable position for it to be in.

"Hey, Kas, you alright there?" Tohru asked, sitting down next to the kid and resting the crutches on the ground.
"Is there something else up, or is it just the pain bothering you? You look really pale."

"Mm…?" Kas looked up at Tohru, his vision hazy. "Hurts a lot… kinda dizzy… and I feel kinda sick…" He mumbled quietly. My mouth is really dry… and I'm starving. But we don't have a lot of food or water here.

"Hey, Tohru sent me to check on you," Lis replied, not really thinking out how she worded it.
He'd sent her to check on everyone technically. Not just Levi.
"Sleep well?"

"Yeah, actually. Better than I have since this thing started." Levi said, curling his legs up to hug his knees. "Tohru is a surprisingly good pillow. How is he?"
"And how are you?" He added, hurriedly.

Tohru nodded. "Here, take some water, and maybe this medicine will take the edge off. Then I can adjust these for you, and we'll be on our way."
He leaned down and rummaged through his bag, fishing out the water bottle and a bottle of pills.

"Great, great. He's up, seems to be alright. He looks not as horribly tired," Lis replied, "I'm doing pretty well, too. I don't think I have as much trouble sleeping as the rest of you guys, though."

"Okay…" Kas accepted the water bottle and pills and swallowed them, panting a little when they were down. "Mmmmm… did you find the crutches…?" He asked, wincing a bit as he moved his leg.

"Yeah, I wasn't sure which size you would need since you're kind of in between, so I grabbed two pairs. I should know how to adjust them. I've had to help someone adjust a pair before, so…"
He slid them forward so Kas could see.

"Okay…" Kas examined the two pairs of crutches, still pretty dazed. "I really don't know the different, honestly… feel free to just like… I dunno… pick whichever one you think is better. I don't know what I'm doing, so…"

"Yeah, I hate to make you stand up, but I need to get a better idea of your height. So I will move the adult pair down to the lowest notch, see what that does, and we can try that, maybe?" Tohru suggested, "I can't say I know that much myself."

Kas nodded a bit and forced himself to his feet, groaning in pain and grimacing. The adult crutches, even at the lowest setting, were a little too tall for him. He wasn't quite five feet tall, so they were just too big.

"Okay, I'll adjust this one… Let's see… Bring it up, just a little lower than the others, aaand… Here. Try this one?" Tohru said, offering the next one he adjusted. He quickly went to fix the other in the pair, then passed them on to Kas.

Kas tested the other pair, which seemed to fit a little bit better. "I think these work, but I don't know exactly where they're supposed to be fitting… I don't really know how to use them, either…" He was swaying a little by now, looking pretty dizzy.

"They look about right. And they can be adjusted later if not. So, um… You basically alternate between using your good leg and the crutches to move yourself forward. It might be a little tiring at first, but I promise it's better than continuing to walk on that poor knee of yours," Tohru explained, "Just move slowly to begin with. I'll spot you. Make sure you don't fall or anything- which I doubt you will."

"Okay…" Kas slowly, carefully started to make his way forward, looking very unsteady and uncomfortable with the crutches. They were unfamiliar, and it was difficult to find the coordination. It would be difficult under ordinary circumstances, but already being disoriented wasn't helping.

"Yeah, that's it," Tohru encouraged Kas, "You're doing fine there. You'll get the hang of it, especially once you stop hurting as bad."
Tohru slowly paced alongside the kid, trying to make sure he didn't slip up.

Kas gripped the crutches a little tighter, clearly uneasy. They definitely weren't easy to use, especially in this state. He slipped with the crutches, but barely managed to catch himself with his good leg. "I-I dunno if I can do this… I suck at it…"

"Kas, you've got it. It'll just take a little more time, but it's probably super tiring right now. I don't blame you," Tohru encouraged him, "I probably would be struggling, too. If it gets to be too much, you can hold onto me instead for now, and we can try again once you're feeling okay."

"Mmmm…" Kas stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to catch his breath. "I'm so… tired…" He muttered, more to himself than to Tohru. "A-And it… it hurts so much… how am I supposed to go down the stairs…?"

"Well… um… if you need me to hold the crutches while you use the railing to go down, you can use that. Or I know you're probably opposed to this, but I could carry you downstairs instead," Tohru suggested, "Do you need to stop and rest a minute before we move on?"

"I can try the railing, but… I don't want to fall and hurt myself worse…" Kas looked down at the stairs, which seemed pretty intimidating with his injured leg. And he was really tired and dizzy, so he was worried that trying to go down them without help would end very poorly.

"If you need to grab onto me, I'll be here," Tohru promised, "I'll walk right next to you the whole time in case you need my help."
He cast Kas a weak smile.
"I'm really sorry about all of this. It seems pretty rough. How did you manage to hurt yourself in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kas offered the crutches to Tohru and took one slow, shaky step onto the stairs. "Um… I was staking out in a tree and some zombies showed up and started climbing it. I couldn't climb down. They would've gotten me. I… had to jump, a-and when I landed, my knee just made this horrible popping noise… but I didn't feel it hurting yet, so I just did my best to run. I could tell that I was hurt, but what other option did I really have? At least I managed to make it to your porch before I collapsed."

"Ah… yeah… You're pretty lucky, then. I'm glad we were actually able to help you," Tohru replied, taking the crutches and staying very close to Kas' side in case he needed more help.
"Sorry it happened, of course, but it's almost certainly better than getting ripped to shreds by zombies- or even worse, getting bitten and going through the whole process of turning."

Kas nodded and clung to Tohru's arm, hoping it would help with balancing. "Yeah, I guess so… sometimes I can't help but wonder, though… I mean, this world's so terrible nowadays. I hardly remember a time when we weren't suffering endlessly for this." He fell silent, toying with his words. "Maybe… it would be… better."