Heyyy! Welcome back to Zombies and Yu, which hasn’t actually contained zombies since like the first generation! Oh well. Noemi’s got better stuff to worry about. Last time, she was passed out on the floor of the basement (ew).

Let’s see how well that worked out for her.

Not too bad, apparently.

Noemi: Where the fuck am I?

She reluctantly crawls out of the most comfortable bed she’s ever slept in and finds her shoes placed neatly on the floor beside her.

A massive headache brews like a storm behind her eyes, and she grabs onto the bed post as a wave of vertigo overcomes her. She takes a deep breath and waits for it to pass, and then decides to find her way out of here.

She steps into the next room and stops in her tracks.

Noemi: Morning.

Rush: Good morning.

He smirks haughtily at her, almost as if he is amused by her confusion.

Noemi: I guess… thanks for last night.

Rush: Try not to pass out in any more basements.

Noemi: Yeah…

She opens the door next to her and is relieved to find it leads to the main room. She quickly exits Rush’s office and closes the door behind her.

Despite the chaos of yesterday, the Madhouse has completely returned to normal. By late afternoon, Noemi is back to working on beating Tally at chess.

Noemi tries her best, but Tally has the power of the Panda Hat on her side.

Rush has taken to watching their games, shooting smug glances at Noemi whenever she makes a mistake.

He laughs uproariously when she finally beats Tally, and Tally throws a temper tantrum complete with howling and stomping.

Later that night Tally seems to have forgiven Noemi, and Noemi is enjoying a joint being generously shared by Dusty.

She’s just passed it off to Layla when someone grabs her wrist and whispers in her ear.

“Hey. Crazy lady.”

Noemi spins around.

Noemi: What, stalker guy??

Rush: I just wanted to know if Tally’s ever told you who she lost at chess to.

Noemi: Well it can’t have been any of the Einsteins here.

He flashes a cocky grin.

Rush: Actually that’s where you’re wrong.

Noemi: You??

Rush: If Mensa we’re still around I’d be in it, baby.

He winks at her, and Noemi rolls her eyes.

Noemi: I’ve gotta see this.

Rush: Alright, you’re on. But don’t drown your sorrows in liquor and pass out in the basement when you lose.

She stalks off.

Noemi: Coming?

He follows her into the foyer.

I love how concentrated they both are at this stage of the game, before anything has happened at all.

They’re taking it very seriously.

After a few moves are finally made, Noemi gets tired of the silence.

Noemi: So, what’s your story? Did you grow up here and everything?

Rush: No, actually. I grew up with real parents and stuff. They were Cherokee and had a lot of survival knowledge, so we did alright.

Noemi: Where are they now?

Rush: They came down with some sort of flu. As soon as they got sick they told me to take off for a few days so I didn’t get it too. When I came back they were stone dead. I was eleven.

Noemi: …I’m really sorry.

Rush: It’s okay, not too long after I was picked up by Spades and his crew. We were all about the same age and we just moved around like a pack of lost boys. The other guys came and went but Spades and I stuck together. When we were fifteen we joined the Madhouse.

Noemi: So you didn’t start it, then?

Rush: No, it’s been around since before I was born, I think. It used to be called something weird, like Brotherhood for Liberty and Truth or something corny like that. Spades called this place a Madhouse, and we worked our way up til he became leader.

Noemi: But now you’re the leader.

Rush: Yeah… now I’m the leader.

The rest of the game passes in silence as Noemi considers the fact that the man in front of her had so casually killed his best friend.

Rush lives up to his extravagant claims of being a chess master, and Noemi is forced to concede defeat.

Rush: Sorry love, but I did tell you I was good.

Noemi: Oh, we’re not done here.

Rush: Right. Let me know next time you’re feeling brave.

We’re gonna take a brief intermission in this post so I can show you the cool CC I have stuck to the outside of the Madhouse.

Biohazard and Quarantine signs ❤

GTFO signs too.

Fun. So it’s beer thirty in the morning, obviously. Noemi, Meg, and this chick Molly are just trying to get some shut-eye here, and guess who decides to come disturb their slumber.

Rush: You look like a hobo. Don’t you want somewhere more comfortable to sleep?

Noemi: I’ve had enough of your face today.

Rush: You sure?

Noemi: I’m fine, go away.

Rush laughs and walks away.

Noemi groans and tries to settle back to sleep.

Molly: You hittin that?

Noemi: No.

Molly: You should.

Noemi: No thank you.



Alright we’re gonna end it here for now. You guys might be sick of Rush’s face too at this point, so here’s a different face:

Eeeeee! It’s teenage Sam =)

He wouldn’t cooperate and go somewhere lighter, so it’s just a dark picture. But look how handsoooooome!

His trait list is Excitable, Friendly, Light Sleeper, and Loves the Heat. I’m not really sure which is the new one, but I just wanted to reassure everyone that he didn’t go and become Evil or Insane or anything.

And just in case you weren’t sure, yes, that was Rush rescuing Noemi from the freaky basement.

How nice. Bye guys.