Realistic or Modern Angel's Ascent

[NanLia]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Auguste didn’t leave where the group had been, eyes scanning the vicinity searching for any signs of others. If they’d encountered someone in the shop, then there may be more around. He watched as prospects and members scrambled to hiding places but he wasn’t convinced this was an ambush - there hadn’t been any signs of it. Besides, the two dead people placed out in the open made them wary to start with.

Birdie had a handle on Will and Lila - Billie following just behind to give her back up; he knew he didn’t need to add himself to the mix, the women banded together the last little while and he trusted they were in good hands, besides, Lila was becoming a decent shot, even with the little practice she got.

Auguste huffed in response to Nik declaring wanting to get out of town. “You’re not wrong and if I thought we wouldn’t end up with the rig dead somewhere on the side of the highway, we’d still be moving.” He paused as he ordered people to start syphoning gas. “We’ll need diesel for the truck.” He said cautiously, nodding toward the fire station. “They normally have reserves, no?”

He glanced back at the mercantile, no further gunshots sounding - whatever had come to pass within was over.

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[NanLia]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Billie followed behind Birdie as she practically dragged Will behind her and then subsequently shoved her into the truck’s cab. She knew her primary focus was protecting the truck and their supplies, and along with it, as it so happens, that included Lila and Will.

With Birdie on the driver's side, she went around the passengers to look for Ally but found her missing. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she raised her rifle and started searching the area for any sign of the club's matriarch. She didn’t have to search long, as she walked slowly down the side of the truck, she heard noise atop of it and glanced up.

There was Ally, lying down on her belly, her rifle propped up on her arm as she looked down the sights away from where Auguste and Nik stood. Billie blew out a breath. “Next time, say something.” She grumbled at the older woman, moving to take up position opposite to where Birdie would be, so they would have all angles covered.

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[Namazu]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Bax’s heart was thundering in his ears - which was funny, since it was also halfway up his throat. God, it fucking pissed him off how big they’d stepped in it this time. For months - months! - Quapaw had been quiet. Deserted. Empty. Dark. And today, of all days, someone had to roll into town.

Not just someone, either. They heard them first - it sounded like a whole army. Seeing the group didn’t help at all. A diesel truck, numerous bikes, and several other vehicles. It made him uneasy as fuck. He didn’t expect them to head to the mercantile first, and that was his big mistake. He was silently praying he was not about to get both of them killed for fucking up like this.

Pressing his back against the wall, he peeked through the office door that opened a crack and peered down. Anxious bile rose in his throat as he counted the number of flashlights he saw moving in the inky darkness. At least a dozen, maybe more, it was hard keeping track of them all as they moved and swung around. He heard hushed voices he didn’t recognize while two or three of them advanced further into the store than the others, who he presumed were focused on shoring up the flanks. That was the scary part - not just any old group of survivors being cautious. They were tactical. Practiced. Christ, were they military?! He hoped not.

Rifle in one hand, Bax reached over and grabbed the front of the shirt of the man beside him. It was dark even up in this second floor balcony, so he couldn’t use hand signals to communicate, but he didn’t dare say a word in case they were heard. They had to get out of here and make a run for it, because who knew what these people would do if they got caught.

Nudging the door open slow as can be with the end of his rifle, Bax opened it just enough for them to slip through onto the balcony. As he stepped out, he tugged the other man along after him so he’d get the hint to follow.

The shotgun blast that rang out was deafening. He hit the floor, dragging the other man down with him as he flattened himself down. What the fuck were they shooting at? Them? He couldn’t tell if anything near them was struck. He wasn’t hit either. He glanced back, trying to see the other man in the darkness, but couldn’t. He reached for the man and found his arm, giving him a tug, silently praying he understood the need to move and move now.

The good news was it was a straight shot along the second floor office balcony to the fire exit. From there, they could get down to the ground and run for it. The building had no power, so the fire exit wouldn’t set off any alarms, either. The bad news was this path would leave them exposed to the armed intruders below while they crossed from office to exit. The balcony’s railing was just metal bars, nothing solid.

It was the only way, though. Either that or they hid up here and hoped they weren’t found - which was stupid. The group would eventually find the stairwell up, and then they’d be cornered. They’d probably get shot before they could even beg - but he was not about to beg, anyways.

Giving the man’s arm another squeeze, Bax first lifted himself to a crouch and stalked his way across the balcony, sticking close to the wall. He held his breath until he couldn’t, exhaling slowly and quietly before drawing in another careful breath. He was almost there. Almost to the exit. Almost free, almost out.

Except, he forgot about the box.

They’d sat it along the railing on their way up earlier - a box full of an assortment of things they’d taken from the supply closet down the hall and didn’t want to forget to take with. In his rush and fear, he’d forgotten all about the damn thing. And now, while creeping closer to the door, his foot smacked against the side of it and its unevenly-packed weight caused the whole damn thing to tumble down the stairs.

It sounded louder than the shotgun.

“Fuck!” Bax hissed, grabbing the man behind him. Cover blown - they had to run. Giving the man a yank, he sprinted the last few paces to the exit door, shoved it open, and barreled outside into the bright daylight.

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[Namazu]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Blasting a mannequin would be a funny tale to tell - tomorrow or the next. Probably. Just not right this second. Right now they were all tense - he could feel it in the air, damn near taste it. He couldn’t blame Johnny for being pissed. It wasn’t actually embarrassing, and the guy did exactly what he needed to do. It was just that nerves were fraying all around them, his included, and they were exhausted.

Fish was on high alert as he left the mannequin on the floor, stepping in line with the others to help sweep the place. Only once they were sure it was clear could they think about looting it. Eyes and ears open, Fish kept his flashlight sweeping back and forth, eyes open for anything dangerous. The dead, the living, traps, environmental hazards, fallen furniture, anything and everything.

So far the store seemed fine. No bodies, fresh or otherwise. A lot of the shelves were picked through, but not all of them - which meant they might get lucky. Some of this stuff looked useful. Food, batteries, toiletries, whatever else they found once they took a second to actually look. Fish passed by a hip-high display of beef jerky sticks wrapped in plastic, palmed the bundle of them, and stuck them in his jacket pocket. Too good to pass up those things.

The sudden racket of something falling startled him - not just because it was an unexpected noise, but because it was coming from ahead of them, on the far side of the store.

A place where none of his club had reached yet. They were still roughly in the middle of the store.

It made him proud how the club worked so well together. Not quite a well-oiled machine yet, but getting there. For a bunch of people that weren’t military (for the most part), they sure knew how to be effective when they needed to be. Nearly a dozen guns aimed themselves towards the source of the sudden noise, something clattering and falling. Was there really someone here? Did one of the dead knock something over in an attempt to get close?

“Eyes up, eyes open -” Fish uttered, voice firm, stopping himself when he saw the sudden flash of sunlight up ahead. It was up higher than he expected, and it took his mind a moment to comprehend this. Then he realized - second floor balcony, and a back exit door. It was open, because someone had just run through it. Someone alive, not dead.

“Fuck,” Fish hissed, then pointed at a handful of members nearest him. “You, get up there and follow whoever the fuck just ran out. Everyone else, out the front and fan out until we know what we’re dealing with and how many.”

Fish yanked the walkie-talkie off his hip and held down the button. This was either going to be a shitfest, or a minor bump in the road, but it was too soon to tell.

“Auguste, Nik, heads up - someone just ran out the back of the mercantile. One or maybe two. I’m sending some guys after them - no idea if hostile or not. We're not alone here.”

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[Namazu]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Lila knew exactly what that look from Birdie meant when Willow was around. Watch her, and don’t let her get in trouble. Willow wasn’t stupid - she just… wasn’t totally suited for this life. Not the way she was, or Billie and Birdie and Ally. Willow was meant for better things than this. Lila tugged the door shut behind them all and locked it, checking the other side to make sure that one was locked also as she huddled low between the two front seats.

Gunfights were terrifying, in how reckless the path of destruction was - but there was something about a lone gunshot, followed by nothing else, that was downright unnerving. That single shotgun blast echoed in her memory, and now her blood felt cold. They had to have killed someone. Who? She hated not knowing what was going on.

Willow’s question made her blink, uncertain how to answer at first. Not really dead, but puppets? Her jaw worked but no sound came out as she searched to find something to say to that. “Uh… No, Willow, don’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure they’re dead. They’re not… puppets.” It felt like a lame and stupid response - and a dismissive one - but what else was there left to say? Sure, let’s go cut their marionette strings and set them free? Nah, she wasn’t going to be playing with whatever delusions Willow was suddenly having.

When the walkie-talkie she had crackled to life with Fish’s voice, warning about them not being alone, she hissed a cuss. They’d seen a whole lot of nobody on the road so far, but the few times they did run into people, it was never good. Sometimes it got bad, but most of the time it was just real tense as folks backed away from each other and ran their separate ways, too afraid to interact for long. She couldn’t blame people any - after this long, anyone still alive certainly had to go through some shit and had no reason to trust easily.

“Willow… get in the back, and keep low. Billie, stay up here with me in case we gotta move in a hurry.”

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[Namazu]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Marc was better at taking orders than some people gave him credit for - Nik included - so when he barked the order to keep sights up, he did exactly that. Every window, doorway, alleyway, rooftop, and balcony was a potential location of a threat, armed or otherwise, and his gaze didn’t linger in one spot longer than necessary as he scanned their surroundings. There wasn’t any other sound from the mercantile, no continued blasting. If all of their guys had been shooting, or there was a gunfight, there’d be a hell of a lot more noise than this.

“Guys, this feels like a setup for a fuckin’ ambush or some shit. I’m finding high ground.” Marc didn’t wait for permission or orders this time, because he knew damn well he was in the right for doing this. Someone had to have eyes up high while they fueled up, and it might as well be him.

Slinging his gun back over his shoulder, Marc slunk over to the firehouse and circled around to the back of it, sticking close to the wall. There was no ladder or way up onto the roof of the firehouse, but there was on the building next to it - a fire escape ladder, still secured to the side of the building. He gave it a testing tug, glanced both ways, then hauled ass up the ladder as fast and as quietly as he could.

The rooftop was empty, devoid of anything other than some bird shit and a rusting metal rectangular contraption from the building HVAC system. He headed for the front of the building that faced the street, crouching low behind the lip of the building’s facade before getting out his weapon again, ready to aim and fire at anything unfamiliar that so much as moved. He was straight across from the building where the bodies had been dragged and laid out intentionally now.

There was a whole lot of nothing up here - but that was the problem. He didn’t hear any birds. Didn’t hear any anything. It felt wrong and it put him on edge. That edgy feeling only made it worse when he saw the form of a person he didn’t recognize from here go sprinting out the backside of the mercantile, running diagonally away from the building.

He raised his rifle, peering down the scope, quickly trying to gauge not only distance but who the fuck that actually was and if he should be shooting. It was nobody he recognized. There was no way to get a clean shot, though - just as soon as he saw the figure, he was gone, ducked behind some other building.

“Ah fuck me.” He muttered, opportunity lost already.

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[AnneThraxx]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Birdie’s knees screamed as she crouched near one of the larger truck tires. Her heart raced in her throat as she sat in silence, waiting for any sort of sign or order. She could hear Willow’s faint questions from inside the cab, with Lila’s hushed response following. She groaned quietly as she slowly stood from her spot, keeping tucked in close to the trailer wall. Out of the corner of her eye, she sensed movement. The slight anxiety eased as she noticed Marc crossing the roof. Smart, she thought to herself. She glanced around the lot. There was barely even a breeze. The stillness was almost sickening. The worry of who had been shot
The far off sound of crashing from the mercantile pulled her attention back. She couldn’t help but believe her gut instinct. They weren’t alone. Maybe this all was a trap after all. Her breathing quickened as her heart pounded, it taking all of her strength to swallow the lump in her throat. She wanted to scream. Why couldn’t shit just be easy for once? She exhaled sharply as she tried to bring herself back down to the reality of the situation.

Without another thought, she quickly darted across the lot towards the fire station, keeping the truck clear in her sights. Her back pressed against the cool metal wall, she slid along towards a large window on the side. Peering into what looked like a small conference room or office, things seemed rather in place. No signs of life or recent activity. Slinking towards a door, she tested the handle. Looking through the window, the door led into the main hall, the trucks seemingly untouched, as if waiting for their next call. She jiggled the handle. Locked. Glancing through the window, she watched carefully. The area looked to have been void of activity for some time, a thick layer of dust seemed to coat most of the room. If things were to go south, and they needed sudden refuge, this seemed to be an okay option.

Fish’s voice over the radio made her jump, she fumbled to turn down the volume. She hissed a curse, quickly darting to the back of the station, out of the sightline of the mercantile. Ducking down beside a dumpster to catch her breath, she reached for the walkie.

“What’s going on in there Fish?”

The lack of knowing what was happening was driving her mad. Had anyone been shot? Did the mystery people fire on them first? As she waited for a response, she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. A figure darting across the road, disappearing behind a building that was only two away from the station. They were close.

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[aggravatedspacedolphins]

QUAPAW, OKALHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Diesel.

Of fucking course, Fish had to be picky and pick a diesel truck. He had forgotten, and heaven forbid that he be the one to ruin Fish’s baby, one of the last things he had left all because he loaded up the wrong bit of fuel.

Diesel. It was more common among the semi trucks that were scattered around the highways, the pickups that were lonely, and maybe the occasional motorcycle, but it felt rarer and rarer to find, especially out here, out West, when most of what they found were diesel trucks already siphoned. He ruled the day when all they could find with Honda Civics and hybrid or electric only cars.

Nik sighed, looking in the direction of the fire station, the trucks gleaming. “They should be stocked. Ready to go in case of any emergencies. That is, if somebody didn’t get to them first. Alright. Let’s go.”

Nik looked back at the mercantile over his shoulder, keeping to the shadows as he slid against the building, and then darted across the street. She slid up to one of the windows, instantly putting his back to it, and pulling his pistol up to his chest. The area was quiet. There was no longer the sound of gunshots, which meant that either they had subdued the problem or…

Fish’s voice bubbled out of the walkie, and Nik swallowed. Someone had escaped. He looked to his right, seeing Birdie testing her own luck with the doors of the fire station. He slunk in the shadows up next to her, frowning, but keeping his head up. All the shadows that lingered at the corner of his eyes were starting to look like people. “No luck?” He mumbled, watching her wiggle the lock. He was feeling tense. He wanted to get out, and if someone had been shot in the mercantile, they didn’t exactly have the best medical resources on the face of the planet, besides a few pain pills and bandages that those fine folks had given them a few weeks back. Another shadow moved, and he twisted his head, just to see the shadow running. Not running towards but running away.

“Shit.”

Nik growled. “Birdie, get that door open. Hope those trucks are full. Auguste! South!”

He was grabbing the walkie again,

“I’m on it, Fish.”

He started to run, out in the open, pursuing the shadow. He wasn’t the fastest in the bunch, but he’d hate that this stranger would be leading all of them into an ambush. He was the damn Sergeant in arms. He was supposed to take this. This was his problem. Security was his issue, and he could practically feel Auguste in the back of his mind, already calling the team together, already booting his ass out of a position that he wasn’t even sure that he deserved. Fuck. If he couldn’t catch one guy…

He started to run in the direction that he saw the shadow, keeping his distance, but keeping his pistol close, and his anxieties closer.

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[aggravatedspacedolphins]

QUAPAW, OKALHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Of course they were dead. Lila gave her a response that she had been so used to in life anymore. Her father used to give her such similar responses when she would ask the most basic of questions, and it would just spark an argument between Nik and him. Her mother would cuddle her then, and tell her that nothing was wrong with her, even though she clearly knew that she didn’t think much in the same way that the others did.

“But what if…what if they are just people like…playing dead? What if they just decided to roll around in red paint for a while? Maybe they found some at the fire station? Maybe we can find some?”

It was a way to cope. A way to bring her out of what she called ‘the shaky shakes’. Whenever the bad memories would crop up again, Nik would always be there to give her some kind of distraction, and the bad things that were causing her ‘shaky shakes’ would disappear. She had tried to start thinking of her own way, in case Nik wasn’t there…and she was starting to feel them again. The bad memories. The pain. The feeling of a gun in her hands. The screams.

The crackle of the radio caused a good enough distraction. She perked her head up, tilting it slightly at Fish’s voice as he said that they were chasing someone.

“Maybe it’s the artist! You know, the one from the highway? The one who gave us that nice greeting, right? They were just leading us here. That’s all, right? A nice Hello, but you know…without the O…maybe those people were supposed to be the O.”

She was mumbling more to herself now, as she did what Lila told her to do, and crawled into the back of the semi truck trailer, and quickly dove to the ground, distracted by whatever had been left on the ground by Lila, Billie, and Auguste.

“Billie! Bill. Bill and Will.” She started to hum a little. There was still the subtle shake of her hand, the awkward twitch of her head, and the glazed look in her eye but it was somewhat settling.

“If there’s other people, why haven’t they come out yet? Or do you think…the painted puppets are the people who were supposed to greet us?” She hummed, as she found a penny between the floorboards and thrusted it into the air.

“I found good luck. Can’t die when we have a penny in our pocket, right?”

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[NanLia]

QUAPAW, OKALHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

The rumble of multiple vehicles in an otherwise stagnant town made Theo’s blood run cold. He’d slipped into the shadows of the office alongside Bax when the engines had cut off, and it was clear whoever had arrived was sticking around. Of course, as his luck would have it, they’d picked this very fucking store to explore first. Why here, though? Not specifically the mercantile, he knew why - it was the only place in town that might have supplies, precisely why they were there too. But why Quapaw?

They’d come here because it was remote, devoid of people altogether, one of many places he and Bax had specifically selected to gather supplies in because there wouldn’t be anyone else… or shouldn’t have been. Had they been set up? Did they want them dead, and why?

He was pulled from his thoughts and gasped his surprise as Bax grabbed his shirt in the darkness, dragging him out of the back office and onto the balcony, looking over the main floor of the mercantile. It was too dark to see anything beyond the few flashlights that flitted around the aisle below, and he could only hear the occasional whisper.

Bax squeezed his arm, the only warning he’d get to follow as the man started across the balcony to the fire exit. Theo waited, only for a second, before following behind him, practically on his heels, as he arrived at the door.

Theo needed no encouragement to fleed down the fire escape as the box of shit Bax had collected tumbled down the metal stairs, making a racket. He stumbled on the first step, sliding on his knees down the metal stairs, but quickly scrambled back to his feet and finished the last set of stairs to the alley behind the mercantile.

He didn’t wait to check on Bax as he dashed down the alley to the street past it, the opposite direction of where this convoy had come from and where they’d left the Piper Super Cub - his plane. The gaudy yellow with red-strip plane never looked any better as he dashed to the flight deck and pulled himself into the seat, hastily flipping on his gauges and getting the engine and blades moving.

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[NanLia]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

Johnny dreaded the knowledge that his fuck up, even if it wasn’t really a fuck up, would be the centre of conversation for days, weeks, to come. He cursed himself inwardly, clamping the stock of his shotgun back closed, fresh bullets ready for action. He stuck close to Fish, despite wanting to branch out and prove himself again; he knew he’d be better off keeping close to the Pres then shooting a second manequin or some other stupid shit that would just shove him lower on the totem pole.

His heart leapt into his throat as a loud clattering came from upstairs, but outside and he winced at the sudden bright light, two shadows dipping out before the door swung shut behind him.

Johnny dashed for the stairs, along with two other prospects, at Fish’s demand, taking them two at a time to reach the top, then barreled down the balcony toward the door.

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[NanLia]

QUAPAW, OKLAHOMA
Quapaw Mercantile​

August kept watch of the streets and rooftops, searching for any sign of others, but he wasn’t convinced there was any. He was proud of how quickly and decisively the prospects and members moved into roles, taking the potential threat seriously. It wouldn’t be any of their first time dealing with some kind of threat, but he was glad at how seriously they all took it.

He followed Nik along the side of the station, watching Birdie’s attempt at the locked door with no luck. He was about ot suggest something when the radio crackle interrupted him and Fish announced they weren’t alone. With no follow-up shots, he’d thought it had been a misfire, or some jumpy prospect shooting at shadows, but it must have been a warning shot…

He was on Nik’s heels as he dashed toward the back alley of the mercantile, “Billie, you and Bridie get into that station, now.” Ally and Marc would have oversight of the area from their perches, and he knew Lila would stand her ground in the truck, keeping herself and Will safe. Whoever was here needed to be caught and subdued; they’d need information about who else was in the area, and what they should expect.

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