Futuristic Brain Burger

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

Annie's eyes widen slightly as she looked at him. "H-Hunter..." She said slightly before being slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Hey! Put me down!" She cried out in annoyance as Hunter made his way back to the station with her like that. (I was hoping he was going to shut her up with a kiss but the words are good too... Also good enough to be done?)

 

[Hibiscus]

(If you want to end it now, I was going to be up for a little while longer.)

 

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

(It's fine, we can end it now. xD they can get a kiss later.)

 

[firejay1]

"If we're the only two, then what's Nathan hell-bent on? Cause I don't think it's women." Clay chuckled. (@Soul OMU @DrTrollinski)


-----------------


Unable to help the woman, Belinda watched her stumble out, falling into the hands of two perfectly capable-looking youngsters. She herself didn't feel to great, and after she'd drunk all the water, had laid down again and fallen dead asleep. She hoped the headache would be gone by morning, but wasn't sure.


------------------


After Norman and Tony had left, Ash had skipped himself off down to the range and cheerfully practiced a bit with his two guns.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Christ, I don't know, Clay. Men?" He joked quickly, he chuckled it off and shook his head. "Nah, as much as I love the kid, he's clumsy. He thinks he's the next Albert Einstein." He said quietly. He pauses for a minute and then sits down. "Speakin' of bein' stuff, what sorta' career did you wanna' end up in?" He asked him.


---


"Sure." Nathan replied as he quickly hopped up and sprinted off downstairs; he got a bowl and filled it with some water, followed by getting a dish cloth and sticking it inside. He then ran back upstairs to Tony and placed the bowl down beside her. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"Career? Who thinks about that kind of stuff at my age? Independent, about covers it. Not a social worker is a good place to start, too." Clay joked at Norman. Well, it was half-joke. He really didn't want to become a social worker and he did want to be independent, but he really hadn't thought seriously about any kind of career, yet. He was twelve, that stuff felt WAAAY far away. "What career are you in? You had one, right?"


-------------------------


Tony finished feeding Elizabeth the medicine water, then doused the cloth and placed it on the woman's forehead. It was going to be a sleepless night of replacing the wet cloth, to make sure it was cool. The only other thing they could do at this point was wait, keep feeding her medicine, and checking her temperature regularly. She looked up at Nathan, issuing her last instruction. "You don't have to stay. You can go back to your room, and if you see Ash, tell him that I'm fine, but not to come to Elizabeth's room. Clay will take care of Ash besides that." (@DrTrollinski)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Heh. And I was sayin' Nathan liked men... Jesus, mines bad, but... When I was about your age I wanted to be... A... Dancer, or a singer." He said, going red in embarrassment. A tough redneck who wanted to dance. How quaint. After the laughing was done with he went on. "Didn't work before this, no. After my dad died I flunked school, pretty much. Had to retake. I was just done with college when this started." He stated simply.


---


"Yeah sure. I'm sure Norman will keep an eye on him as well. I'm guessing all three of us will while you're busy." Nathan said with a nod and smile before leaving the room. (@firejay1) 
(@firejay1. For the record, your character skelly for Clayton states that he's twelve, so fix your error right now )

 

[firejay1]

Clay full out chortled. "Yeah, you'd be a great dancer, dude, I can see it now." He bent over and laughed so hard he had a hard time breathing. He shrugged at the next comment. "I never stayed in one school long enough to flunk. Gotta wonder how that's going to show up on my record if I ever go to college. If college still exists once this whole zombie thing blows over. If it blows over." That was a lot of unhappy "if"s right there.


-------------


Tony gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks. That means a lot. I'm trusting you three with him." She muttered something about trusting men to take care of children, then went back to watching Elizabeth. (@DrTrollinski)

 

[DrTrollinski]

Norman stood up and walked to him, shaking his head while grinning. "The world was always full of 'if's', Clay. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to get a song outta' me one time - maybe your birthday. When's your birthday? I promise you I'll sing my damn heart out for ya'." He smirks softly.


---


Nathan walked to the shooting range where Asha was practicing his shooting - he peered inside and instantly flaunted some mannerisms that only Norman would show. The question came with how Nathan acted so much like Norman. Was Norman a role-model, or someone who had now scarred him into being a Norman 2.0? That sort of happens when you have your brother posing as a father for most your life.


"Hey, shooter." He called out to him, giving a gentle smile. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"Don't got no birthday." Clayton said, with a laugh. "Just a found-day." He grinned evilly, "Promise you'll sing California Girls and I'll tell you."


----------


Asha smiled at Nathan. "Hi, Nathan-oniisan! Did you come here to practice, too?" (@DrTrollinski)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Oh, Jesus--.." Norman leaned back slightly and then placed a hand on Clayton's head, ruffling his hair while laughing. "You know what, Clay? As much as you've managed to humiliate me - I think you're the most fun person to hang around with around here any more." He chuckles as he clasps his hands together. "California Girls it is." He says, holding out an open hand to him and offering him a handshake.


---


"Sure did, buddy..." Nathan said, his smile breaking slightly. He wasn't used to people actually being so friendly with him any more - the only friendly people that spoke to him often were Clay, Tony, and now Asha. ".. before I do that, though... can you tell me what Oniisan means?" He asked, scratching his head in slight confusion. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"September 24th." Clay said in choked laughter, shaking Norman's hand firmly. "Dunno Tony and Ash's though, you'd have to ask them yourself. What about you?"


-----------


Ash giggled, as if it was a great secret, and said, "Older brother. You're my oniisan, and Tony's my oneesan. Clay is just Clay. What are you going to do now?" He asked in some curiosity.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"My birthday? Been and gone, kiddo. It was... a month before Nathan's - He was born a few days after my twelfth birthday - June thirteenth." He said, gripping his hand and pulling it into more of a 'bro-handshake' for a moment, his muscled slightly tensed. "I'll get their birthdays, I'll tell ya' that. I've been keepin' track of the days, pal." He released his hand and chuckled to himself, looking out of the window for a moment. "There's a whole damn world of ass-kickin' to be done by us in the meantime, Clay. I ain't seen you properly use that rifle yet - next run you and I do, you're up on the front line with me, eh?" He offered, grinning and exposing his teeth for a short moment, winking at him.


---


Nathan said nothing at first. The words 'older brother' played over in his head - he bit his bottom lip harshly and held back the tears. It meant more to him then little Asha could have imagined. Nathan walked over to the shooting booth beside him and quickly wiped his eyes, smiling down at Asha.


".. so I'm your oniisan--.. how do you say 'younger brother' in Japanese?" He asked as he pulled out his silenced Beretta pistol from his pants and flicked the safety off, setting it down on the shelf for a moment while continuing to look down at him, waiting for a response to his question. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"You been drawing lines on the wall or something? Tony used to cross the days off an old calendar we found in the tree house we lived in. Sure. Even if you saw me using my rifle, you ain't seen nothing yet." He joked, having somewhat picked up the man's accent over the past few days.


---------


Ash looked at him and laughed as if he'd just said something extremely preposterous. "You don't put add otouto to my name. It doesn't go there." He chuckled to himself again. "You're the oniisan, I'm the otouto." (@DrTrollinski)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Heh. Nah. All in the head, bro." He taps the side of his head with his right-hand index finger. He smiles at the boy's mannerisms and slight change of accent; he's happy to be around someone who was much more like him - crazy, appreciated humour, and was all for a good fight now and again. "And I'm sure I ain't seen nothin' yet, Junior." He joked in return, judging his shoulder briefly. "Good work talkin' to those people earlier as well. Really, well done." He praised with a smile - deep down, Norman knew that he was probably Clay's most suitable father figure he'd ever had. The resemblance between their personalities were quite literally uncanny.


He may have said he didn't need a father figure right now, but Norman thought that they both knew deep down inside that that's already how it was, and it was only going to get more obvious when Clay started undergoing the changes that every pre-teenage boy hits at some point in their life. He appreciated the connection he'd got with Clay over the time he'd been here - not only did he look to him as a best friend, but also as a 'son-figure', if that was even a thing.


----


"Oh... okay then, little dude. You got it. So--.. if I'm oniisan, Tony's oneesan, Clay's just Clay, and you're--.." He thought for a moment. "Otouto... What does that make Norman? Got somethin' for him yet? He a 'oniisan', too?" He asked, firing a shot off at the target at the bottom of the range. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

Ash went on laughing to himself. "Nooooo. He's an ojiisan." He put his finger to his lips. "Shhh, it's a secret."


--------


"Thanks man, pretty impressed with myself, too." Clay said with a grin. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Ojiisan?" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "What's that mean? I can keep it secret, I promise." He said quietly, firing off a few more silenced rounds at the target. He looked down at Asha and watched him shooting for a moment. Was he locking his elbows?


---


"Eh, you should be impressed with yourself. Let's think--.. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow..." He muttered as he hobbled over to the desk and dropped himself down into the seat, rubbing the back of his head with both hands. "Tomorrow... we... are going to--.. We're going to build fences." He said as he spun his chair off towards the window, pointing out of it. "Main street leading down will be blocked off past the first buildings on either side - those buildings will be helpful. To the east and west of our positions, we're gonna' have the same sort of thing, but it won't matter too much seein' as they'll stop after the same buildings. I was thinkin' we have our door for cars and shit to the east of us right now, that way people ain't gonna' come chargin' through the front fence that separates us from the rest of the city." He said to him, nodding to himself after.


"Conner dropped some barbed wire earlier on when I went to save his ass. We need to get that and more wooden panels, and all that - you can help me out there - we'll load 'em all into the movin' truck and we can get 'em back, lickedy-split." He said matter-of-factly, turning to look at Clay again. "Sound like a plan?" (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"Yeah, man. Now I'ma head to bed. See you tomorrow." He stood and returned to the room, eventually finding Tony with Elizabeth and getting the full story. Assuming Nathan was taking care of Ash, he went back to their room and headed to bed.


-------------


Asha put his guns away then tugged Nathan into crouching position, before whispering into his ear. "Old man." He grinned. "You promised."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Yeah... for sure, Clay--.. see you in the mornin' - sleep well and all that." He said to him, taking a deep breath and smiling as he stood up and carefully waddled out of the room; he made his way down to the kitchen and placed himself down on the table, taking a soft sigh.


---


"I did promise. The secret's safe, don't worry." He said to him, shaking his hand for a moment thereafter. "He is a bit of an old man, though... you're very good at tellin' the truth, bro. I'll tell you that." He smiles at him. ".. it's startin' to get late--.. you hungry? We can go to the kitchen and get somethin' to eat before bed, if you want." He offered him. "Or maybe just a drink, up to you." He smiled. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"Yeah! Let's go taberu, and then we have to go back to Tony and Clay." He giggled. "Like otousan and okaasan they shinpaisuru." (taberu = eat, otousan = father, okaasan = mother, shinpaisuru = worry)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Tony's busy right now lookin' after Elizabeth because she's very sick--.. She asked me to come and look after you for now." He said as he took hold of his hand and fully stood up, leading him off towards the door. "It's okay, though. Tony will come and see you later, okay?" He muttered as he walked him out of the room and up the stairs - he took him into the kitchen, but stopped at the doorway as he saw Norman sitting there. Norman took a glance at them both and saw how their hands were linked. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity and then smiled.


"Good evening..." He said to them both, Nathan simply ignored him and walked Asha over to the table, allowing him to sit down on the opposite side.


"What kinda' food do you want, Ash? You won't wanna' eat anythin' too sweet, or you ain't gonna' be able to sleep." He stated simply while opening up the cupboards and inspecting some of the stuff that had been placed inside. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

Ash looked up at Nathan with complete faith, as he took his hand and they went off to the kitchen together. "Tony says when it's nighttime, I should only eat sandwiches and salad." He said, as he sat down "But she says that's only when we have it. Hi Norman."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Hey, kiddo. Been practicin' shootin' with Nathan, eh?" He asked him. Nathan dug through the cupboards and pulled out everything he needed for the base part of a sandwich, he then turned to the fridge where he didn't find much else - there was some canned ham that had stayed fresh as it had only been recently opened - he sliced some of it on the kitchen counter, drained it off, and then threw that onto the bread - he created a sandwich with no problem, and he didn't hesitate on the size he made it either - he wanted to make Asha even happier, so he made sure he topped up the sandwich with as much as he could without overfeeding him; he also took a small carton of milk that had a rip-open tab at the top of it - it was the right size for children, commonly the sort of thing you'd see at snack time in kindergarten classes or something. He turned back to the table while their conversation is on-going and then sets a plate with a diagonally cut ham-salad sandwich on it alongside the carton of milk in front of Asha, smiling down at him. (@firejay1)

 

[firejay1]

"Uh-huh." Ash nodded at Norman, before beginning to eat his dinner. When he finished, he thanked Nathan and put his plate in the sink, like he'd been taught to do at home, like life was normal. Then, he grabbed Nathan's hand, and walked to his and Clay's room, apparently having decided that Nathan was the surrogate Tony for now. He was tucked in and put to bed, until morning. (my cue to sleep, night, sweetie)

 

[DrTrollinski]

(Alright. There's something else I planned so I'll summarize it here.)


Nathan would have quietly told Asha a bedtime story after tucking him in - it was probably his first one in quite a while; Nathan hoped that it would have got him to sleep easier. (@firejay1) The mattresses on the floor were also slightly more apart from each other now - so all three of the children sharing the room had some space and wouldn't get too hot by being sandwiched together - Asha's mattress was in the center. 
Time-Skip - Following Morning - August 31st, 2015.


((This will give everyone a chance to RP their characters' arrival, if needed.))


It was Monday, August 31st. Everyone had actually got a decent night sleep, but Tony had most likely had the worst night as she had been tending to Elizabeth for most the night as she was ill with an unknown ailment. The night and following morning had turned a bitter cold, so once everyone was wrapped up, the following morning gave them the feeling of 'I just want to stay in bed'. Norman woke up his usual time and hobbled along to all the rooms, checking in on everyone. First he went to check on Elizabeth, who Tony had presumably managed to stabilize her after working late into the night. Seeing as she would have got to her bed fairly late, the most unlikely person to be waking up would be her. Hell, she'd be lucky if she didn't go down with the same illness.


After checking in on Elizabeth he quietly checked in on Clay, Asha, and Tony. He looked at Asha for a moment and saw how he was sprawled out but also tucked in nicely - he was aware that Nathan had done this, and had also told him a bedtime story. With that he gently closed the door and wandered down to Nathan's room, checking in there followed by checking on everyone else in the building. Once again, as soon as he saw that everyone was safe he went back to the kitchen and took a seat. The most likely person to wake up next would be Asha - he didn't use the bathroom before he went to sleep, and drinking that carton of milk probably didn't help that factor overnight. It was all a matter of waiting now - they had a lot of work to get done today.