Realistic or Modern 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 — at the end of the world

[Bullyboy Squad]

LINCOLN
The Meeting
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Rebels should have known that the smart play was to fall back, disappear underground for a while, wait for a better time to strike. Shit was about to get messy and they were used to playing a long game. Like an occasional driveby, not an open battle.

Not anymore. Not with their fucking leader set to swing. Especially if for some of them, Weston was more than that. But Toni didn’t let that thought get close, he couldn’t afford it now. Not anymore.

“Fuck that,” he muttered, stepping forward. “I say we do small groups and strike all at once. It’ll keep us spread and mobile if shit pops off. They can’t track us all at once, eh? But first, yeah, me and my boys gonna take the armory. I don’t think there’s much riot shit left, most of that stuff they used in the first days of the outbreak. Idiots trying to fight zombie with tear gas.” He scoffed at the memory. “But Black brought new stuff. I’ll see if I can get a list before we raid the place.”

Toni swept the room, scanning people’s faces. He could see doubt in the eyes of some of his soldiers and he didn’t like it. But he knew at the end of the day, it would all be worth it. Every fucking sacrifice. Would be worth it. It had to.

He looked back at Madison, locking gaze with her like it was just them in the room. No place for bullshit, no second thoughts. His upper lip twitched, showing teeth in a sneer-turned-smirk. “Lets take this fucking Kingdom.”

@Tool @Namazu NanLia @kaileaf Miaow ​

 

[Miaow]

THE ROADTRIP
Blackwater Creek Nature Reserve​

Nari's sudden reappearance made the girl jump, as if rejecting her gentle touch. Part of her wanted to yell. If she had wandered into the woods, Nari would be furious. Well, not furious... She'd do that thing where she'd get all sad and tell her how disappointed she was which felt worse than anger. Minnie had never expected to find something worse than the anger of a parent, yet she had. Her body vibrated with rage, though it manifested as the trembling of a chihuahua against Nari's side.
You LEFT me. I could've gotten shot and you weren't even there! A tire popped and you thought that was the perfect time for a pee break?! You could've died! I could've died! We all could've--

She took a breath. She couldn't remember which wise adult had told her, but someone had suggested she needed to break the cycle when her thoughts began to spiral. Take a breath and think of literally anything else. She swallowed the lump in her throat, easing her way out of Nari's grasp, a remarkably restrained response from an angry teen. She felt like if she touched that woman for any longer, she'd cry. She opened the closest passenger door and leaned inside, retrieving the plump ball of fluff that was Momo. She held him firmly to her chest, waiting for the go-ahead to head to the carts... whatever that meant. She secretly hoped for a horse-drawn cart, or an ox-drawn cart would do...

Bullyboy Squad Good_Morels @Crono @Not Meat NanLia
​

 

[NanLia]

LINCOLN
Solitary Cellblock

​

Chole’s body convulsed with a wracking sob, her side leaning against the cold metal cot in the small cell. She didn’t even try to quiet herself, try and conceal the pain and terror she felt. She wasn’t a soldier. She wasn’t a fighter. Fuck, she wasn’t even a prisoner. Just a girl, a bartender and a wanna tattoo artist. She’d known years ago that the deal with the devil would be the end of her and somehow she’d played pretend all this time. That this would never come to pass.

She cried out in surprise as her hair was yanked, craning her head back once more. Pain burned in her neck and shoulders, her hands clawing at the bed to push herself back, toward the fist that held her. Cabrera.

Chole had nothing in her to fight or beg him to stop, those words had died some time ago. Hot tears rolled down her cheek as King’s Right Hand cut back her hair, uttering promises of future violence before leaving her with just the sound of her own sobs.

She willed her mind to drag herself up onto the thin cot, a promise that it would be better there than on the floor. There she could hear voices on the other side of the wall, the one she’d seen Weston in before she’d been tossed into this one.

"I'm no terrorist, Ignacio! I'm trying to save us from a goddamn dictator! I don't regret what I did, I only regret I couldn't tell you sooner - because I did this for you too!"

She didn’t know what Weston had done to deserve a cell like hers but she didn’t doubt she was the cause of it, this entire war had started because of a rumour…

@Bullyboy Squad @Namazu ​

 

[Good_Morels]

FLASHBACK
The Reserve



The group of Samaritans that were still alive were more or less led toward the vehicles as the remainder were dumped unceremoniously in the woods, many with an extra bullet hole to be sure they wouldn’t rise again. The Reserve’s forces divided them into three vehicles, each with an entourage of soldiers to guide them. Wren found himself separated from the teenager who’d attempted to kill him, the kid joining the girls instead while Alvaro and a couple of older rangers led him away. Wren tensed at the tight grip Alvaro kept on his shoulder, studying his face as they walked. He looked older, his brows heavy and eyes hollow from stress, a total stranger whose grip reminded him more of Marx than his friend. At least, he was until he caught Wren staring, at which point he smiled with the same warmth he used to and relaxed his grip.
“Sorry, I’m…” He paused. “I think a part of me is scared you’re going to be taken again. Stupid, isn't it?”
“I don’t think so. I think it’s sweet.” Wren smiled back. It still didn’t feel real, but he was finally home.
The ride back was as bumpy as ever, especially with the slowly degrading tires, but he wasn’t nearly as focused on it as he was on the rising tension in his gut. He cleared his throat, one white-knuckled hand gripping the pole that held up the vehicle’s roof to keep himself steady.
“What exactly did I miss?” He managed after a long moment. Alvaro glanced towards him before looking back at the road ahead. He gave a low, humorless chuckle.
“A lot… It’d be better to sit you down at home to explain it…” He looked nervous for a minute before speaking again. “Pothole.”
The vehicle bounced over it.
One of the other rangers spoke up before Alvaro found the words. “We thought you were dead, there’s a memorial for you. I hope it doesn’t weird you out.” he chuckled. “You meant a lot to us, even while you were gone, you and Al kept us going.”
Alvaro cut him off before he could continue. “I’ll explain everything when you’re settled, it’s… It was a lot. I want you to recover first. You look terrible.”
“It certainly helps when you call me ugly.” Wren retorted, earning a snicker from the ranger and some flustered excuses from Alvaro.
“That’s not- You know that’s not what I meant.”
Wren found his attention stolen by the Reserve itself as it came into view through the trees. He saw the ropes course first, which was now decorated with scrap metal and camouflage walls on the main landing platforms. The fences were topped with crowns of barbed wire with wooden spikes bowing towards the outside. They had apparently worked; the wreckage of a truck decorated the right door of the front gate, one of the spikes poking through the windshield where the driver would have sat. The vehicles paused as the left gate slowly opened to allow them entry. The reserve looked deserted in comparison to how he had left it, paranoid eyes following the vehicle train as they began to park.
The girls were led towards the summer camp cabins while Hughes was led towards the back of the discovery center, whose windows were now barricaded. Wren noticed everything, but he didn’t react, wandering aimlessly behind Alvaro as if he were one of the dead. He paused as he noticed his old cabin had been defaced with a poorly painted red bird, the words “Send them back to hell” painted below it. Al squeezed his wrist.
“We… We really missed you. It was the last straw. You made a lot of good happen, even if you weren’t here. We’re free now.” Alvaro offered, his words soft and cautious.
Wren swallowed hard. Alvaro waited another moment for him to speak, but then continued.
“You don’t have to sleep there, we’ve got empty cabins.”
Somehow, that didn’t calm Wren’s nerves.

Not far off, the rangers guiding the girls began splitting off, leaving them with just two female guards. The two led them to an empty cabin and knocked before opening it. It didn’t look uninhabited, there were clothes folded by the beds and a stuffed bear sitting on one of them. One of them, a soft looking blonde woman, flipped the light on, revealing a couple of charcoal drawings on the walls. The other ranger backed off a bit, still watching the cabin, but leaving them be. The blonde forced a strained smile. “Welcome to Coyote Cabin C, I’m your cabin counselor, Ranger Emily. Sorry about the mess, it’s hard to clear everything out. Time-wise and.. Well, you know. Better than most I’m sure. You’ll be safe here, we aren’t like them. I'll have you bunking together for now, but we can see about getting you three your own bunks after you settle in a little more. ” She paused and looked towards Minnie. “I’m sure this is all super scary and you’re having a lot of emotions, do you know Ranger Walker? He’s the man that came with you. He’s really good at talking about things, but if he can’t help right now, I’ll do my best to fill in. In the meantime, we’ve got some charcoal pencils lying around if you want to write about it, I can even show you how to make your own if you want.”. She then gave a sympathetic look to Nari. “I was an EMT before things went down, I’ll do my best to help. Whatever you need, we’ll do.” she glanced towards Minnie before straightening her posture and clasping her hands together. “I’m sure you guys have a lot of questions, we’ll talk as long as you want to and then see about dinner.”

The rangers leading Hughes continued to a series of empty chain link enclosures that were attached to the discovery center by a glass wall. They didn’t say much as one of them unlocked the enclosure and pushed Hughes inside, locking it behind him. It was only then that the rangers relaxed, as if Hughes were some kind of rabid animal that was now contained. The one that unlocked the enclosure pocketed the keys.
“You should probably make peace with whatever god you have, Alvaro has a No Vermin policy. I don’t think he’s going to listen even if Walker cuts you some slack. Hell probably won’t be much worse than here at least.” He chuckled dryly before turning towards his companions. “I’ve got first watch. Have a good dinner.” He clapped one of them on the back. The rest of the group agreed and dispersed as the key holder made some distance from the cage and turned to watch him.

@Crono NanLia
@Not Meat
Miaow