Realistic or Modern Lasting Light

[Miaow]

you won't wait
for me when
you're sober

PANDORA

MOOD

Panicked

OUTFIT

Pandora

LOCATION

Nurse's Office - Highschool

INTERACTIONS

Xander

TAGS

Safton Bullyboy Squad

"Two gunshot wounds, one in the shoulder, one to the stomach," Pandora quickly summarised for Mackenzie, cleaning the wound in his abdomen as she spoke.
"The back of the truck was a bloody mess," She told him. She wasn't sure how long he had been bleeding for but he'd certainly lost a lot of fluids, they'd need to give him a transfusion, maybe if someone had universal blood--

Before she could ponder any more, Mackenzie put her thoughts into words. As he sorted the donor out between the group, she began to get the equipment together. Needles, catheters, an IV pole, sterile swabs... As she returned to Harry, Xander had already volunteered himself. In a normal situation, he'd probably have to sign a dozen consent forms, maybe the apocalypse wasn't all bad.
"Alright, take a seat," She told him, cleaning a patch of skin in the nook of his elbow before inserting the needle and catheter. Xander was lucky, she was still a student but needles were one of her strong points, she got the vein first time pretty much every time. She hooked him up so he could donate to Harry, buying them a little more time to work on his wounds.

code by ditto (head empty go bonk)​

 

[NanLia]

Nari Mochizuki​

School - Garden​

Nari smiled to herself seeing the girl’s eyes widen and the faintest of smiles hinted at her lips. Recalled the joys of teaching - it hadn’t been her chosen profession, far from it, but little things like this had always brought joy to her day. Never considered herself maternal; felt she didn’t have the instincts to raise another human and not cause some sort of cataclysmic event.

“Of course!” She was surprised that Minnie felt like she needed to ask, maybe it was just the simple fact that fresh food was so hard t come by but perhaps she’d experienced adults showing their wealth but never actually sharing it with the girls. That thought upset her; that Minie would think that Nari would show her the sweet fruit but decline her having any.

She led the way, stepping between two rows of raised beds and tugging down a branch filled with plump fruits. “I’m no gardener.” She decided to explain, “I leave that to other people, I’m pretty sure I’ll kill the plants if I were left in charge, but I did build the watering system for them to grow.”

Nari pointed above the plants to a series of white PVC tubing that ran along all the beds. “We don’t have a well on site so I’ve rigged up catch basins for rainwater on the roof of this building and a few others nearby. They funnel the rainwater down into a filtration system that then splits; half comes here to feed the garden, and the other goes through a second round of filtration for drinking, cleaning, and bathing.”

She paused, thinking for a second. “In fact, it’s been pretty sunny the past few days which means hot showers are available.” She smirked at Minnie and gave her a sheepish shrug. “If that interests you, we can go collect your sister and get you both cleaned up.” Nari didn’t feel right having left the teenage girl behind to help with whatever was happening with Harry.

Miaow

 

[Safton]

Xander Font​

​

Xander watched the flurry of activity, vaguely bemused, as the prospect of him giving Harry a transfusion was brought up and Pandora flew immediately into action gathering supplies. She looked surprisingly confident and at-home in this setting and under this pressure despite the fact that Xander remembered her candidly mentioning the fact that she hadn't quite finished med school prior to the outbreak.

Not that this altered his trust in her in the slightest, of course. Pandora had never given any of them any reason to doubt her competence in the medical field and besides, it wasn't as if they could afford to be particularly choosy given the situation the world was in. He sat down in the indicated chair alongside Cox, offering up his arm as she ran a swab along the inside of his elbow, the cooling liquid causing the breath to hitch in his throat more than the prick of the needle that followed. He was quite used to needles by this point.

Once Pandora had the line established, Xander made eye contact with her -- waiting until she gave him a nod before lowering his arm to a more natural position and letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "How's it looking?" he murmured to both her and Mackenzie, his eyes settling on the tiled floor.

Miaow
Bullyboy Squad
Togy ​

 

[Bullyboy Squad]

Harry Cox

The blackness wavered, bisected by a line of light that quivered like a mirage. Mesmerising. Then the brightness spread like ink dropped in the water and thrust him back to the surface.

Harry groaned, eyes fluttering open, instantly in the search of a familiar face. His gaze fixed on Pandora. No… Then on MacKenzie. No! Finally his head slipped to the side, body throbbing but the pain suppressed by the drugs they gave him.

"Font-" He rasped out, looking at the tube filled with blood joining them together. Guiding his gaze to the younger male and to Xander's face… There he was. Harry's expression straining with a grimace as he abruptly reached up, thick digits snatching a handful of the other man's shirt, pulling him down again this time with force. To tell him something. Something he had to tell him all along. What the leader should have known from the start.

But the rapid movement, the tension under the skull from the searing need to speak to the man in charge, all that instantly reflected in the fallen man's already questionable state. Body trembling, giving all the signs of oncoming shock. But he'd shove anyone trying to stop him with surprising strength of a desperate man.

He leaned in to speak to Font's ear. "They'll come for us. If you don't go for them." Bitter promise. "We met them before-" His breaths elevated, pulse jumping in his neck with an unsteady knock of his heart. "Before Knox had fallen." He gritted out. "We had to- We had to kill them all or they'd kill us. We didn't know there's more…" That was all he managed before falling back to the bed, dizziness taking over. His eyes rolled back and his heart wobbled before it abruptly stopped.

TEMPLATE © BOKEH

Safton , Miaow ,
Togy​

 

[Bullyboy Squad]

GREG BUSTER

Greg had seen enough. Harry was a goner. It was a shitty situation, since the man was the only one from the old Knox leadership that Buster actually trusted. Now it was just a bunch of average folks and a few right wing cowboys plotting against the current Leader. Not good.

Normally loud on the entrance and exit, the hobbling man silently removed himself from the room before Harry woke up again. He wasn't there to witness Harry's final words. Instead he summarised the situation to Stanley once back up on the roof.

The old man was saddened by the news. He never particularly liked Harry but he respected him as a man of his word. Man of God just like Stanley was.

"Oi, I got something." The big guy said, nudging the sniper.

Stan zeroed in on the vehicle in the distance, swallowing hard. Were those the men who shot Harry? Coming to seek more revenge?

Greg grabbed his radio and hastily pressed the button, watching the lady with two girls strolling the square in front of the school. "Hey, Sweet Cheeks." Whether Nari liked it or not she knew Buster was referring to her.

"The party ain't over. Got some silver Honda winking to me on the East West side, just entering the hood. Looks to me like it's just roaming around but knowing our luck it's gonna knock on the door soon."

TEMPLATE © BOKEH​

NanLia
Miaow

 

[Safton]

Xander Font


​

Xander saw Harry seemingly come to, trying to fight off the sedatives and painkillers as he trashed about on the cot like a stubborn child who'd been put down for a nap. As his eyes fell inevitably on him, Font spoke up. "Hey, calm down. Try to save your strength." It was clear immediately that Harry wasn't hearing his words as he spoke his name and more. For a brief moment Xander thought about reaching out and gently pressing the man back down onto the cot... but something in Cox's eyes stopped him. There was an intensity there that he recognized all too well -- a pit forming in his stomach as he leaned in to meet the man halfway and hear his words.

He frowned, the gears turning in his head as he tried to make sense of Harry's frenzied words: a warning about something, someone. But who? The same group who had shot at them? Ones that had ties to the group from Knox? Xander's heart raced, his head throbbing as he shook his head. "Harry, what, who--" he paused immediately as the man fell back to the pillow, eyes rolling back into his head and his chest still.

"Mack! Pandora!" Xander called out plaintively, shooting up out of his chair with such a hurry that it tumbled over onto the tiled floor with a clatter behind him.

Bullyboy Squad
Miaow
Togy ​

 

[Miaow]

you won't wait
for me when
you're sober

HAEWON

MOOD

panicked

OUTFIT

Haewon and Minnie

LOCATION

nurse's office - highschool / garden - highschool

INTERACTIONS

Harry, Xander, Mack, Nari, Minnie

TAGS

Bullyboy Squad Safton NanLia Togy

Pandora was distracted trying to keep Harry alive, checking his vitals, making sure the blood transfusion was going smoothly... She wasn't exactly focused on what Harry had to say. Haewon, on the other hand, had nothing else to focus on. She tried to keep out of the way but with Harry's voice so raspy, she had to lean in.

"There's someone coming?" She asked, glancing over at Xander. They were meant to be safe here, but this could mean death on day one. Maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe Harry was exagerating or hallucinating in his dying state.
"Xander, there's someone coming?!"

Pandora jumped into action as Xander yelled out, pushing past Haewon to begin CPR, having to mount the cot to get the height she needed. She didn't have time to worry about Harry's warning, her job was to save his life, it was Xander's job to plan for stuff like that. She counted in her head, whispering the numbers softly to keep track of how long she'd been doing it for. She'd do her compressions, stop to press her ear to his mouth to check for breathing, then continued rhythmically pounding on his chest.

"Shit--" Haewon muttered. She wasn't exactly in a fit state to fight, and Minnie definitely wasn't, but she didn't want to depend on these strangers to keep she and her sister safe. She rushed out of the room, quickly scanning the corridor outside. She hadn't seen which way Minnie had gone but she knew Nari had gone with her. At least she wasn't alone, but it's not like she knew Nari. Would she keep her safe?

"Minnie?" She called out, picking a direction and going. She didn't want to panic, she was meant to be the calm and collected one and when she was calm, Minnie was calm. As she rushed through the corridors, occassionally peering through the windows in classroom doors. How could she let her wander off without her?!

She felt relief wash over her as she recognised the distinct, dirty blue overalls of her sister. She pushed through the door as Minnie took a bite of her strawberry, breathless. She opened her mouth to warn Nari of the incoming danger but was interrupted by the crackle of her radio. They already knew.
"What do we do?" She asked Nari, holding her wounded stomach. They had to have plans for things like this, right? A panic room, a battle plan?

code by ditto (head empty go bonk)​

 

[Togy]

Mackenzie Myers

​

He'd be frank: He hadn't held much hope for Harry. The only medical advice Mack had for anyone with two bullet wounds mixed with a delayed response time was for them to forgive anyone who had ever wronged them in their life, because at least then they wouldn't die with any hate in their heart. That hadn't meant he wouldn't try, of course, nothing would ever stop him from doing his job, hopeless as it may have been.

"Font, sit back down and keep up that transfusion," Mack ordered, darting around the bed towards Harry's injured shoulder, "He still has a heartbeat, and that heart needs something to pump."

Blood seeped from the edges of the gauze he'd wrapped around Harry's shoulder, which, needless to say, wasn't good. He'd wrapped the gauze with the same force of a tourniquet, but the bleeding still hadn't stopped. He should have recognized it before-the small side spurts of blood from the open shoulder, the unending blood loss-all pointed to arterial bleeding. But the upper body, especially around the collar, was a mess of arteries. The bullet had gone through, but likely not without fragmenting. Small slivers of metal could've flown off into his body and hit any one of the arteries.

He'd simply gone limp and stopped breathing-but his heart was still beating. Blood loss didn't do that, it killed your heart first then the resulting deoxygenation turns your brain into a vegetable, and the other vital organs cut out soon after. That was a clue-it had to be. He hadn't had time to thoroughly explore the shoulder wound, there had to be something he'd missed.

Ripping off the gauze, a torrent of blood poured out, some spurting directly into his face. The blood pressure, constricted by the bandage, could only build up in the shoulder until he opened the wound back up and the blood shot out like a miniature fire hydrant. The pressure the gauze exerted on the shoulder should have been enough to stop the bleeding of any cut artery in the shoulder by cutting the flow of blood altogether. It had done exactly that, judging by how Harry's arm had gone a slight tinge of purple, but that ruled out an artery in the shoulder being the one that was cut because it couldn't have bled this much under that much pressure. That meant...the neck. Pulling the wound open with a clamp, he dabbed the blood as best he could to see inside. There was a small distortion of flesh to the left, leading towards what should be the Carotid artery's position.

The bullet had fragmented. A piece had curved right and hit his Carotid artery, which carried blood to his brain. He was hemorrhaging fast-his brain was so deoxygenated he'd lost the ability to breathe, because his brain couldn't figure out how. Harry had minutes to live. Three, maybe four. Harry was on death's door. Harry was dead. There was nothing he could do.

...Except...Except maybe...

Rewrapping the shoulder, Mack rushed back to the tray he'd initially brought, grasping a scalpel and forceps before frantically searching for surgical lining. Finding none, he cursed and riffled through the cabinets along the walls of the room, finally finding what he needed and darting back to Harry's side. He had to work around Pandora-he couldn't order her to move because she was quite literally the only thing keeping Harry alive. Without her, he'd suffocate in under a minute.

Breathing calmly, he put the scalpel to where Harry's shoulder met his neck and began an incision. Slowly-it didn't matter how much time he had, if he rushed and cut into another artery in his neck Harry's minutes to live would turn to seconds-he sliced through flesh until he'd reached what he thought was the position of the cut. Grabbing a clamp off the table, he placed it to hold open the incision, allowing him a peak inside. A small sliver of brass, no bigger than a match stick, had punched itself into the artery. It was lodged inside, both a blessing and a curse. It had slowed the blood loss it caused, likely why Harry hadn't bled to death a half hour ago, but it had stopped the blood from coagulating and naturally sealing the wound. Setting aside the scalpel and grabbing the forceps, he delicately grasped the fragment through the flow of blood caused by the punctured artery and gently pulled it out of the wound. Harry's pulse was losing strength, but he couldn't let that affect him. Grasping a needle and the surgical lining, he lowered the instrument into the wound and began sewing the lining into the artery, closing the cut and, hopefully, repairing the flow of blood. It was difficult to do through the seeping blood, but with a steady hand and calm nerves he just managed.

The blood flow had stopped. Mack closed the incision with stitches before covering that with a light layer of gauze.

He'd done everything he could. Now, he could only pray it worked. The blood flow, now uninterrupted, should be able to reoxygenate his brain and kickstart his basic functions like breathing. He wasn't stupid or optimistic-Best case scenario, Harry would fall into a coma. Worst case, the deoxygenation renders him either braindead or kills him.

He waited, watching the man, but Harry didn't breathe of his own volition. He just laid there, unmoving. It hadn't been enough. Mack's face fell into his hands, hissing out a tired "Fuck..."

Slowly, Harry's chest began to rise before falling again. Breath, shallow and weak, blew out of his mouth before being sucked back in and repeating. He was breathing.

"Holy Shit," Mack said, almost laughing from relief. He hadn't actually thought that would work.

Mack gave Pandora a small pat on the back before falling into a chair. "Good job, kid. You were the only thing him alive for a good six minutes there."

Tags: Bullyboy Squad Miaow Safton

 

[NanLia]

Nari Mochizuki​

School - Garden to East Gates​

Nari didn't get a chance to hear Minnie's answer to the prospect of showers when her radio went off. Today had been busy with chatter between the girls, and the scouting group returning in chaos, plus the horde she'd already had to deal with at the fence line. As much as she wanted to curse she raised the radio up and pressed the button. "I'm on it, let me know if they turn this way."

She turned and blinked at Haewon as she pushed through the door and asked what they needed to do. "You do nothing," She said with more authority than she felt. She glanced around the garden staff and spotted Gene. She waved the elderly woman over as she continued with the girls. "You're going to stay here, in the garden, and eat your fill of fruits and veggies. Gene will sit with you, she was the school's head cook in the cafeteria before. You don't have to worry about this - you're safe here."

As much as Nari wanted to wait and reassure the girls further, she needed to make sure their defenses were set up. Ideally and maybe weeks from now, their fence line would be permanently electrified to prevent the living and the dead from getting in without their knowledge but she hadn't had the resources to make that happen and relied heavily on the scavenging group to bring back everything they found She turned and jogged from the cafeteria and into the hall, running as quickly as her oversized steel-toed boots would allow.

At the East exit, she peeked through the window slits at the door, checking the surroundings to make sure no one had already got past the fences before unlocking the door and slipping outside. Thankfully there were few walkers at this side of the building - the earlier commotion having been drawn into the West fences hours before. She made haste to the fence line to uncover the battery banks on this side of the school and grabbed the jumper cables and clamped them to the chain link fence. They sparked and arched, burning the living material touching the metal before settling into a low hum.

She brought the radio back up to her lips. "We're armed." It made sense that they would come to this side of the building - it housed the front entrance to the school and the swing gates where the vehicles could come in and out. And now they just had to wait.

Miaow
Bullyboy Squad
Safton

 

[NanLia]

Dutchess​

On the Road​

Dutchess hissed as the truck heaved over the corpses in the roadway, North heeding no caution to avoid them. She was thankful, now, that she decided to wear the seatbelt, otherwise, she would have been flung into the side door. She cast a quick glance behind her to the bed of the truck where her and North’s bags were settled alongside the traveler they had picked up just minutes before.

“Careful you don’t dump her out to the biters.” She cautioned, though doubted that North was going to take her advice to heart. People were the new currency for the Samaritans and she and North had proven their skills at infiltrating and dismantling communities from within after the Ranch. After Cabrera and his team had arrived, after leaving them for weeks on their own, it was clear that not only did she and Anthony had made a decent team but their skills weren’t being used to their fullest in their previous roles.

Of course, that didn’t stop both of them from returning to what they did best after getting back to the prison. North had returned to his fights -there was a great deal of capital to be made in fighting and in better on North to win. And she’d gone back to scavenging, bringing necessities for their continued survival and contraband for her own pockets. Plus, she needed to check on the few places she’d spotted where she believed there had been human activity. Prior to the ranch, she’d found three other places that had potential. After returning one had collapsed, and now only the dead roamed there, the second still showed activity but she hadn’t been able to pinpoint exactly where they were based but they were at least still active. The third place looked to be a jackpot: a fenced-in high school that was defended actively and over the past couple of days she had witnessed them bringing in truckloads of supplies.

Cabrera had sent them off immediately to infiltrate, giving them the truck (due to the distance) and minimal supplies, they both brought their own personal items and decided to run with the same story: they were siblings on the road for days, scavenging fuel for the truck and food and water where they could find it. Their previous safe place, the Ranch, had been overrun by biters and they were forced to flee, uncertain if any of their friends had made it.

Dutchess had been surprised to hear that the second location (and one she hadn’t spotted) in this same town had recently collapsed. Only hours ago, according to Miyu who now bounced around in the bed of their truck. Apparently, there had been a conflict between the two groups and the noise brought in too many for the hospital to handle and the people there had to flee. Miyu was the only one she and North had spotted, and even the girl had agreed that she didn’t know if anyone else had survived. Dutchess wasn’t sure if she believed the story or not. If it were true then the hospital was on her list of places to scour for resources, and if not? Well, she was just another person for the grindstone at the prison.

“When we get there, let’s be honest about who that girl is.” They’d agreed to help Miyu when she’d been chased out into the street by biters. Dispatching the dead and questioning who she was. They’d played it as though they thought she was setting a trap for unwary travelers - which could have been true. “We’ll tell them we found her and she claims to be with another group of people. Let them decide if they keep her - should help us earn their trust and if she’s right - that there were wounded on both sides, they might be in need of trustworthy bodies to help.”
Miaow
The Cat Man
Bullyboy Squad

code by ditto ​

 

[Safton]

Xander Font


​

Xander obeyed meekly as Mackenzie ordered him back into the chair, on autopilot as he reached blindly behind him to tip the seat back into an upright position before plunging into it heavily as he watched the school's two medics at work. His attention turned as he heard his name being called and he spotted Haewon almost hysterically asking if someone was coming after them, clearly every bit as concerned about Harry's words as Font himself was.

Xander held the young girl's gaze, trying to formulate some kind of reply that would calm her without betraying the fact that he was thoroughly confused and frankly anxious in the face of Harry's revelation. Pandora interrupted his train of thought and he nearly fell on the floor in surprise as she climbed atop the cot to begin CPR. When he looked past her toward Haewon, he saw the girl darting from the room. "Haewon!" he called after her weakly, but she was gone. It wasn't as if he could chase her in his state -- being quite literally connected to Harry -- and given the current situation maybe it was better she not be present for whatever happened next.

Font returned his attention to the medics, resisting the urge to wince as he saw Mackenzie readying a scalpel to cut into Harry's neck. He knew better than to distract either of them by asking what the hell was going on or what Harry's prospects were. Instead, he was left with the agonizing task of watching, waiting for what seemed like hours as the man cut and probed. Finally the Corpsman finished his work and applied the dressing... and there it was.

A literal breath of life.

Xander puffed out his cheeks, sinking back into his chair and letting out his own breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as every muscle in his body seemed to lose all its tension simultaneously. "Great job, you two," Font remarked, knowing the praise likely sounded somewhat hollow to them. He frowned as he heard a distant squawking, glancing down at his belt to his radio. He grabbed it with his free arm, realizing he had turned it down before beginning the transfusion process. Spinning the volume knob back up, he heard Nari's familiar voice confirming that the fence was armed... and there was something in her tone that set him on edge. He held down the transmit button.

"Font here. I didn't catch your last. What's the status on the perimeter?" he asked warily.

Togy
Miaow
Bullyboy Squad
NanLia ​

 

[The Cat Man]

Anthony North

"On the Road"

FINE | CARELESS

Dutchess ( NanLia )| Miyu ( Miaow )
​

"WOOOO! Eat dust, sack of shit!" North carelessly shouts as his joyride claims an unfortunate victim, fully ignoring his rather annoyed partner and their little hitchhiker of sorts, after all, it's not like a little roadkill's gonna ruin everything, and you gotta have some fun! But Anthony has to admit, he's super glad he actually got to drive around outside for once, despite the cage and it's fulfilling adrenaline, a part of him does miss just... Living. Speeding around in his luxury sports car as his hand glided through the wind, feeling the sun just rain down with the eyes of many, catching a simple glance of himself at the windshield, just being on the top of the world...

It's not like North hasn't risen back up though! The fights have been as hyper as ever, much to the prison's liking, he's good at what he does, and not only does it show, but he loves every minute of it. And, well, the fighter does spend his free time with gusto, the big dogs like AND trust him more after the ranch, he finally has his own fucking room, things are definitely looking good. So, yeah, maybe he's a little less responsible this time, but it's because he's pretty much got this, him and Dutchess? They're a team and they work well, no need to prove something, just a matter of doing the damn thing. As a matter of fact, they do have some stuff in common, while not as interactive given their divergent roles, good teammates don't come along often.
...Does that mean full trust? Maybe not so, but maybe there's something to build off of here.

"She'll be fiiiine, don't worry... If someone like that little girl can survive this far, I'm pretty sure she'll get over some tumblin' around." He answered the biker's complaint with a smirk, briefly looking at her, adhering to attention for a bit to give her more space to talk. North was mostly joking, but most survivors he sees are at least weaponized or bulked up in some way... Girl in the back meanwhile looked like a breeze would make her fall over, it's kind of a large stretch from fucked up prisoners to just some random normal girl.

North nodded as his eyes focused on the road, somewhat slowing down to respond more freely. "Seems like the right call to me too, being juuust a bit more trustworthy than others has gotten us far." The good ol' scapegoat ala the Ranch, sloppy but worked like a charm... Honestly though, he isn't sure getting Miyu is a good choice, but having someone to throw under the bus is a solid plan. "Then it's fuck around and find out, yeah?" He asked, though more to himself, frankly speaking, Dutchess plays the social game better in his eyes... But Anthony can play well too: A lie about a younger brother falling from the barn, getting heavily injured and barely getting scotfree as the biters took over thanks to his 'big' sister, complete with bandages and scars... Who knew that getting beaten up on a ring would be useful!

"Child's play to me, we'll be chill, Dutch!" Anthony looked at her, flashing that well known shit eating grin. "Let's just... Y'know, be careful around animals this time around, hide things a bit better, and stuff..." The jerk of a man chuckled... Quickly though, his previous speed resumed, eyes deadset on yet another soon-to-be roadkill.
"OoooooooohOHOHOH! HOLD ON BACK THERE! THIS ONE'S GONNA BE GOOD!"
And the Devil laughed once more.

º º code by ditto º º

 

[Miaow]

you won't wait
for me when
you're sober

MINNIE

MOOD

panicked

OUTFIT

Haewon and Minnie

LOCATION

garden - highschool

INTERACTIONS

Nari, Haewon

TAGS

NanLia

Minnie could see the frustation in Haewon's face as she was told to do nothing. Haewon had no authority or even importance in this new place. The others were much better equipped to protect the group, there was really no reason for her to help... but it still felt wrong to sit idly when she and her sister could be in danger. She didn't want to stay with Gene, she wanted to know what was happening. What if they managed to get in and she was busy eating strawberries upstairs?!

Minnie, on the other hand, was trying to distract herself by talking to Gene. She didn't have to strength to stop someone from breaking in... but Nari said she would be safe with Gene, so all she could do was stay put. She had lots of questions for her. Each time she asked, she was given an answer, and with each answer, she had a new question.
"Did you used to garden before the zombies came?"
"Where did you find all the seeds?"
"Have you thought about getting cows, too? Then you can have cream on the strawberries! I can help look after them..."
Gene was a little overwhelmed by all her questions but answered each one diligently. Minnie hadn't spoken to many people other than Pandora since the apocalypse began, she was full of words she wanted to say.

"Haewon! Do you want one?" She asked, holding a handful of strawberries out to her, "You can have the biggest ones, I've already had some."
Haewon was deep in her own thoughts, simply blocking out Minyoung's rambling to try and listen for any commotion outside of the garden. She only snapped out of it when she was addressed directly, looking from the window and down at her.
"Oh-- Thanks," She told her, taking a few from her hand. It was easier than saying no, and she hadn't had a strawberry in so long... despite the anxiety dampening her appetite, she still wanted to try it. As she took a bite, her eyes wandered to the windows, focusing on spotting any signs of trouble.

code by ditto (head empty go bonk)​

 

[BeyondDandy]

- Flashback -

It all happened so fast that Alante failed to react in time, but instead froze as a cold gun barrel pressed against the back of his head. The hand that held it was steady, no tremble or movement - just stillness. Slowly, Alante moved his head to the left in hopes of making eye contact with his aggressor - the gun barrel moving away from his head, allowing Alante to turn safely. He glanced up at the person behind the trigger, who instructed him to keep his hands on his man. “Who are you?”

—-

It had been about an hour on the road, a solitary scavenging run for Northview. The school had been struggling to find supplies lately, so these runs were becoming crucial for their survival. The community was also short handed so Alante took it upon himself to go out more often and bring back necessities. He unfortunately had to go further and further from the school every time as their surrounding neighborhoods were run dry.

On this particular day, Alante had been pretty fatigued. He hardly slept the night before and didn’t feel like himself. An off day he would tell himself, but it was truly something more than that - he just didn’t know what. As the stillness of his ride kept him mellowed out, a sudden gunshot woke him from this state of mind. He quickly pushed the brakes, hearing the tires screech and slide under him. He turned the car onto park and grabbed the small revolver in the glove compartment, checking for bullets in the cylinder as he glanced through each window looking for what he heard.

The noise came again, another gunshot - this time seemingly closer than the last one. He ducked at the noise, but realized the shots weren’t at him. With caution he removed the keys from the vehicle and tucked the revolver in his coat pocket, exiting the vehicle and stepping on the road quietly. Alante concluded that the gunshot had to come from just ahead. Cautiously he moved closer to the end of the road and started towards the noise, hoping to help whoever was at the other end of this gunshot.

After a short two hundred meter walk, Alante could see a clear body laying in the middle of the road pleading for help. He rushed into a jog, eyes dashing in each direction looking for danger, but none in sight. The woods that covered each side of the road didn’t help Alante get a full scope of the situation, but if he didn’t hurry the guy before him would most definitely die. The closer he got the fuller the scope of the situation. Blood puddled under the man, his abdomen struck by a bullet. “Help me,” the man pleaded. Alante removed his coat hurriedly, putting it over the man’s wound and applying immediate pressure. “It’s alright bro, I got you, I got you,” he assured, looking around and trying to make sense of what happened.

A fallen motorcycle gushed oil right next to the duo - the man under him the rider, given away by the leather vest reading Enforcer. A couple of yards away sat an emptied box truck - providing more about the events that unfolded. Someone must have attacked the biker or conversely to steal the remnants of the truck. Either way, the man was injured and needed administered aid. “What happened out here man?” Alante asked with the main intention of keeping him lucid, but to also get some answers. Before the man could bring himself to speak, a cold gun barrel pressed against the back of Alante’s head. The wielded allowed Alante to turn by putting some distance between him and the gun. Alante turned to see another vest, this one marked Vice President.

“Who are you?”​