Realistic or Modern &nbsp; Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

Hyped_Taco

Mentioned:

The Mad Queen

Located: Kitchen but now at the back porch

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[div class="Line"] [div class="Icon"] Actions[/div] Colt responded with if he slept well and he gave a nod before she answered his words on him leaving with the streamer Jenna and Brian..the uhhh assassin’s creed guy? He raised a brow and thought about it until he realized there was probably no point in caring about it. “Ya don’t worry, besides I gotta come back for you don’t I?” He gave a sweet smile. “And ya I’ll let you know what we find, we may need to take the time to find radio’s I think they will come in handy on future supply runs.” Marcus made his way over to the kitchen with her where he just watched as her mission to cook some eggs failed miserably, he reached out a hand to her but it was too late seeing as how Leli walked in to help in the nick of time.

He smiled that the medic was helpful…man, she was probably the most useful person in this place. Just then the male frowned at seeing Michael come in and lay his hand on Colt’s shoulder, he walked over and removed it but squeezed his hand as he threatened him bending his hand back a bit painfully. “Hey buddy, touch her again and you won’t have any fat fingers to steal little girls food with, capeesh? Glad we have an understanding.” He finished with before letting go. Marcus then sat down and watched as Leli cooked, she then came over to each person handing out food him being the last with a whisper to the side. “Oh, ya sure. But yea I’m already worried.” He said jokingly with a slight chuckle. He grabbed the plate she handed to him and walked with her to the back porch area.

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Rumble Fish · Apr 29, 2019

Colt was mentally singing Leliana’s praises at this point for this rag. It did nothing to stop the shakes and sweating but it was a huge help in stopping the nausea. She didn’t even try to deny it when the woman had given her the rag, not having the emotional or mental strength to do so. She really needed a drink. And soon! It was an effort to not fall asleep on the spot. When she sat down, Colt took her cap off, for the first time in a few days and her hair flopped down over her eyes. It had been a while since she had maintained her hair so it fell in front of her face like a horse’s forlock. The woman was facing away from the others in thought. She was not happy with the idea of Marcus, Jenna and Brian leaving the Lodge. It was such a huge risk and had the potential to go terribly. But she knew she would not be able to talk Marcus out of doing it. She only hoped she would do as she said and not stay out longer than she had told him. If Luca came back and they were missing alongside Rogue… Okay, that did it, where was that flask?

Before Colt could even think about standing up, she felt a hand suddenly grab her sore shoulder, sending a wave of pain down her arm and back. Colt jumped violently as if a firework had gone off in the kitchen and made a noise that could only be described between a gasp and yell and grabbed her combat knife. Before she could swing it, she suddenly felt the hand be removed and she turned to see Marcus speaking to Michael in a defensive tone, warning him not to touch her again. The veteran was a little surprised by his reaction. Did he know that she had that problem with being surprised? She blinked a few times as Marcus sat down to eat.

“Thanks.” She sighed, still shaky before turning to Michael. He had asked her if there was anything she needed. The woman frowned with a hum as she looked at him. “Hmm… Okay, ya wanna help, city-boah?” She got up, still shaking like a leaf before briefly going to the living room and grabbing her Glock. There was no way he was going to use her Colt .45. Nobody got to use that one. She handed it to the man.

“Git out there and check out the perimeter of this here clearin'. Go into them woods and look good. Ya see somethin’ ya come back ‘ere and tell me. Don’t be a dummy and look for trouble. I don’ care whatchu see, human, Thing or animal. Git. Back. ‘Ere. Y'hear me?” She told him firmly, looking him right in the eye. This was indeed a test in if he really could pull his shit together long enough to be effective to the group. If he wanted to be useful so bad, he had to prove that he could be.

After speaking to the man, Colt sat back down as Leliana had put eggs in front of her. Colt’s stomach flipped. She honestly did not want to eat, she felt so grim that it was almost inevitable that she was not going to keep this down. But she had to at least try. She ate a few forkfuls of the eggs and for a moment, everything seemed to be okay. But after a few minutes, her stomach roiled which caused Colt to jump out of her seat. She could not excuse herself as it was important to keep her mouth closed for the next ten seconds as she ran up the stairs, into the bathroom and vomited up the eggs and the little she had eaten the day before. Colt spat up the last of it and sat against the cold tile walls of the bathroom, staring up at the ceiling. This was torture! Her head was pounding (not from the injury thankfully) and she could feel her heart racing like a mouse’s. Everything felt like it was spinning. She felt dizzy and sick. With a groan, Colt got up and headed back downstairs, barely able to keep her balance as she walked down the steps. She had to lie down in the next few moments or she was going to pass out, she just felt it. Colt collapsed on the sofa on her back, kicking her prosthetic off as she did so. She didn’t care. The world stopped spinning but nausea and shaking remained. Colt breathed harshly through her nose. She had to get this under control.

“Just… Just a few minutes.” She panted to nobody, mostly trying to reassure herself. This was not working. But it was this or Marcus loses his legs. But how was she supposed to effectively lead this group if she could not even stand up at this point? She hated to say this but, "Can someone fill and pass my flask please? Before I fuckin' die? Please?!" She sighed angrily, furious with herself.

Interaction:

Soma Schicksal (Marcus)

Hyped_Taco (Michael)
Mentions:

The Mad Queen (Jenna)

BloodLightning27 (Brian)

FireMaiden (Leliana)

Brax · Apr 29, 2019

Hearing a voice undoubtedly intended to capture the man’s attention, Luca turned his head back to the source. Light hues fixated on Jonas’ face shortly after. He had a few inches on the boy, but it was more than likely that one day Jonas would be taller than himself. At the same age, Luca wasn’t anywhere near the same height. The Italian had noticed the gesture that Jonas had made regarding the items in his bag and had not given him an answer. When he approached Luca the second time, he had done so with the intention of addressing him personally. The bored expression on the man’s face did not give way. A cigarette rest between his lips, burning away slowly as the kid asked where it was they were headed.

“We’re going to the hospital in hopes of finding somebody important to Andy, then we are going home. Is this stop necessary?”

Luca had understood the purpose of Jonas’ inquisition, but he was unsure how conditions were outside. He was curious as to where the kid would need to stop off beforehand, but if he was asking about it given his current circumstance, it was completely plausible that it was a necessary stop. Before the boy could properly answer, the group was already making its way outside. The man’s digits wrapped themselves around the strap of his rifle and turned it so that the gun was resting against his abdomen. Then he looked over to Jonas and nodded toward the door, indicating that the young man should step through first.

Warren and Tre were closer to the front, with Andy. Luca walked at the end of the pack, palms grasping both grips to his firearm as the troop continued forward. A majority of the snow had melted, making their travels far less perilous than the previous day. The group remained unbothered throughout a majority of their trip but there had been no mentions of stopping along the way. Luca had expected Jonas to speak up and ask once more, but that point never came. Perhaps he figured that it was better to ask when the group was headed out after their hospital stop.

The closer they got to the hospital, the more likely it was that zombies would be traversing around their vicinity. As they continued walking, Luca absentmindedly turned his head to the right to see a group of zombies feasting on a dead body down an alleyway a few streets over. They were too far to notice the group but the imagery reminded Luca why it was important that they had gathered as many people as possible. Human beings were needy, in nature. They required the existence of others to flourish regardless of the circumstances. Before the outbreak, the same very well stood true. Luca needed other humans to help him perceive the world he lived in as a young boy. He needed them to get into positions of power. The more people that worked under him as a capo, the stronger he was.

When it came down to it, war was always about the numbers. One hundred of the greatest fighters could never take down a thousand average ones. At the current rate of existence, zombies would soon far outnumber the living. In Aurora this was already the case. Given that large numbers of humans were societal and cliquey, it was only natural that the humans still left alive generated societies under individualized banners. Luca’s main priority was obtaining as many bodies as he could. Which meant that the group, upon getting back, would have to figure out a way to house and feed more people as well. This wasn’t an issue as much as getting home in one piece was. At least not currently.

Andy had stopped walking as they got closer to the hospital. Tre had mimicked her movements as well, his grip tight around his machete. Luca continued walking, turning sideways to slip between the two and continue forward to the front door. He didn’t care how many zombies were alive inside. It didn’t matter how many people were held up in there if Owen wasn't alive.

Luca would slaughter them all.

Interaction:

King Vioogra / Mentions:

TheTreForce

shadowz1995 · Apr 29, 2019

October 20th, 2019

Dawn

Freeman Medical Center

Owen had been stuck in his fair amount of tight situations. Being the only guy bringing a bat to a gunfight tended to do that to a guy. Even still, he had never been stuck between an old man, a brick wall and a lumbering fat zombie that smelled like death. Next time someone used “stuck between a rock and a hard place,” this would be the situation he was reminded of.

What was absolutely crazy to Owen, was how calm this man was. Sure, he had a deathgrip on his jaw, but even though the fat waddling corpse neared them, he didn’t flinch. Why in the world weren’t they doing something about it? Anything would be better than just waiting for him to come and eat them. Against his better judgement, Owen decided to trust the man. He had survived in the hospital same as him, and by the looks of things wasn’t one to just willingly throw his life away.

He would feel better knowing what was going on, especially since the masked man was now shoving him even further into the wall. In doing so, the doctor was also shoving himself further into Owen. To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement. Maybe it would be less so if his companion was a cute girl, but it couldn’t be helped. Even if they were able to make enough room for this walking ball of lard to get past them, wouldn’t he smell them? Hadn’t he already? Owen’s knowledge on the monsters was limited, other than how to kill them. All he could do was hope the doctor knew what he was doing.

The colossal, sludge leaking creature was mere steps away. He couldn't be more than 5 steps away. Yet, the doctor remained perfectly still. His breath was practically non existent from how shallow it was. Not a single sound could be risked…. Especially not in this proximity.

A wet slap of naked flesh meeting the waxed hospital floor. 4 steps left.

Hector swallowed the lump that was starting to form in his throat.

Another step. The monster's shadow loomed over the two survivors. 3 steps.

Hector closed his eyes and held his breath and hoped the boy would do the same.

Two steps away.

The doctor's brow furrowed in an effort to not turn and start sprinting in another direction. Any direction that didnt bring him face to face with this thing. Instinct was telling him that facing the horde would be easier to survive than fighting this thing.

One step away.

Right on top of them. A low groan emitted from the giant as he continued his search. His great size meant he knocked over things all the time on his little walks throughout the hospital….

At least, that what Hector hoped when the fat dober jostled him by walking through the pack on his back filled with the supplies he had collected. Medicine bottles rattled inside and the doctor had to bite his tongue to keep from recoiling away from the beast. Especially when it was directly behind him.

The big zombie paused for a moment and turned his head in their direction. It was seemingly curious as to what caused the sound. Panic was never something Hector allowed himself to feel and this was no exception. Fear on the other hand, was still a very real emotion he understood. He never acted upon it but never in his life did the emotion known as fear dominate his mind as it did now.

The thundering of his heartbeat echoed in his ear and was practically deafening. Dwarfed only by the putrid scent of the fat bastard behind him.

The Walker lingered behind them. Simply staring to his immediately left where the men stood pressed against the wall, motionless. Every second that ticked by felt like minutes counting down on the clock of their lives.

If it wasn’t for the pressure of the doctor’s body against his own, the red head would have fled long ago. The pure steel of his nerves was admirable at minimum. Even when the thing was inches away from them, the two stayed as still as humanly possible, holding their breath. Even without inhaling, it didn’t stop the inside of Owen’s nostrils from burning just from the raw stench of decay coming off the monster.

The fear in both their eyes was obvious, but they stood their ground, silent and steady. Owen was surprised the sound of their hearts pounding wasn’t enough to alert the monster. The pair of survivors were close enough together he could practically feel the strength of each heart beat.

Several minutes had gone by and the sounds of the horde were closer than ever. Right around the corner it sounded like. Owen and Hector were about to be pincered but luckily, the sounds of fellow muertos attracted the big man's attention enough to continue his advance.

It would seem luck was on their side. At least for now. Each waddling step took him further past them, fat rolls jiggling with every step, and soon he was on their other side and the way to the entrance was clear.

Owen held his breath for several more moments to be safe, both from the smell and from being caught. When he was sure the monster was far enough away, he let out a long exhale and gently nudged his companion off of him in a silent command.

‘Let’s go.’

The doctor's eyes cautiously watched the zombie for any signs of alert but found none. Reluctantly, the older man nodded silently and pushed himself off the red head. He gestured down the hall to continue going in a straight line and then gestured downwards, ‘Straight ahead. Stay low.’

They stealthily slinked down the hallway, avoiding any further potential conflict. No matter how easy the kill was. It was not worth potentially attracting big bubba down the hallway and the rest of the zombified hospital.

Eventually, they reached the damn promised lands. The exit.

The Mad Queen · Apr 29, 2019

Doctor Ralph Fisher

Everything seemed fine, at least on the surface but at this point Ralph was just grateful that Milly hadn't seen him wielding the gun. Everyone else just seemed to go about their morning business, but the doctor was caught off guard when Milly compared an ostrich egg to Michael's head. He tried to hold in a laugh and failed in spectacular fashion, snorting before covering his mouth and trying to collect himself at the young one's statement.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat, watching as Michael moved towards Colt "I really wouldn't do th..."
It was too late, the large man had rested a hand on her shoulder. Fisher internally gulped, half-expecting Colt to suplex the man or something but instead she gave him a task, watching the perimeter while Milly ran out of the room, upset.

Part of him wanted to run after her, but he simply sighed to himself and admitted that he would probably make things worse. Even if she'd bonded with a few of the group members, they were all just strangers to her and that was something to be feared. Instead, he locked eyes with Michael as the plate of scrambled eggs lay in front of him, and slowly shook his head.

With one, slow moving hand he reached for the plate, all the while never breaking his gaze and picked it up.
"I'll bring it to her." He said, His daggers for eyes were gone, replaced with the warm smile he wore all too often "You didn't have to snap. She's just a kid, you know." He told Michael

Turning out of the kitchen, with the plate in hand he left to find Milly. There was little doubt in his mind that she wanted to be alone, but she had to eat something.

Hyped_Taco

TheTreForce · Apr 30, 2019

Warren was brought out from his slumber much earlier than he intended. His body still rested in the reclined chair, the remainder of his beer cans littered the desk; a few lay on their side with drops of their contents fallen from the lip of the container onto the desk. He took his feet off of the desk and sat up with a heavy groan. The others were already up and getting ready to head out to the hospital. Why the hell am I caught up in this bullshit? Warren got up from his throne and strapped his equipment on. His belongings were already set to go whenever it was time to. No one really talked to each other much and it wasn't long before they were all out the door.

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Some time had passed since the group left the pharmacy and they were getting close as far as Warren knew. He had seen the large building before when him and Tre were wandering the streets. Somehow Warren had ended up at the front of the pack, against his better judgement of allowing these people he didn't know to trail behind him. In another sense it made him feel empowered though, like he was the one calling the shots even though the hospital was not his call... It was a stupid idea and Warren felt stuck helping these people because Tre knew one of them. He remained silent through his frustrated thoughts though.

The sun rose gradually and what was left of the snow was of no hindrance to them. The zombie's numbers grew as they neared Aurora City Hospital. Small groups of maybe three to six of them could be seen down the streets as the company passed. Warren didn't fear them. Their rotting bodies provided little resistance to his power and he had a lot of experience now at dispatching them. The crowbar provided excellent fun and innovative ways to uniquely end their pitiful lives. He made a sport out of it when he could; it was probably the only form of entertainment left in this wretched city. Tre knew pretty well at this point how much Warren enjoyed his zombie kills and his beer. The two activities were actually exercised simultaneously most of the time, if he could get a hold of some cold ones. The alcohol was a surprisingly new development though, contrary to what it seemed. He indulged in the drink only after all the shit went down and he had nothing better to do. The only thing that rested on his mind every day now, was survival. No matter what it cost.

The time came when they reached a door that led into the confines of the hospital. Everyone halted and lingered for a moment as they took the situation in and prepared for what was inside. Warren scanned their surroundings briefly, no zombies close enough to notice them. Luca pressed through them to the front, right up to the door and Warren pulled out his trusty crowbar.

"Alright, let's fuck some shit up." He stepped up next to Luca.

Brax

Maj · Apr 30, 2019

Bethany woke from her makeshift sleeping arrangements on Leliana’s floor. The blankets she had been tossed cushioned the hard wooden floors enough to fall asleep, and after days without rest it might as well have been a feather mattress.

The night had gone by slowly as she did her best to stay awake. It appeared that the group had lost someone prior to her arrival, and Bethany was determined to help shield the young girl from it as much as possible. That meant the pair had stayed up and played battleships in the kitchen until the wake was over. Bethany often moved her pieces to where the girl called her shots, just to make sure she won most of the rounds. The way it lit up the child’s face was reward enough.

It was the commotion that woke her, the angry southern lady shouting something from downstairs followed by the child’s cry. Still dressed in the same clothes Leli had given her the day before, she made her way down the stairs with haste. It seemed like all was actually okay, just a sudden outburst from Colt and Michael putting his foot in his mouth again, this time at the result of causing emotional distress to the small human. She chose not to chastise him, as it appeared more than a fair share of the group had already done so, and the less words she could mince with the fat idiot the better.

“Well good morning!” Beth greeted the child warmly as a way of distraction. “How is my battleships champion this morning?” In her experience with kids, it was better to distract than it was to console in many cases. She ruffled Milly’s hair and flashed her a large smile. After gently touching the girl in the nose she made her way into the kitchen to join Leliana who had taken over Colt’s poor excuse at making eggs.

“How can I help Lels? You shouldn’t have to feed an army by yourself.” Beth didn’t give the girl a chance to object, but instead jumped right into begin helping her prep food for the group. Even if all she was able to do was help do dishes she planned on pulling her weight. Food supplies were low at best, hopefully the group Leli had spoke of was out collecting edible items to restock the kitchen.

Rumble Fish (Milly and Colt)

FireMaiden (Leli)

Hyped_Taco (Michael)

Soma Schicksal

Maj · May 1, 2019

The following Post is a collab between

shadowz1995 and

Maj

Hector pulled his pack around and pulled the necessary key to open the door without setting off the door alarm. The door creaked slightly as the Venezuelan opened it slowly and held it open for the younger lad to get past.

Considering the air they had been subjected to breathe moments ago, not to mention the stench of rotting death the entire hospital had, fresh air tasted like cotton candy. Even through a gas mask.

Still, this did not mean they could rest. Not yet. Not until they were clear. Hector gestured straight ahead and it wasn't until they were a comfortable distance from the hospital that he finally spoke, “Whatever you were looking for in there, I hope you found it. Because I would advise to never enter that place again.” He stated cooly. His heavy accent and voice muffled by the mask.

The first thing he realized upon exiting the hospital was that he wasn’t entirely sure how long he had been in the hospital, because the sunshine that was starting to break through the clouds was unexpected. The second thing he realized was that Sarah’s bike was there without her on it. Panic surged as he jogged up to the bike only to find her canteen and a note. His eyes scanned it before wadding it up and angrily throwing it away.

What in the world was she thinking? There was no way in or out of this city right now, getting to her parents was stupid. But she was right about one thing, he couldn’t go looking for her. They had narrowly escaped death enough times as it was and certain things had been put in perspective. Like how he had nearly left Andy alone, and if it wasn’t for this scary man in front of him he wouldn’t have. He had to put faith that his cousin would survive without him.

“My cousin needed to get inside so I offered to help her. She made it out before me. I hope she got what she needed as well. She was supposed to be our getaway driver, but I guess she moved on. I hope she’s okay.” He had to believe she was. Sarah had survived the apocalypse by herself for days before Owen had happened upon her. If all he had been able to do was help her get medication before she tried to make it back to her family, then maybe that was enough.

“What about you? You’ve just been in there this whole time? You obviously know your way around.”

The large man shook his head and gazed towards the hospital they barely escaped from. “Few hours. I worked in there occasionally.” It seemed like now that they had a chance to speak, introductions were in order. The doctor pulled his hood down and loosened the mask enough to pull off his head. A long sigh came with the relief of the mask coming off. Fog from his heated breath rising past the two males. Hector was supporting some facial growth, stubble, and it was abundantly clear he had a few decades on Owen. Graying hair, wrinkles around the eyes that showed age and wisdom, shadows underneath his eyes, and an uncaring grey-colored ire. He shook the long, formerly black curls free from the straps of the mask and extended a gloved hand to the boy. “I was searching for Patient Zero. The original victim the virus claimed. The one that you nearly let kill you. Dr. Hector Salazar.” He said with a cold tone. Colder than the weather and snow around them.

Owen held out his hand to accept the greeting, giving it a firm shake. Why anyone would willingly go after such a monstrosity was beyond him. If he hadn’t been tracking Patient Zero however, he never would have been in the right place at the right time to save his life.

“Owen Jordan. Thanks for everything, including saving my life.” The red head boy could be brash and impulsive at the best of times, but he also knew when debts were due. Dr. Salazar had been the only thing between him and being eaten alive. He was sure that he looked worse for wear, the number of undead on his hands was uncountable. Even just looking down at his hand shaking the doctors he could see all the blood that clung to him. It was a shame his new companion met him at his weakest moment, because only moments before he had been fighting hard with the best of them.

“I knew it was going to be bad in there, but I had no idea it would be to that extent. My sister tried to warn me, but I guess there was no way to really comprehend how many dead are in there until you’ve seen it yourself.” The boy shuddered, pulling his blood soaked leather jacket closer around him to save the warmth. During his days in the stone walls of the hospital, the first snow fall must have come because everything around him was blanketed in a sheet of sparkling snow.

Owen pulled a cigarette from the front pocket of his jacket, it had been days since he had one. So close to things that hunted by smell his judgement that it was a poor choice to do so had outweighed the cravings, but now that he was in the sunlight he had nothing holding him back. Owen put the filter in his mouth and cupped his hands around the end while he flicked his lighter to life. Taking a long drag off of it, he sighed and held the package out to his companion to offer him one as well.

“Did you get what you needed? You know, from Patient Zero?”

The hispanic shook his head. Both at the offering of a cigarette and to his question. “No. I needed some kind of sample from Zero. Blood, tissue, saliva, urine… it didn’t matter. Something that showed me the original virus as compared to the others. Unfortunately, when I finally found him, I didn’t have the luxury of time to collect it from him. You know why.” He replied with a pointed look.

“Regardless, we got out of their with our lives. I can go back for Patient Zero if I need to but I doubt he will still be here. More than likely, he will move on. Remember what he looks like. He retained some amount of intelligence and is definitely faster.” Hector turned around and scanned the area once more to be sure there were no threat in the vicinity.

During his little scan is when the name hit him. “Espera…. Jordan? When I found you, the person you were holding was your mother? Was she the head nurse? That Jordan?”

“Yeah, Mary Jordan.” Speaking her name hurt. His thoughts flashed back to her body pulling itself toward him, jaw extended. He did his best to quickly push those images away as his hand instinctively reached up to touch the gold locket he had taken from her neck.

“We were told there were no survivors from the hospital, except Andy. But I guess I wasn't willing to believe it till I happened upon her while running away Patient Zero.” Speaking of Andy, Owen desperately needed to get back to her. His adventure had taken him far from home for far too long.

“I have no idea what your plans are now. However, I'm heading back home. We are holed up in an old camping lodge in the woods, well away from the city. We have room for anyone who saves my life.”

The doctor openly stared at the red head without blinking. An unreadable expression on his face as the ideas fired in his mind. Supposedly, this "Andy" had been in contact with Zero before he completely turned. The tests Hector ran on the infected and on himself before getting to the hospital suggested that the virus was already inside his body. To some degree, at least. He needed to do more research but if that theory proved true? What would the blood of someone who was in contact with Patient Zero look like before the outbreak ever even happened? When the virus was in its initial stages.

That could prove instrumental in figuring this infection out. "This….Andy might be a good substitute for the tissue of Zero that I couldn't retrieve. If I can get a blood sample from her, you can consider us even. However, in return for giving me shelter, I can put my skills as a Doctor and surgeon to good use."

Hector pushed his long hair back and dawned the mask once more, making sure the pressure seals were well secured before pulling the hood on his coat back over his head.

"My main field of expertise is as a medical scientist and researcher. With luck and time, I may be able to find a way to reverse this virus."

The Hispanic pulled his pistol free from its holster and ejected the magazine into his awaiting hand. He had practically spent the whole magazine saving this kid. Hector took a knee and spun his pack around. He opened the front pouch and grabbed a box of 9mm ammunition. He reloaded the cartridge and quickly shoved it back into the gun, returning the pistol to its home inside his coat. 15 in the magazine and one in the chamber.

"Can we agree on those terms?"

Hector understood that Owen was offering a place at his cabin out of the kindness of his heart and because he felt like he owed the doctor. While it was kind, Hector did not trust kindness to last long if things started going sour. Instead, he offered a mutually beneficial deal. More professional. More solid. Less chances of betrayal for personal gain. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. That was something that the older man could get behind.

The redhead took a few long drags off of his cigarette while he listened to the doctor speak. Was a cure even possible? As far as he could tell most of the town was dead now. He had seen people get shot and bleed out and stand back up during the middle school massacre. A cure couldn’t bring back the dead, and these people were just that.

“Well I can’t volunteer my sister to be your guinea pig,” Owen chuckled at the idea. “She’s sort of…” he rolled his hand while he looked for a polite way to say it. “Firey? But you can ask her yourself when we get there. I don’t think she would mind giving you a few vials of her blood if it was for the greater good. As for medical work, we have a nursing student who has been doing her damndest to keep us all alive. I’m sure she would appreciate the help.” He gestured for the doctor to follow him as a signal of their agreement. The sooner he got home the better. Staying in the city for any longer than necessary was absolute stupidity. He saw that now.

"I suppose I'll deal with her when I meet her. As for the nursing student, I will be able to teach her anything she doesn't already know. As well as anyone who wants to learn. With everything gone to shit, you'll want as many people medically trained as possible." Contrary to his icy disposition, Hector actually loved to teach. Anything from math to medicine to biology to philosophy. Having a potential student was a good enough incentive.

The doctor stood up and followed the young man's lead. "We shouldn't linger. The more populated a place was in life, the more abundant the dead will be. Let's move quickly. Before we run out of darkness."

“Good idea,” Owen led the way only to be stopped in his tracks. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” he muttered under his breath. Just around the corner was a mop of red hair and freckles he recognized. At first he feared it was too good to be true, but just behind her he recognized a scowling face that belonged to Luca Brasi. He wasn’t sure if he should be upset he had dragged his sister out into the city, or relieved to find them both alive, but a smile crept over his face all the same.

“Speaking of your guinea pig, there she is now.” Owen alerted the doctor of his find, nodding in the direction of the girl. They were too far off to shout to, and he didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention so Owen picked up his pace to go and meet them.

Interactions:

shadowz1995 (Hector)
Mentions:

Brax (Luca)

FireMaiden (Leliana)

FireMaiden · May 1, 2019

This is a collab between FireMaiden and Soma Schicksal

Leliana let out one of those chuckles that was more of an exhale than a laugh, "Yeah, but only crazy people wouldn't be worried heading out into that mess right?" The ground was still covered in snow, which meant the temperature was low enough for it to still be freezing. They didn't know how the dead acted in the cold, though Leliana would assume they acted at a lower function, and noboy going out had proper winter gear. At least, not that she had seen. They would all have to be careful out there sounting around, since they also didn't know what was lurking out in the forest, or how bad the city was still. And stepping outside showed it was defeintly not any warmer than it was yesterday, only today, there was a slight breeze. The temperature would feel cooler thanks to windchill, which wouldn't help with the lack of warm clothing. Leliana zipped up her Moe's jacket, crossing her arms across her chest to keep her hands warm as Marcus closed the door, waiting a moment or two before she got to the reason she was concerned. "I don't think moving is a good idea. More space sounds great, but not every place is gonna have a generator, and even fewer are gonna have running water. Even the cabins and lodges out here, not all of them have private wells," She said, turning slightly to look at him. "We have both here. Sure, it's a bit cramped, but people can deal with it if that means running water and power. You won't find a bigger place with both unless you go in the city, and that isn't safe. And more space ultimately means a bigger place we have to defend. The horde the other day was dealt with because of how this place us built, how big it is. I'm not sure if anyone would be willing to move and give up the guaranteed power and water we have here for a little more wiggle room." She paused breifly, running a hand through her hair, before recrossing her arms. "I guess looking for a bigger place isn't a bad idea, but we got real lucky here. I don't think that's gonna happen again."

The chuckle continued a bit longer. “Ya I suppose you are right about that one.” He did notice how cold it was, he definitely didn’t have the warmest clothing but he was sure he could last a while out there, his body was accustomed since living in this city to the freezing cold whether, hell sometimes he even just wore his basketball shorts just because they were more comfortable to him but not right now of course since he did promise Colt he would make it back for her. Marcus listened and Leli began to speak, she expressed her worry for them heading out and looking for a new place and it honestly made a bunch of sense. “I definitely understand your concern Leli, I’ll keep it in mind but there has to be some places not in the city that have those things, and guess what, bigger place to defend with a larger amount of people means it still won’t be that hard to defend, it evens out.” He stopped for a moment slowing the way he talked to show he was calm. “Leli, I don’t wanna be those people that tosses people out just because we don’t have enough room or food for them. Not in an event like this…it isn’t right…anyway who knows we may get lucky again and if not we will come back and say so. I’m sure we could find some sort of mansion or farmhouse where things could be the way we want it, in times like this we need as much hope as we can get don’t ya think?” He finished with looking in her eyes before ending the seriousness with some slurping of the eggs she gave him before.

She sighed. He had a point, ome she had thought of, but still worried her. More people meant that they could defend a bigger place. "Food is still going to be a problem Marcus, no matter how big of a place we have. Aurora will be cleaned out sooner or later, and right now there's no way to leave the city that isn't suicide. I guess you could argue that more people means more supply runs, but you have to supply those groups and the way the last one went, how long Andy and Luca's is taking...I don't know if it's justifiable. Hard choices are gonna have to be made one way or another, whether it means we start seriously rationing already, or we go ahead and close our doors to any more survivors." She didn't exactly like the idea of doing that either, but the lives of many outweighed the life of one. Leliana always seems to surprise people when it came to those physiological test that ask you the questions with the train and two tracks. Anyway, she looked away from Marcus, out towards the trees. "As of right now, we should be thinking long term, so I guess maybe finding a bigger place would be worth it, but we have to wait for Andy, Luca, and Owen to get back. Andy knows a lot aboyt this area, at least, I think she does. She seems like the type anyway, and this is her lodge. If you guys don't find anything, you should talk to her about it." Another pause, Leliana lost in though brieftly as a chil went down her spine, "And how would we move everyone? Shinoa could go into labor at any moment, I doubt anyone really has any clothing to protect against the cold for to long, and the RV didn't comfortably fit all of us escaping the middle school. Hope is good, but sometimes, being a bit of a paranoid realist is better. Makes you think about almost everything. Like how those hazmats could have camps set up out here. It's not like we were stealthy little feild mice the other day taking care of that horde."

He sighed after he finished the food. “Ya, ya…I get that. Food will definitely be a problem down the line and I have a feeling if we ever did get more food in the future we would have to go to far more dangerous places to get them.” He took a moment to think before answering her. “We should slowly start getting everyone to ration to be honest, it seems to work in those zombie films and shows like the walking dead. Think you can help with that?” He asked before speaking again. “We should map a to-do list to be honest…like first step get a bunch of supplies, second look for potential escape routes, third safest routes to get there with everyone, and etcetera.” He explained. Leli continued speaking on how Andy, Luca, and Owen were still missing. “Ya I know and I’ll definitely talk to her if we can’t find anything while we are out there, the places shouldn’t be too far since Colt wants us back by the night. And as far as I know for rides is that we have a rental car, the RV, and a truck we got from the motel. I think we can make it, we would just need gas to be another priority at times.” He didn’t think about the Hazzies having camps, it only made sense… “Ya you definitely make things more difficult when you have me worry about Hazzy camps now haha.” He laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. “We just need to be on the lookout I guess, I dunno what else to say about that. And as for Shinoa having her baby we will just need to find the safest route after we find a place to be honest. I hope she has that baby soon but also not really, I don’t think having a crying baby will make things easier for us.” He explained to her.

"Worring is what's gonna keep us alive. It's just a shame I'm probably gonna go grey at some point," She chuckled, only able to lighten the mood for a split second before crushing reality was back. "I can help with rationing, Milly and Shinoa should honestly be the only two who get food daily, and for obvious reasons. Everyone else will be fine, i just have to come up with a plan. I should talk to Ralph about it, he could maybe help. And that to-do list? Already two fucking miles long," She chuckled again, this time giving him a smile, "I just have to make sense of all the things I'm thinking of. Like, we need to make a garden, maybe even sacrifice a bit of the indoor space right now for it for some extra food. And i think chickens would be a good idea, you know if we can find them, and some stuff to make a coop. We basically just need to look for every type of supply we think can be useful, in one way or another." She paused to catch her breath, because at this point she was practically just rambling. After taking a moment, she finally spoke again. "Potential escapes routes aren't something we need to focus on right now. We don't have the supplies, the skills, or frankly, the plan to escape. Not to dis Jenna's idea, but it'll get people killed. So, we need time, and focusing on other things will buy us time to figure out how to get out. Simple, but also not." Jenna's plan would defiantly get people killed if they just followed after her half cocked without doing the required steps to make sure they all go out. Because it was all of them, or none of them. Not half. "The cars are probably snowed in anyway, the truck would be the only one that maybe stood a chance of driving through this stuff," Leliana said, gesturing to the white blanketing the woods. "The hazmats have the city blocked off, and Micheal lead dead into the sewers, not that those were a good option anyway. Just, keep my earlier point in mind, we need time. Jenna wants to go an expose what the hazmats are doing here in the city, but that will just cause problems if she actucally does it. Anyway, just focus on what you wanted to do for this scouting mission, and don't go to far off course okay? We dont have anyway of contacting you, which we really need to fix. Side mission for you, look for walkie talkies," Leliana gave him a brief smile, her cheeks and nose turning light pink. "I think the baby is gonna be good for morale, maybe not good for sleep, but good none the less. We've been surrounded by death non stop, and now, a little bit of life."

He didn’t understand her joke at first but then realized she meant getting gray hairs…man this surviving stuff sure melted your brain sometimes. “And ya your idea for rationing sounds good, those two really do need the food more than us. I would recommend keeping an eye on Michael though, I can already see based on what happened at dinner last night that he doesn’t care if he steals from a child or not.” He said angrily. “Ya ya I know, they were just ideas, we still have to get to those sort of things eventually though. And ya a garden would be nice, it seems like the two places I hope we find would be the best idea.” Marcus said meaning the mansion or a farm. “Ya, let’s focus on the whole escaping thing later and worry about the present. And I never did think about that…the cars are definitely done for right now.” He sighed. “Ya, I already talked to Colt about getting those walkie talkies. Well anyway, we should get back inside, I do still wanna make it back in time like Colt wanted ya know.” He smiled.

Leliana honestly didn't know if she felt better or worse. On one hand, her concerns were out in the open, and hopefully taken into actual consideration. On the other hand, maybe her words would be pushed to the back of his mind and completely ignored until Leliana had to bring them up to Andy to even Luca just for someone to actually listen to her. She stayed put as Marcus headed back inside, her eyed wandering to the tree line. Who knew what was out there, what Marcus and the other two going with him would find. The world was a mess, this group was a mess, and they needed a plan not a snowy hike. Leliana sighed, watching the steam from her breath rise infront of her face before she turned and re-entered the lodge. The first thing her eyes fell upon was Milly there in the dining room, though Milly looked upset. Brows furrowing, Leliana walked over wigh her arms still crossed. "Hey sweetheart, what's wrong? The eggs didn't make you feel sick did they?" Leliana asked, taking a seat next to the girl.

Mentioned: Rumble Fish (Colt) Hyped_Taco (Micheal) BloodLightning27 (Shinoa) Maj (Andy) Brax (Luca)
End of post interaction: Rumble Fish (Milly)

BloodLightning27 · May 1, 2019

Agent Brian Rousseau
Age: 36
Location: Lodge ---> The Woods Interactions: Marcus

Soma Schicksal , Jenna

The Mad Queen
Mentioned: Dr. Fisher

The Mad Queen

Fresh AirAfter the conversation with Dr. Fisher, Brian found himself having an easier time sleeping. Still, his deep dark secret wasn't going to keep long. The remainder of the night was quiet and peaceful for him. The next morning, Brian woke up rather early. As promised he was going to go do some scouting around with Marcus. Checking his Handgun, which only had two full magazines left, with the third one having only seven bullets left. As he holstered his handgun, he gave his wrist blade a nice long look. Another thing that Brian was thinking about was the funeral that was held for Rouge, who perished two days prior. Putting his suit back on, he grabbed his Rifle and check the ammunition for it. Second to last mag, one full mag, the current one being only half full with fifteen rounds. Hopefully it would be enough. Encountering the infected would be inevitable. Leaving his rifle at his bed, he quietly made his exit from the Camper and into the Lodge for breakfast. Like usual, he kept to himself.

Once it was time to go, he returned briefly to the camper to pick up his rifle. As he left with Jenna and Marcus, Brian began to wonder. Hopefully another storm would not fall upon them. The idea of dying in a blizzard while attempting to prevent a potential global disaster just sounded insulting to Brian. As he followed Jenna and Marcus, Brian looked back at the lodge one last time. It wasn't long until it was too far away and no longer visible to him. Looking forward, he took a deep breath and stayed close to his companions.

Maj · May 1, 2019

Was Luca a fucking moron? There he was, standing at the front door to the hospital with a psychotic grin on his face and all Andy could do was roll her eyes. That place was the physical form of a death wish, and she didn’t drag him out of a burning car and a mile through the snow just to have him throw his stupid life away now. It appeared that her time of trying to keep her mouth shut was at an end.

“Please tell me the car wreck didn’t addle your brain this badly,” she addressed the Italian as she approached him and the large man who had walked up beside him. “You know damn well how bad it’s going to be in there Luca, you were there with me when everything went down. They put this place on lockdown. Do you know what lockdown means?” The last line was in a mocking baby voice, as her emerald eyes locked with his, but she wasn’t smiling. There was no humor in her tone, only seething patronization.

“Lockdown means that all the bodies that were there when we got out, are still in there, except now they want to eat us. I don’t care how badass you two think you are, you and an army of rifles couldn’t make it far by barging in the front door.” She had planned to berate Luca further for trying to get into a dick measuring contest with every dangerous situation that waltzed in their path, but was distracted by movement out of the corner of her eye.

A figure was approaching them from around the corner of the building, and fast. When her eyes focused on the form, her eyes widened in recognition. Owen’s stupid mop of hair and leather motorcycle jacket rounded on them. She should have been relieved but her heart sank, he was too covered in blood. His face was stained red, his hands, his jacket, even the fur collar of the coat seemed to be saturated in gore. Her bow rose on reflex as the figure came closer.

But then he got close enough she could see his eyes. They still matched hers, still green and sparkling with life instead of blotted out by undeath. It made her wonder how rough she looked from a distance. He was alive, and here. They had found him. Owen was okay.

Andy dropped her bow, letting it clatter to the pavement as she ran to meet him. Relief causing hot tears to build up in the corner of her eyes. She had hoped that when she found him, if she found him, that he would still have a heartbeat. But hope had fleeted long ago, after all the horrors she and Luca had faced and she knew that Owen had been facing them alone.

Or maybe not.

Someone was with him, an older gentleman with long dark hair. It had appeared that Owen had also found his own survivors while out in the city. She didn’t have time to focus on the newcomer now, but knew that a thank you was likely in order for keeping her twin alive.

Owen reached in to swoop Andy up into a hug, grinning from ear to ear as he watched his sister sprint across the parking lot to him. It had been so long since she had shown much affection toward him, and while he knew he had worried her, he was looking forward to this reunion very much. The thought of seeing her again was one of the few things that kept him going when things felt hopeless. However, instead of allowing herself to be hoisted up into a bear hug, Owen felt the cold palm of Andy’s hand across his cheek in a large smack.

“What the FUCK were you thinking?” She wasn’t yelling, she was too smart to yell, but her voice had venom dripping from every syllable.

“What?” He asked dumbly. Andy punched him in the shoulder, green eyes squinted as her nose flared in frustration.

“Do you know what I’ve been through? What I’ve done to get to you? No! All you think of is yourself.” Each question was followed with another punch, and she wasn’t playing nice either. She was throwing her body weight behind those hits, and while she was much shorter and thinner than he was, it didn’t stop it from actively hurting his tired bones.

“Andy I left to get supplies for everyone.”

“Sure. Alone. So you could play the big fucking hero instead of using your brain and coming back long enough to get back up.” She was shoving him, repeatedly each time he let it happen, face distorted in exasperation as she vented her frustrations from the last few days at him in the form of physical violence.

“We’ve already lost so much Owen. You could have died out here and I never would have known for sure. Just like Mom.” his face darkened when she mentioned his mother, the images of her disfigured form still fresh on his mind. She didn't know what he knew, hadn't seen what he had seen. He would have to tell his sister eventually, but with her currently beating the shit out of him it hardly felt like the time.

“Andy.”

“You are such a goddamn moron.” Her hands were in fists, slamming into his chest now, tears hot and angry building up behind those forest green eyes.

“Andy I…”

“These things you do aren’t heroic. They are fucking selfish. What would I do if you died huh? For someone who claims to care about me so much you sure had no problem fucking abandoning me.”

“I would never abandon you.” She punched him in the jaw, hard. The force was enough that he instinctively reached to grab her hands to keep her from doing it again. It was then he noticed just how hurt she was, the bandages under her jacket, the cut on her forehead, the bruises that covered her neck and chest. She had gone through her share of horrors to get here as well. All that mattered to him was that she was alive, and here, and even if she was violently trying to wrench herself free to keep hitting him, they were together. But all of that sweet sentiment was quickly put to rest because she did get free and when she did she punched him even harder, right in his nose.

shadowz1995 · May 1, 2019

'Ouch.'

Owen had said that his sister was something of a firecracker but it turned out that was a bit of an understatement.

Hector had been standing behind Owen, slightly to his left flank when the emotional little reunion happened and was in the perfect position to catch his recoil when Andy's fist cracked against the poor boy's nose. The doctor's right arm formed a cradle to catch Owen's torso and gently push him upright again. The red-headed girl may have thought she was being quiet but once she started hitting Owen, the sound of the hits themselves were getting uncomfortably loud in the morning silence.

The next punch came in and Hector decided that was enough. The punch was wild so it was easy enough to predict. The older man brought the back of his gloved fist against the outside of Andy's wrist. The strike was precise and measured with no extra force added. The top of his knuckles cracked the woman's wrist. It wasn't enough to cause any damage but it would certainly hurt like hell for a few seconds. Similar to getting cracked by a ruler on the back of the hand.

Hopefully, enough to shock her out of her emotion fueled attacks.

"That's enough." he said harshly. "The only reason he is standing is adrenaline and will." Hector eyed the young girl and her Male companion carefully for any sudden movements that may provoke a fight. He had only just met these 3 and he wasn't about to die for any of them. "It was locked down and he couldn't escape. He is alive because I have the keys."

The large Venezuelan pointed back to the hospital that had escaped from moments ago, "We also only just escaped minutes ago." the doctor passed a hand over Owen's bat and the infected blood on it came off on to the palm of his gloved hand. It was as fresh as could be. He showed it the bruised female with a cold, calculative glare.

"We aren't safe here. You can fight each other to the death later. I don't care. But right now, we can't afford the attention."

Hector turned his cold glare to Owen now and he nodded forward for him to lead the way to their little safehouse. He stepped next to the red-head (girl) and said in a lower voice, "I'd also give him a break. As distressed," he said with a healthy dose of sarcasm, "...As you were by your brother's absence..." the doctor leaned forward to whisper so only she could hear but far enough away to not be uncomfortable, "He just got done putting your mother to rest. He was about to let himself be eaten from the grief. That was when I saved him."

It was a touch cruel to drop the news at that specific moment but Hector neither cared nor was he a stranger to delivering heartbreaking news. It came with title of Doctor. He also preferred breaking the news as soon as possible as opposed to waiting. The sooner you told someone, the sooner they could recover.

The doctor pushed past them and gestured for Owen to lead him. "Come on. We need to go."

TheTreForce

Rumble Fish · May 1, 2019

The following post is a collab between

The Mad Queen and

Milly could hear everyone in the kitchen, Colt giving orders, Marcus and Leli had been talking among other things. The youngster sighed and held her bear against her stomach, staring down at the table. She really did not know what to do. If she went back into the kitchen, would they berate her for what she said? Because it was bad, right? The younger girl was taken out of her thoughts when Ralph sat next to her and she was met with the smell of eggs. She looked at the table, seeing the plate being placed in front of her to which Milly stared at the ground, nibbling on Snowy’s ear.

“Um… hi.” she muttered, not sure what else she could say to him. She glanced back at the plate. Part of her wanted to ignore it, having lost her appitite but a grumble from her stomach quickly changed her mind as she pulled it closer to her. But before she started, she paused. “Has everyone else eaten?”

Ralph sat down next to the girl, but kept his distance so as to not invade her personal space and although he knew she was avoiding eye contact completely offered her a warm smile of reassurance, the same smile he wore more often than not. “Everyone’s eaten.” He answered “But in future, you don’t have to wait for them to be finished before you eat, whether that’s regular sized eggs or Ostridge eggs.” He let out a light chuckle. Even if it hadn’t been intended as a joke, it was the funniest thing he’d heard since the outbreak and Fisher thought to himself about the last time he laughed or cracked a terrible joke.

It seemed so long ago.
“You left your breakfast in the kitchen so I brought it out here. I know it can be daunting to be around so many people.”

Milly, while not looking at him accepted his statement of how everyone had eaten. But when he mentioned the ostrich egg, she looked further away. She couldn't help but feel intensely uncomfortable about it. She muttered a little. “Hm, eggie weggies…” she said to herself as she timidly started cutting into them and eating them in very little bites. She let out a small sigh as she did. “Mum makes scrambled eggs with cheese, like the cheese triangles? Laughing Cow?” she made a funny gesturing motion with her hands as she spoke before towards the doctor.

“I… I feel really bad. I was mean and I just-” she squeaked, not knowing what else to say. She was still so confused, “Or was I- Colt thought it was funny which-which is good but then he didn’t like it, I don’t know…” She was shaking her head the more she thought about it, holding her head in both hands with an upset whimper, this being too much for her.

The doctor’s smile faded and he slowly reached a hand out to comfort the girl, but pulled away. “Funny?” He asked “I thought it was hilarious. You’re quite the little comedian, Milly.” Sarah also had a habit of running her mouth.

Ralph sat in the principal’s office, doing his best to hide his twitching hand and leg while the principal himself stared him down.

“Doctor Fisher…”
“Please, Ralph is fine. I’m sorry for this mess, it’s really unlike Sarah to hurt someone.”
“Oh no, she didn’t punch someone.”

He had to hold in a large sigh of relief.
“She said, and I’m paraphrasing a bit here: my daddy says that your mommy is poisoning you.”
“Well...I mean she’s not wrong.” He shrugged
“Doctor Fisher!”
“I-I’m sorry, I misspoke!”

He sat back in the chair. “Sometimes, yes we do have to watch what we say in front of others but I’m sure Michael understands it was a harmless joke. You don’t really think his head looks like an Ostridge egg, do you?” He let out another light chuckle “You didn’t really make fun of him that much anyway, just said there was an egg the size of his head.”

Milly gulped as Ralph admitted himself that he found it funny. She blinked slowly and resumed eating her eggs. As the man spoke, she shook her head vigorously when he asked if she thought Michael’s head did look like an egg. She blinked a few times. “Colt thought whales lay the biggest eggs. But whales are mammals.” She explained bluntly. She sighed a little, “Just… mum said not to say things that hurt people.” the girl becoming noticeably more downcast upon mentioning her mother again.

“Ah, of course. All mammals give birth rather than laying eggs. That is all, except for one.” His smile was starting to return “I’m a scientist and even I can’t get my head around the duck billed platypus.”

There was one joke his wife liked that summed it up pretty well, but it seemed like an anomaly in nature to Ralph. “It lays eggs and sweats milk. It’s really confusing.” Ralph scratched his head, showing an exaggerated face of both deep thought and confusion. Bringing up the girl’s mother would probably only make her more upset, so moving the topic in any other direction was key at that point. “I guess that’s why it made the ideal secret agent.” Did kids still watch that show? Sarah had just seen re-runs, after all.

Milly stopped eating as he began to talk about animals, and specifically about platypi. That got her attention. She turned to face him after finishing her mouthful of eggs. While she hated thinking about school, there was one memory that jumped into her mind. She gasped a little as she remembered it.

“Oooh, one time in school, this man came in from the zoo and he brought lots of animals to look at! He had spiders, a cornsnake, a chinchilla, a millipede- none of the other kids wanted to hold the millipede but I did, its legs felt like a toothbrush and it tickled! And he brought in a platypus!” she was now wriggling a little in her seat as she thought about it, “He didn’t let anyone hold him but we could stroke him, his fur was soooo soft!” She abruptly stopped, and her wiggling stopped too as she realised she had gone on for too long. Let other people talk, don’t hog attention. Milly gave herself a hit on the side of her head, though it was more like a flick but still made contact.

When he mentioned ‘secret agent’ she turned back to face the man, “You mean like out of ‘Phineas and Ferb?’ That had a platypus called Perry who was an agent. Perry was green… Platypi aren’t green.”

The warm smile had returned in full force as Milly started, Ralph was just glad to see the girl in a good mood given the events of the past few days to the point where he brushed aside the idea of a rodent being handed out to schoolchildren, or the thought of what God apparently made when he was stoned out of his mind being slightly venomous to human beings...And somebody was letting schoolkids touch it, apparently?

She nailed the show’s name down. “Yes, exactly the one! My Sarah loved that show.” He did a little bit too, even if he wasn’t going to admit it. It wasn’t like he let her watch trash but there was something more intelligent about the show that set it apart from other children’s cartoons.

“I mean typically Platypi don’t get in fights with mad scientists so you could say he was an exception?” He shook his head, letting out another chuckle.
It was hardly the most inaccurate part of the show, there was a kid who’s nose took up his entire face among other things but he let that slide.

“Sarah?” she asked, tilting her head like a curious bird. But before she could ask more, Milly decided against it. Poking into people’s business was rude. So don’t do it. Again, there was a strike against the side of her head. As he talked more about the show, she giggled a little.

“No, they don’t…” her baby blue eyes widened a little, “What if they do? In the show the people never knew, so maybe its the same here?” she glanced up a little in thought. It was possibility, nobody could watch them twenty-four hours a day surely?

--
Ralph let out a cartoonish gasp, his mouth agape while he rested a hand on his chest. “Of course! And what if Perry was green as a form of camouflage?!”
He pulled out a pen and notepad and pretended to scribble notes down “I am a scientist, I need to jot these notes down as important, no vital research.”

For the first time since the outbreak, Fisher could switch off. His brain, a mass of theories, memories, strategy and stored knowledge could relax for even when he slept he would dream of ideas or wake up with something new on his mind. Even for just a few minutes, that could be washed away as he talked about cartoon animals and egg-laying mammals. He looked up from his notes “I need a proper laboratory, nay, a secret lair to conduct this.”

Milly giggled and blinked, “Hmm… A secret lair?” she stood up, still holding onto her teddy as she paced around a little, “Where would you find one of those?” She looked outside, seeing it was still snowing.

“If I knew where to find one, it wouldn’t be a secret lair anymore.” He answered.

Milly continued to pace, pondering on this predicament. At this point, everything about breakfast had been forgotten and all her focus was now on trying to think of a location for a secret lair, like Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Though it would not have its own jingle and be so obvious. Why he did that always confused Milly, why make a secret lair so obvious?

When Leliana approached, Milly looked at the woman. “No, the eggs were great I was just um…” she was about to talk about what she and Ralph were discussing but decided she couldn't, if they were going to have that secret layer stay secret. “Ostrich eggs dont look like peoples’ heads.” she gave the nurse a smile before settling back down at the table to finish her breakfast.
Interactions:

FireMaiden (Leliana)
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Rumble Fish (Colt)

Hyped_Taco (Michael)

Brax · May 1, 2019

The man's forward advances were halted by the sounds of a gnat that had impaired his ability to hear. Andy continued talking with Luca waiting for her to finish, eventually raising a hand to stick a pinky finger in his ear and twist it around. It was at this moment that the onslaught of her verbal assault had ended. Due to the distinct lack of continuation, Luca turned back to see Owen approaching them from what must have been the side entrance. Whereas he was ready to walk into the hospital to find this man, Owen had already done the hard work by finding them instead. At this point, Tre had noticed the two men approaching Andy and had slowly made his way to Warren’s side. He was unaware of whom this man was with the red hair, as well as his companion. There was a large chance he wouldn’t get clarification on the subject, knowing Luca. Warren wasn’t about to ask questions either, knowing him.

Light hues watched as Andy’s closed fist sailed into Owen’s shoulder. Tre visibly flinched, but Luca continued watching in silence. Part of him was relieved for Andy, as Owen’s disappearance had been a large source of her anxiety. The other side of that coin was that the Italian was absolutely furious, having been brought to the brink of death and forced to rebound back in the span of forty-eight hours to get to this point. Andy’s emotions got the best of her in front of the rest of the group as she continuously raised her hand to Owen. In the back of Luca’s mind was the slight hope that she would accidentally render him unconscious, but he continued to say nothing. It wasn’t until the man standing behind Owen brought his hand up to pimp slap Andy’s attempt at a punch that the man finally omitted a sound and it was a chuckle.

“Tre.” Luca beckoned the boy, leaning back slightly so he could peer past Warren to get a look at his face. “I need you to stay in the back with Warren. I don’t have spare guns for you two, but i’m going to lead on the way back. Just make sure we’re covered on the way.” Tre raised an eyebrow before looking up to Warren. Then he looked back over to Luca and nodded, reading between the lines of what he had said. Tre then removed both of the machetes from their sheathes on his back as Luca’s hands gripped both ends of his rifle.

Hector had already began walking down the street, looking to his newest acquaintance to lead the way. Luca stepped forward to begin walking as well, moving past both Andy and Owen without a second look to join the doctor’s side. He had the right idea; there was no point wasting more time standing around outside of the hospital. Not only were they out in the open, but probably in the worst area of the city they could possibly be in. This was where the outbreak started. Plenty of zombies made their way out and spread. Luca was sure an equal amount had been lingering about all the same.

“We drove up in a moving truck but it’s too far. Hopefully there’s another one on our way back toward the freeway.” There was no way in hell Luca was going to drive any sort of four-wheeled vehicle after he had wrecked the last one. The spikes in the road were less of a hindrance if the group were aware of them beforehand. Either Owen or Andy would be forced to drive as it was their lodge. They knew the fastest way to get there. Luca needed some time to recuperate, preferably as far from people as humanly possible - especially Andy. After being around her for a few hours without a break, it was easy to recognize her strengths and flaws. However, Luca was not used to that type of energy constantly radiating around his self-imposed bubble. Her personality easily eclipsed his own, a feat that was not lost on him. In fact, it was her most attractive quality.

An hour had passed. The group of survivors had found an old minivan abandoned in the parking lot of a Mcdonalds with some space to maneuver. Tre, with the use of a large wire hanger he had stored in his backpack for this specific purpose, opened the door without issue. During this time, Luca had been instructing the rest of the group to get inside the van. This model was old enough that the alarm was not going to sound. Tre was correct in taking this gamble, prompting Luca to take a deep breath before quickly scanning the inside keys. When he found none, he leaned backwards against the floor of the driver’s side seat and dug his fingers behind the plastic cover on the steering console. He ripped his hand outward, breaking the concealed clips and revealing the wiring underneath.

There were three bundles. One lead to the steering controls on the left side of the wheel. The other led to the controls on the right. The last bundle was responsible for the battery, ignition and starter. Finding the right one was the problem. He broke off the plastic casing to the one he thought was the correct trio, placing each wire in his teeth to strip the insulation off of each end. Luca absentmindedly spat out the inch of plastic casings as he went, before connecting what he assumed was the ignition wire to the battery wire. He positioned himself so that he could see the radio before hitting the button in. The radio turned on. This was confirmation that he was using the right bundle of wires, something he was doubtful of given how long it had been since he last had to hotwire a car.

A touch of the starter wire to the connected battery wires away from his face provided a few sparks, but started the car. Instinctively, Luca pressed his hand against the gas pedal multiple times. He had to rev the engine a certain amount so that the truck wouldn’t stall out. Repeating the process would not have been the end of the world, but the less time they sat around the better off the group would be. Once Luca was confident that the car was running, he slipped out from underneath the steering column and lifted himself up into the driver’s seat. He placed his foot against the break and placed both hands on the wheel, turning it as far to the right as he possibly could. The lack was about a quarter of an inch. Once it couldn’t turn any more, Luca turned it slightly to the left before jamming it back toward the right. He repeated this process multiple times until the steering lock inside broke, something that was noticeable not only by the sound it made, but the freedom of movement the wheel was granted.

Luca hopped out the driver’s seat and hopped into the back of the van. It was spacious, providing a back row for multiple people as well as two seats in the front and middle rows. The van sat seven in total. Tre watched Luca get into one of the seats in the middle row, noting that if that Asian guy hadn’t turned previously, they would have not had space for an extra person provided their belongings would come with them. Luca lifted the bottle of alcohol from his bag. There was still about a quarter left of whiskey. He opened up the bottle without hesitation and lifted the mouth to his own, downing the rest in a single gulp.

shadowz1995

TheTreForce

Foogels · May 2, 2019

[div class=Flex] [div class=Image] [div class=Title]Liam Thompson[/div] [div class=Mentions] Character Sheet
Location: Suburbia Area

Interactions: N/A

Mentions: N/A

Feeling: Scared & Hungry
[/div][/div] [div class=Content] Liam winced as his stomach betrayed him and began to eat itself from the inside. He hadn't been shopping at all in the last month since he normally buys all of his foods in bulk. Liam was scared to leave his house after he got the alert to go to the middle school. That was about 5 days ago now, and hiding in a dark room hasn't made him feel any better. He ran out of food 2 days ago and it hadn't bothered him too much yesterday but the longer he goes without sunlight and food the worse he'll get. Liam knew that he had to leave at some point but he thought he had more food then he actually did. He moved the chairs and couches in front of all the doors and covered the windows with extra blankets so no one could see inside. He heard the wind blowing harder then normal last night but he needed to leave at some point. After the alert went out he went to the internet for answers, he found some responses that helped but none that told him everything he wanted to know. Apparently there is a disease that is in the air and if you have the disease and you die, you don't actually die. From the little information he read they seem to behave like basic pop culture zombies. But Liam actually had no idea and is just scared to come in contact with whatever the people did turn into.

Liam made his way downstairs, it was cold and dark, luckily his phone still has some juice and came with a flashlight built in. He moved the blanket out of the way of the window, peaking through the bottom corner. Liam squinted as his eyes were met with a bright white. Apparently it wasn't just windy, it also snowed. Liam moved the couch out of the way and peaked out the door, slowly pushing it open. As the door was forced open a cold air burst into the house, it brought with it the smell of 'fresh' air. Liam closed the door and rushed to his room, changing into a more appropriate outfit for winter, throwing on thick jeans and a puffy jacket. He grabbed his backpack emptying it of everything except an extra flashlight, a change of clothes in case he got stuck somewhere outside, and a stick of deodorant. He then pushed his way back through the door and walked out to the flat white sheet of snow covering the road. He lived a couple blocks from a corner store that carried his tried and true Instant Noodles. The store is probably empty but on the small chance it isn't he thought that's where he should go. Slowly but surely making his way through the snow and hiding behind all obstacles he could as to not be seen by anyone, though his footprints didn't help. [/div][/div] [class=Flex] width: 100%; max-width: 1000px; margin: 0 auto; justify-content: center; align-items: stretch; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; box-sizing: border-box; [/class] [class=Image] position: relative; width: 300px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 300px; background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/8r49yf3.png); background-size: 100%; background-position: 35% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat; margin: 5px; [/class] [class=Title] position: absolute; bottom: 2.5px; width: 100%; padding: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 55px; text-align: center; color: #951610; font-size: 35px; font-family: Wendy One; text-shadow: 0px 0px 8px black; text-decoration: underline; [/class] [class=Mentions] position: absolute; width: 300px; height: 300px; top:0; padding: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Wendy One; color: white; opacity: 0; background-color: rgb( 0,0,0,0.65); transition: opacity .5s; [/class] [class name=Mentions state=hover] opacity: 1; [/class] [class=Content] position: relative; min-width: 200px; height: auto; padding: 0px 15px; margin: 5px; font-family: Wendy One; [/class]

Hyped_Taco · May 2, 2019

Barely a second had passed before Michael´s hand got forcefully removed from Colt´s shoulder by Marcus. The white-haired boy bent his hand quite a bit, causing pain to Michael while trying to ¨threaten¨ him, the only problem being that Michael was way more focused on the unbelievable amount of pain going through his hand at this very moment, but he was only able to catch a few words of what he was saying ¨Buddy/ You won't/ steal little girls/ capeesh¨. ¨Dude what the fuck??¨these were the only words that could come out of Michael´s mouth, did Marcus fucking think that he is intending to kidnap Milly or some shit like that?.

But at last, the man released his hand to go eat the scrambled eggs Leliana gave him, ¨Dickhead...¨ Michael murmured.

The neckbeard gulped when he heard the task that Colt had just given him “Git out there and check out the perimeter of this here clearin¨ Those words utterly scarred him, the last time he had been outside he was almost eaten by a horde of zombies he had attracted, how could he know that this would not end in the same way as before?. But he had to ignore his immense fear at the moment, he grabbed the Colt .45. that the shaky woman gave him and prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do. ¨Of course m´ lady, I shall go outside for thee¨ he said while trying to mimic Shakespeare which would surely have made the old man roll on his own grave. But moments before exited the kitchen he heard Colt asking for her flask, apparently, it was important for her, so Michael quickly went to get it for her. While passing her the flask he tipped his fedora at her.

While making his way towards the door he could see Milly talking with the doctor from earlier, Michael could feel his heart being filled with the regret from earlier on. Not only had he stolen from her before but now he even made her cry, he wondered how his parents would have reacted to his behavior.

Michael approached the girl to apologize ¨Hey so… I´m sorry for what I said to you before, I didn´t mean to make you sad¨ He was bad when it came to this sort of things so he grabbed the granola bar from his pocket and gifted it to the girl ¨Here, uh… it tastes good- Or well I think it does¨. Michael knew that he just gave her his whole breakfast...Leliana had made that disturbingly clear yet he did not care.

And at last, he stepped out of the lodge to patrol the surroundings, he decided to bring a paper and pen with himself as well, so he could draw a sketch of the place, so he would not get lost.

Interactions:

Rumble Fish Milly and Colt

Soma Schicksal Marcus
Mentions:

FireMaiden Leli

The Mad Queen Ralph

Rumble Fish · May 2, 2019

Colt was rubbing her temples with both hands in an attempt to calm herself down. Very small noise was torturous and it was becoming more and more difficult to stay awake. At this point the shakes were out of control. She hardly noticed Michael giving her the flask until she saw him walking away… with her colt.45. If Colt had the mental strength, she would have chased that dummy outside and wrestled him for it, but she simply didn’t. But if he lost that pistol, there would be hell to pay. Lots of hell. All the hell that could be physically gained would rain down on that fat man like bullets… that or just a slap on the jaw. She was already annoyed at the man for his ‘dickhead’ comment towards Marcus. Yes, she had heard it and she was not happy. Marcus had done more for the lodge than he had. Colt propped herself up and drank out of the flask. As soon as she did, it was as if there had been a spell put on her. Everything stopped. Everything settled. Colt groaned and flopped back onto the sofa with a heavy sigh. Christ, that was too close. At least she thought so. Her heart-rate slowly returned to normal and after a few minutes, Colt felt as though she could sit up.

With a groan, Colt sat up, glancing outside. She saw Michael had left and the small scouting group were on their way themselves. The woman sighed with a frown. Now she could actually have a coherent thought in her head, she was seriously doubting her decision for them to leave. They were already missing three of them, one who hadn’t been seen for almost five days. Why hadn’t she been more stubborn and go herself? There were capable people here. More capable than herself. Brian would be a good leader from what she knew, or possibly Leliana. They at least seemed to have an idea of who they were and what to do. All Colt knew was that she could shoot a gun. That was it. And even at this point she could not feel like she could do even that. The woman sighed heavily.

Every time Colt blinked, it became harder to open them again. Each blink became longer and longer, and she felt herself beginning to drift. The woman would then jolt awake in a slight panic as she would feel herself falling forward, causing her heart-rate to spike once again. Colt rubbed her head with a heavy sigh. She could not keep going like this. It had been over fifty hours since she had slept and she did not know how much longer she could keep going like this. All her muscles hurt, her shoulder was still aching and the muscles pulled whenever she moved it and her head was still aching. The veteran lied the prosthetic limb on the floor so she could easily grab it and attach it if it was needed. Eyes half shut, she turned around on the sofa to look behind her.

“Leliana?” She called to the nurse. She hated this. She did not want to ask for help, she was supposed to be the leader of this group until Luca got back (if he was coming back) and having to ask someone to do something like this honestly did not sit well with the woman, “Would ya mind if ya keep ‘n eye on things for a bit? I’m gonna… power down for a bit.” She honestly did not know what else to call it. She did not want to call it a nap, snooze or anything like that, she was not a fucking baby! The woman rubbed her sore eyes with the back of her hand. They were going to have enough to deal with once Shiona gave birth, something Colt hoped would happen sooner than later, for the group's sake.

“If anythin’ and I mean anythin’ happens, wake me up.” She added firmly, even if it only meant she got ten minutes of sleep, it was still better than nothing. After saying this, Colt sighed and took her jacket off, to use as a makeshift blanket. Lying on her back, she placed the heavy jacket over her. It had been days since she had left her apartment and, of course, things were starting to smell. However, Colt was not bothered by it, she had dealt with worse before. Besides, hygiene was not her strong point, even before the city fell apart. After taking another sip from her flask, Colt sighed and shut her eyes. All she could hope that the little sleep she expected to get would not be disrupted by nightmares.
Interactions:

FireMaiden (Leliana)
Mentions:

Soma Schicksal (Marcus)

Hyped_Taco (Michael)

BloodLightning27 (Brian/Shiona)

Maj · May 2, 2019

October 20th, 2018
1:00pm
The Road Home

“Ow.” Andy shook her wrist out and glared up at her brother’s new bodyguard. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but assuming you aren’t my long lost creepy cousin I don’t think you have a right to talk to me about any of my family members” The words he spoke about her mother barely felt real, but one look at her brother’s fallen face told her it was true. Andy’s face softened and she turned on her heels to leave, with the silent promise that her and her brother would talk later when there wasn’t an audience to watch them mourn.

Once Luca got the vehicles ready to drive, she hopped in the driver's seat. It wasn’t really that she didn’t trust Luca to do so as it was that she trusted herself far more to not crash and kill them. One car accident was enough for a lifetime. Owen had taken the passenger seat, likely eager to try to talk to her, but she was exhausted. All the energy she had left after days of searching for him had been expended in the few blows she had landed on her brother’s defenseless face. The pink handprint still shone off his face.

The drive back to the lodge was surprisingly uneventful. By taking back roads she had been able to avoid most of the car graveyards, and since they were making good time the undead that were called to the sound of their van weren’t a threat. The only real stop was to pick up some items from Jonas' apartment and a hitchhiker they found on the way back. Before long, they were on the winding dirt road home, and Andy felt the relief pour into her lungs, a soothing sigh that consumed her whole body.

“He didn’t hurt you did he?” Owen’s voice was low as he spoke, as to not bother the other members of the van.

“What are you talking about?” Andy snipped back, but all the bite was gone from her tone. Instead her voice was smooth and even, cool and tired.

“Luca, did he…”

“You know, for someone who seems so concerned with Luca being dangerous you had no qualms leaving me alone with him.” Andy rolled her eyes, as her body jarred from the bumps of the old untraveled road. “Of course he didn’t. Don't be fucking stupid. He was the only person who came with me to come find you. If it wasn’t for him, I would have came by myself and died trying to get to you. If I’m alive, it’s because of Luca worked hard to keep me that way. You probably owe him some gratitude.”

That didn’t sit well with her brother who crossed his arms across his broad chest and sunk further into the seat. He looked like a child who had just been told they weren’t going to mcdonalds because there was food at home. Dejected and unhappy.

“About what Hector said,”

“Not now Owen. Later. Please?” She stole a brief glance over to him, their matching set of eyes locking. The truth was, she wouldn’t be able to get through a conversation about her mother without tears and she didn’t want to cry in front of a van full of grumpy looking men and a kid. Her brother seemed to understand her concerns. He nodded and looked forward out the windshield once more.

“I’m sure people are going to be glad to see you,” his sister added as an afterthought. “I wasn’t the only one worried about you.” The thought was foreign to the man, most of these people were strangers. Still, going through a traumatic event together did wonders for comradery. He would be worried too if something had happened to Colt or Leliana.

“I’ll be glad to see them too,” he agreed.

“Maybe take a shower before you try to give anyone anymore hugs though, you smell like shit.” Andy added, smirking without looking over. Owen smirked back.

“Yeah, you don’t exactly look your best either there kiddo.” And then they were there, home at last. The lodge staring them in the face, right where they had left it. Andy turned off the ignition and wearily got out of the van.

The Mad Queen · May 2, 2019

Jenna O'Connor

The girl did not go unprepared. The first thing she did before setting off with Marcus and Brian was head to her car. At this rate it wasn't like she could return it, so it would be easier to just refer to it as her own. A beat up and old piece of crap rental, but her beat up, old piece of crap rental that had gotten her this far. It wouldn't be much help in the heavy snow though, for the girl was just grabbing some more supplies for the road.

She emptied out a small one-strap bag that went over her shoulder, placing it's contents into her rucksack. Sure, the rucksack could carry more but she wasn't about to risk it, nor what it contained. The one strap small backback would do for now.
There was one other thing to grab before they headed out, and it was probably the most important. It was as Jenna had said to Colt, she couldn't just fight the undead off with a cane forever.

But bringing a gun would do little more than end with her ringing a giant dinner bell, at best. She thought about other potential weapons. The shovel might do the trick, but it was too heavy. She would get tried from swinging it and the recovery would mean a dead one could grab her. She almost smiled as she thought of the next potential item: the axe.

Walking over to the pile of recently chopped firewood, Jenna examined it. It was a bit heavy to be wielded in one hand.
Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of something else though, a hatchet that she picked up and carried in her left hand. She still felt out of place with Brian and Marcus, two tall men armed to the teeth with firearms but a good axe might be all she would need to even the odds.

She turned, and started to head down the road to catch up with them only for hear a faint whining. Cammy blocked her path.
"Go back to the lodge. Wait with that doctor and the little girl." She commanded "No, it's not that it's just that I don't want you getting hurt."
Cammy moved up towards Jenna, poking her knee with her nose.
"I'm serious. This is too dangerous and the cut in your paw still needs to recover. Go."

After a solid minute of starting between the two, Jenna gave in. She took Cammy by the collar and dragged her back inside the lodge, closing the door in the dog's face. She scratched at the door first, letting out a quiet whine but after a few minutes the German Shepard gave in, curled up into a ball and drifted off with her back up against the door.

As the hours ticked by, the dog would drift in and out of sleep as she waited for Jenna to return.

Interacting with:

Soma Schicksal

FireMaiden · May 2, 2019

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Rumble Fish (Colt/Milly) Maj (Andy/Owen) Brax (Luca/Tre) shadowz1995 (Hector) King Vioogra (Jonas) TheTreForce (Warren) The Mad Queen (Ralph)
Mentioned/In The Area: Rumble Fish (Milly) BloodLightning27 (Shinoa/Brian) TheTreForce (Ray) The Mad Queen (Jenna/) King Vioogra (Ivan) Hyped_Taco (Micheal) Soma Schicksal (Marcus)
Leliana chuckled a little, "Though, sometimes its a fair comparison." She figured Micheal had something to do with this, because nobody else would actively try and upset Milly, at least, not that she's seen. Most of them kinda walked on eggshells around the girl trying to keep her happy, or protect her from the shit going on outside. Marcus mentioned that guy stole her food, which was a moronic idea. "Don't worry Milly," Leliana said as Micheal walked over, apologizing before he headed outside. "I'm sure he's heard worse." That wasn't nice to say, but it was probably true none the less. And he had kinda been the butt of everyone's jokes and he had been threatened pretty often. Hell, even she had threatened Micheal not to long ago, but honestly he did kind of deserve it. Even an idiot with half a brain knows not to throw a goddamn gun, even if your out of ammo. Watching him do that, just kinda hurt. Anyway, Colt approached a few minutes later, asking her to keep an eye on things while she took a nap, though the way the vet phrased it made it sound like she was a robot. It was kinda funny, though Leliana didn't say anything. Instead, she nodded, standing up leaving Milly with Ralph with a wave, "Yeah no problem. I'll make sure nothing catches on fire." Or explodes, gets shot, or breaks something because those seemed to be the running theme for everyone here. Well, some of the people here, a few of them liked getting stabbed.

-----

A few hours had passed, and honestly Leliana was pretty bored. Marcus, Jenna, and Brian had headed out shortly after Colt passed out, Colt was left alone on the couch, Micheal was still wandering outside...or at least, the last time she checked he was, he could have come back in while she was busy organizing and finally going through their food stocks. They weren't low, per say, but they certianly didn't have a surplus. Most of it was canned foods and a good number of bagged stuff like those salt and vinager chips that Owen had grabbed for her and some other stuff that looked like it was from a vending machine. They should have enough for a few days, granted no more surpirse arrivals show up. But Marcus should also be looking for supplies, so her worrying wasn't as bad as it could be. You know, that worrying that could make you sick? She had been feeling lik that alot lately, Leliana didn't like it. There wasn't anything she could do about it, she knew that, but she hated it more than anything. And it wasnt like she hadn't been this worried before, but the last time it was this bad, was back when she was still living with her-

SNAP.

Glancing down, Leliana sighed heavily as she brushed broken pencil lead off the notebook page. She was altering the number of medical supplies they had offically since Marcus had taken some, though he had neglected to mention that to her. Unfortunately her hands were shaking, the eraser movements jerky, and she was pressing down to hard on the page, almost like she had low bloodsugar. She tried fixing her mistake, but for the moment, only made it worse, which caused her to try and and erase and start over again, but once more her shaking hands didn't cooperate. Out of frustration, she dropped, practically threw the pencil down, to run her hands through her hair. "Goddamn it." It wasn't a problem yet, but day three and four were gonna be a fucking nightmare, they always were. And Leliana didn't have to go through this often, or at least, not in the past two years. Before that, her therapist had taken her off Zoloft when she said she felt good for three weeks in a row. She was uh, maybe 15 then? And then one of her friends started giving her Xanax which helped in a way, but Leliana liked that to much. She stoped before it was a problem, and shortly before she got a job at Moe's, but she hadn't forgotten what that felt like.

Anyway, her head snapped up when she heard a car outside, her hands slowly falling to her side as she moved to the closest window to look out. It was a van, and at first she couldn't see who it was. Her mind immediately went to the Hazmats, even they could use alternate modes of transport, and that shaking got worse. They had Colt, Ivan, and herself. She knew Milly and Shinoa couldn't fight, and didn't know about Ralph and Beathany, they couldn't arm them anyway. And Micheal wasn't-oh. A mop of red hair stepped out of the drivers side, immediately lifted a weight off her shoulders. Leliana turned, making her way to Colt on the couch. "Hey, hey, Andy and Luca are back, get up. Or not, it's probably a good idea though," She said, hoping Colt was a light sleeper. And that if she was she wouldn't stab her. Just incase though, "Milly! Come make sure Colt wakes up please, carefully though. And uh, try not to spook her." With that, Leliana headed outside.

Of course, the first person she saw was Andy. The redhead looked...well..."Wow, you look like shit," Leliana told her with a faint smile. "Glad you're back, and I promise, nothing is broken. Though, well, someone can explain later." She moved slightly to take a look inside the van, smiling when she saw both Luca and Owen, despite the new faces. She gave them a wave, before looking back to Andy. "Let's get everyone inside, yeah? I'm gonna guess you guy's didn't come home unscathed."

Brax · May 3, 2019

The car pulled up to the driveway of lodge. Luca, whose head had been leaning against the car window, opened his eyes slowly after realizing that they had stopped. He let out a silent yawn before his fingers grasped the metal handle of the door and pulled it toward himself. Upon letting it go the minivan door slid open automatically, albeit slowly. After the man grabbed his bag off the floor he stepped out of the van, walking around the back. That was when he noticed that someone had walked outside to greet them. She must have been worried. It wasn’t enough to stop Luca from getting inside, however.

“Leliana.” The Italian cooed, walking past Andy, Owen and herself without a second look.

“Andrea was in a car accident.”

Immediately after, Luca opened the front door to the lodge. He looked at the few faces that had been hanging around the living room but remained quiet. Instead of making small conversation, the Italian dropped his bag of belongings on the floor. Every item, minus one pack of cigarettes and a lighter which were removed, were for use at the lodge. Medical supplies, non perishables, emergency items such as water purifiers and even a few postnatal items for Shinoa could be found among the duffel bag's contents. Light hues moved up to catch a glimpse of Colt. He wanted to check in with her to make sure all was well - as it had been rather apparent that the lodge was not in the same pristine shape it had been in when both he and Andy had left a few days ago.

He made his way into the master bedroom and closed the door behind him. There was a time and a place for that conversation. Luca came to the conclusion that this was not it. With the assumption that Leli was tending to Andy’s wounds and the belief that Colt was still asleep, the man was fairly confident he didn’t have to worry about any others bothering him. There had been a distinct lack of information handed to the nurse of the lodge purposefully with the intention of obtaining some peace and quiet. He walked over to the large wardrobe and placing a dirty hand on his bloody forehead. Luca really hated wearing this guy’s clothes. When Andy’s uncle was alive, he obviously presented himself as a Cuban tourist. That wasn’t a problem with the Italian despite making him look absolutely ridiculous.

Another Hawaiian shirt and some cargo shorts. Considering the ex-mobster was not a granny-panties type of guy, he had to opt out for adding the other vital piece of clothing to go with this lineup. However, there was a belt. That would have to do for the time being. The next time Luca was leaving the lodge he would have to remember to grab a normal pair of fucking clothes. He wouldn’t have changed out of his last getup if it wasn’t for the fact that it was tattered and pieced up to high hell. So, the man removed whatever remains of cloth still covered his body and tossed them into a pile in the corner of the room. There may have been a hamper but previously Luca hadn’t looked hard enough to find out. The world was his hamper now.

A minute or two later and ol' dude was busting moves while locked away in the bathroom. He ran the water of the shower, absentmindedly holding a finger under the spray to confirm that it was cold. Luca wasn’t sure if the water came in limited supply or the town had not shut the water, but it was more than likely that showers were a finite affair. For the time being he was going to enjoy getting in his hot shower after dealing with the bullshit that came with the streets of Aurora. While waiting for it to warm, he placed his back against the wall opposite of the toilet and slid down so that his bare ass was pressed against the small rug on the ground between them. Then Luca lifted both of his legs so that he could rest his forearms on them.

His free hand moved to the one that was still holding a pack of cigarettes as well as his lighter. With its assistance he was easily able to remove a smoke and stick the filter between his lips before bringing light to the end. Reaching slightly, he was able to put the pack and the lighter on the corner of the sink counter, beside his clothes. After a moment of re-positioning himself, Luca leaned his head back against the wall. Eyes fixated around a small chip in the paint on the ceiling, the cogs of his thought process continued turning. In reality, it was only by a freak streak of luck that Owen walked out of the hospital and found them first.

Luca was ready to walk inside and throw his life away. In retrospect, the act would have done very little. He wouldn’t have achieved redemption of character. There was no legacy to leave behind to droves of mindless reanimated beasts. All it would have been was a valiant death and if there was a heaven the man was well-aware he had no business in it. A brief drag gave way to the exhalation of smoke, intermingling with the steam rising off of the porcelain shower as it ascended.

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Rumble Fish · May 3, 2019

The following post is a collab between

Maj and

It had been a few hours since Colt had gone to sleep. The woman slept deeply which was to be expected, but her body language gave much away. The tossing and turning, the moaning and the twitching of the facial muscles would tell anyone who happened to look her way that she was not having a good rest. Her body twitched as she dreamed.

All she could see were flashes of red as she ran through the barracks, everything exploding around her. She could not see what she was running from and she was not about to stop and turn around to look. It sounded like some kind of huge dog, it's strides matched with the blades of an overhead helicopter. The brief moment Colt had turned around, the canine had demonic yellow eyes, unblinking as it flashed its teeth in a perpetual snarl. The longer she ran from the beast, the bigger and more hellish it became. Everything was closing around her, the only source of light being at the end of what seemed to be a never ending tunnel. She had to escape it before the light was snuffed out, it was already fading fast! Not. Much. Further… a sudden force fell onto her, an unholy screech in her ear-

The woman sat bolted upright with a shout, everything freezing aside from her eyes as she darted them around. People. Why were there people? Who were these people? Where did they come from? How long had they been here? “What. The. Fuuuuck…?” She groaned, frustration building within her. It was then that she had noticed Andy and Luca outside. The woman growled to herself. Granted she was pleased to see Andy was okay, but Luca? Colt hadn't forgotten about what he had said, and now he brought a bunch of strangers into the lodge? Didn't he berate her for doing the same thing before? Fuckin’ bellend.

Colt growled as she stood up to put her jacket on and attach her leg. Despite her few hours sleep, she was still looking and feeling incredibly rough. Her skin was pale, the area around her eyes was dark and her hair was a rats nest from lying down. Colt grabbed her flask, wanting to get away from the crowd. She needed to calm down from her nightmare. The vet had this nightmare several times already, and they all ended the same way, being caught by the dog before reaching the end. As Colt limped into the kitchen for space, the sudden sight of a figure caused her heart to jump and the woman froze in fright, only to then realise the man standing there was none other than Owen, the cause of all of this in the first place. Colt groaned, feeling very conflicted. Was she happy to see the man again? Yes, absolutely. But did she think he was out of his mind to go off on his own and cause her to deal with all of this bullshit herself? Yes!

“Y’dummy.” She sighed as she took another sip from her flask, not sure on how else to greet him.
-

Owen turned at the sound of Colt’s greeting and flashed her a sheepish grin. He scratched the back of his head apologetically. He had promised her he would only be a few hours behind them, but that was when he happened across Sarah. Now he didn’t even have his cousin to explain his absence.

“Nice to see you too,” he didn’t give Andy’s words any thought before embracing the woman, wrapping his arms all the way around her shoulders and torso and pressing her to him tightly. Out of all the new comers he had met, Colt was his favorite. It was likely that it was only due to the fact that they had shared some close calls together, and a few pep talks as well. The term ‘battle buddies’ came to mind.

“Before you give me a lecture, please know that Andy has a mean right hook and has already ripped into me,” he gave a nervous chuckle before releasing her, remembering that he hadn’t showered in days and was covered in blood and lord knows what else.

“I would have kept my word, but I ran into some family while I was out that needed help. Delayed me a bit. I’m sorry if I gave you any trouble.”
-
Colt made a strange noise upon being hugged. The woman did not take being grabbed suddenly well, but something about the man stopped her from having her typical reaction which would be to tell and pull away, instead she gingerly put an arm around him and patted his back.

“Hm. Beat me to it then.” She responded before he then explained about his absence. The woman yawned and rubbed one of her eyes, she was swaying on the spot from a mix of a lack of sleep and just being woken up. Two hours was not enough.

“Hngh… I’d have gone out like I said but, damn bastard wouldn't let me.” She glared out the door, talking about Luca, “Fuckin’ no good son of a…” she drank from her flask again before going to the sink to pour herself and Owen some water. Luca’s words still stung, as well as Leliana’s despite her apology. While Colt had accepted it, she hadn't forgotten and was still angry.
-
He gave her a concerned and inquisitive look. It sounds like Colt had issues with Luca. He wasn’t surprised, even when the italian was in a good mood he could be abrasive at best. Owen rolled his eyes. Why he felt he had the right to just stomp around like he owned the place was beyond him. This was Andy’s lodge and other than being efficient at killing he had no real skills that made him qualified to lead anything.

“Fuck that guy.” Owen said plainly. “He doesn’t have the right to tell you to do a damn thing. He’s not your boss. He isn’t anyone’s boss.” He hadn’t gotten over the way Andy had talked about him in the van, she rarely talked kindly about anyone. It had bothered him the whole ride home. He was grateful he had kept Andy alive, that was true. But he wasn’t going to thank Luca for coming out to look for him and he absolutely hadn’t asked him to take his sister out into the dangers of the city and do god knows what else with her.

“Don’t you worry for two seconds about anything that bastard said to you. He’s not worth it.”
-

“It’s not so much he said it, it’s more that he fuckin’ said it in front of the whole fuckin’ lodge!” Colt growled. After taking another couple of gulps of the fiery liquid, she finally felt coherent enough to give Owen a short version on what had happened. By the end of it, her hands were shaking and her eyes were firmly set on the ground in front of her, her left cheek muscle, where the scar ran down, twitching. She really hated what that had done, forcing her to relive some of her worst moments like that.

“Anyway, he won’t have to fuckin’ worry about me fuckin’ things up no more, cause I’m no’ fuckin’ in charge am I? Anything that happens now is on his fuckin’ head! Should’a punched the fucker.” she let out a long groan, “...’s bin a long few days. Haven’ bin sleepin’... Dunno why I’m bellyachin’, ya look like ye’ve bin through worse.”
-
Owen listened to her recount the events of Andy and Luca’s departure, arms crossed against his chest as she spoke. None of this was surprising from Luca, the had a rather large bark and unfortunately enough bite to back it up.

“He threatened to break Marcus’ legs?” He asked. “He’s out of control. I knew this sort of shit was bound to happen with he climbed in that RV with us back at the school, but Andy wouldn’t listen to me.” He let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as the air exhaled. He turned her face, grabbing her gently by the chin, to look at him, making sure she was listening when he spoke next.

“It sounds like you did a fantastic job while he was gone anyway. I told you back at your place, you have all the qualities to be a great leader Colt. The lodge is still standing and the people are in one piece, that’s all we can really ask for. You are too hard on yourself.” When she mentioned his state all he could do was shake his head. She was right, it had been a long few days.

“Long days, but we are still standing.” He reached into the bag he had gotten from the pharmacy at the hospital, unzipping it to reveal a gold mine of assorted bottles of pills. “As for the sleeping, that is a problem I can easily fix.” Owen tossed the woman a bottle of trazodone for sleep, followed by a bottle of pain medication. He remembered she had asked for it before he left.

“As for the dosages, I’m not sure. But the dude with the long hair over there I picked up is a doctor. I’m sure he would be able to make sure I don’t accidentally kill you.”
-
Colt listened to him speak before giving the man a small shake of the head, “Good job? Hm. Well it’d be fuckin’ nice to hear that once in a while. All that shit I did there, savin’ folk (with yer help, o’course I can’t take all the credit, that’s dumb) and stuff? The fuck I get? Beatdown by fuckin’ wannabe Colonel Kurtz. Some fuckin’ errand boy.” she huffed with a shake of her head and looked away.

As he handed her the medication she had asked for, as well as sleeping pills. She looked at the man before sighing deeply, “Thanks, Owen.” She opened the pain medication and took a couple of pills, using the water to wash it down. “Doesn’t matter now anyhow. I’ll keep out of everyone’s way. Too many fuckin’ people here now.”
-

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“You aren’t wrong there.” He said looking around the lodge to all the bodies. They would have to expand sooner rather than later. Maybe they could find a few more RVs, at least they could run water and power to them for people.

“You are good for us Colt. If this was a democracy instead of a god damn dictatorship,” He rolled his eyes at the thought of them all being stuck under Luca’s martial law. “You’d have my vote. Easily.” He gave her a soft, playful punch on the shoulder.

“I should go wash all this shit off me before I contaminate the place.” He wondered if anyone here knew how to patch his jacket, it was his favorite and the tear from patient zero was a shitty reminder of how close he had come to greeting death. And with that, he left her downstairs, walking up to find the nearest unoccupied shower.
-
“Marcus, Brian ‘n Jenna are scoutin’ for a bigger place, told em to be back by sunset. Michael… y’dunno ‘im. Sent ‘im to patrol. Fuckin’ fat bastard better not’ve lost my gun.” she grumbled the last bit. As he gave her a playful punch (thankfully on her not-injured shoulder) she watched him as he left, “Y’go relax. I’ll deal with Luca.” She sighed, she hated saying that. While she hadn’t said it, she was thankful for the man’s support.

Once Owen had left the room, Colt did up her jacket and pulled her shirt up to cover her nose before heading outside to sit on the back porch, her breath visible in the air. She held onto her flask as she simply watched the trees. She needed peace to think before speaking to any of the others. She just didn’t have the mental strength. Not right now.

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Brax · May 4, 2019

Tre walked into the house a few paces behind Luca, watching as the man disappeared into his own room. Warren was more than likely going to find a place to plop down and begin drinking but Tre had other ideas of how to spend his time. Colt walked out of the kitchen, passing Tre as she made her way out of the lodge. There were people taking up most of the furniture. The space within the lodge was limited. He figured there were probably more people outside, or some that might even be out gathering supplies. Feet led the teen over to the pantry. There were a few decent items spread about, but in the end nothing in that excuse of a food closet was going to fill him up as much as a peanut butter sandwich.

That’s right folks.

Two pieces of white bread were slapped down onto the kitchen counter. A quick search through a few cabinets and shelves resulted in a knife being withdrawn. Tre shoved the large tub of peanut butter between his torso and his arm, twisting it open with his free hand. He tossed the cap onto the sink’s counter. A quick flick of the wrist, followed by a dip of the knife into the brown, buttery paste saw an evenly-spread layer over one slice. A reciprocation of the same artistry provided an edible concoction with balanced contents within. White teeth dove into a sea of intermixing beige and brown particles. The loud flavor maneuvered around his mouth with the same consistency as one of those gooey hand things that you could throw at a wall and have it stick to. You know, for 25 cents out of one of those machines back in the day at a Toys R Us? You get me if you’re 'Murican.

An audible moan escaped his mouth. He had been absolutely delighted within his impulsive choice to make a sandwich. Truth was, if it weren’t for Luca, Tre not only would have avoided making a sandwich, but he would have never shown up at the lodge in the first place. He felt less bad for taking other people’s food after coming back with more supplies that were useful as well. The teen brought half of his sandwich from his mouth to the front of his chest so he could get a look at it. There weren’t many times that Tre had been thankful to find real food. After living off of nothing but fucking granola bars and bags of chips for the last two days, the kid hadn’t even noticed just how hungry he actually was.

“Oh my god this shit is good.” Another audible noise escaping from Tre’s lips that was actually a sentence, but came out as blubbering nonsense as a result of the mouthful of peanut butter he was housing between his fucking cheeks. Yes, the cheeks on his face. He walked out of the kitchen after taking a moment to put back the items which he had withdrawn from the pantry. Then he moved back into the living room, offering a slight wave to the sea of new faces which he had yet to introduce himself to. Then he walked over to Luca’s room, knocked twice and turned the handle of the door.

A step into the doorway allowed Tre to peer around the door. Straight ahead in the room the young man was greeted with the sight of Luca lying in his bed. He had been holding himself halfway off the mattress, shirtless, staring at the kid as though he was ready to jump out of the bed and murder him in cold blood. This wasn’t something that threw Tre off as it was more common to see the Italian with this demeanor plastered on his face rather than one of content. Luca wasn’t aware of that concept. “So, um.” Tre said, looking at the man. So far, he had said nothing. He was just staring at the kid, as if he were a jump scare monster brought to real life. “What should I do?” Luca blinked. It was the first time he had done so since Tre had walked into the man’s room.

“Go to the shed in the back and get a gun. Then go find a place to rest. When dusk hits, take to Andrea’s perch until someone comes and lets you know otherwise. If you get confused, go talk to Colt. She oversees regular operations walking around on a fake leg. Scar on her face. You can’t miss her.” Luca growled, turning over and laying back down on the bed, signifying he was done talking to Tre.

The kid shrugged.

“Aight, bet.” A few seconds later, he exited the master bedroom as fast as he had entered it. Colt must have been the person that Tre passed a few minutes back while he was walking into the kitchen. Taking to the same route she took, the young man exited the lodge to find Colt sitting outside. His sweatshirt did a decent job combating the elements but Tre’s choice to wear shorts remained unwavering. He paused, looking over to the woman who had probably close to a decade and some change over him in age. Of course, Tre already had weapons to use but they were less for the purposes of long-range use.

“Yo. Luca told me to get a gun and report to you if I need anything. He also told me to lay low up in Andy’s perch to keep watch tonight. Is that cool? I ain’t tryna step on your toes so if you got somethin’ else, i’ll go do that.”

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shadowz1995 · May 4, 2019

It was very.... homely... if nothing else. Too crowded for Hector's taste but with the chaos in the city, it made sense for people to band together. There were risks in having large groups but there was safety in numbers. No one could doubt that.

That being said, the doctor was far from comfortable and immediately felt out of place when people started exchanging warm greetings and "welcome backs". Arrangements would have to be made for the doc to make good on what he promised Owen but for now, he just needed to get away from all of this.... comradery.

The large man stepped into the household and pulled his hood and mask off. He quietly observed everyone for a moment before finding the bloodied Owen having a conversation with some woman. He waited for the dialogue to end before approaching the stairs he ascended and calling up to the young, red-headed lad, "Owen. When your cleaned up, come see me. I'll do a thorough check to make sure you aren't infected."

They weren't words anyone wanted to hear but it was better safe than sorry. Naturally, Hector would subject himself to the same check. He wasn't covered in as much blood as Owen was but he definitely didn't get out of these past few hours clean. Infected blood, both old and new, clung to his gloves, sleeves, and pants. He hadn't suffered any injuries thankfully but that also didn't mean he was out of the woods.

Another young lad passed by him and began speaking to the woman Owen had just finished speaking to. She looked worse for wear but he was sure he did as well.

The more he lingered indoors, the more uncomfortable he became. So, Hector stepped past everyone and went out the back door. Back into the snowy cold and some semblance of solitude. Cold weather never bothered the doctor none. If anything, enjoyed it. Felt at home with it more than with a family of people. More than the orphanage he was raised in. The crunching of snow beneath his feet and the frosty bite of cold was ironically more warm than any embrace he ever felt.

He set his pack down to his left, leaned against the cold wall and slid down until he was sitting. His hand quickly felt for the shape of his firearm underneath his coat and the knife by his thigh. This was supposedly a safe haven but that wasn't a guarantee.

Not anymore.

Brax