Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[Hyped_Taco]

This is a collab between ya boy Hyped_Taco and Rumble Fish



Colt shook her head a little as she finally drifted from the world of inward thought into the one of the living. She was rubbing her hands together perpetually, the skin feeling hot and rough from the consistent movement. The heat of stress soaked into the back of her neck and head and her empty-ish stomach twisted like a knot from the strain. She could barely keep a straight thought in her head. Whenever she attempted a rational thought about the Lodge and its inhabitants, how to keep them alive and willing, it would quickly be swept away by the fears and paranoia Colt had desperately tried to drown. Unfortunately, they seemed able to swim.

She knew worrying so much about a firearm was ridiculous. Stupid even. But that handgun was too special to her. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship with its shimmering golden barrel and engraved mustangs running across the handle. Even after the trauma endured in Afghanistan, it was gorgeous and unscathed… unlike its owner. Colt blew harsly through her nose in a shuddering sigh. But before she could think further, the sound of the door opening made her jump and spin around. Leliana was returning from the outside, and out the window she could see Michael following. The door was drifting shut after the nurse so Colt grumbled a few profanities under her breath and approached the door. With one swift motion, she pulled the door open just as the neckbeard was in front of it.

“MICHAEL!”​

--

The walk back to the lodge with Leliana had been mostly calmed and even was a bit fun, he had to admit, he kinda enjoyed the view of the forest, with the few minutes they had been out he had calmed down, and as Leliana had said, he would tell Colt all about it when they got back.

The feeling did not last long, of course, cause a few seconds before Leliana entered the wooden building, he saw how Colt, angrier than he had ever seen her before, pulled open the door with the fury of a thousand men and screamed for his name.

​

The neckbeard realized he was definitely not ready to face Colt right at this moment, he knew that cause he nearly got a heart attack when he saw her, ¨Haha, I should go back to my patrolling duty right? so see ya¨ he told the angry vet while he jogged as fast as he could on the opposite direction.
--
--

Colt stared daggers at the man as he jumped and instantly decided to make an excuse to leave. As he jogged off, Colt growled audibly and took off after him. She was not in the mood for this bullshit! It only took her a few seconds to catch up to the neckbeard. With a swipe, she grabbed him by his trench-coat’s scruff and yanked him towards her. She pulled the man close, furious and emerald hues staring straight into his pair, blinking in an unbroken glare.

“RV. Now.” She hissed dangerously as she pushed him harshly away from her. Her heart-rate raced with fury and strain. As they walked to the vehicle, she gave him another shove between the shoulder blades, making it sure he got the message. Once inside, she slammed the door harshly before turning to him, she still had not blinked since she had first grabbed him.

“Ya take my gun… My personal firearm… and lost it!?” She snarled, taking an angry stomp towards him pointing her finger like the very firearm she was speaking about towards him, “I want an explanation. Now.”​

--

​

Michael's "escape" plan barely got him a few more seconds before the furious looking veteran caught up to him "I'm so fucked aren't I?" He said moments before Colt ordered him to go to the RV while she looking him directly in his eyes "I guess that answers my question" He thought.

While going towards the RV as if he were some kind of criminal, Colt accidentally shoved him between his shoulder blades, man, she needed to watch where was going.

Once inside the vehicle, she started… interrogating him, or that's the way it appeared to be to Michael "Well I mean, you gave me that gun so I don't see why you're so mad" the Neckbeard thought that would be it, but when she mentioned the gun he just knew this conflict had escalated "say whaaat? What are you saying, I have your gun like right here" he then takes the Colt.45 out "See? Can I go now?".
--
--

“Give- I gave ya a M1911 ya fuckin’ basement-dwelling degenerate!” Colt snarled, “Do ya ever fuckin’ listen to anything folks tell ya?!” She snapped. She noticed that he did indeed have the Colt.45 in his hand, that he tried to pass off as always having on him. Without a word, she snatched the weapon from his hand and briefly inspected it. The gun appears to be in one piece, thank God. With a strained gasp, Colt gripped onto the firearm and held it against her chest, feeling the cold metal over her t-shirt. Being able to run her fingers along the engravement and know that it was back with her instantly allowed the woman to settle.

However, Colt blinked as she became aware of the vulnerability on display and instantly re-bristled. She gently put the gun down, facing it towards the wall in case it was still loaded. Placing it on a cushion, she turned her glare back to the neckbeard.

“Y’think I’m stupid? I know ya lost it!” Her green eyes widened a little, “Ya fuckin’ THREW IT didn’t you?!” She snarled through her teeth, almost frothing at this point with anger. It was not only about the gun, it was everything! She had given this man one job. One! Job! And that still seemed like too much.

“Why are ya doin’ this to me!? I feel like I can’t trust ya with ANYTHING!”​

--

"Oi! I may be a degenerate but I don't dwell on a basement cause I don't own one!" Michael responded to the woman rather stupidly, while she continued to berate on him. But after she took back her gun rather bluntly, things seemed to calm down for a sec before the vet got all Lovey Dovey with her Colt.45, this weirded out Michael a little, but it was basically the same thing he did with his pillow waifu so he wasn't the one to judge.

But once Colt put her gun gently in a pillow her rage continued, "Ok fine you got me! Yes I threw that gun cause a FUCKING MOOSE chased after me and I got scared Alright!!" The Neckbeard snapped back at her "And look I'm not doing this intentionally, not trying to do anything to you, I'm just scared and confused, plus I don't even know how to use a gun".
--
--

“I fuckin’ told ya to come back as soon as ya saw anything! And what the fuck made ya think it was okay to not only steal my gun, but throw it? I ‘preciate ya gettin’ it back but that's besides the point!” Colt’s right eye then twitched as he answered back with a snap, something that only made Colt angrier with the man. What made him think he could speak to her like that?

“Y’wanna use a gun? First fuckin’ lesson. Don't! Throw! Them! Ya say ya’ve played all them fancy shooting games yet dunno that?” She raises her hands parallel to her face and chopped the air a couple of times for emphasis. The logic of this man truly baffled her. “If ya wanted t’learn how to shoot y’should’ve said! Bet Ivan or Marcus or… Someone would wanna teach ya!”
​

--

Michael quickly realized that snapping at the woman was probably a mistake since that just made her be angrier at him.

"And alright yeah I know that I shouldn't throw my gun away, Leliana also lectured me about it on the way back so don't worry about it. I would ask them but I think that Marcus guy… does not like me, to say the least, and I don't even know who that Iván you are talking about Is".
--

“Y’ do realize that yer gonna have to make a fuckin’ effort if ya wanna be taken seriously ‘round ‘ere, right? Ivan’s the feller with the fucked leg. Knows a little about guns.” Granted she didn't really trust him either but what choice did she have. She was already stressed out with the idea of teaching a couple to shoot, nevermind the whole lodge. She folded her arms and sighed.

“Y’know what? From now on, find Luca or someone for jobs cause I'm fucking done! There's only so much I can put up with this bullshit.” She threw her hand down dismissively and turned to leave the RV.​

---

Now, Michael had never seen this Luca guy, but Leliana had told him he was way scarier than Colt, and If he had to choose from who to take orders from then it was clear as day to him who he would choose.

"Hey, look I just wanna say that I'm sorry, I don't even know how or where to start, but i'll try to change for the better." He said before Colt left the RV.
--

Colt paused as Michael spoke up again and did not turn around until he had finished. So he wanted to get better? She frowned a little at this. She had heard this statement so many times from so many people that she simply did not believe she could trust it. She let out a deep sigh before turning around.

“Well.” She frowned a little with folded arms, “First thing ya need to know is, if ya aren't sure of somethin’, ASK!” She shouted the last word for emphasis. Such a rookie mistake to not do this. She had seen too many people die because of a lack of knowledge they somehow believed they should never ask about. The woman huffed slightly and sat down, admiring the colt.45, stroking its barrel in an attempt to reassure herself.
​

--

In his whole life, Michael had been told the "Just ask" advise so many times that he simply ignores it every single time due to him being embarrassed to actually do it, but this time it was in the Middle of the damn apocalypse so why not give it a shot? At least this time "Uhh… alright, I'll do that" the Neckbeard said "So you know… how do I use a gun?"
--

Colt did not look up from her gun as she cleaned it with a little cloth. She just hoped it hadn't gotten scratched while it was outside. But it seemed relatively unharmed which did help to reassure the woman. When Michael spoke again, asking for advice on guns, Colt glanced away with an uncertain growl in her throat.

“Dunno if I can teach y'all everything right here.” She looked around the RV. The woman released a sigh through her nose. While she really wanted to tell this man to take a hike and leave her alone, she had to admit, he was making some kind of an effort. So it only made sense if she rewarded it. She wasn't a monster after all, regardless of what they probably thought.

“But, when everything dies down and folks are settled, I could teach ya some basics.”​

--

Michael got a bit excited when the woman agreed to teach him the basics eventually, he knew he needed to be at the very least a bit useful in the lodge unless he wanted to get kicked out by this Luca guy ¨Welp...I´ll try my best when you teach me¨.

¨Hey so another question, I thought that you were the leader here, so who´s this Luca Leliana told me about? The only thing she told me is that he has a short-temper ¨ Michael asked Colt, the talk with Leliana had made him curious about this guy, and he needed to know a bit about him.

--

The corner of Colt’s lip twitched as the man seemed eager to listen to her in terms of teaching him how to use a firearm. She was almost impressed. However, the veteran knew better than to get her hopes up. She'd help the man, of course. But still, she was not optimistic.

However, this was short lived as Luca was brought up. The woman stayed silent with only a sigh escaping. She was afraid of this question. “I was put in charge while he was gone. I dunno what’s happenin’ now he's back.” She put her arms akimbo, “...If ya wanna ask anyone anythin’, better ask me. Luca is, um, I honestly dunno but that’d be safer,” she again turned to leave the RV.

“I'll say this. First lesson. Don't throw guns.” She waved the engraved handgun slightly, “‘specially this one.”
​

--

¨Oh, uhh, ok¨ Said Michael, he was mostly confused in how the situation had de-escalated so quickly in a span of just a few minutes. From Colt being in the verge of kicking his ass into promising him to teach him more about guns ¨sure, I´ll stop throwing guns now I guess¨.
The neckbeard said while leaving the RV as well. ¨mhhh, I wonder if lunch is ready?¨ the man thought in his small walk back to the lodge.

Mentions: FireMaiden Leliana Brax Luca

 

[Rumble Fish]

The following post is a collab between Maj and Rumble Fish

“I mean, I was planning on keeping all four working if we could. In case we need to split up. But you are welcome to search the shed for anything of use.” Andy responded to the Russian. “The other two work fine, I have one and so does Luca. It might be worth it to have a few more around the group.”

At the sound of his thank you and the compliment, the girl raised a disgusted eyebrow. She knew that the sundress was a poor choice, but it was all she had. It was for reasons just like this she avoided wearing dresses in the first place. Andy decided that she had nothing nice to say in response and in turn decided to say nothing at all.

She listened idly while the others talked about the moose. Ivan’s fascination with it seemed odd to her. They were both native to Colorado and Russia and so the sighting of one wasn’t that big of a deal. The fat one, Michael she thought he was called, was lucky to get away unscathed though. Adult moose were terribly territorial and were better dealt with at a distance.

Colt huffed as she finally came back into the lodge, fiddling with her colt.45 to make octriple sure that the neckbeard had not damaged it when he had lobbed it at the angry demon deer. At least, that’s what her father would call them after an incident that had given him the long and jagged, knife-like scar running down his chin to his torso involving a moose. The veteran took a moment to look around. The lodge still seemed too busy for her liking. With a grunt, she sat on the sofa, a little away from the others.

Taking out her flask, she continued to gently rub the barrel of the (empty) gun as she took a long drink from it. After dealing with Michael, she knew she had to calm down. While their interaction, for once, ended on a positive note it had still taken a good chunk of her sanity along with it. As she drank, her thoughts began to drift back to matters involving the night-watch and considering asking others to take over. She did not know if she could go much longer without sleep.

Andy watched as the door opened, pleasantly surprised to see Colt wander in through the entrance. That was just the girl she needed to talk to and it seemed that the soldier had saved her from having to go track her down. Andy knew little about Colt, but there were a few things she was certain of. One, the woman was good with weaponry. Both her quick save at the middle school, and all the dead hazmats at Moe’s had been enough to tell her that. Secondly, the woman, much like her brother was a martyr and seemed to put herself on the back burner to take care of others. Also much like her brother, this was more hindrance than help. No matter how strong Colt thought she was, staying awake and starving herself did nothing for the group.

“Do you know how to hunt?” Andy asked, approaching the woman on the couch. The redhead was not known to mince words that weren’t needed and thus got directly to her point. She stood in front of Colt, looking down at her as she sat on the couch, sipping from her flask.

Colt paused mid-tilt as she glanced towards the red-head who had just approached her. She had not spoken to Andy since before they left, where the last conversation they had was unpleasantly aloof. However, Colt knew better than to blame her. She had been scared for her brother. If anything she wanted to apologise profusely for allowing him to go but before she could even open her maw, the woman questioned her on her ability to hunt.

“Hunt?” Colt blinked as she put the flask down, “Uh… yeah, I’ve done some huntin’. Why?” Stupid question, she had a good guess as to why but the veteran could not help but worry about possibly saying the wrong thing at this point. Andy had been with Luca for the last few days, so how the woman would react towards her was now a mystery.

Andy nodded at the woman’s response thoughtfully. She took a seat next to Colt on the couch, settling into the back of the old couch with a tired sigh. The travels had been long and terrible, and now that she was home she was looking forward to some well-deserved rest. But there was stuff to arrange first, and things to do.

“Leliana told me food was on low supply. Lucky for you guys hunting happens to be an area of expertise of mine. Me and blondie are heading out first thing tomorrow. While I know my way around a hunt, and Leliana seems to be able to use a gun, I would feel a lot safer if we had you with us.” Andy reached over to take Colt’s flask without asking, taking a sip off the top before grimacing and handing it back.

“You in? I figure we could all use a break from the lodge. And the men,” she added as an afterthought smirking. She knew that she could for sure. Andy had just about as much as she could take after travelling with Owen, Hector, Luca, and the other three from the pharmacy.

Colt went to growl at the girl as she took her flask but stopped at the mention of going out for a hunt. Taking it back, she screwed it shut. She took her time to answer. Part of her wanted to decline, that nagging sense of duty refused to leave but at the same time, a period away from the lodge would probably do her some good. The woman was feeling overwhelmed here. Some time outside would help, from what she knew.

“What the hell, sounds like fun.” She looked to the woman as she smirked at her. Colt could only twitch the corner of her mouth in response. Smiling was something she was still unaccustomed to. The more she looked towards Andy, the hotter the back of her neck and chest became as she could not escape the looming guilt of the stress she must have put the girl through. “I’m… I’m glad ya found Owen and got him back. I was… really dang worried ‘bout ‘im.” She glanced up at the woman, picking up her gun and rubbing it with the cloth again, hoping to soothe her anxious state.

Andy sighed at the mention of her brother. Colt was someone else that she had been unreasonably rude too after his disappearance. The woman shook her head, crimson tresses bouncing around her shoulders as she did. Emerald hues, looked up from her lap and into Colt’s face as she smirked.

“Owen is a fucking moron, and that is no fault of yours.” It wasn’t an apology, but it would have to do. Hopefully Colt could read between the lines.

“Get some sleep tonight yeah? You look like hell, and I’ll need you alert tomorrow.” Andy stood, some work still needed to be done before she could go to sleep herself, and she was sure she also looked exhausted.

“That’s an order,” the ginger offered Colt another smirk before heading toward her bedroom.

Colt’s bloodshot yet pine hues blinked a few times at Andy’s response to her words about Owen. A shake of the head, a smirk and very few words. At this point Colt was reminded of everything about the girl and her mannerisms. And, it appeared to her at least, that what happened was now water under the bridge. Smacking her lips a couple of times, her eyes glanced downward.

“Ah well, least he’s back now. And in one piece. Y’can take relief in that.” She nodded a little as she spoke before Andy told her she should sleep, and she looked rough, “I’ll take yer word for it. ‘Aven’t slept in three day-ay-aaays.” It was at this point reflex kicked in, as the woman released a prolonged yawn at the last word before watching Andy take her leave. The veteran snorted slightly in a laugh at her final statement before turning her head back to face the rest of the living room. The smirk, the one brief moment of solace faded and a jaded face of lament and worry returned as she looked out the window into the snow-coated hellscape. The woman knew she could not relax unless Marcus, Brian and Jenna were back and safe. There had been too much action. The veteran sighed softly as she took her flask again. Where do they go from here?

Interactions: King Vioogra (Ivan)
Mentions: Soma Schicksal (Marcus) The Mad Queen (Jenna) BloodLightning27 (Brian) Maj (Owen)​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Doctor Ralph Fisher​

​

With his hands in his pockets to ward off the cold, Fisher observed Hector's bedside manner while he leaned against the outer wall of the lodge. It was cold, yet effective, much like what he'd heard about Salazar Sr. He knew what he was talking about, and that was the important thing for the residents of the lodge. As Ralph looked into the forest surrounding the lodge, something Salazar said made his blood turn cold.

He'd seen Patient Zero. The first thing that jumped to the doctor's mind was that his team had been lied to yet again before their deaths. The body they'd been handed for study, in fact all of the bodies had already been dead. Just how far back did this go? It only added fuel to the fire for his theories of conspiracy and government cover-ups.
What made the original carrier so different from the other infected? What had made the host using Rogue able to do what it did? Ralph ran his hands down his face, rubbing his eyes as he tried to process everything, like a computer close to overheating due to a lack of sleep and sheer stress alone.

Were the infected getting smarter overall or was it just a small handful of them possessing elevated intelligence? Maybe his theory of a hive mind, one of the many hastily scribbled notes he'd made into the early hours of the morning had some actual backing to it. There was no way of telling, not with such limited resources.

"I did perform an autopsy on one of the infected. When animated she was quicker than the others, and able to hold a weapon."
He turned away from Salazar, his gaze moving back to the forest surrounding the lodge "Poor girl had died of a brain aneurysm. She was one of our own."

Interacting with: shadowz1995 (Hector)
Mentioned: Maj (Owen)

 

[Songbird500]

Residence of Riley and Nathaniel Rain

Riley’s eyes darted open, the moans and scratches of the undead dragging her from her sleep. Most days she wasn’t even sure if the moans were merely in her head or if something more terrible had happened and her worst nightmares had been realised. She’d been terrified to sleep the first few nights, always worried that somehow, she’d wake up to find her brother dead, or worse, undead. Their apartment had been their only saviour when the outbreak began but it wasn’t a fortress, merely a hastily built defence that had, surprisingly, kept them safe till now. Riley grabbed the wrench by her bed and glanced towards the window. She’d learned better than to open the blinds, even the slightest movement could attract unwanted attention, whether that be from the living or the dead. But Riley liked to look sometimes. Just to see what horrors awaited them. It kept her aware, kept her agile. It wasn’t a bad thing to remind herself what might kill them if she failed, what they could become if even the slightest hesitation or mistake was made. The world while not kind before, had become wicked and death made no exceptions, adapt, or you’re mine. But staring out that window, Riley couldn’t help but be reminded of how she’d gotten here. How that day, that ‘oh so normal day’, changed so quickly to the chaos that remained now.

Flashback​

Residence of Riley and Nathaniel Rain

Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

6:30am

The dull tones of Riley’s alarm echoed through the room. It was a day like any other and while Riley contemplated the chores of the day her alarm continued to bleep insentiently. Finally, as if coming out of a daze, Riley dragged her arm to her phone and hit the stop button. She did not however, actually rise from her bed. It was something Riley did every morning, put her alarm on sleep three times, finally turn it off, and then lay in bed for another ten minutes. Because of this routine, it often meant Riley had to pre plan her mornings. She was never one known for a wake up and go attitude but a soft, gentle start to the day. After laying in bed, scrolling through the news on her phone, Riley was finally ready to get ready. Breakfast, shower, makeup, go. While undergoing her routine, Riley happened to notice that her brother appeared not to be getting ready as well. This was an oddity, since her brother, regardless of sickness, usually always made his way to work. A hesitation was made by Nathaniel’s room, but Riley kept to her promise. That room was his space and his space alone, she would not invade it unnecessarily and since her brother had given her no cause to believe it an emergency she continued on with her day. Finally leaving the apartment, Riley made her way down the stairs to the bike shed to unlock her bike and started on the ride to work.


Aleckzandur's Junk Yard

Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

11:31am

After taking a break on the engine of a newly arrived car, Riley wiped her oily hands on the dungarees she was wearing and leant across to grab her phone. The light illuminated her face and she scrolled down to the name of her brother.

“Hey Nathaniel, I'm going on my lunch break in 15, at the park. Obviously, it depends if you're up for it; I noticed you weren't up this morning. Everything okay?”

The text was written as quickly as it was sent, and Riley leant back on the front bumper of the car to await its reply.

“Yeah, I'll try and get ready.' Nathan replied, 'I'll tell you when I arrive.”

With the arrival of this text, Riley brought the hood of the car down, left a note for Alek that she was taking her lunch break and set out on her bike to the park.


John Bentley Public Park

Tuesday, October 16th, 2018

11:41am

Upon Riley’s arrival she’d left her bike by the side of the bench and slumped down on it. She wasn’t a hundred per cent sure Nathaniel would actually turn up, they’d be on rocky terms since she’d left and despite Riley’s best efforts, while she couldn’t blame him, Nathaniel had been very blunt and grouchy with her. Glancing up Riley saw the outline of her brother approaching, she couldn’t help but smile. Nathaniel let out a little hello and Riley couldn’t help but straighten her back while he continued his approach to her.

“You did come! I was wondering if you would.”

Nathaniel let out a sigh as he sat down beside Riley.

“Well, we live together, so I was going to see you anyway.”

The comment stung but such words had started to hurt less and less.

“I have until 12, then I've got to go back to work.”

Suddenly there was a harsh scream from across the way at the hospital doors. People were running in all directions but what seemed even more peculiar was that there were other people, grabbing and biting. They pulled people to the ground and started tearing at their flesh.

'What the he-' Nathan said as Riley rose up from the bench in horror

'We have to go!' Riley spurted. And in a single twist she had grabbed Nathaniel’s wrist and was now dragging him to the junkyard.

Present day
​

Residence of Riley and Nathaniel Rain

Back in the present Riley found her hand clenched around the wrench. But she couldn't get angry, not anymore. Emotions could be deadly. They're the reason you make mistakes and Riley couldn't make mistakes. Not when it came to Nathaniel. So she started the list in her head and finally , after a few rounds, let go of the anger. Remembering the routine she had before she gave out a little chuckle and then got back to work at her new routine, making sure they weren't eaten alive.
MinTea

 

[MinTea]

Nathaniels' eyes sprung open; another nightmare. The faces of the decomposing zombies haunted his dreams every night for the past couple of days, but what could he do? He would be able to help Riley if she was having nightmares, but helping himself, that was a different story. He was a person who couldn't seem to follow by his own teachings, especially if it was confidence wise.
The one thing that would calm him down after waking up from his haunting sleep, would be remembering before the outbreak. Remembering before the town went to hell. Remembering before the struggle began.

Before it all, he would have a very basic life. Always on repeat. Always the same story. On the morning of the apocalypse, he felt ill however, meaning his normal routine wasn't followed. If it were, he may not be alive today.

Home of Riley and Nathaniel
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
7am

The lump in his throat, his runny nose and his pulsing head made him feel weak. He wouldn't be able to work efficiently like this.
'Hello,' He managed to croak out into his phone, 'I'm really sorry, but I won't be able to come into work today.' He usually attended work, even if he was ill, so they suspected he was worse off than he could handle.
'That's fine, but if it gets any worse, make sure to check in with the doctors here, we don't want one of our key nurses being off to long!'
With all of the issues put away, he could now get some more sleep. His head rested onto his cheap pillow and he soon fell into a slumber.

Home of Riley and Nathaniel
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
11: 32am

Bodoop. What was that?
The boys eyes slowly opened, letting all of the light from his room in. The blinds weren't stopping the suns rays coming in anymore. Feeling slightly better, from his disgruntled morning self, he checked his phone and the notification he had just got.
'Hey Nathaniel, I'm going on my lunch break in 15, at the park. Obviously it depends if you're up for it; I noticed you weren't up this morning. Everything okay?' Riley, his sister texted.
'Yeah, I'll try and get ready.' Nathan replied 'I'll tell you when I arrive.'
Putting down his phone, he sighed.

Getting up from his bed, he went straight to the closet; what to wear today? He knew he would have to look better than he felt, but Nathaniel wasn't willing to go out looking like a model. Jeans and a jumper would work. It did feel colder today.

John Bentley Public Park
Tuesday, October 16th, 2018
11:44 am

He had arrived at the park to see Riley sitting on a bench, crossed legs and looking impatient.
'Hi,' Nathaniel says, still tense with his sister.
Her eyes widened when she saw him and she was plastered with a smile, 'You did come! I was wondering if you would.'
The boy let out a little sigh, and sat down next to his sister. 'Well, we live together, so I was going to see you anyway.'
Rileys' smile faded as she heard his harsh comments. but she always had a habit of brushing things off. 'I have until 12, then I've got to go back to work.' She smiled again.
'AAAAAAAAAAAH!' They saw people running out of the hospital, screams following each person that ran out, then...they both saw it. People jumping on other people, ripping flesh off the bone of each other.
'What the he-' Nathan said as Riley got up in horror,
'We have to go!' In a matter of seconds, she had grabbed his wrist and was now dragging him to the junkyard.

Present Day

Fast forward in time, Nathan had learnt a few new skills of his own. His hands clenched around his knives, readying his position. He knew if he missed his targets, he could hurt or kill the wrong people. Wrist back, hand tightened and...whistle, his knife cut through the air. Perfect.

Songbird500

 

[Maj]

​

For Andy, coming into her bedroom was duel purpose. One, there was no way in hell she was going to make it through the emotional conversation she was about to have with Owen without being intoxicated. And Two, she wanted to make sure that Luca was okay, she hadn’t seen him since he had thrown her at Leliana and fled to her bedroom. Upon entering the darkness of the room, she saw his form, cleaned up and in her Uncle’s clothes, asleep in her bed. She wasn’t surprised, since she was also exhausted and she was sure she had slept more during their adventure than he had.

Andy didn’t pretend to know anything about medicine, but years of living with Owen’s stupid, accident prone, ass taught her that you weren’t supposed to sleep with a concussion. It was likely that he was out of hot water since he had slept some between the accident and now, but she couldn’t shut off the annoying, nagging voice needed to make sure he was okay. The girl bent down to watch his form for a while.

After watching his chest rise and fall evenly for several moments, she decided to leave well enough alone. He needed the rest, and since she was taking Leliana with her in the morning, informing a medical professional of her concerns meant talking to Hector. Which was out of the question, even to assure Luca didn’t fall into a coma. She was likely overreacting anyway, a notion that both fascinated and annoyed her. It wasn’t something she was known to do.

She stepped as silently as possible, doing her best not to disturb the sleeping Italian. From her mini fridge she retrieved a half finished bottle of rum, and a mostly full bottle of tequila. Her messenger bag was in the arm chair where she had left it, her sketch pad and colored pencils were still inside. Andy placed the bottles carefully in the cloth bag and threw it over her shoulder and exited the room.

Owen was in the kitchen, chatting with a blonde she didn’t recognize and eating a sandwich. She approached hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt, but also wanting to get this over with. Her mother deserved honesty, and the woman would want them to be together. Two things that didn’t come naturally to Andy, but she was willing try for her mother’s sake.

“We should talk.” Andy’s greeting was curt, and got his attention. His smiling face slowly faded as he looked away from the girl and into Andy’s eyes. Her face was serious as ever and by the way she had both her shoes and her jacket on, made him feel like this was important.

“Alone.” Andy finished, looking to the girl. Owen nodded and stood, excusing himself from his conversation with Beth, and following Andy to the door. He wasn’t exactly dressed for the weather, but since Andy reaching out to talk to him was such a rarity, he decided not to test his luck.

“I have blankets at the perch.” Andy said, as if to read his mind.

“Is that where we are going?” He asked, as they walked out the front door, down the porch steps and into the woods. Andy nodded in response. The objective of her conversation was becoming clear now. She was wearing the same dress she had worn to their uncle’s funeral, and he had never been invited up to her perch before. This was about their mother, there was no other explanation.

The twins walked through the woods in silence, Owen crossed his arms across his chest to hug in all the warmth he could until they reached their destination. The perch was about a mile into the thickest part of the woods. Really it was like a dumbed down tree house more than anything. A small platform built into the tree tops, with a clear view of the forest. She let him climb up the latter first to avoid climbing above him in a dress.

The two got settled in, Andy throwing her sleeping bag over to her brother who wrapped it around his shivering form. He looked around to see a lifetime of Andy’s presence.. Everything from her belongings strung across the platform, to assorted sketches left unfinished. It looked more like her home than her childhood bedroom had.

“I’ve never been up here before,” Owen mentioned. Andy shrugged, taking off her bag, and sitting so her feet hung off the edge of the platform and into the abyss between them and the ground.

“It’s a special occasion,” The girl said plainly. His eyes settled on a drawing on the wood that had to have been done by a young Andy. Scribbled in permanent marker, it was crude at best, but still oozed her adorable art style. A heart with the initials AJ and LB. Owen raised an eyebrow.

“So what? You’ve always had a thing for Luca?” Owen asked, pointing to the sketch. Andy rolled her eyes and gave an audible exasperated sigh.

“I was a fucking kindergartner, Owen. Don’t push your luck, I’m not afraid to kick you out of here.” The girl reached into her bag and retrieved both bottles from her bag, offering them to her brother.

“Pick your poison.”

“Is this smart?” Owen asked, raising an eyebrow, but taking the rum from her.

“I’m not about to do this sober.” The male nodded and opened the bottle and took a swig out of it, grimacing. Andy followed suit but without the grimace.

“So she’s gone?” Andy asked after a few moments of silence had settled between them. The sun was setting over the treeline, making the fall leaves come alive with an orange glow from the waning sun. Owen nodded, looking forward.

“You knew that she was,” The male answered. “You were there. You know what that place is like.”

“But you saw her?” Andy asked, and her brother nodded again. The pair sat in silence for moments more. Both looking forward, unable to deal with seeing the emotion that swirled in their matching set of eyes.

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” Andy finally offered, her voice shook and it was obvious without having to look at her that she was crying silently. Owen reached over and hesitantly put his arm around his sister, pulling her into his side. To his surprise, she let it happen, and he could feel her form shuddering from soundless sobs. His own tears began to fall once more, running down his cool cheeks.

“Me too Andy,” he said through his watery tone. The pair enjoyed the comforting feel of the other’s presence, sharing their grief in the only way they knew how to. Andy took a long drink from the neck of her bottle, the icy glass pressed against her chapped lips.

“She was the best. The absolute best thing this world ever had.” Andy said shakily. “She was always giving. You know? To anyone who needed it. To her patients, to us, to neighbor kids. I can’t count the amount of times that she fed Luca or let him stay over when he wanted to.”

“She deserved better,” Owen agreed.

“Yes. But she’s not in pain anymore. You assured that.” Andy nestled under her brothers arm, wrapping her own around his back. “Thank you.”

Owen was stunned, he had expected Andy to be appalled by what he had done to their mother, he knew that he was. The last thing in the world he had expected was to be thanked. But to Andy, it meant that she wasn’t wandering the world, mindless and dead, feeding on all the people she would have risked her life to save. What Owen did was a mercy and Andy was unconvinced she would have had the strength to do the same had the roles been reversed.

Slowly, the girl sat up, holding her bottle out to the skyline. As the sun began to settle behind the horizon it bathed everything in a cool navy hue. Andy swallowed hard, as she slowed her breathing and dried her tears.

“To mom,” she said softly. Owen lifted his own bottle and repeated her words and the pair took a long drink. As night fell, and the two continued to drink in silence, Andy could feel the sorrow slip away into the blur of the alcohol.

“We should probably get back,” Owen offered. Andy had planned to spend the night up here. She had spent enough nights cuddled up to Luca for a while, but she couldn’t shake the fear that something would happen to him in the night and no one else knew to check in on him. Andy let a long exhale out through her nose and agreed. Allowing her far more sober brother to assist her down the latter, the two made their way back.

His sister was very drunk, but he took a small amount of pride in her allowing him to help her walk through the woods. The idea that she used to do this all the time by herself filled him with a sense of dread that he did his best to quickly push away. That wasn’t what was important now.

“Owen, I love you.” Andy slurred as the porch light came into view. He stopped, stunned. She hadn’t said that since they were children. It was something he knew, his sister could be rude, and mean at times but he never doubted she cared about him. Still, it was nice to hear, even if she had to be piss drunk to say it.

“Okay drama queen, let’s get you into bed before you say anything else you are going to regret in the morning,” He was teasing and Andy laughed in response. A magical, musical sound that had become so rare over the years. He still wasn’t sure what had caused such a drastic change in his sister, and with as closed off as she had become Owen worried he never would. With a smile on his face, he helped her into the house where she stumbled back into her own bedroom.

Owen didn’t like the idea of a drunk Andy stumbling into bed with Luca. He didn’t like that idea at all. But he wasn’t going to ruin such a great moment with his sister by provoking her anger. When she was safely behind her door, and there were no loud crashes to worry about, he found his way up to his own bed.

Andy did her best to walk through the room as quietly as possible, but as drunk as she was it made the task difficult. Her vision was blurred, and the room spun but she found her way to the bed, leaving her clothes on and climbing under the covers.

Her hand reached out to lightly place itself on Luca’s arm. Once she was felt the steady rise and fall of his still breathing body, she turned with her back facing him and was out almost immediately, sure to leave plenty of space between them.

Interactions: Brax (Luca)
Mentions: shadowz1995 FireMaiden

 

[Brax]

The alarm that Andy had set on her phone woke her up far earlier than she wanted. The electronic was basically a useless brick without wifi or cell service and functioned as a glorified alarm clock these days. She leaned over and grabbed it off her nightstand and shut it off as quickly as she could in hopes she didn’t rob Luca of a few extra moments of sleep. The girl rose groggily, rustling her mess of red hair and yawned.

Without changing, she exited the room to find a silent lodge. Most of everyone was still asleep, which is just how Andy had intended it to be. Ivan was sleeping on the couch and some unrecognizable forms were asleep on the futon, so she was still careful to keep the noise down as she made the pot of coffee. Her head hurt, but not as badly as she would have thought with as much as she had drank the night before. The young woman had absolutely experienced worse hangovers than this, and would be fine after some medicine and some caffeine.

Making coffee came about as naturally as breathing to the woman as she sleepily went through the steps of brewing the dark beverage to perfection. Pushing up on her toes to grab the mugs off the shelf, her hand slipped around the handle of two of the ceramic things and brought them carefully down to the counter top. Andy filled them both up before walking quietly back to her bedroom.

Luca had slept through most of their time back at the lodge, and there was stuff she wanted to go over with him before she left. While dealing with a grumpy, freshly woken Luca was the opposite of a good time, it was a necessary evil. Hopefully the hot beverage would be enough of an olive branch to keep things cool. Unsure of the best way to wake him, Andy sat the cup down on his night stand and lightly shook his shoulder.

​

The rhythmic motion of a force pushing part of his torso had broken Luca’s REM cycle. Once those tired eyelids lifted, the first thing he had noticed was the steam rising from the cup nearby. Multiple hours of sleep had left Luca feeling almost equally as tired as when he had initially climbed between the sheets. Judging by the time on the alarm clock, it must have been close to fifteen hours he was out. It might have been the longest period of time that Luca had ever slept. Closed fists moved up to rub his eyes, before pushing down into the mattress so he could prop his back up against the headrest of the bed.

“What’s the matter?” Luca asked, a small yawn escaping his lips as he rested his head back against leather. His eyes slowly closed again as his left hand reached out in attempts to locate the cup of coffee that had been beckoning him. As his digits wrapped around the handle and he brought the ceramic to his lips, he opened his eyes long enough to ensure his lips found the mug.

“Nothing urgent,” Andy replied as to not cause the male to panic. “But I’ll wait till you get some coffee in your system before I bombard you with a million things. I’m not a sadist.” The woman was relieved to see he woke easily and seemed to retain as much cognitive function as a half asleep human being could. Taking the clothes she had cleaned the night before into the bathroom, the woman left him to wake up some before conversing. Being hit with a bunch of important stuff first thing in the morning was Andy’s equivalent of torture, so she showed him enough kindness to allow him a few moments with his coffee before she got down to business. She still had to get ready dressed before she could head out anyway.

“Yes you are.” He grumbled in response, annoyed to have been woken up over what Andy believed to be pressing matters. What, did she plan on going away for an entire year? From the other side of the door, Andy rolled her eyes but smirked, exchanging the dress for jeans and a tank top. He removed the blankets from his lower half, revealing Andy’s old ass uncle’s sweatpants. Andy had been making use of the bathroom, something that Luca hadn’t realized until he had a bit of time to actually wake up. He got out of bed the same time that Andy left the bathroom, taking another sip of his coffee and placing it on the nightstand.

He pushed the door behind him nonchalantly, but it was still slightly open. It didn’t really matter much, mostly because Luca didn’t make a habit of taking his pisses bare-assed. A flush of the toilet and a hand-wash later and Luca was good. He used a tiny bit of the toothpaste that had been left and lined up his index finger, running it rigorously around his teeth and his gums while he still had occupancy. Then he spit, and rinsed his mouth with water afterwards. There was no movement in conversation.

“What’s the deal, Andrea.” He spoke once more, his accent making itself a bit more pronounced as he sounded off with impatience. Sure, Luca had shown absolutely no appreciation of her getting him a cup of coffee, but he was aware of why she had done so. Andy claimed she had a lot of things to throw onto his plate, but in reality the list couldn’t be far too long. There were only so many matters that Luca had intended on dealing with as far as the next twenty-four hours went.

“I’m leaving,” Andy began, taking a sip off her own cup of coffee, chasing the handful of ibuprofen she tossed in her mouth. “Apparently food supplies are low, and this is one of the few matters I can handle. I’m taking Leliana and Colt with me.” Andy sat down on the foot of the bed to pull on her boots, still caked with mud and blood.

“I’m keeping the walkie on me, and I won’t be gone long. But food isn’t the only thing we are low on. We need to inventory the supplies so we can plan our next moves. I’ve got Ivan working on repairing some equipment.” Her voice was almost on autopilot as she recited the facts back to him, catching him up on what he had missed while he had been asleep. She didn’t tell him about the fact she had a stupid nagging worry that he wasn’t going to wake up, and needed to verify he was okay before she left.

Half-open eyes peered over to the female as he stepped outside of the bathroom. With Colt gone, he was going to have to deal with the people whom were left behind. There had been a lot of people that he had never conversed with, others whom he was not exactly on the best terms with. However, in Luca’s life, this was a typical affair. The Italian made a living off of being on bad terms with other groups of people, let alone individuals. Nonetheless, he understood the cause for concern when it came to food supply. With the number of days since the outbreak increasing at a rapid pace (lmao), the need to make use of the open avenues to which they could reach continued sustainability. Andy was intelligent enough to know that there was no better time to procure some of these resources than the present. It was more than likely that power could cut out at any moment. With this obstacle in place, the freezer would be rendered absolutely useless. They should make use of it while they had the opportunity. After putting on the collared shirt that was on the nightstand beside it, Luca’s fingers found the cup of coffee once more. He made his way around the edge of the bed and didn’t stop until he was standing in front of the girl. As the man peered down at her, he took a moment to find the right words to say.

“You come home at the first sign of trouble. Push come to shove, you call. We’ll be ready.”

His eyes lingered down at her for another moment before he turned around and exited the bedroom. Luca did not believe he needed to emphasize how it was important that both Colt and Leliana make it back as well. It would be useless to mention, as it was more than likely that Andy would do everything within her power to make sure they got back. There was a reason she offered the trip to both of them, after all. Colt more than likely could use the break. Leliana had been cooped up since she got to the lodge. It was time for him to once again assume command of the lodge. As he stepped out into the living room, Luca lifted his thumb and pinky fingers up to his lips. He whistled loudly, the ascending tone holding for two seconds before he parted his lips to wake the group up. Unlike Andy, not everyone was privileged enough to own an alarm clock. Not that Luca had official wake-up times to begin with.

“Fifteen minutes! Fifteen! Wake up! Meet in the kitchen! Fifteen minutes! It’s time to get to work!”

The time read 7:05, according to the kitchen oven. Luca strolled into the empty kitchen while taking a sip of his coffee. Outside on the front porch, Tre had pushed himself up off of the steps. He was able to hear Luca with ease, despite the layers of concrete, sheetrock and wood that separated them.

"C'mon. Let's see what his deal is." Tre nudged Jonas.

After a long stretch and a yawn, the tired boy opened the front door before walking inside after Jonas. When the two made their way into the kitchen, they would find Luca sitting on the counter next to the sink. Leliana was close by tending to the medical supplies at the time.

“Yo.” Tre raised a closed fist up to his eye and rubbed it.

“Go to sleep, boy. Your watch is over for now.” Luca removed the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. The cardboard itself had been pressed down because the Italian had fallen asleep with it still in his pocket without realizing. He removed one from the few that remained and placed it behind his ear, before looking up to see Tre was still standing there. The man extended a finger and pointed at the door, hues staring at the teen until he turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Then Luca's eyes turned to Jonas.

"Did you sleep?"

BloodLightning27 shadowz1995 Hyped_Taco King Vioogra FireMaiden Rumble Fish The Mad Queen TheTreForce

 

[FireMaiden]

​

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Brax (Luca) King Vioogra (Ivan)
Mentioned/In The Area: Rumble Fish (Colt/Milly) BloodLightning27 (Shinoa) Brax (Tre) Maj (Andy/Owen)
Leliana's hands were tingling again. Though this time she couldn't tell if it was the absence of her meds, ot the sudden change in temperature that was causing it. Her guess, or hope rather, would be the temperature, as her rosy flushed cheeks and nose were tingling a little as well. She gave Ivan a small smile, tired eyes obvserving what he was working on for a moment, before she moved to remove her shoes. She fumbled with the laces a little, having to stop and crack her knuckles to try and help, but she tugged her converse off after a few minutes. Now that her feet were free, she pulled her legs up onto the couch, though she wasn't entirely sure what to do. Watching Ivan work seemed a little creepy, but it was also really the only thing to do. So lazily, her eyes shifted to what he was doing. He was fixing something, or examining it. It didn't take Leliana long to figure out they were walkie talkies. She had to chuckle to herself, "What a silly name," She muttered, "Once you think about it, a lot of stuff has silly names. Like movies." God, she hadn't realized how tired she was. It kinda just hit her, like when you're studying or working, and you just feel absolutely drained. At the moment, nothing was happening, and Ivan didn't seem to mind her presence, so Leliana allowed herself to nod off.

However, when she woke up, she was in her shared bed with Milly and Shinoa. Leliana slowly sat up, a little confused since she didn't exactly remeber being woken up and walking up to her bed, but, it also meant that she hadn't unintentionally robbed Ivan of his bed. She would have felt bad if she did that, so naturally Leliana came to the conclusion after a few minutes of sitting in bed, that it was Ivan who woke her up, and sent her to bed. That was nice of him, she did like this arrangement, and oddly enough she found sharing a bed with Milly and Shinoa comforting. To an extent of course, and Leliana was soon downstairs with what she needed to go out hunting with Andy, before many others were awake. Someone else had been up before her, evident by the coffee pot, though from the sleeping bodies she saw on the couch, it wasn't Ivan, or one of the newbies.

Her goal for the moment wasn't to make breakfast for everyone, she was going to put together a small first aid kit incase her, Colt, or Andy got injured on this little hunting trip. She had to admit, Leliana was excited about it. She had been couped up in the lodge for days, and while it was important she was here, she was getting a little restless. So, why not go ahead and prepare a little? She found a small messanger style bag, that was roughly the same size as her orginal first aid kit, but with a longer strap, and the body was a littke morse square. And instead of bright red, the bag was a dark green. Maybe Andy's uncle used it for hunting, or maybe it was an old lure store. Regaurdless, Leliana found the duffle bag of orginal medical supplies, the one Ivan grabbed from the middle school, and the notebook she had been using to keep track of everything up until yesterday, she began to build a small first aid kit. The basics of course, (bandages, antiseptic, a needle and some thread, tape, and of course, a few granola bars) just so that they would have what they needed for basic injuried she could quickly fix. She made adjustments to the notebook, wincing slightly as Luca yelled for everyone to get up.

"Goodmorning Luca," She greeted quietly, erasing a stray pencil mark. From her spot in the dining room, she had a clear veiw of the kitchen, and while for the most part ignored the interaction between Luca and the newest kid, she quickly finished her modifictions to the inventory list. After that, she grabbed it and the penicl, and took a spot on the other side of the counter with a veiw into the kitchen, setting the notebook down. "Here. If anyone decided to do inventory while we're gone, have them use this. The current list isn't entirety accurate, I haven't had a chance to go through everything just yet," Not to me tion she was unaware if anyone had taken any snacks yet, and she had slept through dinner. "The medical supplies are however, at least for what we had prior to you guys coming back yesterday, and I've taken away what i put in that bag on thr table and what I used for Andy's shoulder." She gave him a breif smile as she flipped through the few pages that had her handwriting on it. Leliana thought about continuing on, but she stopped herself. Writing a list of what you had and the quantity wasn't that hard. Anyway, after a few moments of silence passed, she finally decided to speak again. "How are you feeling? You guys were in a wreck, and while you seem fine...I'll admit I'm a little worried. We shouldn't be gone to long, and you haven't yet escaped my nessecary meddling, but I'll leave you alone until we get back if nothing is life threateningly wrong." She coukd name quite a few things that coukd be wrong with him, but from just a once over, he seemed fine. No signs of concussion, no terrible limp and he wasn't bleeding out. Though, if he was, Luca would try hiding it again. "You gotta be honest though."

 

[King Vioogra]

Ivan continued to examine the inner workings of the radios as he felt Leliana's eyes on him. He decided some company wouldn't be too bad of a thing as he exhaled slowly through his nose and continued. The man quickly became heavily indulged in his work, nearly deaf to the world around him until he was finished examining the last of the radios. He stretched quietly as he set the tools aside and scanned the room, which had grown darker in the faint glow of the setting sun. When the man’s eyes finally came to the place beside him, he was surprised to see that his spectator had fallen asleep next to him. A short sigh escaped from him as he stood up slowly, picking the sleeping teenager up gently before carrying her to where he believed her designated room was. When he saw that the pregnant woman and Milly were already asleep, he gently laid Leliana on the edge of the bed before covering her with what was left of the blankets. A smile crossed his lips as he looked at the three of them, a certain light of innocence emanating from each of them before he turned and left the room. He descended the stairs with surprising ease before plopping back down on the couch and rubbing his eyes quietly. Now that examination was through, it was time to get on with the repairs. Ivan picked up the tools silently before taking the green chip from the inside of it with a quiet snap. After working into ungodly hours of the night, the man's eyes began to get heavy. Ivan nodded off the exhaustion in necessity as he continued to work, knowing that these radios were more important than a few hours of sleep. He was finally able to get three of them fully functional in exchange for turning the fourth into a pile of scrap and plastic before his eyes shut themselves and he drifted off, burying the side of his head onto the arm-rest of the couch with his tools still in his hands.

-a few hours later-

“Fifteen minutes! Fifteen! Wake up! Meet in the kitchen! Fifteen minutes! It’s time to get to work!”

The deep and demanding voice shot Ivan from his peaceful slumber, the tools from the night before dropping from his already loose grip as he shot onto his feet into a soldier’s salute out of habit. There weren't many environments where getting yelled at was a person's main method of waking someone up, so this was simply a habitual reaction. When the Russian man finally remembered where he was, he dropped his salute and looked around before rubbing his eyes roughly, swearing under his breath in Russian. He adjusted his twisted and crinkled clothes quickly before scooping up the three remaining radios and walking tiredly into the kitchen with them, moving quickly out of the way as the younger teen, Tre, he thought he remembered him being called, exited the kitchen. He entered after the boy had cleared the doorway, his eyes drawn to the boy with white hair again, who held Luca's attention.

"No. I'd rather not start using up my meds until I really need them. Plus I got to be useful so that's fun, I guess."

The boy's response surprised Ivan, as the reference to medication for aid with sleep was unexpected for a person so young. Ivan cleared his throat quietly after the boy spoke and stepped forwards.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I got three of the radios fully functional, and I took out the call tone so there's not the beep when you want to talk. Should keep from drawing too much attention when conversing with each other. If there's any static or malfunctions let me know and I'll take a look.”

He said once he'd made his way into the kitchen, a yawn interrupting his explanation every now and then before he set them on the counter next to Luca and grabbed a mug from the cupboard. He wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but anything that woke him up was good with him. It wasn't until he turned to the coffee machine that he noticed Leliana was in the room preparing a small first aid kit. He was a bit surprised for a moment, remembering he was supposed to be staying off his leg. Then came the realization that his leg didn't hurt at all, as his gaze dropped down to it, his weight shifting on it to test if it was really healed already, before he looked back up at Leliana.

“Morning.”

He said calmly before grabbing the pot and filling his cup up halfway and replacing it in the machine. Without the luxury of cream or sugar, Ivan tipped his head back and sipped at the hot liquid jacked with caffeine. It was bitter heaven to his sluggish mind, and he eventually started to fully wake up.
​

 

[Maj]

Since childhood, Owen had always slept like the dead. His mother used to try to wake him up when he fell asleep on the couch watching television, and would have to pull out all the stops. He was like a cinder block with legs. Once she used all her strength to pull him up to his feet and shake him awake, telling him to go to bed. He nodded, took three steps and passed out on the floor. Owen had been worried sleep wouldn’t come easy, he still had a lot weighing on his mind, but to his relief this time was no exception.

It wasn’t the sound of Luca’s voice that was able to rouse him from his slumber, but rather the collaborative noise of the lodge stirring, bodies waking and groggily making their way down stairs. Owen followed suit, swinging his legs out of the bed, and stretching, a yawn consuming his facial features.

His head hurt, Owen rarely drank and after days of no water and little food, it had likely not been a smart idea. Still, he was grateful for the moment that he and his sister shared. Red hair was matted and stuck to the side of his face, drool stuck to the corner of his mouth in white flakes. Running his fingers through his mane, he exited his bedroom and walked into the hallway.

Beth seemed to just be waking as well. She walked out of the room next to his and gave him a warm smile and a wave. Owen returned the favor, waiting for her before heading down the stairs.

“Well good morning sleeping beauty,” The blonde teased him. She knew first hand just how he was in the mornings. Owen smirked sleepily over at him. It was good to see her, it had been at least a year since they had actually conversed and the last time hadn’t exactly been the most pleasant of conversations.

“I’m not sure there is such a thing as a ‘good’ morning.” Owen grumbled and she laughed, both knowing full and well that he didn’t typically wake up before noon.

Once downstairs, Beth made her way into the kitchen to once again asist Leliana with breakfast. She knew her friend would be leaving today and wanted to assure she got the chance to eat breakfast herself before heading off into the wilderness. If she was being honest about it, she was worried. Leiana was strong and capable, but having her go off with some strangers in the woods with the way things were made her highly uncomfortable.

“Good morning!” Beth greeted Leliana warmly, giving her a kiss on the cheek before pushing her way in to help prepare the food. “You promise to be careful today right? I can’t stand the idea of anything happening to you out there.”

Owen groggily fumbled his way over to the coffee machine, pouring the hot liquid in his cup. If there was one thing he could always count on Andy for, it was a fantastic cup of coffee. She also came out of her room, dressed in the same (but cleaned) clothes as when she had found him. In his sleepy state, he was almost hit in the temple by a flying bottle of medicine. He fumbled with it, but caught it, squinting at it in the dim light of the morning.

“I figured you might need those,” Andy greeted, gesturing to the bottle of ibuprofen in his hand. “I didn’t realize my brother was such a lightweight.”

“Lightweight?” Owen balked. “You were the one stumbling in the door last night.” But she had a point, despite how much more intoxicated she had been, Andy looked perfectly fine. She didn’t look hungover, or even sleepy, like this was any other morning to her.

His sister flashed him a smirk before making her own way into the kitchen to refill her empty coffee cup. The girl was in a good mood, but she always was the day of a hunt. If Owen had ever felt at home on the baseball diamond, the way Andy felt about tracking animals through the woods far eclipsed that. It was one of the few times he saw her smile. He wasn’t even worried about her, if anyone was safe out in these woods it was his sister. The male took a seat at the table, sipping on his drink.

“Thanks for working on those Ivan, I appreciate it. I’m taking one with me today.” The girl approached the Russian about the walkie-talkies. She grabbed one of the small devices and clipped it to her belt, before going to take a seat on the kitchen counter, giving Luca her attention.

Interactions: King Vioogra (Ivan) FireMaiden (Leliana)
Mentions: Brax (Luca)

 

[The Mad Queen]

Doctor Ralph Fisher​

​

Sleepless nights were slowly becoming the norm for Ralph, and he didn't care for it. After finding his usual spot on the armchair, he kept the rifle on his lap until he drifted off at around four am and sharply shot awake, jumping to his feet with the rifle prepared when he heard shouting.
It was just Luca.
Rubbing his groggy eyes, Fisher yawned and made his way into the kitchen, where everyone else was starting to gather. Getting less than three hours sleep wasn't ideal, but he'd have to take it for now. Back in his university days he'd run on less, but that felt like a lifetime ago. He hadn't noticed any grey hairs yet, but by the end of this nightmare the doctor was sure his entire head of hair would go completely white.

The least of his concerns, really. Holding in a yawn, he made his way into the kitchen with the rifle slung over his shoulder
"Just so you know, we've got two children upstairs, and one of them is heavily pregnant. I wouldn't recommend screaming when you need us." Ralph greeted Luca with a smile "I'm a light sleeper, so a small poke in the shoulder ought to do it."
He slowly removed the assault rifle, and set it on the kitchen table.
"I'll admit, while I'm trained in firearms, I was never good with these things. I'd probably just dislocate my shoulder if I tried to take out a few hosts. Whoever can use this thing properly, it's yours if want it." He was stern, closer to a science teacher instructing his class on Bunsen burners rather than talking to a lodge made up of trained adults. "I managed to grab a few extra rounds off one of those hazmats."

Reaching into his bag, he produced the rounds and set them next to the rifle. Four extra clips in total.
With that out of the way, and his eyes still watching the gun to make sure the right person took it he let out a small yawn. He wanted that thing away from him, but he just didn't want the likes of Michael or god forbid, Shiona picking it up.

Interacting with: Brax (Luca)
In area: Maj (Beth), King Vioogra (Ivan), FireMaiden (Leliana), anyone else in the kitchen
Mentioned: Hyped_Taco (Michael) BloodLightning27 (Shiona)

 

[shadowz1995]

The night was, unfortunately, a short one for a winter night. At least, it had felt that way to Dr. Salazar. The doc had spent most of his time outside and wide awake before eventually deciding that he did need the bare minimum of sleep. Not for exhaustion or drowsiness but simply to keep his strength at an optimal level. Supposedly, the big Venezuelan shared a room with Owen but share a room is exactly what Hector had not done.

He had gone into the bathroom silently in the middle of the night and ran some warm water to bathe in. He was quick about it, so as not to wake anyone else and didn't bother with a shower at this time. Soap, water, and a quick toweling off was all one needed to stay hygienic. He left his hair be for tonight. Getting soaked in freezing temperatures was a quick way to get hypothermia and human hair retained a fair amount of water for a fair amount of time. The Doc couldn't afford to get sick if he wanted to get his research underway. But that meant making a section of this place into a somewhat acceptable research lab. It could also double as a medwing for the injured or sick. He would have to ask for that later.

The doc silently crept downstairs and decided to sit with his back against the front door. Hector Salazar was an incredibly light sleeper on top of barely sleeping anything anyway. The front door was the safest place for him to rest for now. He had a clear view of everyone in the inside that he didn't trust and would be the first to hear something approaching the house. Assuming the sentry failed in his duty.

Eventually, the doctor allowed himself to drift off.....



....


Unsurprisingly, it was a short lived rest. Hector's eyes quickly snapped open at the sound of the breeze shaking the trees and never closed to go back to sleep again. A quick glance at his wristwatch showed he had been out for 3 hours and that was more than enough. He got up quietly and did what he always did at ungodly hours of the night.

He wandered around the lodge. His cool, grey irises taking in the structure, the sleeping forms of the inhabitants, any sleeping habits that stood out to him, where could people hide, or anything that stood out to him. This was unexplored to territory for the big man and mapping it out in his head was just as important as understanding the people that lived within it.

Eventually, Hector wandered close to the generator and took note that it had been running all night. There was a nice stockpile of gasoline to keep it running as well.

Still...

He silently slipped outside, the bite of winter rushing over his exposed tan skin and yet, illiciting no reaction. The snow crunched lightly beneath his feet while he took in the perimeter of the lodge. The fact that it was far away was a godsend but there was nothing that suggested it was very defensible. The environment could be as helpful to them as an enemy. Whether they be alive or otherwise. There was probably no need to start building pitfalls and setting bear traps but perhaps a simple alarm system would do? Some fishing wire tied to a little bell around the the area at multiple places could mean the difference between getting caught off guard... and getting caught with your pants completely down.

On his little witching hour stroll, Hector noticed the shed out back and decided to wander inside. It was mostly full of garbage or broken down tools only useful as scrap. They say one man's trash is another man's treasure and this embodied it. With a proper mind, some of this stuff could be prove useful. Especially the huge stack of unchopped dry wood. There was a fireplace in the lodge and while it was heated by the generator, gasoline would not last forever.

Environmentalist would have to forgive him for seeing all the trees around the lodge as a potential fuel source but that was the more intelligent move.

There was a sturdy, steel end table inside the shed along with an old axe.

Better to be prepared....

......

Deep, measured breaths heated the early morning frost as the Venezuelan brought down the axe with the appropriate amount of force to split the log with a satisfying CRACK! He wasn't anywhere close to done with the stockpile of logs but he had already built a pile of usable firewood to last a few weeks if they only used it at night and in the morning.

He placed the two, evenly split pieces of the log inside the shed and against the wall before bringing out another one and repeating the action. The doc was about to have split a third log when the loud whistle reached his ears. It was alarming at first and Hector's hand flew to his waist to pull his Beretta.

Soon, he realized they were not whistles of alarm. It WAS an alarm though. Dr. Salazar sighed and walked back into the shed to grab his shirt and was about to put it on but sweat still dripped down from his body and he didn't feel like getting this shirt sweaty. So, the doc merely tossed it over his shoulder and made his way back to the main building.

There, everyone was starting to rouse against their wills. It was almost a comical sight, seeing a bunch of strangers groggily stumbling about. The large man opened the back door and stepped inside the house but remained near the exit, some distance away. He laid the axe against the door and the leaned his shoulder against the door frame, holstering his firearm once he was sure everything was fine.

One of the survivors, the nurse he presumed by her conversation, was fussing over Luca and his previous injuries. Grey eyes quickly scanned the boy but he seemed fine to the sharp and trained eyes of this particular doctor. There was no limp in his gait and Luca's eyes were focused. No slurred speech. It wasn't the best diagnosis but Hector could tell he had no immediate issues that needed any concern.

"He will be fine, Niña." He said clearly enough for them to hear. "Dr. Fisher or I can take care of any issues that arise."

Owen walking down the stairs with his twin in tow was a welcome sight. Considering this was their lodge after all, they're the ones he should inform. "I chopped...uh..." The man muttered in Spanish under his breath for a moment before snapping his fingers and continuing, "firewood. Out back. The generator is good and you have enough fuel but we should use it carefully. Only when we need it. Gasoline is a limited resource. Wood is all around us." It explained why the doctor was in the appearance he was in. Shirtless in the freezing cold with a gun on the hip and an axe in hand had to be a hell of a look for a doctor to have.

Brax Maj FireMaiden The Mad Queen

@allthepeopleinthelodgetechnically

 

[Brax]

“You’re not useful to me without rest. Take your medication and go to sleep. Tonight, you and Tre will post out front. I feel more comfortable with two of you out there.” Luca responded as he redirected his attention to Ivan. His peer had placed a few two-way radios beside him, something that Ivan let known upon the Italian’s acknowledgement. While the man had his own radio, one that Andy had given him two days prior, these would certainly be of use. Luca’s fingers grasped one of the radios from the table. He called Jonas’ name as he turned to walk out of the kitchen, waiting for the kid to turn around and look his way. Once Jonas did, Luca tossed the radio over his way as gently as possible. Tre didn’t have a radio but it was important that one of the two boys did, in the case they needed anything. It was more than likely they would be sleeping for the majority of the day anyway.

“You hold onto that. Keep it on.” The Italian ordered, extending two fingers out and moving his hand to signify that he was finished conversing with the boy. He nodded to Ivan, signaling that he was acknowledging the man’s efforts to fixing the broken pieces of equipment. Though he made no statement mentioning otherwise, Luca was appreciative. Everything should be in order even without him being around, something that Colt had apparently done to his expectation. That was a conversation to come at a later time. Luca made a mental note. Then those blue hues turned over to the first person who had walked into the kitchen.

“Leliana.” He responded to her good morning, with a nod. Finishing his coffee, Luca bent over slightly to place the cup into the sink. Then, he watched as Leliana placed the notebook onto the kitchen table. As she continued speaking, Luca was not surprised to hear that she was worried. Over the past few days she had made it her job taking care of everyone in the lodge. The girl was only human. While Luca recognized that this concern came from the standpoint of someone who was bound by the Hippocratic oath, he took her words at face-value just as they were intended to be comprehended. The man had parted his lips to respond just as a Spanish voice took the reins for him. Hector was correct. Luca snapped at the gentleman, pointing his way briefly before looking back over to Leliana with a smirk. He pushed himself from the countertop so that his feet rested flat against the floor.

“There are others more worthy of concern. You only have to worry about taking care Andy, Colt and yourself.”

When Hector explained that he had been spending a majority of his time up until this point chopping firewood, Luca understood what kind of man Owen had bumped into out in the wild. This was somebody who had immediately came into the lodge and began providing, much like Tre. While Luca was aware of Tre’s work ethic, he had no idea who Hector was. With multiple people seeming to be proactive in meaningful ways, Luca felt confident that the group was heading in the right direction. Toward reaching whatever resemblance of Nirvana on Earth they could achieve, given its condition.

It was at this time that both Andy and Owen walked into the kitchen. Andy took a seat on the countertop nearby. Owen took a seat at the table, right in front of the notepad that Leliana had placed down on the table. She had made it known that she wanted inventory to be done while she was gone. It looked like Owen had subconsciously stepped up to the plate so he could get this done. Poor guy didn’t even understand what exactly Luca had just signed him up for. It was more than likely that those supplies were in disarray, but someone had to do it. If Luca still knew anything about Owen, he hated doing trivial tasks.

“Owen. The list in front of you is the most up-to-date count of supplies we have. Leliana has requested we update our records. So, I need to you take count of our inventory.” There was no budging on this. Luca crossed his arms over his chest, the expression on his face changing from aloof to neutral. He waited for Owen to give his response, smirking once more.

“If you get started now, you’ll finish in an hour or two. You’ll have the rest of the day to jerk off however you please.”

It was at this moment that Ralph came walking in. He mentioned that there were two children upstairs, one of them being pregnant. As he continued talking, Luca’s lips curved upward into a smile. This man was actually serious. He expected Luca to walk around, shaking people’s shoulders, giving them a kiss on the forehead and making them bed in breakfast. It was truly an astounding thing to hear, to think that Luca’s main priority was the two children and how they preferred to be woken up in the morning. His eyes kept fixated on the man as he relinquished control of his rifle.

​

“Very good, very good… I’ll tell you what, old man.” Luca said, the smile fading from his visage as he stared the man down and uncrossed his arms. “The next time I want to wake the entire lodge up, i’ll come to you first and have you make sure each special snowflake here is woken up as per their individual instructions. How does that sound to you? Are you satisfied?” Luca did his best to not come across in a sarcastic manner. He wondered if Ralph realized that this was exactly what was going to happen the next time he needed everyone to wake up for a meeting.

Not everyone had made their way to the kitchen yet. The time read 7:13 AM.

King Vioogra FireMaiden The Mad Queen Maj shadowz1995

 

[Maj]

​

Owen did his best to drown out Luca’s annoying tone while he sipped on his coffee. The way he went around the lodge, barking orders and making threats made Owen’s skin crawl. Leading the mafia was different than leading a group of good people. These people weren’t soldiers, they weren’t lackeys. The lodge had a mix of faces all from different walks of life, from kids with social anxiety all the way to ex military, doctors, college kids and everything in between. They deserved to be treated with more respect, and Luca’s choice to rule by fear was the wrong call.

When it became Owen’s turn to have orders snipped at him, the red head raised an eyebrow and let the male finish his words. This was personal, even if Luca wanted to pretend it wasn't. They had worked together, fought together and if he was being entirely honest, Luca knew Owen better even than Andy did because Luca knew the side of him that he had purposefully kept from Andy’s view. Being saddled with taking inventory was an insult, and they both knew it.

“Excuse me Brasi,” Owen said, rising to his feet. “I’m pretty sure I’m not your goddamn whipping boy. So if you could kindly fuck off and suck my…”

“Owen.” It was Andy’s low growl. He turned to look at his sister, cut off by her no-nonsense tone. “Would you calm down? It was my idea. We need to make sure we have a clear understanding of what we have so we can make plans. Don’t get your panties in a twist over something so trivial.” The female rolled her eyes at her brother in response. While it sounded like Andy to suggest the plan, Owen knew that Luca had given it to him as a way of insult, and he couldn’t be convinced otherwise. Still, he wasn’t going to start anything after his sister had climbed to the asshole’s defense.

He didn’t like how close the two had gotten. If he had suspected something was amiss before he left, that fear was only intensified by the way the two had acted since they had returned. She kept standing up for him, defending him at every turn. Andy hated everyone, she was rude and snide to just about every person who walked in her path. So the fact that she didn’t do it with Luca was like a neon warning sign.

“If you get started now, you’ll finish in an hour or two. You’ll have the rest of the day to jerk off however you please.” He could feel Luca continuing to mock him in front of the group, but for his sister’s sake decided to just leave, jerking up the notepad and slamming his chair back underneath the table before exiting the lodge.

“Anyway…” Andy began, hopping down off the counter. “For those of you who don’t know, Leliana, Colt and myself will be leaving to go hunting. With winter around the corner we should start rationing food supplies. If you ladies need to do anything before we leave, I suggest you get it taken care of and meet me outside. I’ll be gathering some last minute equipment in the shed.” The redhead walked confidently across the lodge, toward the front door and exited through it.

Interactions: FireMaiden (Leli) Rumble Fish (Colt) Brax (Luca)

 

[Rumble Fish]

Should have been asleep
When I was sitting there drinking beer
And trying to start another letter to you
Don't know how many times I dreamed to write again last night
Should've been asleep when I turned the stack of records over and over
So I wouldn't be up by myself
Where did the night go…?

The night had been long and hard for the veteran. After her talk with Andy, she had almost instantly gone to her room. The sleep called her too much. However, while her body demanded slumber, her mind was thoroughly committed to preventing her. Pulling down the blinds, the room became engulfed in darkness. It felt huge without Marcus. Colt sat on the edge of the bed, hunched and with hands clamped together in a worried grasp, as if one hand was holding the other seeking reassurance. It had only been a few hours, but the marine was still concerned. They had just taken on more people, after some had been missing and the consistent absence of a few at a time, without knowledge of what was happening to them or where they were was causing her heartrate to flip like a gymnast and nothing could settle it. The soothing effect set upon her by the twin red heads was beginning to fade.

Part of her wanted to seek the pair out. She had to talk to someone about this, but they were the only ones she could consider. However, she could not be selfish and burden them with her insecurities, not after the days they have had. Colt sighed deeply and stared at the wall. Or at least she thought it was the wall. The woman went into her rucksack, which had been brought in, she rummaged around to find a half bottle of red wine she had packed away. She gripped onto the neck of the bottle for a moment with a heavy sigh before uncapping it. She was worried sick, about everything. Just a week ago, everything was average. Not her life, that was a wreck even back then but for other civilians, it was normal. And now everything had been turned upside down. Colt moaned slightly within her sigh from the strain. All she could hope was that the Lodge would not collapse without her being there…
*
“Fifteen minutes! Fifteen! Wake up! Meet in the kitchen! Fifteen minutes! It’s time to get to work!”

Colt grunted as her red eyes flew open upon the Italian’s roar, pounding her sore head. The woman gritted her teeth with a growl. God dammit… It was only when she opened her eyes again, she could see the room was upside down, the muscles in her back hurt and she could feel her leg in the air. The veteran could not even having a nightmare, but she must have if she was now lying upside-down halfway off of the bed. The blood had rushed to her head, making her dizzy.

“Fuckin’…” she growled as she flipped herself the right way. As soon as the blood had been balanced, nausea hit. Colt gripped her head in both hands, feeling her temples pound angrily. As she got up to open the blinds, she kicked the now empty bottle as she moved, though she had to rely on the wall to keep her balance as she opened them. As the light shone through the window and right into her retina, Colt yowled and jumped back as she grabbed her face. Christ that hurt, the burning sensation subsided in the darkness as she rubbed them with a frustrated groan.

“Jesus, why?! I only had-” She turned to face the rest of the room, “…Ah.” Okay, that explained it. There was the wine bottle. And the other one. And that vodka Ivan had left in here. But what was missing in the room, which disturbed her, was Marcus. The man was not back? She felt her temperature drain at the realisation that he might be in trouble; she might have sent that trio to their deaths?! Colt cursed under her breath as she rummaged through her rucksack, finding the two things she hoped she had. Whisky to refill the flask, which she did before putting down the front of her chest and into her bra. People had seen it coming from her pocket too many times for it to be discreet anymore.

After a few moments of choking on aspirin, Colt finally emerged from the room, a couple of minutes before the “deadline”. There was a new addition to her look, which had not changed since the outbreak as well as her hair being an extreme mess; sunglasses. The darkened tint instantly helped with the soreness within her eyes and head. It was not as bad as the ones she had before, but it still sucked. Colt stumbled slightly as she went down the stairs and into the kitchen, opting to stand at the corner of the room. She still did not want to interact with Luca. Maybe someday but not today. She noticed that Milly had also come down and was sitting at the table, holding her bear and being quiet. The kid still seemed uneasy with the amount of people in the room. Understandable.

Colt took a bottle of water that had been on a counter, uncapped it and took a long drink from it; purely to relieve herself of her migraine. It didn’t, but it helped a little. She hardly paid attention to anything being said until Andy spoke up and she heard her name being mentioned. Rubbing her head, Colt huffed through her nose.

“Alright.” She pushed herself off of the wall and rolled her shoulder as she walked/stumbled to their makeshift armoury. One of the guns within the armoury was a Marlin Model 60. Colt had bought it with the intention of hunting, hoping it would give her some kind of motivation to do something after Afghanistan but, given the condition of the weapon, that didn’t ever go through. The woman grabbed its bullets but saw there were only ten in the box so she would have to be careful. She decided to bring the Colt.45, but only decided to use it as a final resort. The poor weapon had been through a lot of trauma and she still did not know if it was damaged.

Colt approached Andy, the gun slung over her back and the handgun in its holster, fully loaded. “’Kay, I’m good.” She shrugged. She hoped this would go well and easy. But that was wishful thinking. But as long as they brought back food, Colt would consider that mission accomplished. "T'bad we can't have the dog. Jenna'd kill me." She added with another shrug, wincing a little from the pain in her bad shoulder. The veteran turned to Leliana who was also there.

"Oh um... I got something that might help with, um," she stopped, unsure if the woman would want her to say it outloud. Maybe later.

Interactions: Maj (Andy) FireMaiden (Leliana)
Mentions: Brax (Luca) King Vioogra (Ivan) The Mad Queen (Jenna) Soma Schicksal (Marcus)​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Doctor Ralph Fisher​

​

He may not have been the best at reading people, but by no means was Ralph a moron. He saw right through Luca's sarcasm and simply rolled his groggy, cow brown eyes.
"Well." He tutted "I was worried about the baby, that's all. Any extra stress, and yes that includes not getting enough sleep could lead to complications. And some of those complications we simply don't have the resources to treat." Sternly and clearly the doctor tried to explain, tried to make Luca see where his rather minor complaint was coming from. Not once did he raise his voice, nor come close to losing his temper.
"I just need some consideration for someone who's going to give birth any day now. I hope that's not too much to ask."

"Because if it is, then we're going to have a problem and that's the last thing this lodge needs right now. Low food, low medical supplies and given the events of the past few days, low morale too."
He took one careful step towards Luca, and stood his ground.
"When you were away, we were attacked by a horde of those things, and even though we defeated them... Someone was killed. Her grave's right outside if you want to take a look."

He glanced over at a few of the kitchen's other inhabitants.
"I doubt any of us would have made it through that attack if it wasn't for Colt."
He'd seen Luca tear into her the last time he was here, and there was little doubt he might do the same given Rogue's death so he wanted to put in a good word at least.

Interacting with: Brax (Luca) Rumble Fish (Colt)

 

[FireMaiden]

​

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Brax (Luca) King Vioogra (Ivan) USER=58730] Maj [/USER] (Andy/Beth) Rumble Fish (Colt/Milly) shadowz1995 (Hector) The Mad Queen (Ralph)
Mentioned/In The Area: BloodLightning27 (Shinoa)
Leliana gave Luca a slight smile, before looking to Hector, "Of course he will, but uh, I've kinda taken it upon myself to worry about everyone. I'm Leliana by the way." After that, she looked back at Luca, giving him a little thumbs up. "Don't worry, I've got it handled, we can handle ourselves. I even made a first aid kit to take with us...which, by the way, if i send you out one again, try not to lose it." She was playfully teasing him a little, since she was fully aware it was probably unavoidable. And Luca seemed to be a fairly luckly guy, no signs of concussions, and his sticthes hadn't ripped open, because everyone would be able to tell if that had happened. Also, Andy probably would have noticed and told her. As people began to trickle in, it seemed like Ralph wasn't happy about the wake up call. Understandable to some degree, but how else would they do it? Making sure everyone was up was a good thing, it got their attention, and honestly it didn't seem like a big deal. Her attention breifly turned to Ivan, who she gave a smile, and wave. He was on both feet, though as evident from his face, his leg was no longer bothering. At least at that moment. "See what happens when you listen to me?" She chuckled, glancing back to the alteraction between Luca and Ralph. Leliana didn't focus on that for long though, as she went about her normal morning task of making breakfast. She was going to make pancakes, since after a few moments of searching while keeping an ear on the conversation only a few feet away, there was enough ingredients here to make batter from scratch. With an egg substitute of course.

As she was mixing, Bethany appeared, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Goodmorning Beth," Leliana chirpped, "How'd you sleep? Okay? I know there isn't a whole lot of space here, but we have this!" She said, turning the stove top on. When Bethany asked if she was gonna be careful, to which Leliana gave her a smile. "Of course I will be, you have nothing to worry about. Colt is a badass, and so is Andy, and I'm not a dummy who is gonna go and get hurt. Everything is gonna be fine!" She knew why Bethany was worried, and even Luca seemed a little worried. It was a nice thought actually, Leliana was normally the one doing the worrying. It was then she heard Andy saying that she was going to get some last minute supplies, which prompted Leliana to hand the bowl of batter to Bethany. "You can handle breakfast right? Make as many as you can, and make sure that Milly and Shinoa get food. They are top priority." She gave her friend a smile, before turning on her heel to go gather her things, before she was stopped by Colt. For a moment, Leliana blanked on what she was talking about. "Wha-oh." Right, that conversation. She gave Colt a smile, "Thank you, but uh, lets talk while we're out okay?" She said with a slightly faltering smile.

She didn't want anyone else to know she was on antidepressants, or supposed to be, and she sure as hell didn't want them knowing about her current situation. Of course, her plan to go and gather her things were halted once more by Ralph. "Actully, for the moment our medical supplies are fine. Food is the major issuse, since this lodge has a private water supply, we just need to make sure that doesn't get contaminated. As for morale, that is an issuse easily fixed by solving other issuses." Leliana had already had a few thoughts about this, and Ralph being misinformed by the status of their supplies was just a little weird. She turned to Luca, "By the way, thank you for getting the baby stuff. It's gonna make Shinoa feel better, though he has a point about her stress levels. However, your morning wake up call probably isn't going to affect it that much, well, anymore than being a like a day away from having a baby will," She chuckled, glancing between the two men, "There's no point in arguing, really, it's pointless." With that, she stepped past Ralph, heading to the dining room table. There she grabbed her pistol, and the first aid kit she had put together, before she turned her attention to the russian man.

"Your leg might feel better, but dont risk doing anything to strenuous just yet," She paused, giving him a smile as she began to chuckle. At his expense of course. "And you are offically ungrounded. Your stair privileges are returned," Leliana wiggling her fingers, "Don't make me reground you." With one more smile, and tealling Milly goodmorning, she headed outside and to the shed. "Hey Andy!" The girl called out, "You find what you were looking for?"

 

[Songbird500]

Flashback ​

When then outbreak first began the plan had originally been to get a car from the junkyard and get as far away as possible from the town and the horrors she couldn’t quite understand. However, those plans were rather quickly scrapped. Not because they couldn’t get the car, because they did. Rather easily after a few rushed words with Alek, but because they’d been stopped on their way out. A quarantine had been placed around Aurora and nothing, with the emphasis on nothing, was allowed out. Riley had been half tempted to drive the barricade down but didn’t have high hopes that they would one, get away without been shot, and two get very far before the whole army was on their ass. So, she’d turned the car around and had made it all the way back to the junkyard before she’d hit the brakes.

They needed a plan of action. Maybe what had happened at the hospital, whatever that was, had been contained. That it was a one-off event and the rest of the town would be fine. But something wasn’t sitting right in Riley’s core. Those people had been attacking other people. And it was savage and wild. Not a superficial fight or an angry individual being removed from the premise. People were screaming. And running. And being eaten. The cough by Riley’s side brought her back to reality and she focused on Nathaniel’s face. His brow was furrowed, and he looked as concerned and confused as Riley felt. And a though dawned on her. Maybe she did look like that. And everything she was feeling was painted on her face, all the terror and uncertainty. She needed to lock it up and have a plan of action.

“We go to the Supermarket and then home. We go to the supermarket and then home”

Riley kept repeating the same words, the list. Not even sure if she was telling Nathaniel or herself but it worked and before she had a chance to change her mind they’d started on their way to Town and Country Supermarket.

Present day​

Riley padded out of her room, careful to keep the door open behind her. It had become a little habit of hers. Keeping doors open. On one hand she knew it was foolish. That keeping a door open would make it easier for something to sneak up on her, but on the other hand it meant a potential escape route that wasn’t hindered in anyway. She could hear Nathaniel in his room, practicing with his throwing knives again. The sharp whistle and dull thud as it hit the wall had become almost therapeutic for the both of them. A sign of a normalcy.

A patter of footsteps above Riley’s head remind her that she’s not alone. Their neighbours above, a young couple called Abigail and Stephen Wilde, had been nice enough to Riley and her brother. There’d been the awkward, we’re not a couple but siblings scenario and after that they’d always said hello coming in and out of the complex. But Riley couldn’t help but doubt if they’d survived or not. Something was living upstairs now but both Abigail and Stephen had seemed so soft and ordinary. Granted, Riley didn’t think she would be where she is now. But Abigail and Stephen. They were sweet and benign.

The neighbours downstairs however, they were a whole other story. Two older ladies, sisters. Rebecca and Elizabeth Rover. Riley and Nathaniel hadn’t even moved in before the two ladies had decided they were the common ramble. Noses turned up, the two ladies had decided they wanted nothing to do with Riley and her brother and Riley would bet any money on it that they would outlive everyone, just out of sheer spitefulness.

Riley had made her way to their front door. Still locked. And looked through the peep hole. No sign of any movement. A good sign. Riley had blocked off the main stairway up but had kept the fire escape free for supply runs. They hadn't gone out much since the outbreak, only breaking house arrest to get the essentials. Riley took three deep breaths, recited her list and unhatched the lock on the door. With wrench still in hand, she opened the door as quietly as she could and took two, big but silent, strides to the wall opposite the door.

MinTea

 

[Brax]

Luca’s eyes watched as Colt walked into the kitchen. The group continued conversing among themselves, but Ralph was not done with the man quite yet. At first, he listened to what the man had to say. However, before he could say anything, Leliana was quick to step up to the plate. When she mentioned that Luca had taken Shinoa into consideration upon noticing the items that they had brought back, the Italian’s hues turned to look over at Ralph. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on his forehead. It was around this time that Leliana made her way out of the room, before he was able to say anything else. He was going to let the girls know that he would prefer them to be back before nightfall, but that was completely out of his hands. He’d have to trust them to make the right call.

With the amount of people that had been constantly moving from the lodge to other endeavors, Luca felt as though he could never get a constant number of who was at the lodge at all times. He was almost certain that there were a few people that were missing from the kitchen still, but aside from the two girls he couldn't put his finger on them. If this was going to be an issue moving forward, he was going to have to ask someone to make a list of those who should be accounted for. The urge to bring fire to the end of his cigarette tugged at the back of his mind, something that was fended off with ease. It wasn't that Luca cared so much about people looking down at him, but rather the fact that he hated living in a home that smelt like stale smoke on a constant basis. Stepping outside to get fresh air and remove himself from the overcrowded lodge was vital as well.

“Ralph.” The man said as he moved from the countertop and walked half the distance to meet him. Luca remained standing upright, though his posture was not tight. After listening to the doctor speak, it was obvious that he expected the man’s anger to take the forefront. Part of the man felt genuine respect for the man to stand his ground on this matter. He was doing his best to protect the two innocent, young females from any extraneous stress. Luca understood where he was coming from, but the same could not be said for the man standing before him.

“You’ve got a way with words. I can’t deny that. However, I know every trick in the book. You’re not going to make me feel bad for providing structure to a group of people who otherwise would have none. I understand where you’re coming from but we’re not living under ideal conditions. Things aren’t the way they were before. Colt got you through the attack? That’s great. You do realize you were attacked by undead zombies, right? People can’t be granted the liberty to spend a majority of their time doing whatever they want right now. Do you think these girls should avoid having to attend this meeting? Should they not know who to contact if they need help, or proper protocol moving forward? Ralph, would that same version of Colt be a reality if she was wasted? I bet she spent a majority of the past few days a bit more coherent than usual, what do you think? To you, my methods are intolerable. But I housed a pack of wolves in my prime. People who were far more dangerous than the ones living in this lodge. That was BEFORE dead people started reanimating. Do you want to survive? I need to run this place with an established hierarchy. I understand what kind of person Colt is, I knew it when she was saving my ass outside the fucking middle school bucking shots off at zombies. Underneath the mask she wears on a constant fucking basis, I KNOW who Colt is. I will break it down. She will be nothing less than great, I am not giving her another option. The girl was born to lead. That's what she will do.”

Luca extended his hands out to Ralph, his fingers grasping the collar of his shirt. He shifted the man’s shirt to the left slightly, adjusting how it had been lying on his shoulders before letting go. For a moment, Luca continued staring at the man. He did not withhold animosity. Ralph had helped the man understand that this wasn’t simply a group that could be handled like their predecessors. However, he did not wait for an immediate response. Instead, the Italian parted his lips to speak once more.

“If you’re concerned about the girls, you’ll wake them up. Along with the rest of the lodge on each day we have a meeting. That’s an order. If I can’t do it right, you can show me how it’s done. Along with everyone else.”

There was little doubt in Ralph's mind that Luca was ex-military, perhaps even special forces. What else could he have possibly done for a living? He still didn't like how he talked to Colt but that was just how the military did it, and there was actual strategy to it. Gunnery Sargent talk, and little else. At the very least he hadn't seen him talk to anyone else like that, and there was a very good reason: Ralph was a civilian now, one that could fire a gun, one that could treat wounds, one that could study the parasite and use his findings to help the WHO stop it but still just a civilian. And behind his cow brown eyes and warm smile he was just as terrified as the rest of them. He'd buried his head in work to distract himself, and slept with a rifle to make himself feel more secure but he just wanted to go home.

But New York was several states away, so he stood back and let Luca say the rest of his peace.

"Thank you." He nodded, offering the man a handshake.

As much as he could reduce it with minor things, the past few days would have taken their toll on the mother and child. If Shinoa's child ended up like Sarah, then...He shut those thoughts out as best he could.

"If we have Shinoa on say, Milly duty while the rest of us work I think we'd get a lot more done. Those two seem to get along well anyway." He chuckled "She's too young for it, but I reckon that girl will be a great mom."

"All right, then. See to it that Shinoa knows her post." Luca noticed that Ralph had extended a hand toward him. In response, the Italian placed his hand within the man's own. He looked Ralph in the eyes with due respect before deciding to commence his meeting. Luca then walked a few paces back toward the sink so he was able to face everyone who was still lingering about.

"We're growing at a rapid pace. My top priority is going to be building barracks in the back yard and i'm going to need your help to do that. Anyone who is unsure of what they will be doing today, it'll be helping me out with that. For the rest of you who will be busy, let me know what your plans for the day are. I will decide if it is something that the lodge could use immediately or not." The man raised both arms across his chest, waiting for the replies of those who were in the kitchen.

"If you understand what i'm asking of you, meet me by the shed in thirty minutes. We're going to chop down some trees."

FireMaiden Rumble Fish The Mad Queen shadowz1995 King Vioogra TheTreForce

 

[MinTea]

Flashback

His sisters plan was rather a smart one, if not for the army surrounding the town, it may have worked. All they had to do was get a car, which was easily said and done due to her working placement. But leaving the town would be nearly impossible; there were barricades after barricades, solider after soldier. They both knew running down the barricades would've gotten them killed.

It was a decision they both didn't want to make, but going back seemed as if it was the only option. Nathaniels' head was full of thoughts, 'What would they do about food, water and medicine?' These questions were troubling him, but he knew together they would do something to solve them.

Finally reaching the junkyard, he began sputtering. His cold wasn't as bad as it was in the morning, but it was still heavy in his system. His eyebrows furrowed, all of the fear had began coursing through him, the adrenaline was now wearing off and his hope for safety was fading. He closed his eyes, an attempt to control his anxiety...it was one benefit from his past.

"We go to the supermarket then we go home. We go to the supermarket then we go home." Riley said, like a broken vinyl.

She appeared scared...

Present Day

One good thing about this whole situation was the skills he began picking up; Nathaniel never thought knife throwing would be one of his talents.

Ewooooo. Thud.

His last knife cut through the air again, hitting the wall in almost a bulls-eye. Walking over to the wall, he thought about survivors, 'Who could be alive in this hell-hole? The neighbours upstairs would be dead, they were nice people, but that would be the thing to bring them down. Unable to kill someo-thing." He yanked his knives out of the wall, "The ladies downstairs, the green witches of oz. His head raced with the thoughts of them being alive."

He had begun getting hungry, after all, he hadn't eaten for hours since he was focused on his knives. Leaving his room, he went and...the door, why was it open? What's going on?

"Riley...Riley...Riley!?" He shouted on the third time, his heart pumping with the stress of his sister being dead.

Songbird500

 

[King Vioogra]

This is Part 1 of a collab between Jonas and Tre



“You’re not useful to me without rest. Take your medication and go to sleep. Tonight, you and Tre will post out front. I feel more comfortable with two of you out there.”

Jonas sighed quietly at this response. It's not like he didn't expect it, but he guessed sleep wasn't that bad of a thing to request. Being on watch was about as much as he could do from a practical standpoint until winter was over. After that, he could set up a garden and help farm certain foods. Until then though, anything that didn't get him kicked out was food. Especially since they'd already raided his former base of operations for all the food it had. He was halfway out the kitchen door when the Italian called back to him, in which to turned and barely caught the radio that was tossed to him. He switched it on, as per Lucas request, and was comforted that the mild static would be humming in his ear for the next few hours. White noise was one of the few things that gave him a sense of comfort, so it might help lull him to sleep in case his medication wasn't enough.

As he turned from the kitchen, he made his way over to the armchair the doctor had been lying in until he got up and went into the kitchen. The boy plopped into the seat and reached into his backpack that he'd dropped onto the floor, pulling a small bottle of pills that rattled with the sound of whatever pills were made of and plastic. He sighed as he unscrewed the cap and popped two pills out into his palms. His head hit the armrest in the chair as the pills made their way down his throat. He sat there for about ten minutes before they finally began to take effect, making his eyelids heavier before they finally closed.

“Until yesterday, I never seen one of those thangs before.” Tre notioned over to Jonas’ Bo staff, his fingers tumbling the joint between his fingers as he pointed at it. The boy brought it back up to his lips and took a drag. He placed his back against the wooden railing of the staircase leading up to the lodge out front. After a short conversation with Ray, Tre was still left out to keep watch over the lodge while its inhabitants slept. Much like Jonas, the boy’s first option was to avoid using a gun. While he knew how to use one and could handle himself fine, he had quite a few bad experiences around firearms. The taste was left sour in his mouth, despite understanding that it was a necessary evil in the present-day world.

His machetes would not do much against a group of people with guns. Not out in the open.

The boy unzipped his bag and removed the pair of pants that were inside. He took of his shoes to slip them on over his shorts, pulling them up before sticking his feet back into their appropriate toe-holsters. While Ray had made it back inside before it got too late, Jonas continued sitting outside sharpening his weapon. The lack of conversation he offered back to Tre made him out to be someone who wasn’t fun to talk to. In reality, this boy was probably the only other person who was close enough to him in age to relate in any which way.

“Who taught’chu?”

Jonas looked over at Tre as he made a comment on his Bo Staff, and then asked who his teacher was. The boy looked down at the staff, trying to remember who exactly had taught him.

“I think her name was Emilia. I'm not great at remembering names, but she was different. The way she acted, and taught me how to act. She was a lot more to me than just a teacher.”

He said in response before he realized he'd been staring at the stick and rambling about a girl Tre would never meet, and Jonas would probably never see again.

“Shit. Sorry.”

He said, returning to his apathetic expression and tone of voice as he stared blankly out into the woods, squinting a bit as he tried to make out one tree from another as it was all eventually shrouded in darkness.

“What do you think? Of all the shit this town is falling into?”

The teenager said, trying to find a conversation topic that didn't involve his past.

“This world ain’t fallin’ to shit, my guy. That happened a long time ago.” Tre turned his head slightly, though still looking at Jonas for the moment.

He stood up from the deck and made his way down the staircase, leaving behind a small trail of smoke. The kid walked the length of the driveway, scoping out the areas behind the plot of trees that surrounded it before heading back the other way. As he approached the patio, Tre looked up at Jonas. He had a melancholy expression on his face that was not misplaced. However, Tre couldn’t help but feel bad for him. In a lot of ways, Jonas was like himself. He hadn’t come with any family, shit he barely had any in the first place. This was entirely new addition, an event with the magnitude to supersede most that came before it.

“What it was, is exactly dat. What it was. Shit is different now. We gotta figure out how to keep on movin’, you know?” Tre asked, using his index and middle fingers to pinch at the mouthpiece of his joint and remove it from his lips. A few inches from his face, he turned his smoking apparatus slightly to blow a bit of the dangling ash from the cherry.

“How you gon’ make your life better now? ‘Cuz for the time being, it is what it is. I ain’t never have shit, dawg. On God. My pops didn’t really know how to take care of me, even though he wanted what was best. A mom who never gave a shit to figure out who I was, I had to watch Warren kill her. Without him, she prolly would’a eaten me.” Tre’s eyes opened a slight bit wide as he realized the reality of what he just said.

His own mother would have eaten him if he hadn’t been saved.

(Formatting done by Brax because RPN mobile makes me livid)

 

[Maj]

This post is a multi part Collab between Maj FireMaiden and Rumble Fish

​

Andy was grabbing some of her spare arrows and equipment from the shed where she had left it upon coming home. She had wasted little time between dropping her items off at the door of the shed and scurrying inside for a shower and some medical attention. Thankfully, her bag looked mostly untouched. She retrieved her hunting gear, leaving the supplies she had scrounge up behind for Owen to inventory. She didn’t often take her competition archery bag with her into the hunt, but now that it was dirty from her adventure into the city she supposed it mattered little. Andy attached the compound bow to it’s sling and threw it over her good shoulder. When she had some time, the bow was in desperate need of some TLC, but at least the arrows were clean from zombie residue.

Colt was soon following after her, checking her own guns and supplies. Andy knew little about firearms and so would have to trust the ex military woman’s expertise. She was nervous about taking the others, but wasn’t stupid enough to go out alone. When she was in her element the girl was known to relax greatly, but also had a tendency to boss people around. With both girls having little hunting experience, she worried that she wouldn’t have what it took to be a good instructor.

“Don’t bring more than you can carry easily. We will likely be out walking with our gear all day.” It felt stupid to remind Colt of that, the woman had been in the marines, or army or some shit. If anyone was used to walking around with a pack full of gear it was likely her. At the sound of Leliana’s chipper tone Andy offered a small wave.

“Yeah. I’m all geared up. Do you have what you need?” While she had heard the girl talking about first aid kids and the like, she was curious if she had grabbed any weapons.

“Since I don’t feel like suffering the same fate as your friend, and getting an arrow in my ass cheek,” Andy started, calling back to the conversation she and the blonde had shared the day before. “Blondie, I would suggest you stick with guns, since you know them better. Colt,” The girl addressed the dark haired woman with stony eyes.

“Can you make sure she’s got appropriate gear? As soon as we are ready, we should leave. I don't want to linger around for any longer than necessary"

Colt simply released a mix between a grunt and a hum at the younger woman’s words about ensuring she did not carry too much weight. She had just finished ensuring that this was not a problem. The heaviest thing in her possession was the rifle itself. Colt adjusted her sunglasses as Andy further referred to her, asking her to ensure that Leliana had packed the necessities, as well as ensuring that Colt knew to stick to guns. Thankfully, Andy could not see the rolling motion of her glazed eyes at this statement. Hopefully once they were out in the wilderness, everything she knew about hunting would come back to her. But there was no guarantees. The last time she had hunted with her father and sister was nearly a decade ago.

“’Ight.” Colt nodded with a grunt before turning from Andy to face Leliana. She placed her bag down next to Andy’s before moving. As she approached the nurse, the veteran could not help but feel anxious. She clearly did not like her insinuation towards her condition and despite the smile, Colt could feel the discomfort through her words. Heat rose in her chest, causing Colt to gag a little and put her fist to her maw, stopping for a moment. The acid jumped up her throat before slinking back down; false alarm. Breathing deeply, she approached the blonde.

“Git everythin’? Not missin’ nothing?” she questioned the nurse with a tilted head, her black glasses with the tilt along with the wild tangled mess that was the woman’s mane made her realise she probably looked like some kind of raccoon.

Leliana didn't say mich at first, since it was clear that both of the older women had more experience than she did. Andy obviously, since she was the one to suggest hunting in the first place, and Colt seemed to be a perfect fit. Even if she may not have had a hunting background, or maybe she did, Leliana wasn't sure yet. Anyway, Leliana was observing both women, though she let her eyes wander to the tree line. She couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about it. There was no telling where that horde came from, and if they woods were truly free from those yellow suited psychopaths. Knowing she was with two capable fighters helped a little, but not by much.

Regardless, Leliana's attention was caught by Colt. The sunglasses were a little weird, and she uh, well, the gag was a little hard to hide. Leliana decided not to bring it up for now, she had actually packed something for this anyway, but it could wait for now.

"Everything useful. My pistol, though I'm not sure how much good it's actually going to do, and a first aid kit. Our breakfast is in there too," She said, moving the green bag a bit to show Colt. "I figured I would be learning more than actually doing. Though, if I'm actually killing something, I could use something you two are bringing? Those seem more useful." Leliana gave Colt a smile, accompanied with a slight chuckle.

As the woman listed everything she was bringing with her, Colt nodded with each item listed. Seemed she had the proper idea of what was needed for this hunt. Everything made sense. With a short sigh, the woman took off the glasses to rub the gunk from her eyes. Seems hangovers caused that stuff to build up faster than it usually would. Colt put them back on as she put her hands in her pockets.

“Ah well, least y’got the basics. And as for the gun,” She paused for a moment, “…If ye aim it right, y’could kill a rabbit or somethin’. Don’ worry so much. Lemme tell ya, it’s bin a long time since I’ve hunted, so we're kinda on the same boat. Still, we’ll see.” She shrugged a little, looking at her own handgun as she spoke. She took out her little cloth and cleaned it, "Oh and um... thanks for getting this back." she sighed, looking at the ground.

“Alright, then let’s head out. I don’t want to waste daylight.” Andy nodded toward the treeline and started walking, sling and bag over her good shoulder. The red head didn’t have to look behind herself to hear the pair following suit and before long the trio had disappeared into the trees, leaving the lodge behind them.

 

[TheTreForce]

The remaining hours of Warren's first night in the lodge were uneventful. After he rounded up some scraps from the fridge, he plopped down in a chair that sat in the corner of the living room. The way things worked around here seemed to be unorganized and chaotic, as he suspected it would be to bunk up with so many people. Not being able to trust almost everybody here was put to ease slightly by having the wall to his back, able to survey everything. When the food was finished off, the plate and silverware was set to the side without the man even getting up. He sat back and tried to relax as much as he could, one hand in his jacket gripping his pistol. Before he knew it, he passed out there in the seat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

He awoke in the very early hours of the next day. The room was almost pitch black still and he sat up with a creak of the chair. The lack of light provided no way to check his watch for the time. There was no telling how long Warren was out, but he felt awake enough to not go back to sleep. He would rather be the first one up anyways for safety reasons. The warm steel in his palm reminded him that he had fallen asleep gripping the firearm. His body lifted from the chair and he holstered the gun before making his way through the kitchen area to the front door. Once outside, he could see that the sun still had not attempted to peak over the horizon yet. Probably around 5 A.M. or so. It was silent but for the cold winds that swept through, carrying the white powder that coated everything. His hands found the pockets of his heavy jacket and he trudged alongside the outer wall of the building until he reached the end where the RV was parked. Curtains were drawn closed in the windows but he stepped forward to peek through the cracks between. His eyes had adjusted well enough by now that he could see decent enough to walk and observe his surroundings, but there was nothing to see but blackness inside the car. Before trying the door, snoring was heard from the confines of it and he decided it was best not to accidentally alert whoever was sleeping in there of his snooping presence.

He carried on to the back of the mobile home when a loud crack sounded from his right. He pulled his gun out immediately and turned to see that it had likely come from the shed. Warren approached the small wooden hut slowly. Another crack came out but failed to start his nerves this time. A window on the front provided the large man to peer inside and see an older and shirtless gentleman chopping logs. Thought I was the only one up and about at this hour.. A hand pulled back one side of his jacket, found the holster for his weapon, and stowed it. He carried on back to the front of the house and found a seat leaning against it. The calm but cold setting met his mind as he closed his eyes and passed out for a good hour before waking up again. The sky had begun to brighten just a little, but not enough to make a significant difference in sight. Stars still hung, clearly visible in contrast to the space that held them. It was time for a good smoke. His hand pulled a cigar from a pocket on the inside of his jacket. He had made sure to ready one last night for the occasion. His body rested there, smoking into the later hours of the morning that crept closer.

An impressive whistle and shout from inside rose him to his feet to see what the occasion was. His cigar butt was flicked to the ground and he entered the lodge. He stopped before taking too many steps inside and leaned against the wall. People began to come into the kitchen one at a time until who he assumed to be the last one entered. The oldest member of the party he had seen yet made his way into the kitchen and found a seat. The fuck is this... Summer camp meeting? Warren eyeballed everyone and secretly judged them each on their worth. He fit the old man in at the same level as the child and pregnant lady on the totem pole. The man arguing with Luca was another older man. His weak demeanor found him a low slot on Warren's list as well. What have I stumbled upon...

 

[Maj]

​

​

Owen didn't go straight to work after his grand exit. In fact, really all he did was go to sit outside and smoke a cigarette in the cold. He didn’t understand it, how Luca had the ability to walk into a room of strangers who hated him and still get them to do what he wanted. If it hadn’t of been for Andy, the red head would have outright refused. They had less abled body people that could have easily been put to use organizing the supplies, while someone like him was likely way more useful chopping down trees. Luca made him do this to annoy him, and the most frustrating part was that it had worked.

He watched from the backyard as Leliana, Colt and his sister made their way toward the treeline and sighed an audible breath of relief. He trusted his sister in the woods, he did not trust her around Luca. He had never known Andy to have a boyfriend, not in the traditional sense. There were plenty of boys who threw themselves at her, and occasionally she let them. He had heard his fair amount of college boys talking about his sister, and a more than a few of them had gotten their jaw broken.

~~~~~​

The atmosphere at the bar was cool and calm, the lights were dimmed causing everything inside the old building to look dingey and brown. The music played some older classic rock song that Owen recognized, but he couldn’t name, something well known enough he had never thought to look it up. He sat at a round table in the corner, his drink was mostly left untouched. Owen wasn’t here to have a good time, which from the eyes the blonde at the counter was giving him, was a damn shame.

But right now he was on the clock, and that meant he didn’t have time to enjoy this beer or put the moves on the girl who kept smiling shyly at him. Right now, he had to be alert. Owen had been trying to track down Travis Horn for going on two weeks. A payday loan he had taken out through Bert and Ernie was well overdue, and Owen was their last ditch attempt to collect on it. The boy was slimey and had been laying low somewhere beside his shitshow of an apartment. But this morning one of his boys had told him that he had been lingering around the college bars at night and so he sat, pretending to drink an overpriced beer by himself.

The chatter around the bar was low, but friendly. Laughing voices of people letting off steam before midterms filled the air. It was mostly nonsense, a white-noise made of the meshing of various voices, but a phrase pulled his attention to a table in the middle of the room.

“...Andrea Jordan.”

Owen hadn’t really thought about it, but he supposed that the bar was close to his sister’s campus. Thankfully, he knew that she was out on a hunting trip with their uncle at the moment, so at least he didn’t have to worry about her presence upsetting his workflow. But after hearing her brought up, he couldn’t tear his ears away from the group of men, sitting around the tall circular table.

“No way man. That girl is a frigid bitch,” One of the males said, his mess of brown hair was sticking out from underneath a backwards ball cap, poking through the hole in the front. Owen smirked. He didn’t necessarily love the idea of a bunch of dudes talking about his sister, but he loved watching her talk down to thirsty morons, and it appeared that this douchebag was no exception.

“I’m serious!” His friend retorted, dusting his hands on his old sports jersey. “Why would I lie to you?”

“Because she’s hot, and would never give you the time of day.” The third male said.

“Listen, she might have an icy exterior, but I’m telling you inside…” The man let out a low whistle “...she’s nice and warm.” The smile on Owen’s face faltered. College boys were disgusting, and likely they talked about a lot of girls like this. He knew it wasn’t something he should take to heart, but he still couldn’t tear his attention away from their conversation.

“Catch her in the right mood, get a few drinks in her and she opens right up. The best part was she was gone before I even woke up. No fuss, no mess.” Owen could feel heat rising to his face, his knuckles were turning white around the mouth of the amber colored beer bottle. The moisture from the bottle was starting to condensate, rolling down his fingers and soaking into the crappy cardboard coaster below, that he absently tore with his free hand.

“How was it?” The man in the baseball cap asked, and the asshole in the jersey rolled his eyes skyward in fake expression of ecstasy.

“Dude, it was amazing. Like I always knew she was a little fireball, but those redheads really like it rough…”

Owen stood abruptly, knocking his stool to the ground in the swift motion, clattering to the brick floor loud enough to be heard above the music. Heads turned, to look at him but Owen paid no mind. His vision was red.

“Is that so?” Owen shouted loud enough for them to hear. All three of the boys turned to look at Owen with confused and hazy eyes, too many beers in their system to think clearly. Everyone watched in silence as all hulking six feet of Owen Jordan cleared the distance between himself and the table of college boys.

“Hey!” He heard the bartender call to him, but Owen put up a hand and that was enough to silence him. No one was stupid enough to intervene. The boys looked up to see Owen and unease set across the table, the music lowered and all there was left was the sarcastic grin on Owen’s freckled face.

“What?” The male in the jersey asked stupidly.

“Why don’t you repeat what you just said.” His voice dripped venom as he leaned across the table to close the distance between himself and the male.

“Owen, he didn’t mean it,” One of the men said, recognizing the Jordan Twin.

“Yeah man, I wasn’t even talking about you.”

“No. Just my sister.” It was like all the sound had been sucked from the room. Owen could feel the hot gaze of every bar fly in this place staring at the back of his head, but he cared little. The only thing on Owen’s mind right now was the imagery of this guys face bloodied and weeping, begging for mercy beneath him.

“Look man…” The male started but, Owen grabbed him by the front of his jersey, fist balled in the netted fabric. He lifted the man out his chair, pulling him across the table and near his face. His heart raced beneath Owen’s massive fist, his breathing was hot and sporadic on Owen’s cheek. Fear caused his brown eyes to dilate as the redhead stared him down.

“Repeat what you said.”

“I didn’t know she was your sister!” The man’s voice was raising in pitch as fear consumed him, hands up defensively. Owen had a reputation, and even if he didn’t realize that he and Andy were related, he knew what it meant to be staring the hulking male in the face.

“Break it up!” The bartender called again. He would have called the cops by now, or at least security. And while neither scared Owen, he didn’t feel like roughing up some fat guys in bouncer t-shirts tonight.

Owen knocked over the table that separated the two of them with his free hand, it crashed to the ground shattering the over-sized beer glasses on the red brick below, splattering them with sticky luke-warm alcohol. The man squirmed free from his grasp, doing his best to escape and heading for the door but Owen was faster. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind his back. Hard, black leather boots stomped down on the back of the man's legs, bring him to his knees. The college student cried out as his kneecaps slammed into the brick, and his body followed after it. Owen never lost his grip, twisting the arm and wrist upward, keeping his control on the boy like he was a marionette.

“I’m sorry!” The boy shrieked. But it fell on deaf ears, all Owen could hear now was the ringing that sounded as his blood pressure rose.

“What did you say?” He screamed, spit flying from his mouth. “Loud enough for them to hear you!” He was pulling up on the arm, the pain apparent by the distortion on the boys face and the cries coming out in between all of his muttered apologies.

“What. Did. You. Say?”

“Redheads like it rough.” The man finally whimpered.

Owen pulled on his arm and with one swift motion he felt it break. The sound of the bone snapping was the only thing heard in the echo of the room. A gasp escaped the lips of the blonde who had just been looking him up and down, hands to her mouth in horror. Owen still held the man’s wrist and stomped down into the middle of the man’s back, feeling the shoulder twist in ways it shouldn’t. With a fist in the hair on the back of the man’s head, he pulled him to his feet, listening to the distorted warble of his cries. His rage wasn’t sated but, the sounds of sirens were getting closer and he knew that his time staking out the bar was over.

Disgusted, Owen let him go, growling as he slumped to the floor. He stepped over the male and without a word, satisfied at the vision of his dirty boot print staring back at him from the pale color of the jersey. Without a word he threw money on the bar for his tab and exited the front door.

~~~~​

Taking the final drag off of his cigarette, Owen scraped the end of it on the deck to kill the light and tossed it in the old ashtray of his uncles that lived on the railing. Picking up the notepad Leliana had put together, he made his way to the shed where the group had left most of their supplies upon return. At least by doing this, he wouldn’t have to deal with Luca any more than necessary today.

They were drowning in medical supplies, and he was the wrong person to be inventorying it. All the names looked like gibberish to him, printed across glossy labels. He did his best to transcribe the words as he saw them, but they felt like jumbled vowels and unnecessary Z’s. There was little food to be found in the bags, a few granola bars, a few canned goods, but not enough for a crew of this size. His sister had made the right call by making food their priority.

Finally his eyes set on Andy’s embroidered competition bag. Her name was stitched in the navy fabric with white thread, including her title as archery captain. The thing was stained with blood, only showing again that his sister had indeed gone through a hard time to get to him. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful that she had come for him, but he wished she had trusted that he would return and save her from all that stress.

The zipper stuck some, but after a few moments of jiggling it he was able to get it to come free. He removed some blood stained arrows along with some empty bottles that had once contained rum. Owen had always been aware that Andy liked to drink, but he was starting to wonder exactly how much. Two empty bottles in her bag, and she had two full bottles stashed away to bring to their ‘funeral’ at her perch. He continued to pull out the rest of her gear, a spare sketch pad, some bandaids, light first aid supplies.

At the bottom was a blue box. It was opened, and he had to be careful not to spill the contents when he turned it over. Owen felt sick, his stomach bottoming out as his breathing grew rapid. The logo of a Trojan horse stared him back in the face and his vision went red.

Brax FireMaiden Rumble Fish

 

[Songbird500]

The ride to the Supermarket had been mostly quiet with Nathaniel's coughing the only thing to break the silence. Riley was yet again making a list in her head. A list of food, water, utilities. She was hoping it would be an easy trip. That Aurora hadn't fallen apart so drastically that the people themselves had become animals in the madness. Riley needed it to be an easy trip, That they could get what they needed and go home. Because home was the space she needed to find herself again. To think through the reality of their circumstances and become stronger.

Thankfully, it was just as Riley had wished and they'd been able to get most of what they needed and had left with no hinderance or violence. It appeared as if the chaos hadn't reached this far yet and the normalcy had Riley questioning if any of it had been real. The image of the army trucks reminded her that it was and a pang of guilt settled in her stomach. Maybe she should have told someone. All those people at the Supermarket, just living their normal lives, not aware of what was coming. Should she have warned them? Or what they have just looked at her like some crazy women. Riley couldn't take the chance. All that mattered now was saving her brother. And if that meant playing it cold so be it. Riley could walk away and not think twice about it.

Upon their arrival back home Riley was quick to get everything upstairs and she made a mental note to block off the downstairs door. Riley knew she couldn't block the main entrance to the complex but they needed something to hinder the arrival of anything into their space. She also couldn't be sure if these things could climb up stairs but decided not to take any chances. It had the potential to annoy some of the neighbours but she was betting on most of them taking the lift anyway. Entering their apartment Riley was quick to lock the door behind them and pushed the sofa in front of it for good measure. She still didn't feel safe. But it was a start.

Present day​

Riley had reached the other side of the wall and had her back pressed against it. She'd figured this was the best way to survey the whole corridor, not allowing any chance of surprise attacks from either side. Taking a quick glance up and down the corridor it looked fine. The same as it did the day this whole thing started. The same as it did before this whole thing started. It was like the outbreak had never happened. That it hadn't been able to reach this tiny speck of space in Aurora. This was their sanctuary and Riley intended to keep it that way. She decided very early on not to go poking near the stairs. Any noise had a habit of drawing them so unless completely necessary, the doors stayed shut and she hoped that nothing had made its way down to their floor.

"Riley...Riley...Riley!?"

She heard her brother calling her name and lunged at the doorway he was now standing in. Placing a hand on his mouth she brought a finger to her own to indicate silence. Riley took one last glance up and down the corridor, praying that her brother hadn't attracted anything. With the satisfaction that they were still safe she pushed Nathaniel back into their home before spinning to lock the door behind them.

"What have i said about too much noise?! I had it under control!?"

MinTea