Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[King Vioogra]

Tre and Jonas pt. 2 (Flashback)



Jonas’ eyes widened as Tre basically spilled his guts out to the boy, something he wasn't used to since he didn't spend much time around people and whenever he was with his therapist, it was always Jonas talking. His eyes darted between a few other things around them as he tensed up a bit. It wasn't something he really wanted to do, but now he felt a bit obligated to talk about his family.

“I feel where you're coming from. I find myself hating my parents a lot, but I have to remind myself that what happened to me wasn't their fault. It's not their fault they didn't have enough money, or that the people that took me wanted so much. It wasn't their fault they were impatient, or that they were ruthless either.”

Jonas said resting his staff against his shoulder as he looked down at his hands, two stubs where fingers should be that stood out and were pretty easy to notice. He realized he was being way more open than he initially planned on being, and quickly put his hands in the pockets of his jacket, looking away from Tre and trying to keep the emotionless expression on his face.

“But still, being saved isn't something you should expect in this shit hole we live in now. It doesn't matter who it is, if you aren't ready to put down one of those things at a moments notice, you're dead.”

He dragged his thumb across his neck as he spoke, the logistical side of him coming out in full force as he spoke with a surprisingly firm tone.

---

“You fuckin’ wrong, man.” Tre whipped back, his left hand balled up into a fist. What Jonas said was completely misguided, something he recognized immediately as weak behavior. Was this really what Jonas thought? Tre took a long drag of that joint, til he felt the paper begin to burn away at his fingertips. In a jolt reaction, he quickly dropped it onto the ground and shook his hand, using the tip of his boot to extinguish the ember before looking back up to Jonas.

“It’s totally their fault. The fact that they didn’t have money was their fault. I’m willing to guarantee they let dudes take you. Your parents decidin’ it was a good idea for you to be born was their fault. They weren’t able to take that responsibility on, yo! Are you serious? You sound like a total fuckin victim’ bro, you’re a textbook fuckin’ example of Stockholm Syndrome.”

While it didn’t involve him at all, what Jonas had said angered Tre. He had spent a majority of his life understanding exactly the type of life he was left to lead. His parents didn’t plan on having him, but his father probably should have worn protection. Or at least tried to avoid some sort of mishap. Instead, he fucked up. He spent a large majority of his time admitting that he had to pay for a lot of his mistakes and that he would never be free. Tre realized long ago that he too, was one of those mistakes.

“Animals out in the wild been livin’ like this. Eat or be eaten mentality, you dig? I been livin’ this way my whole life. Only difference now is that the dudes i’m killin’ are already dead.”

----

“One. You don't know a Goddamn thing about my parents, so don't compare yours to mine like they're in any way similar. Two, don't ever say I'm an example of ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ like I wouldn't put this staff through each and every one of them, given the opportunity.”

Jonas said, rising from his seat on the stairs and leaning his staff against the pillar that they sat in front of.

“I'm aware that this is an eat or be eaten world, but being taken from my house at 11, and having a price over my head the whole damn time, doesn't make me weak. My parents are the only reason I'm alive, you idiot. They did take responsibility for me, by getting as much money from as many people as they could. I owe everything to them, and if you ever talk shit about them again…”

At this point Jonas was damn near yelling and basically shoving a finger in the teenagers face before he took a deep breath in, spinning on his heel before going back to his seat on the stairs. He sat down roughly on the wood, burying his head in his hands and looking down at the stairs below him.

“I would've lost a lot more than just a few fingers if they didn't care about me.”

He said flatly as he scratched at the back of his neck.

---
“You’ll what? Ninja turtle me? I ain’t a pizza, motherfucka. You realize that?”

He responded, unphased as he watched Jonas lose his temper. Tre had witnessed a wide variety of men lose their shit and threaten him throughout his life. People that were much larger, more experienced and angrier than Jonas. Empty threats weighed absolutely nothing, something that was proven true when the kid took a seat once more. It was obvious that it was a touchy subject, so Tre made a note not to mention his parents again. Even so, it must have felt good being able to divulge information to someone else, even if Tre had to manipulate him a bit to get him to open his mouth.

“Regardless. That shit is in the past. I let my anger die along with my folks. Left that shit in the dirt where their blood is.”

Tre wiped his hands together momentarily, ascending the staircase once more and taking a seat next to the white-haired boy. He took the rubber-band out of the back of his hair, running his hands through his dreads a few times before tying them back up. It had probably close to five years since the last time he got a haircut. Without those dreads, the poor kid would have had the largest afro in history. One that would make the cats back in the 70’s look like chia pets in comparison.

“Only thing left to do is to figure out how to keep on movin’.”

--------

Jonas scoffed as Tre made a reference to the ninja turtles of all things, and then turned to him when he spoke about burying his anger along with his parents. A sigh escaped him as looked back out at the treeline.

“I should've buried mine too, I mean it was my testimony that got them a seat in the chair. But for some reason, I can't. Every day I think about how much shit they dragged me through for months, and all they get is a zap and it's over? That's bullshit.”

He said as he laid his head on his forearm that filled the gap between his knees, before scooting up a step and lying on the patio, his back hitting the wood quietly as he looked up at the wood of the balcony above them before laying his forearm over his eyes.

“This is all bullshit.”​

 

[MinTea]

Past

The drive to the store was silent, only Nathans' coughs to break it. Even though his head was in scatters, he knew the basic essentials would be key. Water, food and utilities would be the only things they should go for...What need would there be for luxury items anyway? After that, home, it would be the next safest place for them to go. They recognised it and would be able to defend themselves easier there.

Thankfully, to both of their wishes, the store hadn't been hit yet. It was like a utopia in hell. It put a strange feeling on Nathaniel, had it really happened; what they saw? Did they just imagine it all? Was it a trick? The thought of the army encircling the town was the only thing making him realise, it was real, it was the end...

He knew he should have told someone, but getting locked up as the world ended was not on his agenda. The guilt racked him, there blood would be on his hands, but he knew if they were in his situation they would do the same. All he had to do was buy what he needed, get Riley and leave. He shouldn't complicate something easy.

Once they arrived home, both of them rushed upstairs. Knowing that the choices they made now could be life and death later, they did all they could to defend the apartment block. Blocking the downstairs door and putting a sofa in-front of their door was the best that could be done, but it was still better than nothing.

It still didn't feel safe.

Present Day

No more than three seconds and Riley had placed her fingers over Nathaniels' mouth. Did he make the mistake of alerting the creatures
...1
...2
...3
...4
...5
Nothing had come, they were safe.

"What have I said about to much noise!? I had it under control!" Riley harshly lectured.

"I'm sorry, but when you leave the door open and disappear, I panic!" Nathan bit back, getting sick of her criticising his right to worry. It had become a usual thing, he could see she cared, but it had become common for her to scold him. He would accept it, but it was now beginning to make him tired.

 

[Meredith]

Aderyn
Aderyn crouched in the middle of a cluster of branches. She had climbed a tree carefully, finding a solid position, and concealing herself poorly with the leafless branches. There was snow on the ground, a thin layer, and she had left a trail of footprints behind her on her way to the tree.

There had been some deer tracks in the area over the last day or two the trio had been traveling together. Finally, they had found fresh droppings, in a place far enough away from the hazmats that it would be safe for them to shoot.

Her vision dropped to her left, down into the brush, scanning for Cletus and Dixie. She thought back to when they met, and cringed a bit, grimacing in pure embarrassment.
Taking advantage of people due to your notoriety is a dick move at best.

Previously on Dragon Ball Z….
(This collab was written by Meredith as Aderyn and Hyped_Taco as Cletus but Brax also claims he contributed. Take that as you will.)

Cletus
Cletus returned back to his truck alongside his wife, they had needed to go hunting out in the woods since they were about to run out of food, with just a few cans left which they had brought from their sweet home Alabama. Cletus didn´t even know the name of this fucking town but now he was trapped inside of it due to all those undead northern sons of bitches inside the city trying to eat his southern ass like if they were in 1862.

¨Honey look¨ Dixie told him ¨There´s ayy berd over their kill it!!¨ she ordered him to do the deed ¨Honey that there's ayy darn goldfinch, if ay shoot it is just gunna be ayy waste av bulleds¨ He had gone out hunting for the last 14 years of his life with his pa every Sunday, if between the two one of them knew how to hunt, it was him. ¨ayy rabbit over yonder Cletus, shoot it!!¨ His wife screamed once more ¨Jesus woman ya done ate 3 hours ago calm you self down¨ he loved his wife very much, ever since the day they met nearly 10 years ago, but fucking christ could she get under his nerves at least once a day every day.

He held his gun tight and pointed at the bunny with his rifle ¨I´m sawry bunny ayn' thank y'all faw the food you´ll bring us this here day¨ Cletus told himself under his breath, since the first day he went hunting with his pa he had taught him something he had never forgotten, ¨Cletus, just because y'all hunting them doesn't mean they awful bad animals, y'all hunt cause the meat, ayn' they provide our home with food that there we would nahwt get otherwise, they ken range frawum piggies ta bunnies, but they deserve the same respec y'all have ta y'all's fellow man¨. He had the bunny in his sights, he put his finger over the trigger and… ¨Fuk´s sake Cletus just shoot the bunny now¨ His wife impatiently ordered him to do it now, scaring the bunny making it run away ¨Ya scared ´im woman ya awful happy naw?!¨ He responded back to her, this whole hunting trip having been for nothing at all. Dixie shed a tear due to Cletus frustration at her ¨Aw i´m sawry hun, ay just done got angry faw ayy sec, y'all wanna go bak ta camp ta eat ayy sowp ken?¨ he was happy she agreed and they began walking back to camp.

In the last few years, Cletus had to admit, his wife may and just may have gained a few pounds, and by a few he meant that she looked like if she had just eaten her older self and a whooper after that as well. While heading back to their camp the sound of a window being broken could be heard ¨what the-¨ Cletus said before his wife started running back to their truck at the speed that a nearly 200 and 20-pound woman could go at. She was out of breath when the heavy woman saw a girl stealing from their truck ¨Y'ALL STEALING MY FOOD?!!¨ She screamed to the girl as if it were a Walmart employee, Cletus shortly arrived after her and pointed his rifle ¨Hands was ay ken see them mowtherf- oh it´s just ayy little gerl¨.

Aderyn
As she heard the woman thundering over, Aderyn slung on her backpack, throwing herself out of the truck’s back window and hitting the ground with a thud and a crunch. Nothing hurt, or at least nothing hurt enough to be broken, though she was fairly certain she rolled her ankle. The woman didn’t seem to be coming at her - instead, Aderyn focused her attention around her, looking for a route that would conceal her in brush or other cover. She did not find one.

Seeing the man break through the bushline, she slipped the handgun out of her holster, pointing it at him with shaky hands. She lowered it, aiming it towards the ground at his feet, blood pounding in her ears. Don’t aim at anything you don’t want to shoot. Don’t aim at anything you don’t want to shoot. Trigger slips kill.

“I’m not a little girl.”
Her voice was low, eyes wide, almost crazed. She was hopped up on pure adrenaline, staring into the barrel of the gun, almost entranced. Her matted hair had been tied to itself at the back, starting to form a solid mass, keeping it out of her eyes at least. She was short - unusually short, even for such a young child - and thin as a rail. “I’m Aderyn. Aderyn Weber.”

A moment of silence passed, barely a heartbeat, and the girl threw herself at the man with the gun. Oh god I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die. The man’s hesitation at shooting towards a child (or any human being, for that matter) gave her a moment to consider, and the only path seemed to be through, so she aimed straight for his stomach and ducked low.

Cletus
¨Cletus, shoot that there little thief, now¨ His wife demanded, and for what, a can? ¨dixie she just ayy child ay ain't a-shootin' her¨ he responded back at his wife, if he wasn´t gonna shoot a man then why would he shoot a pre-teen girl.

While the pair discussed on the spot, the girl spoke, both Cletus and his wife shut their mouths at that moment ¨Alraheet alright, y'all aint ayy lil gerl y'all ayy teen if that´s what y'all wanna hear¨ Cletus said back to her, why did kids always want to sound older he wondered ¨Oh ayn' my name is Cletus Huckleberry, kind ta meet y´all¨ He told Aderyn after she said her name, which she made it sound as if it was somebody he should know or something.

And then she charged at him, Dixie looked horrified, as if somehow the girl was about to kill him or something, Cletus just put his hand up and caught the girl by the forehead ¨Aderyn ya need-ta be careful where ya a-goin', it done looked as if ya was a-tryin' ta push me aw something¨ He decided to kind of lecture the kid about not running straight at strangers for what apparently no reason.

Aderyn
Aderyn was wrenched to a halt, and she looked up at Cletus, fear shining in her eyes. Her breaths were fast and shallow - she met the man’s eyes - and for a moment she was a rabbit, scared and running, wild in desperation.

They stood like that for a moment. Her heartbeat began to slow, and she stuffed her handgun in her holster hastily, pulling her forehead back from his hand. Her hands were shaking obviously, and slowly, she slung her backpack on the ground into the snow and crouched beside it.

Opening the top flap and undoing the drawstring, she pulled out the ammo and the single can of soup, offering one of them in each hand to the man. Her eyes closed, and she stayed crouched, hearing herself speak and the wind rustling through the bare winter branches overhead. “I’m - sorry for running into you. And breaking your window.”

Her voice was barely a whisper, and slowly, her eyes opened to look back up at him. Her gaze caught on a chickadee - flitting about in the trees above, looking for seeds that it could maybe still find, and a lazy thought crossed her mind - wouldn’t it be better off in a pine tree? - but she forced herself to focus. It had been hard to focus, the last few days. “I’m really hungry.”

Her voice was almost pleading, and perhaps she did invoke pity, but it was said as a reason - a bid for forgiveness - and not a request.

Cletus
Cletus looked at the girl and felt the fear that could be seen in her eyes as if she had been the rabbit he had failed to hunt a few minutes ago ¨oh, sawry ta scare ya¨ The Alabamian said while taking his hand off the girl´s head, feeling a bit bad by having made a defenseless kid scared.

He saw as she took some ammo and a can of soup she presumably took out of his truck, seeing as his window had been broken not too long ago. He really did not care since he saw that the girl was in pretty bad shape and would off been scared due to having probably been all by herself in the woods for only god´s know how Dixie on the other hand seemed furious, before she could say a thing Cletus grabbed her by the hand at a distance Aderyn would probably not hear them from. ¨Cletus ay do nahwt like that there gerl, she mean ayn' ayy thief, ay say we kik huurr out av our camp¨ Dixie angrily said, Cletus then, as calmly as he could responded ¨Dixie, y'all know ay love ya, but we can´t just kik out this here gerl, look at her, she sceered ayn' alone, ay can´t just let huurr go ta the woods alone¨ "Ugh!!, alraheet do as y'all like, but i´ll keep my eyes on huurr¨.
Cletus returned back with Aderyn, just when she mentioned she was hungry ¨Oh, ay know, how about if y'all stay with us faw the evening, we done got ayy few kinds off sowps we done got uhhhhh. Dixie what do we have?!¨ Cletus asked his wife ¨The brat aint a-touchin' my canned beef so just take the fuking tomato sowp¨ Dixie responded ¨So uhhh... Tomato sowp, ya want some?¨ Cletus told Aderyn with a can on his hand and holding a smile on his face.

Aderyn
Aderyn had watched them as they walked away to speak to each other, her hands clenched, knuckles white and fingers wringing tightly around the hem of her jacket. The woman seemed agitated by her presence, and Aderyn didn’t blame her, especially seeing as she had tried to steal from them.

As they came back, Aderyn closed her eyes, taking a few slow breaths to calm herself as the woman told her off. “I’m sorry.” She addressed the woman directly, for a moment, her courage abandoning her as she instead looked towards Cletus.

She thought about mentioning who she was, but it hadn’t seemed to phase him, and she doubted it would earn her any points with the woman - Dixie.

“Tomato soup would be great. If that’s okay. I have a tent in my bag that you can have, and some clean water for us to share, if you want. I- I never made it to the middle school.” She took another breath, slow, and got up from her position on the ground. The bag went back over her shoulder, and she moved, putting the can and ammunition on the side of the truck’s box.

“I was scared that they’d take me. I’m not supposed to - well, supposed to be alone, I guess.” Not supposed to be free. Armed and dangerous. God, they’d probably have shot her on sight in a situation like this.

“Thank you.”
She considered them, still anxious, but legions calmer than before. “Where- well, not to be rude but where are you two from? I’ve never heard an accent like that in Aurora.”

Cletus
¨Sure, put y'all's tent if y'all wan-ta, ayn' that there watuurr would be great cause oo-wee ay am so thersty raheet now¨ Cletus said to Aderyn after she offered some of her water to them, Dixie outright refused it just cause she didn´t trust the girl, but that didn´t stop Cletus from drinking the bottle she offered. Cletus leaned to the girl and in a low tone told her ¨Don´t about mah wife dix, she just grumpy cause ov those there undead nawtherners, but she´ll eventually open up ta ya. Probably¨ Dixie was a hard woman to befriend, but with the help of Cletus maybe and just maybe, she could tolerate Aderyn.

He listened as she told him how she wasn´t supposed to be alone, and that she was scared of somebody catching her ¨whel, naw mathuurr who they are kiddo, they can´t get ya here, ay promise¨ He didn´t know what had happened before all this, and it seemed to be a sensible thing for her so he just kept quiet about it.

¨Oh, yeah the accents done gave us out right? whel y'all right, we ain´t frawum this here ¨aurawa¨ y'all talk about, but we frawum alabama,aw as y'all may know it the yellowhammuurr state aw the heart ov dixie¨ She probably hadn´t heard those names other than Alabama, but he liked to call it that way.

Aderyn
“Yeah. I’ll do that.”
She took the waterskin after Cletus drank out of it, taking a long and slow drink herself, and putting her backpack beside the formerly-stolen goods. She pulled the tent out of it, starting to pitch it by herself, an easy task as it really was only built for one person and was sized to match its purpose. She seemed to be thinking, as she worked, and after she finished she came back to the couple.

“They think I did something to my dad, you know? But I didn’t. He just told me to run and I listened to him, ‘cause he taught me to listen when he tells me something, and I trust him a lot.” She didn’t immediately respond to the news of their origin, but instead blurted out something that seemed to be on her mind, before looking a bit like she regretted speaking.

“Why were you guys up here? I can’t imagine the allure to Aurora, even before… you know.”

Cletus
¨So they blame ya faw something that there y'all done nahwt do. yup sownds just like the government¨ he responded, still wondering what she could have possibly been accused of.

He continued eating his bowl of tomato soup, which just reminded him of his ma´s so famous tomato recipe which he just loved to eat every time he could as a kid.
¨Oh why we was here? whel, we was just done supposed ta stay for the night, when we done we saw that ever'thing had gone ta chaos whahl we slept, we was on ayy road trip ta visit thay ...uhh awful big city ya know? like uhhhh, awful new yawk, pitsburg, detroit uhhhhhh l. Ayy? i´m sure that there one is in thay ...uhh nawth as whel¨ Cletus told Aderyn while finishing his soup.

Aderyn
Aderyn took her half of the soup, sitting cross-legged in a small space she managed to clear of snow, and wolfed in down hungrily. She listened to them, nodding as he told her they were just passing through, and frowned a little bit. “Awful luck, isn’t that?”

She considered her options for a moment. She could keep it vague, or tell him what happened, maybe even convince somebody of her innocence. That would be a start, wouldn’t it?

“Somebody shot him. My dad, I mean. I think it might have - might have been my uncle. Last time I saw my uncle, him’n my dad had a really bad fistfight, so…” She paused, eyes looking a little glassy, but through a moment of fortitude pushed forward. “I heard him get shot and ran downstairs and he was bleeding and he told me to take the gun and the bag that he had packed upstairs, and that I shouldn’t call the police, and that I should run and make sure nobody could ever find me. And then they said on the news that I killed him but I didn’t I just found hiim but my Daddy- my Dad said that they’d try to put me in jail because our family is known bad here and I don’t want to go to jail so I ran.”

She finished her soup, putting it down in front of her, and looking at them both. “I’ll leave in the morning if you want. I'm okay by myself. It’s already been almost a year, you know.”

Cletus
Cletus heard the girl´s story, and simply could not believe what he was hearing, how could somebody blame a 12-year-old girl of murder? That statement just sounded insane to him.

¨I´m sawry ya had ta live through that at such awful young age, but ay want ya ta know ya have my bak on this one, naw mattuurr what happens i´ll be damn sure those federals aw whoevuurr thay hell they are wont catch ya¨ He promised her, from what he had seen till now, she was just a little girl the world had wronged for no reason.

Currently...
- Cletus and his wife are on the ground, hunting.
- Aderyn is in a nearby tree with her handgun.
- The truck is loaded but Cletus has the keys.
- The truck is not on or otherwise making noise.

 

[Rumble Fish]

During all of the hustle and bustle of the morning, Andy leaving with Leliana and Colt to hunt, Luca giving everyone orders and the grown-ups, or at least people older than her conversed before going about their jobs, Milly had slipped away to go back to the bedroom she shared with the nurse and Shiona. It was quieter, but she could almost feel the vibrations of the overlapping voices below her. Even if she went outside, Milly did not feel like she could escape it all. She stood at the window, staring. The clear glass fogging at nose level with every exhale. The bodies were gone, but Milly could still imagine them there, despite the fresh blanket of snow, undented and undisturbed. As if nature herself was to trying to convince herself that this was all just a bad dream and none of it was true. That it could be hidden.

Outside was a view of silent stillness, only disturbed by the dust-light of snowflakes that covered the world as they flowed through a silent stream. Silver trees parted into an open stretch of white, leading into a carpet of silver and ivory. The steel sky was sleek, no rays of light coming through. A lone raven cawed and soared like a phantom through the endless sky. Unlike them, it could escape. Milly sighed shakily, how could everything have changed in only a few short days? She had never been apart from her mother for this long. She had promised to come back, to take her home once she found help and to keep her safe.

But she didn’t. She never came back. Not for two days. Hot tears streaked down her cold cheeks, her pale skin reddened from the heat. The longest Milly had been apart from her before now had been a couple of years ago. She was never told what had happened, but she had been gone for almost the entire day. All Milly could do was pace and wait by the window, not eating anything or doing any of her work. But she still came back. Now? She did not know how to feel. People had been kind, and the lodge was safe, as long as the ones with firearm experience were there. But the lodge was not her home. The little white bungalow was the only haven Milly had known. Why couldn’t she just go back home?

With a sigh, Milly slid into a sitting position against the wall where the window was, shaking and clinging to herself. She hadn’t slept well the night before. She had a dream where she was standing in the snow, and her mother appeared, walking towards her. But before Milly could rush to her, arms outstretched for a hug, she dissolved into a flurry of snowflakes. All Milly could do was cry out for her, desperately trying to catch the flakes and run through the trees, all for nothing. She had woken up and had thankfully not woken Leliana and Shiona. But she did not fall asleep again after that.

Curling herself up into a tighter ball, Milly stared blankly at the floor. It was all just too much. All she could do at that moment was try to escape into her memories, of what mornings were supposed to be like. A warm house-coat, eggs on toast, a quiet breakfast and a couple of hours of watching cartoons before beginning the rest of their day. Milly rocked slightly, just thinking of all of this made the youngster more withdrawn and distraught but what else could she do? Nothing made sense anymore, everything that ever did was now gone.

Mentions: FireMaiden BloodLightning27 Maj (Andy) Brax (Luca)
​

 

[Brax]

After Milly had slinked her way out of the kitchen, Luca’s eyes turned to both Bethany and Shinoa. He didn’t know of the new girls name, nor her usefulness, but she was about to learn that not making her skillset known would only act to punish her. Luca grabbed a spare two-way radio and placed it on the table before the two girls. Lifting a hand to point at the pregnant girl, the Italian kept his focus on Bethany.

“This is really the only person in the lodge that requires supervision. I don’t know who you are, but make sure she’s taken care of until she pops. The little one also - i’m unsure of her name. The one that ran out? Take care of each other while the rest of us are busy. Use the radio if you need us for anything, we’ll all be keeping them on for the majority of the day. With some luck, Leliana will get back before she gives birth.”

Before heading outside, Luca was sure to grab a pad of lined paper alongside a pen. It was probably intelligent to map out the structure of the newest addition to the lodge beforehand, this way everyone knew their part and would work without hesitation. He exited the kitchen by way of the back door, the soles of his shoes tapping against the wood of the patio as he made his way to the outdoor furniture that had been pushed off to the side. It mostly consisted of a table with a few chairs, but the plan wasn’t to sit around for too long.

Standing the head of the table, Luca opted to stand as he put pen to paper. Considering that this addition was more than likely going to house an equal amount of people than the lodge just to start with, it was important to have plenty of size. The least amount of work would be to build stand-alone housing. An addition to the current lodge would have to start with demolition, which was just adding inappropriate amounts of work onto their plate. There were too many trees on both sides of the lodge to get started there.

As people started heading outside, Luca began streamlining them in his direction. With each person he noticed open the door, he was sure to take a moment to call them over before resuming his plot. Rectangular in shape was the easiest way to go. Multiple floors would be an annoyance, but one that was necessary. Other people would undoubtedly join the group as the weeks turned into month. Preemptively adding size to accommodate those people was important to Luca. It was inevitable that at a certain point, the group would eventually get big enough to have to move off of the lodge. By thinking ahead Luca hoped to avoid the pitfalls of running out of space too quickly.

Hunched over and looking up from his masterpiece, Luca scanned the group of workers that accumulated around him. The men who were left in the lodge, those who were able-bodied and capable of producing results. He began explaining what it was he drew, and why it had been done that way. While speaking, Luca was sure to point to each particular instance on the layout that he had been referring to.

“We don't have the time nor resources to accommodate personal rooms at the moment. If I were in your shoes, I would be upset by this, but it’s designed to be a temporary solution. We will need to dig up a bit of the ground to start laying down the foundation, but essentially we’re looking at barracks. Everything is going to be on one floor. There will be a wall in the middle that separates the men and women. In each room, we will load in bunk-beds. We don’t have those sitting around, so we will have to build each one from the leftover wood we have. We’ll chop trees from sun-up to sun-down until we have enough wood to provide for everything. Once that's done, we’ll install some lights. Top it all off with a run for mattresses and two portable bathrooms for outside use.” He ripped the piece of paper from the pad, turning it and placing the pen down on top of it.

“Anything else you guys have to add, discuss it and then write it down in a list. When you’re finished, i’ll look it over and we’ll decide if it’s worth adding or not. Got it?” He waited for visual or audible confirmation before walking away from the table and heading down the steps. After taking a few feet from the group, Luca removed the cigarette from behind his ear and lit it. He deposited the lighter back into his pocket as he looked up to the view of the woods behind the lodge.

​

The Mad Queen shadowz1995 King Vioogra TheTreForce FireMaiden Hyped_Taco

 

[BloodLightning27]

This a Collaboration between myself, Soma Schicksal & The Mad Queen

Blue - Brian
Neon Green - Marcus
Purple - Jenna

"Well... Fuck. You really weren't kidding when you said it was a need to know basis." She stopped in her tracks, turned in the snow and slowly walked towards the man. "You did the right thing by telling us, Brian." This was it. "And you want to expose the government for everything that's happened here. Fab. Well, I do have some good news." A smile started to grow on her face. "You're staring at someone with a following of almost four million on one platform alone. Even if only half of my followers watch what gets put out, there's no way the US of A would be able to ignore it. You have a platform to go public. Between you and that CDC bloke just spewing government secrets there's no way those fuckers will be able to hide from what happened here." Jenna's smile started to fade. "But, the bad news is that the internet and all communications in general are down and leaving the city is going to be next to impossible. I thought about the sewers but apparently they're full of the dead too, and that's not even taking into account how we'd maneuver someone that's preggers through that place."

-

"Oh...wow didn't expect to be that close on having the right guess. Hmm ya I can see you in a business suit with the tough person look and some sun glasses." he chuckled. "To be honest I'm honored that you have told us, I mean it ain't easy figuring out who you can trust with that info." Marcus was glad to know that they basically had a Hazzy on their side in a way, maybe he was too quick to trust but that was just how he was sometimes. "I feel that some of the others won't mind where you came from since you are basically on our side and you know now what the government was up to. It was probably a good idea to try and stick with the survivors anyway because I doubt the government would ever let you survive knowing what you know..." Marcus thought for a moment. "At least that is how I remember it in zombie movies and games..." Marcus could see the Richer area coming up ahead and a farm out in the background. "Seems we are almost there, this isn't too far of a walk, and to get back on track with our conversation I feel like you should tell everyone besides Luca and maybe even Andy since they seem to be close." He looked at Jenna as she explained her plan. "Well you do realize it's easy for the government to make you seem crazy right? I know your following and although they can be loyal the goverment can just make this seem like it's some sort live action film you were working on and say that it was all just an act." Marcus explained.

-

Jenna rolled her eyes at that last comment. "Sure, they can dismiss it but a live action ARG? I mean, c'mon Marcus." She scoffed. "I know they'll do what they can to discredit me, but that's why it won't just be me leaking the atrocities that have happened here. I'm just giving a platform. Even if the US shuts down my Twitch or my Youtube channel, I've still got a family of nearly four million that have had my back before. They'll swarm every website they can with the evidence. From Facebook to Pornhub, the only way the government will be able to hide from what they've done is if they shut down the internet itself. And I mean..." She chuckled. "Good luck with that." Jenna pointed back to Brian with her thumb. "Got Agent 47. And yeah, they might dismiss him as a crazed traitor. Maybe they'll even say he joined ISIS for all I fuckin' know...But that's why I need to convince Fisher." She stared into the clearing ahead. The farm seemed big enough for sure, but could it be secured? At the very least she hoped they'd come across some supplies, and if they got lucky maybe there'd be a chicken or two that hadn't starved or been torn apart by the dead. Goddamn she could go for some fried chicken right about now, hell she'd kill for a tub of the gravy KFC made.

"Guy's a legit CDC Doctor. I knew his name sounded familiar, and that's 'cause he worked the Disneyworld outbreak and kinda blamed the whole thing on those Karens who don't vaccinate their kids." She smiled. "Apparently having a dead kid is better than one who's Autistic or gay." Sarcasm oozed from every word the girl spoke, she was as salty as the Atlantic ocean. "If he's willing to call out a bunch of bad parents for causing measles to have a comeback that rivals Take That then exposing the United States government for covering up a deadly parasite and massacring it's own citizens on American soil...I mean, he'll want to do it." At least she hoped so. If the movies she watched and games she played were anything close to reality then the government could clean their hands of Brian and simply claim he didn't exist, that he was little more than a fraud. As for her, they could claim any number of things. A live action film or ARG would be very far fetched, but Marcus had the right idea at least. But a CDC Doctor? That would be someone they couldn't hide from.

She glanced down at her axe. It looked sharp enough, but the girl knew she'd have to keep her distance. "If we do come across some of those dead c***s here, how do you two want to proceed?" She left it in the hands of the professionals once more.

-

Brian felt reasonably relieved given the reaction of both Jenna and Marcus. He really thought that Marcus was going to blow his head off, but he was thankfully wrong. Still, he could never be too careful. He even smiled a little when Jenna called him 'Agent 47', clearly getting the reference. "Oh no. The Government will not be getting off that easy. We are going public with it. The American People will not ignore it...and the Government will have to take responsibility. While you get the evidence onto YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and all those fancy websites that people seem to love nowadays, I'll be weaponizing the American Media." He only smiled a little about Jenna saying that the CIA outing Brian as a sell out by joining ISIS. "That's a little excessive, Gamer Girl. But I can see where you're getting at. I don't think we'll have to do much in order to convince Dr. Fisher. He also knows that...I'm a CIA Operative. He wants to expose the Government for what they've done here and what's happened. I already have the names of everyone involved. Its gonna be a field day if we all get out of Aurora alive. I just hope we do it in time...before the Virus spreads across the country...or even across the globe. Not gonna lie, those Hazmats allowed me to read through some of their files. Big mistake on their part, because I even took the opportunity to copy a good percentage of them." He said before pulling out a Thumb Drive, but quickly shoved it back into his pocket to avoid losing it.

As they inched closer to the Farm, Brian had his Rifle at the ready. "If we come across them, take them down fast and hard. Headshots only to conserve ammunition. No more then two shots per undead." The snow soon began to clear up. The Farm seemed rather desolate and devoid of life. "Marcus, go ahead and take point. I'll watch your six. Jenna, keep an eye behind us."

 

[Maj]

This is part two of a multi part collab between Maj Rumble Fish and FireMaiden
​

It hadn’t taken long for the trio to move through the woods. Andy knew every stick, stone and tree like the back of her hand. She had made sure to warn them of the roots that liked to jutt up from the ground like traps, ready to grab ankles and stub toes. So far all Andy had been able to find was a few rabbits, she had them strung across some rope over her shoulder as she walked, feeling better than she had in almost a week.

The chittering and cracking of a rabbit emerging from it’s hole perked up Andrea’s ears. It took very little time for her eyes to focus on it, finding it at the base of a tree only a few feet in front of them. The red head motioned to Leliana, wanting to make sure that this trip was as lucrative for the lodge as it was educational for the young girl.

“Take your time,” Andy whispered in her ear. “Make sure you keep your aim and your breathing steady. It’s a small target, but you want to try to aim for the head. Missing can damage the meat, especially with a gun. You’ve got this.” The blonde had told her that she knew how to shoot, that was a large part of the battle. The larger part was making sure you knew how to hunt effectively. Blowing a rabbit to bits wasn’t going to feed anyone.

~~~~~~~~​

Watching Andy was almost mesmerizing. In a way, it was weird. And Leliana still maybe was not the most at ease out here, hunting was still foreign and she may have felt a little bad for the rabbits, while not admitting it. Leliana didn't say much during their whole walk, occasionally you'd hear a sound when her foot would get caught on something she couldn't see even if Andy had warned them, or when she was trying to get her short legs up and over something. She probably looked a little weird. And Leliana hadn't had a chance to participate in the actual hunting yet, which she didn't really mind, but she was learning. For example, she knew now how to find rabbits, so that was something.

Soon enough, it was her turn to step up and kill a rabbit. She took a spot next to Andy like the redhead motioned for her to do, nodding to her advice. It made her think back to learning how to shoot as a 9-year-old. Her first targets were beer cans and broken toys sitting in on an old fence while her mom and sometimes her uncle watched and gave advice. The up close and personal demonstrations were a little more welcome coming from her mother. Anyway, she glanced to Andy, giving the redhead a thumbs up, a little determined light in her eyes. She was going to help, and hopefully, not miss. Guns were loud and would scare away any animals within a certain radius if she didn't kill this rabbit, there would be problems.

Removing her gun from its holster, she took aim. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed through the trees, and she hoped that Colt and Andy weren't hurt by the noise. But it appeared she hit her target. It certainly wasn't a clean through the eye shot or perhaps it was, a gun was obviously gonna be messier than a bow and arrow, but it at least wasn't a body shot. "Hey! I got it!"

~~~~~~~~​

Colt had watched the interaction from a few steps back, leaning against a tree with her arms folded. Everything was a darker hue because of the sunglasses but it was that or be blinded. She had done up her camo jacket and pulled her t-shirt up to cover her mouth and nose. Giving her position away with her breath was something she wanted to avoid. The veteran kept her ears covered the whole time while Andy taught Leliana what to do. Gunshots were loud, she knew that of course but with her hangover, she just knew that the it would sound so much louder than she she had previously experienced.

The woman winced a little as the shot was fired but removed her hands from her ears seeing that Leliana had successfully shot the rabbit. But she did not want to say anything before Andy spoke up about it. She was the oh-so-brilliant expert about this. Colt did not want to be bitter about this fact, it made sense. But after being the dominant figure for the last couple of days, it was difficult. She took her rifle from around her back and held onto it. The sharp chill from the hip flask against her the hot skin of chest was a startling contrast but she tried not to show it. As the women spoke, she looked around the area, hoping to see anything she could potentially take.

~~~~~~~~​

“Way to go kid,” Andy cheered, giving the blonde a high five. She knew that Leliana was inexperienced, and was surprised at how well she had shot. Colt was someone she knew could handle themselves out here, so her focus was on the woman less. After the way she had saved Luca and herself in the locker room, she had little doubts about the woman’s grit.

The red head leaned down to inspect the rabbit. She wasn’t used to hunting with a gun, but was pleasantly surprised to see that all the damage had in fact been on the head like Andy had instructed. Taking her rope and knife, she strug the rabbit with the others, throwing it over her shoulder. She was sure the jacket had rabbit blood on it by this point but was unfazed. In a few hours the girl was going to be elbow deep in animal intestines.

“Next one is yours Cowgirl,” Andy addressed Colt, flashing her a small smirk before traveling further into the woods. Eventually she would need to teach more people how to shoot with a bow. In a world where noise could be the difference between life and death, the bow and arrow made far more sense for hunting.

She led them further into the woods, making sure to keep a brisk but easy pace through the snow and leaves. Leliana’s gunshot would have scared off anything nearby but at least the girl had made it count. In her own way, Andy was proud.

“So where are you guys from anyway?” Andy asked as they walked. “I can tell by your accents you aren’t Aurora natives.”


Colt had taken a mouthful of snow for water when Andy spoke up, praising Leliana for her efforts and then telling her to take the next shot. Colt frowned under her sunglasses. It had been so long since she had hunted, but they were stuck in this situation. The veteran simply nodded with a quiet “yup” before accompanying the pair as they made their way deeper into the forest. It was a chore for the marine, since she could not feel anything below her left ‘foot’ causing it to constantly become snagged on concealed tree roots or down deep holes that she would have been able to avoid if she had any feeling below the thigh. When this happened, the woman simply opted to remain silent. This was nobody’s business than hers.

After a few moments of silence, Andy broke the ice by questioning their origins. Colt sighed and took her flask out of her bra to unscrew it, though the cold alongside her gloves made this harder than it should have been. Honestly, she did not want to talk about it. But with just the three of them, she was out-numbered. The woman sipped out of the flask before putting it back.

“West Virginia.” She answered the younger red-head, who resembled Sasha far too much for it to be considered comfortable. Colt took out her handgun to inspect for the tenth time, purely to steady her nerves, “Lived on a ranch in the mountains.” She added, unsure about talking further. Not to mention the laconic Marine, despite being in such a social environment, was not one for discussions. She flashed Leliana a brief look under her glasses, encouraging her to speak. Good timing too, as once again her fake limb had once again found itself stuck under a root.

“Fuckin’…” she grumbled as she yanked at it, almost pulling the whole thing off in the process before catching up with the pair.

~~~~~~~~​

Leliana smiled, proud of herself. Though that pride was bittersweet. The rabbit was a living being, but it was an animal, and pulling that trigger to kill something...Leliana had only done that to kill other humans since this whole ordeal started. So, when she pulled the trigger Leliana couldn't help but think back to her mom. To those hazmat guys. She knew that this was different, but it still felt a little weird. Regardless she took Andy's praise, watching the girl approach the rabbit to inspect it. Leliana stayed behind, holstering her pistol as her attention briefly turned to Colt. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly, knowing the woman probably wasn't going to talk about it, and most certainly didn't want Andy to know. Anyway, she wouldn't get to really anyway as Andy had them moving out again. But this time, she asked them where they came from.

Colt answered first, in typical Colt fashion. And while Leliana wasn't surprised to find out she was from the south, she was surprised to learn she was from West Virginia. That was fairly close to where she came from, which was a little fun fact to know. Leliana smiled a little at Colt when she caught the look telling her to go ahead and speak. "I'm from North Carolina. My mom and I moved here when I was in middle school to live with my uncle. We lived in a little apartment and that was fun but honestly kinda cramped. I don't recommend it."

~~~~~~~~​

Andy listened to both of them speak as she kept her pace, only slightly slowing down when Colt’s leg got caught on the odd root, careful not to make a big deal about it as not to embarrass the woman.

“I’ve lived that life.” Andy replied to Leliana’s comment about the apartment. In her later years her mother had moved into a small family home but Andy and Owen had spent much of their early childhood in an apartment in downtown. It was one of the reasons that Andy enjoyed coming out to the lodge as much as she did. The air was better and there was enough room for her to be a kid.

“I wouldn’t recommend it either.”

 

[Brax]

Tre and Jonas Part 3 (mid-flashback to the previous night)

“Revenge is a beast. It’ll swallow up your life ‘n spit out the bones. I had to learn that the hard way.” Tre responded. He did not understand what Jonas had been through; it would be wrong to say he did. Jonas’ own hardships along with his own provided two very different walks in life. Whereas the violence around Jonas had left him more confused, Tre’s morality walked an intersecting line.

Tre unclipped the strap around his chest, dropping his weapons. He placed both of his machetes on the deck beside his form, sheathed. There was no reason to continue carrying them on his back when he wasn’t walking all that far in the first place.

“After years of abuse, there ain’t no way that the death penalty will do it. At the end of the day, there isn’t much that’ll help you get over shit but it ain’t exactly about that. It’s more about learnin’ to live wit’ it. Whatever it is. I feel you bro, it’s been hard. Really hard. I remember when Luca found out my pops died, he was fuckin’ heart broken man. I never seen another dude look at me with such pity in my life. I don’t know what’s worse, on God. Bein’ fuckin’ pitied or bein’ dealt a shit hand.”

​

Tre let out a large, exaggerated sigh as he stretched back, eventually laying flat on the patio with his arms extended. He had not expected to have such a heavy conversation but that was what was bound to come from the two being left out alone. In a way, Tre was happy to have some company. It would have been much more boring sitting around at night doing nothing without some sort of companionship.

“Errything is gonna work out as it should. I ain’t gonna put any negative energy out into the universe to change it. And the more I see you mopin’ around here, the more i’ma call your ass out on it until you catch my drift.”

“You know, I can't say I expected to hear so much philosophical bullshit from someone who talked like you. It's entertaining to say the least.” Jonas said with a short chuckle as he sat back up on the wooden stairs. He tapped his foot quietly on the floor of the stairs as he looked ahead with a bored expression.

After hearing what Jonas had to say, Tre couldn’t help but turn his head in the kid’s direction and join him in chuckling. Jonas was certainly right about that if nothing else. He looked back up toward the sky, sitting in silence for a few seconds before parting his lips to speak.

“That same gospel bullshit saved my as a few times, fam. I keep it in my back pocket.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments longer before one of them broke the silence.

“God I could go for a drink.” The boy whispered with a quiet groan as he leaned against the support beam of the patio, looking off at the treeline, almost wishing something would happen to draw his attention from how bored he was.

“I have a bit. Ain’t much, but any lick that Warren’s beady fuckin’ eyes comes across is pretty much gone. He’s always on the lookout.”

Tre’s fingers wrapped themselves around one of the straps of his bag on the porch and tossed it up to Jonas. Within its contents the boy would find a quarter-pint of Cognac. When push came to shove, Tre fell back on other substances to ease his mind. Alcohol wasn’t his first choice, but when things got bad enough it was a fine option to get out of a tragic state of mind as fast as possible. Jonas could finish the rest. With Luca and Warren around, it was more than likely that the lodge would have its fair share of alcohol to go around. If not now, eventually.

 

[King Vioogra]

Ivan gave Leliana a short smile when she told him to take it easy on his leg, as to not injure it again. Being temporarily crippled took a big stab at his usefulness around the lodge, so when Luca proposed cutting down trees, his face lit up. As the Italian made his way out the door, Ivan followed quickly as he looked among some of the others present, turning to the girls that Luca had tossed one of the remaining radios to and spoke quickly before heading out the door behind the Italian.

“Try to be careful with that, it’s a bit fragile since I had to take it apart.”

The Russian smiled as he spoke, giving the girls a thumbs up before making his way out the door. The brisk winter air slammed into Ivan’s face, neck, and through his t-shirt. The man took a deep breath and looked around. It was one of the first winters he’d truly experienced in Aurora, given he spent most of his college winters high out of his mind because of his stoner roommate. He’d seen Leliana, Colt, and Andy leave shortly beforehand for their mentioned hunting trip, something he regrettably couldn’t participate in. But it wasn’t that much of a problem, anything that put him to work, even momentarily, would keep him sane for that moment. The man stretched quietly as he got to where Luca stood, taking the axe into his hands from its previously buried position and letting it hang from his hand, waiting for the others to come outside as he tapped eagerly on the handle. His leg tingled a bit due to the sudden movement after so much bedrest, and the man stretched it quickly. This was the first time he’d be practically useful for a hot minute, so this’d be a perfect opportunity to get back into the swing of things. That was when his mind wandered back to the walkie talkie’s he’d repaired, and more importantly the speakers for the call tones he’d taken out of them.

"I'd be careful on that leg, Niño. Leliana may have said you were satisfactory, but you are still favoring your other leg. If you jump back into normality, you will end up harming yourself again. Ease back into it." Called a Spanish accented voice from behind.

Hector tossed his shirt onto the table where Luca stood, gripping the axe he was using to chop firewood in his right arm. Cool, grey eyes locked on to the young man he called out to before, "You won't be of any use to anyone if you injure yourself further due to foolishness."

“Oh this, yeah I’m working on staying off of it as much as I can for now until it fully recovers. But now that it’s not a pain to walk on anymore, I just want to get back to being useful.”

The Russian said, turning sharply at the unfamiliar voice before seeing it didn’t belong to a threat. He gave a short sigh as his mind was laid to rest for now, before looking in the woods around them, wondering if there were anymore of the infected just lying in wait.

Hector followed the young boy's stare and gave a silent nod, "I've been thinking of setting up some kind of alarm system. Sentries at night are good but I don't trust them to not get comfortable and fall asleep. I was thinking perhaps a simple trip wire. Some fishing line attached to a bell." He said to Ivan, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ivan's eyes lit up a bit at the mention of a possible alarm system for them, and put his fingers against his chin in response to the doctors simple idea.

"That's pretty simplistic, but I do agree that we do need some sort of alarm. Maybe if they've got any spare laser pointers somewhere in the house, we can set up a laser tripwire with the speakers I got from the radios' call tones."

Ivans mind raced for a moment as he rambled quietly about the possibilities.

"It wouldn't be too difficult to tone down the frequency of the laser, or remove the red bulb altogether so it won't be visible. But I would have to come up with the parts to make a receiver for it, and then add in the wiring that would set off the tone."

He continued rambling as he set the axe down quietly, his Russian accent leaking out again as he formed an exact plan in his head, remembering how Andy had spoken about a plethora of parts in their old shed. Maybe he could find the necessary parts there?

"Hm…" the doctor grumbled to himself before eventually shrugging his shoulders. Hector was intelligent but engineering and things of that nature was never something he got into. "You seem to be far more well-versed on the subject than I am. I'll leave it to you to come up with something to keep everyone a little safer at night."

"Thanks. I'll bring it up with Luca some time today and see what's possible."

The Russian said as he saw everyone else making their way outside, the ones who would contribute to building anyways.​

 

[TheTreForce]

Ray Childress: The Lodge

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


​

"Another building for sleeping huh?" Ray cocked his head to get a good look at the blueprint that Luca had spread out on the table. He couldn't agree more that they were going to need more living space to accommodate their growing numbers, but it seemed like a lot of work when they could just find a better place to stay. Maybe somewhere a bit closer to some spots they could do supply runs at? Ray wasn't about to start questioning Luca though; the young man was already stressed enough and Ray didn't want to be in the line of any potential fire. The layout looked spacious enough, relative to the dimensions of the lodge next to it. It would just require a ton of wood... Who knows, maybe it will be a good team building exercise. Before any questions could be asked about who was going to be doing what on this project, Luca stepped outside. Ray ripped off a sheet of paper from a nearby notebook laying around and jotted down the dimensions, creating a quick copy of Luca's plan.

First and most important, they were going to need a lot of logs. That thought brought his attention to the shirtless man who stood, leaning against the wall. The only axe Ray knew of around here rested on the man's shoulder. I could start the planning for the foundation of the building perhaps... The old man had no idea where to start with this project, but headed outside to examine the grounds on which the structure would rest regardless. Ivan and the older man with the axe lead the way out the door, a cool breeze trying to push them back in to the warmth of the lodge. He paused a few steps from the back door, listened to Luca, and guided his eyes ahead to the general area of construction. The blueprint showed it being about fifty feet from the lodge so... He carried himself through the white plane to the spot that caught his eye and turned back to the lodge. "Yeah, this looks pretty good." The man muttered to himself as he pulled out his rough copy of Luca's sketch from the pocket of his jacket. There's a decent sized area between the barracks and lodge. After we have the building and the perimeter fencing up, this area can be used for any possible outdoor activities. Maybe even a nice fire pit that we could safely enjoy. The paper was folded back up and found it's home in his pocket once again. We'll probably want to chop the trees over here on the far side of the future barracks; that will provide better visual coverage around the new structure, and it will just be easier to transport the chopped logs the short distance.

~~~~~~~~~~​

The shed door swung open and Ray stepped inside. He was going to need a few tools to start with the layout. A measuring tape, a mallet, and some wooden stakes were put into a cloth bag and hoisted over his shoulder. A familiar tool caught his eye before exiting the shed; his old screwdriver lay on the work bench. "Oh, how'd this get in here?" The tool found itself in Ray's palm, looking up at him. SPLAT. The metal end was lost in the eye socket of the zombie that tried to eat him. That was the first day this had all started. It actually wasn't that long ago; the memories were still fresh in his mind, playing like a horror film. His thoughts then went to the woman who had turned and attacked him in the bakery; probably still in there, clawing at the window or milling about mindlessly and stumbling over the chairs and tables of Ray's once fine establishment. A sort of pity for them was had on the old man's part. He hated to see the once living people who had thoughts and feelings reduced to puppets of some sinister desire for human flesh. What was it that really controlled them though? Nevertheless, he wanted them all to be put out of their misery.

The old man left the shed and trudged back across to the location of the barracks. The cold reached through his layers and gripped the aging joints that carried him. It definitely wasn't fun to be out working in this, but Ray would never turn anything down of the sort if it meant helping his comrades. The first stake was brandished and he gave it a few whacks with the mallet, giving the wood a slight jiggle to make sure it was well planted in the soil. The same was done with the next three, using the measuring tape to find the dimensions of the structure. There we have it, the perimeter of this thing. It was hard to determine if the side of the barracks was going to be perfectly parallel to the lodge at this distance, but it looked pretty decent in his eyes. Ray gave it another look to ensure everything was set correctly and double checked the lengths. Perfect. He tossed the mallet and measuring tape back into the bag and made his way back over to the deck. "Hey Luca, got the perimeter set up. What were you thinking for the foundation? I'm not the most well versed in this kind of construction."

Brax

 

[Hyped_Taco]

​

The sun shined through the window of the RV, the sunlight hitting Michael in the face waking him up as it had done each and every single day that he had been here. ¨Fucking no curtain window...¨ he said to particularly nobody while he started to get out of his bed, seeing that his ¨Roomate¨ Brian had left the RV already. The neckbeard realized he had no particular reason to get out of his bed at this very moment, so he quickly got under his bed sheets and put his head on top of the one pillow they had given him; The bed could be better and the pillow was shit, there was no denying that but he had to admit, the sheets were fucking amazing, the way it protected him against the cold reminded him of the ones he had at his house, god why did he even leave his house on the first place? Doritos, that was the only reason he ended up in here.

Michael closed his eyes, and for just a second, he forgot he was far away from his home….“Fifteen minutes! Fifteen! Wake up! Meet in the kitchen! Fifteen minutes! It’s time to get to work!” He heard the voice of a man barking orders at the group, of fucking course, some asshole had to ruin his 5 minutes of sleep.

​

Once more he got out of his bed, as frustrated as he had been about 2 minutes before. He got up and changed his clothes, putting his fedora, trench coat and t-shirt on… how long had it passed since he had cleaned his cloaths he wondered… hell, how long since he took a bath? he didn´t quite remember, but he needed to concentrate, he had taken less than 15 minutes to get ready, he could still be on time for the deadline the man who the neckbeard didn´t recognize said. He opened the door and was barely able to take one step on the tiny stair the RV had before he fell down.

​

¨What the f!-¨ Michael said before his head hit the floor and his vision became black.
---
---
---
He finally woke up, not sure of how much time he had been knocked out, or worse, if anybody had seen him. He quickly got up and entered the lodge as fast as a dizzy person could but no one was inside. So he walked out the back to see people standing around. ¨Uh i U….¨ he put his best efforts into speaking the words that plagued his mind ¨Is… breakfast ready?¨

Mentioned: Brax Luca

 

[Maj]

The following is the first part of a two part collab by Maj and Brax
​

The ringing in his ears was so loud that Owen could barely focus on anything else. His breathing was caught in his throat, being forced out his nostrils, burning and hot, his heart pounded in his chest but instead of making him feel weak or anxious it only made him feel stronger. Knuckles white around the flimsy sides of the cardboard box, Owen tried to regain his composure. But there was nothing left to regain, on the sight of that opened box all sense had left him. Every thought came back with Andy and Luca and his vision would go red all over again. His large, balled fist stuck against the metal wall of the shed, causing the thin material to warble with metallic sounds.

His body worked on autopilot now, much like it often did when his anger consumed him. A large open palm struck the wooden door and it swung open on it’s hinges, it snapped back against the wall with a large crack that sounded through the yard. Owen walked across the grass with shoulders tall, arms swaying at his sides with the box still clutched in his left hand. He could see Luca by the tree line and every heavy step brought him closer to his target. The heat inside his bones was the kind that only came from vindication and Luca would answer for it. He felt like his blood was coming to a boil.

“Brasi!” The hulking redhead yelled once he was in earshot. His voice carried across the clearing loud and distinct, rage rattling each and every tone. Every ounce of restraint was spent.

Luca turned his head at the sound of his name. It wasn’t Ray’s call that he had responded to, but Owen’s. He had been unsure where it came from, but the name that he had been called and the voice were not hard to match. The man exhaled smoke from his lips, dropping his cigarette into the grass and putting it out with the tip of his boot as Owen got closer. Obviously, Luca’s order to have him go through the inventory had plucked the correct string. Luca didn’t think he would get as mad as he apparently seemed.

“The next time you decide to get your dick wet, leave my sister the hell out of it.” Owen bit out each syllable as he closed the distance between himself and Luca.

Eyes narrowed as Italian grew enraged. The expression remained rather plain across his face, his fingertips tingling slightly as he felt his face grow hot. He had recognized that Owen had been holding something in his hand, but he had been unsure as of what it was. If the Jordan boy was going to condemn him in any way, it would have been smarter to make sure he had all the facts first. He was close enough now to see the bored expression on Luca’s face, but he knew his old companion far too well to mistake it for anything other than what it was. Owen had gotten under his skin. When he was close enough to make contact, the redhead smashed the box between Luca’s chest and his own palm, staring down into the Capo’s blue eyes. A sarcastic smirk pulled at the freckled boy’s lips.

“You know, you didn’t have to come find me just to get Andy to spread her legs.”

Luca briefly looked down at the box that Owen had pressed against his chest. It crumpled slightly before dropping to the grass. The Italian’s eyes remained fixated on Owen, his heart racing. Owen must have had a good three or four inches on him. He definitely had more mass, now that Luca was able to analyze him up close. As the adrenaline pumped through his veins, Luca felt himself begin to lose focus on why he had been outside in the first place. He didn’t spare another second trying to hold himself back. Without so much as a change in his expression, Luca wildly swing his right fist at Owen’s face. His knuckles sunk into the side of the man’s jaw, forcing him to stumble to the side while Luca hopped back about two feet to create a bit of distance. He watched as Owen wiped a small amount of blood from his lip, turning his hand to look at it briefly before looking back at Luca.

The first thing Luca did after punching Owen was take his sleeveless shirt off. He walked around Owen in a semi circle before tossing it aside. The Italian was getting his back away from the patio so he could see everyone who was still on the deck. Luca wasn’t about to let Owen take this opportunity to invite other people to start jumping in to help out, not without seeing it coming first. The ex-capo had been in his fair share of fights. Plenty of them are one-sided. Multiple people were not difficult to fight against as long as he had knowledge beforehand. The two men’s eyes kept fixated on one another. Owen raised his fists up in preparation at the same time Luca’s feet stopped. In comparison, Luca stood tall - arms at his side and his neck cocked back slightly with a small smile stretched across his features.

​

“I’m going to enjoy this, Chucky.”​

 

[Brax]

(Part 2)​

Hector noticed everyone in the yard had immediately begun to stir at the sight of a brawl breaking out. It wouldn't help if more people got involved, so the large Venezuelan threw out his arm and yelled.

"No one interfere! Let them settle this!"

​

From the moment Owen tasted the blood on his lips, he felt all the floodgates open wide. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, the redhead let out a yell while he pulled back his fist. He threw it, connecting with Luca’s face, satisfied by the feel of his knuckles cracking against the Italian’s cheekbones. At the same time, Luca had recognized that Owen had decided to attack and countered with his own. He threw a straight right fist to land a second blow on Owen at the same time he landed his first. From that moment, it was a brawl set in stone.

The man was quite strong, to the point where that one punch had been enough to bust open the skin underneath Luca’s right eye, blood bubbling to the surface, warm and sticky. Luca made absolutely no attempt to dodge it, instead eating Owen’s fist in order to land his own strike. Owen followed up with a left fist, which hit Luca in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs. Luca took a few steps back as a result of the momentum, noticing a considerable amount of pain in the process. The smile that had been plastered across his visage only moments prior had faded, though that was the extent as to which Luca would let Owen see how much pain he was causing.

Knocking the smug look off Luca’s face was only fuel to the fire. Another punch thrown by Owen had been blocked by Luca, but Owen wasn’t finished. At first, the two spent a few seconds trading punches but eventually the red head got the upper hand. As he noticed that Luca had begun to put his guard up to stop the man from constantly striking him in the face, Owen began to smell blood. The Jordan sibling sent a voracious amount of strikes at Luca, who continuously backed up as a result of the onslaught. Luca’s forearms were taking a large amount of punishment, to the point where he would occasionally drop his arms and eat shots to the face before putting his guard back up. Luca’s face was bloodied up and his arms ached, but he was not tired.

The same could not be said for Owen, who had been breathing extremely heavily. His fists were red and stung from the force of his own blows. Eventually what seemed to be an endless assault ended and in his exhaustion, Owen grabbed both of Luca’s arms. Owen slowly moved them from in front of Luca’s face, his fingers white as the grips around the Italian’s wrists tightened. Using just his strength alone, the ex-capo could not stop Andy’s brother from doing what he wanted.

“What the fuck happened to you man?” Owen growled. Luca was his brother once, the person he trusted more than anyone in this world. Now, looking at the bloodied maniac in his grip he barely recognized him.

Luca’s eyes fixated on the man, his arms shakily trying to force back the pressure that Owen had been using to subdue them. He cocked his head back and let out a maniacal laugh, cackling forcefully from his stomach as Owen shoved Luca’s hands into his sides. The redhead had then wrapped both of his arms around Luca in attempts to get him into a bear-hug, but Luca’s plans deviated from that. Mid-laughter, Luca bashed the top of his head into the bridge of Owen’s nose. Both men heard it crack. The sheer amount of pain that Owen had been experiencing forced him to let Luca go. Blood gushed from his nostrils, down his face and over his lips. As soon as this happened, Luca immediately followed up by sending a straight right fist into the man’s nose. Not even half-a-second afterward, this was followed by Luca slamming his left elbow into the side of the man’s face with a brief growl. Upon looking at Owen’s face, the Italian found that he had finished Andy’s job but his vision was still shaky.

In attempt to regain momentum, Owen continued throwing punches at Luca. The Italian saw each one coming, slipping out of the way just in time with proper foot and head movement. Whereas Luca spent the first half of this fight taking punches and throwing them back, he no longer had interest in testing Owen’s strength. If Luca continued fighting as he did, it would undoubtedly end with him being knocked out. His face being covered in his own blood was a signal that he had taken enough damage. Luca, after slipping back just beyond the reach of a hook punch that Owen had thrown, feigned throwing a punch from the right. After purposefully sending his fist toward the man’s face slow and half-cocked, he watched as the red-head dipped down to duck underneath the punch. It was like clockwork.

A roaring left fist connected with Owen’s chin. Luca threw his back into an uppercut, following through all the way. The ex-capo capitalized on Owen’s stunned reaction. He threw a quick one-two combo to the dazed man’s face before turning his body around and violently whipping the back of his right foot into the side of the man’s face. Luca’s kick resulted in Owen’s limbs locking up as he fell sideways onto the ground. The fight was over and it was very apparent that Owen was too hurt to be completely conscious, but Luca was not satisfied. He pounced onto the man’s body, both of his knees pinning Owen’s arms down as the Italian straddled his torso. Luca, seeing red, wildly swung punches at Owen’s face. Each fist connected various times - above the man’s eyes, around his nose, in his chin, whatever Luca’s flesh could connect with he was looking to annihilate.

Two ear-busting cracks broke the sounds of fist hitting flesh and seemingly reverberated throughout the entire forest. The doctor had unholstered his sidearm and fired two bullets just next to Luca and Owen's place on the ground. The snow kicked up furiously from the displacement of the bullets and it would be to no one's surprise if it deafened some. Even the doctor's ears were ringing but it was more than enough to stop the fight. "That's enough." The Spanish man said grimly. "The fight is over. You won. What you are doing now is simply brutalization of another human being."

The sounds of shots being fired saw a halt to his onslaught. Looking back to see Hector standing nearby, he pushed himself off of Owen. Luca’s chest was heaving. As the rush of his adrenaline had been decreasing at a rapid pace, the man began to notice the stings of his injuries. He continued standing over Owen, turning his head slightly as he placed a finger into his mouth. Luca then spit a mouthful of blood out onto the grass beside Owen’s body, purposefully missing it and staining the snow. Those cold blue eyes didn’t leave the man for a moment, nor did he focus on Hector having stopped him. In reality, Luca was lucky he interfered. It could have very well ended in red head’s life being taken. It wouldn’t be the first time that Luca killed a man with his bare hands. Owen had received his payback in full; Luca was not sure he’d watch his tongue next time, but he’d certainly show his sister respect if nothing else.

“You’re strong. If it was anyone but me, you would have won but those muscles can't replace the backbone you lack. Next time you want to convict me of something as heinous as that, i’ll kill you.” It became obvious that the more Luca spoke, the more his words were wasted on a man that wasn’t all there. He turned to look at Hector, finding a proper breathing pattern in the process. There was no way the man was going to receive a proper thanks from Luca, but he did get a nod in approval.

“Get him cleaned him up. Then put him back in inventory so he can continue counting stock.” Luca growled, turning from the two men and walking back up the steps to the back porch.

"Make sure you come see me after I'm done with Owen. Your injuries aren't anything to ignore either." The doctor called after him, a tint of disdain in his voice. He disliked people walking away from him. Hector reached down and hoisted the half-conscious body of the red-head up with one arm and tossed Owen's arm over his shoulder, practically dragging him back inside the lodge to work on him in their room.

"Everyone else, find something productive to do! Don't stand around! If you have time to gossip, you have time to work!" His accented voice called out to the others who witnessed the brawl. "Come on, Niño. Eres un idiota, sabes eso?" He said, coldly chastising the boy he had by the waist. Hearing the doctor but offering no response, Luca grabbed his rifle off of one of the chairs. The Italian walked back inside and into the bedroom that he shared with Andy to clean some of the blood off of himself.

Maj [Thank you shadowz1995 for your input as Hector]

 

[Togy]

Nile ran through the forest, knife in hand and snow crunching beneath him as he whipped his head around to look into the treeline. That sly fucker is in here somewhere Nile thought as he looked around. Then he spotted it, a beautiful deer lapping at a clear, soft flowing stream from where it stood atop a slanted rock. It was such a beautiful sight to behold, that it would bring normal men to their knees and make them ponder the beauty of nature.

"Four fuckin' hours I've been chasing that jackass" Nile hissed in his Brooklyn accent. There was a look of annoyance plastered on his face, as if having to run for four hours straight was mildly infuriating to him.

Fun fact: Nile was high.

Very, very, very fucking high.

After snorting a mountain of Cocaine, Nile had wandered near the forest next to the town (He has no idea what Aurora's name is) while looking for supplies. Looking directly at him, head coming out of the bushes, was a deer. For the longest while the two just stared at each other. Then Nile had a bright idea. He'd watched Rambo: First Blood once and remembered how Rambo had told a cop that he had a big ass knife for hunting. That sparked an idea in Nile's head, cause' he had a big ass knife too.

So Nile whipped out his knife and charged the deer. The deer, obviously, turn and ran. So Nile ran after it. He gave chase for about four hours.

At this point, he had no idea where he was. He was probably miles away from the town at this point, and hope of finding the town again was like hoping the Kardashians would become contributing members of society.

That brings us back to here, with Nile slowly crawling up behind the deer. The deer was still oblivious to his presence, somehow. Nile finally reached the rock the deer was on and slowly lifted his knife up. As he was getting closer, his foot steeped onto a wet patch of ice on the rock surface. He promptly slipped, banged his nose and forehead on the cold rock surface, and tumbled back onto the snow. The deer, finally noticing him, leapt across the stream.

"Fu-where the hell do you think you're going!?" Nile yelled, clutching his now bleeding nose as he lifted himself off the ground. Trying to copy the deer, Nile ran across the stone and tried jumping across the stream. He promptly slipped on the stone once more and fell into the stream. His bloody nose turned some of the freezing water red. Getting up, now soaking wet and incredibly cold, Nile climbed out of the stream and ran after the deer again.

He ran for what felt like twenty minutes. In that time, he began getting colder and colder, but the drugs had nullified the feeling. But still, he could recognize that that wasn't good.

"Find deer or shelter, deer or shelter?" Nile mumbled, weighing his options. On one hand, deer meat. And Hypothermia and death. On the other hand, no death. But no deer either. T'was a hard choice to make.

Fuck it, deer. There's probably no shelter around for miles. If I can just find that deer, I can kill it and split open it's stomach. Than I can crawl into it's belly and warm up, just like what they did in Star Wars-

Nile suddenly ran into a tree. His forehead rammed into the rough bark of the tree, and Nile fell to the ground with a soft crunch of snow.

"...I fucking hate this forest" Nile mumbled as he began to get up. "Uuuuuggghhhhhh." Nile groaned as he stood up. He was freezing cold. "Real fuckin' bright idea Nile. Watched Rambo once, heard him mention this shit, and you just assume you can copy" Nile mumbled. The drugs were wearing off by now, so he was beginning to understand how well and truly he's fucked up.

Then he saw the cabin. Lodge. Whatever the fuck you call em'.

Nile stared blankly at it for a second. There were people working in the yard, setting up wooden stakes or something, and there was this redhead who had just screwed up the shed and was heading for another. Deciding to get closer, Nile crept forward into the yard. He went unnoticed as he walked to the area where people had set up stakes. There was this old guy with white hair and a beard, and there was a piece of paper protruding from their back pocket. Having no regard for common manners, Nile pulled the paper out of the man's pocket. Inspecting it, he guessed it was a blueprint. It looked like...

Garbage.

Absolute garbage.

Who the hell made this? This thing could fall over if a light breeze hits it Nile thought as he looked at the paper with the kind of disdain an 18th century artist would show if they were to ever see modern art. Nile's inner architect arose from deep inside him, and against his will, he began making mental adjustments to the blueprints.

Meanwhile, the two men he'd spotted in the yard earlier had begun yelling and got into a combat circle or whatever it's called. But Nile honestly couldn't care less. He was too focused on this tragedy of a blueprint.

Okay, first off, it doesn't look like they even have an underground foundation planned Nile thought as he looked it over. Okay, he can't stand for this. Gabbing the nearby measuring tape, he pulled out one of the wooden stakes and marked the point where the stake is at three inches. The he placed it back into the ground and proceeded to mark little circles every foot or so in the building space.

Nile was so focused on improving the layout that he completely missed the fight between the black hair man and the redhead. There were gunshots two, but Nile honestly couldn't care less. He was too high to care right now. Once the fight no longer held everyone's attention, Nile spoke up.

"Okay, so, I've driven each stake three inches into the ground. Every is going to find shovels and dig to three inches down. You'll know you're three inches down when you get to the bottom of the stakes. I've also labeled points where you'll dig another three inches down to make more holes. When you get each hole done, you'll place small wooden logs into the holes and connect the logs together by placing smaller logs in between them. Then, you'll fill the big hold back up and nail wooden boards onto the top of the logs as the flooring of the main house" Nile instructed as if he had been assigned to work on this project.

 

[Maj]

This is Part Three of a Collab between Maj FireMaiden and Rumble Fish
​

They moved in silence after that, Andy making steady time through the woods and away from where they had just fired the last gunshot. The forest was pretty much deserted, as far as she knew the lodge was the only thing around. Therefore Andy wasn’t worried about zombies so much. Even if they were in the woods, the girls were making a good enough pace that she doubted they would be able to catch up.

"I prefer Aurora though, my hometown was a little suffocating..." Leliana was going to keep the reason behind their move private, as it was not the fondest of memories. Who knew 11 years old could be so cruel? Anyway, Andy’s previous comment about their shared experience made Leliana give her a slight smile. It was nice to know that even now, at the end of the world, she knew someone who understood. She didn't know a lot of people when the world was normal who understood, more as they pretended. And she could never really get a read on Bethany. And Andy left it at that, not asking any other questions and Colt wasn't the type to do so. Which left Leliana with her thoughts. She wanted to talk to Andy about a few of her ideas that needed another person, and she wanted to give her a heads up about Jenna's plan. She could have talked to Colt, but Colt needed the sleep, hell everyone needed sleep. Despite getting enough the previous night, she still felt tired. Andy had to have been, and Colt kinda looked exhausted. And also hungover. Which then suddenly reminded Leliana she had packed them breakfast.

The sound of an unzipping bag broke that semi-awkward silence, followed by the crinkle of wrappers. "I brought us some breakfast, " She said, handing one of the granola bars to Colt. "You don't have to eat it now, but keep it on you okay? Oh, and if you feel sick, I brought some alcohol pads. It's weird how well that trick work," She chuckled, quicking her pace for a moment to hand one of the bars to Andy. "There you go." With that, she opened her own bar, taking a bite. "I'll put the trash back in this bag until we get back to lodge, " She said, eyeing the rabbits strung across Andy's shoulder. "Is that uncomfortable?"

~~~~~

Colt silently listened as the women spoke. So Leli was from North Carolina? That was a little nugget of information she had never known. Then again they had never actually had time to sit down and talk about themselves.

As they walked, Colt continued to look around the area for any kind of movement. She spotted something that caused the woman to stoop. She raised her rifle, aiming it in front of her. Close in front was a doe, chewing on a tree's bark, blissfully unaware to their presence. Colt took off her sunglasses, wincing a little at the sudden light that shone into her retina.

"Hmm..." she hummed thoughtfully as she looked down the sight. From what she remembered, for deer, she was to aim for the lungs. At least she thought. Part of her wished her father was here. He would know.

~~~~

Andy took the bar from Leliana’s hand, offering her a small smile in return. The thoughtfulness and kindness of the younger girl wasn’t lost on Andy, in fact she found it almost an oddity. Sure, it came with her profession. Her mother was a nurse and one of the best and most gentle people she knew, but with everything that had happened she expected to see some waiver. Leliana never did, always smiling, feeding people, checking on them, giving them medical care. She was so much like her mom even down to the blonde hair. Her passing still hurt, like a dull ache in her chest that refused to go away. Hunting helped a little, at least in ways of a distraction.

“I’m fine,” Andy rolled her eyes, but there was no mal intent behind it. “You shouldn’t worry about everyone so much. You are going to give yourself an aneurysm.”

Her tone was cool and even, which was about as nice as one could expect Andy to be. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Colt raise her rifle. Her eyes darted over to the deer just through the brush. She hadn’t heard it because she had been conversing with Leliana. In fact, she was surprised that the sound of their voices hadn’t scared the doe off.

On instinct Andy pulled an arrow from her quiver, but she hesitated. Originally she had said that Colt was up next, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to trust such a great find to someone who’s skill level was unknown. This trip wasn’t about her alone though, if it had been she would have come out here by herself.

In the new world any of them could die at any moment. It was her duty to be sure to impart any knowledge she could on others to help keep them alive. Andy exhaled through her nose, and put the arrow back, watching Colt carefully.

“Lungs are cleanest for rifles, but it’s more important you get a clean shot than not. If you aren’t sure where the lungs are, be sure to aim for the head or neck instead.” Andy spoke low in her ear. Colt had mentioned she had hunting experience, but being able to shoot a gun was far different than knowing the internal anatomy of a deer. Whatever they killed they would have to drag back, if Colt hit this it would be the end of their trip for now.

~~~~~

Colt was not listening to either of the women, only giving Leliana a brief glance out of the side of her eye as she gave her a bar and the alcohol pads. Perhaps it was her semi-sobriety, or the high stakes of this hunt, but something about those pads made Colt bristle. She turned her head to look back down the sight of the rifle. But as she was trying to focus, Andy suddenly spoke lowly into her ear, making the woman freeze. The woman sat crouched statue-still as Andy relayed valuable information. Valuable information that Colt already knew. But the woman knew better than to challenge her so remained silent.

As she aimed, the knowledge of being watched suddenly caused the woman’s nerves to spike. What if she missed? That would scare the game away and the lodge would starve. They had so many mouths to feed. Many mouths who, the little nagging voice whispered in her ear, probably had no faith in her being able to protect or provide. The memory of being ganged up on by the likes of Luca, Marcus and Leliana was still very fresh. Too fresh. And the veteran was nowhere near forgiving them, even though the nurse had apologised, the other two hadn’t. And she just knew others thought the same but wouldn’t tell it to her face. If she went back without this doe, that’d only confirm what they thought.

You pathetic swine!

“shut up… shut up…” Colt growled under her breath, too low to be heard as she tried to regain her nerve. It was a deer. Not a person. It wasn’t murder. It was a necessity. It had to be done. The woman took a deep breath in. Shoot on exhale. That was the key. “One-hundred-and-eighty…” she mumbled, something her father would always say before firing, aim for just above the bullseye…

PSH-ANG!

The shot rang through the silent trees, causing the veteran to wince with a grunt at the explosion. As if on command, the doe dropped with a doomed bay. Colt stood up, re-cocking the rifle as she watched the blood seep from the body. “It’s fresh and bubbling. Lung shot.” She grumbled in a gravelled tone before stalking ahead, the thoughts still pulsing through her mind as she attempted to push them aside to focus.

~~~~

Leliana chuckled, taking a few bites of her granola bar, finishing it as soon as she had opened it. "Nah, I'll be okay. I've made it my job to worry because if all of y'all have one thing in common, it's the fact you have the self-preservation skills of a bag of rocks. If my helpful meddling suddenly stopped, half of y'all would lose the common sense you have, and most of you would let go of your impulse control, " She deadpanned, leaving an awkward silence in the air for a moment, before giggling. "I'm kidding, though you guys really need to start planning a little more. I can tell when people don't plan, situations like dislocating your knee happens." She was still a little confused about how Ivan managed to do that and was hoping he was taking it easy. She ungrounded him from walking around, but, she had a slight feeling that he totally wasn't listening to her and taking it easy. "I might just have to start grounding everyone, " Leliana added with another slight chuckle as she stuffed her granola wrapper back in the green first aid kit.

When she saw Andy pull an arrow out, Leliana looked around to find what she had spotted. And to her surprise, it was a deer. A doe because of the lack of antlers, Leliana had to smile at their luck. Multiple rabbits and a deer? That was going to feed them for a while, and not to mention they could find some way to use every part of the animals, Leliana was sure of it.

What she wasn't sure of was if Andy was really gonna let Colt be the one to take it down. The questioned answered itself quickly though, as Andy moved in to give Colt some advice. Whether the vet would appreciate it or not, was up in the air. Leliana, of course, did nothing but watch, her brows furrowing slightly with concern when she heard Colt muttering to herself. Leliana knew that she wasn't okay, but she also knew the older woman wasn't going to, or at least, was going to try and keep everyone at arm's length. But the nurse was quickly drawn from her thoughts when a shot rang out, and she saw the doe drop.

"Nice one!" Leliana said, giving Colt a smile, honestly about to ask if the deer was dead. But she knew that if it wasn't right then, it would be soon. One of them would maybe finish it off, or, the fact blood was filling its lungs and the poor thing was choking on it would put an end to its life soon. "How are we gonna take that with us?" Leliana asked, looking between the two older women, then back at the doe. It looked scared. It knew it was dying, and it wasn't the quickest way. At least, if you were human, being shot in the lungs isn't the quickest way to go, and Leliana would imagine that it's the same here. "We don't have to do anything else to it? Do we just...let it suffocate?"

~~~~

Andy watched with a satisfied smile when Colt’s shot hit perfectly. It wasn’t that she ever doubted the woman’s ability to shoot, she trusted in things she saw with her own two eyes. Now she had seen Colt was a capable hunter as well as marksman.

“Of course not,” Andy responded to Leliana’s question. They weren’t cruel, even to prey. With a swift motion of her wrist the red head pulled a large hunting knife from the lip of her riding boots. The blade was long for a reason. Kneeling on the forest floor, she could feel the cold of the ice soaking through her jeans and into her flesh. Andy rose the knife chest high, both hands on the long leather clad handle. Strong, and sure she plunged it into the deer’s heart. The bubbling stopped, the rapid rise and fall of the creature’s chest also ceased as Andy watched the life leave it’s eyes.

Practiced hands reached into her bag of supplies, retrieving the tarp and rope that she often used for this purpose. She tied it through the grommets, making it into a draggable gurney.

“It’s going to be a long trek back but…” Andy was cut off by the large crack of the sound of gunfire. It made her voice get caught in her throat, as her ears rang from the unexpected sound. Slowly she brought her shaking hand up to her cheek and her eyes widened as her fingers came back glazed crimson.

​

 

[BloodLightning27]

This is a collaboration between myself and Maj
Bethany and Shinoa

​

Red - Shinoa
Blue - Bethany

After washing out the frying pan and placing it in the dish rack, Shinoa could only wonder what to do next. Its been four days since a zombie outbreak started and she was unlucky enough to have been caught up in the sweep. To further add insult to injury, she was now thirty-nine weeks along in her pregnancy and could give birth at any minute. The young woman straightened out her robe as such thoughts crossed her mind. To be caught up in a horrifying situation at the worst time possible, how bad could her luck be? As she dried off her damp hands, Shinoa waddled over to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of orange juice. After placing the bottle back in the fridge, she placed one hand on her swollen belly while holding the glass in the other. Taking a sip, she looked out the window, staring at the beautiful winter weather.
-
"You really should have let me help you with those," Beth chirped, seeing Shinoa finishing up the dishes. “I can see you are pretty far along, I wouldn’t want you to do anything to put to much strain on you.” She had just finished fixing breakfast herself and was currently plating it up, making sure that Milly got an extra big serving. Leliana told her that the fathead had stollen her dinner the night before and she wanted to be sure the child had a full belly. Beth placed the plate full of eggs and once frozen hashbrowns in front of the girl before giving her hair a light rustle and handing her a fork. “Eat up kiddo!” She turned her attention back to the woman, not much younger than she was. “Have you eaten?”
Interactions: Milly ( Rumble Fish )
-
Although Shinoa knew that she could have asked for help, she didn't think too much on it. Not only that, but she assumed that it was the fact that the baby was arriving soon and she was nesting, which involves cleaning up around the house and preparing for the baby to come home. Granted it was kind of strange since she was now looking towards a home birth and didn't exactly have much of a choice. "Yeah, I already ate." She replied, brushing her thumb on her belly. "This baby is really heavy, so I don't wanna stuff myself too much." She smiled shyly.
-
"I can understand that!" Beth chirped, excited to have someone else to talk to now that Leliana was gone. She only knew her and Owen, and by the way the red head had stormed out earlier, she figured he was not someone who wanted to be conversed with. "How far along are you?" From the looks of things, it appeared like the woman was ready to pop at any moment, but that wasn't something Beth wanted to just assume.
-
When asked how far along she was, Shinoa only briefly looked down at the belly. "Thirty-nine weeks and...four days. I'm due this upcoming Tuesday." She said with a bit of a smile as she finished off the glass of orange juice before rinsing it out. "Everyday when I don't think I could possibly get any bigger and then I do. I've gained almost forty pounds in the last several months." There was only one thing that Shinoa really hated about pregnancy and it was the excessive peeing. What was it, every...thirty minutes now? Every half an hour to an hour...waddling to the restroom. That got old real quick. She didn't even complain about the weight gain since it was for the sake of the baby. "And I'm still struggling with names." She chuckled.
-
“For a boy or a girl?” Beth asked, pulling out a chair for the woman to take a seat. She knew that it this stage in the pregnancy, anything she could do to keep herself calm and relaxed was a positive, and that included staying off her likely swollen ankles. “Do you know the gender yet?” Some people didn’t like to know, but she was far enough along that she would have had the chance to check before the apocalypse began.
-
As Beth helped her up the stairs, Shinoa kept steady and made sure she didn't miss a single step, not wanting to send herself or Beth tumbling down the stairs, mainly because it could prove fatal to the unborn baby. Once they had reached the bedroom, the young mother got comfortable in the bed that she shared with Milly and Lelianna. Straightening out her hair and her robe, she sighed as she placed both hands on the swollen belly. "I know this is gonna be a little weird, but...can you give me a massage?" She asked, her cheeks turning red.
Mentioned: Milly ( Rumble Fish ), Lelianna ( FireMaiden )
-
To say that the request didn’t catch Beth off guard would be a lie. The blonde hardly knew the young mother, in fact the conversation that had started only moments ago was the first they had shared despite sharing a sleeping space. Bethany’s own sleeping bag was on the floor just off Leliana’s side of the bed. Still, she could imagine how uncomfortable Shinoa must have been. Not only was being so pregnant a struggle all on it’s own, but the woman was away from anyone that she knew so close to the birth of her child.
-
“Um, sure.” Beth replied softly. The girl knew what it was like to be without family or friends. When she had moved to Aurora she had done so with nothing but the clothes on her back. Her own parents had no idea where she was or where she had gone, they hadn’t spoken since she had run away two years prior. The blonde gestured to the bed in a way that said ‘get comfortable.’ Once the woman was in position, Beth started with her shoulders, making sure to gently rub the muscles in her neck and under her blades, doing her best not to accidentally hurt the woman in the process.
-
Due to getting almost no massages throughout the entire pregnancy, Shinoa felt relaxed, even more so then she has since the third trimester began. Most of her muscles were rather tight and stiff, so when Beth started massaging her shoulders and her neck, the young mother took a deep breath. It was really refreshing. Perhaps she should have taken up on her Grandmother's offer in going to the massage parlor. Maybe her pregnancy would have been much more comfortable. But either way, Shinoa was happy. Hopefully now she could rest easier. No doubt she'd ask for Beth's assistance during labor as well. "This is relaxing. Is it alright if I get the full treatment?" She asked.
-
Beth was used to touching complete strangers, it came with the territory of her profession. So massaging Shinoa despite the fact they knew little about each other wasn’t as uncomfortable as one would expect. She was sure all the travel and running had been hard on Shinoa, so she did her best to accommodate her in Leliana’s absence. She had promised her friend and Luca that she would look after her and Milly after all.

“No problem,” The blonde agreed. She moved her massage from her neck and shoulders, making sure to take the same care with the rest of the the woman’s muscles.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you all alone here?” Surely someone as pregnant as this and as young as she was would have family, friends, maybe a boyfriend.
-
"I'm staying in Aurora with my Grandmother. After I got pregnant, my Mom sent me over here. The plan was to go to the West Coast to live with my Dad after I deliver the baby. And my Boyfriend is out of state." She answered.

Shinoa only continued to relax as Beth continued to give her the massage. The proficiency was mesmerizing and kept her at ease. Most of the cramps and contractions were rather easy to ignore since Beth was alleviating it. "Be gentle with the belly. Don't wanna hurt or scare the baby." She reminded the slightly older woman.

If she was being honest, the young mother thought that Beth was beautiful. What was she doing in Aurora? Although she wanted to ask, she didn't want to be nosey. Suddenly she felt a dull pain within her belly. "Ohhh. That didn't feel good." she said, glancing down at her belly.
-
"Oh well, I'm sorry your plans got derailed. You are lucky that you were able to make it to safety from the sounds of things." Beth replied, continuing her work. at the sound of Shinoa's distress she immediately pulled her hands off the woman, holding them up in the air. "Are you okay? Did I hurt something?" the blonde asked, obviously concerned. It was possible it was a contraction after all, with the young girl being so close to being ready to have her child.
-
"I'm okay. I just think my body is done with being pregnant." She sighed as she cradled the belly, nodding at the other woman to continue with the massage. Shinoa took a deep breath in hopes of somewhat alleviating the pain. "But you're helping ease the pain. Hopefully you'll be able to do this when I go into labor."

 

[Maj]

The following post is a collab between Maj and shadowz1995
​

Hector had a large build, similar to Owen and had always kept himself very fit. One of his philosophies in life was to have a sound body and a sound mind. That being intelligent alone was not enough. It paid off it moments like this where you were dragging around 200 lbs of muscley deadweight up a flight of stairs and into their room.

With his leg, he pulled the chair into the middle of the room and dropped the red-head into it while the doctor went into his bag to grab the supplies he had knicked from the hospital the other day. He grabbed a bottle of water and poured half of its content over Owen's head to jar him out of his half-conscious state and to get all of the excess blood off and bring the actual lacerations to light.

Unceremoniously, Hector pulled the boy's head back some and gave his face a good scan before letting go and moving to grab the appropriate items.

"Owen, the next time I tell you to take it easy and rest and you blatantly disobey me…" The doc pulled a scalpel free and approached in a menacing factor. He held Owen's head in place so he wouldn't run away and drew a quick line underneath the boy's right eye that was practically swollen shut. Blood poured like a damn river now that the hematoma had an escape route and the swelling was already coming down.

"I'll take this scalpel and drag it across your throat. Are we clear?"

Everything sounded like it was being fed to Owen through a blender, garbled and disconnected. He was vaguely aware of being lifted off the ground and did his best to try to focus his swirling vision as Hector did his best to cart him through the lodge. Fluent thought was proving difficult between the pounding in his temples and the churning of his stomach as sight came and went in flashes.

By the time Hector had him sitting up in the chair his focus returned a little, but it took effort to stay engaged in what was going on around him. Everything in his body wanted to rest, to sleep. The water that poured over his face was cool and soothing even if unexpected as he listened to the threatening tone of Hector’s voice. He was a cold man, but Owen couldn’t help but like him. Almost suffocating to death under the weight of a smelly obese zombie had a way of bonding people.

“Sorry Doc.” Owen groaned, finding it hard to speak though his fat lip. “I promise it wasn’t intentional.” That was the truth. The red head knew he had an explosive temper, especially where Andy was concerned.

"I don't need your apologies, Niño. I need you to be better. You are a grown man already. Your sister is a grown woman. What she does and who she does it with is no concern of yours just like the reverse is true. Whoever you choose to be involved with is no business of hers."

The doctor left the room for a moment after cleaning the oozing cut underneath Owen's eye and returned with a plastic bag full of snow about two minutes later. He placed it in the boy's lap before turning around and grabbing the peroxide and some tongue depressants. He stacked two of the wooden sticks together and forced Owen's mouth open, laying them in there horizontally. "Bite down. It's going to hurt."

He soaked some gauze in the antiseptic and started coating the wounds in a thin film of the fiery liquid of salvation. Again, the man was anything but gentle about it. Thorough? Certainly.

Owen did as instructed. He was used to getting patched up by people far less trained than Hector, so his rough methods were not anything he wasn’t used to. The liquid burned, but no more than usual, feeling the medication do its job and burn away any chance of infection.

Talking through the gauze was impossible, so he didn’t try. Instead he chose to stew on the doctor’s words. Sure, Andy was an adult and if she was involved with anyone else he wouldn’t get involved as long as she was safe. But Luca was a murderer, and while he had been close to the twins in childhood, a lot had changed since then. He didn’t want Andy getting hurt and he would take a hundred more beatings like this to ensure it didn’t happen.

When he was able to remove the gauze, he did so, flexing his jaw to rid himself of the strange sensation of having in in his mouth. He was fully conscious now, the weird haze was fading and thanks to the work the doctor had done to his eye, he could see relatively well. Owen’s green eyes locked with the doctor and he sighed, unsure of how to explain the situation to someone who didn’t know Luca.

“You’re right,” He agreed. “I do have to be better.” And he was right, Owen did everything he could to provide for his family and ensure their safety, but there was always more he could do. Leaving Andy alone while he was stuck in the hospital for example had been a mistake. However, despite his loss Owen couldn’t see what he did as wrong.

“But Luca is a sociopath. Andy’s personal life may be none of my business, but her safety absolutely is.” He wasn’t sure if Hector would understand, let alone care about what he had to say.

Hector continued working on him in the meanwhile and when he finished, he paused and locked eyes with the red-head. "When I looked into the eyes of the boy called Luca, I saw someone who is much like myself. I am a very uncaring and cold person. I know this. There are certain things about people that I have never been able to understand. I don't know your sister anymore than I know him but from what I have seen, Andy is too much of a fooki-" the doctor paused and tried to get his accent proper again. It was something that happened when he spoke informally, "fucking pain in the ass to deal with in general. Let alone as a partner."

The doctor backed up off the younger man and returned his supplies to the bag after having cleaned them off properly. "You were too enraged to notice but he looked just as surprised by the contraceptives as you were infuriated by them. He didn't know."

Hector then pulled up the other chair and sat down in front Owen, crossing his legs and folding his bloodied hands together on his lap. It was a strange sight to see. One banged and bruised up man sitting across an older shirtless one. Perhaps, even comical. Yet, no humor crossed the two.

"Which means it's safe to assume Andy has not, and I quote, 'Spread her legs' for Luca or any other man… or woman at this lodge. If I had to take a guess, it was because of the liability that's down the hall." He said in reference to the pregnant woman whose name he didn't know.

"We don't need more of that."

Owen chuckled, holding his aching ribs as he did so. From experience he felt like none of them were broken, but he assumed that within the hours bruising was going to show up all over his pale skin.

“It sounds like you know Andy better than you think.” He didn’t go into how being cold and uncaring didn’t make you a murderer. Or how the similarities between Hector and Luca stopped at the slumped body in the car, blood splattered across the windshield, chunks of brain matter stuck to the dashboard with greasy gore.The doctor saved lives, no matter how strict his methods and instead, Luca ended them. The boy winced as Hector quoted his comment from the fight, it wasn’t cool of him to say. His sister deserved better out of him, even at his angriest.

“She’s smart. I don’t doubt she had more than one motive for picking them up. Even so…” Owen wanted to go into the whole list of reasons he had that Luca was bad for his sister. How he didn't like how he bullied his way into her bedroom because it suited him better or the fact he was scared that one day Andy’s smart mouth was going to get her on his bad side and get her hurt. Instead he closed his mouth, because he knew at the heart what the problem was.

Jealousy.

She hit him and called him an idiot and rolled her eyes every time Owen opened his mouth. Andy defended Luca, stood up for him and he could tell in her own weird little Andy way, she respected him. It was hard to stomach.

“She used to be so sweet,” Owen started with a sad smile. “We used to do everything together. I can’t count the number of nights that we stayed up late with her sitting on the couch with her sketch pad, watching me play dumb video games. Then suddenly, she wanted nothing to do with me. I assumed all the slamming doors was just a part of her going through puberty, but she’s still like that. It’s like talking to me just makes her mad.” He shook his head.

“But that’s not your problem man, I’ve been enough of a hassle for you for one day.” Owen held out his hand to shake Hector’s.

“You have a knack for fixing me up, I appreciate it.”

Hector's eyes narrowed at the information and he catalogued it in his mind to write down later. Sudden changes in behavior were rarely for no reason. Even pubescent outbursts came in just that. Bursts.

"If it puts your mind at ease, if we ever find out that anyone, not just Luca, has harmed your sister somehow, the solution is simple. I'll put two bullets through their head and be done with it. The dead are less irritating than the living. That includes the ones that are still walking around outside."

Hector wiped the palm of his hand off with the towel he cleaned the tools with and took the boy's hand firmly.

"Now rest. Or I really will slit your throat." He added before standing up and putting the chair back to it's original spot. Without looking back, Hector exited the room and went to look for the second person that got a good beating just now.

“Yeah, Yeah,” Owen said waving his hand at the doctor. “No reason to gut me. I’m laying down.” The red head slowly shifted from the chair to the bed, groaning all the while. He wasn’t sure if Hector had a dark sense of humor or was really intent on killing him, but he appreciated his support in looking after Andy.. He flopped on top of the clovers, not bothering to throw them over his form. His left arm came up over his head, covering his eyes with the crook of his elbow.

“Wake me when Andy gets back, yeah?”

Mentions: Brax (Luca) BloodLightning27 (Shinoa)

 

[Rumble Fish]

After Milly had calmed herself down from the troubling thoughts, she ventured back down the stairs to sit at the dining table. She placed Snowy on the table just as Beth approached her, holding onto a plate full of eggs and hashbrowns. The sight of those eggs made the youngster’s once sad eyes suddenly beam. That one small nugget of familiarity triggered an almost calming effect on her. Finally, something that made sense. She looked up to Beth who had ruffled her hair, encouraging her to eat. From what Milly had seen, everyone else had eaten so was quite comfortable in doing so herself.

“Thanks Beth!” she chirped as the lady walked away to speak to Shiona, who had finished doing the dishes. The plate was empty in less than a few minutes and Milly got to cleaning up. She had heard what Luca had said, but despite that she wanted to do something, even if it was just a little. Besides, she quite liked cleaning. It helped to take her mind off of things. She glanced back outside towards the snow. The sky was clearer now. Everybody was outside, everybody was doing something. The youngster gulped slightly in her throat at the thought. Being outside was still foreign. It was big and who knows what was out there? However, most people were outside. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe she could look around the area, make sure it was safe? Not going too far of course.

Pulling on her jacket, Milly grabbed her bear by one leg and stepped outside… to catch the end on Owen and Luca brawling, Hector pulling Owen away and… who was that? There was a strange man, who Milly had never seen was charging around giving orders. Wait, had he come with the group? She had not seen him before. The girl’s baby blue’s darted, unsure as to what to say. She glanced inside, holding her bear closer to her chest. She glanced inside of the lodge and took a step back inside. The only one she thought of looking to was Ralph. Where was he? Maybe he was trying to find his Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated (jingle and name change pending) and was not aware of what was happening outside.

“Oh Ralph? Could you…Um. C-could you come outside please?” She glanced outside once again, still very confused, “There’s a man out here, did he come back with Luca and Andy?” Where were these people coming from? The youngster was too confused about the situation to dwell on the fact that none of these newcomers were her mother, despite the vast number. Maybe Ralph knew what to do.

Interactions: Maj (Bethany)
Mentions: The Mad Queen (Ralph) Maj (Owen/Andy) Brax (Luca) Togy (Nile)​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Doctor Ralph Fisher: The Lodge​

Things with Luca seemed to settle down, and he was setting the others to work on a barracks. With the situation resolved, Fisher set back to revisiting his notes. He could barely put up a shelf, let alone build a house so he would stick to where he was needed.
He hadn't seen Patient Zero, he'd been held back from him so instead he took down what the other doctor had told him.

He sat alone in the bathroom, knowing he wouldn't be disturbed went over what he'd seen in the past few days over and over again, replaying like rewinding an old tape. Rogue, Hector, the initial outbreak at the hospital, the morgue. That's where it had all started, so perhaps it was where he'd find what he was looking for. As Fisher put himself back in that room, he frantically took down more and more notes. Soon enough, he'd run out of paper.

He had a few spares in his bag though, so it didn't bother him.

"Oh my God." He muttered. He dashed out of the bathroom, making his way downstairs like a man possessed. The past half hour or so was already lost on him, and he ran straight into Milly.
Immediately he pocketed the notepad and went back to wearing a smile.
"Hey. You okay kid?"

“There’s a man out here, did he come back with Luca and Andy?"

Did she mean Hector? Probably, but Fisher wasn't about to take that risk.
"I think so. I'll go and speak to him, you just wait here and watch after Shiona. Okay? Let us know if the baby starts coming. She'll let you know."

Probably a poor choice of words, but so long as Milly was kept busy, that meant she was kept out of danger. And he had always been a bad lair, especially to children. They had a way of reading through crap adults put out. Sure, they'd believe in Santa Clause with enough convincing but lying about something more real was always harder.

He stepped outside, and made his way towards Nile. He was slow, and approached as cautiously as he could. From behind his back, he drew his pistol. Just in case. The last thing Ralph wanted to do was shoot this man, but these days he couldn't afford to take any chances.

"Hello." He called out to Nile, offering the same smile he had to Milly "Are you okay?"

Interacting with: Milly ( Rumble Fish ), Nile ( Togy )
Mentioned: Shiona ( BloodLightning27 )

 

[Brax]

After a bit of searching, Hector eventually opened the door that contained the other bloodied combatant. He didn't greet him or really speak much of anything while he set everything up. Like for Owen, he set the pack up beside him pulled up two chairs and gestured for Luca to sit in the one across from his, "Sit. It's your turn now." The doc extended a second pack of snow with his left hand. A half empty water bottle sat in his right with the cap already off and ready to go. Hector knew next to nothing of this man other than what he had heard but word of mouth was cheap. It was always better to get a personal account and draw one's own conclusions.

Luca had been in the bathroom at the time that Hector had entered. Underneath his eye was a cut that probably needed to be stitched, provided by a punch that could have very well taken the eye out itself. While the man was surprised there was no knock, the Italian had decided not to say anything. Hector had entered to help patch him up. Luca watched as he pulled a chair up and then took a seat as ordered by the Spanish doctor. He had initially been so upset that he couldn’t remember how bad Owen ended up, but after Hector finished up so quickly the man could only surmise that he wasn’t in worse shape.

He leaned against the chair. The back of his head rested against the headrest, light blue eyes staring down at the doctor as he watched the man get everything set up. Whereas Owen always had a bit of a problem talking too much, the Italian was quite opposite. The man was already well aware that whatever conversation the two had most likely resulted in Owen explaining enough about who he was. Unlike Owen, Luca had not been sitting in the chair to divulge his side of a grudge that didn’t exist. Owen had a problem, Luca didn’t. The two fell out, much like Luca had with a plethora of other people in his life. Just because the two were close as kids didn’t mean that they needed to be close as adults, but given the situation Luca demanded respect all the same.

That was what his end of the bravado was about. Making an example.

The doc leaned forward to get a closer look at the man's face and his initial thoughts weren't wrong. Luca wasn't too worse for wear but he could be in need for some stitches. That being said, it was a cut that wasn't too bad. It's nothing time would not heal, although the scar would be worse when healed. Then again, Luca may not be the type to mind that.

The Venezuelan set the water down and tossed the snow pack into the Italian's lap. He turned around to the supplies and grabbed the peroxide and dabbed it onto a piece of gauze. "This will hurt." He stated coolly. He didn't offer a bit to bite down on for the pain. Luca wasn't injured as bad and he doubted he was much of a squealer anyway.

“Hm.” The sound was the only response the doctor got as he moved to work on Luca.

He pressed the liquid against the the most obvious wounds before passing it over the smaller cuts on his lip and brow from the punches. His arms were bruised all over from blocking blows and it would be surprising if there was a crack somewhere in there. Considering Hector didn't have an x-ray machine, only time would be able to tell.

"So, are you?" He asked without looking away from his work.

“What?” Luca asked, his fingers inching the box of cigarettes in his pocket out toward the edge. As the doctor pressed the gauze against his face, he kept his eyes fixated on the man. Luca had his own questions to ask, so the doctor getting off a question right before he did had been slightly off-putting. There wasn’t anything the doctor could possibly ask him at this point that would particularly be surprising. Owen knew a lot about Luca, but there was a lot that he assumed about him as well.

"Having relations with the girl. Andy." He replied, using his free hand to get the cigarettes Luca was trying to get and handing it to him

The man let air out of his nostrils at a faster rate than usual. It was such a ridiculous question. During a zombie outbreak, was this the most pressing of matters? Their way of life had changed drastically, just over the course of six days. People in the lodge were more concerned about who was sticking what in whom rather than what was actually important. Luca’s eyes kept fixated on the man, trying to decide just how he should answer the question.

“No. Are you satisfied now that you know i’m not active, doctor?” He asked, unenthused.

In reality, the reasoning of this answer was far more interesting than what the doctor got. Ultimately, Luca decided it was information that didn’t need to be divulged. Details from a past life that he had since decided to leave behind. He grabbed the pack and removed a cigarette, placing it between his lips. The man offered the doctor one of his own, if he so chose - despite being hypocritical in nature, Luca had previously made a living getting to know the most hypocritical of men. It wasn’t about health. With the same hand he brought light to the cigarette, consciously avoiding the doctor’s arm. Chances were, Andy was going to be pissed at him later anyway. Might as well rub salt in the wound by stinking her room up with the smell of burnt tobacco.

“Are you sure they’re Andy’s? We’re talking like Owen found them in a bag with her name on it.”

The doctor shook his head. He wasn’t into putting poisons in his body. Even alcohol was something he avoided whenever possible. "I'm not a woman looking for gossip, Luca. I could care less if you were sexually intimate with the girl." Hector then applied a small piece of adhesive tape to hold the biggest wound closed and added a small hydrocolloid covering to keep it from getting infected. "But it would be helpful to know whether or not two young people are 'active', so we aren't surprised if the female becomes a burden." The doctor then flicked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the pregnant lady. Exactly as he had with Owen. The man was quite adamant on the subject. Babies were a very, very bad idea at the moment.

Hector sat down across the Italian lad and gestured towards the pack of snow in his lap. "Use it on your bruises before it melts." He then continued to answer the other question asked, "I don't know. Maybe he found it among her belongings. Maybe he found it and just assumed. Whoever it was that brought the contraceptives is smart for doing so." The older gentleman's gray eyes locked with the cool blue of Luca's for a long time, merely staring him down before he finally decided to speak, "I don't think you were wrong for what you did." He explained. "I understand. It's none of anyone's business who you have relations with. That being said…"

"...when you are reminding those around you to give you the respect you believe you deserve, keep in mind that they have to be functional afterwards to be of any use. Owen is currently confined to bed rest and you are not to do any strenuous physical activity until we are sure you didn't break anything in your arms defending yourself. I told Owen I would slit his throat if he disobeyed my orders to rest. For you, the two bullets I shot as a warning will be in your head if you break my guidance."

Luca watched Hector intently as he spoke, listening to what the man had to say. The man spoke with conviction, something that had been intriguing to the much younger man. The younger of the two was tired, first and foremost. His injuries did not help his exhaustion and the sleep he had gotten the day prior had only helped so much. Hector was right. He could only put his body through so many traumatic ordeals. Eventually it would shut down on him regardless of his mindset. Typically, Luca would have been upset about the threat, but it did not come from a place of aggression. After all, the Italian employed the very same tactics to get what he wanted.

“Yeah.”

Hector stood from the chair and placed it back in its original position. "I'll be doing the inventory he was supposed to do. I would like to make the count myself regardless. Afterwards, we should focus on building a simple alarm system. Ivan had an idea for that. He can give you the details. I'll help with the chopping and building once I'm done with inventory."

The doc gave him a pointed glare before finishing, "No strenuous activity."

Then he turned to leave but paused for a moment and looked back, "Is there anything you want me to relay to the lambs outside?"

Luca didn’t like his word being spoken back on, but if Owen was not capable by the Doctor’s observation there was nothing he could do. Owen sitting around without all his marbles probably couldn’t keep accurate count like Hector could. Realizing this, the man let it go. He stood up from his chair, walking up to the doctor and extending a hand to him. There was more the two could talk about, but for now it made the most sense to let Hector go on to be productive to the rest of the lodge. The burning cigarette rested limply between his lips. They pursed to take a drag. The man spoke with the smoke taking residence in his lungs, only allowing it to escape after his first few words. Even when he picked his words back up, a small bit of smoke still managed to escape.

“Thank you for taking care of Owen. He’s a dumb ass, but I was taught to never turn my back on family.” Regardless of Luca’s words, he was still responsible for dishing out damage to Owen after being confronted. Those hands were rated ‘E’ for everybody regardless of their relation to Luca. Women and children were excluded. That was a discussion for a different time.

The doctor shook his hand firmly. "Families have fights from time to time. At least, that is what I heard. I wouldn't personally know. I never had one."

“I imagine both of us have stories worth exchanging. We’ll catch them over a drink sometime, when there’s less work to be done.” The Italian remarked, withdrawing his hand before turning from the man and taking a seat on the chair that Hector had fetched for him only a few moments prior. He continued speaking, leaning over to his nightstand and wrapping his digits around the neck of a near-empty bottle of whiskey.

“I’ll deal with Ivan now. Get the useless weight outside to work. Even if they can’t think for themselves, swinging an axe isn’t rocket science. If anything comes up, you have a radio. Let’s keep the communication channel open and clear. If I hear that blubbering fat fuck outside gargle some nonsense about food, even once, i’ll walk outside and old yeller his ass myself.”

That actually got a chuckle out of the older man, "I was thinking of doing it myself. If you blow his brains out, it wouldn't be considered strenuous activity neither."

“Cheers.” The Italian responded, uncapping the top of the whiskey and holding it up toward Hector. It might have been how intelligent the man was, or perhaps the authority he walked around with, but Luca could see this man being useful. He already came into the lodge to make an impact, between having to listen to orders and taking initiative to get shit done himself.

Hector opened the door and said, "I'll let you know if anything develops."

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between myself and Togy
Doctor Ralph Fisher and Nile Crayman​

Nile perked up at that. He'd been staring at his plan laid out in the snow when he was called. "Huh? Well, uh, define okay" Nile called over. "Mentally? Probably something wrong in my head, but other than that I think I'm fine. Physically? I probably have Hypothermia." Nile called over to Ralph.

Although he kept his smile, Ralph raised an eyebrow at the man. On the one hand, he wanted to bring him inside given the snow but he had just come from nowhere. Could he be trusted? Was he part of the hazmat team? It seemed unlikely but Ralph wasn't about to take any chances with newcomers.
"Yeah, running through the freezing snow will do that." He chuckled "Where did you come from anyway?"

"Uh, well, I'm your next door neighbour" Nile said, a little too high to come up with a normal response. "Your next door neighbour from three miles out. I was led here by...someone" Nile said, referring to the deer. "When I got here, I saw your team over here. I came over and checked the blueprints, and I was, quite frankly, disgusted at what I saw" Nile said, gesturing to the layout behind him. "So, like a good neighbour, State Farm is ther-No wait, shit, I mean, uh, like a good neighbour, I...is...there?" Nile said, a little confused with his own word choice. He stopped to think about it for a second before slowly nodding his head, as if saying that made sense.

Ralph slowly moved his hand out from behind his back, leaving the gun attached to his belt. He rubbed the back of his neck just to not seem suspicious, but something told him that this newcomer wouldn't notice. There was something off about him, and although it took a few moments Ralph sighed heavily once he pieced it together.
"Was the person who led you here your dealer, by any chance?" He asked "Do you have any idea what's been going on here?"
If this man had been getting high the past few days there might be a chance he had no idea about the parasite.

"What!? No! Of course not!" Nile said defensively. "I was led here by Bambi!" Nile said. "And I am offended at the fact that you think I have taken drugs. I know full well that the Night of the Living Dead has become reality!" Nile said, just as left over, blood stained cocaine that'd been stuck to the sides of nose fall gently towards the snow.

"Bambi?" Ralph asked "Come on." He shook his head "What's next? You're gonna say Buzz Lightyear helped you fight off a few of these things?" He groaned "Listen, why don't you..." He glared at the man's nosebleed. "Coke, really? Do you have any idea what that stuff does to your body? To your mind!?"
He squeezed the ridge of his nose "Why don't you come inside? Get this out of your system and at least make sure you don't catch your death out here."
The others wouldn't like it, but junkie or not Ralph wasn't going to leave this man out in the snow.

"Oh thank Jesus, yes I'll come inside" Nile said, thankful he'd finally been offered to be taken out of this cold. "And fine, I'll admit that I'm just the slightest bit high right now" Nile said as he trudged through the cold towards the lodge.

"Wait." Ralph jogged up to Nile, catching up quickly and standing in front of him "Before you go in, we're going to have to search you. A lot of these people are trained so if you show you're a threat to them or the other people here...It won't end well."
He stared back towards the lodge "What's your name, anyway?"

"Nile, River, Egypt, pick your favourite" Nile said listing off the names he'd been called over the course of his life. In response to Ralph's search explanation thingy, Nile pulled out his Hunting knife from his back pocket and chucked it like a football into the snow. "I never liked the thing anyway" Nile mumbled. He waited to be pat down. He luckily (Unluckily) had no drugs on him right now.

He leaned down to pick up the knife, placing it in one of his pockets and moved to the back door, gently pushing it open. The others weren't going to like him bringing a new person into the lodge, but given the alternative was letting him freeze he'd just have to live with the consequences.
"Take a seat. I'll see about getting you some coffee or something."

"Coffee? Great. You'll find me curled in the fetal position in front of the fireplace" Nile said nonchalantly as he walked over to the fireplace, fell to the ground, and curled into a fetal position.

Ralph jogged along after him, trying to make sure one of the others didn't find him before he could explain things to the lodge.
"Just, um. Relax for a few minutes. I'll get on that coffee."
With Nile curled up Ralph sat nearby, watching him in case he tried anything and keeping his eyes peeled for the other inhabitants of the lodge.

 

[King Vioogra]

Ivan was still thinking about the usefulness of an alarm system along with the guards that would be out every night when his eyes were drawn to the sound of Luca’s last name as it was shouted by Owen. He was approaching the Italian quickly, holding a box of condoms in his clenched hand before they were slammed into Luca’s chest. He knew a fight was going to break out and quickly moved to separate them. Then the doctor’s voice rang out in protest, telling them to let the two settle their problems. Ivan looked between the two and Hector before a short sigh came from him. As stupid as it was, it would be better for them to get their aggression out now instead of letting it build up and lead to something more sinister. As the fight finally broke out, he watched each blow that was thrown, making mental notes of each of their styles in case he were ever in a situation like this with either of them. During portions of the fight, he would mentally replace either of the combatants with himself and decide how to react. A dodge here, a block there, a strong counter, a leg sweep to stagger. Owen was moving on pure adrenaline and unbridled rage, so as long as he could avoid being hit, the fight wouldn’t be a problem. Luca on the other hand, was calm and collected throughout the whole fight, despite being accused of sleeping with Andy. It wasn’t something he’d put past the Italian, everyone’s got desires of course, but he also didn’t seem to be the type to lie without reason. Once the fight was over and they both went inside for separate medical attention, Ivan quietly admired the spinning kick the Italian used against Owen. He imitated it mentally a few times before deciding he’d try it sometime. He looked back at the lodge for a moment before looking back at their area of construction and seeing a random guy pulling up stakes and almost professionally marking them at 3 inches before speaking up and letting them know that they’d have to dig for the foundation, like he expected them to know who he was.

‘Is this guy high or something?’

Ivan was about to approach the guy when Milly and Dr. Ralph came out and greeted the stranger. It was a good thing the girls decided to go hunting, since their numbers were so quickly growing.​

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a part one of a collab post between myself, Soma Schicksal and BloodLightning27
​

He listened to what Jenna and Brian had to say. They both had very good points, he just hoped that they could actually get a plan like that to work. "Yea I get it, it would be difficult to do something like that but like you said from the sounds of it Dr. Fisher and Brian are our best chance of making this sort of information believable." Marcus stated. He looked at the complex and Brian gave him orders to take point, the man gave a slight nod before raising his pistol and making his way toward the building.

Stay silent and be ready...that's what his father always told him. And it worked all the time when it came to hunting, even more so in this 'new' world of man and zombie. Marcus turned the safety of his pistol off and as he neared the houses actually weren't so bad looking but the dead ahead of them would definitely be an issue.

Brian kept the Rifle on Semi-Automatic, not wanting to waste the bullets. Through his sight, he could see that the farm had a good number of infected. He could only hope that there were enough bullets to put them all down. "I'd prefer it if we can keep those things at a distance. Reduce our chances of being infected. Just make sure their blood or bodily fluids don't get into your eyes or your mouth." He commented as they got closer.

He took aim at one of the zombies, even switching on the laser sight on the rifle. "On the count of three..." He said, nodding to Marcus as the zombies came into view.

​

The girl's blue eyes moved from the zombies and then scanned the rest of the farm. It was small overall, at least compared to what she'd seen before but at the very least there was more room than the lodge was offering.
There was a barn too. Her eyes widened at it. If they got lucky there could even be some animals inside. If it was cattle then getting them back to the lodge would be next to impossible with the heavy snow but something smaller like pigs or even a few chickens would be easy enough for the three of them to carry back.

A wide smile grew across her face. If farm animals were brought in, she was the only one that could take care of them. Well, that would be how she'd sell it.
No chance of getting kicked out then, she thought.

"Wait." She whispered "How do we know there's not more of them? If you two start unloading then we could get swarmed. Those Fascists in yellow suits could be around too. I say we just go quietly, check this place out and if it's worth it we bring more people back with us next time."

Marcus listened to their suggestions and orders giving a quick nod before speaking. "Alright then a quick recon it is. These things aren't very fast but they seem to be able to adapt to whatever they need to so that they can reach their 'food' us. I'll use my hunting knife since I don't want to waste my sniper rounds." He said before continuing forward and once he reached an area where the zombies began he stabbed them in their rotting skulls. It creating a satisfying crack sound from the knife entering its brain and shutting down the body.

He continued this for a while before reaching the front of the farm. It seemed to definitely have room plus more for the whole group and they cleared a good portion of the zombies so bringing everyone else shouldn't be an issue. "I'm going in, so check your corners." As if on cue an undead bastard with overalls and a plaid shirt jumped at him. Marcus hit the wall and nearly fell before he stabbed it in the head as well leaving the body limp before he chucked the thing off of him. "Umm...alright then, glad I said that." He continued forward and it didn't seem to be a trace of anyone else.

Jenna kept low, fixed on the barn but checking from side to side in case any of the dead noticed her approach. Checking over her shoulder, she watched the rear to see that although dead still covered the farm, they weren't making her way towards her.
Glancing back at Brian, she held up her arm and held up five fingers before pointing to the left. She didn't know any actual SWAT or special forces gestures, so it would have to do.

She reached out, seeing that there was still a lock on the barn. Letting out a sigh, she brought the axe down, breaking it off. The clattering echoed across the farm, and a few of the dead turned their heads towards her.
"Crap." Pulling one of the doors open, Jenna peered inside. This whole trip couldn't be for nothing.

A smile plastered across her face, as she started down at it's contents. Running around the barn, which was a mess of hay and feed were four chickens. There were a few bags of feed too.
"Fuck-a-doodle-doo." She grinned. Spinning around, she noticed the dead still closing in and readied herself, closing the door but leaving a small gap, trapping the head of one of the infected.
She brought the axe down, hard and left a huge gap in the skull. After two more strikes it dropped to the ground and she met the gaze of the other two.
She opened the door slightly, allowing the second one to get close and slammed it shut again, catching it's arm on the door.

Her eyes widened as she stared across the farm, seeing that all the noise she'd made had attracted more infected. Now four more of them were closing in.
"Bollocks."
Thinking quickly, Jenna closed the door completely. Hopefully the infected wouldn't be smart enough to try and pull it open. She tore her backpack off, and looked down at the chickens, grabbing one and placing it into the bag.
"I'll leave the zip open a little so you can breathe, just try not to panic, okay?"
She could fit two in total, and grabbed a third under her arm. The other one would be a problem, but the dead outside concerned her more.

When Jenna suggested that they don't open fire yet, Brian reluctantly agreed. Without suppressors, they would be attracting unnecessary attention, whether it be from the zombies or the hazmats. Slinging the Rifle behind his back, he got out his wrist blade, which would allow for a more silent kill. As they moved in towards the farm, they ended up breaking off from each other before Brian could say anything.
Unaware of what the others were up to, he retracted his blade and got his Rifle back out. But he had to use each round wisely. If he could do all headshots, he'd be fine. Brian kept his Rifle at the ready, even switching the gun from safety to semi-auto. There was a small group of undead that had made a home here, but the Hazmats were nowhere in sight. If the group was lucky and if Brian's prediction was right, they were most likely still containing the infected and killing survivors in town, with patrols taking care of stragglers attempting to escape.

As Brian thought about this, the wind changed directions and blew his scent towards the mob of infected. In perfect unison, they all sniffed the air...before turning to stare directly at him. "Fuck..."

Before Brian could say anything else, they charged... With no time to run, Brian, who already had his weapon raised, opened fire.

Marcus thought he was being followed by the two but quickly realised that wasn't the case when he turned around and noticed they went to do their own things. "So much for me taking point." He sighed and took a look around. There were a bunch of old pictures that seemed to be of the man with the overalls and a woman with a nice dress and apron on. "Huh...guess I should keep look out for two more zombies. Gonna assume its Murial and Courage." He chuckled to himself and continued moving at his little joke.

So far the rooms seemed to be clear, maybe all the zombies were just outside. Marcus decided to take a peak and realised the two were beginning to get attacked by zombies. "Shit..." He unslung the suppressed sniper from his back and unfolded the bipod to lay on the kitchen table and fired shots helping out Bryan first so that he could get clear open shots at the zombies going for Jenna, hopefully he got the gist of Marcus having his back for the moment.

The dead pushed forward, trying to close through the gap in the barn. Bullets tore through the heads of two, but the others were already halfway inside. Jenna looked at her axe, and sighed. It was too close range if she was getting backed into a corner.
She frantically scanned the inside of the barn, finding a pitchfork stuck into a pile of hay. With a slight smile, she dashed towards it and yanked it out, stabbing into the chest of the first infected.

It didn't even flinch, but at least it was pushed back with a strong thrust. With a strong tug and a kick she knocked it off of the pitchfork and thrust it upwards, piercing through the chin of the infected and going into it's brain.
With a yell, she readied herself for the second one, stabbing through it's skull and dropping it.

Spinning around, she looked down at the remaining chickens. Her travelling companions were trained, so as far as she saw it they could handle themselves. With two chickens in her bag, the bags of feed stuffed into her pockets and the other two under her arms, she took a quick look outside and then dashed out of the barn.
"We gotta fuckin' go!" She called out to the others

 

[shadowz1995]

Unsurprisingly, it was far more enjoyable for Hector to be taking inventory count than to be putting two hormonal 20 somethings back together again because of one reason or another.

The reason Hector stopped everyone from interfering was for one reason. They both needed to get whatever was going on out of their systems or else the problem was going to resurface at a later date with more intensity. At least this time, the matter was settled. Even if it did Involve both parties being somewhat injured. Luckily, it was minor injuries at best. Owen didn't even seem to have a concussion and that can be thanks to how hard headed he seemingly is.

The doc made a mental note to jot that down in the files he was going to begin composing tonight.

The inventory count also gave Hector the opportunity to mentally keep track of how much supplies they had and how it should be used. Many of the lodgers were young and used to a certain lifestyle in the states. Things people take for granted. Like a warm bed. Water. Security. Things that modern society make so easily accessible. Things that didn't exist where he grew up in his home country.

They would be wasteful because they simply didn't know any better. The doctor didn't blame them.

It didn't make it any less irritating.

Once he was done, the doctor sighed and gripped the clipboard in his hand and walked out of the room, heading back towards the main house.

The sight he was greeted with when he entered was something that made his face contort into one of surprise and confusion.

Rare was it when the doctor's emotions, what little he had, showed on his face in such a manner, "Que demonios... " He muttered before taking a few steps closer to observe the mess of a human being in the center of the room, then asking to no one in particular, "What is this..... thing? What happened while I was patching the boys up?"

@anyonewhoisaroundthatcananswercuzhonestlythefucklooool

 

[Soma Schicksal]

This is a Collab between myself, The Mad Queen and BloodLightning27

Brian continued to gun down the undead, but they just kept coming. Where were they all coming from? And how did they all end up at the farm? The mindless infected wouldn't really make it all that far...unless the infection had managed to spread into the countryside somehow. To that end, he was not surprised. A zombie had attempted to get behind him, only to drop dead by his foot. Brian looked down as the zombie fell by his foot. With a shot like that, chances were it was Marcus because no one else could have made a possible shot like that and as far as he was concerned, only the three of them were at the farm. The gun soon locked empty as he fired one more shot. Switching out the Magazines, Brian was down to his last one for the Rifle before he has to switch to his Handgun and eventually the hidden blade. Looking over, he saw Jenna dash out of the barn with chickens under her arms. Before he could say anything, he continued to shoot down the zombies, doing his best to go for headshots. "Thanks for the cover, Marcus! Let's get moving!" He called out once Jenna had gotten close enough. "We're just not equipped for an Extermination Mission and I'm down to my last mag!"
-----

She booked it past Brian, taking one glance over her shoulder back at the infected. "We can try to lose them in the woods. No way in hell can we let them follow us back to the lodge!" She glared back at the farm "Where the hell's Marcus?" Between the shouting and sounds of gunfire filling the air, the chickens began to panic. Flapping their wings and starting to peck at Jenna's arms, the girl winced a little but held on tight.

The multiple layers helped but she'd come out of this with a few bruises. Nothing she wasn't used to with animals though, in fact, the girl was thankful she still had all her fingers.
-----

As Marcus cleared as many as possible he could see that his scavenge mates were leaving, Brian and Jenna yelled to try and get out of there and Marcus figured the only straight path to them was through the small gap that was left by Brian in between the dead. The man rushed out of the house and ran through the middle of the undead as they reached for him but we're just out of reach from getting to him. After they had almost ripped his bag he followed as best he could into the forest taking Jenna's advice. "I'm here I'm here, just keep going!"
-----
With the chickens still pecking at her arms, Jenna dashed off into the woods surrounding the farm. All the while she watched her steps, checking behind every tree in the search of more infected. It seemed clear so far, and animals such as squirrels and even a doe ran off in different directions as Jenna made her way through.

She just hoped the doe had enough sense to get clear and kept running. They were still a good way away from the lodge itself, giving them time to lose the dead in the woods. Ducking behind a tree, she had a moment to catch her breath and thankfully the chickens stopped pecking her. "Thanks." She whispered, "Now I need you to keep quiet."

Jenna refused to move from her spot, even as a single infected moved right past the tree. It glanced at the tree, tilting its head and opening its mouth to reveal a set of bloodied teeth but soon moved on as it spotted a doe in the distance and started to move towards it.

She placed both hands over the mouth of a chicken to keep them quiet and held her own breath. With her eyes closed, she started to focus on something else, somewhere else. She wasn't hiding in the woods anymore, she was back home playing a videogame at three in the morning and trying her best not to wake her dad up. Gentle, subtle breaths in and out through her nose were the closest thing to a peep the girl made.

She and her companions would have to spend several hours hiding in the forest until the dead eventually passed them by, distracted by animals and seemingly forgetting about the humans due to their short attention span. She did not move till at least an hour later. It felt like she'd ducked behind that tree for half a day, maybe more.

Stepping out from behind the tree, she looked around for Marcus and Brian and upon locating them both made her way back to the lodge. With a firm knock on the back door, Jenna stepped inside. "What up!" She called, grinning like a Cheshire cat "I brought back some friends!" She triumphantly raised both of the chickens like trophies "There's two more in the bag. Got feed too."