Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between Brax and I​

Her head rung as Jenna made impact with the ground. It probably wasn't the smartest move, but it was definitely a better option than facing gunfire. She felt her head and thankfully, it wasn't bleeding. Which is more than she could say for her left arm. Pulling off the hoodie off quickly she unzipped the leather jacket and threw it off, clutching her arm to get a look at the damage.

She could barely make out what Luca had said at first, just seeing the knife in his hand. She didn’t move away from him though, just stared blankly at the man before shaking her head.
“What? Oh no, just the arm. It’s fine, though.” She gave him a half-smile “I could handle it myself if you gave me the stuff for it.” She gave a light chuckle, then clutched her arm once more as pain shot through it. Jenna held her tongue though, wincing but not crying out due to the pain.

Luca’s eyebrow raised slightly as his eyes turned from her arm to her face. “Stop moving. You’re going to make it worse.” Absentmindedly, one of his hands reached out to carefully grab her wrist. The first area he would tend to would be her shoulder, but without proper positioning he wouldn’t be able to dig it out without causing too much pain. He paused momentarily before scoffing and standing to his feet.
“Hold on a second.” Retreating back into his room, Luca grabbed the first clean shirt he could find. When he came back, Luca kneeled beside the girl once more. This time he offered her the shirt, folded up as much as he could.
“Bite on this. You chip your teeth, this will end up being worse for you.” Dropping it into Jenna’s other hand, the Italian didn’t wait long to get to work. He pushed the girl against the wall, his hand stabilizing her upper torso. Then with the tip of his blade he entered the gunshot wound on her shoulder.

The girl bit down as hard as she could. She knew what was about to happen next so out of a worry she would strike Luca across the face as a reaction to the pain she gripped both hands tightly around her hoodie. Jenna had seen it only in the movies and in the digital world videogames offered. What happened next was going to hurt. A lot.
She screamed, albeit muffled when the knife went into her.

Getting shot and stabbed on the same day for the first time made a record for her. She’d taken plenty of punches and even a hit or two from blunt objects but it was possibly the most pain she’d felt in a while, if ever. Despite the pain and muffled yelling she looked directly into Luca’s eyes and nodded, as if to tell the Italian to keep going.
Not that he needed the permission. It had to be done.

The man continued working despite Jenna’s response. He dug the tip of the knife further in before dislodging the first bullet. It dropped out of her flesh and hit the floor, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. While Jenna still had the shirt in her mouth, the man went to work on her elbow. He followed the exact same rhythm; the knife entered the wound, he fished out the bullet. It made a small sound as it hit the floor and rolled a little bit before coming to a stop. There was little time to be wasted at this point, as both wounds were fully open.

Luca leaned over slightly to grab the hydrogen peroxide. With the use of his teeth, he removed the shirt from her mouth and ripped it open, as long as the fabric could possibly stretch. With ease, he ripped off two smaller sections. Without warning he applied healthy doses of the healing properties to both wounds, before placing one of the smaller ripped portions of the shirt onto the shoulder wound. He began wrapping the shirt around Jenna’s arm and torso, creating a makeshift sling. Then the Italian fit in the last ripped piece to the elbow wound before tying it up.

With the shirt out of her mouth Jenna breathed a heavy sigh of relief but knew it wasn’t quite over. Once the healing property touched her skin it was like it burst into flames. Still, she gave the Italian a pained smile and examined the sling once it was all over. It seemed to hold together quite well, at least as could be expected given the circumstances.
“Nice work.” She chuckled, still holding back. The bullets may have been out of her, the wounded covered for now but it still hurt like Hell “Did you take First Aid or something?”
“Imagine if I had the title of ‘healer’ plastered onto my name.” Luca shook his head, ashing his cigarette on his pants and wiping it out with a hand. “No, but I spent a lot of time removing bullets out of myself and others. A nurse’s pay was never enough for me.” As if he could ever imply he was a doctor at any point in his life. Most of Luca’s knowledge and success came from the fact that he knew what hurt different types of people the most.
“Just take it easy, girl. You’ve done your part. Thank you.”

Himself and others? Unless he was ex-military like Colt and Ivan there were very few professions that brought that kind of heat. A cop, maybe? No, their jobs weren’t quite as violent as the media portrayed them. Digging bullets out didn’t seem quite like their style. What exactly was it the Italian did before the outbreak? That would have to be a question for another time, and maybe one she didn’t want the answer to.
It didn’t matter now, not really.

“Well, when we make it out of this town I’ll pay you double of whatever it is you make in a year. At least.” Jenna chuckled weakly, standing to her feet “I still gotta tend to the others, but thanks for digging that crap out of me.”

Luca understood that Jenna was making a joke, but the man had a shit sense of humor. It was apparent that she could take pain well, considering the first thing on the girl’s to-do list was to assist the others. A distinct lack of patience to tell the girl it wasn’t wise was absent. Much like her, the Italian still had more work to do before the lodge’s residents were entirely out of the woods.

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between FireMaiden , Maj , Meredith
​

"Towels in the bathroom, medical bag- Luca's room? Your room? The locked down the room?" Aderyn's head shook, wild eyes meeting Leliana's. Her hands were stained with blood - Tre's, Andy's, Owen's - and they quivered as her arms raised in an impatient gesture. The girl felt like she couldn't think. Horror had taken the place of adrenaline, now, but having her pistol back gave her some small comfort. She'd not been at the lodge long at all - certainly not long enough to see anybody be injured - and she felt trapped. Stay by Tre. Listen to Hector. Put pressure on Andy. No, wait, listen to Hector. Go get towels. Jesus Christ.

"Aderyn, honey, take a deep slow breath okay?" Leliana said, her voice softening slightly. She didn't need her only available help to panic, a child shouldn't have to panic in a situation like this. Hell, there shouldn't be a situation like this. "Towels are in the bathroom, yes," Leliana confirmed, grabbing more gauze as she discards the now useless pieces. "The medical bags are big duffle bags, there are two of them. Hector might have one near Tre and Owen, and the other should be back there." Leliana shifted her hands so that one remained on Andy's wound while she pointed towards the back of the house with the other. "If you can, grab the one Hector isn't using, we don't need to take them from him until he gives the all-clear." Both hands were now back on Andy's side, "Go on, hurry!"

Aderyn turned away from the medic, arms dropping to her sides, and taking a few steps in the direction Leliana indicated. She found a number of duffle bags, unzipping almost all of them before she found one full of medical supplies, and snatched the open bag into her arms. Turning back to Andy and Leli, she visibly blanched at the state of the kitchen, taking it is - actually taking it in - for the first time. She took a slow breath, actually taking the advice she was giving, and dropping the bag beside Leliana with a thump. Another short excursion later, she came back with the towels, armfuls of them. A moment of consideration and she disappeared once more, ducking into her and Milly's shared living space. She rifled through her bag, and a moment later she was back, depositing Topo next to Andy's head.

Watching Aderyn run off to do as she asked, Leliana's face steeled again. Pulling the gauze away, she had to take a moment to examine the wound. There was still too much blood, less than there was just a few moments ago, but Leliana didn't have enough light to cut through the blood and tissues. But, there was an upside. The location of the bullet, above her hip lower abdomen, Andy was showing no early signs of sepsis. No fever or chills, but the continual paling of her skin would change that quickly. Aderyn came back with the bag of medical supplies just as Leliana pressed another few pieces of gauze to the wound. The slight slow of the bleeding gave Leliana an opportunity to make it to the sink, washing her hands.

Eyes were plastered to the scene outside, watching the distant form of Colt and...Jenna. a surge of rage flooded the nurse's veins as she slammed the faucet handle, watching her "help" yelling something she could just barely hear over the gunshots, turning the water off as she turned back to Andy. Squatting, the first thing she grabbed was a pair of gloves, more for Andy's safety than her own, then a small flashlight. Leliana glanced up as Aderyn left again before she looked back down grabbing gauze and another pair for Aderyn. Popping back up, she set the spare set of gloves to the side as she turned the flashlight on and stuck the end in her mouth, holding it in place with her teeth. Pulling the gauze away, and with the extra light, she was now able to examine the entry wound better. The bullet was still lodged in there, the shiny metal just barely able to peek through the blood. "Adryn," Leliana spoke, the girl's name obstructed by the flashlight, "Wash your hands and put those gloves on." Once more, Leliana squared down, digging through the supplies for a tweezer.

Andy had no knowledge of where she was or what was going on around her. Even her unconscious string of thoughts was disjointed and unintelligible. One moment she was hunting, the next she was running through the hospital with Luca’s hand clasped around her wrist. Her thoughts shifted from happy memories to violence and everything in between. A small moan escaped from her blood-stained lips. Even now, in a state of twilight Andy fought with everything she had in her, unable to rest.

Her hand lifted as she struggled against the comfortable embrace of slumber, reaching out to feel the hand of another warm body. But who was it? She couldn’t seem to get her eyes to flutter open long enough to see. “Owen?” She called out his name, worry dripping from her tone. Her voice was so weak, and her words barely audible as she continued to mumble under her breath.

Darting to the bathroom, Aderyn hastily washed her hands, with what could be considered an excessive amount of soap. She took the gloves as she got back, putting them on clumsily - in fact, it took a couple tries to get the gloves fitted properly. She peered down at Andy with Leliana, unsure as to what she was supposed to do, but winced as Andy called out Owen's name. "He's sleeping, Andy."

Tweezers in hand, Leliana came back up just as Andy was waking up. "Damn," she whispered. Her face didn't soften as it had with Aderyn, but Andy couldn't see her anyway. "That's right," Leliana added to the child's words, "He's okay, Hector is taking really good care of him, so I can take care of you," She said, the gentle tone of her voice didn't seem to fit the pinched brow of stress and eyes swimming with a million different emotions. "You need to stay still, as still as you can Andy, I and Aderyn are gonna make sure you get to see him again." She glanced to the child, the unfortunate situation calling for her small hands and innocent eyes to be the ones that had Leliana's back. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise. Everything is going to be just fine."

The soothing tone of voices blanketed her panic and she did her best to listen to the sweet female telling her to try to stay still. Lime colored eyes fluttered open, the heat of the tears that had been pouring from them lightening their normal color. It was hard to focus, but she could see the face of the woman looking over her. She could see the worry in her sapphire eyes, the steel in her nerves, her blonde ponytail sliding down over one of her shoulders.

“Mom,” Andy groaned. Her voice, normally stoic and cool with sarcasm was uncharacteristically vulnerable. She spoke in a soft relieved tomber, reaching up to gently touch the blonde’s face, unintentionally smearing blood across her fair features. If she was with her mom, she knew that she was safe. Owen would be safe too.

The dialogue that she tried to communicate was entirely unintelligible. A string of words saturated with tears and regret as she struggled to remain alert, fighting the sweet call of unconsciousness. The only thing that could be made out among the soft sobs and pleas was:

“I’m sorry I never told you.”

Leliana didn't like this feeling. Delirium was something she could deal with. Panicking patients, those who were in shock or too terrified or numb to allow her to help, but this...her composure broke. She couldn't do anything but stare at Andy, a storm of concern, worry, washing over her face. What was she supposed to say? How we're you supposed to react to this? She was still frozen when Andy touched her face, Leliana was suddenly pulled back to reality when she tried to start speaking. Tears, words Leliana couldn't make out, an apology. It was clear Andy none of those words was for Leliana, for anyone but Andy's mother. The nurse couldn't help but wonder what she meant by "I'm sorry I never told you." It took another few seconds for Leliana to regain herself, for the painful grip that Andy's had had on her. "Shhh, Andy, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. But you need to go back to sleep, Owen will be waiting for you when you wake up." Whatever Andy saw or whatever she was seeing, it didn't matter, Leliana needs to keep her relaxed, she needed Andy to slip under again before she even attempted to remove the bullet. Andy was a life she could save, not like Ray. Not like her family. If she could save Andy, this would all be worth it. "Andy, I promise everything is going to be okay, you just have to trust me."

Andy looked up, delirious eyes locking with Leliana's, her hand trailed through her blonde hair in a loving gesture, leaking pink hues in streaks through her light-colored ponytail. Then suddenly, her hand fell limply back down to her side and the girl was back out cold. Trusting and unconscious, her life was in their hands now.

Aderyn gave Leliana a brief nod, thankful that she'd added onto the sentiment, giving the idea that Owen was simply asleep at least a little bit of validity. She hoped Owen would be fine, in fact, the fact that he was injured scared her. She was the most familiar, in the Lodge, with Owen and Milly. Even Luca was all but a stranger to her. Her head titled as she waited for direction from Leli, almost analyzing Andy, laid out on the table as she was. She'd seemed.. angry. Aggressive, even - but then, Andy had shown her a kindness, even if Cletus had nearly killed her. She worked to swallow a lump in her throat. Without a doubt, neither Owen nor Andy deserved this.

"Okay," Leliana breathed slowly, "Okay, okay, okay." Leliana's attention almost immediately turned back to the wound above Andy's hip. She only gave Nile and Colt brief acknowledgment as they entered, only glancing back up as she heard another person enter. Jenna. Leliana clenched her jaw, looking back down. It was time to get the bullet out. Grabbing the flashlight, she put the end back in her mouth as she placed a hand on Andy's hip, thumb and index finger holding the entry wound open enough so that the tweezers would risk causing any more damage as they plunged into the wound the bullet wasn't too far down, it hadn't caused a lot of damage. Andy was lucky, like really lucky. Leliana pinched the tweezers, feeling them grasp the bullet. Slowly, she began to pull it out. "Aderyn, get one of the large adhesive gauze patches." Leliana needed to wrap this up as soon as she could, Jenna came in dragging the dog, and at some point, Shinoa and Brian showed up, Brian obviously injured. And Leliana needed to finish up before her own head started getting in the way. "I'm almost done, but I'll need help keeping an eye on her once I am, okay? I have to help the others." Sure, she heard Luca mention that he and Warren could help out everyone else, but honestly, seeing Luca's work on Andy's shoulder, removing bullets should be left to more delicate hands. Leliana didn't have a good example for Warren, but...call it a gut feeling.

Aderyn barely noticed the others as they entered the room. She was transfixed by Leliana's work, but did as she was asked with quick hands, giving her the gauze. "I'm to stay with her, then?"

"Yes, keeping an eye on Andy, and the people Hector had been attending to. I just need help making sure everyone is still breathing, something goes wrong, you notice something weird, you tell me immediately." Leliana's didn't leave her work one Andy, talking around the flashlight in her mouth proving not to be too difficult as that bullet was slowly freed from Andy's side. The moment it was above the skin, she quickly placed it to the side, grabbing more gauze in the same instant. She pressed the gauze to the bullet wound, pressing down. The bleeding had slowed of course but freeing the bullet would allow it to pick back up again. "Okay, I'm going to be helping Colt next, so I need you to clean the tweezers. Wash them off there in the sink, then find an alcohol pad or some rubbing alcohol and clean them some more."

"I can do that." Aderyn followed her directions. The instruction was calming, somehow, as was the cool water from the sink. The hot water didn't seem to be working. Her eyes wide, she delivered the tweezers to Leli, studying her. "Do you think they'll all be okay?"

"Yep...If Luca doesn't cut something Jenna's arm needs," Leliana replied, voice trailing off as she glanced to Luca helping Jenna. He really should have asked for equipment. "Everyone is gonna be okay, we'll make sure of it." She just had to make sure that nobody who didn't know what the hell they were doing tried to fix something they couldn't. Once more, she pulled blood-soaked gauze away from the bullet wound, pulling more free gauze and this time, neatly place it on the wound. She then quickly unwrapped the adhesive gauze patch and pressed it over the bullet wound and the gauze. The headache, her eyesight going in an out of focus, the slight shake of her hand, the fact she hadn't eaten today; Leliana knew she couldn't keep going on forever. "Okay, that's all I can do, for now, I need you to keep an eye on her, on Tre, Owen. Something happens to any of them, you tell me...and if they turn, you get Luca." She looked to Aderyn as she snapped her gloves off with the intention of getting a new pair, "No matter what."

"I'm not going to let anyone.... eat us." Aderyn trailed off, and gave her head a hard shake. She, too, took off her gloves and put them aside. The blood on her hands - Tre's and Andy's- was beginning to dry. It peeled off with the gloves, flaking onto the floor, and she wiped the remainder on her jeans. "I'm glad you're here."

"Good, that would be a really dumb way to die," Leliana added, grabbing what she needed to treat Colt, "Alright sweetheart if you start feeling panic again, deep breaths. Nobody in here is gonna let anything to happen to you, and you need to help us," Leliana told her, "I've gotta hurry, we can talk some later, alright?" And with that, Leliana stepped away.

Rumble Fish (Colt) Brax (Luca/Tre) Togy (Nile) @TreForce (Warren) The Mad Queen (Jenna)​

 

[King Vioogra]

Ivan continued taking pot shots at the hazmats inhabiting their neck of the woods, some of them hitting and others not. As most of the other mercenaries fell around him at the hands of the other lodgers. After making sure the push would go as planned, the Russian descended the hill he’d been perched on and looked around. Strewn on the ground were bright yellow bodies, the one outlier being the old man who’d been the one to save them from the middle school at the beginning of all this mess. As he approached the man’s lifeless corpse, a short sigh escaped him as he knelt down, gently pressing the man’s eyes closed and resting a hand on his lifeless chest. “Отдыхай, брат, твоя битва окончена.” He spoke in a quiet tone as he looked down at the corpse before him. This was real, people were going to die. Once he was finally able to look away, he saw a neon yellow suit begin making its way away from the lodge. With a short and deep growl, the Russian rose, moving the rifle to his back before breaking into a sprint after the remaining hazmat-toting murderer. His breath quickened like a beast in the middle of a hunt as he closed the distance between himself and the seemingly stunned yellow individual. Their bodies impacted roughly as Ivan tackled the soldier, slamming his body to the ground as a panicked yelp escaped the man now below the Russian’s knee. Without a moment's hesitation, he knelt down and whispered into the soldier’s ear, “Your friend showed mine mercy. I do not intend on returning the favor.” As he finished that statement, he rose, kicking the soldier in the stomach to keep him down before taking the rifle from his back and mounting the other once again. With a deep breath, he pressed the barrel of his rifle against the man’s torso, switching to automatic before pressing hard on the trigger. Not a sound escaped him as the repeated bangs of automatic gunfire filled the forest around them, followed by a few short clicks, and a long exhale. With the blood of god knows how many things covering his arms, face, and shirt, he moved away from the soldier, resting on his knees and let his rifle sit in front of him, letting his hands from it as he caught his breath.​

 

[Brax]

“You’re next, you walking jar of mayonnaise.”

Luca put out his cigarette in the sink, eyes peering over to Michael. The man took a moment to survey the kitchen, looking for a spot on the tile that was unhindered by any furniture. If he was going to lay this beached whale down on the ground then he needed as much space as necessary for him to fit. It wasn’t as though the man would be able to sit, hell he could probably barely walk given the position of his gunshot wound. Once Luca found an appropriate spot just outside the kitchen, he pointed at the ground while simultaneously taking a swig of Warren’s alcohol.

After having miraculously shot a hazzie in the knee, Michael felt proud of himself. After a week and something of the zombie apocalypse, he finally managed to hit his target… Well kind off, since he was actually aiming for the chest but whatever; the hazzie was down and he saved half of his ass from getting shot, so Michael saw this as an absolute win!

But the adrenaline rush that helped him achieve all of this went out as fast as it had arrived, and within a few seconds Michael went from standing victorious because of his knee shot to almost dropping to the ground in pain due to how much his ass hurt right.

He tried to not sit down because he knew that if he did, then he would be in for a bad time for his ass. The neckbeard snapped out of his internal struggle when Luca told him he was next while he began to point at the ground "w-Wait what?" Was the scary mafia looking guy about to operate his ass or something? Could they really not get any of the certified doctors at the lodge to do this?

The Italian’s eyebrows fluttered in fury, the bridge of his nose wrinkling as those two words escaped Michael’s lips. It wasn’t difficult to get the capo mad. He was an impatient man and people usually took care of how they approached him. Being asked stupid questions at a time that did not call for it was one of Luca’s biggest pet peeves. There wasn’t time for him to inquire about alternative options, or be afraid. Through clenched teeth the man responded.

“I swear to everything in this world that you love that if you don’t get down FACE FIRST ON THE FLOOR I WILL FUCKING END YOU. NOW.”

Now, Michael has been scared of Luca up until this point, but when angrily ordered to lie down on the floor, he was finally not afraid… he was terrorized; the intensity in which he had just ordered him that was so much that the neckbeard dropped dropped down to the moments after telling the scary looking Italian guy "s-Sir yes sir!".

While on the floor, Michael considered if maybe he should have said something, like stand up for himself or something among those lines. God, why couldn't the Mexican doctor or Leliana the hot blonde nurse chick operate him instead. Hell, Michael would even accept to be operated by Kypher the boy genius instead.

As Michael spread himself out onto the floor, Luca couldn’t help but stare at bewilderment. This type of work was degrading. The man had festered on the idea of withdrawing the bullet from this man’s asscheek to the point that he even considered letting the fat one die. Before anything, the blade of the knife needed to be sterilized. Mixing Jenna’s blood within Michael’s own was a recipe for disaster, one that could be easily avoided. So, Luca originally stepped away to take the necessary precautions, but returned with an actual scalpel after inquiring about its whereabouts.

“You’re going to be sleeping face-down for quite some time. I hope that gut can support your weight, much like it does your daily intake.”

Without warning, Luca plunged the scalpel into the fat man’s ass - carefully. He fished out the bullet with a poke, before dousing the affected area with hydrogen peroxide. This was followed by gauze, held in place with medical tape. Once he had finished, the Italian turned from the man to get visual confirmation on some others. Owen was resting, his surgery having been completed in what seemed to be record time. Andy was nearby, in similar condition but still being worked on. Tre’s condition was unknown but in Hector’s hands, he had a chance. This man was no joke, rather, a blessing for the group to have ran into.

Luca picked his rifle up off of the ground and walked out of the kitchen without another word. He walked outside through use of the sliding doors, in time to see Ivan moving forward on the horizon. They had pushed back most of the soldiers. Curious to see where the Russian was going, Luca’s feet led him forward - where he would slowly trail behind, following him to see where it was he would lead the Italian to.

​

The first sight that the capo came across was the dead body of Ray. Light blue eyes peered down at the corpse. These soldiers had effectively found out where they were hiding, hurt practically half of the lodge’s residents and took the life of the cook in the process of dying out. Luca didn’t make a sound, nor did he move. He stood there staring down at the man, lost in his own thoughts. Ray was not someone whom he was close to, but chances were he deserved a death much better than what he received.

Luca hoped it was painless. The trauma to his head confirmed this.

When gunshots rang throughout the air, Luca’s eyes snapped upward to the direction that Ivan had headed. In the distance, his sitting form became visible. Obviously Ivan was exhausted, his gun resting in his lap as he sat among the wreckage. There wasn’t much time to be wasted before zombies started flooding the area, given the noise. So, Luca continued walking until he got close enough to the Russian.

“We need to go back before the reanimated find us.” Blue eyes peered down at Ivan, as he extended a hand to help him back up to his feet.

Interactions: Hyped_Taco King Vioogra
Mentioned: Maj shadowz1995 The Mad Queen

 

[Rumble Fish]

Part 1 of 2
​

All Colt could see was red as she was sat down in a chair with a pained groan. Blood trickled from her head, blood that was not her own. She did not know who it had come from. Her fingertips, nose and leg were cold, like they had been dipped in ice and her breathing was sharp and pained. Her heavily bruised chest jerked with every effort to breathe and she squeaked from the effort and piercing pain. It was as if that bastard was still standing on her chest. Colt grimaced as she felt the disturbing and hot sensation of blood dripping from the bullet wound. She could feel it still in there but, as she had always been the one to be on the field, she knew little to nothing about medicine other than applying pressure on the area until help came. With whatever energy she had left from her crashing adrenaline, she looked around the room. Everywhere, people were injured. Some on the brink of death, she could not see who but at this time it did not matter. Not now.

With a heavy groan and muttered profanities, she removed the radio from her pocket and pressed the receiver, hearing it crinkle as it activated. “Ivan.” She spoke with gritted teeth and a slurred tone as her grip on sanity slipped, “Shoot the dead. In the head. I want,” she squeaked from the pain, “Nothing to survive.” She added before the device dropped from her grip as her head tilted back, staring towards the ceiling. How was this real? It couldn’t be…

"Colt," Leliana said as she approached with the bag of medical supplies, examining the vet. She was in bad shape, but still conscious and from what Leliana could tell, lucid for the most part. One leg was missing though, and Leliana didn't know if it had just fallen off, or had broke. The other was bleeding. "I don't know how to tell ya this, but your tap-dancing career might just be over," The nurse chuckled, grabbing the walkie talkie that Colt dropped. Leliana placed it on the counter that separated the dining room and the kitchen. "Do you know how many are still out there?" Jenna was being shot at when she can through the door, Leliana was sure that they hadn't killed everyone yet, that the Hazzies weren't retreating, she just knew. "One hell of a shit show huh?"

Leliana’s voice cut through the muffled mayhem, causing Colt to open her eyes to look towards the blonde blob that was the nurse in her blurry vision. As she mentioned the end of her much-beloved tap-dancing career, Colt released a snort before swearing under her breath at the pain it caused. She tried to keep sitting up. “I…Prefer salsa anyway.” She managed to hiss out before thinking about her next answer. Shakily, she raised a hobo-gloved hand with all fingers raised; five. At least from what she saw outside. Dropping her arm, she looked around. The effects of adrenaline had worn off. The weight of everything hit Colt like a freight train. The sight of maimed casualties, distressed medical personal and worried bystanders felt eerily familiar. The vet bit her lower lip and her eyes began to shine with building tears. As Leliana commented on their state of affairs, all Colt could do was nod dryly and squeeze her eyes shut. The memories, sensory overload and agony within her shot limb overwhelmed the Marine. She had seen Leliana look around, possibly for the prosthetic. Her body shook and her eyes clenched in an attempt to stop herself from breaking down “I broke it.”

"You'll have to teach me some time," Leliana added, looking around for the second belt she had grabbed. She knew it would come in handy. It wasn't too far away, a simple slightly dramatic stretch and the cloth belt was in her hands, Leliana went about quickly locating the wound on Colt's leg. Three inches above the gunshot, just like Ralph's knee, Leliana tightened it. Maybe the wound wasn't bad enough for Colt to bleed out, but until she was sure, Leliana wasn't going to risk it. At the sound of Colt's voice, the all to the familiar tone of someone trying not to break down, her eyes went up. "Hey, hey, it's okay Colt, it's not your fault," Leliana told her, voice a little stern but hopefully comforting, "And before you go blaming yourself, stop. None of this is your fault, and you got us back so we could help." She looked back to the bag of medical supplies, digging out a pair of gloves to put on. "And your bear impression was spot on, great job." Leliana could still hear the war cry, that terrifying, terrifying war cry. "Alright, I'm gonna guess you've been shot before, so I'm only gonna say this once, no drinking. Not until I get the bleeding stopped alright?"

“It’s not that.” Colt shook her head, desperate to fight back the overwhelming urge to erupt in tears knowing such a display would do little to nothing to assure anyone and only make her look even weaker than people already assumed. “I couldn’t do more. It’s just,” she opened her eyes only briefly enough to look around the room, “It shouldn’t ‘ave ‘appened… None of this.” She dropped her head again with a slight groan at the tightening pressure of the belt. As the nurse mentioned that war cry Colt had released, she just allowed the corner of her mouth to twitch. Her throat still hurt from the effort that had taken but at least it had gone noticed.

However as Leliana then gave her the instruction she had dreaded to hear since she had realised she had been injured, the veteran groaned. She knew it was coming but that did not make it any easier. She had seen Luca and Warren drinking as she came in. “Lucky fuckers.” She spat, bitterness dripping from her lips before sighing. What could she do? Nothing. “How long?"

"Just until the bleeding completely stops, I promise. If the damage isn't too bad, you shouldn't have to wait more than a few hours at least, until tomorrow at the most," Leliana explained, grabbing a pair of scissors. She pinched up some of the cloth from Colt's pants and began to cut the bloody cloth free. "I guess someone is gonna have to go shopping for clothes once everything settles down, don't ya think?" She said, dropping the piece of pant leg on the floor. "Colt, you're right, one of this should have happened, but we can't change the fact that it did. We can just make sure that this doesn't happen again," she said, grabbing a nearby chair to put in front of Colt. "This is gonna hurt," She said, gently placing her hands on the bottom of Colt's calf and ankle, before lifting her leg so that it was propped up on the chair. "I'll be right back, I need to get a towel," Leliana said, standing up and quickly moving back into the kitchen. She grabbed a few towels from the stack Aderyn had brought her, and a bottle of water, before she returned to Colt. Placing a towel on the floor, she opened the bottle of water, tempted to take a sip or two. But then it wouldn't be clean anymore. She slowly poured the water over Colt's calf, watching to see what came out of the wound. Some dirt, blood, something she thought was a bullet fragment. Turns out it was a really small rock. "What type of gun was the Hazzie using, a rifle?"

Colt hummed mournfully, which then turned into a growl of pain as Liliana put her leg up to check on it closer. She sighed as the woman mentioned that she was right. The woman kept her eyes shut, knowing that opening them would simply cause her to break down in tears. As much as she wanted to release it all, and to get it all out she knew she couldn’t. Since Sasha had died, Colt hadn’t cried aside from that one panicked turn in the hunting shop. However, that was out of panic and not grief or any kind of emotion. Even alone she hadn’t despite desperately wanting to. With a deep sigh she finally opened her eyes, tears leaking from them as she looked to the nurse as she then poured water onto her wound.
Colt managed to suppress a profane fuelled rant at the water being poured all over her wound. It took her a moment to answer the woman’s question about what kind of firearm was used in the assault. “Pistol.” She corrected. She had not seen the weapon itself, she would know it’s sound anywhere. Glancing around, she reached into her holster, pulling out the colt.45 (which she emptied to not alarm anyone) and simply held it while rubbing a hand across the barrel back and forth. She needed some sort of comfort. The raging pain in her limb triggered that dreaded sense of déjà vu of being pulled into a truck, barely conscious, light being shone in her eye and the experience of being practically dead with no other abilities than blinking and breathing. “Y’sure some people don’ need ya more?” she asked weakly before noticing Aderyn assisting the nurse, flashing the younger girl a small wave before turning to her gaze to the ceiling. Maybe staring at the ceiling rather than a person would stop her from exploding.

"Hector stabilized Tre and Owen, and now Warren is looking after him. Luca had Jenna handled, and thank God because I'm too pissed to handle her. Brian is injured, but I'll be able to take care of you quickly before getting to him, it's alright." Leliana was gonna neglect to tell Colt that she was a higher priority anyway based on personal bias and Leliana's suspicion. Brian's treatment may be lacking in the manners department. "A pistol, that's good. Well, not good but better than a rifle, might be why it's not a through and through," She muttered, clicking the flashlight on, and sticking the end in her mouth, she began to examine the wound properly. It was deeper than Andy's, which meant that the hazzie was closer or maybe he was using a high powered pistol. But no bone fragments gave Leliana enough reason to believe that Colt, despite now down a leg, was going to be back on her foot once the bullet wound healed. Leliana was having a hard time locating the bullet, however, gently pressing against her leg, Leliana could definitely feel it. "Good news and bad news," Leliana said, taking the flashlight out of her mouth, "I can definitely get the bullet out, but it's deep. I can't see it, so it might take a few tries. A few painful tries, so..." She paused, turning away to the duffle bag, quickly digging through to find one of the bottles of painkillers she knew they had. "Here." She pulled out a bottle of white pills, and opened it, dumping two into her hand before handing it to Colt. "Take one of them. If it gets to be too much, take the other."

Colt listened to the woman describe their current situation. The news that Owen and Tre were stable was a bigger relief than she could ever describe. She knew from experience that it would take a long time for them to be completely out of the woods but the knowledge that they were inside, safe and being looked after was a great reassurance. But as she mentioned Jenna and being angry, Colt blinked a few times. “Wait Jenna, what-?”

She was cut off as Leliana spoke up again focusing on the wound on her leg. She just kept silent as she spoke, knowing it was better to do that than to interrupt. The veteran sighed and held her breath as she could feel her pressing her leg for the bullet. “Fuckfuckfuck-Fuck!” Colt snapped at one particularly sharp pain. As she was given the pills for the pain, the woman took no time in thinking about it before taking them. Despite the rushing tears and clear struggle to not cry like some newborn, Colt shook her head a few times, her body shuddering a bit in an attempt to psych herself up for the hell that she was about to go through in getting this damn bullet out. “Pfft-right, okay, let’s do it. I’m a fuckin’ Marine fur fuck sake, I’ve taken fuckin’ worse than some measly fuckin’ bullet. Just get the fucker out!” At this point, she did not know whether or not she was trying to assure her self or Leli or both. Though, what she said was true. Her missing limb and multiple scarring, some Leliana could clearly see due to the exposure after having her trouser leg cut off.

"Instead of coming inside, I saw her raging outside while dealing with Andy, and she got shot. Twice, she's down an arm and now I don't have any help." She paused for a moment, "No, I have help, but Aderyn shouldn't have to help me keep a woman from dying, Luca should be watching our backs, making sure nobody gets inside, Warren too." As she explained, Leliana put on new gloves since they were no longer as clean as they could have been. She grabbed the tweezers and the flashlight that she put back in her mouth, and she got ready to try and pull the bullet out. She held up one finger, then a second, then finally her thumb as she quickly grabbed onto Colt's leg to keep her from moving as the tweezers dipped into the wound. She couldn't tell exactly how deep it was, it took her a few seconds to touch something that maybe felt like a bullet, but it was slightly to the left of where she had ended up. Slowly, she moved the tweezers back, readjusted, and moved them closer to the bullet. "Almost done, I promise," Leliana told Colt, finally feeling the bullet between the tweezer arms, she was finally able to pull it out. "There we go."

Colt listened as Leliana explained what had happened with Jenna outside. The woman’s thick brows furrowed at this news. Why did she not just hide like she had ordered her to? Or assist Leliana in helping Ralph inside? Anything other than getting herself shot like that. “Goddamn-” without thinking, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the hip-flask before instantly pausing upon feeling the cold metal as she pulled it out. “Fuck!” She growled and practically threw it on the ground in frustration. The fact that was her first instinct only deepened the veteran’s self-loathing. It was just going to be a few hours! With a huff, she braced herself for what she expected to be a painful experience.

It was. As Leliana felt around her wound, Colt’s head flipped back and forth and she bit down onto the collar of the jacket, furiously suppressing the urge to lash out. The fact she simply could not escape, despite everything only worsened her fear. But if she was to lash that leg out, they’d be down a medic. When the bullet was finally out, the squirming ceased and Colt flopped in the chair, her breathing laboured and rapid. “Thanks… it was just mildly irritating me.” She spoke breathily and through her teeth before going quiet again. Her mind was still plagued with grief over their situation and everything surrounding it. The fact these... things would come to a lodge of mostly unarmed civilians, maim many and slaughter an old man for no reason she could understand depressed the veteran more than she already was. Once again, a few tears fell that were hardly wiped away with her sleeve. She had to keep it down.

Leliana chuckled a little, "It's alright Colt, it's out, and you'll be able to drink whatever you have in that flask. I won't even bother you about it," the nurse said, grabbing some gauze to press against the bleeding wound. "I don't think that there is going to be any permanent damage, but that remains to be seen once you're able to put weight on it. Hector should be able to tell more than I can, but he's out of commission too. I'm gonna check on him, see what Warren did, make sure his orbital socket isn't broken," She explained, briefly pulling the gaze away to check on the process before she pressed down again. One hand moved to the belt, pulling at it to allow more blood to flow. The gauze not getting soaked immediately was a good sign. "He didn't hit anything important, the bleeding will stop sooner rather than later."

Interaction: FireMaiden
Mentions: Brax Maj shadowz1995 King Vioogra The Mad Queen BloodThunder27 Meredith

 

[Rumble Fish]

Part 2 of 2
​

Colt could do little more than sigh and nod at Leliana's words. It seemed more people were injured than they had initially thought. The amount of people who had been left out of commission due to the violence was alarming. And even if the people outside firing were effective, what if one snuck past? They clearly would not hold any type of code of honour that prevented them from slaughtering wounded people. They killed an old man in cold blood, they would have no problem doing the same to any casualty in this room. As Leli worked, Colt shook and, with a grunt, brought a hand up to her face as her shoulders quivered as every inhale was dangerously close to becoming a sob. Colt turned her head away, staring towards the kitchen. She had to look out.

"Can I ask you something?" Leliana spoke softly, glancing up at Colt before she exchanged blood-soaked gauze for more clean pieces, "I'm just gonna ask. When Andy wakes up and gets better, would you be willing to help me talk to her?" She needed to talk to one of the people in charge, really figure out what the hell they were going to do. Nobody would be able to keep going without medical supplies or people who could defend the lodge, and they sure as shit couldn't move into the city. They needed a plan, one that Colt could maybe help her come up? The barracks we're almost done, someone could set up alarms or maybe they could set up guard towers. "We don't have the supplies to do this every week, we don't have the manpower either and I'm terrified about what all this noise is gonna bring. I know it's gonna be fine, it will be, it has to be because if it won't then what's the point?" She seemed to freeze, realizing she said more than she meant to. "Sorry, I'm just really worried and you may be the only person here I don't mind telling."

Colt blinked as the nurse spoke to her, lamenting her worries about the future of the lodge. The woman sighed gruffly and continued to look away, not wanting her to see the tears flowing from her eyes despite the lack of sobs or outward signs of distress. Leliana was right. They did not have the resources to keep this up. The Hazmats knew where they were now and they also knew how ill-prepared they were for any form of assault. She knew how people like this operated. The veteran sighed.

“We’ve shot ourselves in the foot.” She responded finally, “We’ve left no survivors. No doubt there’s more of ‘em creepin’ round these parts and will quickly realise what’s ‘appened. They’ll come again. Soon and before we’re ready for ‘em. Not to mention Things would know where we are now.” She sighed softly, they were heartless and with no conscious so they would quite easily attack them while they were still vulnerable. Colt sighed deeply, drumming her fingers against her gun, feeling the engravement of the horse on it.

“We can’t stay here. But we gotta wait. Once I’m up, I’ll be ‘avin’ Brian and Ivan with me on patrols. We gotta keep them people safe while they recover.” Colt spoke lowly only for the nurse to hear as she briefly glanced to the other casualties, “The city's a no go, and Christ knows what's out there in the country. Cannibal farmers probably. We just gotta strengthen our defences till then. I'll think of something, ya just worry 'bout yerself and gettin' these folks back on their feet.” Her eye twitched. The only reason she knew that stereotype existed was Sasha's encyclopaedic knowledge of zombie tropes.
"Oh geez, cannibal farmers would be the worst," Leliana chuckled, wrinkling her nose at the same time. "I don't really want to leave, I know it's not safe, but we still have running water here, I don't think many places would have that and if they did, the hazzies would be holding it. Or they would be overrun with the infected." Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared at her hands, her forearms eventually. She was covered in Andy's blood, she could feel it on her face and her shirt. And she knew Andy had gotten some in her hair. "Colt, I have a feeling that we were maybe sold out. We haven't had a problem with the hazzies finding us, and don't you think the timing is suspicious? You and Ivan and me were all gone, the best guns and a nurse, I think that's really fun timing don't ya think?" She wasn't going to dive into her reasoning, not yet, she still had one more person to talk to. And just the idea that Leliana had come up with was pissing her off. "By the way, you should know I've made my job do worry about everyone. Looking around, I'd say I'm justified." Once more blood-soaked gauze was exchanged for clean gauze. "Once I dress this, that doesn't mean the bleeding has stopped. I'll check on it in a few hours."

“I don’t either.” Colt sighed heavily and shakily as she contemplated what Leliana had said. What could they do? Many were hurt and only a few people could not actively protect this place. But one phrase spoken caused the woman to raise her head slowly, hand to her chin. Sold out? Could there seriously be a mole among themselves? She was right, the timing was simply too convenient. She turned to the nurse, brow furrowed in concern and anger. She wanted to shout, scream, demand whoever it could potentially be to answer for themselves, but she knew better. Provoking such panic after such an attack was stupid. Instead, she moved closer to the nurse.

“Yer right. I don’ like it.” She scanned her green and sore eyes around the room again, “Here, don’ be talkin’ ‘bout to anyone else. No’ now. We’ll look into it at the right moment.” She spoke as the woman cleaned her gauze. In the pause in their conversation, Colt put a shaky hand onto her face, covering her eyes. The sheer thought of there being a potential traitor in the community, along what had just happened was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The veteran released an involuntary squeak and her shoulders jumped as the floodgates opened. Her chest hurt from the effort, only making her cry harder while suppressing as much as possible. Despite not knowing him, she could not hold back in mourning for Ray simply for the loss of a good life. Ray did not want this, he did not deserve what happened. And the worry that Owen, Tre, Andy and God knows who else could meet the same fate only worsened her sobs. Inhaling deeply, she paused long enough to speak. “Okay… Thanks.”

"Colt, I wish I promise you I would keep my mouth shut, but I'm not known to hold my tongue when I'm angry. At least when I'm in a bad mood," Leliana said, resisting the urge to glance over to Brian. Once again, she pulled gauze away from Colt's leg, observing the bleeding for a moment, before grabbing another gauze patch. Then, she grabbed one of the rolls, and some medical tape, placing the gauze square over the hole. Holding it in place, she wrapped it with more glaze from the roll, finishing off what was left of it, then quickly taped it down. "No extreme movements, no drinking, and no trying to leave the chair. For now, at least, I'll be back to check on it later." She should tell Colt about Brian, about what he had told her. But there was no sure way to know it was him right? It could have been any of them, and while she didn't think it was Colt, it didn't rule out anyone. For the moment, Leliana decided to keep her mouth shut, at least until after she had patched the CIA agent up, and could ask him questions herself. Then Luca could have him.

Colt did not respond much further than a nod and a sigh. She understood the nurse's anger but could only hope she would do what had asked. More tension would be nothing but trouble. But the veteran was too drained both physically and emotionally to attempt to argue. As Leliana advised her against moving, she nodded but paused as she then said she would be back later. "Okay." She answered, her voice still shaky but trying to remain stable, "No offence, but I wanna be alone for a bit." She added. It was a good thing they were further from the rest, last thing she needed was for them to see her breaking down, and they needed the nurse more than she did. All she could hope was that she could contain her anger long enough to patch everyone up before ripping into whoever she suspected. Meanwhile, she could begin the process of deducting herself. Squealing to the Hazzies and have them attack unarmed and (mostly) innocent civilians; what would they hope to gain? She didn't understand, then again, she had stopped trying a long time ago. Humans were bastards; it would take a lot to change that perception.

Interaction: FireMaiden
Mentions: Maj BloodThunder27 Brax

 

[BloodThunder27]

Shinoa, Brian & Lelianna - Secrets Revealed
A Collaboration between myself & FireMaiden​

After a couple of minutes out in the cold, both Brian and Shinoa finally reached the lodge, back in relative safety once again. Unfortunately, Brian was hurt while fighting off Hazmats, having sustained a couple of knife wounds on his leg and his torso. He was lucky to not have been shot, having been too close for the Hazmats to use their Rifles. Brian also had a few bruises, but his face was unscathed. But carrying an infant and an injured man who was heavier then her at the same time was definitely a challenge for the young teen, especially since she wasn't finished recovering from childbirth. As they got back inside, Brian nearly passes out due to blood loss from the sustained wounds, but with every ounce of strength that she had remaining, Shinoa kept him from hitting the floor, but unfortunately had the brunt of his weight. "Leli, I hope you're not busy, we have another one over here."

"I just finished with Colt, help me move him into the den," Leliana said picking up the medical supplies, swinging the bag over her shoulder. Her arm went under the one Shinoa didn't have ahold of, putting it over her shoulders as she began to help him back up to his feet. "Drag 'em Mr.Agent, we can't fucking carry you," The nurse warned. She knew he was still conscious, and while sure blood loss had made him weak, he could handle moving a few feet. He was a grown-ass man, a grown-ass man who owed everyone the truth, who owed everyone an apology, and despite what happened, would own Leliana a thank you. He was heavier than he looked, mostly due to dead weight unconscious people seemed to pick up once they lost control of their limbs, she with the help fo Shinoa, managed to get him into the den. The couch she sat him down in front of would keep them safe from bullets, and for the moment they would be out of earshot. "Shinoa you okay?" Leliana asked, giving Brian a once over. "Nobody hurt you?" Leliana needed to get Brian's shirt off, one of his pant legs too, both were too soaked in blood to simply move out of the way. She might have been mad at him, but that didn't mean she got to cut corners.

This wasn't Brian's first rodeo, and it wasn't going to be his last. If anything, he was definitely going to be withered by age. With Lelianna's help, Shinoa helped Brian into the den. Brian did his best to help with the dead weight, but had lost most of his control due to the wounds he had sustained. But now he was lucky to have people helping him, otherwise he'd be bleeding out in the snow. Shinoa was struggling a little, mainly because she had an infant in her arm. Once he was on the couch, Shinoa set little Valerie down on another chair so that she could somewhat help Lelianna with Brian. Mr. Agent? Like...FBI? Shinoa shrugged the thought off before proceeding to remove Brian's vest and unbutton his blood-soaked shirt. "I'm fine. I was just lucky that my baby slept through the entire thing and...if not for him, I'd probably be dying of hypothermia." Before she could say anything else, Valerie woke up and sneezed, startling her Mother. "Oh, so now you finally decide to wake up, did you have a nice nap?" Valerie started crying, so Shinoa quickly used Brian's jacket to wipe off her hands before picking the baby back up. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Shinoa then cradled the infant and prayed that she would stop crying, trying to hush the little one. "I should probably go into another room."

Glancing to the crying child, Leliana sighed briefly. "When was the last time you fed her? Infants need to eat every two hours or so, she might be hungry. And no, going in the other room would just disturb everyone else. Too many injured, and Luca looks really stressed. I don't mind her though." Her attention had turned back to Brian, slowly peeling bloody cloth off a knife wound so she could slide the shirt off completely, leaving it on the ground where it fell. Dark red, but fast bleeding, the knife had gone deep. They would have to keep an eye on him for sepsis, and when she cut the cloth of his pant leg away, the situation wasn't much better. "Dumbass," the nurse muttered, wiping his blood off on her shirt. She grabbed a pair of gloves, quickly sliding them on before she began to dig for a needle and thread. She wasn't going to stitch him just yet, she needed to stop the bleeding, she grabbed some gauze, pressing down on Brian's leg wound, taping it in place, before grabbing more she pressed onto the torso stab wound, applying a good amount of pressure. "Brian, you awake?" She asked curtly, glancing up at hid face before back down at her hands, "Gotta say I'm surprised you got hurt, didn't think your buddies would go and do this to you. But hey, better than getting shot yeah? Like everyone else laying in there?" Her voice was low, but there was a certain bite to it, almost venomous. You wouldn't be able to tell from her face though.

"Last time I fed her...like...right before people started shooting at us?" It was strange to to the young mother that infants needed to be fed frequently, yet they slept more then eighty percent of the time. When Leli said that she didn't mind Valerie, Shinoa smiled a little and quietly sat down in the other chair. "Shhhhhhh, its okay, are you hungry?" She asked, peering down at the infant, before using Brian's jacket to cover up as she untied the ribbon on her robe so that she could feed her little princess. "Yeah, she was hungry. Its also hard to feed her when she's sleeping most of the time." Brian tried hard not to scream when Lelianna pressed against his leg wound. It was clear that he was awake. No passing out from that since it hurt like a bitch. Her comments did leave him mortified, but thankfully there wasn't too many other people in the room. Shinoa heard each and every word loud and clear, but refrained from saying anything since she was more focused on feeding her daughter. "I wouldn't call them that...They've been trying to clamp down on me since night one..." He said, looking straight at Lelianna. "I guess they wanted to give me a slower death..." Concerning Gunshot wounds, he lucked out, as he only got grazed on his arm. "Death by a thousand cuts...Yeah, I guess its better then getting shot."

"Baby's need to be fed every two hours or three hours. You just have to wake her up, " Leliana explained, ignoring what Brian has said for a moment as she pulled the gauze away from his side to check the process of the bleeding before she pressed it back down. Her eyes then met his, anger flooding them as her brows furrowed. "You think I forgot what you told me? I can't keep my promise anymore, not after this. You're a goddamned CIA agent who hired those sons of bitches, I should let you bleed out." She pressed down harder against the knife wound, "But keeping you from dying, giving you to Luca or Colt sounds like a better idea. How can we trust you? We've had no issues with them finding us, and the moment Ivan and Colt are gone, the moment I'm not here to help with any injured, they show up. It was you wasn't it? You fucking told those yellow mother fuckers where we are for what? You wanted to warn your place back? Buy into whatever bullshit story they cooked up?" Her anger was getting harder to keep contained to that room, Leliana was sure someone may have heard her. "You know your secret life wouldn't have been that big of a deal before, I think you waited too long to come clean. I don't think anyone would have really cared before, but now? You better pray Luca is feeling merciful."

Shinoa only nodded when Lelianna explained that Valerie needed to be fed every two or three hours. She did become a little worried thinking that she may have underfed her daughter. "Yeah, I will have to do that then." She responded as she continued to feed Valerie. She turned attention back to her daughter. Brian then came to the realization that he should have kept his mouth shut the entire time instead of spilling beans to Lelianna and Andy. "No, of course I haven't forgotten. When you tell someone something like that...you just gotta pray more then half the time." He said coldly, ignoring the reasonably searing pain of the gauze being pressed against his wound. "And don't get it twisted, you have it backwards, I didn't hire them, my superiors put me in as the middle man." He corrected. "And if I was with them, selling you all out as you claim, I would have left with them, I wouldn't have intervened when you guys were ambushed at the hotel on day one. But I didn't, I haven't said a word to any of them since going rogue. As far as I'm concerned, the CIA has marked me for death. And I get it. I can't be trusted anymore because I have a link to them.. I know that the devil will eventually come for me. I know that a day will come where I have to face him or God for the things that I've done." He then leaned forward where they were literally face to face. "I may have done a lot of bad things, Leli...But getting innocent people killed in cold blood, especially other Americans, will never be one of them."

Because Shinoa was in the room, she had listened to the entire argument, watching awkwardly. "Say what you will, Leli...but...I believe him." The teen mother took a stand. "If he wasn't on our side, he would have had me and Valerie killed." She then looked at Brian, before hearing Valerie whine as the infant reached out towards the middle-aged man. "No sweetie, he still has too much blood on him. Maybe later." Valerie responded by yawning. "Anyway Leli, I think you should cut him a little bit of slack. If he had really sold us out, more of us would be dead...and he wouldn't have been angered...or affected...by seeing Ray die..." She began to frown before grabbing another gauze from the first aid kit and pressing it on the graze he had on his neck. "If Luca wants to kill me...he can try." He said coldly.

She was silent. The type of silence that comes before someone says something really hurtful, the type of silence that makes the air tense. Awkward almost, uncomfortable to sit in, blue eyes focused on Brian's side as her jaw clenched. "And I don't believe him. I don't trust him. Andy, Tre, Hector, Owen, Colt, Ralph, Jenna, they're all hurt. They could die, we all could because they finally found us. And how did they do that? Sure, maybe they got lucky, but I don't think it's that it." She pulled the gauze away, discarding it grabbing the needle and thread she has already gotten out. She prepped the needle, threading it quickly, the needle pierced his skin before she gave him a warning, slowly pulling it through. She watched the skin come back together before she doubled back to make the knot. "You may have been a middle man, but hey, doesn't mean you can't have connections." She paused for a moment, finishing the first knot, Leliana rethreaded and pushed the needle through again. "Don't call me Leli."

Shinoa looked at Lelianna with disbelief. The tense vibe made the young mother uneasy. She then continued to hold her daughter close and only hoped she could reason with Lelianna. "I know...But I doubt he gave us away. Why wait till now? Why not do it on night one? While we were all sleeping...or while I was in labor and about to give birth?" The young mother frowned as her infant yawned again and closed her eyes. "But we were able to push back when it came to shove. Most...Soldiers...tend to be thorough. What's going down in Aurora after the initial outbreak was like a clean-up mission and they're doing a final sweep, because missing just one person that is linked to the incident could implicate them. You know, no witnesses? Take no prisoners? And given how well guarded all the roads to the city were...I doubt very many people were smart enough to use the terrain to their advantage." Brian only glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Look, I know I sound crazy and what I'm saying sounds like I am too invested into Hollywood, but...I don't know, I just don't think Brian would sell us out. Because he would have gunned at us too. Maybe even kill Colt and Luca in their sleep. If he wanted to take us out...he'd play it smarter then he is now." She looked at the man once more. "And to be fair with you, the middleman always gets the most shit. But I'd like to give your superiors the benefit of the doubt."

Shinoa then set Valerie down on a nearby chair and grabbed a blanket, folding it into a makeshift pillow for the baby to support her head as she slept. "They chose you to be the middleman because you're one of the best. And the Hazmats' Employers are probably after something that they don't want going public. So of course they'd send one of their best operatives to handle. But they broke a lot of rules doing so, because CIA Agents are not allowed to operate on domestic soil. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Alright, Shinoa, I get what you're trying to do, but think of it like this," Leliana said. "If they attacked at night, it would only be a few minutes before all of us were awake, armed, and fighting back. If they attacked while you were in labor, same fucking story. So, if someone is going to attack a group of potentially well-armed people, paranoid and who've recently been getting a lot of practice with their aim, you want the advantage of numbers. Or at least firepower," Leliana paused for a moment to start a new stitch, before carrying on.

"Both is better. So you would wait until you knew that some people are gone or unable to fight. Colt and Ivan are former military, which means they are better with combat than the rest of us. I'm a nurse, Jenna is a veterinarian, that's taking away two people with medical experience, and the unknown potential of Nile and Cletus. Six people gone, all who know how to use a gun or at least understand the basic principles of it. What's left back home then? Kids who shouldn't have to deal with this, two people who don't really know how to handle a gun, Micheal, it's the perfect time to strike. Sure, nightfall gives you the advantage of limited light, but in those suits, they'd basically be glowing neon signs. And I do believe that he doesn't want to see you or any of the kids get hurt, but the rest of us are fair game." She glanced back to Shinoa, "That's the way I would play it. And for the record, you're not pervasive enough to change my mind. I mean come on, really think about it. The timing, how lucky they got catching you guys off guard. The timing is suspicious, he hasn't fold everyone, he's trying to gain the trust of a select few so this exact situation happens. A divide in the group, that would ultimately lead to us all being killed or captured." Or the city being bombed, them all being killed in their sleep, the possibilities were endless. "Brian will just have to prove himself, but as I said, I can't keep my promise anymore."

Shinoa couldn't deny that Lelianna wasn't wrong. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Definitely outgunned because the Hazmats had better equipment and armaments. "I wasn't trying to persuade you. Yes, we were outnumbered, we were definitely outgunned and only half of us know how to use a gun, let alone fire at a person. The timing of the attack was convenient, I won't even deny that. BUT its not like the yellow suits knew that you and every able bodied fighter was leaving for scavenger missions, scouting, etcetera. Brian knows that if he had told all of us right off the get-go, the group would be way more divided then it is going to be. But if you're not going to trust him, no one else will either. And if you knew, why would the rest of the group trust you as well? They'll probably think you were in on it to save your own skin, which I would like to believe is completely untrue by the way. Paranoia is going to divide us, I'm not going to sugar-coat if you think that's what I'm doing. Like you, I'm stating the facts, the likeliness of what will happen next. If Brian fesses up now, Luca will definitely kill him and then Colt will leave his corpse for the Zombies. Not only will killing a Government Agent look bad for us, but our chances of living after this, even escaping Aurora, telling our story to the American Public, will go down the drain. Our credibility will die with him...and Doctor Fisher. THEN the rest of us will be fair game."

"By the time we have the chance to tell anyone, the whole world will be infected, gone. We're already fair game." Leliana spat, "You have any idea how fast diseases spread? Aurora was overrun in a matter of hours, it's been two weeks since the outbreak, America should know by now." She still wasn't ready to tell everyone about her theories, she wanted to talk to Hector still to Ralph in more detail, but nobody seemed to understand the basic fact that these things spread, or they were choosing ignorance to pretend everything was fine once they got out. "Them killing everyone is an attempt to keep it contained but hey they are human after all something is bound to slip through the cracks, and the who process starts all the fuck back over." How was it so hard to understand why she was angry? "If the government cared, or hell, was actually able to do anything they wouldn't send in help. They'd firebomb the whole city, try to kill whatever this is by exposing it to heat it couldn't possibly withstand, by themselves time to either get the fuck out or maybe try and fix it. But that whole, exposing the hazzies plan, it's not going to work. And besides," she looked Brian in the eyes, "Why the fuck would they care about a middle man?" Another stitch was finished, the needle once more rethreaded and pressed into his skin. Leliana was regretting her decision of letting Shinoa stay, that kid didn't seem fo get the bigger picture. "This isn't paranoia for the record, I'd say it's justified anger and suspicion if I was paranoid he wouldn't be getting stitches. If you're not happy with what I'm going to do, stay in here and defend him then." She looked to Shinoa, "And I didn't tell because I did trust him. I trusted him, and the idea that he would tell everyone, but he's run out of time. I am not going to let a potential traitor keep a secret like that. And who knows," Leliana turned back fo finish the last knot for his torso wound, quickly bandaging it, "They might not care."

Shinoa was on her last line of defense. Thinking over the conversation, it wasn't long until she started feeling childish and irrational. "I can't stop you." She shook her head before looking back at Valerie. She was in no position to fight, still weak from childbirth. Briefly, she looked back at her daughter. "I may not agree with your choice, but your mind is set, there's no changing it." She proceeded to scoop up Valerie. "I've done what I could for you, Brian. I'm sorry. If they really don't care, you might luck out. If not...tell Ray I miss him." The young mother then quietly left the room to go back upstairs. Brian was silent the entire time, both surprised and grateful that someone actually stuck up for him, believed in him. "Well, if I die. I die. I'm more then ready to face God...or the Devil...For everything that I've done." He regretted not saying anything on night one, and now he was most likely going to pay for it with his life.

"Secrets get you hurt Brian," Leliana sighed, "And because I care about the people here, I can't let the possibility of your secret put anyone else in danger any longer. I really did hope that you would come out and tell everyone sooner." Voice still stern, angry, there was something genuine about it. She didn't say anything else to Shinoa as the girl left, eyes following her for a moment before she looked back to the needle she was cleaning. "You really think he's going to kill you?" Rethreaded, Leliana removed the gauze from his leg and began the first stitch. "Fair. Maybe you'll be fine, but letting a 17-year-old speak for you instead of trying to convince me of something else isn't going to help your case. It's not going to help you with Luca either." The stab wound on his leg didn't need as many stitches as the on on his chest, so Leliana was done quickly. It was covered with clean gauze, and he was all set. "Don't move. You'll rip the stitches out and bleed to death."

"Yeah, I know." He responded. "And I get it. Actions have consequences. I knew my sins and secrets would catch up to me eventually. The last person I told was Andy, but she didn't really care and it was a little discouraging." Even though he was a ruthless assassin, Brian still retained his humanity...and was still a human being, not a full-on killing machine that the CIA tried to mold him into. "If he wants me dead, so be it. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of hiding. And if I'm gonna die, I'd rather see it coming. Its better then constantly trying to live when I have to look over my shoulder every five minutes." Brian knew that death would come for him sooner or later, but it would seem sooner given everything that has transpired over the last two weeks. He had always thought he would go down picking a fight with someone who is stronger then he is. In a way, he was right. "No one's ever really stood up for me before, so I was just baffled to tell you the truth." He took a deep breath as Lelianna continued stitching up his wounds. "And its not like you'd listen to me or believe me anyway, not after how many people you've been stitching and patching up, myself included."

She didn't say anything. This act he putting I didn't help his case, it made him look pathetic. If he really wanted to prove himself, come up with evidence. Not give up. It didn't help him if that's what he was planning, consciously or not. Instead, Leliana focused on packing up the medical supplies. He was getting no pain killers, and hell, he was lucky he got patched up before she went and told everyone. As she stood, she still remained silent. He may think she hadn't listened to him, but she did. She knew he wasn't the only suspect, and maybe they hadn't been sold out at all. But that doesn't change the fact that she needed to tell everyone about him, about the possibility that they had all been betrayed. She left him sitting on the floor on the den, the medical bag up and over her shoulder, she quickly found Luca. It was easy given they were all stuck in the lodge. "We need to talk. Now, please."

Mentioned: Luca , Michael, Colt, Ivan, Ralph, Jenna, Andy, Hector, Nile, Cletus, Tre
Brax Hyped_Taco Rumble Fish The Mad Queen Maj shadowz1995 Togy

 

[Brax]

Ivan grabbed Luca’s hand. Colt’s voice had come through on the radio with orders. Both men made their way to the downed hazmat soldiers, being sure to offer a final shot to each one of their heads as they made their rounds. During this time, Luca finally had a minute to think. In the same position Luca knew he would have come back to the lodge. Despite how his interpersonal relationships with these strangers began, they were finally beginning to move like a unit. Colt could have very well stayed back on his command with the rest of the group and avoided danger. Instead, they came back to fight. People who were not good at fighting were injured showing their bravery and each had a role to play, which pivoted a bleak situation into a successful line of defense. For once, Luca was well aware that without Colt at command, they could have very well been overrun and killed off. He was thankful. As he aimed upon the last hazmat soldier, Luca’s half-open eyes peered up to the cloudy sky. There had been plenty of times he wished to be taken out. It wasn’t ironic that he got out of this unscathed. How long would God continue to let him suffer for his sins?

He pulled the trigger. Shortly after, Luca stepped back through those sliding doors shortly before Ivan, who made his way into the kitchen along with the injured. The Italian stopped to peer over to the boy’s limp body, eyes searching for the rise and fall of his stomach. Feet led him into the kitchen, where he walked up to the boy. He leaned down, placing his lips on the forehead of the dreaded teen before turning to look over Owen. Much like Tre, the man had been stabilized. Luca believed him to be a moron. Heroics had always been his specialty, he spent plenty of his time in his youth putting himself in unnecessary danger for others. He briefly glanced to Colt, who was stable and awake. Then, there was finally Andy. The girl was beaten and battered, but still continued fighting for her life. He had prepared to pull up a chair and wait for her to wake up, when Leliana approached him from behind. Upon hearing the stern nature of her voice, Luca turned. There was a pause between the two as the man looked into the teen's eyes.

“In my room.” He nodded toward the door, waiting for the girl to make her way there while his fingers grasped the neck of the near-depleted whiskey bottle. Swallowing the last shot, which was probably the worst place to pick the bottle back up after his brief pause, Luca placed the empty glass bottle onto the floor where he had picked it up from. Then he walked into his room and shut the door behind him, placing his rifle against the wall immediately afterwards.

“There are three people that I love in that kitchen that are currently unresponsive, Leliana. Colt is injured too. I hope this is pertaining to something more important than me being there.” The man made his way to his wardrobe, opening it up to reveal Andy’s uncles clothes. Behind the hanging shirts were seven bottles of alcohol, one of which had been depleted by half. It was a bottle of Luca’s favorite alcohol, a cognac that was sweet. He unscrewed the top and poured the contents into a spare glass, filling it up halfway before downing it. Then he took a button-down shirt, something a boomer in Florida would be caught wearing, and tossed it over his head. The woman's uncle was a big man, so the flowery shirt was somewhat baggy over his thin torso.

Interactions: King Vioogra FireMaiden
Mentions: Maj Rumble Fish

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between Brax and FireMaiden
​

The nurse nodded, taking a step back and turning towards the master bedroom. She did pause at the door, setting the duffle bag down next fo the threshold before walking in, not wanting to deprive anyone else who needed something from it, and in she went. She felt anxious, but fear and that little voice in the back of her telling her this was probably a bad idea wouldn't stop her. It wouldn't make her turn around and just leave. Her arms were starting to itch, drying blood often had that effect on her skin. Annoying as it was, Luca entered before she could go in the bathroom to wash it off. Flicking a few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail, she turned to look at him. "It is, I promise." Her stomach was in knots, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was the idea of him exploding and her getting hurt. Maybe it was the idea of him actually killing Brian. Maybe it's something else, her eyes briefly moving to the door, then back to Luca.

"Brian is a CIA agent who played a part in hiring the Hazzies. He claims to just be a middle man, and while I get the feeling he's telling the truth, middlemen often play a bigger role." She paused for a second, shifting on her feet, pulling at her thumb as she tried to find the words. "I've known for a little while now, he told me a day or two after he showed up. Promised that he would tell everyone eventually and that's been true too. I don't know how many people he's informed, but he said he told Andy this morning." Another pause. "Well, he's run out of time for me to keep my promise. Luca, I think we were sold out. We haven't had any problems with Hazzies finding us here, and while I know we couldn't be lucky forever, the timing is highly suspicious. Like they knew they'd have the advantage of numbers." Her hand moved to scratch her stomach, Andy's blood that had soaked the lower part of her shirt was starting to dry. "And I know he might not have been the one to do it, but he's the only one I know of that has ties with them."

“He told you a day or two after he showed up…” Luca responded with a soft tone, turning back to his wardrobe to grab the last pack of cigarettes he had stashed away for himself. He opened up the pack, removed one and lit it as he turned back to face the girl. The expression on his face remained neutral. The man continued speaking, having paused only to take a drag from his cigarette.

“... You said nothing. In the case you are correct, and Brian is, in fact, responsible for selling us out, then I would have to say that you are just as responsible for today’s events as anyone else who had this knowledge prior and withheld it from me. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss James?” Throughout, his voice remained steady. He slowly approached the girl, eyes examining her form. His feet stopped moving after he had gotten an inch away from the girl, his hand extending to cradle her chin and lift it up to look him in the eyes. Cold blue hues seemingly peered down through her soul, with a gaze that would burn lesser men alive. The cigarette continued burning away between his lips. His teeth clamped down on the filter to hold it in place as he spoke.

“The most unintelligent thing you can do is keep information from me.”

She watched as he moved closer, feeling the urge to step back, but that wouldn't help. She was trapped in a room with him, he was stronger than her, and sure she had a pistol but that wouldn't do anything helpful if he wanted to hurt her. When his hand touched her chin, she started to draw away, uncomfortable with the unwanted contact. But he didn't want to hurt her if he did, there would be a lot more yelling. Her eyes met his, unblinking. "I would agree yes. If he was the one who sold us out, I would be happy to take blame." She paused, raising an eyebrow, "Though I would disagree with it being unintelligent. It's what I thought was right at the time. It's only unintelligent when it backfires."

His fingers moved from her chin. The rest of his body followed suit into the bathroom. He opened the cabinet underneath the sink, withdrawing a rag from its depths. After turning on the water he placed a hand underneath the fabric, getting it damp. Then he returned to the girl and offered it to her. It wasn’t as good as a shower, but for now, it would have to do. She did not seem comfortable being covered in other people’s blood; Luca never was, despite years of experience. While Leliana’s suspicion was correct in nature, the Italian had different ideas regarding the subject.

“I don’t care what he was doing before he got to the lodge. I don’t care what any of these people were doing before the outbreak. This type of shit has a tendency to change people, for better or for worse. One thing for sure is that none of us can go back to doing what we were doing before. Society has crumbled.” The Italian was not yet done, rather he was explaining his position on the knowledge that this person was a CIA agent, or whatever the fuck he was.

“He was out there fighting with us. To sell us out means he knew he was putting his own life on the line as he has been living with us. Brian would have to be brain damaged not only do that but to fight back instead of pleading to spare his life, given his career path. However, if we look into it deeper…” The man paused as he walked back to his glass and filled it up. “There were two people who were out of danger during the outbreak.” He turned back to Leli with a wide smile on his face. Luca knew that Leliana would get what he was hinting at.

“There’s most certainly a mole living among us, but it isn’t Brian.”

She watched as he stepped away, a little guilty for the relief she felt now that she wasn't being touched, and gently taking the cloth he handed fo her a few moments later. She was right though, Luca wasn't like everyone thought he was. Dangerous, yes, but only dangerous when he needs to be. "You look like you're enjoying that idea a little too much," Leliana muttered, scrubbing her arm with the hope of getting at least some of Andy's blood off her arm, grateful for the washcloth despite lack of thanks. "But okay, okay. Got it. Then what do you want to do about it?"

“Nothing, yet. I need more time for observation.” He responded after taking his drink. At this point, Luca’s face had been a bit flushed in comparison to the start of their conversation. The liquor’s effects had been steadily increasing with each drink he took. The man didn’t find it necessary to stop, however, it was quite perplexing that no hordes of zombies had made their way to the lodge yet. Under the impression that the hazmats had taken care of quite a bunch of them in preparation, he felt a bit thankful for the bastards doing the dirty work beforehand.

“The best thing to do is just wait. I’ll talk to Colt and Andy regarding my findings - and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop regarding our next steps, but I'm not ready to jump quite yet. I’m all for stringing up motherfuckers who try to kill me for their own personal gain, but not an innocent person that other people in this lodge currently have ties to. It’ll progress in time. I don’t think we will have to worry about expecting another hazmat attack… Even if no one was responsible and they just happened to find us, a good portion of their forces - if not all their forces - must be depleted by now. If they still exist, they are hurt worse than we are currently.” Luca walked to the door of the bedroom and picked his rifle up off of the ground. He wrapped the strap around his chest before turning back to Leliana. As he walked back to the kitchen, he left the girl with one last note.

“Thanks for taking care of my girl. By the way, if you hear Brian try to tell anyone else what he was doing before the outbreak, tell him to shut the fuck up. No one cares.”

Leliana nodded, following behind Luca as he left. "No problem Luca," She said with a small smile, glancing towards the kitchen. Andy seemed to still be unconscious which was good. She needed rest. "They'll be okay, they're tough, all of them."

BloodThunder27 Maj Rumble Fish ​

 

[Corgi]

​

Catelyn watched from her sitting position as Colt rallied the group and they slowly left Catelyn and a blonde with a truck. Catelyn tried to ignore the girl as much as possible while fiddling with her hands on the ground until finally she got tired of sitting down. Catelyn looked over at the girl left behind and wondered why she wasn't with the others. "Why didn't you go with the group?" Catelyn questioned first, not even knowing the girls name.

Aubrey had faded into the background as the talk of saving the cabin arose, not that she minded. She disappeared in public spaces a lot. People didn’t seem to notice her or care to try, but she liked it that way. She didn’t know anything about the cabin, so how she would help in the first place? Aubrey was still injured and couldn’t afford to encounter those Things or whatever these ‘Hazzies’ were. When Leliana called out her name, she perked up a bit. She knew three out of the many people that were there, and she would stick by them… But when she was told to sit still, she deflated once more. Before she could ask to join them in their expedition, they were gone, “Shit…” She mumbled. She was alone. Well, as alone as you can be with a stranger who was just shot. Aubrey planned on staying quiet and waiting patiently till they got back, but when the girl piped up, Aubrey's hand grabbed the rim of her cap and started to fidget, “Oh... Well, I don’t really know. I just met these people a couple hours ago. Kind of weird that they trusted us with a truck and supplies, huh?” She rambled, glancing around nervously, “I’m Aubrey, nice to meet you.” She said, extending a hand. Aubrey still knew it was polite to introduce herself, even in a situation like the apocalypse.

"Catelyn" Catelyn said while taking Aubrey's hand and using it to hoist herself up off the ground. Standing up straight, she jumped about on her good foot for a few seconds trying to keep her balance while still holding Aubrey's hand. "They could be trusting people, help me over to the truck we can get some food like Leliana suggested." Catelyn said while smiling at Aubrey, still holding her hand.

"I guess so." She mumbled her response. She had eaten a granola bar earlier, but after her melt down, she felt even more ravenous. "Is this how those Things feel?" Aubrey frowned at the thought and brought the girl- Catelyn over to the truck. Opening the back door she offered, "I can hoist you up and then go grab the food. You should probably get something in you." Despite Aubrey's own injuries, she didn't just get shot, so she didn't mind doing the moving around. A sudden thought occurred to her, "If those Things are attracted to gunshots, and both of us injured people are stuck out in the open, that could make a very bad result..." Aubrey felt very tense all of a sudden, "Maybe we should bunker down in the truck for now." She suggested, glancing around them.

"Help me up. And that sounds fine, yeah." Catelyn said to Aubrey leaning out the truck door slightly. Catelyn moved her twisted foot into the truck while turning her body into the seat before taking a deep breath. Catelyn leaned forward moving herself into the drivers seat of the truck awkwardly cursing a little bit under her breath at her injured ankle. "Wonder if they got any secrets hidden in the truck?" Catelyn yelled back to Aubrey wondering about the people who owned the truck while leaning over into the passenger seat opening the glove box.

Aubrey quickly assisted Catelyn into the truck before moving to the back of the truck. She didn't quite see where they put the food, so she grabbed two bags that seemed most promising and started unzipping, listening to Catelyn's query, "Um... Maybe? I doubt they have time for secrets." Thankfully, one of the bags she picked did have some quantity of food. Not much, but the human body can live without food for quite some time. Hopefully, they won't have to do that but who knows with the apocalypse being where it is. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she pushed the other bag into the truck's bed before jumping into the back seat. Shutting the door, she made sure the locks were on before sitting down and passing out a small bag of chips to Catelyn and taking a granola bar for herself. "I wish I still had my supplies. It was a lot bigger than this." She grumbled under her breath, opening the packaging and putting her hand to her cap, "Find any secrets yet?"

"No secrets here but the ones we carry." Catelyn said, messing with the middle rear-view mirror to look Aubrey in the eyes through the reflection. "So whats your story then? Flew in from out of town at just the wrong time?" Catelyn chuckled, referencing her own past more then trying to figure out Aubrey's.

"Can you carry secrets?" Aubrey asked, out of genuine curiosity before realizing, "Oh wait- was that a joke?" She suddenly felt embarrassed for not getting it in the first place. Aubrey has always been slow with jokes, sometimes not understanding them at all. Her hand still messing on the rim of her hat, she readjusts in her seat to face Catelyn. "My story, huh?" She paused for a second, trying to piece it all together. Even though it had only been a few days, it'd felt like months already, "Well, I didn't necessarily fly at the wrong time. I walked into town about two days ago, way after this whole thing started. I'm trying to find my sister." She vaguely explained, "How about you?"

The soft clicking sound of the cocking of a pistol sounded as Catelyn rose the weapon level with Aubrey's face. It wasn't clear what her intentions were, or what she was thinking but it was obvious she meant business. The girl let out a soft breath and gave Aubrey an apologetic look. "Get out of the truck." It was a command, although it was clear that even Catelyn herself wasn't sure exactly where this plan led. If Aubrey could walk into Aurora after the barricades had gone up, that meant that she would be able to find a way out. Most of the soldiers were here anyway. Aubrey wouldn't want to go with her, she was still looking for her sister, and she couldn't risk the girl trying to stop her. She would need all the supplies she could carry, and the truck would be an easy way to transport them.

As Aubrey asked the question, so glanced up. She knew eye contact was important when talking to people- but instead of eyes she was face to face with the barrel of a gun. "Fuck..." Her stomach dropped. Maybe she was taking things too literally again? Maybe this was a joke? After a few seconds of stunned silence with no smile or laugh from the girl, she knew she was being serious. "Fuck." She muttered this time, "You really don't want to do this. Going out by yourself is dangerous, especially if you can't be sneaky." Aubrey stated. Her voice didn't carry much emotion despite her feeling every bit of panic, "If you put the gun down I won't tell anyone this happened. These people seem to have a good thing going on... Despite whatever violence is happening." Not wanting to push her luck, Aubrey unlocked and opened the back door, casting one last glance at Cate's way, hoping she would change her mind. "Can I at least take my weapon?" She asked, motioning to her crowbar.

Catelyn sighed and nodded. She wasn't heartless and really she meant the girl no harm, but getting away from all this gunfire and more importantly out of Aurora was far more important than worrying about stepping on her feelings. She gestured toward Aubrey's bag with her gun. Leaving the blonde without any way to defend her self would be as good as if Cate shot her herself. "Grab your bag and your crowbar and step away from the vehicle."

A little mercy was the victory Aubrey needed. She mumbled a thank you and grabbed the crowbar and duffel bag. Before she stepped away from the truck, she asked, "Are you leaving Aurora? If so, how are you going to get past the barricade? Won't they shoot you on sight or something?" Aubrey hoped her bluffing would work. Using the context clues she's gotten, the 'Hazzies' were the bad people who were keeping Aurora on lock down. If they'd willingly shoot up a house of survivors, she's more than positive they'd murder whoever went to those gates. Along with the bluff came the little time she needed to pull off her scheme.

Aubrey may be slow at times, but she isn't dumb. While her mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get out of that precarious situation she found herself in, she knew that fighting the girl wouldn't go down well. Even though Catelyn has been shot, she had a gun and Aubrey only had a crowbar. So, she did the next best thing she could think of. While one hand was taken up with a crowbar and the rim of her hat, the other one snuck into the back of the truck and wrapped a hand around a heftier bag. She had no idea what was in it, but taking two bags was better than one. Carefully, and using the arm strength she built up from fishing, she got the bag out of the back. Only then did she step away from the truck, using her body as a barrier between the bag and Cate, hoping it would be enough for the thief to not see it.

Cate didn't take even a second to look back at the girl she was abandoning. With a shift in her position and a deep breath the brunette turned the key and let the engine roar into life. Careful not to back up into the blonde, she turned the truck around and went off down the road doing her best not to worry about the people she had met. This wasn't her fight and they weren't her people. Hell, the angry one with a scar had shot her, she had no reason to be loyal to any of them... but she felt guilt gnaw at her from her guts as the tires spun the dirt up into the air. She couldn't bring herself to look up into the rear-view mirror and look at the pig-tailed girl she was leaving behind. Before long, Catelyn was gone, leaving nothing but dusty air in her wake.

As the truck skid into the distance, Aubrey felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. The girl doubled over trying to catch her breath. All her limbs were shaking the the point where they were practically useless. Lowering herself to the ground, she took a moment to regain her composure. "Oh my god..." She thought, taking her dirty hands and wiping her equally dirty face, "What am I going to tell Colt? That was the supplies they had gathered on the trip, right?" Aubrey's eyes glanced back to the direction the truck went before taking a deep breath in and out, "No point worrying about it now. There's nothing I can do, I guess."

Looking at the bag she managed to nick from the truck bed, she was grateful the plan had worked in her favor. Aubrey unzipped the bag and let out a sigh of relief. Medical supplies. Pills, antiseptics, bandages, the girl knew very little about medicine but she knew this was good, largely because those people seemingly just fought in a mini-war against the 'Hazzies', "Hopefully this will be enough to lift some spirits, at least." As the adrenaline remained in her blood, she glanced around at her surrounding area. She was pretty much in the open and that wasn't great, especially after all of the gun shots.

Picking up her bags and tossing them over each shoulder, she went over to the nearby shrubbery and squatted down. It wasn't the best cover but, for now, it'd have to do. She didn't want to stray too far from where she was told to stay. All she had to do now, was sit sight and wait, "Please come back soon..." She whispered to herself.

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between myself and TheTreForce​

Fisher took a deep breath, trying to slow his breathing as he found himself leaning against one of the kitchen walls. It took him a moment to remember where he was, how Nile of all people had risked his life to save that of a man he barely knew.
If Ralph could speak, he would be expressing his gratitude but as it stood he could only manage some raspy breathing due to the pain.

Just how close had he come to death? For the first time in possibly his entire life Ralph was faced with the idea of his own morality. That would have to wait though, for as he scanned the room and saw the wounded he attempted to stand. This was met with a searing pain in his knee and Fisher collapsed to the ground in a heap. He could just about manage a groan in pain.

Warren came close to the pained old man and looked him in the eye, "Look, I don't believe we've met and I honestly don't care. I also don't have the most experience with removing bullets.. but we'll make do." He tilted his head back and poured his beverage down the pipe. The man brandished a knife and poured a little bit of the alchohol on it, "This may sting just a fuckin bit. Try to keep from squirming."

Fisher looked up, his eye widening slightly. He met Warren's gaze, and then he saw the knife.
"Warren. The bullet went into my knee. You can't just dig it out without doing..." He trailed off as his throat burned once more.
"More damage." He choked "Get Hector or Leliana or heck I'll even take Jenna if the other two are..." He paused once more to cough "Out."

A sigh escaped the big man's mouth, "They're a bit occupied right now and I don't know what the hell you think they're going to be able to do for you." Warren stuck the knife into the wood of the floor with a swift stab, "You wanna handle it though? Be my fuckin guest."

He leaned his head back against the wall, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. While he'd been fighting for consciousness, somebody had tended to him, stabilising the doctor. Perhaps Hector of Leliana as he hadn't seen Jenna with them. Whoever it was, he'd make sure to give them his thanks. It still hurt, and with a wound like that he knew the pain would be with him for decades to come. Still, one thing at a time. He couldn't worry about that now.
Warren's attitude was something for sure, but the doctor brushed it off. They'd just been attacked, so getting worked up was understandable. He just didn't fancy Warren's chances of trying something like that on Colt or Luca though.

Hearing the sound of something striking the ground Ralph looked up to see Warren driving a knife into the floor.
"Take that darn thing with you. Last thing we want is someone tripping over it and ending up with more wounded." He scolded "And it's not like I'm in any position to treat myself anyway."
It hurt to move it, but Fisher persisted and moved his left arm towards his face, displaying to Warren the closed over eye and a large collection of bruises that coated his face "I don't fancy my chances at using a can opener, let alone performing surgery." He smiled "If they're busy, I'll just wait."

"I couldn't care less, old man." Warren got to his feet and kicked the handle of the knife, causing it to come out of the floor and skid across the wood into the wall. A step backwards from his non dominant foot kept his balance and he took yet another large drink of the liquor. "Shit, this is good stuff." Ralph' last comment brought Warren's attention back to him, drinking the last bit out of the bottle, "You're going to be waiting. There are people who need to be taken care of before you." His elbows found rest on a counter top and he looked over to where Tre was being checked.

Ralph raised an eyebrow "Old man? I'm not even forty yet." He gently shook his head "Somebody already stabilised me when I was passed out, so I can wait." He lightly sighed, seeing Warren drinking from the bottle. "Go get drunk. I think you've earned it." He tried to smile once more, but every movement still stung.

 

[Meredith]

​

Aderyn paced the perimeter of the sickbay with slow and deliberate steps. The scent of drying blood stung her nose, but she kept her attention towards the injured, peering into each other their faces. The sight of Owen's unconscious visage made her stomach clench. None of this was pleasant. The idea that the hazmat soldiers would do this - our soldiers, Aderyn thought, the soldiers that are supposed to be fighting for us - made her blood curl. Was this part of some sort of cover-up? A mistake that needed to be eradicated? Or... worse, was there really no possible cure?

Her gaze rested on Jenna. The woman was awake, resting, but certainly coherent. Aderyn made herself a seat on the couch. The couch still reeked of pepper, but she assumed that as long as she refrained from touching her eyes, she'd probably be fine. From here, she could see all of the patients of the impromptu emergency room, in case something terribly wrong happened.
"Are you feeling okay?" A small shake of her head, and the girl corrected herself. "Okay for being shot, I mean."

Jenna glanced towards the child, raising an eyebrow. Having blood on her face probably wasn't the best look to be around children with, but given the events of the past few minutes she was sure the girl had had her fair share of exposure to violence. So long as she didn't ask where the blood had come from, Jenna wouldn't have to answer any delicate questions. "Not really, but thanks for asking."

Shifting a bit in her seat, Aderyn looked away at the wall, taking a deep breath. She refocused on Jenna, but not before checking on the others visually. Any kind of distraction would be incredibly welcome right now. If she could keep a conversation going, it might help ease the tension in the room, but that proposition was already looking bleak. "Yeah. Me neither."
Another moment of silence. Aderyn never really did well with talking to adults, unless it was about basic survival. "Do you - uh, need anything?"

"N-" She cut herself off, letting out a light sigh. As much as she just wanted to be left alone, she did need some help "If you don't mind, could you hold the dog?" Jenna asked, nodding towards Cammy "I can't treat her with one hand and I think she got hit too."

"Yeah. I like dogs." Aderyn moved to grab the dog's collar, petting her back where there was obviously no blood, and whispering "Hey, beautiful" to her softly. She glanced back up at Jenna, a bit apprehensive, as she got the distinct impression she wasn't wanted. "What's her name?"

"Cammy. Her name is Cammy." Jenna nodded, using her free hand to run along Cammy's fur to where the blood was. While the dog whined slightly as Jenna made contact, the girl started to gently shush the animal. "Huh. Looks like it was just a graze." Most of her medical supplies were in the rental or back in the pickup. As much as she wanted to help, she knew the rest of the lodgers wouldn't take too kindly to her using their medical supplies to treat a dog. Cammy would have to wait till the all-clear was given it seemed.

"She's a nice dog." When it seemed Jenna was done, Aderyn let go of the dog's collar, instead petting her gently with both hands. She smiled at the animal - a small, sad smile - and scratched behind her ears. The animal reminded her of her own pet. "I had a dog named Russel. A year or so ago, I mean. He was seven." She considered Jenna. "Did you have pets? More pets, I mean, before all of this."

Jenna lightly smiled. "What kind of dog was Russel? I've got a Labrador and a Bernese Mountain Dog at home. Well, the Bernese is mine. Dad owns the Labrador." Her thoughts went back to them as she pictured her dad at home, sick with worry over whatever fake story had been pushed about Aurora. Waiting for news. Could she even go back to him now?

"He was a Caucasian Shepherd. Really, really big. He slept with me." An overwhelming feeling of sadness washed over her. She nodded to Jenna, standing from the couch. "I'd like to talk more sometime, but I have to check on everyone." Getting away from the present had only served to pull the girl back to the past. Aderyn was good at running, if nothing else.

Part of Jenna wanted to be alone as it was. She needed to get away from other people and process the day's events. "Alright. Take care kid." She nodded at the child. "I'm Jenna, by the way." She offered her a handshake, and Aderyn took it, a smile as firmly set as her grip adorning her face. "Aderyn."
"Nice to meet you. Sorry the circumstances are so shit."
"Me too."

 

[Rumble Fish]

​

The clanking of his boots atop the wooden floor stopped in front of Colt. Luca crouched down to the woman, both of his elbows resting on his knees. In one of his hands was the bottle of alcohol he had taken from his room. For a moment, the man looked at Colt without saying anything. Eyes scanned her body absentmindedly, while the fingers belonging to his free hand unscrewed the top of the Cognac bottle. Once the cap had been taken off he extended his arm toward the woman, knowing there was a good chance that she was far thirstier for the quality of drink than he was himself. Typically speaking, Luca wasn’t the type of man who oftentimes had to think of the right words to say before opening his mouth. However, in this case, what do you say to someone whom you spent a majority of time shitting on only for them to come through in a time of need?

Colt had been silent after Leliana left her to her thoughts. She had her eyes locked onto the window in the kitchen, staring at the grey and snow dripping trees. She had stopped crying only a few moments before Luca showed up. The woman glanced upward, hand still on her chin in a pose reminiscent to that of a well known structure. Too many words at once came to her mind, rendering her maw useless as it opened slightly, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. What could be said? She had disobeyed his orders; but with good reason. The fact he had said nothing, no outbursts, no lectures, no nothing peaked the woman’s impertinent thoughts. Just silence and a simple gesture of extending alcohol to her. A fingerless-gloved hand reached forward before stopping in its tracks, the nurse’s words echoing in the veteran’s mind.

“Can’t.” She groaned laconically, “Still bleedin’.” She could feel it under the gauze. It was not as severe as before, but risking her only leg was something she did not want to gamble. She glanced to the side momentarily, another silence between them. Finally, with a sigh, she turned her bloodshot pair to the Italian man. “I know ya didn’ tell me t’come back. But I couldn’t just wait. I did what I could. I did everything I could. Was it enough? No. But what is?” She stopped. The thoughts of Ray in his final seconds rang through her mind. The effects of alcohol drank prior had gone. Her mind was buzzing and active. She wanted that brandy. She needed the brandy, it took her every fibre of her being to not snatch and neck the whole thing. At least after the bleeding was over, she could retreat to her room, to that ever comforting bag of bottles and cans and just forget about all of this. That was all she wanted now. But now, she was stuck in front of the one person she did not want to be there. Unsure of how to continue, she reached into a pocket, pulling out an intact box of cigarettes. Proper ones. As she slid them to the mobster, she resumed her gaze out of the window.

The Italian hung his head down toward the ground momentarily. He grabbed the pack of cigarettes, removing one to place back into his own pack before standing up and walking to the spot on the wall beside the girl. Taking a drag off of his own, his back pressed against the sheetrock as he slid down beside his subordinate. He rested his head against the wall, turned only slightly to see that Colt was looking out of the window. It was apparent she had a few things on her mind, which certainly was nothing knew. However, after being stuck working with Colt for so long, Luca was able to understand more of the inner-workings of the woman’s mind. The silence continued for a few more moments, but were broken with another swig of the bottle.

“You did exactly what you were supposed to do. I gave you my call. You responded by deciding to go above my orders for the greater good. Ray is dead, but he shouldn’t have been out there alone without a radio, either. Let’s be honest. Had you not done what you believed was right, even more people would have been killed.” A drag of his cigarette saw smoke erupt from his nostrils, escaping the depths of his mouth as he continued to speak.

“It’s not the first time your problem-solving skills got the people in this lodge out of a tight spot and it most definitely will not be the last. I don’t claim to always be right, that’s why I have you and Andy to help call the shots. However, every day, you prove me more right than the last.”

Luca couldn’t imagine having only one good leg with a bullet through it. The anxiety of that alone must have been enough to weigh her down, let alone taking on the guilt of something that wasn’t her fault. Colt wasn’t the one who called the hazmats in to attack the damn place. As far as they all knew, it was no one’s fault but their own. Perhaps their way of living life as though there was barely an apocalypse to face outside was the damning factor.

“A lot of people got hurt, but you could have turned tail and ran just like I gave you the opportunity to. You didn’t. You can feel bad for yourself, but damn; I am proud of you.”

He was like a dragon, the way he puffed smoke through his nostrils as he watched her. As he mentioned that Ray should have had a radio or be inside, as much as Colt hated to admit it; he was right. It weighed down her grief of such a senseless death happening in front of her eyes. But he was frightened, all Colt knew about fear was that, once it overcame someone, it was unstoppable. That was something she had learned the hard way in Afghanistan. “پسرم را بگیر! لطفا! او را نجات ده!” rang through her head, causing the veteran to shudder and eyes to squeeze shut. Why could she just not forget them?

“I couldn’t.” She sighed as he spoke about jumping out of the window of opportunity and abandoning the Lodge to the Hazmats. “...I don’t love myself, Luca. I’ve done things that I want to forget. And I’ve lost those I wish I still hadn’t. My fault or not; I’d rather I was shot failing than live knowing I left people to die.” She spoke lowly, not breaking her gaze against the man. As he admitted his pride of her, Colt paused. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. All she could do was sigh softly, her eyes gleaming from the potential of a second round of tears. Hours ago she would have rubbed in his face at his seeming lack of faith in her, but after all that had happened, any kind of urge to berate the Italian was gone. She inhaled deeply.

“Thank you.” She spoke quietly, shoulders quivering from emotion. Her tone no longer held the force of authority and strength displayed on the battlefield less than an hour ago. All she was now was a tired and battle-weary soldier just wanting to lie down and sleep. Hoping to distract herself, she examined her leg once again. It seemed that the bleeding had stopped, and a good thing too. That bottle was mocking her at this point.

“I’m sorry to say, but you’re not special. Everyone has done things they regret or experiences things they’d like to forget regardless of whether or not they were responsible. How you handle yourself has nothing to do with these things. Respect and morale are an entirely different subject. They have nothing to do with loving yourself, but they are tied to one another inexplicably. You did what you can, just like the rest of us. Putting losses on yourself for something that you had no hand in stopping alone is nonsense. So just like you’re used to, you’ll pick yourself up and be back at it. You’re a soldier much like I am, and while it sometimes may be disadvantageous, we don’t have a choice but to continue fighting. It’s all we know.” Luca left the bottle on the ground and pushed himself onto his feet, walking a few feet over to the unconscious body of Andy and kneeling alongside her.

“We may lose more. Me, you - hell, maybe even Ivan, we’re used to experiencing people around us die without a moment’s notice. Somehow, it’s harder to perceive when civilians are the ones on the receiving end.”

“Never said I was. I’m just doin’ what everyone else is doin’. Tryin’ ta live.” Colt looked away from the man as it seemed that daring to vent her feelings to anyone did nothing more than result in a game of misery poker. How he thought she wanted some sort of special acknowledgement boggled her mind. All Colt wanted at this point was to leave but her lack of a functioning limb prohibited that. So much for being proud, he couldn't stop himself from berating her for thinking this way. Colt knew it was not her fault, why did he think she think otherwise? How was she supposed to lead these people if they wouldn't even try to see anything from her perspective? Fine; if that was how they wanted to play, so be it. Seeing the bottle on the ground, Colt didn't waste time in picking it up and removing the cap. While he was right, it didn't help. What was the point? Nobody would listen.

“I was just offering my opinion. I really can’t tell you how to live your life, I can only try to give you advice the best way I know how.” Luca replied softly, still looking down over Andy’s body.

“Next time I’ll keep it to myself.” She grumbled before taking a swig and looking to Andy once again. Lord knows it did nothing trying to get it out.

“I know. Don't think I won't go out without a fight though. I'll be damned if I'm gonna surrender to them bastards. We gotta get everyone and this place fixed up more than anythin’.” She added before taking another long swig from the brandy and putting it on the table. Once it hit her system, the woman sighed deeply and leaned back slightly. Almost like a hot shower, everything settled. As much as she wanted to snarl at him, she didn't have the energy. “Ya’ll did well holdin’ out till we got ‘ere.” She spoke finally, despite her internal frustration she knew she had to swallow it. At least once this was over she could deal with her thoughts, her own way.

“Not well enough, but we’ll be ready if there is a next time. I don’t think we’ll be able to stick around here too much longer. Everybody has to make a decision as to what they want to do, whether or not they want to stick together and continue to move as a unit or not.”

As Luca spoke again, echoing what Leliana had said, Colt sighed heavily. “I know. And I get it. They know where we are and no doubt will try again. We’re in no shape for movin’, gotta get our ducks in line before doin’ anythin’ else.” The woman stopped with another sigh. Seeing Andy lying there, her chest swelled with frustration, “They knew we were ‘ere.”

“That’s a conversation we’ll have when Andy wakes up. Until then, you got some recovering to do yourself. You could both use to take it easy for a change.”

“I’m experienced in this shit. Just make sure she’s okay.”

Interactions: Brax
Mentions: Maj King Vioogra FireMaiden

 

[Maj]

​

Owen had been unconscious a few fair times in his life. When brawling was how you made your cash, it wasn’t unheard of to spend some time on your back. He wasn’t without his losses to go with his victories. Somehow though, this was different. The heavy cloud of haze that settled around his senses he was familiar with, but it was what he was able to discern through that fog that left him reeling. Someone was calling his name. He would have sworn it was Andy, although the panic that warped the tone made him think otherwise. She was always so collected even in her angriest moments.

His hearing seemed to work before any of this other senses. Sobs, chaos, and not to mention the ever present sound of gunfire. There was pressure somewhere on his body, although he wasn’t quite sure where. Hector’s voice cut through the haze, clearer than the rest.

“Owen, I know you can hear me! You just need to focus on breathing. As best as you can!"”

So it was bad then. He did his best to try to oblige, but he felt like he wasn’t quite in control of his own muscles, stuck somewhere in the grey area between conscious and not. He could hear Luca’s voice yelling, clear as day through everything else. Owen needed to get back to them, back to his sister. The twin hadn’t fought his way through the horrors of the hospital just to leave now. He still had promises to keep.

Owen knew he had to fight against the drowsiness that threatened to take him, but he was so tired and sleeping was easier, especially with the soft humming that filled his ears. The melody seemed to break through to him easier than some of the other sounds, it was easy to listen to. He hoped it was Beth, that he had been able to get her and Milly to safety. Small memories started to come back. He had been shot, maybe that's why everything smelled of iron.

“Uh Hector…?” He heard someone call. “I think he’s waking up.” It sounded like Beth, that was good. That meant she was safe. His eyes tried desperately to flutter open, he wanted to ask her if she was okay but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth, halted in his throat by the pressure he had felt earlier. The harder Owen tried to rouse the more intense the pressure became.

“Shit.” Beth muttered under her breath. “Owen, don’t move babe.” She tried to shush him but it was becoming easier to focus on her now. His eyes scanned her tear stained, blotchy face. Her hand gently pressed against his shoulder as he tried to sit up. It was covered in blood. Was it his?

"Stay still, Niño. You're injuries are fatal and if you even flinch the wrong way, I won't be able to save you. Not right now." With the sutures done, Hector slumped backwards and tried to move the mess of matted hair out of what remained of his vision. His breaths were starting to get ragged from effort. "Stay absolutely still and silent. Your heroics really cost you this time."

Owen did his best to still his body at Hector’s command. What did that mean? Something was obviously wrong, Hector’s face looked more like ground meat than like the normal stoic face he was used to seeing. ‘His heroics had really cost him.’ The twin did his best to figure out what that meant, he was still unable to speak and consciousness felt more like trying to hold a wet bar of soap. It constantly tried to slip through his fingers and it was a struggle to keep his grasp on it.

He tried to get a good look at the lodge, trying to focus on anything other than the growing intensity of pain that started to pulse from his body. Honestly, he felt like he was drowning, or maybe suffocating was a better word. It felt more like someone had sat Micheal down on his chest and he couldn’t catch a full breath.

When his eyes finally settled on the tube protruding from his chest, things started to make more sense. It really was bad. Owen had never gotten into a fight he couldn’t walk away from, but he supposed there was a first for everything. His heart raced as he struggled to breath.

“Try to keep calm baby,” Beth cooed at him, gently brushing hair from his forehead. Owen felt his body try and relax at her touch.He glanced up into her tear filled eyes. Concern contorted her normally beautiful features, but otherwise she seemed relatively calm. He was glad she was with him, but where was Andy?

He tensed again, eyes wildly scanning the room. It didn’t take long to find his sister but to be honest, he almost wished he hadn’t. If he had been able to catch his breath, the sight of his twin would have stolen from him. Her hair spilled over the edge of the counter, the vibrant red color dulled by the gleam of ruby blood on her limp arm. Her delicate fingers hung lifelessly over the marble kitchen counter. She was hurt too, maybe just as bad as he was. Why was no one was helping her!

Owen could feel his vision contort, he wasn’t sure if it was from the pain that was now steadily pouring from his body or if it was from the panic that made him all but forget he was in pain in the first place. She shouldn’t be alone. He wanted to tell Hector to go to her and not to worry about him, but the words wouldn’t come. The boy tried to call out to his sister, desperate to see even a twitch in one of her maroon painted fingers.

‘Andy!’

He tried to call her name, but he felt his chest tighten as he tried to speak. It produced nothing but a grimace across his bloody, freckled face. He had never seen so much blood, and the shock of seeing his sister, shirtless and saturated in the stuff was almost too much to stand. Hector’s commands were all but forgotten. All he knew was that he had to get to his sister. She shouldn’t be alone, she needed help. Surely if she was in critical condition someone would be tending to her, right?

Unless they were too late.

The thought brought bile to the back of his throat as one shaking hand rose in her direction. From this distance he couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Surely the world wouldn’t be so cruel as to take Andy from him, his baby sister. They might have been the same age, but he had done everything he could to protect her. Every decision that he had made for his life, each mistake that had nearly cost him had all been to keep Andy from having to do the same.

“Owen, you have to stay still.” Beth’s voice called over the ringing that had taken over his ears. How could he stay still, Andy wasn’t moving. His senses were being ruled by adrenaline and panic. The scent of blood acted like a smelling salt, keeping him conscious as he wondered how much of it belonged to his sister. Owen tried to press himself up on his elbows.

"Stay down, boy!" Hector managed to muster between steadying breaths. It was a tad bit louder than he could confidently project and it brought a whole new wave of nausea but he needed to make sure Owen heard him. The doctor followed his gaze and instantly understood why he was getting the way he was, "She's alive, Niño. Hurt but alive. We already took care of her. She's just unconscious now. So, unless you want to see her crying over your grave when she wakes up…. Stay. Still." He commanded firmly.

He wanted to believe that, but it was becoming hard to listen to anything but the pounding of his own heart rate. The stress from trying to sit up was all it took to wipe out what little of his strength he had managed to regain and he was laying on the ground with his back pressed against the sticky floor of the lodge. Owen gasped for air, hand gently grasping Beth’s small blood stained one and then he the pressure of the squeeze stopped. And Owen was out cold once again.

Brax Rumble Fish shadowz1995

 

[King Vioogra]

As Ivan entered the kitchen behind Luca, he looked around the kitchen. Owen was on the table and breathing, so he must've been stabilized since the Russian first saw him take a bullet. 'Good. He's alive.' He thought to himself as he looked down at his bloodstained hands and arms, which shook lightly as he stared down at them. There'd only been a few times where it was this bad, and they were times he left behind for a reason. A short sigh escaped the Russian as he walked over to the kitchen sink, an almost empathetically blank expression lingering on his face as he reached out to the faucet and turned the water as hot as it'd go. He put his hands under the scalding water and quietly hissed before rubbing his hands together. The water squelched in between his hands as the otherwise clear water quickly became red as the blood and grime came from off his skin and under his nails. As the red liquid disappeared down the sink drain, the Russian pressed both of his palms against the edge of the sink and let a shuddered exhale escape him into the metal confines of the sink. Steeling himself, Ivan took a breath in and cleared his throat and walking over to Luca after drying his hands on his pants. The man spoke in a low and almost cowering tone, clearing his throat every now and again. "I'll uh… I'll go collect what the dead left behind, bury Ray and burn the rest. Shouldn't take too long." He said, keeping his head down as he left the kitchen and made his way out the front door, grabbing a discarded shovel along the way. He would need to hurry if he wanted to actually get anything done, so he rubbed his now clean hands against his mouth and coughed quietly, making his way over to Ray's corpse once again and gently putting his hands under the dead man's shoulders. Ivan dragged Ray's body along slowly, laying him down in the dirt in front of the lodge as he gripped the shovel tightly and dug it into the dirt, pulling the soil from the ground and tossing it aside. After a few minutes of continuous digging, he stood limply in the hole he'd created and set the shovel aside, turning to face Ray's body and picking it up gently. Just as quickly as he'd lifted the elderly man, he laid him in his new grave, climbing out of it and grabbing the shovel again without giving him another glance. It was best that they all remembered Ray as he was, kind, soft, and caring. Not a corpse lying in the dirt. After Ivan refilled the hole that contained Ray's body, he looked around at all the bright yellow that was strewn across the property. As the Russian walked around the property, he didn't show the corpses of the hazmats even an ounce of care or sentiment as he piled them on top of each other. He actually went as far as to spit on the pile before making his way back into the lodge and sitting down quickly on the couch he'd called a bed for the past few weeks, burying his head in his hands and exhaling sharply.
Brax​

 

[Brax]

Luca / Aubrey (Part 1)

While Luca could have continued spending time sitting around the kitchen waiting for everyone to wake up, there were still things to do around the lodge. More had been added to this list given the attack, but he was left able-bodied. Being a sitting duck had never been a lifestyle choice and it certainly wouldn’t be one now. Given the commotion, it was probable that the supply run group had not delegated any of the weaker-bodied to grab their haul from the truck. He pushed himself to his feet and turned from Andy and Colt to make his way out of the kitchen. The living room, much like the lodge around it, was in bad shape. A haze of dust and soot did its best to cloud his vision as his hand pressed against the front door and pushed it open. The other kept a tight grip on his rifle.

The first thing that Luca noticed was not the dead hazmat soldiers that littered the front of the house. While both Ivan as well as himself had made sure each of them got a bullet to the head, it was obvious that he was still busy working on cleaning up the bodies in the back of the lodge. No, the first thing the man noticed was that there was no van in sight. His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked left from right. He knew that the group didn’t make it back on foot with nothing to show for their time gone. They must have parked further out into the forest, something that would have been intelligent given the attack that they were walking into.

His boots ceased making noise after he made his way down the porch steps, finally hitting dirt. Luca followed that trail down at a normal pace. The depths of the forest was sure to be filled with plenty of danger on its own. Between the indigenous animals and lurking predators human or otherwise lingering from the city, it became more apparent with each and every step that the lodge was not as secluded as he once considered it to be. When he was a fair distance from the lodge, he stopped walking. He did a final scan without any results. Frustrated, the man then took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it off a few feet away.

Sitting in the foliage of the deep woods may have been comforting if it hadn’t been for the gunshots in the distance that had been piercing the typically calm environment. How long had it been since Catelyn drove off with the van? Thirty minutes? Maybe an hour? It was impossible to tell. Even if Aubrey could see the sun through the canopy of leaves above her, it’s not like she would know how to tell the time only using that. She was used to technology telling her what’s going on, whether it be the weather, time, or which celebrity said what to who. Everything was so much simpler when she was on her boat. Maybe is she stayed one the water instead of traveling all the way from Brighton to Aurora, Aubrey wouldn’t be huddled against a tree wondering if all the people she had met in the past day are dead. Then again, if she were on that boat she’d be eaten alive by guilt… or maybe those Things.

A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. Sitting here doing nothing wasn’t going to accomplish anything- only make her mind run wild with ideas. Placing her hand on the bark of the tree behind her, she carefully hoisted herself off the ground, carefully maneuvering to not make any sound. For a moment, she thought she failed and stepped in the mud somehow, but as she stopped moving, she continued to hear footfalls upon dirt.

Aubrey felt ice shoot through her blood as she froze in place. There was someone approaching. It couldn’t have been a Thing, the pattern was too even. Someone was coming in the direction of the cabin. Her immediate reaction was to hide and wait for the person to go away, but what if it was someone that she knew? Ever so slowly, she poked her head from around the tree to spot a brown haired man clad in a hawaiian with a rifle clutched in his hands. Definitely not someone she recognized. But what if by chance this was someone Colt sent? She did say there were several others at the cabin… But then what if this person was a ‘Hazzie’? She didn’t know what they were supposed to look like.

“God, I’m going to get myself killed…” Aubrey thought as she closed her eyes, pressed her back against a tree, and called out, “Don’t move. I have a gun and I will use it. Who are you?”

Luca blinked as he heard a voice come from some shrubbery behind him. He didn’t turn around, in the case that the person behind him actually had a gun. Had it been a hazmat, he would have already been dead. No, this was someone who went out of their way to announce their presence. If this alone wasn’t enough to let him know that this person wasn’t out for his blood, then her tone of voice certainly did the trick.

“Yeah, I’ve got one also. Do you think you're special?” He asked nonchalantly, wrapping the rifle around his chest by way of it’s strap. The man followed by placing both hands on his hips and cocking his head up slightly, sighing loudly. His irritated predisposition dripped off of each word.

“I was giving a warning, I can see you have a gun. And no, I don’t particularly think I’m special.” Her words didn’t carry much emotion despite her gut twisting under the stress of the situation. With each word, her hands wrapped around the crowbar tighter. Aubrey was not a good liar, and if this man tried calling her bluff, there’d be no coming back from it.

“Who the fuck are you and where is the van?”

“How do you know about the van? Who sent you?” Aubrey didn’t think the man knew where she was, but she didn’t want to give herself away by peeking over the side, so she decided her ‘threat’ would be enough to keep him still.

Brows furrowed once more, as the girl responded to his question with another one. Light hues turned to the side as both of his hands dropped to his sides once more. He wasn’t going to reach for his gun, however, Luca certainly wasn’t going to continue standing around playing a nice game of twenty-one questions.

​

“It’s been a long time since I've been sent by anyone to do anything. Maybe over a decade.” He retorted as his head turned, followed by the rest of his body. There hadn’t been a person in sight. This only piqued his curiosity, considering someone was offering threats to him by way of hiding. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, the corners of his lips turning upward as he reached back for his rifle. Slowly, he rotated the gun to his stomach before his hand grabbed the lever and pulled it back. His rifle audibly cocked right before he parted his lips to speak once more.

“I sent a group of people out to retrieve supplies. You’re hiding out in the woods in front of my lodge. If there’s no van or supplies here because of you, you’re fucking dead. So now’s the time to explain yourself and show your face, because no amount of bullets are going to stop me from ripping your fucking head off otherwise. You get me?”

Featuring: Corgi

 

[Corgi]

​

The sharp click of the rifle made her grip tighter, her fingertips now white. She knew this wasn’t a good idea. She even told herself it was a stupid idea. As his words crept into her head, it took her a second to process. He knew Colt and Lelianna. He was the one who sent them so that means he has to be trustworthy, right?


Relief wracked her whole body as she let out a sigh and dropped the crowbar to her side. Despite not believing in god, she thanked him before spouting out, “Colt, Lelianna, and Nile found me in the motel. We were surrounded by those Things but got out because of a man, I think his name was Ivan, fired shots and distracted them. We got into Colt’s truck, picked up Cletus and Jenna along the way and we made a stop at Colt’s apartment but when we did get here, they left me and this other girl that was accidentally shot with the van. The girl aimed a gun at me, and told me to get out of the truck… Which I did because I had a gun aimed at me before driving off. I was able to grab two bags in the process but most of the supplies are gone. I’ve been hiding here waiting for someone to get me since. Lelianna told me to stay put and I didn’t want to disobey. Then I didn’t know if you were a ‘Hazzie’ or one of the many people Colt said you guys’ had. Also, what’s up with your group and death threats? Ivan threatened to cut off fingers through the radio Colt had.” Aubrey’s ramblings paused for a moment as she took in a deep breath and truly realized what came out of her mouth, “That all sounds crazy now that I say it out loud. Can I come out without you shooting me?” She asked, slightly hopeful, “I would prefer to not be alone in the woods any longer.”


Halfway through the long-winded explanation, Luca found himself dropping the gun to his side and dropping his head back. One of these types. The types of folk who felt the need to over-explain things without properly answering questions that are asked to them. The Italian knew someone much like this growing up; his mother. Though, whenever she spent long amounts of time recalling events or explaining things, the woman usually was either over exaggerating or telling a lie. In the case of a stranger, he didn’t think the same would necessarily apply. Luca just didn’t ask for this. Then Aubrey asked if she could walk out without being shot.


“During the time you spent retelling your life’s story, did you forget that I told you to walk out?” He asked, no longer taking aim at the tree which he had assumed the girl had been hiding behind. “And did you say that some random girl took the truck from you while you were out here waiting for Colt?”


“That wasn’t my life story, but yes, it seems I did forget. A couple seconds, please.” Aubrey bent down and tossed the bags over her shoulders.


“The truck.” Luca reminded her, through gritted teeth.


“Yes, the truck.” Aubrey took a couple of steps out behind the tree, her right hand rubbing the rim of her what used to be red cap, the other holding the crowbar, “I believe my words were ‘The girl aimed a gun at me, and told me to get out of the truck’. She was accidentally shot by Colt and left in my care.” Throughout the conversation, her right hand continuously rubbed the corner of the hat where there’s very visibly no fabric left.


She affirmed his suspicions. Truthfully, Luca had heard her the first time. Part of him wanted to believe he was having a brief stroke, or perhaps an aneurysm at the time she had initially uncovered the truth of the vehicle’s whereabouts. The other part knew that this wasn’t the case at all. A neutral expression visibly contorted as Luca began chuckling. Within an instant, this fit had progressed into full-blown laughter, brought about by pure rage. The man momentarily turned from the girl, audibly gasping loudly after a few seconds before yelling at the top of his lungs.


“What the actual FUCK?”


He paused. The man lifted a hand up to his mouth, his eyes searching for answers he knew the dirt underneath his feet did not have. This continued for a few more seconds, up until the Italian had built up enough strength to shakily remove a cigarette from his pack and bring it to his lips. Although this display was not one of his finest, most well put-together moments, it was absolutely genuine. His voice did not carry the same uncertainty his fingers did.


Aubrey decided it was best for her to give the man his moment. Admittedly, she wasn’t great at comforting people and often said the wrong thing, but she felt pretty good about what she did next. After giving him a few seconds to take in all that happened, she walked up to him, leaving a few good feet between them before plopping down the bags, “This one might make you feel a bit better.” She spoke as she nudged the bag full of medical supplies.


Turning slightly to notice the bag, Luca would instinctively kneel down to unzip it. The medicine present inside made him feel slightly better about their efforts. Luca was well aware that the truck was not necessary; in fact, it was something he stole out of a parking lot only a few weeks prior. It was more about having something that the denizens of the lodge could actually use. It was something that the girl before him probably deserved praise for, but he didn’t know her worth shit. His fingers grabbed the strap of the bag and slung it over his shoulder.


“Colt’s in the kitchen. The lodge is clear. I’ll follow you in.”


“Oh, cool. I overheard that you guys were collecting items of clothing for the weather that’s up to come so I was able to grab some blankets out of the motel as well as… other things that were in an interesting room. You can check them later.” She mentioned, picking up the duffel bag and turning around to walk down the path before stopping, “The lodge is in this direction, right…?”


“Keep walking that way, you’ll hit it.” Luca replied, not quite ready to find out the hard way if this person was going to whack him over the head with her crowbar once he turned his back.


“Got it.” She nodded, turning back once more to start walking before stopping and turning around one last time, “I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Aubrey, nice to meet you.” The girl extended her right hand towards him. It was on odd gesture, especially under the circumstances, but a genuine one.


Perhaps it was out of exhaustion. On the other hand, it could have been due to the fact that she had thrown him off completely, but it certainly wasn’t the response Luca normally got after threatening people with violence. Was this person actually harmless? Despite the doubt that lingered in the back of his head, unwarranted or not, the man’s hues found Aubrey’s hand shortly before his.


“Luca.” After spending a significant amount of time going out of his way not introducing himself to others, she had somehow found a way to get him to shake her hand. For the Italian, who was typically good at sniffing people’s intentions out, it was highly likely the anxiety of his current predicament had been clouding his judgement severely. He was well aware of this. The brief pause that was common after such introductions ended with Luca nodding in the direction of the lodge.


Aubrey returned the nod and faced away, walking ahead a good distance. It reminded her of the walks she took through the state parks. The quiet woods- typically there would be chirping of birds, but it was silent. Typically it may have been eerie but after the mess of a week it’s been, it was much more calming. Despite the calm, what was only a few minutes felt like hours due to how tired she felt. After she realized Luca wasn’t going to shoot her on sight, the adrenaline had been building up inside her slowly started leaking out, and at this point, Aubrey was exhausted. In spite of this, she continued without a complaint. The world was tough now, and she had done much more labor intensive action than walking.

However, the adrenaline that left her body was pumped back into her as she stood before the several dead bodies strewn about the yard of the lodge. Aubrey had seen many of those Things throughout the two weeks, but a real person’s body was different. Someone who lived and died as a person. The girl had never been good at sorting through the many emotions she felt on a daily basis, and today wasn’t any different. Her eyes trailed across the bodies in hazmat suits lying unmoving on the ground, and after a few seconds, she took a deep breath in and moved over them, careful to not step on any of the cadavers and heading straight for the lodge.

Featuring: Brax

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between The Mad Queen and FireMaiden

​

A shower sounded nice, her skin was itching, her hair had matted together in a few places, but she wasn't done yet. What if something happened while she was in the shower? What if Tre or Owen tried something that would mess up their chest tubes? Until she was sure that everyone was fine, and could spare about 20 minutes of her not being downstairs. Andy was stable still, her skin hadn't gotten any paler, and the boys all seemed fine. Then Leliana got to Jenna. "I wouldn't try giving her stitches, she's doing a good job by not snapping at anyone, but when dogs are injured, in pain, they don't care who it is. You can use some supplies to wrap it, but that's it. For now at least, " She said moving forward, "Jenna we need to talk."

"I think I'd know that better than most. Been nipped, and worse plenty of times." Jenna sighed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. She pulled her fingers away, noticing that they were covered in small specs of blood. Blood that wasn't hers. "If you're about to give me the bollocking of the century...Let it wait. Now isn't a good time."

"No, it's the perfect time, right now." It needed to be done, and it needed to be done now before Jenna had time to recover. That's the whole point, Jenna needed to hear what Leliana had to say. "You don't deserve to be called a medic, veterinary or otherwise." There was venom dripping off her words, in her eyes. "I saw what you were doing out there, how you just lost it. You were supposed to follow Nile inside, Jenna I needed help. Help that doesn't come from people digging bullets out of people with a knife and a kid who shouldn't have to deal with this type of situation!"

It hurt her arm to move, but the girl stood to her feet, now towering above the nurse "I said, it's not a good time. So, if you'll excuse me..." She stopped just at the door and sighed heavily. No. She wasn't going to let this stand. "What can I say? I got left behind in the woods because I was trying to watch our backs. You know, in case one of those wankers snuck up on us from behind the trees! And by the time I did make it to the clearing, they shot an innocent and not to mention unarmed pensioner right in front of me! I'm sure you would have handled that with grace." She replied to venom with some of her own, even if she wasn't looking the nurse in the eyes.

She couldn't, for all she could think about was the body she'd left in the woods.

"I watched him die too! Ray saved my fucking life, and we couldn't save him, it hurts, I'm not a heartless bitch!" Leliana responded, "But that's how it works, we can't save everyone. Colt gave an opportunity, Ivan was covering us, so was I, but you acted like a goddamn coward and lost it! You didn't get left behind, you chose to stay behind." Her voice was steady, Leliana starting down Jenna despite the fact the other wan wasn't looking in hers. "A part of what a nurse, a doctor, a vet, and anyone else in the medical field does is stay calm, we have to keep our heads if we want to make sure that nobody we can save dies. That's our job. It's what's supposed to be our job." She was getting annoyed, "Goddamnit Jenna, you're a grown-ass woman, look me in the eyes."

Jenna punched the wall, hard and with her good hand. "Fuck!" She struck it again "I know I can't save everyone! It doesn't mean I won't try, and it sure as hell doesn't mean every failure is something I can sweep under the rug." She took a deep breath to compose herself "I've failed before, one too many times. I couldn't be there for people, or animals that needed me or I just didn't do enough...Shit! The messages I used to get from people who needed me that couldn't deal with the shit they were going through or worse when I heard from their relatives, their friends. Telling me that someone I couldn't be there for decided to take that way out."

She looked up, glancing at Leliana's eyes for a split second before looking away again. Her own blue ones were welling up with tears.
"I killed someone today." She muttered, before covering her mouth. Taking one more deep breath she moved it away. Reaching to her belt, Jenna removed her ax and let it drop to the ground.

For a brief moment, her face softened, before it steeled again. "I'm sorry you had to do that Jenna, but this is survival. If you didn't defend yourself, you would have died. They are not merciful, they want to kill us. All of us," Leliana said, running a hand through her ponytail. "Look, I understand how hard it is, I know killing someone isn't as easy as it looks, but if we want to live, we're going to have to get used to the idea. It's not something we can avoid." She understood why Jenna would be upset about killing someone, but they have to. It wasn't something anyone would want to do, but they didn't have a choice. "But Jenna we can't lose our heads. Look around. Look at everyone who needs help, medical help, and now you're down an arm and can't do anything. You'll be lucky if you have full range of motion with that arm after it heals."

The girl let out a heavy sigh "Yeah. He was coming after me with a gun. It's how I got these." She turned to face Leliana, taking off her hoddie and unzipping the leather jacket underneath to reveal where the bullets had gone in. There were two tattoos running along her arm as well. A large one on her shoulder, now caked in blood was the blue Paragon symbol from the Mass Effect franchise and on her wrist was that of a small semicolon.

Jenna had almost forgotten that was there and shielded it with her good hand as she moved her sleeve back down to cover up the arm.
"I know you're not the biggest fan of the profession, but vets have that do no harm oath too. Sure, we also swear to not let an animal suffer but it's something..." She sighed "Oh, forget it. You know what I mean. To use your hands for healing and then having them be the cause of someone else's death. It kind of goes against everything you stand for."

She squeezed the bridge of her nose once more "Oh fuck me, even with oaths it's something...Christ. You know what, you're busy enough as it is. There isn't really time to bollock me for my meltdown, let alone listen to me prattle on about morality." She took one step towards the nurse "I may be down an arm, but it doesn't mean I'm out of the picture. You let me know if you need help with the others. If that means getting out of your face because you're pissed off, I can do that too."

She sighed slightly "I think I need to go vomit as it is."

"The Hippocratic Oath, I haven't taken it yet, " Leliana said. And she maybe she never will. Leliana believed that the world was a lot worse off than they thought, and thanks to this disease, they weren't getting anything from the news. "Jenna I have nothing against Veterinary doctors. I really don't, but that's no the point. You can't freak out like that again. Hector was on the verge of passing out when I came in, and if my concussion was any worse, we'd be having to kill the walking corpses of our friends." There was only a small bit of her blood on her body, a few drops could be seen through the bandage on her forehead, though Andy's blood smeared on her probably took attention away from it. "You want to help save people? You have to start listening. I know I told you to run in the house, I know I told you to follow Nile inside. I also know I'm the one that convinced you to come instead of staying by the truck. Watching you outside while I was working on Andy killed me because you were supposed to be my help." Leliana paused, looking away to the unconscious boys on the floor. "And, for the record Jenna, sometimes the best thing to do for someone is to help them die. So...just be careful going upstairs, you start feeling feverish tell someone."

"I know, but I was actually watching our backs in case we got jumped. Not going to lie, I did think about running but that was only because I thought you guys were all dead when we got separated." She gave a slight shrug "And all I got from my fucking reaction was two bullets and blood on my hands so you don't have to worry about me going gun crazy." She shook her head and started to make her way out of the room.

Stopping on the stairs she looked back at the nurse "I know that too." She thought about what she'd made Colt promise just a day or two ago, and it lingered in her mind. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. "It's mercy, and that's why putting down the infected has been simple for me. Ax to the skull, rinse and repeat."

"And again, Colt and Ivan had our backs, nobody was paying attention to us, but that's good to hear." Leliana felt like the excuse Jenna kept giving about her being back up is just a way to make herself feel better. The nurse raised a hand, fingers landing on her temple before it dropped back to her side. Jenna just admitted she thought about leaving, that she thought they were all dead, and that just baffled the nurse a little. Did Jenna have that little faith in them? "Don't do anything that stresses your arm, I don't need any help, so just kinda hang out. It's fine." The nurse remained in her spot, standing mostly still as she shifted her feet. Mercy to those that we're already dead wasn't what Leliana had meant, but she felt like if she tried to explain that plus her reasonings to someone like Jenna it would just end in disaster. "Yeah, just rest, have someone help you take care of Cammy, blood loss isn't fun."

Jenna was about to ask Leliana if she was sure about the help but stopped herself. Standing on the spot and asking over and over again whether she needed help was just going to piss her off, and she wasn't exactly in the mood for another vocal bollocking. She needed to get out of her hair, she needed to get out of other people's way as it was. "I'll be upstairs if that changes. Just yell, I guess." She knew a thing or two about her own blood loss, but now wasn't the time to bring that up "I promise not to fuck my arm up any more than it already is." She whistled, and Cammy started to follow. "The last thing we want is her bothering the wounded. She'll want to help, bless her but she doesn't really understand."

Leliana resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she walked out of Jenna's line of sight, back into the kitchen, crossing her arms. Leliana wanted to rant to someone else or get out of the lodge for a few minutes, but she couldn't risk it. She knew the moment she stepped outside for some fresh air, she would be needed. Once again, she began to scratch at her forearm, the washcloth from Luca having helped a little, but it didn't do much honestly. Leliana sighed slowly, leaning back against the wall, the back of her head touching something decorative or just a weird wall panel as the light began to spin. "Oh goodie," she muttered softly, her eyes closing a moment later. It didn't help.

Brax Maj shadowz1995 King Vioogra Rumble Fish ​

 

[Maj]

​

October 28th, 2018
Owen's Bedroom
11:00AM


He remembered the hairpin curve of her lips, the way her sapphire eyes sparkled when she looked up at him. Her round cheeks full and pink with life and heat from the cocktail that had been consumed moments before as she lay on his chest, nuzzling into the warmth of his skin. Owen couldn’t forget the curve of her waist and the way his hand fit perfectly gripped around the fullness of her hips. It made it easy to forget all the times she had yelled at him till she was red in the face, splotched and swollen from crying. Or the times that he had been so worked up that he had gotten into his beat up Camry and spun his tires out in her driveway, hand still stinging and covered in flecks of drywall.

They had been a whirlwind romance, the kind that left you breathless and gasping for air, fist knotted in the sheets. Being near her had always been more like going to war than it was like a sanctuary from the battle, but fighting was all Owen was good at. He would be lying if he said he didn’t revel in it. One minute she would be telling him to get the fuck out of her house, standing on her tip toes to be able to shove his broad shoulders out the door. The next she would be jumping into his arms, legs wrapped around his waist and melting into him, as if they had let each other get so hot there was nothing left to do but meld into one being. They were toxic, but it was the kind of poison he couldn’t help but keep going back to, because Beth had always been his.

Until she wasn’t.

There hadn’t been any thoughts going through Owen’s head as he pinned the man to the ground. It didn’t take much, Owen was a hulking form and the man, half out of his business suit looked like it had been half a decade since he had held anything heavier than a pencil. Each crunch that followed the blow of one of Owen’s scarred fists was like a breath of fresh air, bringing him clarity from the ringing in his ears that had been sounding like an alarm bell. The warmth of the man’s blood smeared across each bony knuckle, but there wasn’t enough blood in the man to sait him. He could hear her screaming his name from the porch, begging him to stop, but Owen couldn’t find the restraint in him to comply.

“Oh for Fuck’s sake Owen!” Beth screamed, pulling on one of his shoulders. Fear of hitting her was the only thing that stilled his quaking rage. Owen stood, sneaking in another kick to the man’s ribs. He doubled over, groaning and coughing, clutching his abdomen. She shoved him away, the way she always did. Standing up on her toes to try and make her 5’5 form look intimidating. There was a fire in her eyes that would make a lesser man falter, but Owen only crossed his arms in response and stared her down.

He turned his head in disgust as she helped the man off the gravel driveway, pants still around his ankles. Owen tried not to listen as she apologized and told him to go, helping him to his car. The soothing tone of her voice was wasted on the scum that came lurking around her house after midnight. He could hear the man grumble something about how Beth deserved better. That much was true, but it had nothing to do with her relationship with Owen. He had lost count of how many times he had begged her to stop escorting, but it seemed that promises that were made during pillow talk were not to be trusted.

“I cannot believe you.” Beth’s voice was controlled, but quivering with the ripe emotion. Owen’s head tilted back toward her, it was hard to see where the blood splatters stopped and the freckles began.

“I love you,” He countered. She shook her head, blonde hair falling around her bare shoulders with each movement. The lace of her bra did little to cover the goosebumps that had moved up her collarbone and neck. She sniffed, the tears still falling even while she tried to stand firm.

“Not now Owen.”

“Why not now? That’s why I do this. Surely it’s not that hard to understand. I’ve done my best to be understanding Beth but…”

“Understanding?” She scoffed, rolling her bright sky colored eyes. “I can’t think of a client I have that you haven’t threatened, beaten or almost killed!” He growled, hands raising to run through his mop of hair. The adrenaline from his last fight hadn’t left him, and the battle wasn’t over yet.

“I don’t want them touching you. Why is that so hard for you to fucking grasp? It can’t be that foreign of a concept. I want you. I love you.”

“You knew what you were getting into with me when we started this Owen. Nothing has changed.” Beth crossed her arms, hugging the warmth to her body. Even now all he wanted was to draw her into his arms until she quit shivering, wipe the tears that welled in her eyes away.

“Everything has changed. I wasn't in love with you then. I thought this was over. You told me this was over.” He reached out to her, but she swatted his hand away.

“I have to fend for myself Owen. Unfortunately I still have bills to pay, no matter how much it hurts your feelings.” The mocking tone in her voice stung but he did his best to keep his cool, exhaling deeply out his nose.

“I would help you with money. How many times have I offered to…”

“To what?” She cut him off. “Buy me? How would that make you any different than the guy who's ribs you just broke?” The anger that surged through the Jordan twin was intense but he only scrunched up his nose and rose a hand, angrily talking with his hands.

“Because you aren’t my…”

“Your what?” She spat the question out, standing on those toes to look him in the face. "Go on say it," she provoked him. He bent down so they were almost nose to nose and bit out each syllable.

“My whore. You aren’t my whore Beth. You are my girlfriend.” Her beautiful face darkened as he spoke, contorted into something hateful.

“No. I’m neither,”

“Beth..”

“Get the fuck out of my yard Owen.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out…” He stopped her with his lips, pressing them firmly against her own. Owen expected her to resist and then melt as she always did when they fought, but instead he was met with the hard sting of her palm against the side of his face, before she pushed herself away and out of his reach.

“Leave.” Owen looked at her stunned, but knew better than to stay where he obviously wasn’t wanted. He swallowed hard, watching as she angrily refused to let the wells of hot tears fall from her eyes. There was a pause as he waited for her to take it back, to yell at him some more, to do anything that meant that there was still fight left in them, but her silence spoke volumes. Owen got in his car, and shut the door behind him.

~~~​

He gasped, air pouring into his lungs as he came back to consciousness. There was her face, worried and tired. Dark circles had taken over her fair features. For a moment, he thought maybe he had never left, maybe Beth had called him back that night. She reached out to touch his face, shushing him and smiling gently at his dazed form.

“You can’t move much love, and don’t try to speak, you’ll only make things worse.” As she spoke memories flooded back. That memory had happened a long time ago, long before the world had fallen apart. Yet here she was doting on him and taking care of him, losing sleep to make sure he was okay. He raised his hand slowly, letting it cup her face. Each movement hurt him, but it also was a reminder that he was alive.

His hand cupped her face and he led her down. He wanted to kiss her, to remind her what they had left behind almost a year ago. Beth let herself coaxed down, but at the last moment moved her lips to his forehead, the message clear.Their time was over, and all the care and worry that shone in her eyes was to be taken at face value. Beth had always been his, but she wasn’t his anymore.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part 1 of 3
October 30th, 10am​

Jenna winced as she pulled back the patch, leaving a light red mark on her skin. After a few years she'd gotten used to it. The medication, the cramps and even the dilating but this time it was different for as she peeled it away a pain shot through her arm. How long would it be before the damn thing went away? She hissed a curse under her breath. The girl couldn't go anywhere in this state, let alone try to leave the town. Not like she would have made it that far without help anyway, and the two men that seemed to want to leave just as badly as her were far worse off than she was.
Using her teeth she opened the packet containing a patch and slowly started to pull back the foil. Wincing once more she placed it gently against the skin. Pulling her jeans up, she placed her arm back into the makeshift sling and popped one of the pills out of the foil. Resting it on her tongue she took a drink of water from the sink.

"Just need to keep this and the rest of the shit up for the next...Fifty years." She sighed "Christ."
Running a hand down her face, the girl stared into the mirror for a few moments and made her way downstairs. Filling Cammy's bowl she collected the eggs from the coup, labelling them and setting them aside in the collection.

Making her way into the lounge, she passed him. Fisher had been incredibly quiet since his beating, even going a day without food. He sat in an armchair, looking at the shrinking blanket outside.
"Want some eggs? They're fresh out of the chicken's arse."

He shook his head, gently.
"Are you sure? I promise no shit gets on them. It's rather interesting, you see the chicken's Cloaca goes inside out to..."
"I know how it works, Jenna." He sighed "I know how chickens work. I studied Avian Influenza."
"Nasty shit." Jenna shook her head "Well, doc. The offer still stands. I can cook up some motherfuckin' eggs if you want."

Ralph turned his head slightly to look at her.
"Do you mind cutting down on the cursing? One of the kids could be listening in."
She raised an eyebrow at that "Those kids have already been exposed to a ton of violence, Ralph. I'm pretty sure having one of them saying 'fuck' repeatedly is a best case thing compared to like, them going nuts."

She squeezed the ridge of her nose "That was in poor taste. Sorry. Look, you gotta eat."
He went to turn his head away "If I can go five minutes without cursing, will you eat something?" She asked, catching his attention once more.
"Alright."

October 30th, 10:30am​

The two sat in the lounge, with Ralph taking a final bite of his food. As he gently went to set the tray down, Cammy ran towards it and started to lick the plate. He glared down at the dog first, only for the girl to cut him off.
"The floor is fair game, Ralph." She shrugged "It's the dog way."

She smiled, seeing that for the first time since the attack Fisher just about managed one of his own.
"You can pet her."
"Is she yours? How'd you manage to get her through homeland?"
"Nope. Found this one day one. Glass in the paw so me, Rogue and this kid Luka took her to get treated..." Her smile faded "We ended up avoiding the school that way."

Fisher reached out, gently giving the dog two pats on the head.
"Luka ran off, and well...You know what happened to Rogue." She shrugged
"I'm sorry."
"Not your fault, mate."
"I know, but I still should be."

A silence fell over the room, and if it wasn't for Cammy's panting and wagging tail you could have heard a pin drop.
"My kid likes your channel."
Jenna looked up at that
"She's nine."
"A bit too young to be watching me." Jenna chuckled slightly
"Oh of course, I only let her watch your scientific stuff."
"Scientific?" One eyebrow raised
"More about your veterinary career. I think she's a little bit too young to learn about the, um..." He cleared his throat slightly "If Sarah does want to be a Stephen, all I can do is support her but I'd rather she learns about it later."
"Ralph."
"Yes?"
"You're babbling."

He cleared his throat once more.
"Sorry."
"Look, that's a whole messy thing. I didn't figure that shi...Stuff out till I was in my early twenties. Even if she, or he, or they have you in her corner it's going to be rough. Really rough. On both of you."
"I know. But the love you have for your child isn't just an emotion. It's a promise. From the moment they're born till the moment you die you have to give it your all. No quarter, no backing down."

She gave him a slight smile, wiping one of her eyes "Well, shit."
"Swear."
"Sorry. It's just I never thought about it that way. If I get back home I'm gonna give my dad a..."
"When." He corrected "Not, if. When."
"I guess...Give me a moment."

After sitting for a minute, watching Cammy as she liked his plate clean Jenna returned. Clutched in her good arm was a cane.
"I should have given this to you sooner, but it belonged to a friend of mine so I was kinda hanging onto it...Sorry."
"It's fine." He smiled
"You're going to hate me by the end of this. I won't go easy."
"It's fine." He chuckled, throwing his hands up "Really...I'm honestly not sure if I have it in me to hate anyone."

An eyebrow was once again raised at Fisher
"Though I suppose we'll see."
Jenna smiled back at him.

 

[Rumble Fish]

October 30th 2018
Location: Kitchen/dining room
Time: 5:45 AM​

Sleeping on the sofa, or at least attempting to was simply not working. Colt groaned a little as she looked around the kitchen, sitting at the head of the table. She had come to sit in here when she failed to go back to sleep for the fifth time. Her throat was dry, her head pounded, and her mouth tasted like she had attempted to eat a dead skunk. Generally, not in a good place. It was 5:45 in the morning and from what Colt knew, everyone was still asleep. She had been sitting here with her gun in her lap for almost an hour in the silence and light slowly creeping into the room like beams on the floor as the red sun slowly rose. The night had been quiet with just the settling of the house for auditory company. She glanced for a moment to the crutches she had set against the door before putting her clammy forehead back onto the cold table.

It was not just the hangover and lack of sleep that gave the veteran grief. She volunteered to lessen her ration the previous night, rendering her pretty famished. However, Colt simply did not trust herself to attempt cooking. The last time she tried greatly reduced their egg supply by a third. The Lodge was struggling enough, they did not need her stupid ass to make it worse for them. Instead, she decided she should wait for Leliana or one of the others to do it. Besides, she needed solitude. It would be at least another hour before everyone started to get up and in that time she had decided, last night that once she had woken up, she would go around to count their rations, ammo, weapons, patrol around the perimeter of the Lodge and more. But now she was actually awake, none of that felt possible. All the events that occurred three days ago were still fresh as if they had just occurred. Ray was dead. Andy, Owen and Tre were critical and the mood within the Lodge was sombre. The woman sighed and shut her eyes, hoping to get another hour or so of sleep before she had to even attempt to build the will to sit up.

Colt was not the only one up and about at a stupid hour in the morning. The younger girl, Milly hopped down the stairs with light and springy steps, holding Snowy in her arms as she hummed slightly. She could not sleep. The fear of the monsters coming, or being attacked again was too great. She was hoping that Beth or Aubrey was awake. She wanted to talk to someone, she wished she could talk to Owen but she had not been allowed near him. But she doubted that anybody would be awake at this time; maybe she could play a few games of Patience while waiting for everyone.

That doubt was swept away as she rounded the corner to the sight of Colt, forehead on the table sitting in the kitchen. She must have heard her as the veteran turned her head, still resting on the table to face her. Milly squeaked as her face was almost green and the skin was dark beneath her red eyes. From what she had seen, Colt always looked quite sick. The teenager blinked a few times before flashing the veteran a little smile and a timid wave.

“Morning!” She chirped as she sat at the other end of the table, taking out her sticker book and beginning to play in it. Ahead of her, Colt groaned heavily as she sat upright, arms folded and looking towards her. Milly could see that she wanted to say something, but something seemed to be stopping her. Nerves? Milly could understand, the pair barely spoke to each other, so she felt the same. She just decided to assume Colt would have answered “morning” back. Her tongue poked from her mouth as she played with her stickers.

Well, this was awkward. Colt had never been one for interacting with children. Unless those children had guns and were shooting towards her and she had no choice but to shoot back. They were children, boys at Milly’s age. It had sunk too far into her mind for her to shake off. All she could do was watch the younger girl as she went about her business. Great; now she was babysitting. When did the others wake up again? With her mind working at a third of its capacity and running on the poor energy provided by alcohol and cigarettes left Colt unable to do more than simply watch. The pounding within her head and aching in her muscles only made her less eager to move. All she could do was watch the younger girl.

She was such a lanky little thing and despite their lack of good grooming supplies, her skin was clear with no blemishes. However, Colt knew this was due to a lack of experience. She did not know anything about the real world. All she knew were her movies and her toys; not that Colt could hold that against her. She was just a child after all. What could she expect? As she watched, it appeared that Milly had grown bored of her toys and ventured around the kitchen looking for breakfast. As she did, Colt sighed and once again rested her chin on the table, arms wrapped around it as she watched her. The coldness of the wood soothed her sickness but did nothing to cease the nauseating turbulence in her empty stomach. Colt had almost drifted back into a daze when the clinking of bowls and pouring of milk into crinkly cereal caught her attention. Milly sat back at the table. She had looked over to Colt while getting herself breakfast, Colt could only assume she was silently asking if she wanted some and the lack of response from the veteran answered her question.

Colt sighed as she watched the girl eat, turning her head to the side. She simply felt unable to move or gain the mental strength needed to get up and start her jobs. A lack of sleep and depressive mind hampered everything. Maybe she should ask Leliana about those meds. It was not prozac but it would have done something. Her leg swayed a little as she sat and her mind began to slip once again. But just as she had almost drifted to sleep, the sound of a clay bowl hitting wood caught her attention. Milly was standing next to her, one hand on the bowl and the other holding the spoon. Colt sat upright, instantly hit with lightheadedness.

“What?” She asked, swaying slightly in her seat as the younger girl glanced to the ground, the bluntness of that question seemed to spook her, but after a moment, she finally spoke up again.

“Your tummy’s rumbling.” She answered with the same bluntness that had just been given by the woman, causing Colt’s eyebrow to twitch. At this point in time she had tuned out the noise and had not noticed anything other than the hollow ache in her abdomen. Though it must have been loud for Milly to have noticed. Before she could answer, the youngster had refilled the bowl with more cereal and placed it in front of the woman. For a moment, Colt was stuck on what to do. She did not want to take food from the younger girl, but before she could speak, Milly interrupted her.

“Mum says you can’t expect a car to work without a full tank.” She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, “She would make eggs but I don’t know how to make them and the last time you made them, you hit your head so; coco pops!” She gave the bowl a gentle push, a little smile on her face hoping that both her words and the full bowl would help cheer up the hungry veteran. With a few blinks, Colt looked down at the bowl before turning to the younger girl again. She sat next on the long side of the table, bear sitting up and her large baby-blue eyes watching her intensely.

With a huff, Colt relented and took a large spoonful of cereal and started eating. The cold chocolate milk felt like a stream of ice down her throat and the crispy pops pinched the roof of her mouth, but the more she consumed, the tension began to slip away and her headache began to cease. The compassion from the youngster surprised Colt. She had watched her and she did not come across as the most socially experienced individual but she seemed to have a good heart, if not a loose tongue. That comment about the ostrich egg had not lost it’s comedic value with the veteran.

The woman sighed with a shudder because of the cold milk as she pushed the bowl away and once again put her chin on the table. Milly, who had been playing with her stickers once again, noticed the veteran’s lethargy. With a squeak, she scooched closer to her. She wasn't hungry anymore so why was she still like this? It didn't make sense, shouldn't that have made her happier? Milly had seen the woman angry and drunk, but not like this.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice as sweet as honey with a dash of worry. Colt sighed deeply and didn't move beyond blinking.

“Yes.” She answered, more out of an inability to come up with a better response rather than sheer rudeness despite her reluctance to speak. Her eyes still glassy and dead despite the meal. Milly murmured worryingly and wrung her hands.

“You don’t seem okay.” She spoke again. Colt gulped slightly, unsure of how to answer this statement. She was not going to take any blunt answer denying it. But how was she going to explain to a child what was going through her head? She was a kid, untouched by the world and Colt did not want to corrupt her with the grim thoughts mocking her. Talking to children was not something the veteran was experienced in but she could make an attempt. Colt shut her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again.

“I’m just sad, darlin’.” She breathed out in a defeated voice. Her brows furrowed inward as she looked to the small girl whose large eyes seemed to, beyond all possibility got bigger at her response. She leaned closer, almost at eye level with Colt.

“Why?”she asked softly. Why do kids always need to ask that question? Why could they not just be satisfied with the answer given to them without pushing? Colt huffed, trying to think of an answer. But as she was stuck in thought, she hadn’t noticed Milly getting the pair glasses of water until she heard the clink of the glass as it was put down.

“I just am.” Colt did not protest at the glass of water and simply took a long sip from it, grateful for the cold aqua to cleanse her innards of last night’s drinking. But again, this was not enough.

“But why? Was somebody mean to you? Is it because of Ray?”

“Well, kinda, darlin’. It's also just, it’s just,” She paused to drink more water, “Sometimes grownups just, well, have this… thing, in their heads, that makes them sad sometimes. Sad, tired, angry and all sorts. It does different things t’ya. I-it's kinda hard to explain. Sometimes I feel okay and sometimes I don’t. And today, because of what happened and that, I just feel… very sad.” She spoke slower as she finished, looking to the younger girl for her response. How else could she explain it? All she could give her was a simplified version, knowing that going too far in depth could do more harm than good. She knew others in the Lodge were fighting the same internal battles as her, but they seemed to be better at hiding it from Milly than she was. She just happened to come down those stairs at the wrong time. Milly hummed and leaned back in her seat, arms folded as she seemed to drift into thoughts.

For a few minutes, neither party spoke. The red streaks of light became a warm amber as the first starlings began their song in the frost buried trees. The house was still and silent, bathed in the soft glow of the morning sun. Soon it would be busy with everyone beginning their day. Despite her planning, Colt had neither the mental or emotional strength to commit to any of them. If anything, she just wanted to lie back down on the sofa and sleep; she would sleep forever if she could. Milly seemed to have noticed the veteran’s aura and, with a light flutter of her feet, she was out of the room and returning with a couple of boxes within seconds, which she threw onto the table and jolting Colt from her depressive stupor. She did not move from having her head resting against the table as Milly bent down to her level, her fluffy and black bangs obscuring her bright eyes.

“Miss?” Colt looked towards the girl without getting up, “I get sad too. A lot. I miss my mum and I just, really, really want to go home.” She spoke quietly, a quiver in her voice as she inhaled shakily through her nose, but before Colt could speak up, she continued. “But when I get sad, I play with jigsaws puzzles and board games. It’s more fun to play with people. Do you want to play something?” she asked, her voice still soft. It took a few moments for the woman to consider her answer. Honestly, she did not want to. But the thought of upsetting the younger girl was one she did not want to think about. Sitting up slightly, she looked over the choices given to her. Chess, scrabble, operation, battleship, checkers- wait battleship? Her head tilted with a blink.

“Hm.” She brought the beaten up box closer to her face, “I haven't touched this game in years.” She admitted, to which Milly seemed to be very interested in this statement. The last time Colt could remember playing any kind of board game was back when she was a child. Brooks was not a tech-savvy man despite the family owning a television and preferred to play cards with his friends, which Colt would join in or board games. Father and daughter would sit on the deck playing battleship and go-fish until the lamps turned on and the moths came out.

“Really?” Milly crooned with a happy clap of her hands, not paying attention to Colt’s travelling gaze into the past, “I’ll get it set up!” She did not even wait for a response from Colt before doing just that. In a matter of minutes, the game was set up. If anything, Colt was impressed with the speed in which she did it. While she didn't get up, the veteran found no use in protesting so set up her ships, taking some time to think carefully. Once she had set her ships up, she looked to the younger girl.

“Ya start, I’m rusty.” Colt spoke lowly but that did not deter the younger girl as she hopped in her seat a little before taking a moment to think. As she did, Colt blinked and watched her, trying to figure out where her ships could be. After a moment, the youngster hummed softly as she seemed to make her decision.

“D-6?” she asked.

“Nope.” Colt answered, still flopped on the table as she watched Milly put a peg on her side, “How ‘bout, D-6?” Milly giggled at this as Colt got out a peg to put in place.

“Noooo, and that’s cheating don’t copy me! B-3?” She squeaked with a giggle. Colt snorted a little, the child’s gentle aura may not have cured her of her depression but it lightened the room even though it was probably just the sun rising higher. The room slowly became warmer, the heat resting in the wood of the table.

“Damn. Y’got me.”

“Yay!”

“Okay, G-2?”

“Aw.”

“Heh,”

6:50 AM​

Time seemed to become a distant thought to Colt as she and Milly played a few rounds of Battleship with the younger girl winning once and Colt winning the next. They were now neck-and-neck, both had lost their platoons and their only hopes now were held in rescuing their stranded comrades. This was the aspect of Battleships that threw Colt off, this must have been a modern version.

Milly after a few moments of deliberation made her move. “J-4?” and with that Colt sighed with a slight shake of the head as she put the final peg in, resulting in a happy squeal and hand clapping from the youngster at being the overall winner between the two. Seeing her excitement, Colt could not help but allow the corners of her mouth to twitch upward into a… not-smile but somewhat close.

“Well, yer a smart one.” she sighed as she raised a scarred hand up and gave Milly a gentle brush of the cheek, making the girl giggle at the ticklish sensation. Her pale cheeks blushed at the compliment before blinking her soft eyes at the veteran. She scooted closer, putting her chin onto the table to be at Colt’s eye level.

“You’re smart too! I couldn’t find your soldier for aaaages!” she responded before bounding back into her chair. Colt snorted and finally, for the first time in over three hours sat upright and stretched her arms out and rolling her neck with a long groan as she felt her spine and shoulder blades crack and pop. Her shoulder still hurt from when she had fallen weeks ago but it was tolerable.

“Thanks, dah-dah-darlin’.” She spoke mid-yawn, “I always put a ship right next ta my solly. Throws folks off.” She looked to the younger girl, who’s mouth shaped a curious ‘o’ as she heard this. It made Colt snort a slight laugh as she looked up at the clock.

“So, miss? What are you doing today?” Milly asked as she hopped out of her chair to look out the window. It seemed to be a quiet day with just the birds however Colt knew she could not work by possibilities. There could be Things lurking around out there. She still lacked the motivation to go on this patrol, but what choice did she have in the matter?

“Need t’go ‘round outside. Make sure no Things are creepin’ ‘round.” She groaned as she forced her aching body to its foot, her head instantly becoming airy and sick from standing after semi-lying on the table for the last few hours. She felt something round and cold being put in her hand, glancing down with her bad eye to see Milly putting a fresh glass of water in her grip. Colt said nothing but took another long sip of it.

“I can come? I want to see the snow, and maybe you would be less sad if someone was with you? Y-you don't have to tell me why you're sad, I just want to help.” she asked, her head tilting like a curious bird. Colt sighed gently with a shake of the head; it seemed that she was not going to shake this kid off. She was not as mature and collected as Adryen, but was not infuriating to talk to like Kypher. As much as Colt wanted to let everything out, she could not put such pressure on a child. The veteran looked down, her leg quivering from its effort to hold her weight.

“Hm. Okay. Can ya grab them crutches for me?” As soon as she finished this question, Milly was already doing just that and helped Colt to prop herself up. She then noticed the gun that the woman had been holding onto the whole time which she had put on the table to help herself up. The little one froze up a bit, her face going slightly pale. Clearly the lingering trauma of the siege weighed on the youngster’s mind. But despite Colt's concerns, she did not back out of her promise.

“Are we going far?” She asked as Colt swung the gun around her back after putting her army jacket on.

“Naw, don’ worry. We’re only goin’ ‘round the treeline. Just gonna be sure there’s nothin’ about before we start workin’.” Colt explained as she picked herself up and, after a few clumsy steps, she got her stride. Milly trotted ahead and pushed the door open. Colt was instantly hit with a rush of cold against her skin. It was windier than she had expected. The black clouds hung in the sky. It may snow. Covering her nose with her scarf, she watched Milly, in her navy parker jacket shuffle anxiously through the snow, jumping at every small noise. Colt was surprised she had asked to join, given her last experience of being outside led to carnage and being held, hostage. But she had to admire her for wanting to do this, even if it was probably because Colt had a gun. The woman sighed and hobbled down the stairs. She could barely even get down steps without struggling. She could only hope her prosthetic could be fixed soon. With a swell of her chest, Colt inhaled the sharp air deeply before turning to the smaller girl, "Think goin' for a mosey is just what I need right now."

"Okay!" Milly chirped, "Let's go!" she exclaimed before skipping ahead, well within Colt's sight. The veteran shook her head with a melancholy chuckle. She knew that it was going to be a long day, a long week, and probably a long lifetime. But this brief few moments of peace and quietness with the pleasant company would help settle her troubled mind, even for a short time. The chilly air and silence aside from Milly brought back pleasant memories. Memories of her father and herself hunting by horseback through the forest with their two bloodhounds Todd and Copper. They would comb the forest for miles, only returning home once twilight hit. Colt sighed as she limped alongside Milly. Maybe she would play another quick game before getting to work. If only things were different. If only.

I may ask of you to walk for me,
Because my bones ain't what they used to be...
​

Mentions: Brax (Tre) Maj (Beth/Owen/Andy) Corgi (Aubrey) Meredith (Adryen) FireMaiden (Leli) Kloudy (Kypher)

 

[Brax]

In the hours that followed the hazmat attack on the lodge, Luca had spent quite a bit of time with Andy but allowed her space to rest. After the sun had gone down and most had went to bed the man left the master bedroom to make way for the lookout, just off of the property. Anxiety most definitely had something to do with it. Whereas Tre normally spent nights staying awake to guard the lodge, the teen was obviously unable to do so given his condition. There was a lot on the Italian’s mind. Enough to prevent him from easily finding sleep, so sitting atop the lodge provided him safe cover from the reanimated while being able to properly scout out the group’s surroundings. The generator was offline. Without lights or power, there was no real need for Luca to stick around inside of the lodge.

Those few hours in Andy’s lookout turned into a few days. Luca had left a couple times sparingly to eat or use the bathroom, but would return to his post. The quiet following the attack on the lodge had left him more shaken than the actual attack itself. Each passing moment it seemed as though more men in suits would come to avenge their fallen comrades, if not hordes of zombies. However, not all of the man’s time up in the lookout was spent in a constant state of paranoia. Rather, some of the time he had taken to be alone was allotted to fixes that the lodge needed. What he had said to Leliana was absolutely correct; he did not know how much longer the group could stick around the lodge. However, without being properly forced out or overgrowing the property, multiple reconnaissance runs would have to be made to scope out a new residence. It would take time, manpower and the lodge still needed to be protected for the time being.

Sleep had come very sparingly in that amount of time. A thirty-six hour span of time being awake led to a pretty hefty crash for Luca. However, it led to a well-rested sense of mind. Five in the morning rolled around, exactly a week after the hazmat attack. Luca made his way down from the lookout and decided to get back into his pattern of exercising. He spent a few minutes in the backyard stretching each one of his limbs, sure to spend extra time on both of his legs. Then, he went for a run around the lodge. Judging by the time, he surmised that sixteen laps would equal about a mile. This would be a good starting point. By the time he was done running he was completely out of breath but he felt good. This was followed up by a routine that could be followed without the use of weights. Fifty push-ups were followed by the same amount of sit-ups. Chin-ups off of the bike rack on the top of the RV. Luca climbed a tree, then climbed back down. Another thirty chin-ups to match the previous set, followed by fifty push-ups and sit-ups. Looking out toward the forest with his back turned to the sliding doors belonging to the lodge, Luca wiped his forehead with the shirt he had previously been wearing. Then he lit a cigarette.

“Not even the really good stuff” Nile spoke up from behind the sliding door as a puff of smoke appeared inside the Lodge. Opening up the door, he stepped out before anyone found him and ripped him a new one for smoking in the Lodge. “Wasting a good cig like that? C’mon man, least’ put pot in it” Nile said as he walked up beside Luca, taking another puff. He seemed to be smoking a lot more than usual, if the smell in and around the Lodge were any indication. While everyone had to deal with the smell, at least Nile was a lot less irritable. Apparently he became much more bearable after a couple tokes.

Looking to Luca, Nile gave him a disturbed look. It seemed like some common sense had filtered through the meth-head. He remembered carrying Ralph, running for the Lodge as Hazzies shot around them. Then he saw Luca, dragging a Hazzy off of the redhead. He didn’t even bother trying to remember that one’s name. At first, he was relieved to see the guy, cause, y’know, the first sight he’d ever been treated to of him was him beating the everloving shit out of someone. So, yeah, they could help them, right? Well, Nile sure as hell didn’t want that Italian helping them now when he began to dig his hands into the Hazzy’s fucking eyes. Watching those things go ‘Squish’ and collapse in on themself in a goopy pile of blood, eye-ball juice, and oh fuck Nile’s gonna throw up. Yeah, so, that’s not really a sight you just unsee.

So yeah, in conclusion, Nile was pretty fucking terrified about standing a foot away from a sociopathic killer. I’m high, this is a problem for sober me. Stop worrying, stress increases the chance of a heart attack and god only knows how close I am to having another one Nile said, trying to calm his nerves. Taking another smoky puff of his Pot cigarette, Nile decided he might as well ask some things. The guy would lose some of his terror by answering normal questions, right? How can you be scared by a guy talking about the weather?

“Hey, so, Luca, was it? Um, you seen our truck anywhere dude? I haven’t seen it since before the attack” Nile asked, taking another puff from his cig.

“You lot came across two girls on your trip.” Luca replied, not bothering to look at or greet who it was that had approached him. “When you got back, they were left with the supplies. One of the girls held the other at gunpoint and now there is no truck. Only two bags. One duffle bag filled with medicine, the other who fucking knows.” Was Luca upset about this? Not necessarily. Though, he was sure that some people in the lodge probably got a lesson regarding trust. At the very least, the man had to hope.

Usually, the scent of marijuana was something that followed Tre around. This was undoubtedly something that both the teen and Nile would have in common. Luca didn’t smoke weed nearly as much. Not for any particular reason. He just did not find it a necessity. While the same could certainly be said for the effects of alcohol, it was a matter of preference.

“We need to build a barricade. We’re surrounded by woods. So, cutting down more trees and fastening the bark into sharp ends will trap zombies who are on the outer perimeter. We can put a large gated door on both ends. There will be no way for anything to get over the barricades if we haphazardly stack the sharpened wood. Built a perimeter and nothing will be able to get in.” His index and middle fingers rose to his mouth to take the cigarette from his lips. Then he turned his head to look at the man who had been standing beside him.

“Do you have a report of all the damage done to the interior of the lodge?”

“Huh?” Nile said, distracted by the smoke coming from his cigarette. “Oh, yeah. We got, like, 5 smashed windows, a couple dozen bullet holes, and a lot of fucked up walls. Nothing irreversible, cept’ the windows, but that’s just an excuse to finally board them up” Nile said.

“Is there anybody that’s able-bodied enough to help us board them?” Luca asked.

“Well, there’s you, me, that buff guy, and that fatass. Sure, he’s injured, but a bullet to the ass is something he can walk off” Nile said, taking another puff. “The exercise would do em’ some good anyway. Oh, and there are those two blonde chicks. The noobie and the nurse. They got some minor injuries I think, but I’m sure they’ll heal up in no time” Nile said, giving the Lodge a glance. Boy did it look ugly right now. “Is that Russian fine? Hope he is, we could use him. Other than that, I dunno who else is fine, but I think we could get the repairs done in...eh, 2, 3 days tops” Nile said with a shrug. He hadn’t looked at Luca since he approached him.

​

“How many morons does it take to board up an empty hole? Send two of them to finish up the repairs in a day.”

“Sure but, I’d say this place is fucked. They know we’re here, why stay? Why bother with repairs? Sounds like a waste of time” Nile asked, genuine confusion etching his features.

“You’re right, it is.” He replied, noting that Nile was thinking along the same lines as himself. “Wasting time and resources on something that is going to be extravagant does not make sense, but going out and finding a new compound for all of us is something that is not going to come easy. It’s not as simple as all of us leaving and taking on the land to scope out what lies beyond the lodge. There are people among us who are still hurt, others who know nothing of combat and self-defense will not take to the streets with ease. If we’re operating under the guise of an umbrella, we must do what is best for all of us. It’s not my call to cut our losses and take who is healthy. The people in the lodge whom I align myself with have a much bigger heart than I do and I must bend to their allegiances as a result. So, in the interest of safety, we need to take precautions that are quick and effective while we are dealing with our living situation.”

Nile was silent for a moment, before finally looking at Luca for the second time tonight. “What the fuck are you saying? You sound like your giving a College essay for that one uber strict literature teacher” Nile said taking another toke as he tried to decipher what Luca said. “‘Operating under the guise of an umbrella’, wha-what the fuck? Sorry, but hold up” Nile said.

Half-opened eyes searched for the sarcasm that came with the comment. Luca was disappointed when he found none. It hadn’t been the first time Nile had irritated him, as their first meeting had proven him to be probably one of the most annoying people on the face of the planet. Luca recalled thinking that he had killed people for much less. Hell, he may have even mentioned it to the man standing beside him.

“There are people here who are dead weight. Other people are still badly injured. I can’t leave them without others getting upset. So, I have to work around them. In the meanwhile, we will send out reconnaissance runs to try and find a new place to live.” Smoke erupted from Luca’s nostrils as he parted his lips to follow up.

“If I have to dumb it down any further for you, I’ll be talking with a baby voice.”

“Hardy har har asshat, that’s all you needed to say” Nile grumbled as he took another smoke. Nothing gets rid of being terrified of someone like getting pissed at them. “Count me out of the Recon runs, I’ve gotta fix this place up. Judging by your child’s drawing that you tried to pass off as blueprints, this place would fall apart while I’m away” Nile said.

“That must be some good shit you’re smoking. Did you happen to forget who you’re talking to?” Luca asked genuinely, as he lifted a boot up to put out the burning cherry of his cigarette. He then flicked the butt at Nile’s chest.

Nile, failing to raise one eyebrow because that’s impossible, raised both eyebrows as if he were surprised. “I’m so out of here” Nile said, realizing he should cut his losses. Tossing the cigarette onto the grass after one last puff, he didn’t even bother stepping on it as he walked away.

Featuring: Togy

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part 2 of three
November 4th, 12pm
​

Using her good arm, Jenna steadied Ralph as the two made their way through the kitchen. The cane shook as it made impact with the ground.
"You got this, Ralphie."
He squinted at that, sharply turning to face Jenna.
"Just Ralph. For Goodness sake."
"Okay. Just Ralph. Keep it going."

He groaned, but not from physical pain as the two turned, making their way out of the kitchen and back to the lounge. Plopping himself down on the armchair he let out a heavy sigh.
"Alright, let's go again in about ten minutes."
"You've done plenty for today."
"I want to go again though."
"You can't push yourself too hard. Maybe we can go again in an hour or two?"

He tapped his cane on the ground "I need to keep going!" He snapped "I can't keep sitting around on my ass! I need to keep moving!"
"Ralph..."
"The world outside has gone to shit! I need to get out there! I-I need to get home! I can't do that if I need you to just keep me standing!" He tapped the cane some more, before throwing it to the ground.

She let him finish his rant, then walked to his side.
"So first off, swear."
"I'm sorry, Jenna." He shook his head "I...Oh God, I just miss them."
Resting a hand on his shoulder Jenna let out a light sigh "I know. But this takes time. Hell, it took me six weeks to fully recover from my operation."
"I don't think we have that kind of time. It's in the air. It's spreading. It's evolving. It might have ravaged New York by then or even the whole East coast."
"And what if it doesn't? By the time the bastard gets that big coverups won't matter. The full force of the United States military will be sent to counter the infected."

"You think they'll let us go home?"
"Probably not. But in that case we go to Canada. It's closer, and I don't fancy our chances of crossing into Mexico either. Border could be shut with the infection or the legendary ice wall that wotsit you have for a President keeps babbling on about could have gone up in these few weeks."

He raised an eyebrow at that.
"I guess politics don't matter. Not anymore." Jenna shrugged
"I never cared for it."
"I could tell." She chuckled "I remembered you. It took me a few days to figure it out, but I did see you on television a while ago."

His eyes rolled like brown marbles.
"Oh, the Disneyworld thing?" He rubbed his eyes

THEN​

A rugged Fisher stood in front of a swarm of reporters, facing a barrage of questions that flew at him like the bullets from machine gun fire, his brown eyes tired and his smile nowhere in sight.
"Does the CDC have any comment on the outbreak?"
"All I can say is that we're doing what we can to contain it."
"How are you keeping America's children safe?"
"With containment and treatment of this awful disease. Thankfully, with twenty first century medicine we understand these viruses better..."

Question after question was answered the way his bosses and his team wanted them answered. Facts first, not giving a lot of room for speculation. People ran stories like this in an attempt to stir things up and Ralph knew it.
Panic was a weapon in the disease's arsenal, after all.

He glanced over to a small crowd behind the swarm, locking eyes with a member of his team. Elaine gave him one thumbs up, mouthing "You got this."
"This is one of the largest measles outbreaks we've seen. Do you think there is a link between this and the culture of people not vaccinating their children?"

The other reporters went silent with that question. Fisher locked eyes with Elaine, who was shaking her head "Don't..."
Facing the press, Ralph leaned forwards.
"Absolutely. Such a culture is dangerous and idiotic."

From there, a new barrage started
"Are you saying this outbreak sits with the blame of this culture?"
"Yes. These people are anti-scientific, basing their beliefs. Not facts, beliefs on unfounded science put forward by a fraudulent doctor. I have seen polio and measles, diseases of the past make their return. It's not a coincidence that this happened due to this culture."
"Are you saying these parents are responsible?"
"If they aren't vaccinating their kids, then yes."
"What do you say to parents who refuse?"
"Unless your child cannot get the vaccine due to medical or financial circumstances then you're a bad parent if you don't vaccinate them!"
"Are you saying parents who don't vaccinate are bad parents?"
"Do the CDC share these opinions?"
"Are you saying vaccines should be mandatory."
"You see there's a thing these morons don't understand called herd immunity! Infants, people with medical problems, et cetera who cannot get vaccinated are at risk. It is the duty of those who can to get vaccinated in order to prevent these people from falling victim to these diseases. Not just as Americans, but as human beings in a society where vaccines are available!"

He let out a heavy sigh "I've been to countries where vaccines aren't an option. We have taken them for granted and so these morons listen to quack doctors and reality TV stars instead of actual scientists to teach them about medicine. They believe their children are better off dying slowly and painfully than contracting something like Autism, or even...With some of these morons, becoming homosexuals."

Elaine had her head in her hands, but Fisher pressed onwards. That was, until he saw one of his superiors approaching and had to shut down the interview.
He was just happy it didn't cost him his job.

NOW​

"Yeah, the Disneyworld thing." She chuckled "Look, when we get out of this town you're going to need to be put in front of cameras again. Instead of calling out soccer moms who think they know better than qualified doctors, and who think Autism is worse than dying of fucking Polio you're going to be calling out the US government. I need the Ralph Fisher with fire in him." A hand rested on his shoulder "Can you do that?"

He nodded, letting out a deep breath "I can try."
"Give it one hundred and ten percent."
"That is impossible."
"Ralph...For, forget it."

He smiled up at her, and let out a light chuckle. Jenna laughed back.

****​

Night had fallen in the forest, and Ralph wanted to see the stars. The woods, separated from the town that had fallen to yellow-clad executioners marching like SS soldiers and the dead was also separated from light pollution. Living in New York, of all places he had never gotten a good look at the stars. It wasn't until he'd gone international that he'd seen the cosmos with his own eyes.

He sat on the porch in a deckchair, looking up and yet as he glanced at the universe he could do little more than think of home. His train of thought was interrupted as the back door opened and Jenna sat next to him.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked, leaning forwards. He was tired of the sitting, and the waiting. Now was the time for strategy.
"Once the people here are fit to travel I'm going to bring up the idea of getting to Canada."
"Jenna, there's two whole states between here and the border." He shook his head "Mexico's closer, but the higher population could mean more infected."
"I thought so too, so the road to Canada could be clearer."

He slowly nodded
"You're on the disease front, and..." She paused. Jenna had promised not to tell anyone else about Brian's secret, but Fisher would know soon enough. With the attack on the lodge a few days ago it was only a matter of time before things slipped out. She and Marcus couldn't have been the only ones he'd told, and even if she knew Brian wasn't a traitor there would be a lot of questions raised.
How did the hazmats find them? With the cover of the trees, it would have been difficult to spot activity at the lodge with a drone. Had somebody betrayed them?
She'd seen Brian gun down hazmats left and right, so why would he sell out the lodge if he was going to risk his own life to defend it?

She'd keep her lips sealed for now. Even if she trusted Fisher, a promise was a promise.

"I have someone else working this too. They've got information."
"Who?" Did Brian tell her too, Fisher wondered. It made sense if the man was looking for a platform.
"He promised me not to tell you. I believe in keeping my promises."
"Is it Brian?" He took a gamble, whispering gently. He was a man of his word too, but if they were going to work together they'd need a level of trust. He too, wondered about just how many people at the lodge Brian had actually told.

She slowly nodded.
"He told me too."

"He's going to be exposing the CIA and that mercenary group. It will be a diplomatic shitstorm between the US and Canada but the alternative is probably letting both countries fall to the outbreak. I, on the other hand will be using my mass following to draw attention to this." She pointed at herself "The internet thinks I'm probably dead. They will have been following me, looking for answers since I went dark. As soon as we get a connection, you and Brian will be at the forefront with what you know and then we keep going till we get to Canada."

He slowly shook his head, watching as Jenna paced around the room explaining her plan.
"Not a great plan."
"Yeah." She shrugged "It needs work. Look, Brian's got a pen drive full of information about those yellow-clad Fascists, and you've got your own findings on the plague. We have what we need to get this public. It's just a case of..."
"Making sure we're not hunted down?"
"Yeah."
"Let's focus on making sure we're safe first. If you upload that information to the internet, the chances are that the government will track us down. I agree with you, this is something the world needs to know about but I won't risk the lives of everyone here."
"If we keep this to ourselves, then we could be risking a lot more than just our own lives."

He slowly nodded once more
"I agree. I just think we should focus on getting ourselves safe first. All that information means nothing unless we're dead and can't back any of it up. Then all they need to do is smear us, deny everything and eventually it'll all go away." He explained, letting out a heavy sigh "By then it'll be far too late."

Jenna sat across from him.
"Well, you got me there, Doc. I just..."
"What? No, don't stop. You can tell me." He pushed himself upwards with the cane and sat down next to her while the girl rested her head in her hands.
"It's okay, I'm just tired is all..."
"When's the last time you slept?"
"Ehh. I've been getting three or four hours in. Every couple of nights."

He leaned back, his brown eyes widening slightly "That's..."
"It's how much I slept in my Uni days." She scoffed "Look, you're the one with a hole in his knee put there by a goddamn Nazi. I think you've got enough to worry about."

He winced a little bit when she used that word. He'd only heard stories from now dead relatives or read about it in the history books. It was a word he'd hoped would only be mentioned in the past tense, but he'd been thinking about it too. How the hazmats had acted had got him thinking about the horror stories his grandparents and great-grandparents had passed down. He winced once more as he remembered how one of the hazmats had taken his time with him.
Given the permanent reminder in his knee it wasn't something he would forget.

The mercenary had left Ralph with a life-limiting injury that slowed him down amongst the infected. Colt may have killed the man, but it seemed as he had the last laugh at Ralph. He shuddered at the thought of what kind of organisation would entrust a maniac like that and shuddered once one at the thought of more like him being on the payroll of the government he'd dedicated his life to.

"I'm not going to stop bothering you until you tell me what's wrong."
"Oh, for God's sake." Jenna huffed "You're gonna pull that card?"
"Yes." He smiled "So sit down and share. If it's eating away at you, then..."

She squeezed the ridge of her nose and sighed heavily. She had to avoid the topic, now. Ralph was one of the good ones and she didn't want him to see her as a killer. Something else came to mind, and she jumped right to it.
"I've been thinking...Brian and I could manage if we got in touch with the right people in Canada. I'd need to see what's on that drive of his first but you don't need to put yourself out there if you're afraid of these guys and what they can do. Hell, I can even dip into my accounts and get your family on a plane to Canada if that's what's needed. We can say we got your findings from another source and you can stay in the shadows, start over in Canada with your family..."

She looked into his eyes "I'm saying that you don't have to do this."
"I do."
"Why you?"
"Why me what?" He turned to face her "It's my job." He smiled, glancing back at the universe above him "Somebody's got to save people from these things." He looked over once more "Yours included."
"Is there a quota? How many do you have to save?"

He glanced over once more "All of them."
"All of them?" Her eyebrows raised "You think you have to save everyone?"
"Indeed."
"I mean, how?"

His gaze moved back to her, his brown eyes looking tired and his smile fading.
"I've dealt with Polio, Measles, Avian flu, Ebola, BSE, AIDs and even bio terrorism. But this...Thing. It's the only plague I've encountered that actually has the potential to wipe us out. It killed my team, and it'll keep killing so if I don't stop it and save everyone then no one will and we all die."

Jenna leaned back in her chair, taking the Doctor's words in.
"Fuck..." She muttered "That's horrible."
"Yes, it is." He glanced back at the stars once more
"That's one of hell of weight to have on your shoulders there, Doc. To feel like seven and a half billion lives depend on you... Jesus Christ... How do you sleep at night?"
"Not well." He sighed "All the more reason for you to help me get back on my feet, young lady."

Mentioned: Brian BloodThunder27

 

[Corgi]

November 2, 2018

​

“Second room on the left… Second room on the left…” The words repeat in Aubrey’s mind as she makes her way up the staircase to the second floor of the cabin. Aubrey had asked around to where she could find Colt, as she hasn’t gotten used to the layout of the area quite yet, and she got a variety of answers but decided that the instructions of which room were probably more reliable than anything else.

Her heavy boots carried her across the hall, stopping at Colt’s room. Aubrey had been thinking about who she wanted to ask to go with her on the expedition to find her sister, and since Colt was the first person she met, and the one that put the most trust in her at the very beginning, she thought Colt would be a dependable person to have. Placing her right hand on the rim of her cap and her left on the door knob, she took a deep breath and walked in, “Colt, I know this is sudden but-” Her words were cut short by the visage of a person who was very much not Colt.

Owen struggled to sit up in bed. He rubbed his eyes in almost a child like way, using the back of his fists to break the sleep from his lashes. The redhead had been expecting Leliana, or Hector or maybe even Andy but the girl who walked into his room was unrecognizable to him. Had they adopted more people since he had been confined to his bed?

“Hey,” the man greeted. His voice was hoarse as he tried to speak. Apparently one of the side effects of having your lung punctured was a difficulty speaking. Even after more than a week of recovery time he wasn’t up to full strength. Moving was almost impossible and even conversing with the occasional visitor was pretty exhausting. Despite that, he gave the girl a warm smile.

Aubrey’s eyes went wide at the male in front of her and her other hand shot up to a wave, “Hello…” She muttered, glancing around before noticing he was shirtless. For the first time in quite some time, her cheeks immediately went pink and she turned around. Aubrey has been through many situations and have seen many things, but the one thing she was never prepared for was partial/full nudity, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry- I didn’t know- Oh, I should’ve knocked I’m-so-sorry-” The girl rambled and from her position, her arm immediately reaching for the door knob.

Owen failed at his attempt to chuckle, the convulsions causing too much pain to do it properly. Still he managed to hold up a hand to stop her, the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips showed his amusement at the expense of her embarrassment. Not only had he gotten used to people barging into his room as they felt like it, but someone so cute was hardly an intrusion.

“It’s fine,” the twin assured her. “You were not the blonde I was expecting, but I’m not disappointed.” He shot her a playful wink, but pulled the covers up to his chest to make her more comfortable. It had been days since he had been able to get a good look at himself, and was sure with all the healing injuries he looked a mess.

“I’m Owen.” He did his best to speak, but his voice occasionally cracked, ruining what would normally be a charming interaction. “I’m not sure we’ve met.” If they had it was likely during the lucid moments he had during the early days of his injuries. From the sounds of things it had been pretty touch and go. Leliana and others had to fill him in on many gaps in his memory.

Aubery hesitantly took her hand back and turned around, her eyes slightly shut to make sure he was covered before opening them all the way at the sight of a blanket wrapped around his upper half, “Oh, I’m glad you’re not disappointed,” In her previously flustered state, she completely forgot to introduce herself, something that she doesn’t forget often. Outstretching an arm, she said, “I’m Aubrey. It’s nice to meet you,” still standing at the entrance of the door, the outstretched arm was simply a kind gesture that she didn’t expect any motion in return, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before in my life.” She stated, her head slightly cocked at the wink he did previously, “Is your eye okay, by the way? Do I need to get Lelianna?” Aubrey asked, a furrowed brow on her face.

“My eye? It was Hector who was-” Owen stopped mid sentence, realizing her confusion and laughed silently, holding his torso and shaking his head. Man, how the mighty have fallen. There was a time that girls swooned at a well placed wink, but he looked such a mess this poor girl thought there was something wrong with him. Talk about a gut punch to his ego.

“My eye is fine,” the boy finished. “But it’s sweet of you to worry about me.” It was pretty obvious to him that she had barged into his room by mistake, but all he did these days was sleep and get chastised by every person who decided to walk through his doorway. The awkward girl in the dirty red hat was a nice change of pace.

“When did we acquire you?” They had collected and re-homed many people since the initial outbreak, Owen supposed it should be no surprise to him. At some point they were going to have to cut it off or they would have a small village staying at the lodge. To be honest, he was still fuzzy on most of the details that had happened since he had passed out on the wreckage of the back porch. For all he knew Aubrey could have been here for weeks.

Thankfully not realizing that she had practically insulted this man, she nodded slowly, “Right,” She murmured, “I got here around…” Her voice trailed off as the tried to think how long ago it had been. Had she already lost count? It felt like it had been months but it couldn’t have only been but a week or two, right? “Uhm… Back when Colt, Lelianna, and Nile went to gather supplies at the motel. I was holding up there for the time being and they managed to pick the room I was in. That was a rough day,” Her eyes glanced back at him before her eyes widened slightly, “Of course not as bad as how you had it though.”

After a brief pause, Aubrey let out a slight sigh at her awkward approach. She had never been this weird around people- but typically the people she talked to were female and not bed-ridden due to injuries in a battle she didn’t even fight in. Suddenly remembering why she was in the room in the first place, she piped up, “Do you know where Colt is?”

The thought then occurred to her that this was Colt’s room… And there was an man in her bed… Shirtless, “Oh no... “ The breath caught in her throat, she managed to mumble, “Or if she’ll be back any time soon?”

“Colt’s room is across the hall,” Owen offered helpfully. “But you are welcome to stay here if you are looking for a bunk mate…”

Owen stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with his sister standing in the doorway. Her hip was cocked, leaned against the frame, arms crossed over her chest as she gave him a disapproving head shake.

The relief that flooded her was even more than she felt when she learned that the trio she had met at the motel weren’t going to cut off her fingers. Back to her composed self, she nodded, “It was the second room on the right… Got it. Thanks for the offer but I already-” Her own speech was cut off by the boy’s far away look as she turn over her shoulder to see a girl. A female version of the boy in the bed. Almost the same face but one a little softer than the other.

“Even on your deathbed you are a slime ball I see,” her cool voice floated in and Owen couldn’t help but wonder how long she had been listening. He gave his sister a sheepish grin followed by a shrug of his broad and bandaged shoulders. Mostly, he was just relieved to see her getting some of her energy back. Owen never thought he would live to see the day he missed her snarky attitude.

“If you spent half as much energy on healing as you did flirting with every girl you see then you might not sound like a prepubescent boy when you talk.” She turned her gaze to Aubrey and gave her an apologetic look. “Please ignore my idiot brother. He’s a moron but he’s actually harmless.”

Waiting for the girl to finish talking, she nodded, “I accidentally barged into his room, so I feel like ignoring him would be more rude, but he does seem harmless in his current condition, yes. I’m Aubrey,” She stated once more, extending the arm, this time for the purpose to actually shake the girl’s hand.

Andy blinked at the girl slowly, trying to drink her in as she hesitantly reached out to shake the girls hand. There was something off about her that Andy couldn’t quite put her finger on. She looked from the blonde to her brother with a cocked eyebrow that seemed to state ‘what a weirdo.’ Owen only smirked at her in response.

“Andy,” she replied shortly.

Aubrey shook her hand sternly before glancing back at Andy and then Owen, “Uhm… Nice to meet you and thank you for your time,” She said respectively to each, one hand still on the rim of her hat, “I’m uh… Gonna go and talk to Colt now. Bye.” With a nod, a wave of her hand, and shuffle towards the door, she slunk out of the room.


“What’s the deal with Blondie?” Andy asked once Aubrey was gone. Owen shrugged and grinned at her and Andy rolled her eyes in response, taking a seat in the chair next to her brother’s bed.

Featuring: Maj
Mentioned: Rumble Fish

 

[Corgi]

November 9th, 2018

​

“Mhmm. Hm.” This grunting had been going on for the last couple of hours since Colt had started reading. It was only now she had decided to actually study some of the books on the low shelf that she had pushed against the door. She had looked through a couple before settling on True Grit on the account of her love of the Western genre. Colt paused for a moment to pick up another beer and cracked it open with her teeth before taking a drink from it. A few empty ones sat discarded on the floor. To say the woman was buzzed was an understatement. She was not currently needed by anyone, nobody had seeked her out so why approach any of them?

Aubrey stood outside of Colt’s actual room. After the mix up with Owen, she knew for sure which room was hers... But she also decided to not talk to her right away. After seeing Owen and how injured he had been, she didn't want to bother her healing process. So, for the past seven days she had been holding off. On occasions she would walk to her door, try and build up the courage to talk to her, but inevitably walk away. This time, she was going to talk to her, she had to. It had been too long and by this point, her sister may not be alive. Aubrey knew there would be a lower chance of her ever finding her the more she waited. She needed to find Charlotte.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her fist and knocked on the door, “Colt? It's Aubrey. Can I come in?”

“Girl crosses a damn river and the first thing ya do is hit ‘er with a damn switch. LaBoeuf ya gawddamn pervy bast-!” Colt’s low grumbling was halted by Aubrey’s voice behind the door. What did she want? If she had been anyone else, she would have been likely to either not answer or tell them where to go. But she couldn't ignore Aubrey. The veteran still felt a heavy weight of guilt in her chest for leaving her with that maniac who stole the truck.

Struggling to her less-than-stable foot, the inebriated woman wedged herself between the bookshelf and wall, pushing hard with her shoulder until the door was clear. The bookshelf made an unholy screech across the floor as it moved. Once cleared, Colt took her place back on the bed, propped up by pillows and room back her beer. “C’min.” She answered before taking another sip. Hopefully she could remember what page she was on later.

Aubrey looked confused as she listened to the words that sprouted from Colt’s mouth… Or what she thought were words. What she was saying didn't even sound like English. Nonetheless, she waited for a response. When Aubrey didn't hear anything for a few seconds, she was about to call out but a horrible screech of wood made her pause for another second before calling out, “...Are you okay?”

Once more, Aubrey waited a few seconds, and when there was no response, she was about to bust open that door. Her foot was mid air and parallel to the door when Colt responded. Concern written on her face, she dropped her foot and slowly opened the door, slowly entering the room and shutting it behind her.

“Hey… Uhm.. How have you been feeling?” She asked. She didn't bother asking what all of the noise was. If Colt wanted to talk about it, Aubrey was sure she would. However, looking at Colt, she felt bad for even coming in the first place.

“‘Pologies for the noise.” Colt knew it had bothered her given her tone, “Can’t be too careful.” She added as she took another drink of beer with a slight hiccough. The room seemed to be swaying and her tongue was loose with slurred words. As the younger girl asked her if she was okay, the woman paused to consider her answer. No, she wasn't. But like Milly she could not burden somebody such as Aubrey with her thoughts. She clearly had enough, and given that she had seeped her out, she most likely needed something from her. The woman shrugged slowly with her arms flopping onto the covers of the bed.

“Ack, never mind that.” She waved a hand around as she drawled, “Bin tryin’ t’keep things runnin’. Gotta couple’ve hours to mahself so doin’ some readin’. Nothin’ much.” She sat up a bit more, her red eyes drifting a little before settling onto the girl. “Enough ‘bout mah dumb problems, how ya doin?” She asked the girl. Despite only having here for a fortnight, Colt couldn't help but worry about the girl. Something about her mannerisms and the way she thought was different to the others, more akin to Milly but with higher thoughts and world experience.

“Oh, I'm fine.” She spat out, looking around the room at all of the bottles before back at Colt. She definitely wasn't okay but there was no use in pushing it.

Aubrey swung her free arm back and forth before going over to a wall and leaning on it. Aubrey wasn't the most graceful speaker and didn't know how to approach the subject subtly. After an awkward enough silence, she took a deep breath, “Colt… You're the first person I met here and the first person to trust me and I wanted to ask you if you would maybe, once you're feeling better, just kind of… Uhm… Helping me find my sister?” Her guts churned as she asked. Now wasn't the time for it, but the thought of her little sister being dead or worse made the heavy feeling in her stomach worse, “I mean- it'll take a while so hopefully you'll be healed by then but I just-”

“Wait, hold on.” Colt interrupted as she sat up further when the girl had questioned her about finding her sister. It was a question that she had, truthfully not seen coming. But that could just be the beer. The woman swung herself so she was sitting on the side of the bed, her leg facing the girl. Everything felt as though it were spinning, the woman groaned and scratched her head as she contemplated her answer.

“Sister, eh?” She grunted, “Hm. See that's, uh, hm. Right, okay uh, well guess mah first question is where’ya last saw ‘er.?” The words fell out of her mouth without a check from the brain but she hoped the basics would get across. The woman was combing through her currently fuzzy memories to see if Aubrey had mentioned a sister before; it seems she hadn't. Colt internally chastised herself for such a quick response. It was that impulse that almost got the poor woman killed in the first place, but even in her drunken state, she couldn't just say no.

Aubrey's fingers wrapped tighter around her cap, “I… Uhm… Haven't seen her in almost 7 years.” She quietly explained. She was not proud of it. Charlotte would try to reach out to her, try to talk about life events that were coming up, inviting her back down to Aurora, but Aubrey never had any of it, “I don't remember a lot of details, but I do remember her calling to talk about the new home she got. It was in the fancier district of Aurora. She talked about it being a good neighborhood… I know it had a red door.”

The girl looked over at Colt, seeing her sway slightly, she decided to sit down next to her and give her stability, “I know it's really sudden, and like I said- I'd have to talk to others and see if they'd come along or give us resources to do it… But I'd like to have you there.” The way Aubrey talked wasn't anything like she talked before. It was clear and thought out. It sounded intelligent. Not that Aubrey isn't smart, she just doesn't communicate in a way that showed it. She internally thanked whatever god there may be that her practice with that sentence was put to good use.

“Seven?” She questioned upon hearing those words. She had not been expecting that and it only made her sodden mind hurt from thinking about it. She continued to listen as the younger woman explained her situation; it was more complicated than she had expected. A red door; that's the only lead they had. Great. The woman hummed quietly in thought. She hadn’t been to the suburbs of the city, having lived in the run-down section of the area. She had money to get herself a nice bungalow in that area but, from what Colt was concerned, she did not deserve a place like that.

“Christ.” She grumbled, running a hand through her tangled hair as she thought of a proper answer, “Well, I dunno. We could look, but I’ve never bin there.” She stopped again to take a drink from her beer. Had any of the others been to or had come from that area? The only person that came to mind was Milly, she had overheard the younger girl talking about her home and it had been described as a white bungalow, which were only found in that district.

“The only person who knows that place is Milly. I dunno ‘bout bringin’ a young’in on somethin’ like this.” She explained before looking to the girl again, “But, I guess we could try somethin’.” She spoke slowly, partly from the beer but also her slow thoughts.

“Yeah… It’s a bit messy. I was going to ask Owen once he gets to feeling better since he knows this city far more than I do despite growing up here. But I’d prefer to not bring Milly into this. She’s too young and if she lived there, I don’t want her to see what it may have become.” Aubrey closed her eyes for a second, trying to hold off the bad thoughts that were invading her mind. Focus on the good, “Thank you, Colt. It means a lot that you’d help me out with this. Uhm… I’ll let you get back to your reading unless you have any other questions. And if you change your mind, just let me know. I won’t be hurt.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Colt answered with a sigh, “I’ll talk t’Luca and them at the right time. Can’t guarantee they’d wanna ‘elp but I’ll try.” she lied back onto the bed and got her book back. She looked to the girl as she talked about not being offended if Colt was to change her mind on the matter. The veteran shrugged and shook her head slightly. It was hard to change the veteran’s mind once she had it set on something.

“Naw, I won’t change mah mind. I’ll try.”

At this point, Aubrey stood up and walked towards the door, “If it’d be easier for you, I can talk to him myself. I don’t want you to have to get and find him. I’m sure I can catch him at some point.”

“No. I’ll talk to ‘im. Means if he goes off at anyone, it’ll be me.” she frowned before turning a page, “Might as well draw a fuckin’ target on mah face like all punchin’ bags.” she grumbled a little quieter.

“Will he go off? Both the times I’ve talked to him he’s been nice.” Aubrey’s definition of nice was quite different than the others’, but she didn’t know that quite yet, “But alright, I guess if you say so.”

Placing a hand on the door, she peered back at the black haired woman, “Thank you again.” She said before stepping out of the room.

“Ya ain’t me. Nuff said. But no problem.”

Featuring: Rumble Fish (Colt)
Mentioned: Brax (Luca) and Maj (Owen)