Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[FireMaiden]

September 4th, 2017
Moe's Don't Tell Motel
10:34 PM​

Beth’s eyes darkened when she brought up the incident with the coffee machine. After she had heard about it, Beth had done her best to keep an eye on Leliana. A girl her age had no rime or reason to be in a place like this. Of course, Beth was only barely her superior but her sweet Leli was too kind and wonderful to end up like the other girls that fogged up this place.

“Yeah well, what Michelle doesn’t know won't hurt her.” The truth of the matter was that Bert and Ernie were among some of the most powerful men in town. Even Michelle with all her mother hen tendencies wouldn’t be stupid to kick him out of her establishment. The only people that the brothers bowed down to was La Cosa Nostra. No one was stupid enough to cross paths with them. However, if Bert was stupid enough to try for Leliana again, she would have to get more creative to keep him at bay.

Leliana gave Beth a slight smile, "Men, am I right?" It was the reason she was single, and never really tried having a boyfriend. Or hell, a relationship in general, she was scared of what could happen. "Michelle knows everything. I bet, right now, she's doing her magical mom of Moe's thing to figure out which room we're in so she can tell me to get back to work. Can you believe I have to work until 2 am today? That's supposed to Tammy's shift, but no, she called in sick so I have to cover for her." Again, Leliana didn't mind the extra time. It meant more money, but she had a lot of work to finish up if she wanted to get her finical aid and everything else submitted before to the University before the deadline. "I can't really put a band-aid on your lip, I don't have any for it, but it's cleaned at least. Did he...did he get you anywhere else?" She asked tentatively.

“No,” Beth lied, smiling. Her ribs would be fine and it wasn’t worth worrying poor Leli any further. She leaned down and planted a soft kiss in the middle of the girl’s forehead “As thanks for your hard work, I’ll keep you company while you clean.” Beth offered. Leli’s presence was comforting, and she always liked watching the young woman work.

Leliana smiled straightening the blue dress uniform she had to wear as she stood. "Well, come on then! I'll buy us some ice cream after I'm done." Leliana knew deep down in her heart that Bethany was lying to her. It presents in the way she moved the shallow hesitation of her breath, but Leliana knew better than to push her. She had three more rooms to clean for that night, all on the second floor, left-hand side of the motel. Her cart was already waiting when the got to the top, Leliana leading Bethany to the first room, prattling on about something. The routine was always the same. Clean the floor, mini-fridge, and microwave, then the bathroom, make the bed, and finally replace everything. The first room was done in just under 20 minutes, Leliana humming or making small talk with Bethany to pass the time quicker. The second room was just the same, taking a little longer thanks to whoever it was staying there leaving every article of clothing behind. The third room, went almost just as well until it came to the bed. While putting the fitted sheets on, the universe just kept wanting to mess with her, each corner kept popping off. "You mind helping me, Bethany?"

"Bethany?"

"Bethany!"

"Please, snap out of it, I need you to help me hold him down!" Leliana sounded desperate, her tone not matching the focus in her eyes as they stared into Bethany's eyes. "It's a seizure, he's not getting enough oxygen, but risking damage to the chest tube isn't worth letting him ride it out freely." Hair pulled back in a bun, remnants of blood still covering her face. Leliana never did get a chance to take a shower yesterday. "I put a towel under his head, don't hold down to hard, but we can't let him flip over, understand?"

Beth blinked back to life, the last threads of the memory fleeing before her very eyes. The severity of the situation wasn’t lost on her and she jumped into action, hanging on to Leliana’s every word. The worry in her voice was enough to wash the tired haze off of her and suddenly, Bethany was very awake. Owen was a tough son of a bitch, and if anyone could survive everything he had gone through, it was surely him. Any help she could provide was the least she could do to repay the debt she owed him. It was thanks to him that it wasn’t her laying in the bed, and she would be damned if it was thanks to her that he lost this fight.

“I have him,” Beth assured her. The girl did her best to stay out of Leliana’s way while she did as instructed of her and held the redhead down. “You just concentrate on what you do best.”

There was nothing she could do until he stopped convulsing, nothing like Beth expected perhaps. Leliana placed one hand on his arm and the other on his thigh in order to help keep him in place, every second his body fighting against her and Beth. Violently, Owen shook, like he was being electrocuted, pain evident on hid unconscious face, then all of a sudden he stopped. Leliana remained motionless for a moment in case he wasn't truly done, before moving up to place her ear on his chest. She couldn't hear a heartbeat. The nurse straightened up, index and middle finger pressing down below his jaw, still nothing. "Beth, I need you to keep an eye on the tube, it starts coming out you tell me immediately." Leliana locked her hands, palms down, and placed them in the middle of Owen's chest, begging CPR. She knew she could cause an issue with the tube, it scared her to think about it, but she couldn't let him die. 30 chest compressions, Leliana then moved and placed her mouth on his, blocking his nose, she kept an eye on his chest for movement as she gave him two breaths, quickly checked for a pulse again, before starting the process all over again.

Beth didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Owen took his. The large gulping sound washed relief over the blonde and she exhaled with him. When it was clear that he was stabilized once more, Beth threw her arms around her friend, pulling her into her side. With a sigh, she laid her head on top of Leli’s, taking advantage of the few inches of height she had on the girl.

“What in the world would these guys do without you?” the woman asked. “You look exhausted. Why don’t you doze for a little bit this time? I’ll stay up and watch Owen. I’ll wake you if he changes.” Beth sat on the floor and motioned for Leli to lay in her lap. “Come on worrywart, we will be right here. I haven’t seen you sleep since the attack. A few hours will be good for you.”

Beth wasn't the only one who felt that wave of relief. A smile broke across Leliana's face as Owen took in a breath by himself, they would all be spared having to deal with an undead Owen. She was about to check on the chest tube when Bethany pulled her over to her side and into an embrace. It was nice, warm, the first time Leliana had been hugged in a while. Leliana's head naturally found itself on Beth's shoulder, a sigh escaping her. "I don't know. Half of them would have been dead by now. I even got a thank you from Luca, impressive right?" Bethany was right, she was exhausted. But Leliana was scared about what would happen if she fell asleep. But, she couldn't say no to Beth. Leliana moved beside her friend after the other blonde got on the floor, and rested her head on Bethany's lap. "Don't let me sleep for too long okay? Hector is still out and Jenna can't help with one arm." She yawned, sticking up one hand with her pinky finger extended. "You have to promise."

Beth smirked, extending her own pinky and curling it with Leliana’s. This sweet little angel of a girl was too good for this world. She was too good for it long before all the death and destruction had taken over it. If Leliana spent all of her time taking care of the others, Beth would do her best to make sure someone took care of her.

“Of course I promise.” She let her friend get comfortable. With her head in her lap, Beth gently stroked the woman’s hair keeping diligent watch until Leli's breathing evened out and slumber took her.

Brax (Luca) The Mad Queen (Jenna) shadowz1995 (Hector)​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Togy and yours truly
​

A Pine tree fell to the snow covered floor of the Earth, branches snapping by the dozens as it landed. "Timber" Nile mumbled through pants as he walked towards the felled tree. Grabbing hold of a branch jutting upwards, Nile swung his Hatchet, cutting it clean off. Tossing it to the side for later use as firewood, Nile began cutting off the branches, one by one. Having run out of Pot, he was officially out of drugs. So he needed something else to do to keep his mind off things. "Wish someone else bothered to help." Nile grumbled as he hacked off another tree limb.

The cane tapped against the wooden floor of the porch and Ralph groaned a little, resting both hands to steady himself. "You can do it!" A cry came from within. Ralph turned his head slightly, glancing back at the streamer. Squinting into the distance he watched as a tree hut the ground and started to make his way over. Nile was busy at work. He probably had to do the work of three or five people given the state of the lodge.
"Need anything?" Ralph called out.

Nile perked up, looking at Rick. At first, he didn't recognise him, but then he remembered that he was the man he'd carried to the Lodge. The sight of him walking on a cane made Nile wince. He hadn't known the wound was that bad. For the life of him, Nile tried to remember the man's name, but all he could recall was that it started with R.
"Um, yeah, actually. You only got a round to the knees, not the arms, right? If you could take this." Nile said before tossing the Hunting Knife he'd brought to the Lodge when he arrived to Ryan's feet. "And strip those branches of leaves, that'd be just dandy." Nile said as he chopped off another branch in one fell swoop before tossing it to the pile of branches he was referring to.

"Better the knee than the head." Ralph lightly smiled, taking a seat on a tree stump and getting to work within seconds. He may have been slow on his feet thanks to the gunshot but his mind and his hands were as good as ever. The stripped branches sat in a neat pile next to him within just a few minutes and he just kept going from there. "How are you holding up?" He asked, setting yet another branch down
"You're asking me that?" Nile asked, tossing him another branch. "I'm one of the, like, 4 people who got out uninjured. I'm doing just fine." Nile said, very much not fine. Hazmat or not, taking someone else's life was eating away at Nile.
"How are you holding up is the real question." Nile said, wanting to change the subject to the CDC man.

"Indeed you are, Nile." Ralph nodded "Which means that the others might have missed you in all this...Mess."
He leaned forwards on the tree stump. "Just want you to know you can come to me at any time." He got to work on the branch "And not just because of what you did for me."
Wincing at the fact that he ignored his attempt to change subjects, Nile listened to the man talk. He quickly debated mentally about actually talking to the guy, but he shut that idea just as quickly as it began. What does that guy know about killing someone anyway? Nile thought. Noticing he'd been holding a branch he'd cut off for just a little too long, he tossed it to Ralph with the others. "All I did was carry your ass a whopping 30 Yards." Nile said.
"While being under fire from government mercenaries." Ralph stated "You could have easily just left me by that tree and saved your own skin." He gently set the branch into the pile "But you didn't." He glanced up at the man "And for that I'm grateful."

Nile tossed Reynold another branch in response. He really didn't feel like he'd done anything. He didn't even know the guy's name and only carried him because Luna demanded he carry him. He was pretty unnerved by the thanks to be honest. "Uhuh, like they'd have let me." Nile mumbled.
Nile got a raised eyebrow in response to that "You didn't just do it because someone bossed you around. It's not like Luca held a gun to your head and told you to carry me or he'd shoot." He firmly shook his head "I wouldn't put it past the man, though..." It would be a bluff on Luca's part, of course, even if he was an ex-don. It would be a waste of resources to just execute a man on the spot.

"Shit, he'd do that?" Nile asked, getting sidetracked.
"It's Gunnery Sargent strategy." Ralph explained "Intimidating someone to get them to help. Little more than that."
Nile looked to the Lodge. "I don't like that. You wouldn't have seen it since you were bleeding to death and all, but that crazy motherfucker gouged out a Hazzies eyes with his thumbs. I think the sick fuck liked it." Nile grumbled.
Ralph's jaw dropped in horror "My God..." He muttered. He thought about Colt's execution of the hazmat that tried to kill him. Even though his vision was fading in and out he could still see a bit of it. He didn't think she enjoyed it, but Luca was an unusual case.

He shook his head, firmly. Would it be wise to share what Owen had told him? Probably not, at least not now. "He got carried away during the fight." He shook his head once more "But I don't believe Luca is a danger to us."
"I beg to differ. My first impression of him shows that's a lie." Nile said, remembering when he arrived to the Lodge to see Luca beating the shit out of Owen. He was to high too care back then, but now the scene was really sinking in.
"First impression?" Ralph leaned forwards on the stump "What happened?"
"You must've seen it, right? I stumbled into the Lodge after chasing a deer for 3 fucking miles, don't mock me, I was high, and I see Luca beating the shit out of Weasley." Nile said.

"Weasley?" He raised an eyebrow "Oh. You mean Owen. I missed that fight but talked to Owen afterwards. He said he started it. More or less anyway."
"It was more the brutality I was concerned about." Nile said as he finally chopped off the last branch. "Just finish off those branches, I have to go drag this thing over to the pile." Nile said as he grabbed the Log by one end and started to heave it upwards. With a grunt of effort, he lifted one end of the log into his arms with the other end touching the ground. He began to drag the log away without another word to the Doctor, the log making a trail in the snow as he dragged it off.

Mentioned: Owen ( Maj ) Luca ( Brax )

 

[Rumble Fish]

​

Date: 18th of July 2018
Time: 4:35 PM
Place: Grocery store​

Colt grumbled profanities under her breath as the line to the checkout snaked slowly along, everyone taking their occasional steps forward in a gormless state. It was almost frightening the uniform way they moved two steps forward. Her mind flashed back to running drills, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut angrily. Why could this not move any faster? She just wanted to go home and eat her vindaloo. Then again it was that cursed curry that was the reason she was here in the first place. Scoville scale-breaking food and alcohol was a recipe for a volcanic case of heartburn but it was the only food that actually had any kind of taste. Colt did not know if it was her own depression or something had happened to her tongue during the… incident but everything tasted so bland otherwise.

Out of the corner of her good eye, Colt glanced past the sea of people to finally see what was causing the hold-up. A man in his sixties with a beer belly was snarling at the poor, under-paid bastard behind the counter who looked like he had either emptied his bowels or was about to. Because of the volume of his voice, she could catch a snippit of what he was shouting about.

“Glad my service means nothing to you people!” He snapped, pointing at the line who were all glaring disapprovingly at the man, “None of ya’ll have any respect for heroes do ya?!” At this point the crowd were quiet, clearly too afraid to stand up to some egotistical fat man who would put Peter Griffin to shame. With a grumble, Colt grabbed her armful of groceries and marched up to the man who was still snarling at the poor guy.

“Oi knock it off, mister. Grab yer shit and just go.” She grumbled at him, finally stopping him in his tracks.

“Who the hell are you? Mind your own business, you nosey bitch.”

“Naw.” She glanced to the pale, pimply kid behind the counter, “Whit’s the military discount here?”

“Eh-eh-uh, ten percent, ma’am.”

Colt groaned and pinched her nose, was this real? How a man almost twice her age could throw a tantrum like this over what she thought was a good deal. Personally, she hated using this discount. Anything that harboured back to anything military-related frustrated the woman. Also, it did not count for booze, so why would she use it for anything else? “Mother of fu- can I just pay and go? I don’t wanna deal with this. Don’t worry ‘bout the discount.” She went into her wallet but the angry man scoffed.

“Nice try, forgot how ya got that scar from drunk driving, hm?” Colt’s back straightened. Was it that obvious? Great, people were watching her now and probably assumed the same thing. Without a word, she pulled out her ID and handed it to the cashier, simply to rub it into the man’s face.

“Oh uh, ma’am you said not to-”

“Oh yeah, I did didn’t I? Sorry ‘bout that, son.” She took it back and, grumbling about stupid people she started to walk away. She was just done. The man seemed to get the message and shut up but the point remained. People had asked her why she had not tried to attend any support groups for people such as herself but, one there weren't any that she knew of in this area. And two, she did not want to spend her time surrounded by people like that man. They made them all look bad.[/FONT]

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Date: 30th August 2018
Time: 11:45 PM
Location: Bar > Bus​

"Hope you're not planning on driving tonight, Stanhope!" The tall and muscular man called as he stood arms-folded at the entrance of the bar. Young folks were starting to filter in so the veteran had taken that as a good time to leave. Punters and barflies were one thing to deal with, party-goers were another. All that dancing and EDM, nope. Colt waved a hand at the bouncer as she walked past him, batting him on the shoulder and letting out a slight snort as she did. Dwayne was alright; nice guy, good at darts. Today had been alright, even though she was twenty dollars poorer from a bad bet. They had played a few rounds while he was on his break and the loser had to buy the victor a beer. Granted she won a few times herself so it was not a major loss.

"Ya know daaaamn well I doooon't 'ave no car, go arrest some'dy else." she slurred with a slight trip as, "See ya t'morra?"

"Oh sure, any chance to kick your ass I'll take." The man chuckled, "G'night, Stanhope." Colt waved behind her clumsily as she took the short walk to the bus stop. What time did she go in there? It was bright outside at that point. Five? Nah couldn't be, Dwayne started earlier than that and he was already there. Three? Wait, no. The game started before that and many of the punters had come in wearing their colours. Noon? Colt groaned as she leant on the bus stop for support. Okay, if she was going to get on this bus she'd have to be lucid enough to speak and keep her balance. With a sharp inhale, Colt jumped a few times in place, thankfully with no witnesses. At least she thought there weren't.

"C'mon ya fuckin'-" Wait, nope all that did was make her nauseous. Colt stopped at once, breathing heavily in an attempt to push back the rising vomit she could feel coming. Thankfully it did not happen as the bus trundled up. Once the doors were opened, Colt gave him her location although it came out as something more like "Gah habbah baahbuh." Though whether it was a lack of caring due to the time or what, the driver took her change.

"Yeah I know." He mumbled as Colt took her ticket and wabbled onto the disabled seat. It was bigger, more comfortable and closer to the door. Perfect since she doubted she'd make it down the body of the bus before passing out. More people got on and the bus started its journey. Colt sighed and rested her head against the window, the cold glass reduced the sickness almost instantly.

Colt did not know how much time had gone when a gaggle of laughing and loud voices woke her up. Seeing she had been drooling, she wiped her maw with her sleeve and sat slumped in her seat. The woman shut her eyes again but it sent her into that spinning sensation that made her stomach roil. With a wide yawn -tongue out and everything- she turned to her left, only to see what was shy of a clown's face looking straight after.

"Woah-Jesus!" She leapt back, hitting the back of her head on the window, "Thafuckydoin'?" she sat up to get a look at the woman who, despite looking to be almost her own age was in a cocktail dress and coated completely in makeup, with her gaggle of friends behind her.

"Whit?" She grunted as she turned to face the stupid woman. Now she had what she wanted, she launched.

"Ew, ike, that scar is like, hidious. Where did you, like, get it?"

"Go away."

"Ugh, rude! It was like, just a question! Don't have to be bitchy." Another crowed. At least that’s what Colt thought she heard, she honestly did not know. The amount if “Likes”, tongue clicks and the shrillness of their voices coursed through her head. Colt got her phone out in an attempt to distract herself, despite just staring at the screen.

“Why is she even sitting there, like, she isn’t like, disabled- Hey driver!” Colt grimaced as one of the women suddenly screamed, “This person’s in a disabled seat you should kick her off!” Colt kept quiet and shook her head slowly, taking her flask out to sip from it.

“DRIVAH!”

“Will ya shut up?!” Colt snapped, glaring at the women, “I jus’ wanna go home so can ya’ll just like, shut, like the fuck, like up, yaaaaas?!” she drawled out an exaggerated and mocking mimic of the woman’s voice. That seemed to shut them up, until-

“But you’re not, like disab-?”

“STOP THE BUS! I’LL FUCKIN’ WALK!” Colt bellowed and the driver, who seemed to have been listening to the entire thing the whole time slowed the bus to a stop. As Colt got up, she moved in such a way that it would purposely reveal her prosthetic. She turned to see the women staring with shocked faces and pale complexions.

“Ya’ll have a great evening.” She snarled before stumbling off of the bus. The driver raised a hand.

“Hey, ma’am you don’t have-”

“It’s. Fine.” Colt growled and, after a moment, the driver reluctantly closed the doors and drove off. She was not too far from her flats but still, Colt would rather walk than deal with those people anymore. Taking a long glug from her flask, she started the, what turned out to be, a long trek home.

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Date: October 15th
Time: 4:35 PM
Location: The street outside the flats​

Today had been… not awful. Colt had woken up fairly early and feeling okay for once. She took a walk, shot a few rounds at the local shooting range and even dropped by the bar to see Dwayne without any booze touching her lips; she lost all their dart games but regardless, this day was okay. It was a warmish day too so, feeling a little more confident with her lifted mood and weather, she opted to wear cargo shorts other than her jeans. She was just coming home after shopping and put her bags on the ground to get her keys, when a shrill voice asked the dreaded question Colt never wanted to hear.

“Mommy, what happened to that girl’s leg?”

Colt froze, turning to see a small child with his mother, pointing right at her with no awareness whatsoever. The woman, on the other hand, looked like a mix of horror and embarrassment at what her child had said and what she had just seen. Colt blinked as she watched the woman who yanked her son back.

“I’m so sorry!” she sputtered as she dragged her kid along with her, who started wailing as he seemed to realise that he was probably going to get a verbal lashing and lose his Fortnite privileges. Colt, her mood completely deflated just retreated through the door, not waiting to hear anything else. Once inside, Colt just threw everything onto the sofa and slammed the door behind her as she went into her room.

As Colt sat on the bed, the woman grumbled angrily as she kicked off the prosthetic and lied down to stare angrily at the ceiling. How could she be so stupid? Even a fairly good day could not happen without something ruining it. Then again she caused that just by stepping outside. Even little kids ruined it. With a deep sigh, Colt propped herself up and took out her flask. She had a whisky bottle somewhere and she intended to use it. After taking a long drink from it, she glanced towards the picture of herself and Sasha which stood as the only clean thing in her room on her sideboard. With a deep sigh, Colt turned back to the flask.

“Well. Who knows. There’s always tomorrow right, Sash?”

​

​

 

[Togy]

Nile & Owen
​

Setting the log down, Nile flexed his tired arms. The conversation with Ralph had brought up pretty damn unpleasant thoughts, so he tried distracting himself by stripping the log of it's bark. Taking out his Hatchet, he swung it down into the middle of the log. He then yanked the blade downards, cutting a line through the bark. Grabbing the cut in the bark, he began to peel it off the wood.

And then his mind wandered. He thought about Hazzie he'd shot in the Throat, the one he'd let choke on their blood as he took aim for the next Hazzie.

"Fuck" Nile breathed. The thoughts were coming back, and boy oh boy did he not like them. Cutting down trees didn't seem to be helping, and he'd already tried smoking, so Nile thought his usual first resort might help: Get high.

Unfortunately for him, he'd smoked the last of his Pot during his conversation with Luca. That wasn't a big deal though, the group had just found some legal drugs, and he figured they had enough that they would miss a single bottle of pills, right?

So, walking into the Lodge, Nile looked for Pills. Anything would do. Adderall, painkillers, he'd take it. After finding nothing in the Kitchen, Nile became just a tad bit desperate. Dammit, there aren't any pills here. I need these goddammit, Nile thought as he stopped rummaging through drawers and looked to the stairs. A very, very bad thought came to Nile's head. It was far from his proudest idea, but dammit all, he could not deal with these thoughts. Walking upstairs, Nile approached a room he knew held someone injured: Owen. Yes, he could remember someone's name for more than 3 minutes, surprise surprise. He'd seen someone carry Painkillers into the room a half hour ago, so there was a good chance they still had em'. He tried to control his guilt of the action he was about to take by thinking It's not like he'll die without them.

With that thought, Nile took a deep breath and quietly opened the door.

Owen had thought about keeping his eyes closed when he heard the door creak open. Being a light sleeper came with his profession, you never knew what sort of sludge would try to get the jump on you while you slept. However, the last several days the people coming in and out of his room and been frequent, mostly containing Hector or Leliana stopping by to make sure he hadn’t died in the night. When there was no greeting, he let his eyes flutter open ever so slightly. Just enough that he could shut them again if it was someone who wanted to disturb him to take his blood pressure.

He was surprised to see Nile’s form in his doorway. Owen of course recognized the man when he had first joined them. One of the perks to being a drug runner who didn’t partake was that you started to recognize regular clients and Nile was someone who Owen had often frequented. That wasn’t enough to make the redhead hold any ill will. Plenty of good people ended up on his list, being addicted wasn’t synonymous with being bad. Although it did cause good people to sometimes do stupid things.

He wasn’t sure what the man’s intentions were and instead decided to bide his time, with his eyes cracked to see what he would do. It was possible that someone had sent him up with water or food and the like, but the way he held himself told another story. Nile looked like a man who didn’t want to be caught, and for the moment Owen was content to allow him to think he hadn’t been.

Under the impression that Owen was sound asleep, Nile snuck across the room, not letting his heels touch the floor. He could see the Pills on the bedside table, this would be over soon. Reaching out for the Pills, he grabbed them.

“How nice of you to hand those to me,” Owen greeted, eyes opening and locking on Nile’s face. The redhead held out a shaking hand, moving was still difficult for him. “It just about time for my afternoon dose.”

Nile, with a distinctive Deer in the headlights look, slowly moved his arm to hand Owen the Pills. At this point, he’d decided the best course of action would be to wing it and act like he was doing exactly what Owen said. “Didn’t mean to wake you” Nile said as he uncapped the bottle and handed it to Owen.

“No worries man, it’s hard to sleep anyway.” Owen took the bottle from Nile and took a pill out for himself and then handed a second one to Nile. He gave the man a knowing look. Cold Turkey wasn’t the way to do things. Giving Nile medication likely wasn’t the best course of action either, but if he didn’t steal it from him he was likely just going to waltz into Tre’s bedroom next. At least this way, it was controlled.

“I wouldn’t let Hector catch you doing that dude. I’m pretty sure he would just shoot you.”

“Fuck” Nile breathed out as he slumped against the wall. “Really? I’m that obvious?” Nile asked, taking the Pain Pill. He immediately started to feel much better. Nile nodded his thanks as the effects set in.

“Do you even recognize me?” Owen asked. He had to have brought stuff to Niles place at least a half a dozen times, but he was used to the slight. The twin didn’t make a habit of befriending his clients. “What was your plan? Just come up here and steal the whole bottle? Don’t you think someone would have noticed even if I hadn’t?”

“Sort of” Nile said. “I remember you delivered to me before, but not much else” Nile said with a shrug. “And the plan was to just take one or two Pills. I was kind of riding on the fact no one counted the Pills” Nile said.

“You must have not met my buddy Hector then,” Owen responded with a laugh. “It’s all going to run dry eventually Nile. What are you going to do then?” The redhead looked on at him seriously, his green eyes concerned but sympathetic. He had seen what withdrawls looked like, and they weren’t pretty. A few good people had even died as side effects. If it wasn’t monitored properly, Nile could be in a world of hurt before everything ran its course. Owen sat up, reaching for the glass on his nightstand. The water felt good on his dry throat, chapped lips pressing against the glass.

“I don’t fuckin’ know, either die or become an alcoholic like Courtney” Nile said, not really knowing what the hell he’s gonna do. “I don’t really think very far ahead, okay?”
Nile said.

“That much is clear.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took a breath. People didn’t tend to think clearly while inebriated, even less clearly when they were jonesing for some. “Who else knows?” Owen asked, referring to the man’s obvious addiction. It probably wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on Nile. They had gone through a lot of trouble to get to those medical supplies and if Nile was likely to steal them, that could be a problem. Especially with so many of their own injured right now.

“Um, if I had to guess, mostly everyone who’s met me? Like Lily, Cat, Luca, Remmy, those guys” Nile said. Looking back on it, he probably shouldn’t have been oversharing, but cut him some slack, he was high until last night.

That was good news. At least others were aware of the situation. If he could feel Hector out, he might tell him about it. There were things that could be done to ease Nile’s recovery if he was willing to do it. However, that was eighty percent of the battle. Before long though, the man wouldn’t have a choice. Even the booze would dry up eventually.

“Well I honestly have no idea who the fuck you are talking about,” Owen croaked, his voice was still coming and going as he healed. Courtney, Lily, Cat? At least he got Luca’s name right. “However, I would recommend not trying to steal from me or Tre. Especially not Tre, I have a feeling the doc is keeping a close eye on that boys pills.” He heard heard their exchange through the walls the other day.

“Names don’t come easy okay?” Nile defended himself. “Who’s Tre? Isn’t he the black guy?” Nile said, the realization that there was only one African American at the Lodge slowly dawning on him.

“The only other dude laid up in bed like me!” Owen rolled his eyes. Nile was dense, but surely even he knew there were two people significantly injured. Of course he did, that's where the drugs would be. It’s how he knew to come up here after all.

“Listen man, I’m serious. You need to come to terms with the fact that you aren’t going to get to keep living whatever high-life you had. Being out of your gourd could be the difference between getting a bite taken out of your neck or not. Maybe you should talk to Hector, see if he can give you something to help you until you can wean yourself off. Because if you have to crash?” Owen whistled sympathetically. “It’s not going to be pretty.”

“If Hector is who I think he is, no fucking way. That guy looks like Seven feet of hate, darkness, and disdain. That’s like a full two feet taller than Luca” Nile said, not wanting a rehab sesh with Hector to even be his last resort. “I’ll just, try not to, alright? Thanks for the Pill, but I really can’t promise shit man” Nile said as he turned to leave.

Owen shook his head sadly. Nile seemed like an alright dude, but the red head could see that he was a walking time bomb. Maybe he should talk to Hector for him, surely he would help. He was rough around the edges, but he took an oath at one point or another. He had seen him threaten to put a bullet in a number of people, but hadn’t actually follow through on anyone who wasn’t trying to hurt him first.

“Alright man, I can’t tell you what to do.” Owen shrugged and made a note to keep a closer eye on his medication.

Interactions: Owen ( Maj )

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following collab is between Hyped_Taco and me.​

Jenna made her way through the pantry, stacking some more eggs. She was concerned about the chicken's food supply, but they still seemed to be laying well enough. Despite the stress that would have been brought on by their rescue, the attack and even the lodge itself they were pressing on.
She winced a little as she had to stretch to place some eggs on a shelf, but took her notes and headed outside.
"Thanks to you guys, we may not have to resort to cannibalism." She said with a smile, patting one of the chickens on the head.
Heading out of the pantry, she made her way into the kitchen.

As what seemed like a routine now, Michael was awoken by the sunlight that passed through the RV´s windows and as always he got up to see that Brian, his roommate, had already gotten out of the room; he changed his clothes from his sleeping pajamas into his usual outfit, but while doing so he realised that they were ¨starting¨ to smell, he may have only washed them once a week before the apocalypse but holy shit even he knew by now that he should probably wash them now… or later since he didn't have any other clothing other than his pajamas. He stepped out of the RV and began to walk towards the lodge.

Even though some days had passed since the hazmats had attacked the lodge, Michael´s ass still hurt him due to the ass shot one of the fuckers had managed to take. He opened the door and finally stepped into the lodge. His hunger was gigantic by the moment, if he did not eat now he would starve. He quickly went towards the kitchen only to see that Jenna was there while she… spoke to some chickens? nevermind that, maybe he could eat later. ¨Whatcha doing… M´lady?¨ Michael told her while he tried to lean on the closest wall.

Jenna sharply turned around at the sound of someone speaking behind her, almost ready to throw a punch at the thought of it being a possible attacker.
"Oh, it's just you." She sighed, for Michael stood before her. The large man and her hadn't talked since the day of the zombie attack. In passing there had been words, but the two hadn't talked properly. Perhaps he'd been avoiding her? It wasn't something Jenna had thought too much about "Hi Michael, I'm just tending to the chickens. Looks like we got another batch of eggs today."

"Uhh… yup, it's me" Michael responded to Jenna pointing out his presence for some reason. God they had not ever spoken properly at the lodge, he just hoped that she wasn't just avoiding him or something, the thought of that happening terrified him, that his favourite streamer would just ignore him as that thot Belle Delphin after he donated her 500 bucks to play Minecraft with him and she refused to do so...the man shivered in cringe remembering that.
¨Alright Mikey, she just told you hi, you need to say something cool in response¨ the man thought in his head ¨Oh that's cool, so Its breakfast ready?¨ he said ¨No not that you fucking idiot¨ he responded to himself in his head once more… damn you lack of socialization skills. ¨So uhhh, doing anything else?¨

Jenna stared at the large man as he seemed to have some kind of crisis. Even the act of asking about breakfast seemed to be difficult for him. "Are you okay?" She asked, resting a hand on his shoulder

¨Uhhh yeah¨ Michael quickly responded to Jenna while he kept having an internal crisis due to him realising he needed to rapidly find a topic to talk about without being too akward, Jesus this just needed to be better than his attempt to flirt with Bethany ¨Haha so like, since when do we have chickens?¨ the fat man asked cause he sincerely payed so little attention to almost everyone at the lodge that he didnt know what was going on 99% of the time.
Jenna squinted at the large man, his constant use of uhhhs reminding her of somebody she'd rather forget while she slowly moved her hand off of his shoulder. "Over two weeks ago." She stated, rather plainly "Remember when me, Brian and that dickhead with one eye went scouting and then the dickhead vanished?"
Her squint increased in intensity "Where did you think all the eggs were coming from?"

¨Oh yeah I remember.¨ he did actually not, the only part he actually did was when that dickhead had bailed on all of them before bringing more food to the lodge... asshole. ¨Oh I just tought we had like a shit ton of food in Andy´s fridge or something, I mean, how else would we feed nearly 20 people per day with full meals for nearly 2 weeks?¨ Michael responded to her
She folded at her arms, continuing to squint at Michael.
"Between hunting and supply runs. Well, the ones that don't end with a bitch stealing over half of our fucking supplies anyway." Jenna muttered coldly "Michael, are you...Okay?" Her eyes widened a bit, concern filling them. She honestly wondered if the large man had some kind of disorder.

¨Oh alright, that makes sense¨ the fat man said after the girl answered his question ¨And yeah im ok¨ he responded to her question, being a bit weirded out by the way she started to look at him. God he really did not want this conversation to end as all the ones he had with Beth and basically all the other women in his life, she was different, he was standing right now next to PurpleNoodle , one of his favourite streamers from like all time. He needed to strike an actual conversation and fast ¨So... what will you be doing the rest of the evening?.. you know, after getting the eggs from the chickens¨ He asked while trying to not sweat too much.
"Oh, the usual. Patrol, checking up on a few of the wounded and then going back to my room and pretending I don't exist." Jenna gave a slight chuckle "You can come with. If you're up for it. I know you took a hit during the raid."
She wasn't sure where.

¨Yeah not existing is cool.¨ the man said, not really thinking of the words that came out of his mouth. The moment the streamer invited him to go with her he felt as if he had won the lottery, a woman inviting him to do something? He may be trapped in a zombie infested city while his life ran in danger, but this was finally his lucky day ¨y-Yes of course!... I mean sure¨ he replied ¨And yeah I got hit in... well maybe I shouldn't say where exactly¨

She squinted once more at the large man's words. He had to have some kind of disorder, she thought.
"Alright, let's take a look outside." She marched to the back door, now wondering to herself if inviting him along was a good idea "Just going to check some of the grounds around the lodge is all. Stay close, okay buddy?"
The large man happily followed Jenna trought the back door, hoping that they would encountered a zombie or something so that he could ¨Impress¨ her or something ¨r-Right behind you...M´lady¨ the man said while trying to fasten up his pace, so he would not be left behind.
Jenna groaned at Michael's words, sharply turning to face him as she pushed the back door open.
"Just Jenna is fine." She smiled through gritted teeth "I'm not a noble."

¨wha- I mean yes Ms. Jenna¨ the neckbeard responded when he saw the streamer looking irritated at him, oh god, this was like the Leliana situation all over again; he just kept walking behind her thinking of something to speak about that was neither too weird nor could be responded in less than 5 words ¨So uhh, remember the sewers from where I came from? wouldn't it be a good idea if like all of us try escaping there or something?¨
It wasn't perfect, but Ms Jenna was a step up from being called M'lady. It wasn't the first time that title had been thrown in her direction, and some of the people who used it, unironically had been a little creepy.
"I thought you said the dead followed you in there?" Her eyes faced the front, looking into the trees before the two.
¨Well I never actually saw one per se, more like, I constantly heard them scratching the walls and their constant groaning for the few hours I was there, which to be honest was kind of scary¨ He responded back, if he had seen none of those creatures for nearly 5 hours then there could really not have been that many of them in there to begin with, and even if they were more now then it was still worth checking out to know at the very least where there could be ¨danger zones¨ around them.

She stopped in her tracks and marched back towards Michael."So you're telling me...That not only were the sewers not crawling with those things but you waited till now to actually share this!" She stood over him now, fury building in her piercing blue eyes, staring into Michael's soul.
The moment that the woman stopped and turned towards him, Michael instantly knew he had just fucked up by having forgotten to tell this kind of crucial information before "I- uhhh- I mean like... Yeah I just like didn't know how many of those things were in there and like well It could be too dangerous... And stuff." the man began to panic as he sincerely didn't know how to respond to all of this.
"Every decision we make these days is dangerous!" Jenna snapped "But if we'd known the truth about the sewers maybe we could have done something about it!" She waved a scolding finger in Michael's face. Disorder or not, the information could have saved lives and he'd seemingly just held onto it, letting her believe that the sewers were a deathtrap. She needed to know why.
"Why the hell did you not bring this up?!"

"Well I did mention that they were already in there" Michael said, remembering that he had specified it after giving Jenna his map of the sewers "I thought it would be way too dangerous to go back, since like the place may be filled up now. But since those hazzies came and completely beated the shit out of us like, we should probably think about moving out, cause if they come back then we're gonna be fucked" the man responded sincerely for once, the thought of literally fighting the goverment scared him more than going back to the sewers... Well at least for the moment.
"You made it sound like the place was crawling with them..." She let out a heavy sigh, squeezing the ridge of her nose "I suppose it's too late now though. We can't carry the wounded through." Back then the concern was around Shinoa and how manoeuvring a pregnant woman through those tunnels would have been difficult enough. Now they had a bed-bound man who was fighting for his life among other injured.

"Well uhhh... Shit" was the only word that came to Michael's mind at the moment, If he had just mentioned this before then maybe they would have escaped this hell hole before, maybe even there would have not been a confrontation with the hazzies... "I should still tell this idea to like our leaders or something, in case we ever can actually send people there"
"Maybe share it with a few others first. No harm to you Michael but if you go to Luca or Colt with this alone chances are they'll turn it down." She put that as nicely as she could. It could have been due to the possible disorder, but from what she'd seen he was pretty bad at expressing himself in general.
"We're still recovering from that raid. At least, those of us that are left. I'd wait a while before bringing it to either of them anyway." If one of the other soldiers at the lodge had a look at the map, they could form an actual strategy around how to clear the area she thought. It would be preferable to Jenna's original plan of crawling through it like Andy Dufresne, crossing her fingers that she'd come out clean on the other side.

"It's maybe a little bit too much shit to deal with right now, especially that you kept this to yourself."
¨Yeah I guess I shouldn't have kept all of that to myself¨ the neckbeard replied, knowing he had fucked up big time by not having specified the details beforehand ¨But like, who do I exactly begin with? I dont know like 90% of these guys and I doubt some of them would even wanna go there¨. If they were to go down there then they couldn't exactly send people like the ex-pregnant lady or Milly without a plan and expect them to ever come back, they probably needed a plan and maybe more than one day to explore the entirety of it.

With her arms folded, Jenna backed away from him slightly. The smell of him was, unpleasant but she also didn't want to intimidate the man. She'd said her piece, and he couldn't take back his mistake anyway "If the sewers are our way out I'm sure a lot of people would be on-board. It's a much better alternative to just sitting at this lodge and waiting to die."
Michael was a bit confused by Jenna slightly backing away from him, but he decided to ignore it and continue the conversation ¨Well, yeah if the hazzies attack us again then like, we are probably fucked since they could just bring a tank over or something.¨ The neckbeard was a bit happier than earlier tho, since the conversation with the streamer had not died out after 2 minutes like the other attempts at the very least.
"C'mon Michael." Jenna scoffed "They couldn't bring a tank through the forest. There isn't enough room."
¨What about an helicopter then? no wait... that would be even worse¨ Michael quickly replied, getting him to shake a bit due to the tought of having to fight an helicopter.
"They could have just sent in some drones." Jenna shrugged "Wouldn't have risked any troops that way, but they didn't. There has to be a reason they didn't hit us with full force."

¨They wanted to take M´lady Andy and that Italian guy or something right?¨ he remembered the hazmat leader/captain or whatever he was asking for them to surrender the two of them. Michael did not know why they actually wanted to take the two of them to begin with but they probably had something of importance.
She just about managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes "Michael, just as a forewarning...Women don't like it when you call us m'lady. Unless you're addressing royalty I suppose."Her hand rested under her chin. Sending a squad to capture Brian alive made sense, but what could those two possibly offer to the table? It had to be something impressive given how many soldiers were put to work.
¨Oh- I uhhh... alright, I wont refer to them as M´ladies then¨ Michael lied, he wouldn't call anyone M´lady if they specifically told him to not do so, but he found the term to be eloquent and kind of nice. ¨But, I cant put my head around as to why those soldiers would want both of them so badly tho¨
Jenna just shrugged using her good shoulder "Fuck if I know, Michael. Fuck if I know." She sharply turned her head, gazing deeper into the woods like a deer in headlights as the sound of a snapped branch drew her attention away from Randy Beans.

¨Well, fair enough.¨ Nobody other than the dead hazmat captain probably knew, so why even bother trying to find the question to a seemingly unsolvable mystery. After hearing the sound of a branch snapping and Jenna turning away, Michael immediately grabbed his mall katana in fear of a possible zombie approaching the place; And although he hated to ask this he just said it ¨s-Should we check what that was?¨

Jenna raised a hand to Michael "Shh." She scolded, taking a few careful and quiet steps deeper into the forest. Checking around every tree, and keeping a close eye on her own movements to make sure she wasn't making any noise it wasn't long before she saw it. At the edge of the forest was a creature native to the area, one Jenna had only seen videos and pictures of: A moose. A quick look at the thing told Jenna that it was female, given the lack of antlers but it was huge, at least standing as tall as Jenna. Peering into the woods she saw a calf too, sticking close to his mother and trying to remain hidden.

The sight of the creature made Jenna stop in her tracks. Not out of fear, no. Animals didn't frighten the girl, they never had. She just stared at the two, her mouth wide and forming into a smile. Jenna was well aware that a well-placed stomp from the creature could kill her, that taking another step could cause the moose to charge given it's calf was so close but none of that mattered to her.
She just kept her distance and enjoyed the moment.

It was like the past two weeks had never even happened, and that the past few years didn't matter either.

At first Michael was scared shitless, the thought of having to face a zombie was terrifying, a horde would be even worse and If it was the hazmats ready for round 2 then he would straight up end up having a heart attack. But no, what he ended up seeing ended up being far, Far worse than anything else ¨It... It cant be¨ the neckbeard said while he examined the animals from afar; A moose´s calve along with their mother, who had a red mark in the exact place Michael had threw Colt's gun at.... Yup, it was the same Moose from before.

He tightly grabbed his sword while he began to walk towards Jenna. It may have taken him less than a minute, but seeing his arch nemesis in the eye one more time made it feel like an eternity, once he was close he pointed at the animal and said ¨It is you once more motherfucker!¨ It seemed as if this was round two, and this time he was prepared for the battle that was about to ensue.

Jenna didn't even notice Michael coming up from behind her, but gasped as he yelled at the creature. Her eyes were still fixed on it and she watched as it licked it's snout and it's ears laid back. It took her a moment to figure out why he was so pissed off with it. Was this the moose he'd encountered before? It was possible, although Jenna had just assumed that one would have left the forest by now.

"Michael." She hissed, her voice low "Don't engage it. We keep our distance and keep it in our sights and it might just piss off on it's own." The hairs on it's neck raised, as did the hairs on the back of Jenna's neck but she maintained eye contact.
He was just so concentrating in kicking that moose's ass Bambi style that he had forgotten Jenna was there for a bit. But the moment the girl hissed at him he mostly calmed down and realised it probably wasn't such a good idea to engage the moose at the moment, seeing that he had forgotten to bring his gun with him.

¨Alright alright¨ he responded while beginning to slowly back away from the animal ¨Next time I´ll get you you son of a bitch... next time¨ the neckbeard said while looking directly at the animal, signalling that he had his eyes on him.

Jenna didn't watch Michael as he left, remaining in place and starting the moose down. Even if the creature was one bad vibe away from charging at Jenna and stomping her into the dirt it still didn't frighten her. So instead of backing away or turning to run she folded one arm over the other and watched for a few more moments. The calf kept close, poking at a tree with his snout while the mother remained on guard.
"Good luck out there, you two." She nodded at the mother and child, before slowly backing away. All the while she had her blue eyes locked on the mother and didn't turn around until she was out of the forest. She grinned at Michael as the two headed back to the lodge "That's the moose you threw down with? Wow." She shook her head "You must be one tough cu** to come away from that without any broken bones!"
She patted him on the back.

Michael didnt know if she was seriously praising him or mocking him, although he suspected the latter one ¨Well I mean, like I tried to pet the Moose calve first but It decided to bite me and stuff, and I totally won against him¨ he lied, the had just managed to get a good punch at the baby calve and barely won that encounter ¨But then the Big Moose came by and I barely escaped¨ he had no problem admiting that the big moose would have beaten the shit out of him if he had not thrown Colts gun at him tho, cause it didn't make him sound that bad at least.
Jenna squinted at that. All the praise she'd given Michael for surviving a moose attack, let alone one of that size quickly went out the window head first.
"Won? Michael...Jesus Christ." She shook her head sternly "You beat up a baby moose? What the hell were you thinking!?" Instead of patting him on the back this time, she slapped him on the back of the head "Not only is that...Horrible but the mother is always close behind! You could have been killed! One stomp to the skull or the chest from one of those things would have ended you!"

She towered above him once more to scold him further, like a Geography teacher giving one of her students a verbal bollocking for mocking Oxbow lakes. "You would have been the only man stupid enough to get killed in a zombie outbreak by a fuckin' moose!"
Shit, so she was actually praising him; the only time someone at this lodge praises him for something and he immediately fucks it up ¨Ok I didn't actually beat the calve but it was more like I managed to like get him to fuck off after he beated the shit out of me and then Mama Moose came around to whoop my ass again¨ this time he finally answered honestly after Jenna slapped his head ¨But... If you think about it, it would be kind of funny that after everything that has been going on I die of a freaking moose¨
"I guess even the little ones could dash out a proper bollocking." Jenna lightly shrugged, letting out a light chuckle at Michael's suggestion "Yeah, it would be kinda ironic. Surrounded by the undead and Nazi stormtroopers and you're killed by a moose of all things." She shook her head once more "Just...Don't go wandering into the woods without someone going with you, alright?" She reached out, resting her good hand on his shoulder and giving the large man a smile.

"The world is gonna need Randy Beans 34...Don't think I forgot who you were." She winked

¨I-Uh- I mean- Yes, yes of course¨ the fact that the girl even remembered his username and had put her hand on his shoulder made Michael panic, he knew this wasn't romantic or anything, but at the same time he had never gotten so far in a conversation with a woman so he considered this to be an absolute win for today. ¨We should like, get back to the lodge right? cause I'm kinda crabing those eggs you mentioned before¨

Mentioned: Maj (Andy) Brax (Luca) BloodLightning27 (Brian)

 

[Brax]

November 10th, 1:30 AM​

No lights on in the barracks or the lodge, aside from the glow of candles. Luca was in neither place, instead opting to spend his night in Andy’s perch to keep lookout. He had quite a busy day, but once he got back to solitude he felt as though he had never left. One candle illuminated the enclosed wooden box. Only a ladder led to its entrance and exit, something that helped Luca feel more secure about being out in the open. A half open bottle with the cap off had been sitting in the corner of the perch. Occasionally, Luca would dip down to bring its contents to his lips but for the most part he stood against the wall. His eyes had been fixated on the wooden ground for the better part of an hour.

The sky was illuminated by a full moon. With the absence of people came the bright illumination that nature provided them. Even though the lodge had always had a great view of the sky, it was even better without any light to dull it out. Luca wondered how many people were out there in similar situations as they were. Was this event contained to the state of Colorado? Why hadn’t they even attempted to get out of Aurora yet? Part of Luca was sure that things were the same across the state, if not the world by now. If that was the case there must have been plenty of people who felt the same way he did. Abandoned.

The climb up the ladder had been harder than Andy had expected. Each time she reached for a rung above her head she could feel the tension in her side. Her wound was mostly healed and she was in no real risk of reopening it, but Andy did find that her abdomen didn’t like to stretch in the same way that it once did. Clad in only boxer shorts, an oversized T-shirt and combat boots, the redhead did her best to make it to the top.

Despite not dressing for the cold, the girl found she was rather warm. The cocktail of vodka and wine that was mulling in her stomach had brought a flush to her freckled face and explained the wave in her vision. Andy wasn’t stupid enough to let her drunken haze dull her senses, taking the time to make sure she had a strong hold on the ladder before continuing to the next rung. After all, she was finally free of bedrest and was not keen on the idea of her mobility being limited once more.

The faint orange glow from her perch had confirmed her suspicions that Luca had been hiding out up here. There were few who knew of its exact location and the other two people were both still in beds, recovering. Once inside the walls and away from the bitter breeze, she could feel the goosebumps on her thighs start to dissipate. She stood in the doorway, with her hands on her hips.

“You better not have eaten all my snacks,” Andy greeted, closing the distance between them. He didn’t seem alarmed by her presence. She was sure that he had noticed her less than graceful climb far before she had reached the top.

“Only a few.” He responded, suddenly realizing the peace and quiet he had the past two weeks was undone in a mere instant. Luca had noticed she was climbing the ladder. The man awaited her entrance, as though it were an impending doom. A moment of deja vu hit him as he turned to face her with a small smile on his face.

“I did find your weed. It’s bunk.” The Italian shrugged, lifting the half-depleted bottle of alcohol to his lips. He was mostly joking, as he hadn’t smoked anything out of the bag.

“It’s been a while since you’ve come crawling out of the woodwork looking for me.”

Luca was never spectacularly great at telling people how he felt regarding things. He could have been the person in that lodge that was the most worried regarding Andy’s situation, and he wouldn’t mention a peep about it. In fact, the only person who had an inkling of an understanding regarding how he felt was Leliana, when she had approached him on that very same day. The first few days, Luca hid out in the master bedroom. He opted for a coffee chair, spending a majority of his time in the room waiting for the girl to finally wake up. Once she did, he left.

“Why did you come up here?”

“To bitch at you. Why else?” the girl replied, taking a seat in the metal fold out chair near the window. She propped her feet up in the sill and stretched back, hands behind her head as she offered Luca a subtle smirk. Truth be told, she had been worried. It wasn’t like Luca to give up the comfort of sleeping in a bed for the sake of others. Tre’s night watch could have been easily delegated which was far more his style of leadership.

“You’re right. What else would you bother hurting yourself for if not that?” Luca asked, turning slightly to look out at their surroundings. After a moment of silence, he took a seat on the ground beside the girl’s chair. He placed both feet flat on the ground, resting one arm over his knee while the other extended toward the girl’s chest, still holding the bottle. She took it without hesitation and placed her lips to glass mouth of the bottle and drank. The liquid was cold, but it left her throat feeling warm. The twin positioned the bottle between her legs, holding it with her thighs so it wouldn’t fall off the chair and break. Andy pulled her hair over her shoulder, playing with ends absentmindedly as she listened to Luca speak, looking out the window into the skyline of the forest. “I’ve done a lot of thinking. Spoken to a few people. Some came to me, but ultimately nothing is really any more clear than it was immediately after the attack. I’ve learned that Brian was at some point involved in the CIA. People’s first thought was he sold us out. I am not on that same line of thinking because he got injured fighting back. Then, I spoke to Ralph. Turns out he and I run alongside the same line of thinking. You remember that guy I threatened before we went out to get Owen back? Well, apparently, Jenna, himself and Brian all went to go find a new place to live. He deserted them. They came back, but he never did. Ralph thinks it’s possible he sold us out. I am unsure, but i’d say if i’m taking a fucking potshot, it’s plausible.”

“Marcus.” Andy added, remembering his name. “He was a little creep.” She had barely said two words to the guy but it didn’t matter. His type had a certain ooze about them. They were the kind of guys that leaned in too close when they talked and always liked to stand between you and the nearest exit. “Now that I think about it he was with us the last time we escaped the soldiers,” she was referring to the middle school. He had been among the group that had climbed into Ray’s RV and escaped to the lodge together. The hazmats would have seen them together, and she was pretty sure that Owen had said Marcus was with them when they had been attacked by soldiers at Moe’s as well.

“We had to have been sold out,” Andy agreed. “The lodge doesn’t appear on any maps of Aurora. My uncle didn’t even have a permit to build this place. That’s why it’s so far out here, because his anti-government ass wanted a place to hide. It’s off the grid. He made sure of it. The generator, the well, all of this was put in place so he had a place that wasn’t traceable. I suppose it’s possible we were followed out here, but I think your idea is far more likely.” She lifted the bottle and took another long drink, grimacing at the taste. Andy passed the bottle back. “Plus if they were looking for you or I specifically, Marcus would have been an easy target. They already had evidence he knew who we were.”

“Why were they looking for us?” Luca asked, his teeth gripping the filter belonging to the cigarette that hung limp between his lips. “The only reason I could think of that they would want us two by ourselves is because we were in the hospital. Otherwise, whether it be at the middle school or afterwards, we weren’t alone. Even when we went out to look for Owen, we didn’t have contact with any suits.”

“Remember at the school?” Andy asked, recalling back to the day of the outbreak. “They quarantined me immediately when they found out I had been at the hospital. Something about us being that close and escaping the lockdown freaks them out, but I’m not sure why. Although, even then I’m not sure how they got your name. I lied when they asked me if I was alone.” They had stripped her down and taken blood samples before deciding she was fine to go back to be murdered with the rest of the town. Maybe they had seen something in her blood that was of value to them.

“That still doesn’t explain why they wanted us.”

Featuring: Maj

 

[Maj]

November 10th, 1:30 AM​

“They want my blood I think,” she added finally after a moment of thought. “The soldier who tried to take me said as much. He said that me bleeding out was a waste and that they needed every drop. I thought he was just being dramatic, but maybe there is something there.” Had they inadvertently stopped the soldiers from getting what they needed for a cure or vaccine? If that had been the case why would they come in guns blazing and murdering people and taking hostages? She would have given it freely if she had been asked politely.

“So this is then probably related to your mother, who turned.” Luca stated the obvious, turning from the girl to look down at the floor once more. There was something etched. Perhaps it was a symbol? His eyes remained fixated on the marking as he brought the bottle back up to his lips. “A disease like this doesn’t generate out of the middle of nowhere. It’s specifically designed to turn humans into mindless drones. This has to be related to something far deeper than what it appears to be on the surface. If someone is responsible for creating it, then there has to be a way to counteract the virus.” At this point, Luca was just rambling on in his inebriated state. However, his mind had not stopped trying to dig through little bits and pieces of the information he had uncovered.

“And that still doesn’t explain why they would want me. I have nothing to do with you.” He mumbled, running his fingers over the lettering that had been engraved into the wood. Another drag of his cigarette was followed by a yawn, before his index and thumb fingers flicked the butt of the cigarette into a makeshift ashtray nearby. It was once a water bottle, since filled up with dirt to stop the burning.


“You were more on track before. If it had to do with my mother they would want me and Owen, not you and I. They had no issue lighting my brother up like a fucking Christmas tree. This has everything to do with how close we were to the outbreak.” She was speaking more freely than she normally did. Both comfortability around Luca and the humming of the booze in her system emboldened her.

“We can’t stay here much longer. Even if there aren’t any hazmat suits left to come after us.”

Andy sighed as a response. Sure, the place was compromised, but if they were going to send more soldiers to attack them they would have done so by now. It had been two full weeks, and they had the ability to kick the group while they were down. Most of their heavy hitters were still recovering in some fashion. She hadn’t been out to town due to her injuries but she knew that the prospect of another attack was unlikely. The zombies of course, were another threat. But surely it was easier to defend this homestead that had a working generator, running water and plenty of land than it would be to travel into town.

Leaving Aurora would force them into another fight with the roadblocks all along the city boarders. She wasn’t sure what would be waiting for them outside the city anyway. If they left would they only be infecting the rest of the world? Maybe the infection had already spread that far, there was no real way to tell.

“It wouldn’t be easy to move,” she offered, thinking aloud. Moving twenty something people through monster infested streets would be a difficult task, and if she was being honest she wasn’t keen on leaving her lodge behind, full of bullet holes or not. “Are you trying to whisk me off into the sunset Brasi? I didn’t think you the type.”

“I don’t deserve to see a sunset.” Luca answered with a smirk.

“We will do what we can for the time being. We’re still living here regardless so we’ll fix the shit that we need to. I don’t know what the hell we’re going to do about that generator…” He took another drink, passing off the bottle as he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“Are you feeling better? Or are you just finally done lying around for days on end?” He inquired, crossing his arms over his torso and leaning against the wall of the lodge. “I couldn’t do it. I’d be up the wall. Though, I probably wouldn’t have much of an issue with people trying to baby me.” In a way, him staying by her side for the first few days was doing exactly that.

"I was done laying around two weeks ago," the girl admitted. "But Hector threatened to shoot me if I didn't behave."

“It’s been that long, has it?” He asked absentmindedly as he looked off into the distance. “That’s the thing about that Spaniard. He’ll go ahead and save your leg but threaten to cut it off if you decide to actually use it. Literally just goes around threatening people after he’s done helping them. He did it to me, he’s done it to you, i’m sure he’s had the same line for everyone he’s had to help since he got here; and I thought I was supposed to be the guy who was helpful but condescending.”

"You are just condescending," Her tone was dry as usual, but her cheeks were pink from both intoxication and amusement. Andy of course hadn't forgotten that it was because of Luca's help that she didn't bleed out in her yard, but his ego didn't need her gratitude.

"What have you been doing? Just sitting up here stinking up my perch and feeding your own ego? I guess sharing my bedroom with you wasn't enough, you had to eat my Fudge Rounds too?" She picked up the empty box and tutted disappointedly. "Rude."

“I was doing whatever the hell I please. And whatever the hell is the opposite of lying around my ass for days on end and wobbling around pretending i’m uninjured in the chance I was able to pick my lazy ass up.” He lifted his shirt to show off his abs, slapping his stomach with his other hand. “Not a scratch on me, amore. This shit wasn’t made on fudge rounds. It was made on going rounds with killers for years on end without failure.” He let go of his shirt, pointing at the letters that Andy had carved into her perch all those years ago.

“There’s a reason why not much has changed.”

Andy looked over at the letters she had drawn over a decade ago. AJ&LB, the scribblings of a child with a stupid crush. She raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing has changed huh? I didn't realize you were still afraid of the dark.” She batted her eyelashes in feigned innocence. "I'll have to be more courteous and put a night light in our bedroom."

“Can’t do that without a generator.” He commented, slinking forward toward the girl before crouching in front of her hillbilly lawn chair. “But that’s all right. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to worry about monsters.” His fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle, lifting it to his own mouth and winking.

“Boogeymen can’t scare other boogeymen.”

"How edgy of you. I probably have some black nail polish somewhere I can loan you if you ask me nicely," she retorted.

“Remember when I used to say things and you’d refuse to talk? That was nice. We should try that again some time.” His eyes remained fixated on her own as the corners of his lips turned upward into a smirk.

She obliged. Her fist knotted in the collar of his shirt, drawing her to him and catching his lips with her own. Luca’s body tensed at first, but Andy felt him relax as he returned the warmth of her kiss. The Italian’s hands wrapped around the small of her waist as he took hold of the girl’s lower lip between his own. With her arms around his neck, she slid off the chair and into his lap, pressing her weight against him as they both fell back onto the floor.

Luca always did whatever he wanted, and she had more than earned her right to do the same. ​

Collab: Brax
Mention: shadowz1995

 

[Rumble Fish]

Date: 10th of November 2018
Time: 8:00 AM
Location: Bedroom>Bathroom>Living room​

Joints creaked as the veteran finally came round, rolling onto her back with a pained groan. It had taken her ages to find her way back to her room after spending another couple of hours on the swing, crooning a few more songs, including an (what she personally thought of) impressive rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. Granted, it was a mostly talking song but Colt knew better than to question it. Saying anything cross about Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams or any other notable Southern or folk singer would earn her father’s glare. Brookes was a mild man, but don’t insult his tastes. It had been a quiet enough night that, without Luca in the Lodge, she did not have to fret about running into him. Especially when her tongue was loose.

With aching muscles and stiff joints, Colt finally managed to sit herself up and face the dark room. As she had anticipated, her mouth was dry and head was pounding like a jackhammer but what else was to be expected? Attaching her leg, Colt groaned as she stretched herself, feeling everything pop and click as they loosened. Seems that hunt the previous day was more physically demanding than she had thought. After a fortnight of hopping and staying within the confines of the Lodge, she was out of practice. Maybe this was how Michael felt after climbing the stairs; who knows. Rolling up the blinds, the sky was dark with grey clouds blocking out the sun giving the world a nightly impression. Colt knew it was morning, she had slept solidly for the first time in weeks and her body clock often refused to get up beyond a certain time.

Pulling on her cargo jeans, and black t-shirt, she wrapped a white zippy she had found around her waist. Another morning; another day of working. But for what cause? Nothing could be the same as it once had been. Two were dead. The cat was out of the bag with Brian, who Colt had spent the latter of those two weeks on non-verbal terms and every meeting of the eyes was swift and dismissive. Her anger at it all was unwavering. However, Colt knew she could not act upon her emotions. Keep it quiet, do what the Lodge wanted. It did not matter what she wanted. Clearly. With a heavy grunt, she pushed the bookcase away from the door and limped into the hall.

The coldness of the tiles in the bathroom caused a shiver up Colt’s spine as she walked in, locking the door behind her. Almost as if on que, the sweetness built up in her mouth, causing the woman to collapse to her knees and push the toilet seat up in one motion. Her chest heaved as she brought up everything from the night before, leaving a harsh and hot burn in her throat that she knew was not going to go away for a long time. It spent all the energy that the woman had already, now her innards ached alongside her muscles. The constant rush of sickness kept on the floor for a while but very little came up other than the occasional glob of bile. It sent shudders up her body and only made everything hurt more.

“Mother-” Colt growled as she forced herself onto her feet and stumbled to the sink. Everything felt heavy and her head continued to pound, even after doing her teeth and washing her face. Colt sighed and looked up into the mirror. Even after a solid sleep and washing her face, her face was still a sight. Dark around the eyes, a red nose and a few spots developing on her forehead, which made Colt grumble and pop one of them while muttering profanities under her breath. Once she was done, Colt stood back, just looking at the reflection glaring back at her. Colt sighed heavily, thoroughly disgusted. Why could she not see someone like Jenna or Leli, or even Andy look back at her instead? They weren’t ugly; both inside and out.

“Ya sour-faced bitch.” She grumbled to the equally grossed out looking image, “Yer gittin’ old. Old ‘n kinda past it. Just… do yer job, gun monkey and shut yer face.” Colt put the zippy on and finally left the bathroom, her heavy boots clomping across the wooden walkway and creaking down the stairs. Once she was at the bottom, the sound of sniffing caught her attention. The woman turned to see Milly on the sofa, holding onto her bear and wrapping herself in a blanket. She did not look too well. Her pale face was green and she was shivering and clammy. Colt darted her eyes slightly as she approached her.
“Y’alright there, darlin’?” she asked in a quiet a tone as she could, “Y’don’ look too good.” Milly squeaked and looked up at her, Cammy snoring as her head was on the girl’s lap. The Alsatian snorted in her sleep and her front feet kicked and her tongue flopped from her maw. She must have been having a good dream and blissfully unaware of everything in the outside world. Milly was gently massaging one of her ears in a shaking hand.

“I don’t.” She whimpered, “My tummy hurts and I’m cold.” Colt frowned a little. Cold and yet she looked hot at the same time. The only thing Colt thought it could be was possibly some sort of bug or a cold. Either was curable and easy to handle especially with bugs which usually only lasted around twenty-fourhours. The veteran sighed and folded her arms as she watched the younger girl. What to do? Her first instinct was to get one of the medical people to have a look at her and, after a few moments of thought, deduced that Ralph might be the best idea. Colt had nothing but respect for Leliana in this field but she had seen Milly and Ralph interact more and she seemed to be more comfortable around him. While Colt had considered Hector, she had never seen the pair together. She might need Hector or Leliana for other things, in this climate it was impossible to know how anything will go.

“Hm. ‘Kay. I’ll get Ralph t’look at ya once he’s up. In the meantime uh… here I’ll see about gettin’ ya a drink.” And with that she left to go to the kitchen, leaving Milly in the living room with just a sleeping Cammy for company. She had been up and down to the toilet the whole night leaving her with little sleep but had been too worried about waking up Adryen. After getting up a few times, she opted to stay on the sofa as to not disturb the teenager. She pulled the blanket around her tighter like a cocoon and lied on her side, pulling her knees to her chest. Shutting her eyes, she tried to go back to sleep but found herself waking up at ever small noise. Milly held Snowy against her stomach and curled up further. She did not notice that Colt had come back, putting a small of hot porridge and a mug of hot water on the table.

“Where’s Beth?” Milly looked up at the veteran. She thought of asking for Aubrey or Adryen, but the latter had not spoken to her much over the last couple of weeks and she did not know Aubrey well enough despite becoming relatively good friends with the woman. Beth had a warm aura that reminded the youngster strongly of her mother, the one person she really wanted now more than ever so was her first instinct. The veteran groaned as she sat slump on the chair next to the sofa, holding her own mug.

“Probably asleep.” She answered bluntly as she took a sip of her Irished coffee. Seeing the sick kid like this made the veteran more uncomfortable. “Uh-Look, jus-just try n’sleep right now. I’mma git Ralph and Beth when I see ‘em, alright?” She was unsure of how else to respond but it seemed that Milly was either satisfied with that answer or too tired to think of one as, with a moan she snuggled further into the sofa like a furry and white ball with just her head and black hair poking out. Colt was stuck on what to do next. She had things to do. But that could wait surely. At least until others were awake. Taking a methodical sip from her coffee, the warm liquid soothed her hangover and helped to settle her nerves. Colt knew that it would not be long until everyone was awake in the Lodge.

Another morning; another day of work.

​

Mentions: Brax (Luca) Maj (Beth) FireMaiden (Leliana) shadowz1995 (Hector) The Mad Queen (Ralph/Jenna) Meredith (Adryen) Corgi (Aubrey)

 

[Brax]

November 10th, 07:00 AM
​

With a deep breath, Luca’s eyes opened to the ceiling belonging to the master bedroom. Pain from the top of his forehead radiated over his head and down the back of his skull. It served as a reminder that he probably had drank a little bit too much last night. He remembered deciding that the lodge would be fine for one night without a person to watch. It was very obvious that he had not been thinking with the right head, in this case. Much like it was to his habit, Luca didn’t drink enough so that he blacked out. No, he remembered every single moment of the previous night down to the most minute of details. The man pushed himself up onto his elbows, bending his neck from side to side. Then he pulled the covers back. He stood up in his birthday suit, arms reaching high up toward the ceiling to stretch his back. Then he turned around and fixed the covers. He hadn’t been the only one not wearing any clothes, after all.

Luca’s feet led him into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him, splashing water on his face first. He opened the curtain to the window to allow some light into the room. If they were going to do anything meaningful this week, it had to be fixing the generator. The lodge’s internal repairs had been largely taken care of. The fence that Luca had spoke to Nile about was something that came secondary in relation to their lack of power. After he had finished up in the washroom, he walked out. There wasn’t much need to keep quiet; he had noticed that after a night of drinking that Andy tended to be a pretty heavy sleeper. Opening the wardrobe doors, his eyes fixated on the suit that had been hanging in the corner for weeks. He didn’t have to put on the whole thing. But, perhaps half would be enough to feel a bit more professional than an asshole parading around looking like a tourist.

First he put on a button-down white shirt. Luca slipped on a pair of underwear, before his pants. He shoved the shirt into his waistband before zipping up, then slid a belt between the hoops. No amount of dressing up for a man could be saved if there wasn’t a belt present. It was just one of those things. Like wearing shoes, which Luca clearly didn’t have. He had to settle for the pair of slip on shoes he had been wearing a majority of his time at the lodge. The Italian then made his way to the door and left the room he had not shared with Andy in over two weeks.

Meanwhile, Owen had been awake for hours. His sleep schedule was jacked from weeks of being confined to his room. At least now he was able to get around on his own for the most part. The more medically inclined house mates didn’t love the idea of him limping about but seemed to accept it as long as he didn’t over work his body. There was no real fear of that. By the time the redhead limped to the bathroom and back he was ready for pain medication and a nap.

Even with his new freedom, Owen was mostly confined to the upstairs and since there were still plenty of people healing and resting in the other bedrooms that meant that really all he had earned was the right to take a piss without company. Which realistically, was a victory all on it’s own. With the generator being out, boredom was the largest obstacle now. His phone had long ago died and there was no way to charge it without power. Andy had brought him the spare book or so, but reading had always been more her cup of tea. He was thankful for the few Lord of the Rings books she had laying about. At least that was something he knew he liked.

He was freshly washed at least. Hector had finally agreed to let him shower if he sat down while he did so. Getting a chair into the shower was a whole other ordeal, but he had never been more thankful for a real bath. Sadly the sponge baths he had received were from the more abrasive of the two doctors, he would have much preferred to have Leliana do it.

There had been one injured person that Luca hadn’t spent any time with over the past two weeks. Part of him felt as though he had turned his back on someone he loved; their relationship did not lessen the severity of Owen’s situation. Luca let his personal feelings get in the way of checking up on someone he genuinely cared about. He was well aware that he would get updates through the grapevine regardless. However, this behavior more highlighted him as someone who felt indifferent when that wasn’t the case.

​

It was early in the morning. There was no scent of coffee to greet him on his way into the living room. Even though it had been a decent amount of time, waking up without it had not been getting any easier. There were multiple nights that Luca had even dreamed about sitting at an indiscernible cafe, sipping on espresso while surrounded by his bodyguards. Of course, the mud provided by the lodge was nowhere near as quality. But it was better than nothing.

The living room was no longer littered with bodies. Building the barracks was a great move. It had provided enough space so that people didn’t have to litter the living room. Yet, Tre’s delinquent ass still somehow found it necessary to sleep on the couch just outside of Luca’s room. What the hell was it with this kid and couches? Light blue hues fixated on the boy as he removed a cigarette from his pack and brought it to his lips. He lit it, shook his head and then made his way up the stairs carefully.

He turned the hallway. Luca knew that Owen had a room just for himself in the house when they were kids. It was more than likely the place where he had been staying. The man walked up to the door with a hand in his pocket. Then he knocked. He wouldn’t be able to keep silent. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if the person on the other side of the door would want him to come in. However, he was a gimp and he didn’t really have a say in the matter at the current moment.

“Can I talk to you?”

Owen put down his book at the sound of someone knocking at his door. Surely it was too early for Leliana, and Hector just let himself in as he needed. At the sound of Luca’s voice the twin stiffened. It was about the last person he would have expected to come visit. The only conversation they had shared in the last few years ended up with both of them bruised and beat up. He closed the cover and sat the book on the side table.

“It’s open,” he responded.

 

[Maj]

​

The man’s fingers grasped the doorknob and he opened it. Luca was sure to shut it behind him. He looked over at Owen. Eyes caught the bandages, alongside his posture. Eventually they made their way up to his own, but they would default to elsewhere in the room. He kept quiet for the moment, trying his best to formulate what he wanted to say. It wasn’t often that the Italian found himself in this situation. However, it had been something he had thought about numerous times, to the point where it had been eating away at his psyche.

“I watched you get lit up like a Christmas tree.” Luca started, looking Owen in the face before his eyes shot back down to the ground. His opposite hand grabbed the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and looked down at it. There were two left. A cigarette still hung between the index and middle fingers of his free hand. “I saw you get hurt and I didn’t bother to come here myself to check up on you. Not since.” He stared at the ground underneath Owen’s feet. “I’m sorry.”

Owen studied the man’s face while he spoke. He and Luca had once been very close, in fact Owen would say that he hadn’t been as close to anyone since. An apology from him was rare, but it meant you could always count on it being genuine. Owen let out a small sarcastic laugh, exhaling loudly through his nose.

“So why are you here now? This apology isn’t for me.” The twin held out his hand gesturing to Luca’s cigarettes. Hector would have a cow, but he hadn’t smoked in weeks and what the doctor didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Luca’s brows furrowed. He walked over to Owen to place the pack in his hand along with the lighter. He had kept a few inches away so that if the man had decided to swing, he’d have enough time to react. After a second, the capo began nodding his head. Then he looked Owen in the face.

“You’re half right. I'm ashamed. As much as it is about me, it’s about you too. I couldn’t have stopped you, no one’s ever been able to tell you what to do. You refused to talk to me, never heeded any of my warnings and held a grudge. Still, from the shadows I looked after you. To me and my allies, you were untouchable. I spent a lot of time with Andrea while she was recovering. You did not get that same respect.”

“So I should thank you for your years of protection? There are a lot of people out there that have taken a bullet because of you Luca, I’m just not one of them.” he put the cigarette in his mouth, and clicked the lighter to life.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Luca cooed, staring at the man.

“I’ve never once come to you looking for acceptance or gratitude. I have always loved you unconditionally. The last time we spoke isn’t the first time we’ve fought. We’ve always left whatever shit we fought about in the mud, alongside our blood. You might feel some type of way, that’s fine. Plenty of people have taken a bullet because of me, even more have taken them from me. That has nothing to do with this and it’s not the point I’m trying to make.”

He took a drag from his cigarette.

“This is a lawless world. Being associated with me in the past was something that left a bad taste in your mouth, or might have even gotten your ass hung out to dry. But times have changed. I’ve went from the type of person you don’t want to associate with, to exactly the kind of person you want looking after you ass when shit hits the fan. And guess what? Even if you don’t give a fuck about yourself, you can’t say the same for Andrea, can you? What about that other fucking girl who somehow dragged herself out of the damn woodwork to find you?”

Owen rolled his eyes, the smile plastered on his face was one of controlled anger rather than amusement. He shook his head and took a drag off his cigarette before letting it rest between his fingers.

“You are so fucking dense sometimes. It has everything to do with this. You came up here spouting apologies about not being here for me and it all circles back. I was a kid Luca, and you might not have been much older but we’ve always been different. I watched you put a bullet in some dude’s skull. You can preach all day about grudges, but you never tried to close that gap either. I was scared.”

“What do you want me to do?” Luca asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Karma is a loop. My actions have affected and broken so many families. I started when I was too young to really understand the difference. A lot of time has passed since you saw me take a life for the first time. I am not the same person as I was then.”

Silence.

“You know, I knocked up a bartender a few years ago. I tried to talk her out of it, but she didn't believed in abortion. She ended up having my kid. Two years went by and I did my best to be the type of man that comes home to his family. I really did. At the end of the day, we all pay our dues. When i’m fucking six feet deep, believe me... I know there’s no place for me upstairs.”

“No one deserves to lose their family Luca, I’m sorry.”

Luca didn’t say anything back. His tongue escaped to lick his lips, half-open eyes staring at the cigarette that had burned down to the filter between his fingers while he was talking. It had started burning at his flesh, but he hadn’t noticed until now. Readjusting his fingers, he took the hand out of his pocket and licked his thumb. He used it to put the burning cherry out. Then he looked back up at Owen.

“I don't want a funeral. I’d rather be cremated and thrown into the wind. There’s not a part of me that should be allowed to decompose under a shrine. I know what I am. So do you. That is not the point.”

Owen watched Luca’s face as he spoke. He analyzed Luca’s expression, or rather lack thereof. It was clear right away that Luca and Andy had things in common that Owen was incapable of understanding, right down to this expression. When their uncle had died, he expected his sister to be distraught but she had looked on with this same neutral face.

“You’ve kept my sister alive.” Owen took another drag off his cigarette. “You know first hand what I’ve been willing to do for Andy and what she means to me. You keep managing to save her life.”

“It’s all right, I love her.” Luca kept unnaturally still, his eyes fixated on Owen’s as he spoke. “I love you, too.” After a moment the Italian looked off to the side. Then he turned his back to Owen and walked out of his room.

Collab: Brax

 

[Rumble Fish]

[

Fisher awoke that morning relatively early but it took three attempts to pull himself out of bed. Perhaps staying in the armchair would have been a better option? He wondered. With others moving about the lodge during the early hours it had impossible to get any sleep in the chair over the past few days. He began his morning routine, taking an extra few minutes to brush his teeth and made his way downstairs. With one hand on the cane and another gripped tightly onto the bannister he began his careful descent. He was not only trying to avoid having another fall but also trying to keep it down.

The lodgers needed their sleep, after all. Silently stepping onto the bottom step he sighed and made his way into the kitchen, wondering if he'd ever get used to the cane.

Colt groaned as she jumped, hearing footsteps coming down the stairs. Her headache pounded as if her temples were about to jump right off of her head. Why couldn’t hangovers just get easier? Each one hurt like it was her first. The woman rubbed her clammy forehead with a grumble as she sat up. She virtually no energy to spend. But as she looked up, she saw Ralph limping into the kitchen. Seeing her chance, the woman groaned as she stood up, her muscles still aching and creaking.

“Mornin’, doc.” She grunted as she poured the man a cup of coffee that she had made (without the addition of whisky of course) “How y’managing?” she added. It was better to ask Ralph on how he was doing before asking him to help Milly. The man had gone through hell.

"I'm managing." He said with a smile "I'm grateful that I'm able to move around on my own now." As much as he appreciated the help, his independence was something Ralph had always held onto dearly. "How are you doing, Colt?" He took a seat at the table, resting his cane against it.
“I understand that.” Colt responded, shuffling a little on her feet. She knew that feeling too well. Even in the hospital, going through therapy to adjust to walking again she hated having to rely on the nurses or doctors to keep her upright. They already had to put her back together like some kind of Frankenstein’s monster, they didn’t have to do that. As she passed him his coffee, the man’s next question caused her to pause. After a moment of thought, the veteran sighed harshly through her nose.

“Honestly? Not good. But that don’ matter the now. I know ya just got up, and I’m sorry but I need to ask somethin’ of ya.” She turned and gestured into the living room, specifically the couch, “Milly’s sick. Dunno what’s up with ‘er, but think y’could take a look at her at some point?”

Of course, Colt would have understood. Out of all the people in the Lodge, she was probably the one would have understood the most. Sure, Owen had almost died but Fisher's injury was one that would stay with him for the rest of his days. He was grateful that he wasn't in Owen's condition though, and that although he was down a kneecap he at least had everything else intact. He nodded at the veteran at her response.

His brown eyes widened when Colt mentioned Milly. "Is it bad?" He asked, keeping his voice low "What has she told you?" Children were a lot easier to treat than adults. Grown-ups didn't spill everything due to pride or worry that they would be a burden to others, but children he found were always more honest. That was, unless they were worried about getting into trouble.

Colt was relieved when the doctor did not push about her response. She did trust the man, to an extent but not enough to tell him more but even just admitting to not being okay to someone helped ease her troubled thoughts even just a bit. As he asked about Milly, Colt folded her arms and looked into the living room. Milly was now sitting upright but was bent over so she slowly walked to the sink where she had seen a basin in the cupboard under.
“Said her stomach and head hurt and she don’ look like she’s slept. If I had t’guess it looks like some sort of bug. Maybe-” a retching sound from the living room caused the veteran to grumble under her breath, “Christ alive.” She pulled the basin out and swiftly set it on the girl’s lap. Thankfully nothing had come up but still. Colt sighed and turned back to the doctor, shrugging her shoulders a little. That was the extent of her knowledge.

"We will have to keep her separate from the baby, just in case." He whispered to Colt, jumping to his feet with the cane and making his way over to Milly. He hoped it was just a bug, but even a stomach bug exposed to a newborn could have disastrous consequences and it wasn't like they had the resources to treat Shinoa's baby anyway.
"Let it out, love. It's better out than in." He softly advised Milly, taking a seat by her side and placing a gentle hand on her back to tilt her slightly forwards. There'd be no spillage that way.

“Yeah,” Colt hummed with a sigh as she leant on the doorframe with her coffee and watched the pair. She had no obligation to, but with Milly’s sickness and Ralph still recovering from his trauma, the two were vulnerable. Anything could happen so she stayed put to observe them. She had thought of the baby and had deduced that keeping Milly separate would be best. Whether or not Milly had been vaccinated, she did not know but regardless, it’d hurt an infant.

Milly sat hunched and shaky as Ralph sat next to her and put a hand on her back. The young girl gulped a little but before she could even try to respond, her diaphragm jumped as she then threw up into the basin. It was not much but it was still an effort leaving her with a runny nose and tears. The younger girl sighed deeply with a cough before reaching for the glass of water that Colt had put on the table.

Shaking his head slightly, Ralph reached into one of his shirt pockets and handed the girl a clean tissue. "Do you think that's all of it?" He asked, his voice still soft.

Milly nodded and took the tissue to wipe around her mouth. She looked at Cammy who had jumped onto the floor and had her head perched on Ralph’s good lap, looking at the two of them. Milly reached over and pet the dog softly on her ear. “Thanks.” She said quietly, worried that opening her mouth at all would cause it to happen again.

Fisher winced a little when the dog sat her head on him, more than he would have liked to admit. He wanted to scold the animal or push it away but instead, he just lightly sighed. She was here to stay, and there was little he could do about it. Cammy tilted her head to one side as Milly petted her, moving her ear into a better position as she demanded more attention from the child.

Ralph passed Milly the glass of water over "You need to keep drinking. It'll wash the icky taste away."

Milly stroked the dog between the ears as she took a sip of water. Like Ralph said, it helped to wash her mouth of the taste. Colt walked over and sat in the armchair next to the sofa, looking at the pair. “So, y’think it’s a bug or?” she asked the doctor while the small girl was distracted with both her teddy bear and the dog.

"Hard to tell right now." He whispered, "I can't get an accurate reading for her temperature, so for now..." He heavily sighed, his eyes becoming heavy "All we can do is wait. If she's unable to keep fluids down for twenty-four hours, vomits up blood or stars to feel a lot of discomfort or pain then it could something a lot more serious." He shook his head "We'll need to watch for dehydration too."

Colt sighed and nodded, “I see. Well, y’know better than I do.” The veteran sighed as she looked at Milly who had finished her water and had turned back to the doctor,

“Um, are you okay? I-I know you got hurt before.” She spoke softly, afraid of offending the man but, seeing so many people hurt in the Lodge, it worried her.

Ralph chuckled "I'll be fine, Milly. Thanks for looking out for me." He looked down at Cammy, seeing that she was now drifting off to sleep but struggling to remain awake. "You just focus on getting better, alright?" He gave her one more smile of reassurance "Keep drinking, and remember to eat."

Milly looked at the man as he smiled at her and the youngster gave him a returning smile, or what she could manage feeling the way she did. At his prompt to eat, she looked at the porridge that was on the table and lifted it. The youngster blinked a few times and ate a couple of small spoonful before putting it back. She paused for a moment before turning back to the man with a concerned expression, “Do you think they’ll come back?” she asked. Colt, who had been quiet through this looked away and put her head on the armchair’s arm-rest with folded arms under her chin. This did not have anything to contribute; she wasn’t a doctor or anything useful.

"Who will come back?" Ralph asked, still wearing that smile he always did. It was one his own daughter was all too familiar with.

"The bad ones. In the yellow suits." Milly coughed slightly, her gaze downcast. "I know we beat them but," she was unsure as to how to continue. The small girl glanced away. The memory of being kept hostage by those people and almost killed was still very clear.

His smile dropped at the question and he cursed himself for not knowing better. Of course the girl would ask that. "I don't think they will." He tried to reassure, but Fisher had always been a terrible liar "But, on the off-chance that they do come back here we'll be ready for them. The reason all that bad stuff happened last time was because they surprised us, you understand?"

Colt, while in another realm of its own and not paying attention to their conversation, glanced towards the pair as they talked about the attack that had just happened. She just sighed deeply and said nothing. If anything she wanted to forget that the whole thing had happened.

Milly listened to the man and nodded softly. “I mean, it helps with Ivan. He’s strong. Oh, and Brian and Luca.” While she did not know much about the Italian other than he had this aura that she wanted to avoid, “And since we got surprised, now we know. Like the Lion King!” Despite her sickly demeanour, she managed to smile at the mention of that movie.

"Well, I don't think our plan would be quite the same as Scar's." Ralph let out a light chuckle "We're not planning the coup of the century or wanting to take over Pride Rock." He rested a hand on his chin "Unless...Unless there's something they're not telling me." He let out a fake gasp and glanced up at Colt "Did you know about this?"

A mix of Ralph’s words and Colt’s confused “Hm?” and quizzled face despite still being slumped like a big, lazy house cat on the armchair, caused the younger girl to laugh before shimmying around to face the man, her pale face had a little bit more colour from both the water and her mind being diverted.

“Yeah maybe not,” Milly giggled before looking back to the man, “But also, you-you know that bit with Rafiki and the stick? When he says the past is bad but you can learn from it and Simba ducks the next time?” She drank some more water, “It’s a bit like that too!” Colt shrugged and went back to her thinking/sulking; slightly offended that Milly hadn’t mentioned her in her list of “strong” people. Then again she did not mention Andy either. Maybe it was a kid thing.

"I suppose it is. Just so long as you remember to duck." He grinned "I'd probably have taken a few tries before that I could've avoided it." He was glad to see Milly taking this well. Something about reaching back into a Disney movie for comfort probably wasn't the most healthy of solutions, but if it kept her from getting upset it would do for now. "You know, my own kid loves that movie too but Beauty and the Beast is her favourite. She..." She chuckled again "She wasn't happy when me and my wife told her that she couldn't wear the Belle dress all the time."

“Oooh, I love Beauty and the Beast!” Milly cooed as it was mentioned and when he mentioned about his own daughter and how she did not want to take off her Belle dress, she giggled a little, “I have a Snow White costume at home.” She added. Milly looked at the sulking veteran and sat up a little, “Colt? Do you have a favourite Disney movie?” she asked the woman.

Colt frowned slightly at this question, unsure of how to answer. She had not watched any of those movies but had seen some of them. She had to think for a moment before making her decision. “Hm. Oh, Tarzan. I think that’s my favourite.” She answered laconically before resuming her train of thoughts. She was more into adventurous films rather than anything princess-y or romantic.

"I loved the Incredibles." Ralph added, "That's got to be my favourite." Although he enjoyed most of the films he watched with Sarah and June, the Princess stories had never been for him. Something about the parental figures being absent, deceased outright evil all the time rubbed him the wrong way. "June..." He smiled "She couldn't get enough of Mulan."

“Oh yeah I forgot about Mulan.” Colt added, “I like that movie too. All that sword fighting n' shi-stuff, it's great.” Milly nodded in agreement before her face suddenly turned from smiling to horror as she felt another rush of sickness coming up and she lurched into the basin again, her back jumping as she brought up the porridge, but not the water since it had been the last thing ingested, and it was not much. The girl sighed deeply and kept her eyes down.

“Sorry.”

Ralph slowly patted Milly on the back, glancing over at Colt "It's okay, kid. Like I said, it's better out than in so it's better to let it all out." Although his tone was comforting, there was worry in his eyes as he looked over at Colt.

After a few more minutes, Milly sat back up with a sigh. Her throat was sore and she was just exhausted. She hadn’t noticed Colt giving the man an equally worried look. The veteran sighed heavily before finally coming up with something to say about the matter. “Look um, maybe ya should try and get some sleep.” The living room was not a good place with the amount of activity and noise there was probably going to be, but putting her with others was out of the question. Sure it was most likely a bug, but what if it was something worse?

"Good idea." Ralph nodded "Sleeping is basically the human equivalent of turning the computer off and on again. Sometimes it can help with problems." His smile returned once more when he spoke to Milly, his eyes turning away from Colt "Do you want me to carry the basin up for you?" For a moment he'd forgotten about the cane. It was probably a really dumb suggestion.

Milly nodded at Ralph’s words, her eyes half-closed as it was as she struggled to stay awake. Colt looked at the man as he offered to carry the basin and she shook her head lightly, “Nah I’ll manage. Just need to figure out where to put her. It’s gonna get busy in here soon.” She sat up fully now, finishing her coffee. What a start.

Featuring: The Mad Queen
Mentions: King Vioogra Brax BloodLightning27

 

[FireMaiden]

​

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interactions: The Mad Queen (Ralph) Rumble Fish (Colt/Milly)
Mentioned: Maj (Beth)
"She could sleep in mine and Beth's room. I'd just have to wake Beth up, who is still sleeping I think," Leliana said, "I'm sorry, I just came down, is everything okay? Milly looks a little sick, we should have some medicine in one of the bags, someone would have to check if it's okay for kids though if that's what's going on. If she's just tired uh..." She had been standing there long enough to hear Colt and Ralph tell Milly that she needed sleep but was not entirely clear on the details. The kid didn't look that great though, and that was worrying, the concern evident in her voice, but just standing there awkwardly was, well, awkward. "Well, just like, tell me if that's what you wanna do, I'll be in the kitchen," She said, sidestepping before turning on her heel. She woke up feeling weird, cold and weird. Which, in a way was a good thing, the Zoloft was starting to really take effect, the withdrawal symptoms she had been experiencing were going away and despite the fact she felt like she was doing something illegal hiding the boxes of Zoloft that Jenna grabbed from the pharmacy from the rest of the lodge in her room, but she really didn't want everyone in her business. So, she would deal with it. Anyway, the coffee was a surprise, Leliana still under the impression something was wrong with the generator, but it was probably old? Better than nothing though. She would be skipping breakfast since food was low, and she ate yesterday, Leliana just took a seat at the eat-in counter thing.

They needed to do a run, for food and winter clothing, and just anything useful really, and Leliana wanted to get out of the lodge again. But based on how well that last supply run went, she was probably gonna be stuck here. That was fine, maybe she could bribe someone. Like, she did potentially still have a laptop at her house with a bunch of movies on it. And a stash of weed...maybe. Her mother's not her own, but she did know where it was. Anyway, she slowly sipped on terrible coffee someone managed to burn, or maybe it was just a terrible blend in the first place, Leliana was really wishing she had some clean socks, her toes we're freezing. She woke up and could see her breath, and didn't know if that meant the whole lodge was freezing, or just her room. She still hasn't figured it out, but something should be done about it. That, however, was probably outside of Leliana's expertise. Aka, she did not know how to start a fire and was worried about trying to do that in the fireplace she had stubbed her toe on three times.

 

[BloodLightning27]

Brian Rousseau & Shinoa Bradford
November 10th, 8:00AM
Morning Reminiscence​

Not getting much sleep following the attack, Brian spent his morning relaxing on the roof, away from everyone. Shinoa, wondering where he had gone, looked outside and saw him just laying by the chimney, alone, jacket off, weapons to the side. Frowning, she dug through her small bag of clothing that she had brought on the first night of the outbreak. She proceeded to grab a quick change into a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt and a jacket. Hopefully this would be enough to help her with the outside elements. How was Brian outside with his sleeves rolled up though? It was a little snowy and cold out, not to mention they were heading into the winter. Maybe Brian had a couple of missions in Russia? Or Mountainous Regions? "Got room for one more?" The teen asked once she got onto the roof, briefly peering at Valerie, who was safely and peacefully sleeping in her bed.

Brian nodded, before helping her up so that she wouldn't fall. "Didn't sleep well last night either?" He asked.

"No..." Shinoa shook her head. "I haven't gotten much sleep for the last week and a half. But its okay."

"Yeah. Having a newborn with us hasn't exactly made things easy. She didn't exactly choose the best time to arrive, did she?" Brian smiled a little.

"No, but I'd do anything for her, whether its losing a good night's sleep or fighting zombies... Honest. Just...This wasn't how I expected the first two weeks with her to go. If it weren't for hell freezing over, I'd be on a plane to Washington State right now and moving in with my Dad. No doubt he's worried sick." She frowned.

Brian looked over and saw her frown. He wasn't sure of how to respond to that. Did the Virus already spread beyond the quarantine zone across the country? "Yeah, if it wasn't for me, you probably would be on that plane." If things have really gone to hell outside of Aurora, he had no way of finding out or a real way to do so.

Shinoa nodded in agreement, since he did have a role in the mess that was made. "What made you choose to go into the CIA?"

"I didn't go to them, they came to me because of my lineage. For a very long time, every male in my family has served in the Military. I was the odd one out. I was a hell of an athlete when I was your age. Played Football, Basketball, Soccer. Went to State Competitions all four years. Went to College on a Full-Ride Football Scholarship. Only had to pay for Textbooks and School Supplies. Ended up choosing to go into Sports Medicine. I was even a prospect for the NFL. Could have been a real somebody." He smiled, thinking about his college graduation.

"What made you decline?" Shinoa asked.

"It was a dead end job. One really bad injury, the career was over. I wasn't prepared for something like that. Because I didn't have a Plan B. Instead, I ended up working at my Dad's Bar. Thanks to my Dad's track record, the CIA offered to recruit me and I accepted." He looked up at the sky. "And well...here I am. Up to my neck in zombies, bullets and blood. But...that's enough about me. What brought you to Aurora?"

"The fact that I got knocked up." She sighed. "My Mom found the positive pregnancy test in my trashcan. We got into a nasty argument. She wanted me to abort, and I didn't want to. Our relationship soured and then she kicked me out when I was six months pregnant. I packed my bags, sent a couple of packages to my Dad, let him know what happened and then he had me move in with my Grandma because he wasn't ready for me to move in and traveled a lot for his work. But the positives outweighed the negatives."

"How so?"

"My pregnancy was mostly stress-free. I didn't go into public school after moving here because of how society is about teen pregnancy. Mainly took classes online so that I could rest and my Dad paid for the prenatal care. Best part? My Grandmother pampered the hell out of me, even helped me with my birth plan. Of course, neither of us really planned for what happened on the night of the sixteenth..." She frowned as that afternoon was the last time she heard from her Grandma. "I just hope she's okay. Because she was out hiking when everything went to hell..."

"I'm sure she is. Wherever she is, I hope she's safe too." Brian said, even though it was mostly wishful thinking.

As Shinoa relaxed on the roof, she began wondering about her Grandmother. Hopefully she was okay and hiding from the Hazmats in a safe location. Brian continued to look up at the sky, wondering what the day was going to bring them. Not just him, or Shinoa, but for everyone.

 

[The Mad Queen]

THEN

Her hair was a violet bush, her face decorated by smeared mascara and her eyes were barely open, set ablaze by a ray of sunshine that made it's way through the blinds. "Nooo." She groaned, covering her head with a pillow. Jenna lay in a double bed in a clean, decorated room and just as she felt the comforting arms of the sandman pulling her back to sleep there was a knock on the door. With a heavy sigh, she reached under her pillow for her phone.
10am
She tried to ignore it, but the knock came a second time and the girl was forced to drag herself from bed. The sandman would have to wait it seemed. She threw on a long, eloquent dressing gown to cover herself and made her way to the front door, passing by a sleeping yellow Labrador at the top of the stairs.
"Yes, I'm on my way." She moaned, wrapping the gown over herself while taking care not to step on the dog, still sound asleep despite the knocking. Given it was 10am, and a Sunday she made an in vain attempt at fixing her hair and readied a smile to politely tell the Mormons to shoo, opening the door.

Her smile dropped like a stone, and she shut the door.
"I just want to talk." Came a voice from the other side
"You've said enough." Jenna folded her arms, pouting with her back facing away from the knocker "How the hell did you find me anyway?"
"Your dad, he..."

Marching towards the door, Jenna threw it open and stood face to face with a middle-aged, blonde haired woman with tired green eyes.
"He really gave you my address?" She scoffed "You expect me to believe that? He's not an idiot." She shook her head "Then again, I suppose he did marry you, after all." Her blue eyes pierced those of the woman who stood before her. "Okay, Katelyn. What do you want?"
"I want a relationship with my child, is that too much to ask?"
"You've had years to reach out."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Look, can I come in? If we're going to argue we'd better not do it in front of your neighbours."

Jenna sighed and opened the door, allowing Katelyn inside. The two made their way into the living room and Jenna shut the door with the dog at the top of the stairs briefly looking up from his resting place before going back to sleep.
The girl rested her arm atop a bookcase while Katelyn took a seat on an armchair, leaning forwards with her hands together.
"So..."
"You dad did give me your address. I wasn't lying."
"And why would he do that?"
"He agreed with me..."
"That makes a fuckin' change."
"That I should at least try to make this right."

Her blue eyes met Katelyn's brown once more.
"So you want to be a part of my life?"
She nodded
"Thing is, I don't want you as a part of mine. Sorry." She shrugged "I want you out of my house."
Katelyn slowly stood to her feet "Please. How can I make this right?"
"You could have been there back in the day, for starters. You could have not treated dad like shit..."
"I'm trying to make it right with him too. All I'm asking for is a chance."
"Christ, Katelyn..." Jenna groaned
"I know I can't make up for what I did back in the day, but I want to be there for you now." She reached a hand out towards Jenna, who promptly turned away "All I'm asking for is one chance. We try this and if you still don't want me in your life afterwards I'll leave you alone forever. Heck, I'll even stop watching you if that's what you want."

The girl raised an eyebrow at that.
"Your videos, obviously." Katelyn smiled "I've seen all of them. It made me feel... Closer to you."

NOW
Her hair was a violet bush, her face was free of makeup and her eyes were barely open, set ablaze by a ray of sunlight that pierced through the blinds. Through some effort, Jenna pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to begin her morning routine.

 

[Corgi]

PT . 1
November 10, 2019
7 : 3 0 A M


Sunlight pierced the sheer yellow curtains, cascading across a sleeping girl’s face. The calm rocking from side to side with an occasional creak of metal whining for company was Aubrey’s home. It’s where she found herself running to when she was hurting or tired or when she felt that breathing wasn’t worth the effort. Days when she didn’t think she deserved life, she would sit on the edge of the clunky, rusted boat and look out at the crystal water; she would see the young schools of fish, the trees waving ‘hi’ as the wind brushed past them, and she would realize that she was meant alive. If she was no longer here, who would enjoy the water? Who would look out and appreciate this beauty?

And she’d feel better, even if it was only temporary.

The rocking and creak of the bed greeted Aubrey as her eyes fluttered open. She expected to see the warm walls of her boat, but was greeted with the dark oak logs, instead. Even after a month at the lodge, she wasn’t used to waking up in the barracks. It felt like everything that happened since she heard there was a quarantine in Aurora up until this moment was all a dream, and each day she woke up, she had to convince herself otherwise. She didn’t expect to ever get used to it.

For a second, Aubrey swore she could still feel the rocking of her boat. As she concentrated on that feeling- she did feel it. Confusion riddled her face as she looked behind her and met eyes with a black cat who was using the mattress as a stress ball. Her confusion grew to surprise, and then back to confusion, “What’re you doing here little guy?” She asked simply, knowing there wasn’t going to be a response in return.

As the girl’s hand went towards the black cat, it jumped off the bed and looked back at her, cautious, “I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry.” She apologized, brushing through her hair, “I’ll just be doing my thing over here, you can do what you want.”

Aubrey didn’t question the cat too much, there had been so many weird things to happen in this world, a strange cat showing up wasn’t going to beat the things she’d seen. Getting ready for the day, she tied her hair in braids and affixed the hat on her head. Standing and turning around, the cat was no longer in the room and the door leading outside was ajar. A part of her felt dejavu in that moment; she felt that she had read something similar to this in her life, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Shrugging off the feeling, she exited the barracks and looked around, eyes meeting with the cat once more. This time, the kitty was several feet away and looking back at her once more. Aubrey made a quick decision and decided that her workout could wait as she headed towards the feline, trying her best the seem as less threatening as she could, but it seemed the closer she got to the black tabby, the farther away he got.

It got to a point where she had entered the forest and was looking around to see where he darted off to, but spotted some yellow in the distance. The color stood out among the greenery which piqued her interest. The thought of the kitty escaped her mind as she carefully approached before realizing what she was looking at.

English Primrose. Her mother’s favorite. She remembered helping her mom pot plants as she droned on and on about her collection of flowers, how each of them fared in different weather, and why primrose was the best.

“They have an ethereal beauty that stomachs their hardiness- blooming early yet so perfectly.”

One could assume that the lilt of her mothers’ smile and the warmth in her eyes could only mean she was making an odd metaphor to compliment Aubrey, but she made no sense of it. Aubrey never understood why flowers were so pretty, but seeing them now, thriving in a place of uncertainty, she felt an appreciation she had to share.

Aubrey had never been good with plants. Despite her mother’s efforts, her thumbs didn’t suit the green her mother wore so well. Every time she’d try, something would go wrong. At best, it was comical; she would be trying to water the plants, trip, and manage to dump all the water on herself. At worst… A little girl, excited to use scissors and trim the rose bush ended up with a sliced open palm. After that hospital trip, Aubrey decided she didn’t like gardening.

She realized her eyes were trained on her palm, the white scar still present after all these years. Coming back to reality, the gnawing in the stomach grew even more present as she cupped the pale amber flowers. A part of her wanted to leave the flower here- to come back another day and see a whole meadow blooming- but that would mean feeling this… this twist in her gut again.

There were memories Aubrey would never want to forget, and they were some she could fair without. Plucking the flowers, she turned her back on the bleeding soil and made her way to the lodge. She knew of someone who would enjoy these flowers without making her feel bad again.

Her determined footsteps carried her across the lawn and into the cabin, eyes still locked on the flowers and mind lost in thought. The methodical pounding of her steps took her up the stairs until she felt a prod at her shoulder and she was suddenly off balance.

The prob came in the form of Luca's shoulder. He had been busy playing over the retelling of information in his conversation with Owen. It might have been the first time the two had extensively exchanged words without moving to blows in the last ten years. Luca had been so busy lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed the poor girl attempting to make her way up the same narrow staircase past him. Luca reacted as soon as contact between the two had been made. leaving Aubrey's body to fall backwards as one of the man's hands grasped the collar of her shirt. The other had wrapped itself around the lower part of her back to stabilize her frame. Both of them stood momentarily in that position until Aubrey regained her balance enough for the Italian to let go. His lips parted briefly to apologize, before immediately shutting closed once more. He nodded to the girl and continued down the stairs without a spare remark to offer.

A small squeak escaped her lips as she felt her body fall backwards, closing her eyes and waiting for impact. Instead, she felt an arm wrap around her back and stabilize her. Looking up, her eyes met with Luca’s, who she somehow didn’t see previously. Before she could apologize or thank him, he took off down the stairs. Aubrey thought about letting him go on his way but she stopped him as she remembered their meetups, “I won’t be working out this morning, but I will tonight if you want to join.”

As he made his way down the stairs, Luca stopped. He turned back to face the female, light blue hues peering up at her. The Italian had missed working out this morning as dawn seemed to slipped past him as a result of the previous night's activities. Luca offered the girl a small smile before turning and continuing on down the stairs. Part of him was curious as to where she was heading. Even though it didn't matter much, the flowers gave him a pretty good hint.

"You might have to remind me in case I forget." He held a hand up as his feet hit the first floor before turning the corner.

Aubrey gave a brisk nod and a small thumbs up, not wanting to get in the way of his morning routine, “Will do.” She said, flashing a small but odd smile. Watching Luca turn the corner, she herself took off down the hall and quietly knocked on a door she had grown quite familiar with, “Owen? Can I come in?”

Interactions: Brax (Luca) and Maj (Owen [sort of])

 

[King Vioogra]

Ivan woke up with a jolt inside the recently built barracks. He clutched the thin sheets tightly as he looked around, cold sweat beading on his body. With a short exhale, the Russian got out of bed and looked around again. It looked to him like all of the other lodgers that were staying in the barracks had already gotten up and were out and about, which was good as Ivan stripped down and put on a set of clean clothes, sighing quietly once he was done. He stepped out of the barracks slowly, shielding his eyes from the sun before cracking his neck and making his way towards the lodge. He was lucky enough to get some of the scraps after Micheal’s binge the night before, but he was reasonably hungry. As the man stepped into the lodge, he walked through the den area into the kitchen, shuffling through the pantry to see if there was anything that wasn't canned he’d be able to make. When all he could find was canned stuff, he gave a short grumble before looking around the kitchen. Since Luca wasn’t here, he was probably in his room. This prompted Ivan to leave the kitchen and go towards the master bedroom, planning on knocking on the door when he instead saw the Italian as he touched down from the stairs. “Luca, you mind if I run to town? We probably won’t last much longer food wise, plus the library is still a good choice for learning new stuff.” He said in a firm but calm tone.

“The generator is still down.” Luca reminded the man, lifting an eyebrow. He crossed his arms over his chest before he continued. “If you’re going to go into town alone and you want the keys to one of our last two cars, then you have to fix that first. You can leave on foot whenever you want but this is my requirement if you were thinking about driving out. Also, there’s a lodge meeting in about an hour.” The Italian then turned and continued walking into the kitchen.

"Alright. I'll take a look at the generator than head out after the meeting." The Russian spoke confidently as he yawned and grabbed a toolbox, heading around the side of the lodge and kneeling next to the busted generator. He gave the machine a quick look before pulling the cover of the operating box off. After a little bit of tinkering and a few grunts of annoyance, the Russian replaced the cover for the box and stood up, pulling the primer cord as the generator roared to life. “Там мы идем!” He said with a proud chant as he sighed and started back towards the lodge. The meeting would be starting soon, so he’d definitely have to be there.​

 

[Maj]

​

“Uh yeah,” Owen called back. His voice was distracted, his eyes focused on the grainy wood of the floor. What had Luca meant by those words? It was clear that he and his sister had gained some sort of familiarity since they had been sharing a room for the past several weeks, but love was such a vast concept. Honestly, Owen was more confused by Luca’s parting words than anything else. He took a deep breath and looked up toward the door. He was popular this morning it would seem.

At the slight sound of his voice, she swung the door open and started rambling, “There was a cat!” For the first time in the weeks Owen and Aubrey have known each other, there was an excited tone in her voice. Typically statements were neutral or bordered on sad, but there was a brightness in her timbre, “I woke up and there was a black cat and I followed him and he took me to this patch of flowers and now I’m here.”

She paused for a second, realizing she didn’t have an end to the story other than to express there was a cat. Stopping on the other side of the doorway, she closed the door and held up the flowers, her other hand taking its rightful place on her cap.

“Oh yeah,” Owen took a final drag off his cigarette before putting it out in the mostly finished water bottle on his nightstand. “That black cat has been coming and going from here as he pleased for a while. My Uncle always said not to feed stray cats because you would never be rid of them, didn’t stop him from feeding that little guy though. I haven’t seen him around in a while, I’m glad he’s okay.” The redhead did his best to shake off the remnants of his and Luca’s conversation.

“He must like you if he climbed into bed with you. Normally he just stands on the porch and screams at Andy for Tuna.”

Aubrey eyed the cigarette for a little bit as he moved to put it out. She was never a big fan of cigarettes, the smell, the taste, but she understood why some people used them. Her attention was drawn back to Owen as he spoke, “Really?” She asked, a small smile appearing at the corner of her lip, “Tuna… I don’t think we have any around, but if he likes tuna, he’d like being named Tuna.” She mumbled to herself.

Looking down, she spotted the flowers she had grabbed before realizing why she came here in the first place, “Oh, these are for you.” Aubrey explained, walking over to his bedside to hand them over.

“You spoil me blondie,” Owen replied, taking the flowers from her. This was Aubrey’s way, she would come and visit bringing flowers and conversation. He had come to expect it as part of his routine. The girl was nice enough, a bit naive and absent minded at times, but she had a good heart.

“You know if you keep finding yourself coming up to see me, I can clean out a drawer for you,” The redhead joked. “There is room up here for two.”

“You’re already taking up plenty of space, I’d hate to move you. Plus, the barracks comes with a kitty!” She explained, sitting on the chair next to his bed.

“I mean my room could come with a kitty too, but you keep breaking my heart.” Owen cooed. The overly flirtatious line came on reflex, but he gave the girl a wide grin in response. Eventually she would either tell him to go to hell or at least acknowledge his playful attempts to get her attention.

Aubrey’s eyes went wide with excitement, “Are there more cats?!” She asked, a wider smile on her face. The girl had never been around many animals, her mother was allergic to most so they never got close to the ones that they saw, but now she was being introduced to so many delightful creatures and she now knows what she was missing out on.

“I uh..” Owen stalled, totally taken aback by the woman’s disregard for his blatantly inappropriate comment. “No. There are no more cats. Forget I said anything.” His face went red, suddenly embarrassed by his display. It was striking across his pale, freckled cheeks, clashing with the unbrushed mop of red hair on his head.

Her excitement faltered as she stared at his cheeks beginning to flush. He wasn’t making any sense… Maybe he was feeling ill?

“Are you running a fever?” She asked, standing up and putting her hand on his forehead, “You’re really red.”

“No, I’m not running a fever!” He batted her away. “Lord woman, have you never seen a grown man blush before?” Owen’s tone was still playful, despite being embarrassed. It was rare that someone was able to catch him so off guard, and he was willing to give credit where credit was due.

Now it was Aubrey’s turn to be embarrassed, “W-What? I mean… Uh…” Truth be told, the blonde hadn’t seen many people blush at all. Most of her life she had stuck to herself, not having the opportunity to see people so flustered, “Uhm… No…” She bashfully replied, retracting her hand from his face.

“That explains a lot.” Owen smirked, finally understanding why Aubrey hadn’t seemed phased by all his idiotic attempts to flirt with her. The blonde was cute when she blushed. He coughed awkwardly, doing his best to change the subject to avoid either of them feeling any more embarrassed.

“Tuna is a good name for him, the cat that is. Although there is barely enough food to feed all the humans in the lodge right now.” He was sure Andy would be back on the hunt soon enough. Colt had taken up her stead while she was healing and had done a fine job, but they were going to need more than meat to survive.

Once the subject was changed, her cheeks slowly turned to their normal hue and she felt more comfortable with the topic, “Don’t worry about that. There were days I survived off of less food I’m getting now.” Aubrey said blandly. It didn’t bother her that she had to fend for herself after she left Aurora. It’s ultimately what she wanted, so she knew she’d get through it. Times were tough then, but they were tougher now. Having something to take her mind off of impending doom would be nice.

“I’m sure we will have a group go out for supplies sooner rather than later,” Owen surmised. Many of the lodge members were on the mend, himself included. Although he wouldn’t be running into town any time soon. “Hopefully they will be able to grab some canned goods for your little furry friend.”

“I’m sure there will be something.” Aubrey agreed, an idea suddenly popping into her head, “When you’re feeling better and more able to walk around, I want to show you some pretty spots where I found the flowers! I mean, I’m sure you know where they are since you’ve lived here, but who knows, I may surprise you.”

“I can’t wait.” Owen said with a smirk. And that much was true. He was tired of this bedroom and the idea of walking around the woods with Aubrey sounded almost like a fairy tale in comparison to being stuck up here with Leli and Hector lecturing him all day.

“I’ll be back on my feet before you know it.”

Collab: Corgi
Mention: Brax FireMaiden shadowz1995

 

[Brax]

Tre’s eyes opened to the ceiling of the living room. He had spent the last few days in the barracks, spending a large amount of time sleeping. Today was the first day he got back to his couch. It was comfortable; his portion of the lodge, mostly. The mattress in the barracks might have been larger but it was not as comfortable as the couch was. A large yawn escaped his lips as the young man spun to place his feet on the ground. He reached down to grab the bag between his feet, removing a blunt from the depths of his front pocket. With the use of his lighter, he leaned back with his head against the couch. His eyes closed as Ivan and Luca approached one another in the living room, obviously exchanging pleasantries. Tre sat in silence as they concluded their business, with Luca walking into the kitchen but not before peeking his head back out to call Tre’s name.

​

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

Brown hues opened back up as Tre turned his head to face Luca. He took another hit off of the blunt, exhaling smoke out of his nostrils. Then, with as little emphasis and energy as possible, lifted his right hand up and flipped the man off. While the bird was staring him in the face, Luca’s neutral expression moved to a small smirk. Tre continued keeping his arm extended with his middle finger lifted high for Luca to see. He hadn’t seen Luca in two weeks. In a way, it was rather nice to not have to deal with his ass. The man was always grouchy and bossy. His panties were always twisted up.

“Good. Go smoke that shit outside, you little bitch. Be back in thirty minutes.”

​

The teen dropped his hand and leaned forward to stand up. He stood straight for a moment, the cigarillo hanging loosely between his lips. In a moment of complete random rage, he flailed his arms around before moving toward the front door and walking out. One of his hands moved the hood of his sweatshirt over his head as he shut the door behind him. The cold air stung at the parts of his face that were exposed. This had prompted the young man to zip his hoodie up. The two weeks had worked wonders in terms of his healing process. However, some pain still subsided. Hector had surmised that this was more than likely due to the fact that one of the bullets had chipped off a piece of his bone while traveling through his body. Despite this, Tre was ready to reclaim his throne as the protector of the lodge. At night time.

Life had never been a cakewalk for Tre. He spent most of his life earning what was his. However, in retrospect, he was better off then. Things were much easier when flesh-eating humans weren’t lurking around the corner and the government didn’t want him dead. Though, it simply was not his time to go yet. That was why all the hazmat soldiers were killed in the siege. Hector told him that he had not avoided death, that the damage looked worse than it actually was. However, it was the worst injury that Tre had ever had to rebound from. Even then, he wasn’t entirely finished healing yet. The prospect of coming close to losing his life was something that weighed on his conscious, regardless if he was awake or not. When he wasn’t thinking about the purpose of his existence, he was dreaming about finding the answers. Hell, if people like Luca were walking around without a clue, he had no chance to figure it out yet. That conclusion was easy to come to when written on paper. It took more time for him to work it out. Continuing to ride the wave was the best option he currently had.

 

[shadowz1995]

Everyone's wounds were coming along nicely. Ms. Jordan was moving around with much more vigor than she used to, with only the occasional wince from certain movements. So, a medical watch on her was no longer needed. He had already stressed it to the point of bursting within everyone's heads that if they should feel ANYTHING to immediately contact him somehow. The last thing he needed was complications because someone didn't report an early symptom.

Sadly, most of the people were either young, prideful, or both. Much to his utter dismay. Though, Leli proved to be an irreplaceable member of the lodge in the doctor's eyes. They hadn't spoken much beyond business. The immediate pressing matters of keeping everyone in the damn place from dying in their sleep or rotting away due to infection. But that wasn't what made him value her. It was her willingness to cooperate or convince some of the more.... stubborn patients. Not to mention, her being a female certainly helps with female patients like Colt or Jenna.

Especially Colt. It was a hassle just to get her to fix that leg of her. He can only imagine how much effort it would take to get her to remove her clothing to check a gut wound or something of that nature.

It's not as if he had eyes for anyone at the lodge. In truth, Hector never had eyes for anyone really.

Well, save one person who was no longer among the living.

Speaking of eyes.... it was time.

The bathroom was cold. Much like it was outside thanks to the generator being destroyed during the assault and while it was a curse to some, it was a blessing in disguise for the wounded. Whether they knew it or not. Which meant it was a blessing for Hector as well because he now had to do what no one else was qualified nor confidently able to do.

He had to actually take a good, hard look at his own wound and begin proper treatment.

All this time, it was merely a matter of disinfecting and bandaging. Wash, rinse, and repeatedly. The immediate worries among the patients, Owen, Tre, and Andy were out of the woods and even moving about now. Dr. Salazar was confident that the nurse could handle the rest. He was officially the one who needed attention the most. No matter how much he may try to convince himself otherwise.

It would have to be done soon and privately. Last thing he needs is someone walking in on him treating such a wound. It wasn't life-threatening but he would be lying if he said that one didn't require a strong stomach to witness the proper treatment of a destroyed eyeball and orbital socket.

Brax Maj Rumble Fish
FireMaiden

 

[Hyped_Taco]

(The following is a collab between Togy and ya boy Hyped_Taco )
(Nile Cletus)​

"Hey Huckleberry, what's the layout gonna be?" Nile asked, looking at the expanse of Woodland in front of him. "And you did grab the gas, right?" Nile asked, not feeling like walking back to the Lodge.

¨The layout of thay farm? well my junkie friend, let me tell ya this right here, we gonna nee equipment we don't even have ta turn this shitty terrayn into a functional farm plus an additional...¨ Cletus then began to try to come with an approximate of how much terrain they would need to become self-sufficient... well of course, that was only in case if those hazzie soldiers didn't decide to come back to fuck them over ¨Well ay would say something like 10 acres so that we don't have to do one of those stupid supply runs again, ayn' av course, that's just best-case scenario¨ of course, they had just begun to build this farm, but if they were going to make this then the redneck would make sure they only got the damn best ¨But we ken start with an acre faw now¨.

¨Of fuking course ay done took the ...uhh gas, what do ya´ll take me faw? ayy damn ruskie?¨ Cletus replied angrily to Nile´s question, he had made damn sure to take the right thing out of the lodge... although he just wasn't feeling like going back to the lodge to check again.

"Alright, you aren't a dirty commie you Alabamian Abomination. Just grab a keg and start pouring" Nile said, picking up a blue Alcohol keg filled with Gas. Walking into the dense forest, Nile uncapped the keg and held it upside down. The Gas seemed to fall out much slower than normal and it looked a lot more dense than usual. It looked like a black tar really. "You're sure this is the Gas? I mean, I know you dropped out of fucking Pre-school to help shovel cow shit, so I'm pretty skeptical" Nile said, pouring regardless. A line of the slimy gas zigzagged in between the trees.

¨Well fuk y'all too, start pouring as well ya stoner¨ Cletus replied after Nile ordered him to start pouring. The redneck began to pour the seemingly black tar gas into the ground ¨Shit, this gas is fucked¨ Cletus said to himself, maybe he had actually gotten the wrong one, but how? he grabbed the keg on the left just as the crackhead had said... or was it the one on the right? ¨wha- I mean yeah of fucking course this is the gas, I grabbed the one you damn told me to grab¨the Alabamian quickly told Nile ¨We just like, don´t know where this shit came from- that's all¨

"Whatever man" Nile said as he tossed the keg to the ground and turn to walk away. Motioning for Cletus to follow, he safely left the danger zone. Flicking open a lighter, he lit it and threw it at a pile of the gas. When the lighter touched the gas, things seemed to move in slow motion. The "Gas" erupted in a column of flame at least ten feet high, and Nile mouthed "Oh shit". All of the poured "Gas" exploded in a fireball, sending a heatwave over the Junkie and redneck. Snow quickly began to melt and Nile felt like a baked Turkey in his Winter Jacket. "OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT!" Nile yelled as he ran like hell in the opposite direction, the flames already spreading. "What did y-DID YOU GRAB THE GODDAMN NAPALM!?" Nile yelled.

Cletus began to sweat heavily, had he grabbed the correct keg? for the love of christ all mighty he sure hoped soo cause that sure as hell did not look like gas. He followed Nile out of what they had agreed was the danger zone for all of this. When Nile threw his lighter to the ground and the fire expanded a bit slowly Cletus managed to say ¨See? grabbed the right thing¨ moments before the whole thing fucking exploded like a damn fireball. The heatwave that followed made the Auroran cold winter go away for a few seconds. The redneck began to run behind the junkie, trying to outrun the flames that followed them ¨I GRABBED THE THING TO THE LEFT AS YOU FUCKING TOLD ME TOO¨ Cletus said ¨AND WHY THE FUCK DO WE HAVE THE SAME THING WE FUCKING BOMBED THE VIETCONG WITH?!¨

"MY LEFT YOU DUMB FUCK!" Nile yelled back as he looked behind him. Oh yeah, that shit looks like the Hunger Games wildfire Nile thought. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE NAPALM!? THAT STUFF CAN BURN THROUGH ROCK! AND I WAS BORED!" Nile yelled.

 

[Maj]

​

The light that filtered in through her window was not enough to break the haze of unconsciousness that had settled in over the course of the night. Andy’s head hurt, but not as badly as she expected. She lay on her belly, arm under her pillow and face buried in the fabric of her pillowcase, the rise and fall of her chest still steady as she tried to keep a hold on sleep. Andy had felt Luca get out of bed, but paid him little mind. The chill of the room crept in as the warmth of the extra body left her bed. She snuggled up to the heavy comforter, but found that the comfort that once blanketed her was now gone. Exhaling deeply from her nose, she rose, stretching her arms over her head to begin the day.

When she exited her bedroom, she was dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a large black hoodie, stamped with the movie poster art from “The Empire Strikes Back.” Her red hair was tossed into a loose bun, strands of the copper tresses, falling in her face. The lodge had gone without power for just over two weeks, and for Andy that meant that she was forced to face the morning without the smell of coffee to entice her into a better mood. Thankfully she had been on more than enough camping trips to know that there was more than one way to make coffee.

She didn’t greet anyone as she made her way through the house, stopping at the front door to pull on a pair of rainbow colored rain boots near the coat rack. It wasn’t raining, but it would keep the frost from dampening her socks and pant legs. There was nothing more disgusting to Andy than being forced to walk around all day with the bottoms of her pants cold and wet against her ankles. The woman made her way to the shed, where all her camping gear was kept.

It was immediately clear that someone had been sorting through and taking inventory of all the junk in the shed. It looked much cleaner than she had left it which was both a nice thing to see and disheartening. Her uncle was not an organized man, but she understood how his mind worked and that meant that even in the large pile of bullshit he had left behind, she rarely had issues finding what she needed. Andy opened boxes of broken toys, tools and even the assorted adult themed magazine before she finally found some items that resembled her camping gear. Sleeping bags, tents, a cast iron skillet and finally, the item she had been looking for.

A copper campfire coffee pot.

It took a certain amount of skill to make anything better than mud out of this thing, but Andy was both a camping expert and a coffee snob. So she had more than her fair share of experience brewing with it. When the redhead came back inside, her nose and freckled cheeks were pink from the cold. She went to the kitchen to grab the water and coffee grounds, and then squatted by the fireplace while she waited for it to brew.

Suddenly her whole house smelled of premium columbian dark roast. She could almost feel the tension of the morning melting away, leaving a complacent smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Most of her mugs had gotten broken in the attack, However a few remained. Andy had always collected mugs. Many of them that had broken were dear to her, gifts from relatives that were no longer around.

She was on her toes, reaching for the top shelf when Luca came down the stairs. It was almost jarring to see him in a suit. She supposed that was how he had dressed most of the time before their chance meeting at the hospital, but Andy had become accustomed to seeing him in oversized shirts and sweats. His current attire suited him better. The girl brought her attention back to the mugs, grabbing the first two she could reach.

It was difficult to pour the coffee, her fingers were cold and it made it all the more difficult to hold the heated metal. The pot holder that protected her hand only did more to limit her mobility. Still, she was able to pour the scalding liquid into the mugs with only a few minor burns. The pink hue on the side of her hand would fade quickly. Andrea stood, a mug in each hand. She approached Luca and held one out to him.

“Here. Since you are dressed like you are going to a business meeting, I figured you should at least have the coffee to go with it.” She smirked, amused with herself as her gaze shifted down to the mug she had offered him, the words ‘boss bitch’ scrawled across the front.

Luca’s ‘cheery’ expression did not change as Andy handed him over the cup. It was bad enough he had to deal with the coffee maker the lodge came with on a normal basis. Whatever sludge came out of that metal pot could surely taste no better. However, after such a long time without motor oil giving him energy, it was something that was still appreciated. He slowly began to bring the mug up to his lips before his eyes caught a glimpse of what had been written across the middle of the ceramic material. His right eye twitched slightly as he frowned. To think, someone spent an extended amount of time making this. Then got paid for it. He took a sip. Eyes studied Andy momentarily before he rested the cup down on the kitchen island. She had probably went through a lot of trouble to make coffee. Luca wouldn’t have been able to do it, mostly because he didn’t know how. He was no camper.

“There’s not a person on the planet who could possibly enjoy that. Dehydrating homeless people on the street would turn this mud down.” Hell, they probably wouldn’t even drink it in exchange for money. It was reminiscent of the little ponds that tetra fish occupied in the dirt of third-world countries.

"Woooow," Andy whistled, putting her now free hand on her hip. "Sounds like your crabby ass needs to suck it up and drink some more. You can't steam milk on a campfire. But once the generator is up I’ll make sure to make his majesty a soy latte.” the girl had worked at many a coffee shop through high school and knew that her coffee was fine, campfire or not. Luca was being unnecessarily picky and grumpy. There was a lot that needed to be done, supplies to be gathered and business to attend to.

“Have you seen Hector this morning?” Andy had no idea where the old man scurried off to slumber now that he wasn’t camping in Owen’s room. “I need to talk to him.”

“No. You should consider keeping a bell on his collar.” Luca retorted as he turned his head to the entrance of the kitchen. He stuck his thumb and pinky fingers between his lips and let out an ear-shattering whistle. Of course, Ralph was supposed to take care of waking the others, but the old man was not prancing around the lodge. Not that the Italian had seen, or noticed.

“Lodge meeting.” He shouted, loudly. The man couldn’t be bothered to go around waking everybody up. “Thirty minutes, kitchen!”

Featuring: Brax
Mentioned: shadowz1995

 

[Rumble Fish]

The past two weeks had gone by in a blur. Beth had done her best to stay at Leliana’s side, assisting her with the people of the lodge. There was a lot to do and required them to all work at full strength. If she wasn’t sleeping or forcing Leli to take a much-deserved break, Beth had been changing bandages, monitoring medication and doing essentially anything that either Leliana or Hector had asked of her. She was surprised when she woke and found that the sun was already up.

The bed was empty, Leliana had likely already begun her day and was out and about tending to the others. Beth stretched, her blonde hair was a frizzy mess that fell past her shoulders. She did her best to tame it, dressing in some of Leliana’s clothes and making her way downstairs.

“Good morning,” the woman mumbled from the stairwell. She had a fist in front of her mouth as she yawned, stretching the other hand above her head and feeling her spine elongate.

Milly shivered as she looked up the stairs to see Beth coming down, greeting them for the morning. Her dull eyes shimmered slightly and she shuffled a bit in her seat towards the woman. She had not spent as much time with Beth as she had wanted to but since things had now calmed down a little, she was relieved to see not just Beth but also Leliana come down the stairs.

“H-hey, hi!” She greeted the girl, out of breath despite very little activity. Colt had seen the pair come down and Leliana had spoken about helping Milly out before going into the kitchen. The younger girl looked back towards Beth, “Y-you okay?” despite what happened when they had last properly interacted, she was still glad to see her. Beth didn't know that was going to happen, as Ralph said. But they would learn from it.

Colt sighed and finally got up from her house-cat posture on the armchair and followed Leliana into the kitchen to put her and Milly's cup in the sink. After chucking them into the sink, Colt mumbled as she turned around unscrewing her flask, to face the nurse and furrowed her shaggy brows as the woman seemed distracted and overall, not typical. She uncapped her flask, a little unsure of how to ask the nurse how she was.

“Um. Alright?”

"I am cold, Colt. None of my socks are clean, and this coffee is really gross...I don't know why I'm drinking it," Leliana said, taking another sip. The promptly put the cup down, turning in the chair to face Colt. "What's wrong with Milly? Did Ralph take a look at her?" The nurse was worried, who wouldn't be? Milly was an angel, and honestly, getting sick wasn't good in the best of times, now, they might struggle to keep her warm enough. "Could I? I can find the thermometer I think we have...and I can find something she could take that might make her feel better." Leliana was sure she had seen at least one box or bottle of nausea medicine in the duffle bags. Granted their medical supplies were starting to get low and they would need more, they could certainly spare some for Milly.
“Ahh… I know whatchu mean.” Wispy and dark bangs swayed as Colt shuddered as she spoke, feeling a rush of cold run through her. The woman did not have the same issue with her feet, her heavy boots insulated them fairly, but the rest of her felt it. Then again, the veteran had her own way of warming herself up. Taking a sip from her flask, the woman frowned lightly as she asked about Milly, realising she had not answered her initial question about the young girl.

“Ralph had a look but he don’ know what it is yet. Looks like a bug but we dunno. It’d be great if ya could find that there thermometer and I got some aspirin,” she fished into one of her million pockets on her cargo pants and pulled out the small packet “I wanna help but I,” Colt sighed, a heavy feeling in her chest, “I’m no’ good at this stuff. All I know is how t’shoot stuff.”

“Oh no,” Beth cooed in her almost Disney princess-esq voice. She sat down next to Milly, pulling the girl into her side. She did feel warm, the heat from her small quivering body was enough to tell Bethany that the young one had a cold. They had spent so much time tending to dying boys that she hadn’t had a chance to sit down and check on poor Milly. With everything the girl had gone through, it was good to see she was still mostly cheerful, even if she was a bit feverish.

“I think the thermometer was in Owen’s room last time I saw it,” The blonde offered. “I’m sure it's nothing more than a case of the sniffles.”

Milly, feeling the familiar embrace of the woman snuggled closer. She looked up to Beth and rested her head against her shoulder, shutting her eyes. Despite her shaking, her body relaxed against the woman. Colt, watching everything, screwed her flask's cap back on and limped back into the living room.

"I'll grab it then. Gotta figure out what's wrong sooner than later." The veteran paused as she noticed Milly's eyes fly open with a concerned gaze. Colt mentally cursed herself and ran a scarred hand down her face, "Beths right, its probably nothin'. Worth a check though, yeah?" She took that moment to head up the stairs. Besides, she hadn't spoken to Owen in a while. However, hearing the Italian's voice ring through the Lodge, the woman cursed under her breath. Great. Just as she was starting to feel better.

“Sounds good,” Beth agreed. The blonde tutted after the small child, brushing some of her hair from her face. She reached behind her and grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around the two of them. Luca’s voice broke through the air, informing them all of a ‘lodge meeting.’ And just like that, the last two weeks without Luca’s reign was over. At least they were already downstairs, she made sure that Milly was comfortable and calm before settling in herself to hear what the man had to say

Featuring: Maj FireMaiden
Mentions: Brax

 

[TheTreForce]

THEN


A large fist came down on the desk with a heavy thud, "Does it look like I give a fuck?!"

"Warren, I'm just saying.. m-maybe we should lay low for a bit. Davey and Ron got arrested and are probably lookin' at hard time now."

The muscular figure leaned back in his leather chair and shook his head, "Davey and Ron were fuckin' stupid. They were told to sit tight and await further orders" The man raised his head and pierced the anxious fellow that stood on the other side of the desk with his eyes, "Listen, do you know what happens when pigs hold idiots captive? The idiots turn around and snitch on other people to save their hide. Pigs want big game, Chris. It's not a matter of laying low, it's a matter of getting the hell out of dodge. And not only do we have to worry about the damn cops sniffing us out, they have other people in high positions who want us dead as we-"

RATATATATATATATATATAT

Warren hit the floor as machine gun fire erupted into the room. Bullets whizzed over his body, puncturing his desk, shattering glass, and sending splinters everywhere. The man's hands went to his head for cover, not that it would do much against a flurry of bullets. Warren's eyes closed and his teeth gritted together.

The hail of metal didn't last but eight seconds before the squeal of rubber on the street outside could be heard. Warren stood up and looked out the window to see a black car with no license plate barrel through a stop sign and around a corner out of sight. The man turned around to survey the room. A couple blinks of an eye and everything was torn to shit. He took a couple steps around his desk, glass crunching under his boots.

There on the floor, Chris was grasping at his throat, trying desperately to stop the river of blood that flowed unhindered between his fingers. The only sound that escaped the man's mouth was a violent gurgle as he tried to breath and stay awake. His eyes met Warren's, wide and filled with terror of the unpreventable end that was closing in fast. Warren's hand revealed the pistol from his side, raised it in one fluid motion and without hesitation, shot Chris in the head. A sigh escaped his lips as he holstered his piece, walked back around the desk, and opened a drawer. His fingers found a cigar and lit it as he brought it to his lips, "Well fuck me." A puff of smoke left his mouth and he sat back down in his seat.


NOW


Twenty-three.. twenty-four.. twenty-five..

The man's hands released the tree branch and let his feet fall to the earth. Heavy breaths moved his bare chest in and out in a deep rhythm. The chill of the morning battled against the heat his body produced and left only his chest hairs standing on end. Sweat dripped down the abdominal muscles that swelled from a solid morning's workout.

Warren brought his shirt to his face and dabbed away the drops that formed on his forehead. His free hand ran through his damp hair to comb it back. A yawn escaped his mouth and his legs guided him forward, trudging toward the lodge. Some movement could be seen so Warren figured that others must be awake as well. Before the man could even reach the door, the loud whistle and call from Luca could be heard. It wouldn't be surprising if it could be heard from inside the barracks.

His heavy boots made contact with the wooden planks of the porch and he pushed the door to the lodge open, stepping inside, shirt still in hand. A group had already started to gather around Luca so Warren made his way near to them after retrieving a couple granola bars from the pantry.

Brax

 

[Brax]

Over the next thirty minutes, Luca found little rest. Cletus and Nile had returned to the lodge. With his back burns debilitating upon inspection, it was decided that Leli would stabilize him. Nile, on the other hand, was ordered to figure out a way to put out the fire or halt its advancement to the lodge. Luca didn’t care if he ended up killing himself in the process, mostly because if he hadn’t at least tried then there was no way the Italian wasn’t going to strangle him with his own bare hands. The man set back outside, decidedly taking precedence over his presence at the lodge meeting. This would not only serve Nile right but would buy Luca some time to figure out what cruel and unusual punishment he could deal to the man. Cletus would have gotten the same had it not been for the fact that he was currently paying for his idiotic transgressions. Everyone else had soon gathered around in the kitchen. Most took seats, others stood when there were none. Leaning against the wall with his cup of barely passable coffee was Luca. As the noise within the lodge decreased, the Italian would take his cue to begin speaking.

“It’s been a rough two weeks.” He looked among his peers, an unenthused look gracing his visage as it often did. “Our way of life was shaken up once more. Reanimated people are easy to deal with. They don’t have nearly the same level of intelligence as we do - or trained soldiers, for that matter. You all heeded our calls, took to direction, used quick thinking and somehow this group of ragtag civilians were able to annihilate a force of death that was sent to take us out. For this, I cannot possibly commend each of you enough. Every person sitting in this room showed unwavering strength in the face of potential demise and with that we saw a turn of power took place. Now they are dead, and we still carry on living.” The man closed his eyes momentarily, removing a cigarette from his pocket. It had been his last one. He lit it and continued.

“That being said, we did suffer a casualty. Ray is no longer with us. I don’t know about your individual relationships with him. I did not know the man at all. I’ve never had an extensive conversation that let me in to his thought process, or who he was. However, he did seem like a genuine personality who only wanted the best for us. I think it is important that everyone here spends a moment at the small shrine that we left for him at the far end of the yard. It’s a large rock with an American flag sticking out from behind it.” Luca was not going to mention that the man had not been buried, mostly because it was information that was not pertinent to this particular conversation. It was unimportant where his body was, his soul was no longer present in it. Smoke erupted from his nostrils as he took a drag off of his cigarette.

“I am proud of you all. For those of you who came from the run to assist us, I want you to know I gave Colt the order to stay back. I wanted to protect all of you. She made the call to come back on her own - to save us. Today, I am not asking for any of you to work. In fact, I don’t even want you to do the things you think you should be doing. I am asking you to spend the day doing whatever you like, so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Take today to do what you need to do. As for tomorrow…” He paused, looking around once more before turning to look at Andy briefly.

“We won’t know what waits for us.” He took another sip of coffee, diverting his attention back to the populous of the lodge. “That is no excuse for us to stop doing what we have to do. So, we will get back to hunting. Set up a run to get more supplies. Cut down more trees to create a legitimate barrier around the lodge. I do not know how long we’ll stay here. Andrea seems pretty keen on remaining here but we will have to see for ourselves what makes the most sense. Just to reiterate; for everyone who stood here and fought, I owe you my gratitude. To Colt and everyone who came back to take a bullet, I salute you. Just know that each of you are worth fighting for and I will never turn my back on you.”

There was silence among the lodge.

“... If anyone has anything to say, feel free to speak your peace. Otherwise, you can go about your business.”

Mentons/Interactions: Everyone but Nile.

 

[Rumble Fish]

The veteran had been silent among everyone else as the Italian spoke; giving a very different speech than she had expected or had ever given. Despite his unenthused tone, it held an air of rally and reverence for not only the events that had passed, but also of the efforts of everybody doing their part in ensuring that out of everybody, only one of them had been lost. When he mentioned her specifically, Colt’s furry inner brows furrowed upward in an expression of surprise and insecurity. He had meant what he said. The woman shifted uncomfortably on the spot as he continued, telling them they had a day to themselves with no expectations from him. A free day? Wispy bangs shook as Colt moved her head from side to side; her mind struggling to come up with anything that could be done today that would not be considered “work”. She had to get that thermometer for Milly but first; there was something she had to do. If she didn't, it would eat away at her mind and there were enough demons doing that so she did not need to add another.

With a cough and placing her army cap on her head, the veteran silently stepped out of the back door, closing it quietly behind her before turning to the shrine Luca had mentioned. The large rock with the American flag behind it. Creaking of the wooden steps turned into the crunching of snow under Colt’s heavy boots as she walked up to the shrine, hands in pockets and collar up despite the cold chill still making its way down her spine. It was a nice gesture; while Colt did not know the one to build it, she’d thank them for it. It was a fitting tribute to one of their fallen. This and knowing Rogue was here, sleeping deep beneath the snow, a lump formed in her throat, but nothing came of it. Even in privacy, she couldn’t. The woman shuffled awkwardly on the spot, almost reaching into her pocket for her flask but, in front of a shrine like this? It could wait. Finally, she cleared her throat enough to speak.

“So,” The woman sighed deeply and glanced away, “I’m no’ so good at talkin’, even to a rock. Guess that’s how we never really talked. I might not have known ya, Ray. But still, ya should be here. Yer time wasn’t done. And, well. I’ sorry I couldn’t ‘ave done more. If I could change fate, I would.” Colt stopped with a heavy sigh, looking at the stone once again. Glancing around, and upon seeing nobody there she knelt down on her good leg. Despite nobody being in sight, it still felt alien to be doing this. The last time she had done anything like this was, well, the tribute given to her squad which she had to attend in a wheel-chair and attached to a bunch of tubes connected to a screaming machine as if the tech itself was having a heart attack over her own heart-rate. A shudder ran through the veteran's body and she inhaled deeply, releasing it in a long breath, watching it vanish into the air.

“I… heard whatchu said at the end. Milly ain’t too well the now but she’ll be alright; she got Ralph, Leliana and Beth t’look after ‘er. Shiona’s lil’un’s okay too.” Once again, there was a pause. With a deep sigh, Colt stood back up, eyes still on the stone, “I couldn't protect ya. But, I promise I’ll do what I can t’protect ‘em.” Despite her conflicting thoughts about the Lodge and its people; she could not abandon them. Not knowing what else to do, the woman stood straight and lifted her left hand to her forehead in a salute. She looked to the American flag waving gently in the breeze, tattered by the elements. The symbol she marched for, fought for and swore on her life to protect. She served for the same country that was now trying to destroy them. How poetic. With a final and respectful nod to the shrine, Colt shook off the cold as she went back inside. She hardly knew the man but had heard his last words. It was the least she could do. She glanced back towards the living room, seeing Milly still wrapped in a blanket but was now going through some children's books. The veteran shrugged and made her way upstairs. Despite what Luca said, she still had stuff to do.

Mentions: Brax (Luca) Maj (Owen/Beth) BloodLightning27 (Shiona) TheTreForce (Ray; Posthumous)