Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[Brax]

Family​

Knock, Knock, Knock

It hadn’t been a minute before the door slowly creaked open. Luca, having been resting for all of an hour tops, had not gotten the opportunity to see who it was that had been disturbing his rest. Tired eyes opened as wide as they could before he pushed himself up off the mattress. When he finally turned to see the guest who he had been forcefully receiving, he was not surprised to see a certain head covered in dreads closing the door behind him. The Italian got up from bed and made his way into the bathroom, where he turned on the faucet and splashed water onto his face. There was no way he was going to make it through the day with the proper amount of rest; it would most likely be delegated to the night time.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” The teen asked as he took a seat in one of the two chairs that had been placed toward the side of the room.

The sound of water running was cut when Luca pushed the handle to the faucet downward. He wiped an open palm down the length of his face, slightly dragging his skin in the process as the man made his way out of the bathroom and took the seat opposite of his once-protege. The man sat in silence. Tre expected him to say something back but that moment didn’t occur. So, the boy decided to forgo any formalities and dive straight into the reason he had approached the ex-capo.

​

“Been havin’ these weird thoughts lately,” the boy started. “Like, what the fuck am I doin’? Am I gon’ live the rest of my life this way? I just feel down, man. Low. I ain’t felt this bad since I seen moms go. I’unno if I got the strength to keep doin’ this shit day in and day out, pretendin’ like it’s some worthwhile existence when my only purpose is to guard a lodge full of people I ain’t really feel like… I don't even know like that.”

“Welcome to the real world.” Luca replied. “Putting aside everything going on right now; what was your original purpose?” Tre was unable to respond to this question after a moment of deliberation. “The truth is, you never had a purpose. Like me, you were born a mistake. Unplanned. Still, you had a father that loved you very much and did whatever he could to make sure you were safe. I don’t think you remember anything from that time, but I was in the hospital waiting for you to be born. I’ve never seen your father happier in my entire life than when you came into the world. Now he’s gone. So is your mother. What do you want your purpose to be?”

Tre’s eyes averted from Luca’s face to the floor. He hung his head slightly as he searched for answers within the fabric of the carpet. Slowly, his face started to contort. Then tears began falling from his eyes as he lifted his hands to his face to cover his shame. Unsure of how to react, the Italian continued sitting there and watching. This was a conversation he had multiple times throughout the years, with others in his shoes and in Tre’s own. However, the mental anguish that Luca felt having to see Tre in pain was something that was inexplicable to even himself. The emotional mixture of sadness, mixed with his confusion of what was going on and his own frustration prompted Luca to remove the back of crushed-up oxies from his pocket. With his knife, he dove in - the same knife that had taken plenty of lives, drawn gallons of blood throughout the years. He brought the white powder up to his nose and took a sniff as Tre continued sobbing across from him.

“There’s no answer.” Luca said after a moment of silence between the two, pushing against the opposite nostril to snort up whatever substance had been left in his nose. Tre wiped his face, anger overtaking his features as he stood up and pushed the chair away. He made his way to the door in order to take his leave but was stopped when Luca stood up and reached a hand out to grab the back of his sweatshirt. "Your father wouldn't want you to feel this way."

“Let fuckin’ go of me man, you’re useless.” Tre grumbled, as he turned and tried to remove Luca’s grip from the fabric. In turn, the man pulled the boy in close to him before wrapping his arms around him. The ex-capo rested his chin against the top of Tre’s head as he held him. Flustered, Tre did his best to continue pushing off from Luca, cursing and shouting random obscenities in hopes to hurt the man’s feelings. But the Italian just kept holding on. Eventually Tre stopped fighting, instead pushing his face into Luca’s chest. The man felt the boy’s tears seeped through his shirt and dampen it. Still, he held on.

“You are not alone.” The man murmured. “It’s okay to be upset and afraid. None of us know what the future holds. We are all doing what we believe to be right. You might not know the meaning of your existence, but you still exist. Your life is the only thing of real value that you hold. Purpose is not something that we are handed down or gifted from being birthed. Rather, purpose is something that we generate. It’s intrinsic for you to find if you don’t want to continue feeling this way.” He let the boy go, placing a hand on the top of his head and looking down at him.

“It’s something that people struggle with every day. I still struggle with it. You may never find an answer. I really never did. It entirely depends on your motivation. We’re not in the best position right now, as much of an understatement as that is. That does not mean you cannot pave your own way to happiness. It just means you have to work harder.” Tre looked up at the man, lifting a sleeve to wipe his face while nodding.

“T-thank you fo-”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Luca stated plainly. “Go rest.” Tre continued looking at the man before nodding, turning away to grab the doorknob and walk out. Luca whistled as Tre made his way out the door. The boy looked back at him.

“Go to the barracks and sleep in a real bed.” Without response Tre closed the door behind him. Luca lifted both hands, running them through his hair and letting out an aggravated sigh as he crawled back up into bed and rested his head back on the pillow once more.

 

[Rumble Fish]

Part 3

The veteran’s calm demeanour shattered with a jump a couple of feet off the ground and an alarmed “Owen-!” As his yell caused a prickly sensation up her spine as he was snatched from view. In less than a second, the woman had spun and was at the door, gripping the silenced M4A1. The veteran turned to the other two, eyes narrowed and squarely on them, her face devoid of any kind of emotion as her mind switched like a light now that a life was at stake. Aubrey’s face was completely drained from any color, but she took a deep breath and focused. Panicking would do nothing but put Owen in more danger.

“You, cover me.” She pointed to Nile, “Aubrey, watch behind us. Keep together.” She spoke almost silently and robotically as she flicked on the torch atop the gun before slowly making her way inside, practically silent with only the littlest evidence of her presence other than the flickering torch as she periodically lit up a corner of the room. She wanted to call out to the red-head, but doing so would alert anything else in the building. For emphasis, the woman turned to them, silently putting a finger to her lips in a “shh” motion. After he was stolen, the area had gone silent again. But Colt knew better than to let her guard down, if anything the eerie silence only made it more clear to her that there was indeed a threat lurking around. She needed it to be quiet. All that could be heard was the occasional click from the firearm as Colt routinely swivelled the nozzle in a wide berth, lighting the walls. Her finger resting on the trigger, ready to squeeze at the first sight of a pair of eyes or a large frame. Whatever had grabbed Owen was big, bigger than the man himself, large enough to have swept him inside with little effort. The vet blew silently through her nose as she continued. Quiet and calm, quiet. And. Calm.

Aubrey stood outside, readjusting her grip on the crowbar every few seconds. What was taking them so long? Maybe it hadn’t been very long, it was probably only a few minutes yet it felt like hours. Glancing around the street in front of them, she couldn’t help but stare at the lone Thing in the distance. What if Owen ended up like that? He wouldn’t, but what if he did? The thought caused the poor girl’s limbs to tremble. He needed to be okay.

Lighting up the dark, eerie rooms of the Pharmacy, Nile wished he hadn’t lost his gun privilege. All he had was a damn Crowbar. He didn’t like his odds in a fight at all, and it was looking like their was going to be one. But, if he was being honest, he kind of wanted the fight to happen now because he was becoming a little impatient. They were taking too long, the redhead was probably already dead if the silence was any indication. No growls, no screams of pain, no wet chewing, no nothing. That didn’t bode well for the Weasley.

“It’s fucking quiet man. Something big enough to grab the ginger has to stomp when it walks. Is it even in the building?” Nile asked in a whisper, eyes darting to every doorway he could see as his left hand held his Crowbar in a death grip.

The woman hummed a soft “shhh” in response, giving the man a slight dart of the eye. She was not angry with the man, more on edge than anything. She needed the silence to focus and any distraction could cause her to miss anything vital.

“It’s a legitimate question.” Nile insisted, still in a low whisper.

“Obviously it can get in since it fuckin’ grabbed Owen from the fuckin’ inside, now zip fuckin’ it!” the woman snarled back almost inaudibly before turning away, clearly un-interested in continuing the unwanted conversation.

“I mean-Ah fuck it, nevermind.” Nile mumbled.

“Shut. Up!” Spit flew from the veteran’s teeth as her nerves boiled internally, the constant talking putting her further and further on edge. At this point she would open fire on anything that moved. While the man had a point, now was not the time to be pushing her buttons or fucking talking when told to be quiet. The last thing they needed was to draw more attention to themselves.

Flashing Colt a look of annoyance, Nile silently muttered “You shut up.” in a mocking tone. Looking around the room impatiently, his flashlight’s beam wandered the room. The only thing Nile could hear was his own Tinnitus which had likely been brought on by all the gunplay over the last month. It had only unnerved him at first, but now, realising that there should be other sounds, it left him creeped out. Wasn’t it that you could only hear the ringing in your ears when there was no other external sounds?

"Get right to fuck, y'fuckin piece of fuckin'..." Colt visibly prickled at Nile’s glance but stayed silent despite her furious mutters under her breath, too low for anyone to hear. She wasn’t going to rise to this jackass’s bait as much as she wanted to push him in front of her so he’d learn first-hand exactly why he should just shut up. She just wanted Owen safe. Her only hope was that he had not been dragged off to elsewhere.

Featuring: Togy (Nile) Corgi (Aubrey)
Mentioned: Maj (Owen)

 

[Dragonlord318]

SANTA MEETS HIS HELPERS
(Part 4 of 4)​

Andy had plenty of practice driving the ATV through the trees. She had lost count of the number of times she had to weave this thing in and out of the thickets to get to her felled game or to pick up her uncle. Travel this time was slower, she couldn’t thread herself between narrow passages as she used to because the white noise of the Humvee was just behind her and needed a good bit more room than she did.

The redhead did her best to follow David’s instructions. She knew these woods like the back of her hand so for him to have a whole set up she knew nothing about unnerved her. In reality, she knew little about this guy and had nothing to go on but Luca’s stamp of approval. That would have to be enough. When she came into familiar looking territory Andy slowed her engine and put up a hand to signal Aaron. The Humvee pulled to a stop and she backed the four-wheeler up to his driver side window.


“The trees are going to be too thick for this next trek, do you want to come with me or stay with the Humvee?” Aaron talked to his vehicle like it was his girlfriend, so she wasn’t sure how comfortable he would be leaving it behind.

Aron stepped out of the Humvee, killing the engine as he did. Andy hadn’t wasted any time weaving amongst the trees and down tracks that if you blinked you would have missed them. Removing the keys from the ignition he pulled a locking rod through the steering wheel. Unfortunately the humvee lacked any form of central locking. But it was near impossible to hotwire, and with the bar in place no one was going to steer it anywhere. He grinned at Andy.


“Shit Andy, thought you said you were goin’t to take it easy, I was workin’ up a sweat there. Nah I’ll come with you, can’t watch your back sittin’ here listenin’ to mah tapes.”

He patted the pistol on his left hip, and rested his trusty tire iron on his right shoulder.

“Lead on boss."

Andy nodded in acknowledgement, shifting in her seat and removing her hand from the throttle. Her hair was messy and windblown from the ride, but the wildness of it seemed to suit her. She reached down to her belt and unclipped the walkie, holding down the button to speak to the mysterious newcomer.

“David, we are close by.” Andy updated the man. “Are you ready?”


David had just put the freezer on his cart when Andy radioed in. He unclipped the comm device from his belt and responded. "Should be by the time you get here. I've got all my frozen goods ready. Just gotta get the supplies." He paused for a second to look around before continuing. "You'll see a pickup-bed-sized cart when you come. Don't go past it or you'll hit one of my traps."


He put the radio back on his belt and headed back to the tree house to grab the bags he had prepared for the trip. His left arm throbbed but didn't bleed, as he had stitched it up the night before and sported a strip of thick brown cloth wrapped snugly around it. He just needed to be mindful not to open the cut again.

“Got it.” The redhead responded. It made her wonder what kind of man she was dealing with. Taking shelter in the woods was one thing, being smart enough to set traps and get working freezer system was another. She sighed looking up at Aaron and scooting up on the seat to make room for him.

“Hop on. It sounds like we may need the vehicle to haul some stuff back.”

Aaron settled himself into place just behind Andy, locking his fingers onto the seat for purchase. He gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Ready when you are. No sharp turns, I don’t want to end up in some muddy ditch while you drive on merrily.” Once Aaron was seated she was off again, following David’s instructions as closely as possible. It wasn’t long before she saw the cart he talked about and the girl hit the breaks, sliding forward a bit in her seat at the sudden stop. Aaron wasn’t kidding, the thing had some power. It made her wonder if he had tinkered with it more than she had asked him to. It hadn’t always been that way to her memory.

David heard the rumble of the ATV as it rolled up to his abode. He lifted the two full duffel bags he had prepared and headed back to the cart. One had barrels, handles and tool ends sticking out of the partially closed zipper while the other was zipped completely shut. They were both heavy, the one filled with tools and weapons obviously more so. He took in the appearances of the duo, one being a petite redhead and the one behind her a stout man that looked like he could get rough if needed. He could barely make out dark sideburns under the ball cap he wore.

As he walked up to the cart he nodded at them both, setting the bags behind the deep freezer he had already prepared for transport. Inside the cart was a myriad of straps, ropes and bungee cords in a rectangular section of the cart separated from the open area by a simple 2x8 that ran the width of the cart. Not to mention the taught ratchet strap he had already affixed to the freezer. He brushed some dust from the storage compartment off his black T shirt and carpenter jeans, trying to make himself a little more presentable to his guests.

Andy slid off the seat of the ATV, placing her boots one before the other in the mushy ground. The blonde man in front of her must have been David. He was large, nearly the size of her brother and much bulkier. She supposed that was good, they could use some more heavy hitters around the lodge. Even if all he was good for was manual labor the man could be an asset. There were fences that needed built and trenches to dig, but someone who was able to hook a freezer up this far in the woods was likely smart enough to handle other work too.

“David I assume?” Andy called, smoothing out the wild, windswept nature of her red hair. David nodded. "Yes ma'am," he said in a voice that matched his visage. He stepped forward and offered a hand. "Miss Andy from the radio, I presume?"

“For better or worse.” She took his hand, although somewhat hesitantly. Shaking hands always felt like a forced interaction to her. Why in the world would you want to touch your palm to a perfect strangers in way of a greeting? However, it was the social norm and she was decent at keeping up appearances.

“This is Aaron,” She introduced, gesturing with her head toward her companion. Andy glanced at the trailer, David hadn’t been exaggerating. There were plenty of great supplies here for the lodge. Whatever Luca had done to win him over had been well worth it.

David nodded to Aaron in response to the introduction, and the mechanic flicked David a salute with his right ring and index finger. He was a big bugger that was for sure, easily had a good 3 or 4 inches on the soldier. He was very much aware of the weight of the tire iron on his belt and the pistol strapped to his thigh. Hopefully they weren't needed, as this guy could be a bugger to take down.

“Alright there buddy, see you’ve managed to build up a healthy stash, will be much appreciated havin’ it all onboard,”

“We have a better vehicle to haul this with just a ways out but it wouldn’t fit through the trees,” Andy commented, glancing around idly. There was no sense in waiting around making small talk, there would be plenty of time for that when she was back in her own element. How had she missed this place? Andy spent all of her childhood in these woods and most of her free time as an adult to boot. He must have set up shop relatively recently. Her time in college had sucked up much of her energy.

David nodded again, not one for unnecessary talk unless he knew the person personally. "I have one more thing I need to get." He motioned to Aaron. "Would you mind giving me a hand? The toughbox is pretty heavy. We can get it down a lot faster with two people."

Aaron rotated his shoulders, stretching himself out, going so far to do several exaggerated lunges.

“Right, make sure you’ve got us good and covered Andy, I don’t want some undead bastard chewin’ me allover whilst I’m breakin’ my back with this thing. Would ruin my week.”

“Your week is safe with me,” Andy retorted, removing the crossbow from her back. Her tone was mildly annoyed, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for the redhead. Aaron had never seen her shoot, if he had the man wouldn’t worry about someone sneaking up on him.

Having successfully limbered up he nodded at David.

“Alright David, let's get this show on the road, sooner we get movin’ sooner I can get myself back to our little slice of civilization.”

David nodded and walked away without a word. He scaled the ladder, pulled his dumbwaiter back up and headed around the back of the tree house to the storage shed. He moved around the various items he still had in the dark space, then came across what he was looking for. An unlabeled military olive-drab toughbox. He picked it up, grunting from the force and waddled his way back to the deck outside where he set it down. Some muffled metal clanking could be heard as the box touched the floor. "Here," he said, slightly out of breath as Aaron approached, "take that end please. We're putting it on my lift."

Aaron let out a small grunt as he lifted up his end. Aaron was no stranger to a bit of manual labour, hell if he wasn't fixing stuff on base he was lugging stuff to the workshop to be fixed.

"Sweet Jesus. What the hell have you got in there? Feels like you've managed to pack half of Aurora." David chuckled in response as they made their way to the lift, knowing that this was probably the most precious of the supplies he was bringing, even more so than the medicinal goods in the second duffel bag.

Andy watched the two work in silence, her hand gripped tightly around the hilt of the crossbow. She hadn’t been privy to Luca’s interaction with the man, however she did see Tre hauling back bodies not too long ago. Whether it be the biting corpses or other humans, it was clear to her that they weren’t alone out here. Surely the sound of the vehicles would have alerted others to their location as well. It was clear the two men were working hard, and she didn’t want to add extra pressure but something was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

“How are we hauling this back to the Humvee?” Andy called out. “With the ATV?” The thing packed a punch, but she wasn’t sure how fast it could go with all those supplies on the back.

Once Aaron and David had placed the military-grade box on the lift, the monk pulled the rope over the pulley and lowered the heavy cargo to the forest floor below. After it was down and Aaron had made his way down the ladder, David followed. He waited until he and Aaron had gotten to the cart and loaded up the box before responding simply without flair. "I'm pulling it." He pointed to the heavy duty shoulder straps attached where a tow bar would normally be.

“I mean if you want to show off verse using equipment I guess that is your own prerogative,” the woman quipped. David stopped and looked at her, wondering if she was serious. When her silence and the look on her face told him she was, he just shook his head.

"That," he pointed at the machine, "is not built for hauling that." He pointed at the loaded cart. "If we get caught while you're towing this with that, we're screwed. Better that I can detach quickly and run rather than we lose both the ATV and the cargo." Andy's face soured at the simple, direct response, but opted to roll her eyes instead of fire off another retort. She knew he was right, the ATV wasn't made for hauling heavy loads, but still. He didn't have to talk to her so...bluntly.

David grabbed a couple tiedowns from their compartment and tossed them over the side of the cart over the cargo. The duffel bags were long-ways on the cart, designed so one strap could secure both. The other went over the toughbox. As David secured the straps on his side, he gestured to Aaron to do the same on the other. The mechanic quickly complied, not wanting to stay out here any longer than necessary.

Once everything was in order, David put the fake juniper bush back in front of his entrance, and it now looked as though there was no path. He ignored Aaron's objections and disbelieving banter about him not being able to haul the heavy load and stepped forward, ensuring the rubber bumper was in place so when the cart hit him after he stopped, it didn't cut his flesh. He pulled the straps over his shoulders and pulled a lever down on the corner of the cart to disengage the brake. He gave a tug and the inanimate beast creaked slightly but rolled a couple inches, stopping with a bump at David's body. The monk looked at Andy. "Lead the way, Ma'am."

Interactions: Andy ( Maj ), Aaron ( RayPurchase )
Mentions: Luca ( Brax )

 

[Maj]

​

Owen had been in a lot of fights in his day. He had been knocked on his ass, smacked hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs and even thrown around by dudes bigger than him. However, never in his life had he been so effortlessly pulled off of his feet and into the air. The grip on the back of his jacket was strong, if the fabric had been made of anything other than leather, the boy knew that he would have ripped out of it from the force he had been dragged off by his hood. He had no footing and it was nigh impossible to see in the darkness of the pharmacy. When his body finally fell to the ground with a hard thud, he found himself grateful. The pain that spiked through his chest from the heavy hit was worth being able to finally clamber to his feet.

His eyes hadn’t adjusted to the inky blackness of the room. Each swirl of color made his eyes dart, worried that it was unseen movement. His trusty bat was still in Aubrey’s hands so his best course of action was likely to do his best to stay on his feet until Colt and her firearms could arrive. Speaking of, where was the door? Shouldn’t he be able to see the flood of daylight come in? Whatever had hoisted him off the ground, had to have done so fast enough that Owen was no longer within line of sight of the exit. His breath grew ragged as his adrenaline spiked, sending electricity through his veins. Owen could hear his heartbeat in his own ears, beating rhythmically against his temples. The redhead urged it to be quiet, these monsters heard more than they saw which put him at an even worse disadvantage in the dark.

Slowly, he reached behind him to the backpack that was still cinched tightly around his shoulders. Unzipping the thing was a loud and risky decision, but without any form of weapon or way to see he was just a sitting duck in the dark. The rhythmic clacking of if the zipper was slow and controlled as his hands fiddled with the thing, slipping past the rough edging of the metal to the inside of his bag. Owen’s calloused hands fumbled around within the fabric before finally gripping around the cold metal handle of his flashlight.

This thing had served him well over the years. More than one asshole’s head had been knocked over with the heavy weighted handle. He slipped it out of the bag, tilting his head at the sound of rattling to his right. His thumb felt for the the rubber button on the cylindrical surface, pressing into it and hearing the click as the flashlight fluttered to life. It was bright, he had to blink his eyes several times to adjust to the sudden flash. Immediately, Owen turned the flashlight in the direction of the sound, readying himself to be attacked. However, nothing was there. Just the slight movement of a discarded pill bottle on the floor. While it was better than coming face to face with a burly zombie, it still rose the question of what in the hell had moved it to begin with.

A quick survey of the room would tell the redhead he was alone, but he knew that wasn’t the case. He had been in this situation before, hunted by a monster smart enough and fast enough to hide. There was a crash to his left, so the boy spun, leading with the flashlight. A severed arm lay across the top of the metal table, likely once used to sort pills. Owen felt his breath get caught in his throat and for a moment he was afraid he might choke on it.

It was above him.

The damn thing was waiting for him to look up, testing him. It was intentionally dropping things and making noise to get him to look in certain directions. His eyes scanned quickly around for anything that could be used as a weapon, but in his panicked state he found nothing. His heart beat was in his ears now, hot and distracting. He couldn’t stall for long. Eventually the monster would lose interest in the game and drop down. The creaking in the rafters above were becoming louder and the redhead had no choice but to oblige.

Light illuminated the grotesque figure. It crouched on all fours like an animal, with bony appendages and skeleton like fingers wrapped around the rafters. It was missing half of its face, pulled back in what almost looked like a ripped smile, fleshy lips and crimson gums oozing from the exposed wounds. The monsters back was hunched, but covered in thick rippling muscles, ripping through what looked to be the remains of a lab coat. The eyes were milky white, but otherwise he looked almost nothing like the other monsters. Now the frail and old, Dr. Hibbets was now a disturbing, distorted creature.

It was almost as if Owen could feel the thing tense it’s muscles, ready to pounce. He dove just in time as the monster catapulted itself from its perch and into the ground below. The woosh of narrowly missing claws flew by his face as he did his best to scramble back up to his feet. With such a narrow field of vision it was hard to keep tabs on the monster, and damn was it fast. Almost as soon as he was back up, flashlight ahead of him, the monster was gone. Something that large shouldn’t be able to move so fast. If it was standing upright, it would be almost as large as he was.

Owen turned, checking behind him as quickly as possible but there was nothing. The flashlight quickly turned up to the rafters but the only thing the light caught was spider webs and dust particles. His did his best to keep his breathing controlled, each exhale through his nostrils shaky and sharp, burning his sinuses. He wanted to yell out to the others, either to call for help or to warn them away but everything in him told him to be quiet.

Slowly and meticulously, the lumbering redhead began his slow backwards footing to the wall. At least with his shoulders to the brick he could ensure nothing could sneak up behind him. Each time one of his heavy boots slid against the old hardwood floors, it kicked up dust into the air. The room was entirely silent as he moved past the table in the middle of the room, shelves and discarded carts.

He had spent so much time looking up that he hadn’t thought to look at his feet. Just as he passed a shelf of pills something reached out from behind it, grabbing his ankle and pulling Owen to the ground. He fell with another heavy thud, grunting as the wind was literally knocked from his still recovering lungs. Thankfully, his instincts were good and his arms crossed over his face, protecting the soft, exposed freckled flesh. The creature was on top of him, the weight keeping Owen gasping for air as it pressed into his chest. Frantically, Owen tried to buck the monster off, lift him, shove him but he was afraid to move his arms. The creature clawed at him, but the leather of his jacket held firm, keeping his fragile skin from being marred. It wouldn’t hold forever.

A guttural sound of desperation erupted from Owen’s lips ashe arched his back, throwing as much of his strength and body weight behind it as he could. He could feel the underused muscles in his back and chest protest but he ignored it. Hesitation would be death. Enraged, the creature let out a garbled cry, deep from the throat with no lips left to articulate the sound as it was thrown from Owen’s form. It tried to scurry away, its hands and feet seem to stick to the walls as it did so. From his gasping position, kneeling on the floor he was able to reach out and grab the monster by the back of the remains of his lab coat and pulled him from the wall and crashing to the ground, echoing through the walls of the pharmacy.

It acted like a cornered animal, screaming from the throat and trying to get away but Owen secured his grip on the back of the monster’s neck. He held it much like he would a snake, ensuring that it’s venomous teeth couldn’t reach him. Owen dug his knees into the back of the monster’s legs, pinning him to the creaking floor. The thing was surprisingly strong and tried to wiggle from Owen’s grasp at any given opportunity. It was like being in a wrestling match with a human sized serpent, it twisted and turned and was almost successful at throwing him off. Owen tried to secure his grip in the monster’s thinning back hair, but it just pulled loose of the soggy, decaying scalp.

It took a lot of awkward maneuvering, but finally Owen was on top of the mutated corpse. His knees firmly planted in the hunched, bulbous back. His large calloused hands found their grip on each side of the monster’s skull. His right hand could feel the ooze of the missing flesh, but his mind was too focused on the task at hand to register how absolutely disgusting that was. His vision was crimson, with only the light of the spinning flashlight on the ground to light his way. The remenants of the thing’s ear was grasped tightly in Owen’s hands. He could feel the muscles in his forearms tense as he inhaled deeply, as if leeching some sort of strength from the air around him.

With a heavy grunt, Owen slammed the creature’s head down into the floor below, scraping it’s cheek on the closeness of the brick wall. It screamed out, angry and determined as it tried to throw him once more but the redhead only locked his legs under the monster’s belly. Again, he slammed the monster’s face into the floor below, this time with more force. He could hear the snout like nose crack under the pressure as it squealed. Owen didn’t hesitate as he felt the monster’s strength lessen. Again he thrust the creature face first into the floor. It’s body went slack, silent.

The redhead wasn’t satisfied, he grabbed the monster on either side of it’s large, but limp neck, lacing his fingers, and continued to smash it again and again into the floor below him. His hands were sleek with what he hoped was blood, the coolness of the monster’s brain matter splattering the floor and wall alike with greyish pink hues. In the dark Owen couldn’t see the vibrancy of the mural he was creating. He could feel the wetness of goopy blood seeping into his jeans through his knees and shins. The monster was long dead but the boy couldn’t stop himself, his heart raced so fast he couldn’t see how still the large, decaying thing had become. At first, he didn’t even realize the flashlights of his companions shining down on him from behind. Slowly, the redhead turned, face smeared in a warpaint of gore. His arms matched the hue of his hair, violent and vibrant against his pale freckled flesh.

Owen’s hand shook as he faced them, dropping the monster to the ground. Slowly, the man stood almost like a monster himself, leaving a shadow twice his size behind him. He sniffed, rubbing the back of his wrist across his nose, smearing more of the carnage across it. It was alien to see a face once distorted in so much rage and anguish slowly morph back into the goofy grin they had all come to know and love.

“I hope to god someone packed baby wipes.”

Interactions: Corgi Rumble Fish Togy

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between myself and Hyped_Taco

-SOME TIME AGO-​

Only God knew how much time Michael had spent tied up in that restroom, left alone with nothing but his own thoughts, fears and his own piss to accompany him for the long duration of the time he had spent in the darkroom. But finally, he had been freed from the torture the Italian had condemned upon him; without hesitation, the Neckbeard ran as fast as he could to his RV, and slammed the door behind him.

After having not seen Brian, his previous roommate anywhere within the perimeters of the lodges for the last few days, Michael assumed that the man had either left the group or even been killed during the siege of the lodge by the undead a few days back; with his (mostly correct) assumption, Michael began changing his dirty clothes with something- no, Anything else he could encounter within the vehicle.

Unluckily for him, the clothes that his roommate had left behind were quite… small, for his current figure, and while he had packed some important stuff into his backpack the day he had left his home, the one thing he had never thought he would need as much as of now was clothing.

With his current Jeans… Leaked, and the only other pair he had brought still unwashed ever since he had arrived from the sewers, Michael had to use his only option left- his pajama pants.

Now, with his weird combination of Pajama pants below and his usual Trench coat and fedora above, he could go to bed and rest, since the last time he had slept had been in more than 24 hours. Or well, he attempted to, but a combination of the sun still shining through the windows of the vehicle, and fear that the mobster would return and terrorize him while he slept prevented him from shutting his eyes for more than a second.
"Oh, that´s just fucking great" Michael said to himself in frustration of his current situation. Knowing that forcefully trying to fall asleep would not cut it; the neckbeard realized that he would need to entertain himself for a while before exhaustion finally caught up with him and forced him to rest.

Michael then quickly went to his backpack and pulled out a notebook along with some of the drawing tools he had been capable of bringing with him before his small journey to the lodge had begun.
Sitting down near the small table that the RV had, Michael began to draw one of the other things he enjoyed to put his imagination on other than some big ol´ anime tiddies; maps. Although it could seem odd for the people whom had occasionally seen some of them, the man enjoyed this activity, no matter what he could be doing, it just seemed...relaxing.

Plus, his actual hentai notebook and self-made manga had been burnt by himself while the Italians were breaking on his RV, so he had no other better things to do.
Barely having started he heard a knock on the door, a hard one at that. Having his activity interrupted annoyed and frustrated Michael to no end. So without even checking who it could have been before responding, the man said: "Jesus Christ, The Door Is unlocked Asshole! Luca and the other dude literally broke it yesterday."

Ralph pushed the door open and gagged. The smell enveloped every corner of the RV, and was currently assaulting his senses. Violently.
It took him a moment to gain his composure. The Doctor had dealt with far worse, but this was definitely up there. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Michael in pyjama pants.
"So, it's been two days..." The Doctor started to reach into his coat pocket, all the while studying Michael's every move.

Moments after the door had been opened, Michael immediately recognized the man on the other side as Ralph, that guy which had prohibited him from eating anything inside the lodge for 2 days straight; luckily the man had specified that only food from inside the lodge or brought by the members inside of it were prohibited, so it did contain the small loophole in which he could still eat foods that were not under the control or possession of any of the other lodgers.

Luckily for the neckbeard, he had brought a small supply of snacks with himself when he had left his home, allowing him to not starve completely; unluckily for him, tho was the fact that most of them were stale, soggy, and did not contain enough nutritional value for the man.
So while still hungry, exhausted and most certainly annoyed by the interruption from the doctor, Michael did not take well the fact that the man had gagged the second he had opened the door "Oh fucking great" the neckbeard thought to himself "He just came here to chew me out again or some other bullshit" he said to himself.

Michael simply let out a sigh and lightly waved his hand, indicating the Doctor to come in. He heard Ralph say something about two days. He knew it was probably important, yet he could not remember exactly what it could be, and the fact that he had not slept for possibly the last 24 hours did not help him at all.

Without taking his view out of the drawing he was currently doing, Michael responded "… Yup, two days" he said uninterested while lifting up one of his arms "whoopty doo."

​

Fisher raised a stern eyebrow at the man, still reeling from the smell of the RV. How was Michael able to live like this?
"Do you ever remember what this is?" Fisher drew the letter but kept it tightly gripped in his hand. He was sure that Michael didn't have the strength to grab it from his hands but he wasn't about to take any chances. "Let me refresh your memory...It's from Jenna. Apparently she thought it was worth leaving this for you. I can't say why."



Michael took a quick glance at Ralph after the doctor had asked him if he was able to recall what the object in his hands was "Well, If I remember correctly the name of that would be a letter" the neckbeard responded confused as to why he would ask him what that was. But after the mention of Jenna Michael's entire attitude changed in a second. For a second he swept away his current apathetic mood to a more enthusiastic one, knowing that at least Jenna had left a few words behind for him specifically.

"Dunno, maybe she left It behind due to my oh so charming and charismatic personality" Michael replied to Ralph's comment, chucking a bit at his own joke in the process. "Welp, thank you for the delivery of this." Michael said while he extended his hand to grab the letter from Ralph's grasp.

Keeping a deadpan expression, Ralph pulled away from Michael.
"I'm sorry, son but you still haven't earned this yet. For starters I couldn't find you for all of yesterday so there's no guarantee you didn't stuff your face." He sternly shook his head, tucking the letter back into his pocket.

"I think she wrote it for you because she saw something in you nobody else does. Not even me."
He paced around the RV, the scent no longer bothering him "You are a liability. Nothing more. You don't contribute and all you do is cause problems. Fighting with Tre. A child. Constantly helping yourself to lodge supplies like a darn buffet..." Ralph stopped and rested his head in his hands.

"And I have no idea why." His tired brown eyes glared into Michael "Because Colt and Leliana and even me have tried to get through to you and you just never listen. Whatever happened to you before the outbreak... A difficult childhood, extra stress, maybe some kind of brain disorder..."

The Doctor sighed heavily "It doesn't matter. You are all the things wrong with you and you need to do better." He stopped in his tracks and shook his head. "Fuck, Michael. What else can I say?"

"Oh god dammit" Michael thought a few moments after Ralph had pushed himself away from him, stopping the neckbeard moments before he could be able to grasp the letter. And then the doctor began to talk. Silly him for believing just for a moment that anyone would have even come here other than to either order or reproach him about something. There Is just so much a person is willing to take before he snaps, yet being told that he was nothing more than a liability and suggesting that he had a mental disorder seemed to be enough.

"The fuck you mean you weren't able to find me?" Michael said while he approached Ralph "I was tied in a bathtub, the whole Fucking day!" The neckbeard yelled, finally stopping his advance once he had approached Ralph enough "Jesus, may god or whoever Is above us forbid anyone here getting lost or captured. Cause if apparently you and nobody else found me while under the same roof, then I would not like to imagine what would happen to anyone in this place if things were to go to shit."

"Have any of you ever considered what I am going through as well?. m-Maybe I haven't adapted to the goddamn apocalypse as well as Everybody else around here!" The neckbeard said in a more saddened tone this time. Michael slowly put his right hand over his heart before he continued talking "Sure, you said I fought Tre but that was part of an overly complicated plan Luca Made to sleep in the bed of that red-head. And I..."
The Man hesitated for a moment, not sure if wanting to continue at all "I admit fault to treating the food here as a buffet, there Is just no denying that. Yet that's my only way to cope, to de-stress myself from this whole situation. While I do It I just keep thinking about the past, you know?. It's just… well, reassuring. And no, I do not have a brain disorder not had a difficult childhood." he said frustrated and angry due to the even suggestion of that.

"In truth… I'm scared. Scared of everything that's out there. Scared of the unknown. And scared of the thought of this having spread out of this city" Michael said before stopping to soy down, rubbing His face for a moment.

"I have family too, you know. A few hours away from here. Even with everything I am scared from, I am scared most of all by not knowing how they currently are. It may sound selfish, and even fucked up, but sometimes I think It would have been better if the hazmats had won. At least I would then have died knowing that the virus had been stopped, and that they are now safe."

Ralph took one step back, his eyes going wide for a moment before he narrowed his gaze.
"Have you thought about the fact that nobody was able to find you yesterday was because nobody cared enough to look for you?" Ralph asked with a heavy sigh. He didn't even want to know why he was tied up in the bathroom at this point. "It wasn't like finding you was a priority of mine, either."

"Look around you, Michael. Everyone here is scared. I'm terrified. Colt is drinking to cope, Leliana is trying to hold it together, Hector's in denial about everything and don't even get me started on fricking Luca! He may not seem it but he's scared too."

He threw his head back, sighing heavily once more.
"Half the people here half families outside of Aurora. I have a little girl out there for goodness sake! A wife!"
He ran both hands down his face.

"And are you seriously saying you'd rather have had us all die at the hands of some yellow-clad Facists?! What makes you think that the mercs even want to cure anything? They beat me to a pulp and blew off my knee because they could. They killed Ray for fun. Are you honestly so deluded that you think they are the good guys here?!"

He took a deep breath. The man was close to losing his temper now.
"Do you know what the biggest difference is between you and everyone else here is? We're all terrified, but we get through it and we help each other. You?" His brown eyes were daggers now, staring into Michael's soul "You only help yourself."

He pointed a finger directly at the man.
"Either find a different way to cope or get the hell out of here before Luca murders you."

Michael merely raised an eyebrow moments after Ralph had finally finished his tirade. Usually, at this point he would either be somewhere near crying or just profoundly apologizing, yet he didn't feel the point in doing it anymore, for once, he wanted to stand his ground and deal with the consequences of his action later.

"Yeah, no shit sherlock" Michael finally replied after a moment of small hesitation "It's not like I´m oblivious enough to not realize that none of you really care about me even one bit. Hell, you guys probably hated my guts since the very first moment you saw me; my first interaction here was Colt pointing a gun at my face even after knowing that I was not infected. Talk about first impressions tho."
The neckbeard said, taking a moment to recover his breath before continuing "I know you said you didn't look that hard for me. But still, you would probably be the worst seeker in the History of hide and seek yo." the man Said while he chuckled a bit at his own comment.

Michael then sighted, after having finished his small rant. "Yeah, I know that everyone here is scared shitless as well, like, no shit. Damn zombies are now roaming free in the streets, eating every person they come across like a buffet… yet, you are right" Michael admitted, feeling frustrated about agreeing with the doctor for once, specifically on one of His own shortcomings.
"Just because I'm scared doesn't make right the things I have done" the neckbeard said with a calmer tone, beginning to calm down from this. "Neither has It been ok from my part to act as If I was the only one who has lost something… so I am sorry about that".

Hearing that Ralph has a daughter outside of Aurora surprised Michael a bit. For some reason he had never thought about the possibility of the doctor having a family as well "That sucks yo. I am-" The neckbeard wanted to kick himself for empathizing with Ralph for once, even though they still were arguing. "-so sorry for that. I hope you both can be reunited".
And not even one second after that he was brought back to reality after Ralph mentioned the Hazmats once more.

"Hey, start playing more attention to what I'm saying alright yo?. I never said they were the good guys, just that they were probably the Lesser of two evils." The neckbeard said, starting to justify himself.

"First off, unlike how you think not everything Is black and white. I doubt they were all made out of pure evil, so I pretty muy doubt they were here to kill just for funzies." Michael began to explain while he grabbed a page from the Notebook from which he was drawing before, along with a pen.
"You were from the CDC or something right? That means you're pretty smart so just listen for a minute. I do not know the exact population of Aurora, so let's say it was somewhere around-" Michael began to tap His head with the pen, to try and come up with a reasonable number. "... Let's say about 300k, alright?." The neckbeard asked yet didn't wait for a response.

"Well, considering that this city fell in like 4 days, then that means that if everyone else, with the obvious exception of us, had been infected, then at the very least…" the neckbeard then made a division between the population number from before with the number of days It took for the city to become completely plagues with the undead.
"Well, that would end up being nearly 75 thousand per day. But well, of course it's impossible for the Infection to have been so hardcore on the first day, but still, quite an alarming number isn't It?" Michael asked the doctor while he put the paper back down in the table.

"I mean, I am no doctor like, at all. But I doubt even stuff as the Spanish flu was that viral in its first week of existence" The neckbeard said, with a worried look on His face.

"Now, the Hazmats were fucking evil, don't get me wrong. They have been killing innocents around here everywhere, and that's just fucking atrocious. But imagine if this thing were to spread out of this town; the fucking pandemic wouldn't really slow down like the black death or something, since anyone infected does not die, but instead becomes a ravenous animal in search of infecting even further people."

Finally in a defeated tone, Michael put his hands on his face and said "Plus. Wouldn't It be really depressing if those guys were actually killing us for no actual reason?."

Ralph dusted down one of the seats in the RV before setting down on it. At least it wasn't sticky. Though, that would've been the least of his concern. He made no effort to interrupt the young man, simply listening to every word he said and occasionally nodding to show he was still listening. He tapped his cane once when it seemed that Michael was done, but kept sitting.

"I'm not saying I disagree with the CIA wanting to contain this thing. I'm saying that how they're going about it is going to get more people killed. They're less focused on curing this thing and more on coving their own hides. Throwing a CDC team under the bus, trying to kill as much of the population as possible....To say the least. Heck, ask yourself what they had to gain from crippling me or executing Ray?" He raised a finger
"If they were focused on curing wouldn't it make a lot more sense to capture members of the population alive? Run tests on us? Instead of just killing us all...But that would leave too many witnesses."

He clenched one of his fists. The Doctor did not want to lose his temper.
"They shot up the school. Directed as much of the population over there and just shot them all. That is not the lesser of two evils. That is just pure evil. Plain and simple. Not only that, but their massacre was somewhat botched. Every time they killed someone without destroying the brain the plague would take hold of that body and use it to spread."
He ran a hand down his face.
"At least the plague doesn't take things personally. It takes no pleasure from this. Diseases never do."

With a sigh, Ralph stood to his feet.
"I can't say just how many Spanish flu killed in the first week, but in the first twenty five weeks it managed to kill twenty five million. If not more. If the CIA are more concerned with cover-ups than containment it could be a lot worse. Especially if this thing goes global." He swallowed, the thought of such a thing turning the Doctor pale.
Clearing his throat, Ralph's brown eyes turned back to the man.
"As for everything else. I don't think it's true that nobody here cares about you. If they didn't, you'd have been tossed out already. Leliana sees you as a humongous pain in her ass but I know she still cares." He sighed once more "And...I do too. I wouldn't be telling you all this otherwise. Yeah, I know it's hard to hear all this but I'm concerned that if you don't pull your weight it could get you hurt, or worse."

Michael had already prepared himself to the scenario of Ralph losing his temper and blowing upon him, instead, he was pleasantly surprised when it didn´t happen at all. Instead, the doctor had patiently awaited him to finish, not having interrupted him once during His own rant.

Yet the conversation about the hazmats carriles out moments later. Increasingly growing tires about the subject, Michael decided to give his possible last opinión on the matter. "Anyway, I'll agree with you that the hazmat team sent here to Aurora has done some really fucked up shit, there's no fucking way I'll defend their massacre of the city". The neckbeard said before taking a moment to reconsider his words, to try and find the way to phrase of what wanted to say in the least disrespectful way he could.
"I'm not gonna lie doc, that's really fucked up. Yet even with all the evilness in their actions I refuse to believe that they did everything out of pure evil; I really doubt that they have carried out everything they have till now for absolutely no reason at all." The large Man said.

"It still does not allow them the right to round Is up like animals and shooting us down. Yet all of us here are infected, just as you said, right?." Michael asked the doctor, already knowing the answer. He may be a took most of the time yet he vividly remembered them speaking about the possible fact that once dead, everyone here would turn into an undead, such as It had happened to Rouge.
"Think about it. Currently we are like bioweapons yo, so even if one of us escapes the possible blockade of the city then we would be possibly putting an entire city at risk." It could have been mostly fear or even overreacting, but Aurora must have had a Patient Zero too.

"Still, I would also prefer if they worked as hard on a cure as they have done in trying to annihilate us all." But working on a cure for this disease would be difficult… way too difficult and costly to make while the virus was threatening the surrounding areas with expanding.
"But, since both of our opinions on the matter vary so much, why dont we just agree to disagree on this one?" Michael added, to try and close up their debate. "Also, you told me earlier that none of you cared about me,like, at all. So why are you now trying to tell me that some of you do care about me." Michael said with doubt at the statement of the man of him and some others actually caring about him.

"You can think what you want about the Hazmats." Ralph rolled his brown marbles "Regardless of why you think they're here, don't expect any kind of consideration from them." It was obvious he wasn't going to get through to the man about that, and all he was achieving at this point was annoying himself. In his own eyes the Hazmats were monsters, people absent of morality who sought little more than a quick buck. Their employers were a different story, but still had just as much blood on their hands. "This thing is airborne. I'm sure the next few cities over, heck maybe even entire states are full of people infected."

Ralph ran a hand down his face "I said that nobody cared enough to look for you properly. Not that they didn't care in general. Besides, a lot of people probably weren't too worried after they didn't find you trying to get at the food supplies again."

"Oh, yeah. I never expected any kind of consideration from them you know? Hell, if I see one I'm gonna run away from him immediately not stay to chat or something." Justified or not, those guys were still out for for blood; and even after all of this, Michael did not want to die. "I was just saying, each side in history has a reason for their actions and no one…" Michael reconsidered his words after remembering WW2 "w-Well, almost no one Is completely evil".

Yet hearing that the virus was airborne panicked the man, since until this point he had ignored the several instances in which this information has been told in the lodge.

"w-Wait a s-Second" Michael said while he quickly got up from his seat. "Did you just say airborne?" Right until this moment he had just kinda thought that it was some type of parasite, or that it was only transmitted through the contact with the zombies.

"So It expands as the Spanish Flu?" Well, at the very least that was the only example that he could come up with at the moment "So that means that it infects people through fluids then… but why does it only take effect after we die or get bitten tho? If we are all already infected, then why aren´t we dead yet?" Having no real medical knowledge other than what he had watched from history videos in Youtube, Michael asked the doctor.

The pain in Ralph's knee shot up again and the man was forced to sit back down. With a heavy sigh he stared over at Michael "When it comes to sides in history. It's not so much entire armies that are evil. It's individuals. Those giving the orders and those that choose to derive pleasure from them. More often than not it's somebody already twisted who is simply handed a gun or, if you go further back; a blade. Or even a spear."

The man rested a head in his hand "Yes Michael, it's airborne. The virus is airborne. As for how it works, I'm still figuring that out. My best guess is that it lies dormant in our system and reanimates our bodies when we die, activating parts of the brain it needs. The bite just causes the body to shut down."
With some effort, Ralph pulled himself to his feet with some assistance from the cane "Well, I hope I've given you a lot to think about. All I can do now is..." He shook his head gently once more and chuckled "Hope I suppose that you take some of it onboard. I know you're scared. But please, for your own sake try to hold it together."

Mentioned: Jenna, (the late) Ray, Leli ( FireMaiden ), Luca ( Brax ), Colt ( Rumble Fish )

 

[Rumble Fish]

​

Another one. And another one. And another again. The paper became more and more full as the young girl continued to draw her patterns, eyes squarely on the paper but unable to stop her frame from rocking back and forth and her free hand pulling consistently at her long hair. Aubrey and her group had left before she woke up, she was relieved that she had given the young woman her house key before she left. However the thought of the group going to her unreachable sanctuary was eating away at her already worried mind. She mumbled under her breath, whether it was gibberish or the entire script of Toy Story, another strange tic of the small girl. While this was happening, Penny was contently snuggled next to her with a head under her wing, fast asleep. Snowy took up the slack of the chicken, stuffed inside the girl's front hoodie pocket.

Caoimhe had spent most of the morning going over the notes left behind. Having to play catch up was nothing new to her, however as to why Maria had left the safety of the church was a mystery. Looking back through the book for clues, muttering curses under her breath she saw one of her own notes and rested her head in her hands.

Her last entry before today was about Jack. Maria had dragged their ass all the way through Aurora over a few lines on a page. "

Idiot." Caoimhe muttered to herself "You stupid fuckin' idiot." She picked up the pencil and was ready to scribble down an angry message to Maria when she glanced up at the sound of faint mumbling. The kid was still there.

I guess we could stay a while. I'll be civil if you will.
-Caoimhe

With a slight smile she stretched her legs and stood up.

Vanessa had made her way back up into the rafters. As she sat above the livingroom comfortably out of reach, she thought of how she could make herself more at home up here. Surely no one would mind her using this unused space as her own? Whilst these ideas played across her mind, the faint sound of a child murmuring caught her attention, pulling her gaze downward.

It took Caoimhe a few moments to notice Vanessa, her gaze moving up to the rafters for a brief second. She greeted the acrobat with little more than a nod. Who was this woman? The lodge seemed to have it's share of strange folks. Between mad scientists and soldiers who smelt of booze the temptation to give Maria a piece of her mind grew by the second.

Tutting and looking away, her gaze moved back to the kid. "[/FONT]What are ya workin' on there, Milly?"

"I dont like this. I don't like this. I don't like any- I don't like any of this." The younger girl mumbled in a mantra, "I don't like it, I don't like what's happening..." Milly had given up on drawing her patterns and gripped both forearms, still muttering as she scrambled to pull Snowy from her pocket and cling to her tightly. Why could they go to her home but she couldnt? It just felt wrong. They would not let her go, but they were going? The unfairness of the situation was only now beginning to hit the young girl. She was only alerted to the presence of the two women in the room as Penny had awoken, glanced up and let out a startled squawk at the sight of the acrobat in the rafters. Milly squeaked and jumped like she had sat on a tack at the noise, then noticing Caoimhe standing there, and Nessa up above. How long had they been there for? Had they been watching? Milly could not stop rocking from side to side as she looked around anxiously, her pale face whitening further from stress.

"He-Uh, how- how long have you been here?" she asked the room, afraid to look at either of them in the face, only looking at Caoimhe for a second as she then spoke up, asking about the picture. Milly made an odd gulp/squeaking sound in her throat before picking up the picture she had dropped, "Patterns. Patterns help me think." Her tone was still as monotone as before with little emotion.

The acrobatics mismatched eyes quickly locked onto Millly, having noticed the tone of the child's voice. In one swift motion, Vanessa decended from the rafters. The child's voice sounded almost dead, like like had gone out of it. This was something Vanessa had heard from many young girls in the orphanage and even herself on many occasions. "Everythin okay Milly?" She asked in a calm and gentle voice.

"No. No." Milly did not stop moving, "It's not." she made no attempt to try and mask her fear from the woman. The small girl squeaked a little as she rocked back and forth, now gripping her knees with Snowy in the middle as she swayed. Penny clucked and pulled at the small tastle on the girl's hoodie, hoping to get her attention but stopped as she saw that it was not happening. Milly looked up to the woman again with a deep sigh. "I don't like it."

Caoimhe took one step back as the girl started to mutter to herself, raising an eyebrow. "Milly?" She asked, her voice close to a whisper. When Milly answered, Caoimhe tried to offer the girl a smile, but there was concern in her eyes. Pushing her hair out of her face, she knelt down so that she was at Milly's height. "Can I see?" Caoimhe asked.

Milly did not answer and continued her distressed stereotypical behavior, now with a slight squeak every now and again, as Caoimhe asked to see her picture, she simply handed it to her. The whole page was full of squares, as she had started with a giant square that reached all edges of the paper and then spiraled them further into the paper like a hypnotic swirl, accompanied with boxes from all corners, beginning small and then getting bigger.

It was only then that she turned to look at Nessa, her eyes locked into the woman’s face. Did she always have that scar? The scar itself meant little to Milly, having seen Colt’s scars and those of others from the attacks. And why was one of her eyes a different colour? She wanted to ask, but everything told her not to. It would have been rude. With a slightly louder squeak, almost a grunt she finally talked.

“I don’t like it.”

Still trying to offer the girl something close to a smile, Caoimhe gently took the drawing in hand. She was so used to her hands inflicting violence at this point that the woman had to take great care.

Her blue eyes studied the patterns, and her smile dropped. She could tell immediately that something was very wrong "Milly?" She asked "Milly, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"No. It's stupid. It-it's nothing," she mumbled before looking back at the woman with a small gulp before directing her eyes forward once again, "I'm just worried. Yeah, worried. Really worried." Her tone was still flat and devoid of her normal chirpiness. She rubbed her shoulders anxiously. The small girl then finally sighed, trying to calm herself down enough to speak. Her mind was running at a hundred-miles a hour and could not simply focus on what was being said. "What if its ruined?"

"Wait," Vanessa began. "We are still talkin about the drawin, right?"

Caoimhe's eyes drifted away from Milly and to the acrobat, shrugging slightly. No kid she'd known had ever gotten this worked up over a drawing before. Something else had to be going on. As her eyes moved back to Milly, she gave the girl a smile and knelt down once more. "This is really good. I like the patterns and how they, um...Go together."

"No, not the drawing. Not the drawing." She finally spluttered, "It's them. At my house. What if something's wrong? What if there are monsters? What if there's nothing there left?" The thought of her room, her safe space being ravaged and her things taken scared her, even just the thought of the quartet being there was enough to panic her. She trusted them, to an extent but whos to say they wouldnt do anything horrible?

Her blue eyes widened with concern once more. "Who's at your house, Milly?"

"Owen, Colt and Aubrey." she wrung her hands together, staring at the floor, "Told you it was stupid."

So the soldier Maria had met and two of the lodge's odd residents had gone to Milly's place? Caoimhe could only assume it was for a supply run. If they were looking for the girl's parents they would have tried that weeks ago. "It's not stupid, love." She gently shook her head "Yer just worried about 'em."

Vanessa looked towards the stairs then back at the pair. "Colt left?" She asked quizzically.

"Yes. But Aubrey said they'd be back tonight. Hopefully. Maybe." She gulped, her hands still wringing together anxiously.

"Can't say for the other two but I'm sure Colt has a handle on things. Just so long as she stays sober..." She cleared her throat. The woman hadn't meant to say the last part out loud.

"She has to." Milly responded, brows down as if about to launch into a tirade about the woman, however, rather than doing so, she went into her hoodie pocket, "She dropped this outside." Her brows raised as she whipped out the distinctive silver flask from it's pouch. She had found it next to the shed after feeding the chickens. Milly put it back in her pocket after showing them, intending to put it in Colt's bag upstairs where she would find it. "Colt's brave. So is Owen. And they promised they would be okay. So... they have to be, right?"

"Ya mean te tell me she Dropped it?" Vanessa said with a chuckle. "Don't seem like somethin she would wana leave behind. I bet she finds herself needin a drink right now too."

"Ya didn't drink from that, right?" Caoimhe asked, forcing another smile "It's probably not a good idea. Ya might get a stomach ache..." Among other things, of course. Caoimhe wasn't one to partake in such things, but she was from Derry. She knew people that were, of course. "I mean I'm sure they'll be fine."

"You don't know! She might be fine!" Milly gave the acrobat a frown at her comment. As Caomihe spoke up again, Milly shook her head at her words, "I didn't like how it smelled." She responded, basically answering with a 'no'. "They promised they would be okay. So they should be, right?" The rocking had started to relax the more the girl spoke, though her grip on her teddy did not loosen at any point.

"Course they'll be fine!" Vanessa said. "Owen is a big lad and Colt use te be a solider. They got this." The acrobat spoke with absolutely confidence in her voice as she addressed the child once more.

"Look there's no point in sittin' 'ere worrin' about this." Caoimhe shook her head, tutting "Ya might as well do somethin' to. I dunno, distract yerself." The woman offered Milly a shrug "If we find somethin' for ya to do this'll all go by quicker."

"Hm... I like jenga."

Mismatched eyes glinted with curiosity as Milly suggested the activity. "What's Jenga? Never heard that term before..."

"It's just a game where you have this tower 'a blocks and ya take a piece out at a time without the thing fallin' over. Simple enough." Caoimhe explained

Milly nodded vigerously, "Yeah, yeah yeah, that's it! It's fun too!" she then glanced down shyly at the ground, "D-do you want to play?" her large eyes looked at each woman. She was tired of playing on her own. She would have loved to have some people to play with.

"I mean, if we can find one around 'ere. I suppose." Caoimhe motorboarded her lips "Might as well."

"There's one in the cupboard with the puzzles." Milly chirped, flapping her arms a little in eagerness.

"It sounds like it could be fun. I'd love te play!" The Purple clad Harlequin exclaimed excitedly.

"Alright. You two stay put. I'm gonna go and grab this thing." The woman made her way over to the cupboard in question, and poked her head inside. It seemed that the loge was not just a fortress, but apparently a nursery based on the pile of games. She smiled a little at the sight of a dusty chessboard. With the game under her arm, the woman walked back over.
"I think this thing is for two players so you two have fun." She nodded, offering both girls a smile.

Featuring: The Mad Queen (Caoimhe) TheMightyRedLemon (Vanessa)
Mentioned Myself (Colt) Maj (Owen) Corgi (Aubrey)

 

[Dragonlord318]

MMA Meets Kung Fu
Part 1: Before the Fight​

Caoimhe wandered outside. Being around others, bombarded with dozens of strangers was exhausting, especially just after the woman had woken up. Maria had brought them to a strange and perhaps even dangerous place. Had she even bothered to check the surrounding area? It was all Caoimhe could hope for at this point.

If she had to make a run for it, then she had to know how to get back to Aurora in one piece. The woman started to trek through the woods, making her way past Doctor Friendly’s experiment.The creature paid little notice to her.

A few minutes in, the sound of a heavy vehicle rumbling filled her ears and the woman dove for cover behind a tree.

David was riding in the back of the HMMWV-M1114, what most people called a Humvee. He was sitting in the open area behind the cabin, facing the rear. He didn't like being stuck inside the cabin. It made him feel vulnerable. His knees were bent up as his feet touched the rattling tailgate held onto the frame by two small cotter pins. He swept his gaze across the area they passed, eyes glancing over Andy on the ATV while Aaron drove his pride and joy.

David eyed something in the foliage as they passed, something that briefly flashed white. Was that...a person? He slapped the roof of the cabin and Aaron stopped while Andy looked at him quizzically. "You guys go ahead to the lodge," he said as he drew his Dao sword with his left hand, looking in the direction he saw the white flash of clothing. Andy protested while Aaron looked on, confused. David shook his head. "If somebody's here, it's better for me to encounter them alone than for you two to get involved and we potentially lose the vehicles and the cargo. Plus, you can send backup if I'm not back soon." The two begrudgingly nodded and set off for the lodge while David walked toward the large pine tree, Dao up in a defensive posture.

With her head behind the tree, Caoimhe observed the vehicle. It would only have been a matter of time before the military found the lodge. In fact, she wondered just what had taken them so long. Her head turned in the direction of the lodge. She needed to warn them.

She lay flat on her belly and watched as a tall man stepped out. Not in military gear, in fact he wasn’t even wearing a gas mask. Instead of an assault rifle, he held a sword in his hands. There was no way the man was part of the military, so just who was he?
He was coming her way regardless.

“I hope I don’t regret this.” Caoimhe whispered to herself, slowly stepping out from behind the tree. Her blue eyes scanned the man up and down.
“Just who da feck are ya?”

David stopped when an average-height female with deep red hair stepped out from behind the tree and looked at him as if he was a circus act that had just walked into her living room. Then her query that was poised to him had an accent that wasn't too far off from the sword-stealing-psycho that accompanied Mr. Brasi and the Sergeant, not in that order.

He heard the engines of the two vehicles stop in the distance, telling him that his friends had arrived at their destination. Since his friends were now safe and this woman in a disarmed position - and presently unarmed - he lowered his defensive stance but kept his sword out. He cocked his head to the side as he pondered how to respond. He saw her glance in the direction of the lodge and noticed two things:

She didn't seem like she was scared.

When she did look at the lodge, it wasn't one of investigation or measure.

So, he exhaled slowly and decided to ask, "How long have you been at the lodge?" If she answered truthfully, she'd have an answer without telling queues such as dramatic sighing or eyes darting around.

“Just got ‘ere. Was about to ask ya the same thing.” She kept her eyes trained on him, even if the tall man seemed to be lowering his sword he still had the damn thing in his hand. He was still dangerous. Sure, either one of them could take him despite his size but a blade made things difficult. Especially if he actually knew how to use it.

“The Doc found me.” She explained, drawing back to the scribbles Maria had left her. Nothing mentioned a man of this description so just who was he?

David sighed in relief and sheathed the Dao over his left shoulder in the scabbard placed diagonally across his back. "Alright, well that settles that. Don't know who the Doc is, but," he extended his hand, "name's David Listman, ma'am. Mr. Brasi - you may know him as Luca - came to my place yesterday with a brunette that talks just like you, and he invited me to be part of the lodge. I was coming back with two other lodge members while bringing supplies when I spotted you. Sorry for the scare."

Caoimhe shook the hand of the tall man and quickly let go. She didn’t want to hold on for too long. “Caoimhe Kennedy.” She nodded “You haven’t met Doctor Friendly?” Caoimhe shook her head “Seems like he needs to introduce ‘imself to everyone and play therapist.”
Then again, it seemed like Listman had only arrived recently.

“Ya didn’t scare me at all.” She gave him a brief smile, before her usual frown returned “Just thought ya were someone else.”
She was at least a little bit curious about the woman who apparently sounded just like her. Was there somebody else local at the lodge? The closest to home would be Vanessa, but she was Scottish. And just who was Luca? He seemed to be in some position of power at the lodge at least.

Featuring and Mentioning M/C Kennedy and Ralph ( The Mad Queen ), mentioning Vanessa ( TheMightyRedLemon ), Colt ( Rumble Fish ) and Luca ( Brax )
Third-Person write-in - Andy and Aaron ( Maj and RayPurchase )

 

[FireMaiden]

​

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Open
Mentioned: Rumble Fish (Colt)
There only seemed to be a single perk when it came to being low on everything. Inventory didn't take long. Nothing had gone missing between last night and now, other than the supplies the supply group had taken with them. They had enough food that they wouldn't starve for a while, but if she was being honest, Leliana was getting really sick of deer. The taste of it anyway, they needed to do something different than just cooking it plain. Maybe a soup or something. Anyway, the fact that her hands were now free, Leliana could go and start doing the other small chores around the lodge. Say what you will, but having a clean living space helped with moral, and Leliana was good at making sure things were clean. And thanks to Moe's, she certainly wasn't squeamish.

Leliana started with the dishes. There didn't seem to be that many at first, but she decided to do a sweep of the house for them. Which meant checking bedrooms. She left the master and Colt's room alone and made sure not to go snooping before moving onto the living areas. When she was done, Leliana had a stack of cups, a few plates, and some silverware that would keep her busy for at least half an hour. The warm soapy water was a thankful change from the cold air that always found a way inside the lodge. Nothing ever really seemed to be warm enough, not the bed's or the clothes, sometimes not even a fire seemed to be good enough. And it was unfortunately only going to get colder.

As the last of the dishes were put to the side to dry, Leliana drained the water and wiped her hands off. The next chore was laundry, the nurse heading off to go wash whatever clothes had been put near the washer. Someone could get sick if they didn't wash their clothes, and besides, they were lucky enough to still have this luxury, why not use it? And once again, thank you Moe's, Leliana didn't mind doing this in the slightest. Once she had that done, the nurse went around cleaning up the living room and den, and...then she was done. She didn't have a watch but she knew it hadn't taken her too long. And with the threat of being bored, Leliana went in search of a book or something else to do. She found the book first, the blonde then settled down on the couch with her legs pulled close to read whatever random book she had picked up.

Thankfully, it wasn't anything weird.

 

[Hyped_Taco]

The following text collaboration was fabricated by the roleplayer and GM known as Maj , and Ya boy Hyped_Taco ​

Andy came down to sit at the kitchen table. Her legs were crossed at the ankle, tucked back and resting on the bar between the legs of the kitchen chair. Slender fingers were wrapped around a ceramic mug, looped through the handle. The coffee was black, dark and aromatic as the heat came off the top of the cup in waves, earthy and strong. Crimson locks were woven into a large damp bun on the top of her head. Tiny hairs that had broken loose from their bounds, curled around her pale freckle dusted cheeks. She lifted the mug to her full, flushed lips and sighed happily as the liquid entered her bloodstream.

It was a peaceful morning. Luca wasn’t walking around terrorizing anyone into annoyance yet. A few people were up and around, meandering around the lodge with no real intentions, and all too smart to approach her before she had digested this rather appealing beverage.

All but one.

For two entire days, Michael had been banned from eating anything inside the lodge; he had needed to sustain himself in secret through the small number of snacks and Doritos he had brought along with himself from his home and although he may have not completely starved due to them, they were stale by now, and for some reason, the Doritos felt soggy by now.

But finally, before his small stash of junk food was over, his ban torture was done for, and by the own words of Professor Soyboy (Ralph), he was allowed to eat now.

The neckbeard happily rushed into the lodge, hoping to see an already cooked and delicious breakfast waiting for him. But no, disappointingly, it seemed as if the food he had been waiting for soo long still wasn´t even made.

Since he was unable to grab supplies from the fridge to make his own breakfast since that Blonde nurse would kick his ass if she even saw him grabbing a simple egg, he decided to wait.

He approached the sofa before he was able to see her; a beautiful red-haired girl with her long, and almost athletic legs crossed while she sat down sipping the coffee she currently held with her small adorable lips.

Just as he saw her he knew he needed to speak to her, she even seemed… familiar, as if he had seen this beautiful young woman once before. Could he have been blessed by the gods above to meet this woman once more? He may have been an atheist, but he needed to thank Jesus on this one.

The girl had a beautiful looking red hair, with a beautiful young face to accompany her looks. The rest of her figure looked slim and great, as if she regularly had done exercise before the apocalypse. Her thighs were just to die for; she was a Gamerboy´s wet dream, and he needed to speak to her.

He began to approach the girl while he wondered several things; could her red-hair match her own drapes below? Would she even speak to him?. There was only one way to figure out.

He finally was in front of her, he cleared his throat and said ¨Hey¨.

~

August 13th, 2018
University of Aurora

Dark circles shone back from her already strikingly pale skin. Early morning were hard for her, but they were even more difficult after she found herself at the bottom of a bottle. A venti iced coffee sat by her side, leaving water marks in the small table near her station, water causing the label on the cup with her name on it to turn grey and soggy, peeling up from the plastic cup. She was about fifty percent through it, evident by the way her hands shook as she rose the brush to the canvas. One day she would learn that a 300 calorie coffee was not a replacement for breakfast, but today was not that day.

Earbuds were in, playing something bass heavy and nullifying the rest of the world for her. She had to brace her arm against the mostly dried paint to keep her hands steady, smearing hues of red across her freckled arm. Her head pounded with the beat of the music, begging to be back in bed. Whoever convinced her to sign up for an 8:00am art workshop class needed to be gutted and hanged. However, despite all her bad habits Andrea never missed class. She might be miserable when she got there, but she always did so on time. It would be disgraceful to waste her mother’s hard earned money to do otherwise.

Emerald eyes were hard and focused, leading her hand with trained strokes. She sat cross-legged on her stool, clad in Darth Vader pajama pants and a ratty UoA tank top. Her red hair was thrown in a low messy bun, carelessly looped through the elastic with the care of someone who’s snooze button had been hit numerous times. She was in her element, consumed in her art. Andy didn’t even see the man approaching her from behind.

Michael blinked confusedly at the sound of the alarm now ringing on his phone. The neckbeard then questioned himself for why in God’s sake would he have ever put on an alarm at 6:50 am on a godforsaken Sunday when he knew that he had stayed up till 4 in the morning on his computer doing more than questionable stuff.

It was probably something important, otherwise, he would not have even put on an alarm in the first place. But still, Michael was just way too comfy on his bed to even care ¨… just 5 more minutes¨ the neckbeard said to himself. Grabbing the phone next to his bed, and setting up an alarm to ring in that set amount of time, the neckbeard went back to his interrupted slumber.

After what felt like just a few seconds, Michael finally woke up, yet not to the sound of the alarm he had set on. ¨Weird...¨ Michael said moments before he checked his phone, realizing that he had overslept his alarm. Not only that, he had gotten the day wrong, Sunday had been Yesterday.

Quickly realizing that he only had about 20 minutes before his Monday´s 8 am class, the neckbeard rushed out of bed to deal with his daily routine as fast as possible. Taking a bath now was out of the question, just not enough time. Unluckily as well, Michael now realized that it would be impossible for himself to cook a proper breakfast in time too.

Putting on his usual clothing, along with his fedora, Michael was ready to get to his art class. Grabbing a slice of bread before heading out, the neckbeard began to run.

¨Alright anime, don´t fucking fail me now¨ Michael said before trying to put the piece of bread in his mouth. Yet unfortunately, due to him running at the moment the bread fell flat to the ground.

And just moments before it turned to 8 am, Michael managed to arrive to the classroom. The neckbeard then began to approach his seat before he saw a beautiful red-haired girl whom he had never seen sitting across the room. She was currently having a coffee while she seemingly was being consumed in her own art.

She had a face worth buying physical games from, and along with her Darth Vader pants, she seemed as a Gamerboy´s wet dream

He began to approach the girl, wondering inside his mind, stuff such as if her hair would match her drapes below?.

He was finally in front of the girl, before he cleared his throat and said ¨Hey¨

She could literally feel the stickiness of his wet breath before he was close to her. He smelled like cheese and axe body spray. The dark circles under his arms only added to the aesthetic of a disgusting ball of dead skin cells and moisture. Andy had intended to use her head phones as a reason to pretend not to hear him until he went away. But the stench coming off of him was enough to make her lightheaded so instead she grumpily ripped out one of her earbuds and turned from her painting.

“What could you possibly want from me?”

̈Well- I, you know… uhhh ̈ Well, shit. Michael hadn't planned so far ahead. To be honest, he didn't even expect the girl to respond in the first place. The neckbeard was starting to regret his decision; the sweat starting to roll down his face was an indicator of that.

But he had gotten thus far, and it would be a shame to let it be all for nothing. ̈Well, like, I'm practicing anatomy for… a personal project? ̈ . He hesitated for a moment before finishing his sentence; there was no way in hell that he would ever willingly say out loud that he wanted to draw hentai and post it online… for money, of course.

Michael tried phrasing it the best way he could in his head, so it would end up sounding the least repulsive way possible; and hell, to have the highest probability of her rejecting him on the spot. ̈Yes, a personal project. You see, I am doing a… webcomic?. Which I would like, I dunno, post online and stuff. So… would you be willing to model for me for a bit?̈ Alright, that sounded way better inside of his head, but it was still better than saying it was for a hentai manga.

Andy let out a bitter laugh. It wasn’t soft and musical as if she was amused but instead rough and sarcastic, bewildered by the absolute gall that had just exited Michael’s mouth. She crossed her legs, spinning on her stool to stare at him. He smelled like the back room of a comic book shop, for all she knew he could have just come from a magic the gathering tournament.

“You want me to model? How kind of you!” she asked, the fake sugar dripping from her words would have been enough to send this fat ass into a diabetic coma. It was clear to her what he was avoiding saying, this absolute slime ball was working on some erotic comic. Maybe since he had likely never seen a pair of tits in his life he felt the need to get off by drawing them. She curled her finger to gesture for him to come closer. The boy seemed hesitant at first but finally did lean down closer to her. The redhead did her best to keep from gagging.

"Holy shit It actually worked" Michael thought excitedly once the red-haired girl accepted his proposal. Yet, as excited as he currently was, somewhere deep inside his head there were doubts. For some reason she just seamed way too excited about it; specifically when she curled her finger, suggesting him to come forward.

But the fat man decided to ignore what was probably common sense and leaned over slowly. "Uhhh...Yeah?" Michael said with a bit of doubt once he was close to her. Perhaps she just wanted to say something.

Andy pulled back her clenched fist and punched him right in the adam’s apple. It was surprising how much strength she had, years of working the bow had built up her upper body strength considerably. When the fist connected it knocked all the wind out of the boy’s lungs forcing him to double back. His hands went to his throat, but only the sound of struggled gasps and wheezes came from his mouth.

“Take your disgusting, soggy sketch book and get the fuck away from me.”

In the few critical seconds Michael had before the girl landed the fateful hit, he only had the time to realize that he had probably fucked up.

With not enough time to prepare himself physically, the neckbeard received the full might of the girl's punch on his throat. He had almost fallen to the ground after the hit, yet through mostly sheer luck he managed to stay standing.

He wanted to speak, yet only gasps came out of his mouth. And just as the girl had commanded of him, he began to walk away, having been unable to tell her that his sketch book was in fact not soggy.

~~

November 21st, 2018
The Lodge

The redhead turned at the greeting. She of course knew Michael had been living among them but as to this point had managed to avoid having to converse with him. Her emerald eyes fluttered up from the coffee cup to his round, bulging red face and she scoffed rolling her eyes. Coming up to her a second time was pure idiocy.

Once visual contact had been established with the female, Michael quickly tipped his fedora, gesturing a greeting.

Yet, now that he looked closer at the girl, she just seemed way too familiar, as If he had seen her before all of this. Remembering his now burned down hentai doujinshi, she just struck too much familiarity with the female protagonist of his manga.

Then the neckbeard remembered art class, and the punch from before; now having recognized the girl, Michael said in a quieter voice than usual "Oh fuck".

Andy smirked as recognition crossed his features. Her fingers tensed as they curled into a fist, and she pulled her arm back at the elbow. Before the tub of lard could move out of the way she forcibly punched him in the windpipe. Like some sort of violent dejavu, Michael lifted his hands to his throat as all the air was crushed out of it. He was kneeling on the ground, gasping for air that wouldn’t come.

Without so much as a hair out of place, Andy stood with her coffee cup in her hand and stepped over him. Leaving him crouched and weezing on the kitchen floor, looking for a place to enjoy her coffee that smelled less like corn chips.

Mentioned: Professor Soyboy The Mad Queen Luca the Gangster Brax
Interacted: Andy Maj Michael Hyped_Taco

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

The POWER of RULES

"Chert poberi! Yebat' yebat' yebat'! Net!" Vanessa cried out loudly as she slid down the side of the roof, plummeting towards the ground. Gravelly shingles ripped and shredded the bare skin exposed by her outfit. Turning over onto her stomach, the acrobat clawed at the roof in vain.

The shingle that had come loose under Vanessa's foot and caused her to slip hit the cover of the Generator first, followed by the cursing acrobat who had fought so hard to keep from falling, her fingers had begun to bleed from sliding down the shingles.

An audible thud could be heard as the harlequin landed. Her feet had just missed the generators cover, but the full weight of her torso slammed down onto it hard, knocking all the breath from her lungs at once. A series of loud popping noises emitted from underneath the female jester as the generator below the cover sputtered out, causing all the power on the property to cut off.

It had been a shitty day. Between Ralph’s invasive questions, having to go rescue David and the supplies, and Michael being a fucking mouth breather behind her earlier, Andy was beyond irritated. The cup of coffee in her hand had been nuked in the microwave about four times since Luca had handed it to her this morning. It was now afternoon and she hadn’t even gotten to drink more than half of it. She was finally sitting down, ass halfway to the chair, with the stale cup of coffee when the lights flickered off. The groan that escaped the woman’s lips was dictionary for ‘fed up.’

The noise that was heard outside, assured her that it wasn’t just a fluke in the wiring. With Nile out on his run with Owen and Micheal likely still gasping for air in the other room, Andy wasn’t sure who to blame. However, as she slammed the cup down on the table, sloshing the room temperature liquid over her hand and across the bullet hole filled table. The only thing keeping the mug from cracking was the sentimental value of the object. Exhaling sharply out of her nose, Andy exited the front door and rounded the corner.

Harsh and condescending came the laugh from Andy as she peered at the woman, laying on top of her generator. For an acrobat, the girl didn’t look very graceful. Andy rolled her emerald eyes, a wide sarcastic grin on her face. She supposed, she should have known. Anyone crazy enough to take a mouth sized bite out of Hector was stupid enough to cut off their power supply.

“Wooooow,” Andy whistled. “What happened Thumbalina? Did your tightrope snap?”

Vanessa moved her hands up into position and pushed herself off of the generator with a grunt. Turning around she slid her back down the side of the generators cover and looked over at Andy with a worried and pained expression. "Somethin came loose on the roof." She explained with a wince as she moved her scraped up digits. She had no idea what shingles were, or that they could even come loose. She had been taken completely by supprise in this instance. "T'fucks a Thumbalina?"

“Thumbalina,” Andy explained calmly. “Is a fairy tale character, a woman the size of one’s thumb. She always seems to be getting herself into trouble and waits around for people bigger and stronger than her to come clean up her messes.” Her eyes darkened as she locked eyes with Vanessa. “Get the fuck away from my generator.”

The acrobat slowly rose to get feet, holding her gut as she stood. "Y'know, yer not the meanest person I've ever met." She said as evenly as she could. Every breath she took stung a little. "But yer also far from nice. Ya've been nothin but mean te me since Luca saved me. What did I do te you, eh?"

“I don’t like anyone,” Andy said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t be such a fucking baby.” She pushed past Vanessa to try and look at the generator. It wasn’t like she even knew what she was looking at. Hopefully Aaron’s expertise extended to equipment as well as vehicles.

“You are literally living in my childhood home.” The redhead sneered as she kneeled down beside it. “If I actually hated you, you wouldn’t be here. How much more affectionate do you need me to be? Want me to hold your hand?” Andy mocked in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Wanna cuddle?”

"Piss off, bitch. Ya know jack shite about me."

“So you let the opinions of strangers dictate your emotions then? Cute.”

Vanessa was becoming visibly more agitated. "At least I know how te display an emotion besides anger ya cow!" Vanessa growled back. As her anger grew, her breathing became more rapid, bringing new swaths of pain to her banged up abdominal region.

"You don't know anything about me either," Andy replied as she came up to her feet. "The difference is that I don't give a fuck what you think. I house you, hunt for your food, and you have the audacity to insult me? Where is my life debt? Or do you just save that for big strong men who save your life?" She mocked.

"How the fuck should I know?! After all, I'm just a Silly little fuckin CLOWN aren't I?!" Vanessa spat into the snow angrily. "I don't know what ya've been through, that's true. Maybe that's why I haven't been a bitch to ya despite the way ya talk about me."

"Oh get over yourself," the red head growled. "I treat everyone the same. You aren't special."

"Trakhni tebya. Tol'ko odna veshch' vazhna dlya menya, and it's not you." She said, her mismatched eyes glaring daggers back into Andy's green orbs.

“Both of you need to shut the fuck up.”

The man scowled from behind the two of them as he continued making his way out of the front door. His eyes were usually only half-open, but at the current moment it was due from his sleep being interrupted. By the sound of a large bang. Upon realizing that Vanessa had been standing just under the spot he had found her in this morning, it dawned on the Italian that the woman must have been up on the roof yet again. The frown on his face was unique; it wasn’t his typical apathetic stare. Wrestling a cigarette from the pack and placing the half-bent mess between his lips, his blue hues stared down Vanessa.

“My room is right there.” He pointed at the window, unenthused while his hues remained fixated on the woman. “I’ve heard every single word and still have no idea why the fuck you were on the roof. At least this little monster has a right to be upset with you.” He gestured at Andy.

Vanessa looked downward as the Italian began to scold her. Immediately all anger was gone from her visage, replaced instead by a look of shame. "I.. I'm sorry.." She stammered out. "I didn't mean te fall… something slipped under me foot and…" The acrobat trailed off as she glanced up nervously towards Luca to catch his expression. At this point, she knew she was in trouble, but she wanted to try and gauge his face to see just how far in the hole she was. Luca had been concerned with whether or not the girl had hurt herself but held his tongue on this regard.

"I'll go get Aaron," Andy stated plainly, turning away from the scene. "Hopefully he can have us power before nightfall or it's going to get cold." She walked off, leaving Luca to deal with the crestfallen girl.

“You haven’t answered my question at all.” The man crossed his arms over his chest as Andy took her leave. “I didn’t think I’d need to have a conversation with you regarding this again, but it looks like we’re going to need to go over the shit you can and can’t do around here so this doesn’t happen again. What do you think?” He asked the girl, irritated but trying his best to stay calm. This was the second time the damn generator had been broken within the past few weeks.

Mismatched eyes shot back down to the ground swiftly. He was angry with her. Of this, she had no doubt. His question sounded almost rhetorical but she didn't want to assume, so she answered him for fear of upsetting him more. "Yes sir. I.. I think that is fair."

“C’mon.” He retorted, turning from the girl and making his way back inside. Together the two took a seat at the kitchen table. Honestly, Luca had been prepared to baby the female enough to give her a pen and paper but the weren’t exactly on the receiving end of supplies these days. Vanessa would have to operate off memory or suffer being reminded by the ex-capo of what she is not supposed to do.

“First off, no more standing ominously on rooftops.” Seriously, why the fuck were you even up there? "If you have the opportunity to avoid a fight with other people in the lodge, do so by any means necessary. In fact, don’t put yourself in situations where you can possibly end up doing damage to something you have no business doing damage to. Like, a fucking generator…” This continued on for the next three minutes, with Luca plainly stating things that Vanessa could not do and nothing else. Eventually, the conversation came toward the end-tail as the girl became increasingly uninterested.

“... Don’t eat the animals walking around the lodge, they are pets. Unless it’s a chicken. Then you can eat it.” The two sat in silence as Luca racked his brain for other things that would be worthwhile to add to his long standing shit list but nothing else came to mind. The man eventually leaned back in his chair, the once-burning cigarette now a dead filter resting upon the wooden tabletop.

“You got all that?”

She nodded in response. "Yes sir. I understand." She said, looking up at him as her twisted grin overtook her features. "I understand completely, and I'll be on me best behavior."

“When I was a boy.” The man continued, uninterested in the girl’s pledge. “My father used to tell me that whenever I had a doubt, that I should think of him. What would he do? Would he be happy with the end result if it was good, or bad? Would he be indifferent? Things of that nature. Now, i’m not your father. I am not saying you should ask yourself what I would do in every situation, because plainly put, there’s no way for you to know. You haven’t known me long enough. However, I bet if you use this…” He used two fingers to tap at the side of his own head. “You can probably deduce whether or not I will be happy with the outcome." The ex-capo took out another crumpled cigarette and brought it to his lips, leaning towards Vanessa as he brought flame to the end.

"Don’t make me unhappy.”

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between Dragonlord318 and Cranjis McBasketball myself​

David smiled at Caoimhe's comment about 'The Doc'. "Well, hopefully he doesn't try to be my therapist too. That'd be awkward," he chuckled. This lady seemed nice enough. And she hadn't given away any hints that she was lying. For now, he decided to believe her. Trust would be a different issue that may or may not be built with time. He also noticed the way she stood, as well as marks and lines on her arms and face, and scarring on her knuckles. Though faint, these clues suggested she was a fighter. Whether professional, underground or just for survival, he didn't care. What mattered was that she could handle herself.

He should know. He had plenty of scars under his shirt that he didn't enjoy showing to the rest of the world. He had fought and trained for ten years. When Caoimhe mentioned she thought he was someone else, he furrowed his eyebrows. But before he could ask her what she meant, a twig snapped further into the forest, causing him to draw his sword and get into a defensive stance. As he faced the direction of the sound, he asked, "Anyone out here with you?"

Caoimhe thought about making a joke about her not being alone when David asked, but not only would the man not understand it but it would involve spilling the beans about Maria and her complicated relationship.

There was also the way the man went into a defensive stance. Although the people she fought used their fists, feet and everything in between she recognised a guarded stance anywhere.

She took up one herself, her fists slightly raised.
“No. It's only me. Were you followed?”

He shook his head. "I don't think so." He looked at her, seeing she had no idea what was going either and motioned with his finger to be silent, and motioned with his head in the direction of the sound. He crouched and started walking toward the noise, scanning the area for threats. Caoimhe's eyes widened, her blue marbles following David's gaze as she too scanned the treeline. With her hands still raised, she took great care with every step as to not alert any potential threats that the two of them were aware of their presence. It was unlikely to be wildlife, given the damage done to the forest but it could still be the dead, or worse: people. Had the hazmats tracked them down?

As David walked forward a Chinese man stepped out from behind a tree, smoking a cigarette. "Hello, Baihuabing." David narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Tzeo. What are you doing here," the monk asked.

"Oh, you know." he flicked the finished cigarette to the forest floor before grinding it into the dirt with his shoe. "Same old same old." He whistled and two more men came out from hiding behind the Asian.

David breathed in and out once. "How did you find me?"

A nonchalant look adorned the chinaman's face. "We followed you from China. Not nothing torturing a couple monks and coworkers couldn't solve. Getting information on where you were going was most..." he licked his lips, "exciting." David's face turned angry but he stayed quiet. "Oh!" Tzeo shook his finger in the air. "But we still couldn't find you. Not after you moved to Aurora. Not after you disappeared from the map. Not after the zombie fuckers killed almost all my crew." He shook his head, looked at the ground then back up, smiling. "Yes, we saw you teaching your 'kung fu,'" he accentuated the air with his fingers, then put a hand on his chin, "but every Fucking time you went into the woods, we lost you. Every. Single. Damn. Time. Just like the monastery."

David subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword handle.

Tzeo continued. Caoinmhe looked like she was going to say something, but he waved his hand and one of his cronies pulled out a pistol and trained the sights right on her. "Until you met your new friends. You see," he waved a hand in the air, "I know you, Baihuabing. I know you cannot resist helping someone else. So, when we saw these poor saps in the cabin in the woods, we decided to wait." He crouched down, picked up a leaf and crumpled it up in his hand, then looked at David with a face full of hate. "And we found you, Baihuabang. Oh...we found you." He stood up and paced back and forth. "I gave you the option of joining the Triad. Of having women, and money and sex and freedom!" He raised his hands to the air, then looked at David again. "And how do you repay me? You killed five of my men!"

"They were raping civilians!"

"Pssh. They should have. The sluts on the street need to learn their place. Like your new girlfriend here, and alllll the buddies at the cabin. We're gonna go to your little friends down the road, we're gonna sneak in, and we're gonna have some fun."

David snapped. He burst forward, getting in between the gunman and Caoimhe, then bolted right. Just as he predicted, the gun followed him. The fat Chinese gangster tried to get a bead on the monk, but with his erratic movement and the foliage blocking his way, he couldn't get a good shot. David was on him in seconds. The large man fired just as David got underneath his arms. The bullet grazed his shoulder, but he didn't feel the pain. Knowing he had to protect Caoimhe and the lodge fueled his adrenaline immensely.

Caoimhe had stood back, awaiting the next move of David when the stranger stepped out. He could monologue all he want but Caoimhe remained silent, waiting for any kind of opening. David’s friend was cocky, and that was something she could easily use. However, things changed when a gun was pulled on the woman. Caoimhe completely froze up, holding her breath as her eyes went wide. Her arms fell to the side as her blue marbles went empty.

The first thing to greeted Maria when the woman woke up was the cold air. It actually took her a few seconds to notice the gun. Hazmats? No, they weren't dressed the part. All that mattered was that they had a gun trained on her. The first action she took was to assess the situation. Three men, one of them very cocky and apparently another man by her side. As she scanned all three of her potential attackers the woman watched as the tall man dived forwards and took a bullet to the shoulder as he wrestled with the gunman.



That left two for her. Checking on her ally would have to wait, but as the gunshot rang through the air the woman dashed forwards. As one of the men reached for his weapon she came in hard with a knee to the gut, knocking the air out of him as she grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him once more, this time going for the face. As blood flowed from the man’s nose he struck Maria in the face with his own head, sending the woman back and caking her white face in the man’s blood.

Wiping the blood away the man stepped forwards, gritting his teeth and muttering curses in a language Maria didn't understand.

With her firsts raised, she took her stance once more. Arms up, legs slightly apart for balance.
“Ya hit like a girl!” She called at the man.
Don't forget to get in your opponent's head. Trash talk, ‘em. Say a nasty thing about their mother. Make ‘em mad. Make ‘em stupid.

Martin’s words of wisdom echoed in her mind. “Bet yer ma hits harder! Musta done a number on ya anyway!”

She may not have understood him but the question as to whether he could understand her was quickly answered as the man growled and ran forwards. Behind a blood covered face were a set of angry eyes.
But Maria was waiting on that. As he ran in, she stepped to the side and struck him in the back with a heavy kick. David walked away from his quarry calmly, wiping his sword clean of blood. He moved his right shoulder around, trying to familiarize himself with the pain as he walked past Caoimhe and her opponent, whose attitude had completely changed from a wary girl to a frenzied fighter.

The one who was responsible for the minor wound lay motionless on the grass and dirt, his head lying a few feet away from his body, and his severed right arm still attached to the pistol that had been thrown to the side. The monk slowly sheathed his blade as he walked slowly up to Tzeo, his eyes burning with rage. The defacto gang leader - of a group that got smaller by the second - lost all his bravado as he stepped backwards, nearly frozen in fear.

In China, even in New York this one man feared nothing because of the power of the Triad. But when he realized that the Triad wasn't here to help him any longer, and not even a pistol was effective against a trained, combat-experienced Shaolin Monk, well...his pants were a little browner than usual. As Caoimhe was busy with her 'friend', David slowly got closer to Tzeo as he was backed up to a large oak. The monk leaned forward, put a hand bext to the other side of his enemy's head and whispered in his ear. "You are going to regret ever saying that the women on the street are sluts." He drew his head back and heard a few more hits, male grunts of pain, telling him Caoimhe was doing well. "Who else is with you, Tzeo?"

Her opponent was knocked back against a tree with a strong kick, and Maria stood ready. The woman was dead silent, behind her eyes little more than daggers as the Beast of Derry had awakened.

After catching his breath, the man reached for his belt. Maria saw the gun before his hand was on it and kicked it away, following it up with a strong punch to the throat. The air knocked out of him once more, Maria grabbed him by the head and shoved him against the tree. As blood flowed from the front and left side of her opponent's head, Maria finished him off with another knee to the face.

“Stay down.” She muttered, watching as the man slumped to the ground. Her eyes scanned the forest, seeing one of her attackers down while the other found himself pinned down by the tall man. Another stepped from the treeline, a knife in hand with his sights set on the tall man. She sprung into action, dashing forward and blindsiding him with a tackle.

He didn't go down easy. After a moment of being dazed, he quickly came to his senses and swung the blade towards Maria’s face. The first swung missed by inches as the woman stepped back, and the second was blocked as Maria held his arm back. However, the woman was so focused on what lay in front of her that she didn't see another figure approach from the treeline. When in the ring, you aren't expected to be jumped and the beast was suited to the ring.

As the other kept at her from behind, Maria lost her grip on the man’s arm. It was just for a second but it was more than enough for the knife to dig into her shoulder.
She yelled on pain, but gritted her teeth and maintained her focus. Throwing her head back, she impacted against the other attacker and kicked forwards, sending the knife-wielding man off of her.

With the blade in her shoulder, Maria stared him down. Her blue daggers were full of fury, her teeth gritted like an animal.

Once more, the woman said nothing and charged forwards. Blow after blow was struck, some impacting while others were blocked or side-stepped.
But she was relentless, with two blows to the side of the head disorienting the attacker. Grabbing him by the head she pulled him down and brought her left knee up to his face. Still dazed, she never allowed him to regain his composure as droplets of blood flew through the air.
The second attacker came up from behind, but she was ready from him this time.

Reaching for her back, Maria wasn't sure if the bat would still be there but she also remembered another lesson left by Martin.
Sometimes ya just gotta rely on luck. Ya could be the best fighter in da world but the cards just aren't in yer favor. Ya take the hand yer dealt and ya keep goin’. Sometimes the next hand ‘ill work out.

The aluminium bat was still there, and Maria brought it across the side of the attacker’s chest, following it up with a punch to the throat.
With the air knocked out of him, he went down. The knife-wielding attacker was all that remained, and Maria’s blue daggers were trained on him now.

After David found out from Tzeo that all the Triad members that had followed him from China were dead except for the four that were with him, he sighed and ended the gangster's life. He heard Caoimhe's cry of pain and saw two more opponents that seemingly came from nowhere, one unconscious and the other hurt, but so was she, though she had a metal bat in her hand now. The monk growled and rushed forward. As the last chinaman was about to swipe at Caoimhe again, his hand fell to the forest floor after the shiiing of steel and the meaty sound of metal on flesh was heard.

Not wasting a second, David pushed the blade into the man's stomach, but he couldn't get it back out. After a quick inspection, it seemed he had lodged it in the tree behind the assailant. As David turned around, he saw Caoimhe standing there with her shoulder bleeding and the bat inches from his face. She must've been about to swing when he ran up. Just then, the unconscious man got up behind her with a pistol in his hand. The monk spun to get behind the MMA fighter and moved the gun out of Caoimhe's line of fire just as the weapon was shot. He grabbed the barrel and pulled up toward the thug, then back down and out, releasing his enemy's grip on the deadly device.

He spun around again, emptied the magazine and ejected the the round in the chamber. He nodded at Caoimhe, motioning for her to stay back as he approached the would-be murderer of his friend. The chinaman swung at David and he simply moved his head back to avoid it. A right kick to his left leg, and he brought his left hand down to block it. A left elbow to the right side of his face, and David moved his right hand up to divert it. The man was infuriated that he couldn't land a hit, then started swinging wildly.

David expertly parried and blocked the strikes that weren't as fast as they could've been thanks to the number Caoimhe did on him. When he saw an opening, his left hand came up and struck the man in the throat. As he gagged for air, David moved forward, placed his left foot behind the man and twisted his body in an elbow to the chest. Just like the cannibal's demise, the man fell back and David landed on him with his knees, cracking a few ribs in the process. David wanted Caoimhe to see his ability, to see that she had a friend who knew how to protect her, even if she knew how to fight as well. After grabbing the downed man's throat, David twisted. With a crunch, the Asian drew no more breath and their final opponent was down.

He stood up, trying to catch his breath and looked at the redhead, nodding once and seeing her shoulder. "Damn. Let's get to the lodge. I just stocked the guys up on medical supplies, so we can get you all fixed up there. By the way," he said as they walked, "you're a beast, Caoimhe." He held out a closed hand for a fist bump.

Maria folded her arms and watched the tall man at work as he dispatched the remaining attackers, her gaze following him. She didn’t want them to die, but jumping to their rescue could result in her own death. She had no idea who the tall man was, after all and this could’ve been just a case of mutual enemies.

However, when the man offered a fist bump and called Caoimhe’s name her gaze narrowed and the woman pushed his arm down.
“What the fuck is goin’ on ‘ere. Who the ‘ell were those guys, and why did you kill them!?” She growled. She stepped up to the man, and although he may have towered above her Maria still managed to stand her ground as she peered daggers up into his eyes.

“And finally, gobshite...My name is Maria, not Caoimhe. Start talkin’.”

Interactions: Angry Chinese mobsters
Mentions: Doctor Friendly/Ralph

 

[BloodLightning27]

Teen Mom Meets Acrobat - Collab between myself and TheMightyRedLemon​

Vanessa sat at the kitchen table for what felt like hours after Luca had gotten up and left her there. The scrapes on her arms and legs stung as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. It surprised her greatly when all she got was a light scolding and a talking to, especially after a mistake as big as wrecking the generator. The acrobat shuddered as she thought about what a mistake of that scale would have earned her in the circus. Just remembering her past punishments caused the scars on her back to ache. Her mismatched eyes scanned the room nervously for a moment before darting back down to the table, her mind still processing her new list of rules.

With another mostly unproductive day, Shinoa was starting to feel a little dejected. Aside from the Zombie Attack that happened recently, she hadn't done too much outside of the shooting session with Colt that was unfortunately cut short. Then there was the matter of her trying to find her Grandmother, or wanting to do so, but everyone seemed to be too busy with their own affairs to even lend her the extra hands. And going alone was just too dangerous. Plus if she was going to go do something that important, she would need someone to watch Baby Valerie. With her daughter sleeping after breastfeeding, Shinoa decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet. She settled down in the living room and proceeded to clean her new weapon, thinking about the departures of Jenna and Brian.

"Sod off Yuri, I'm not sulkin." Vanessa said as she stood. Sitting here would only lead to her increased boredom, so what better to do then to go back up to Colts room to annoy her for entertainment. Arms behind her back she made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room area, quietly approaching the stairs.

Shinoa set her blade down upon hearing another voice. "Everything okay?" She asked, looking back to see a woman about to ascend the stairs.

The acrobat froze as she took the first step. She hadn't noticed the other woman on the couch. With a twisted grin, her head turned slowly and her dual colored eyes stared back at the source of the question, the dark bruising on her left eye making the grey colored iris stand out more than normal. "Why sure it is. If ya don't like lights." She said in a kind tone.

"I didn't even notice. I guess I thought the moon light would be enough." She responded. "Did something happen to the Generator? Its kinda a little late for those cannibals to be attacking, let alone I don't think anyone's stupid enough to sabotage it." The young mother was unaware of what happened, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Indeed," Nessa began. "It is broken. I fell on the motherfucker."

Shinoa folded her arms. "And how did that manage to happen?"

"Ya say that like hour mad..." The acrobat noted, clearly attempting to avoiding the question.

Shinoa simply went back to cleaning the blade. "I am going to go ahead and assume that you fell really hard or something, since I cannot find another viable explanation."

Vanessa began to chuckle lightheartedly. "Well it did hurt quite a lot." She said as she moved from the steps to stand before the unknown woman and, with a showy bow, she introduced herself. "Vanessa McUlann, Acrobat."

"Shinoa Bradford...Teen Mom." She smirked a bit before getting comfortable on the couch, thinking about her daughter. "So what's a girl like you doing in a place like Aurora?"

Seating herself on the floor, Vanessa looked up at Shinoa and replied. "Me circus troupe set up 'ere. I was in the middle 'o preformin when the Mortverts came." She looked down at her scraped up hands and moved her fingers around, causing the tingle of pain to play across the exposed skin. "I was on the trapeze when it happened."

"That's an interesting term for zombies. With how crowded it can be, its a good thing you made it out alive. I thought I was a goner, but I lucked out too. Stealth was my best friend. How did you make it out without a scratch?"

Leaning in closer, Vanessa smiled again, this time more wickedly than before. As her cheeks shot up, her scar contorted around the edge of her lips. "D'ya want te hear the truth, or somethin funny as 'ell?"

"I'll take the honest answer. Can't be any more bizarre then what I went through." Shinoa shrugged and looked up to see the woman's smile.

She seemed to consider Shinoa's response for a moment, her head tilting to the side. How best to answer her question? With a sigh, Vanessa straightened her head and met the the teens gaze. "Well... the others who were preformin' the trapeze with me were an adequate distraction fer me to get down." She finally answered as the smile crept onto her face a third time, more eire this time, but it faded away quickly. "After that I met up with me Ringmaster Yuri, along with a few others from the circus as well as me brother. They... expired. "

"Expired...that's an interesting term for death..." Shinoa responded. "Guessing you just, ran like the wind and didn't look back? I didn't really get to do that when the outbreak first happened."

Hysterical laughter erupted from the purple clad harlequin who began to sway back and forth where she sat. "Far from!" She guffawed. All at once her laughter stopped, her lighthearted demeanor disappearing in a blink. The same eire grin was plastered across her cheeks but her eyes seemed to dull in color as if the light behind them had flickered and blown out. "I'm the one what un-alived 'em."

Vanessa was certainly very strange and was starting to creep Shinoa out. How did she end up at the Lodge? And who was she connected to? Shinoa had more questions then answers. "Well, definitely weirder then my escape."

"Can I ask you an odd question?"

"I may have an odd answer."

"Fuck is that thing yer messin with there?" Vanessa asked, gesturing to the blade in her hands. "Don't think as te me havin seen one before."

"It was...a gift. A friend gave it to me before he...disappeared." Shinoa answered honestly as she went back to cleaning it.

"Right, that's great and all but... t'fuck is it?" She inquired quizzically.

"Its a Wrist-Blade." She proceeded to strap it to her wrist. With the flick of her wrist, the blade retracted.

Vanessa's eyes widened in surprise as the blade disappeared from sight. "How the feck does it work?" She asked as she began to move close, her eyes focused on the contraption.

"I don't know. My friend just gave it to me and...left." Shinoa responded, flicking her wrist and the blade emerged from its hiding spot.

"I don't know much about friends, seein' as I've never actually had one, but ya don't seem happy about him leavin'. Aren't friends suppose te make ya happy?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't friends with me for a long time or anything. He just had a lot of bad luck and people got hurt because of it." She shrugged, unsure of what else to say about Brian, given everything that has transpired within the last two weeks or so.

"I see..." the acrobat said in a drawn out, unsure manner. In truth, she didn't understand in the slightest. She shook her head and looked away from Shinoa. "I don't have any friends, but if I did…" Vanessa looked back up at the young mother. "I'd want them te stay."

Shinoa felt like she had very little room to talk, as she made friends very easily and they often stuck around. However, that changed when she got pregnant. She was completely alone after moving away from Maine. Sure there was facebook, but with everything shut down, she was in unfamiliar territory. "We don't always get what we want." She frowned.

'What we want?' Vanessa thought. What exactly was it that she wanted anyway?

When she though about it the only things she wanted were the things she needed to survive. She hadn't considered the luxury of wanting something in depth before. Wanting something never got her anywhere in the circus, but being obedient did. Vanessa let out a sigh as her eyes fell back onto the floor of the lodge. When she spoke again, her voice seemed blank. It was a line she had heard all too often as a young child in the circus, and her tone reflected that heavily. "When ya stop chasing what yer mind wants... ya get what yer soul needs."

Mentioned: Luca Brax , Brian, Jenna The Mad Queen

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

The following is a collaboration piece by shadowz1995 and myself, The Almighty Red Lemon

The Cyclops And The Harlequin ​

The cellar door slowly creaked open, casting light down into the darkness. Taking a deep breath, Vanessa began her descent. Once she reached the bottom, she glanced around, looking for the familiar one eyed face of the doctor who made this cellar his home. She wasn't sure just how badly he would be affected by the broken generator, but considering the lights were out, she figured he wouldn't be too happy. That mattered little however, as the young acrobat needed to speak with the man. Her body still hurt from her mishap and as the good doctor had pointed out her first day at the lodge, she didn't know what she was doing when it came to fixing herself up.


"Hello…?" Vanessa's uncertain voice called out, cutting through the darkness as it broke the silence. "Doc..? Ya down 'ere?"


She continued forward into the room, moving away from the base of the stairs. She had left the cellar door open so that some light might guide her path, but it was doing little to illuminate the area before her. Suddenly, Vanessa felt a hand clasp her shoulder. Startled, she turned her head, expecting to find Hector towering over her. What she saw instead made her already pale skin turn a more sickly shade of white.


"Vy snova upali. Kak ya razocharovan v tebe, Vanessa." Yuri said with malice dripping from his tone. He looked down sternly at the young woman and began to tighten his grip on her shoulder, causing her to wince. "Kazhetsya, vy dolzhny byt' nakazany snova."


"N...net.. Ty ne nastoyashchaya." The acrobat whimpered quietly. "Ty ne nastoyashchaya. Ty ne nastoyashchata. Pozhaluysta, perestan' muchit' moy razum…"


"Ms. McUlann." The doctor called from the top of the stairs. Her voice seemed distressed and slightly panicked. "Come out of the darkness. The power seems to have gone out across the lodge and put my research on hold." A flashlight turned on and illuminated the dark cellar with its cylindrical brightness. Though from where Hector was at, he could only see her feet. "Is everything alright?"


The acrobat looked up as she heard Hector's voice. Her chest felt tight as she looked between the light coming from the stairs and Yuri's face. "D.. doc?" The young woman was clearly rattled, the fear practically oozing from her tone. She knew that what she saw wasn't real, the doctor had told her as much, but he seemed so very real. Yuri put a finger over his lips and shushed her as he smiled wickedly down at her. "Obrashcheniye za pomoshch'yu ne prineset pol'zy." Yuri sneered. "Tak chto ne pytaysya krichat'."


"Ms. McUlann?" He asked again, with a bit more energy this time. He could see her shuffling around and the tone in her voice caused the hair on his neck to stand on end. Something was wrong. It was never in the doctor's nature to hesitate and he didn't start here. The medic's sidearm was pulled free of its holster and the doc proceeded downstairs slowly the light aiming in the direction Vanessa was facing. The light barely moved as the large man descended once he was about to see what the young woman was facing, his beretta was already aimed in that direction. It wasnt until the older man reached the bottom that he realized nothing was down there but Nessa still looked as panicked as if something was. "Ms. McUlann…. Vanessa. What is…" That was when the doctor noticed her injuries. His brow furrowed for a moment in thought. The panicked expression and physical condition didn't make for a good combination but jumping to conclusions wasn't ever the way to act. He wordlessly scanned the room for any intruders before looking at the woman in silence for answers.


The terrified women shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears in an attempt to ignore the specter of her dead ringmaster. "Doc I… I don't know what… he… he seems so real… make him go away!" She pleaded desperately.


"Follow me." He ordered. He took the girls hand and led her upstairs, out of the darkness and into the light of day. "Look into the flashlight." He said with authority. The girl did as told, the flashlight blinding her as he the doctor flicked it on and off rapidly. When she started recoiling from how much it was bothering her sight came the strike she wasn't expecting. A light, but loud impact turned her 90 degrees to one side. The doctor had slapped her. She felt confusion and even anger bubble up in response but before it could take hold, Hector closed the distance and held her whole face in his hand, turning it to and fro, examining her. "Do you still see the one you call Yuri?" He asked neutrally. The panic had left her eyes, mostly dominated by shock and confusion now.

Vanessa blinked rapidly in surprise as she tried to process what had just transpired. Her eyes, finally able to focus again, fell on Hector's own grey orb. "I.." She began, a hint of panic still in her tone "No… he is gone." The acrobat finally admitted. Immediately, Vanessa wrapped her arms around Hector in a hug as she started to sob softly. "I was scared… I.. I kept tellin meself he wasn't really there but… but he seemed so real… I could Feel him doc… He.. he grabbed me and I could feel it….."


Dr. Salazar allowed the girl her small comfort, patting her back lightly as she cried against him. It was, again, something he had become very accustomed to over his years of medical service. It sounded like it was her first auditory and visual hallucinations. Given by the state of her body, provoked by stress and the uncertainty of being in complete darkness. Poor girl. "It's alright, Niña. Just breathe." He replied quietly before adding, "I think we should stay away from total darkness until we get you that medication I was speaking of, hm?"


She nodded her head slowly. "O..okay…" She sniffled, looking up at him. "... I'm sorry doc… I feel so stupid.. he wasn't even there… but it felt so real I couldn't…" she shook her head to clear it of the panicked thoughts that were continuing to form. Finally, her grip slacked and she let go of Hector, stepping back a little so as to give the large man some space. Vanessa honestly felt disgusted with herself for bothering this man with her tears. It it had been Yuri that saw her crying like this, she would have been punished for causing a racket.


Slowly she began to pace her breathing, bringing it back down to a normal rate. Each intake and exhalation still hurt her midsection slightly, causing her breathing to sounds slightly pained and ragged. The pain wasn't unbearable, but it was annoying to deal with even when she wasn't panicking.


"Well, if you can cry it means your ribs aren't broken." Hector noted, his eyes falling on her bruised skin. The doctor knelt down and gently prodded the purple-black hues of trapped blood that glared out angrily against her pale skin. "Still, it is better to be safe than sorry." The doctor turned his head to make sure they had some privacy before turning back to his patient, "If you can remove the top piece of your dress please. I need to properly feel for any cracks since I don't have an x-ray here"


"Y..you want me te What?!" Vanessa asked looking bewildered. She realized the doctor didn't intend anything nefarious, but it didn't make the situation less awkward. Without looking up, the man repeated himself. "The top part of your clothing, that covers your torso, which is currently damaged, needs to be visually and physically assessed, because I don't have an x-ray machine."


She nervously glanced around for a moment, then hesitantly began to undo the front three buttons on her outfit. Once she had, her hands reached behind her and began to untie the lace of the garment below the external piece so that it loosened up. Grabbing the front edge, the acrobat pulled up, exposing her bruised stomach to the cold air.


Salazar immediately set to work. His eye narrowed as he focused, letting his fingers glide against the obvious initial markings. He began from the sternum and gently prodded with well-practiced, experienced fingers. It took all of five seconds to find the underlying issue there. He then followed along each individual rib, asking Nessa to move herself appropriately to allow his examination to continue. Whether that be positioning herself in a certain fashion or moving her breasts out of the doctor's path. Next up was the extremities. The girl's arms, hands, and knees were scraped up something bad, but once Hector cleared away the mess of coagulated blood and dirt, it was clear nothing was wrong with it. A good shower and daily cleaning would be more than enough to deal with that.


It took roughly five minutes of careful, detailed studying but it was quicker than anyone else Hector knew could pull off. With a nod, he signaled the young woman to get decent again. As she dressed herself, he explained, "No ribs are broken. Some swelling and minor bleeding. The bruising will get worse for a few days as the body reabsorbs the blood through the muscles." Hector then pointed to the center of her chest. Between the breasts and about four inches below the clavicle. "That's is where you need to worry about the most. It's small but there is a minor hairline fracture on your sternum. The bone has a small crack on the surface. It should be nothing to worry about as long as you don't make any large, sudden movements with your arms. The muscles will pull on it and possibly worsen the crack."


With a small grunt of effort, the older man pushed himself off of his knee and stood up straight once more, towering over her. "How did you come about those injuries in the first place? Another fight?"


"N..no I um… I fell from the roof…" Admitted shamefully, her eyes darting down. "And I didn't have the best landin…"


"The roof? Why were you on the roof?"


"Well…" Vanessa started. "I.. I would go up te get away from everythin…" she admitted. "Its stupid.. I know… but It made me feel like things were gonna be alright…"


It was obvious that Hector was not following her train of thought by his slightly arched eyebrow. His expression quickly became unreadable once he put two and two together. "Are you the reason there is no power in the lodge right now?"


"I didn't mean to! Something came loose on the roof! How was I suppose te know that would happen?" She retorted defensively, although her tone sounded slightly defeated, as though she knew there was no proper excuse. "I never fall… how was I suppose te expect that….?"


"Vanessa, the minor inconveniences like hot water aside, are you aware of what you have done?" He asked, his look slowly turning into an irritated glare. "You put a complete halt to my research progress. Do you know that? The entire fate of this lodge, this city, and possibly humanity could fall upon me to do this study as soon as possible before the virus takes everyone or God forbid, mutates into something unrecognizable. You put a damper on that because you wanted to 'get away'? There is an entire forest of solitude for you to get away into. Plenty of trees to climb if you like heights. You could have taken a walk. Instead you scale the building and sit on the roof and then fall off and hamper my research. Are you truly aware of what your idiocy has brought about?" He asked, the irritation clear in his voice but never wavering from the cold, collected mannerisms he always displayed.


"I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Now it seemed she was to be scolded yet a third time. Still better than getting lashed with a whip for it…, she thought to herself.


"How was it that you hurt your ankle again? When we first met."


Vanessa thought back to about a week ago when Luca had found her. "I'm not sure what caused it… I was tryin te get into the apartment below the one I was stayin in… but I was attacked by mortverts. In my haste to get away I kicked one in the chin and flung meself back over the guardrail of the second floor… that's when I noticed it hurt."


"So, you admit that you can get careless and fall. Why would the roof be any different? My poi-"


"I didn't fall back then!" She cut him off in protest. "I was down there on purpose… I had no food! I went down te find some food but had te make a quick escape. I flung meself up. I didn't fall."


"Whether on purpose or not, falling is falling. My point is," he continued, " What if you had had an episode like just now while you were up there? I'm good, Ms. McUlann but I can't fix a broken neck with the tools I have at my disposal. At least until we get your schizophrenia under control, don't do anything that you know is risky. You aren't stupid, Vanessa. Stop acting like you are."


"Yuri couldn't climb…" She said quietly, looking at her feet. Her fingers gripped the fabric of her skirt and fumbled with it uncomfortably. "That's why I like te go up te high places…. He doesn't bother me when I'm up high…"


With a sigh, the doctor shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. I'll talk to some people and see if we cant make some accommodations. At least until we get you your medicine. But until then, no high places on the lodge. Climb a tree."


Vanessa looked up at the doctor with an argumentative expression. "N..not even the rafters?" She asked, sounding worried. She had hidden her things up in the rafters of Colts room, after all. Including the strange Chinese sword she had stolen from David.


"The rafters are fine… I suppose."


Her eyes lit up a little bit as Hector told her this. At least she would have some safe haven. Even if it didn't get her completely away from Yuri's voice, at least he would not be able to touch her as he had down in the cellar.


"Thank you doc."

 

[Dragonlord318]

MMA Meets Kung Fu
Final Part: Bonds Forged

(Collab Between Myself and The Mad Queen )​

David stopped when the fiery redhead saddled up to him and tried staring him down from her lower height. Or was she staring him up? Regardless, he didn't have time to think about the humor of the situation because this woman just claimed to be someone completely different than before, and essentially ignored the fact that Tzeo was trying to kill him and rape her.

Needless to say, he was a tiny bit upset. "What are you talking about Caoimhe?! You heard him! He was gonna try and rape you, and if he got past us, he was gonna try and kill everyone in the lodge!!! What is wrong with you?! Are you deaf? You were standing right there when Tzeo said he was gonna do all that and now you're acting like nothing happened?! And who is Maria? You told me your name was Caoimhe! Were you lying just to earn my trust?"

What the hell had Caoimhe gotten them involved in? If her companion was telling the truth, at least Maria knew why she’d woken up.

“Like he’d ‘ave been able to.” Maria scoffed. The woman took one step back from the tall man, her arms folded over each other. Her back faced him now as she stared back in the direction of the lodge.

Even if she didn't agree with how he’d dealt with it, the tall man seemed to be one of the good guys and although she probably could’ve taken most of the attackers alone, one slip up, one tiny error and the woman would be lying dead in the forest.

She owed him something at least.
“Feck!” She spat “Look, I weren't lyin’ when I said my name was Caoimhe, not exactly...It’s just.” She shook her head, still facing away from him “It's complicated.”

David stood still as she turned around and said what she had to say. After she was done, he ran everything through his head quickly, recapping what had just happened. He breathed in, then out, and closed his eyes.

He saw the battlefield from a third person point of view. He focused on Caoimhe and saw her relax to the point of shock and unconsciousness, then saw how she changed dramatically, both in personality and body language. Rewind back to when they met. She was disarmed, curious and apprehensive. Fast-forward. She's angry, agitated and hyper.

A few seconds later, David opened his eyes. Based on the review of her trait changes coupled with what she was saying now, he had a pretty good guess as to what was going on. He looked at his new friend and decided to jump for it. He walked forward slowly and laid a soft hand on her uninjured shoulder. In as gentle of a voice as he could muster, he said, "It's ok, Maria, I understand. You're two people."

Maria immediately pushed the hand away, and spun around to face David with the daggers in her eyes returning.
“Get yer hand off me.” She hissed “I don't want yer pity, ya feckin’ mountain. Don't need that shite, either.”

Poking a finger into his chest, she continued to glare up at the man.
“We never had this conversation. You so much as whisper a word ‘a this to people at that lodge and I’ll give ya an extra hole.”

David held his hands up. "Look. I got you. Don't worry about it. But," he looked directly in her eyes, unafraid of the Beast of Derry. "Now you know the two of you aren't alone anymore." With that, he walked over to the Chinaman stapled to the tree and - with some difficulty - removed his sword, causing the body to slump to the ground. He sighed. Mr. Brasi wouldn't be happy about this. After he sheathed his weapon he looked back at her. "Can I at least sew your shoulder up?" He knew she - they - were scared and alone, and that's all they knew. Most people didn't understand D.I.D. and mostly likely rejected her. They felt...alone. That's the only way he could describe what he was seeing. Hopefully he'd be able to change that, to let them know they're not alone anymore.

Something came to his mind. "By the way, you might just wanna use one name with the folks at the lodge. It'll help not to have conversations like this. Whoever was awake when you first made contact..." he waved his hand, "that's probably the name you should stick with, regardless of which one's talking."

“Let's just get back to the lodge. Those dead shites follow noise and in case you haven't noticed, there was one ‘ell of a racket.” Maria shook her head, looking away from David's gaze.

“I'm sure someone there can do it anyway.”
Maria sighed, running a hand down her face “I was awake when I dragged my arse over here, but I know Caoimhe's talked to folks since then. And I know she’ll not take too kindly to bein’ called ‘Maria’ all the time.”

Squeezing the ridge of her nose Maria took in a long and drawn out breath.
“Feck my life.” The woman muttered under her breath. She slowly turned to face David “Alright. I appreciate the concern, love but I’ll manage. We both will. I don't need a friend, and if you try to play therapist with Caoimhe she will kick your head in.”

She reached into her pocket and produced the notebook.
“This is how we chat. I leave wee messages and she does back. Makes life a lot easier on both of us. I’m going to write down that ya know and that if she wants to, she can talk to ya. She might talk to ya, she might not.” She offered David a smile “I can't force her to do anythin’. The moment I realised that things were easier on both of us...But I will ask.”

David shrugged."Hopefully she'll get used to it. If she doesn't, she's gonna have more conversations like this," he pointed between them both, "with people much less understanding than I am." He continued listening and got a silly smirk on his face, then turned super-serious. "So." He put up his hand and licked his lips, then adjusted his stance as though he were someone contemplating the universe. He counted his digits one by one. "Don't ever try to help you physically. Never ever ever give advice or comfort of any kind, and if you're about to die, let you two handle it." His eyes widened suddenly and he dropped to his knees, bowing like a Muslim. "Forgive me Your Eminence! I did not know I was in the presence of DEITY!" He fake sobbed, "Please have mercy on your humble servant!"

He got up from his fake worship, a huge, stupid grin on his face. He noticed the notebook and nodded when she explained it, the grin turning to a soft smile. "Make sure to let her know that I don't mind what's going on in there," he pointed to her head, "and that I'm totally zip-lipped, huh?" He sheathed the now-clean sword. "Don't want a sucker punch 'cuz she thinks I'm a...what's the word? A…'shite'?"

Maria just rolled her eyes at David’s sarcasm, scoffing at the fake bow.
“Last time someone called me a Diety it was after I’d knocked the shite outta ‘em.” She lightly chuckled “I don't know if she’ll care too much about yer opinion, if at all. Only person who's opinion mattered to her…”

Her smile faded, her eyes turning heavy as the woman looked away.
“Outside of ‘im though, sometimes she values mine. Sometimes. Everyone else is, as ya said…A shite.”

David laughed. "I definitely believe you're both capable of driving any sane man to call you that." He gestured to her handiwork behind them. "And you're right. Zombies are definitely going to have heard the gunshots. But, based on my experience, if the sounds die off immediately after, tbey lose interest and find something else to occupy their precious time." He noticed her visible distress over the memory of "him", but he decided to leave it alone due to the wishes of Maria/Caoimhe that she had expressed.

He decided to change the subject to get her mind off of it. "Hey. Maybe tell everyone Maria's your first name and Caoimhe's your middle, and you alternate between them randomly." He shrugged. "Might help." He then sighed as he remembered his own wounds and touched his shoulder, drawing back blood on his hand. He made sure not to let Maria see as he closed his fist to hide the red substance. It didn't matter though, as he red spot on his left arm was present under its bandage, him having re-opened the wound during the scuffle.

After looking back at her, he said, "Anytime you or her want someone to talk to outside of each other," he raised his arms, wanting to demonstrate his openness. However, in doing so, he revealed the bloody hand and his shoulder pain as he winced significantly due to the effort. "I'm here." His voice was strained and he closed his fist again, leaning to one side from the shoulder pain. "Let's get to the lodge and get bandaged up. I'm done playing your hero for now." He stood up after the majority of the pain subsided and started walking in that direction, solidifying his decision. "We'll get one of the guys to clean up the bodies. Again." The last word was whispered, referencing the cannibals he had dispatched just yesterday.

Maria sighed and made her way over to the bodies. Reaching for her knife, the woman made short work by plunging the knife into the heads of every single one of the deceased attackers.

“Not takin’ any chances.” She glanced back at David. “The virus, or whatever the fuck it is makes the dead get up again. Need ta destroy the brain.”
She wiped the knife against the ground, leaving a smear of blood.

“Let's go. Ya don't want those wounds to get infected.” It took the woman a few moments to remember where she was, but the route back to the lodge became clear to her as she followed after David.

They weren't as far away as she had thought. As the lodge came into view, a wave of relief washed over the woman. Although she had only arrived at the lodge recently, it at least felt a bit more homely than the outside world.

It was safer, at least.

Mentioned: Mr. Brasi ( Brax )

 

[The Mad Queen]

​

The sound of gunshots echoing through the woods caught Dr Fisher's attention, and he turned in the direction of the sound like a deer in headlights. Drawing his pistol, and checking the clip he slowly made his way towards it. Somebody could be hurt, but Ralph knew that just hobbling towards the sound at full speed was not only idiotic, it was downright suicidal.

And the good Doctor had too much to live for.

By the time he reached the scene, any skirmish had long since finished. The scattered bodies of several men lay on the forest floor, all of them with wounds in the side of their heads. Scanning the area with his cow brown eyes, Fisher approached the first body. The stab to the brain hadn't killed him, that was just to ensure he didn't get back up. Whatever had killed the men, it seemed to be relentless. The lack of bites and position of the bodies told Ralph all he needed to know though, their killer had been human.

Pulling his medical mask over his face, he knelt down and started to inspect one of the bodies that lay against a tree. Something had pinned him against it, a blade.
Fisher turned pale. Had Tre done this? Ralph had seen the teen carry a sword before. The idea that somebody so young now had blood on his hands made Fisher's stomach turn. Outside of Michael, he was the only one at the lodge Ralph had seen carrying a sword and it wasn't like Michael had any actual skill with the blade.

"No." He muttered to himself, checking the body again. He checked and re-checked all of the bodies several times before letting out a heavy sigh of relief.
Based on the position of injuries, and the force the killer couldn't be Tre. The teenager wasn't short by any means, at least not for his age but whoever had killed the men had been much larger.
The wave of relief that had enveloped Ralph only lasted a manner of seconds before his brown eyes went wide once again and the knot in his stomach returned with a vengeance.

They weren't alone in the woods. What if the individual who had killed the men was watching Ralph or worse, was on his way to the lodge? Taking in his surroundings, Fisher started to hobble back to the lodge, letting out a grunt in pain as his injury did it's best to slow him down. Making his way through charred pine, the Doctor stopped in his tracks when he noticed a tall figure walking into the lodge.

He was talking with Maria, and the man seemed to be hurt. He watched for a minute as Leliana started to tend to the woman, while the tall man worked on his own injuries. At the sight, Ralph let out another heavy sigh of relief and leaned against a tree.
There had been no killer or a monster, just a man.

Sliding down against a tree, Fisher decided to leave their injuries in Leliana's capable hands. He had been running more tests on the subject mere minutes before hearing the gunshot, so was in no position to help.
With his back against a tree, and his leg elevated on a branch the good Doctor removed the watch from his jacket pocket and looked at the inscription on the back.

I love you
without knowing how
why
or even from where
07/22/06

With a smile he rested it against his chest, and stared out at the woods. His mind returned to a simpler time as he tried to get his breath back.

THEN​

A clean shaven Ralph with not a single grey hair in sight made his way through the corridors of a hospital, a notepad and pen in his top pocket, clear gloves coating his hands. With a medical mask covering his face and a jacket covering him, the letters CDC on the back he marched down to the end of the corridor and took a left. The man then paced down the other corridor, taking a right.
He fought off the urge to curse under his breath, as the man marched down yet another corridor.

After walking down three more corridors, he placed his head in his hands and glumly walked to the reception desk. With his mind focused elsewhere, the labyrinth of a hospital had bested the good Doctor.
The nurse at the desk glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for Charles Evans." The man reached into his jacket pocket and produced his badge.
"Give me a moment." The nurse slowly nodded, reaching for a telephone "Can you send somebody from the children's ward down here? One of the CDC geniuses has gotten lost." She chuckled
"I wasn't lost..."
She placed a hand over the phone "Mister, you were wandering around those halls for the past five minutes..."

He waited by the desk, checking his watch as the minutes ticked by. It was exactly two minutes when the sound of footsteps approached from behind and Fisher turned to face a young woman in nurse's scrubs. Her blonde hair was tied back, and her green eyes pierced into him.
"I'll take it from here. Thanks, Mary."
"Just get this idiot out of here, he's spooking the patients."

Ralph followed the nurse, and both were silent as they approached an elevator. As soon as the doors closed, she started to laugh.
"What?"
"Oh come on, it is a little funny."

Although he did not want to admit it at the time, Doctor Fisher was cracking a smile under his mask.
"Don't beat yourself up too much. They've been refurbishing this place so it's a bit like a corn maze at the minute." The nurse grinned "Still, so long as you're here I'm not going to let you forget this."

She reached out a hand towards him.
"I'm June, by the way."
"Ralph."

Mentioned: Tre ( Brax ), Maria (me), David ( Dragonlord318 ), Leliana ( FireMaiden )

 

[FireMaiden]

This is part 1 of a collab between FireMaiden , The Mad Queen and Dragonlord318
​

Clutching her shoulder, Maria pushed the door open of the lodge but held it open for David.
Pulling back her coat, Maria took one look at the knife. The blade was still lodged in her shoulder, but she wasn't about to touch the thing.

"Feck..." She winced "Hey! We need some help." She pointed back to David "Him first. Mountain's taken a beating."

The nurse was thankfully not too absorbed by her book, printing up immediately when she heard the call for help. Those gunshots had ruined any serenity she might have achieved, her eyes had been darting to the windows and back every few seconds since she heard them. So seeing injured people wasn't a surprise. The girl Leliana recognized, at least a little bit. But the man gave her pause. "In the kitchen, both of you," Leliana spoke firmly, immediately disregarding her book to go and get the medical supplies. She brought the duffle bag into the kitchen, quickly washing and drying her hands. Leliana's hair was already up and of the way, and she was ready to work. "Mind telling me what happened?" She asked, her eyes moving between the two as she pulled some latex gloves on. The blonde couldn't help but eye the much larger man suspiciously, anxiety gripping her gut so tightly it wouldn't let go. The only upside was that Leliana wasn't in a room alone with him, one yell and people would come running if need be. Blue eyes met Maria again, then the knife in her shoulder. That was more important than a graze.

David made sure to hold the door for Maria behind her as he walked in. He saw her do the same ahead of time for him and smirked. He thought amusedly, so the beast has a heart. After the blonde looked the two over and told them what to do, he decided he didn't want to follow her instructions. He preferred doing it himself. "You get her. I'm fine." He walked past them and looked out the window, then saw what he was looking for.

He walked out to the Humvee and grabbed the zipped up duffel from the back seat. The freezer and weapons duffel were both gone, assumedly into storage. He brought the heavy bag back inside and made for the couch, ignoring the two women in the kitchen. He opened up the bag and found what he was looking for: A bottle of highly fermented, concentrated dandelion brew, a needle, thread and some bandages. He took off his shirt and opened the bottle, the heavy stench of alcohol permeating the area. Once his shirt was off, the scars of combat as well as his physique were full on display.

Her eyes narrowed a bit when the mountain of a man decided to ignore her. Fine, Leliana wouldn't stop him from being stubborn, he was a stranger after all. Technically speaking, so was the redhead, but at least Leliana had seen her before. The nurse stepped closer to the other woman, eyes moving to the knife handle, before back to the redhead's face. "I'm Leliana, I've seen you around but we haven't formally met yet. So, nice to meet you and all that, I'll be giving you stitches today." The nurse said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood just a little when she saw David come back in with a bag. Brows furrowed, she didn't understand why he'd sit on the couch. But if he made a mess, she was going to make sure he cleaned it up.

Turning back around to the medical duffle bag, Leliana grabbed what she needed. Some sterile gauze, a clean needle and thread, a bottle of water and some alcohol. Plus a bottle of weaker painkillers. All the stronger stuff was hidden for safety. She sat everything down on the counter next to Maria, making sure everything was in reach before her attention was once again back on the other woman, glancing back to David when the smell of alcohol hit her nose. Leliana didn't know what he was using, but he seemed to have it handled. Good. "Removing the knife is gonna be a little painful, so take two of these." She held up the now open bottle of pain killers. The stitches would be pretty bad too. Leliana grabbed a second almost empty bottle of water to the woman, putting the pills in her hand. Leliana wouldn't start until she had taken them.

Maria glared at David as the man proceeded to ignore the nurse. "He's a stubborn gobshite." She sighed, her gaze moving back to Leliana "You'd be best gettin' my treatment out the way. The mountain might not take the help otherwise." The lodge's medic seemed awfully young, but that wasn't something that bothered Maria. She could have still been in high school for all she cared, so long as she did the job well. Age wasn't everything in the woman's eyes. "I'm Maria. I wish we were meetin' under better circumstances, love. Sorry about that." She managed a smile and sat back to listen to the nurse.

In the ring, she hurt people rather than heal them so medicine was by no means her strongest suit. She wasn't about to argue with Leliana or kick up a fuss. Despite how much the knife hurt, Maria made no signs of it. She nodded, taking the swig of water to wash down the pills. "Alright, just make it quick. I don't want this bastard inside of me any longer than it needs to be." She winced slightly, bracing herself for the pain that would follow.

"Nice to meet you, Maria," Leliana smiled, watching the redhead take the pills. "Better circumstances would be nice, but the odd thing about the world going to shit seemed to be the fact it brings people together." Leliana was living with many people that she never thought she'd be associated with. Luca, for example. She had felt with his kind of person plenty of times before, but never...well...it didn't matter. Most everyone here was pulling their weight, even the kids. "I'll do this as quickly as possible, but the stitches are going to take a few minutes. You have to wear them for at least two weeks, and then I can take a look and see how the healing is doing."

While she spoke, Leliana had gripped the knife handle, giving Maria a moment to brace before she slowly started to pull the blade out, before having the woman move her shirt away from the wound. Whoever had stabbed her was lucky, the blade had embedded a good inch or two into Maria's shoulder. But at the same time, Maria was even luckier. It hadn't hit bone, and the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. When the blade was free, Leliana sat it down next to the medical supplies, taking a moment to see just how deep the stab was, before she pressed a piece of gauze to the wound. "If you feel feverish, the skin starts swelling and feels warm, you feel increased pain or notice blood or pus, you come straight to me or knock on the cellar door. Dr.Salazar can help too."

After a few minutes, the nurse pulled the blood-soaked gauze away, wiping any excess blood away from the flesh surrounding the wound. It had stopped bleeding enough thanks to the good amount of pressure Leliana had used. She then grabbed the water bottle, opening it to pour over the wound, apologizing for getting Maria's shirt wet. The water flushed out any dirt and other small particulates. The nurse dried the wound gently, before grabbing the alcohol to destroy any bacteria. "The stitches are up next, I can get you something to bite on if you need it."

"Ah, son of a..!" Maria shouted as the blade was removed. The woman took a deep breath in, it hasn't hurt quite as much as she thought it would have. She'd been punched, kicked and even bitten among other things. Being stabbed was a new one, and definitely a feeling she didn't want to get used to. "Thanks." She flashed the nurse a smile. "Yer right about the state 'a things bringin' folks together, I think. But I know it can also rip folks apart." Her smile was quickly erased, in its place a frown.

At the offer to get the woman something to bite down on, Maria shook her head. "Don't worry yourself. Had a few stitches in me time. I don't think you ever really get used to it, but it's not like I'm gonna yell out or do a song and dance about it." Her smile was back now, and the woman chuckled.

Mentioned: Brax shadowz1995 ​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part 2 ​

David had listened to the two women as they bantered back and forth, but didn't respond or provide or ask for any help. He just finished stitching up his shoulder after he cleaned it with the alcohol, and had just started taking the bandage off his arm. He ensured to take out a fresh bandage to rest his bleeding arm on so as not to make a mess, then took a look at it. He sighed in relief when he saw it. The stitches weren't loose, it just needed a fresh bandage.

He dipped the new, sanitized cloth in the alcohol and affixed it to his arm, then tightened it to the point of being snug. After that was taken care of, he brought out another bandage along with a teal-colored gellish substance in a bottle and a long piece of cloth. He placed the bandage on his shoulder and tied it around his armpit with one hand, then took the long cloth and wrapped it from his shoulder to under his opposite armpit.

Once he finished, he stood up and walked over to the sink, glancing at the two women to check on their progress before making his way to the sink. He grabbed a clean glass - someone must've washed the dishes recently - and poured a drop of the teal sludge into it, then diluted it with water from the faucet. He downed it quickly, then put the glass back in the sink. He walked back to the couch. He used a clean part of the old bandage after dipping it in alcohol to clean up bits of blood drippings on the couch which came up easily, then rolled up the cloth and set it to the side.
Once he was done putting everything back in the bag, he went back to the sink and washed his single cup before placing it in the rack to dry. He then sat down back on the couch, sighing. He wished to God he hadn't opened his cut again, but it seemed it couldn't be helped. He shrugged slightly. As long as Maria/Caoimhe and the lodge members were safe, that's really all that mattered. He looked at Leliana as she and Maria talked and laughed, then decided to get up and go to the table with them.

After he sat down, he waited for a break in conversation before introducing himself to the young blonde. "I apologize ma'am. I'm used to stitching myself up. The name's David Listman. We saw some thugs that were scoping out the joint and took 'em out. Heck of a way to meet, eh, Maria?"

Maria's head turned to face David as the tall man sat down. There was so much he wasn't telling her about the attackers in the woods. How much did Caoimhe know about the whole thing? There was no way of forcing her out, and even if Maria did know a way there was no guarantee she'd write everything down.

Still, now wasn't the time to interrogate the man. He had played a part in saving her life, after all.

"Alright, well, brace yourself." Leona dried the wound once again before she grabbed the curved needle, softly pressing both sides of the wound closer. Once again, she gave Maria plenty of time to brace before she pushed the needle into Maria's flesh. Slowly she pulled the needle through, looping it back over pushing it through her skin again before trying the knot and cutting the thread. Leliana reset the needle, moving a few centimeters up before she began to repeat the process. She took her time, focusing completely on the stitches and Maria's reaction she didn't pay much attention to David until he spoke. Her eyes flickered to him now that he was seated nearby, Leona finishing up the third stitch and turning to reset it before she spoke. "Leliana James. You better have been invited." An introduction didn't mean he wasn't a stranger anymore, and Leliana was still suspicious.

The nurse turned her attention back to Maria, starting the fourth stitch, still partly ignoring David. She didn't care about him stitching himself up, if he was confident in his own abilities, that was fine enough. It seemed like he had some idea of what he was doing anyway. "How close were they to the lodge?" Leliana asked, those blue hues once again focusing on David as she cut more thread. She would go and clean up the bodies later, maybe see if Andy or Tre would help. The fifth stitch was the last, Leona finishing up at the same pace she had started with. Leliana made sure all the stitches were good before she wiped away the blood and pressed a gauze square to the wound. They didn't have any rolls of gauze to use, but Leona had some of the medical tape that wouldn't let go. She finished up dressing the wound, before she took her gloves off, turning with her brows furrowed to the man.

"Alright. You in the mood to finally tell me what happened?"

He nodded. "Mr. Brasi invited me yesterday. I was coming with Miss Andy and Mr. Aaron with supplies," he gestured to the bag on the coffee table, "when I met Ca-Maria...sorry. She goes by both her first and middle name alternately. Sometimes it's hard to keep up." He smiled at Maria, nodding before continuing his tale. The nurse seemed apprehensive of him...hard even, but that was normal, and a fact he decided to overlook. Sweating the small stuff never got anyone anywhere.
"We were about a quarter-mile away when we saw the thugs. They declared themselves bent on coming to the lodge and doing what thugs do, so..." He let the rest hang in the air, and sat back in the chair. The wood felt nice and cool on his bare back.

Him almost calling her a different name wasn't something Leliana cared about. It was the explanation that raised them more. The nurse crossed her arms, letting him talk with no interruptions. His explanation was a little to...short for her liking. But at the same time, there probably wasn't much to say. The way he left it up in the air told her they most likely killed the men, so Leliana turned her attention to Maria again. "Is that all? I don't really wanna make it look like either of you were in cahoots with the thugs when I tell Andy." The blonde paused for a moment, glancing back at David for a second before her eyes were back on Maria.

Maria winced again and again as each thread of the stiches was applied. Still, the woman managed to hold her tongue and very much kept her word about keeping her voice down and not calling out as the nurse did her work.

She had no reason to lie, but David's quick explanation wasn't doing him any favours.
"I can't say meself." Maria shook her head "Those men already had David 'ere surrounded when I showed up. They drew guns and knives and we fought. I knocked a few of 'em down and he dispatched them when they didn't go down easy." She nodded towards the man "While I didn't agree with killin' 'em I probably wouldn't 'ave made it back to this place in one piece without his help."

She shrugged and crossed her arms "After they were dead I made sure they didn't get back up. We got out before any of those dead things could follow us back here and that's really all there is to say. Well, there's another thing. Those shites weren't hazmat soldiers. They were a group of Chinese men. Best guess I'd say is they are just other survivors takin' advantage of this situation to do whatever the feck they want."

"Hopefully that's the last of 'em but ya should tighten security on somethin' just in case."



David crossed his arms at the blonde's ultimatum to tell Andy about the thugs. He shook his head. "It'll be better if I tell Mr. Brasi the specifics, ma'am. You may know him as Luca." He'd be able to explain everything to him, and then he could wisely disseminate information he deemed necessary to Andy and whomever else helped him lead the place.

He blew a breath out of his nostrils at Maria's comment of her method not being to kill them. What other way was there to ensure they didn't ever attack again? Threaten them with sticks? "Neither of you may agree with my methods." He shrugged. "That's fine. But when I see a threat that's about to end someone's life without reason, well," he looked up at the ceiling then back down, "I don't see any alternative in the moment. Turning an enemy into an ally or restraining the enemy takes time, and when there's five against two, I don't have that kind of time. Plus. Prisoners need food. Dead men don't."

He got up and went to the duffle bag in the living room, then brought it back and set it on the kitchen table away from the two women. "This is full of home-brewed alcohol, maybe 80% strong, concentrated garlic and echinacea extract which are two of the most potent natural antibiotics in nature, concentrated tomato juice which is an anti-inflammatory, and various medical supplies required for saving lives and sealing wounds. I hope you find them helpful." He then went back and put his shirt on. "I hope you all have a great rest of your day. I'll go and tell Mr. Brasi all about the fight and what I know about those men." He stretched. "Then...I'm outta here."

"Maria, you'll, unfortunately, get used to the killing. It's a reality of living here, we've been attacked by real men before and it's probably going to happen again." Leliana mumbled after hearing the girl's explanation before her attention turned to David as he good and very proudly declared he would be telling Luca everything. Men were such stubborn creatures is was almost horrendous. "I'm aware of his last name too, Mr. Listman. I've been here a lot longer than you have." Leliana still didn't know what to make of him. He was too proper in some cases, but then he went and was evasive or just a bit condescending. It only made her more suspicious, her nails gently digging into her elbows before she just sighed watching him move and grab the duffle bag he had brought in. Leliana glanced at it when he started explaining what was inside, her eyes moving from the bag to his face.

Natural remedies were...well, they weren't as good as the modern stuff. And if she was honest, Leliana knew almost nothing about them without having a book in front of her. So the little explanation was helpful for when they ran out of everything else. "I think he's in the master bedroom, the door there at the stairs," Leliana said, pointing at it. "I'll find someone to help get the bodies cleaned up." After she cleaned up the new mess in the kitchen of course.

Maria sighed heavily, watching as David left
"Aye, it seems that way. Hands are clean, for the moment but I guess if it comes down to my life or theirs I choose my own. Every time."

"Well ya managed to fight off hazmats before so I'm sure you'll pull through." Maria nodded "Ah, should probably explain meself...I found a wounded hazmat in the suburbs who pointed me to this place."
She was aware of how it all sounded but there was no point in lying, at least not about everything.
"Thanks for patchin' me up, Leliana. Ya let me know if anythin' needs done around 'ere."


David nodded respectfully at Leliana. He owed her no explanation, as he had helped Maria save their lives. Again. But he wasn't a savage. "No assumption of ignorance was made ma'am. My first impression of the lodge members other than Mr. Brasi was the purple-clad lady with the mismatched eyes. She called him 'Boss Luca.' No offense was intended. I am not omitting you from my news because I believe you are incompetent. However, Mr. Brasi is the first leader that contacted me, therefore I have more of a rapport with him than I do with you. Please understand." He looked at the door by the stairs, then back to her. "I do appreciate the directions."

He gave her a kung-fu salute, then turned to Maria. "I enjoyed meeting you Maria. I hope to see you again." For the first time since they met, a genuine smile graced his features. "You're the first person in this town that understands me." He saluted her as well, then went to the door. He felt that divulging his past to Maria would be more well-understood than doing so with anyone else. He knocked on the door Leliana directed him to. "Mr. Brasi? It's David. Do you have a minute?"

Mentioned: Luca ( Brax ), Vanessa ( TheMightyRedLemon )

 

[Brax]

The Vacuum Salesman

Being left alone was one of Luca’s finest moments. In the time when he wasn’t dealing with shit that others had created the man enjoyed time to himself, for the most part. There had been a knock on behalf of the person who was opposite that bedroom door, then a voice. One that had not been immediately recognizable by the ex-capo. It must have been David, given the words that were used and the tone of voice provided by the gentleman. In the meanwhile the Italian had been sitting back in one of his shitty wooden chairs. He had a book open, spread across his lap. It had been a piece of literature he hadn’t yet read.

“My name is Luca. You can come in.”

The acrobat had been napping in the rafters outside of the doorway to Luca and Andy's room, quite comfortably, when the knocking had jolted her to full consciousness. Immediately after hearing the knock, Lucas's voice met her ears, making Vanessa curious. Learning over the side of her perch, she looked down to see the man from the woods.

why is he here..?
He seems off...
So insufferable..
Why does he keep showing up..?
Colt will be mad.
Should be entertaining.​

Vanessa decided she would watch to curb her curiosity, and quell the chorus of voices echoing in her mind. Quietly as she could, the acrobat lowered herself down from the rafters. David opened the door as instructed, and the first thing that hit him was the smell of cats. He looked around and saw the room was mostly in order, and saw the offender. A white cat of unknown breed was stretching itself out atop the windowsill followed by adjusting into a sleeping position. It essentially ignored the massive monk as it rested atop the viewing threshold.

"Good morning, Mr. Luca." David left the door slightly ajar, a tiny crack of light showing between it and the doorjamb. He noticed the chairs weren't in the best quality, so he opted to lean against the wall as he crossed his arms. "I ran into more thugs today. A new lodgemember named Maria-Caoimhe helped me take them down. Miss...Leliana said she'd coordinate the bodies' disposal." He sighed as he slid down to the floor and sat with his hands resting on his bent knees.

"But that's not the prime reason I need to talk to you. Before I become a full member of this lodge, I would like to divulge my past in its entirety - to include my history with the men that I just killed - so when something else happens, you'll know why."

Upon hearing David speak, Luca hadn’t looked up from his book. The man continued nonetheless. Upon understanding that this hadn’t been a quick question or something that needed his immediate attention, the Italian looked up with a bit of confusion on his face. The first question being - who the hell was Maria-Caoimhe? It had been apparent that a scuffle had ensued without the Italian’s knowledge. This was, of course, thanks to David divulging the information. More surprising was the fact that Luca wasn’t remotely involved.

“And here I thought you were going to bore me.” He bent one of the pages belonging to the book before shutting it and placing it on his nightstand. His fingers found their way around a bottle of alcohol that had been beside it. With a flick of his fingers he uncapped the whiskey to take a sip. Hues turned from the bottle back up to the man, half-opened eyes peering back at his own.

“I don’t know what you are doing here. Any information you’re going to give to me is probably better off in Andrea’s hands. She needs to know the information. Whether or not I have it, anyone that comes for us will die by my hands if their intentions do not benefit us.”

David nodded. "I don't doubt that. However, based on my perceptions of Miss Andy - whom I assume to be Andrea - and you, information about the Triad trying to recruit me, me killing five of their men in China and also how most of my life has been at a Shaolin Monastery fighting them off would be well-received by someone of your caliber, Mr. Luca." He rubbed his forehead before continuing. "I can tell that Miss Andy has not been hardened by the streets. Since you know her more than I and you are a leader here, it would most likely be more well-received by Miss Andy if you told her what I'm about to tell you, not me telling her directly."

Vanessa snorted from the doorway, a threshold she dare not cross without permission. She had already deemed entry into this room to be something that would irritate Luca. "Grow a pair ya CuntyBollocks." Nessa called from the doorway. "She's mean but she ain't scary."

David responded without turning around. "I'm not the one that I'm worried about being scared, ma'am." He looked back at Luca, a slightly amused expression on his face. "She's in good spirits I see."

“Vieni qui, poca volpe.” He peered over to the girl, beckoning the female with a few fingers. “You do realize you are standing up for a person who, as far as I understand, has not shared a single word of encouragement in your favor?” The man let his stare linger before he turned his attention back to David.

He is calling you
He told you to come in
What are you doing?
Go!​

She shook her head as a smile crept across her face. The acrobat entered the room and moved quietly across the room to stand by Luca in his chair. She opted to say nothing as his attention had seemed to settle back on the monk.

“Andrea has not been hardened by the streets, but rather by current circumstance. Regardless, you are not incorrect in your line of thinking. I am curious. If you have men after you, this means that they have been here since before the city was quarantined - by now, the entire state could have met the same fate. I would not know, and neither would the others. Must be an unfortunate end to meet, being forced to travel to a foreign country over one man only to find that its entire populous has been turned against you; living or otherwise. What is it that you intend to do? What is it that you need from us aside from acting on the fair warning you provided?”

​

David smiled. "It is not what I need from you, but what you need from me, Mr. Luca. Rather, my skills that I can offer." He got into a more comfortable position before continuing. "The man that attacked me was a lower level boss named Tzeo. However, let me start from the beginning." David recounted how he grew up in a poor family in Aurora, and at 14 was sent on a foreign exchange program to Shenzhen, China. Technically, it was at a school in a farming town 30 miles from the metropolis, but nevertheless, that's how he met his Sifu - Kung Fu master.

He described how he trained intensely in Kung Fu, to include intense weight and hardening training. To demonstrate, he took a broken chair leg nearby and stabbed it into his neck, breaking a piece of wood off and leaving only a light red spot behind, then got up and did ten four-finger handstand push-ups. He unbuttoned his shirt to show the Ex-Capo the scars of combat as he explained the many times his monastery had been attacked by thieves, local gangs, the Triad and even the Government (because of the unsanctioned church within), and how they had to use natural healing and stitch themselves up there, the nearest hospital being 40 miles away.

"And after the attempted siege by the Triad - which two of my monk brothers and I sabotaged after one week of it - is when Tzeo approached me about membership in the Triad. He promised sex, women, money and glory, all which I refused. Most men would leap at the opportunity, but I saw what they did to the people. I knew their true goals." He took a breath and finished. "Two weeks later I saw five Triad thugs openly raping women in the streets. Three, then two. I killed all of them. Since then, the Triad has tried to track me. But, just as the first few years in China were, they couldn't track me in the forest. They tracked me all the way here, but laid low for the few years I've been back, knowing that if they acted, I'd find them. So, now you're all caught up, Mr. Luca. The Triad is dead in Aurora, or undead. Now you know who I really am, and why I lived alone."

​

“... Was that a pitch? Do you have experience going door-to-door selling vacuum cleaners?” Luca asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I figured you could offer me plenty without the knowledge of your background. I would be lying if I said I had not learned anything new in this conversation but you are actually a unique physical specimen. Between your height and your size, of course you were going to be useful to the lodge. There was no way for you to exist without being able to fight with us or yourself, regardless of the existence of mobsters coming after you. They might be dead but there are plenty of others around still, just like us. Looking to take what is ours as a result of a considerable lack of experience, or otherwise. Those who are left in this town and not reanimated are the ones who have a checkered past, a willingness to act and take lives; much like yourself. I have no intention of informing you of my past, there is no need. My past is my past. However, I am sure with enough time and questioning the right people, you will come to the realization of what I've done before the apocalypse arrived at our doorstep.”

David nodded. "Regardless, because you extended the hand of friendship and show leadership here, you deserved to know. You are correct. I do not have the right to your past. But now you can take what I have given and disseminate as you feel necessary."

“It’s not that you don’t have a right. It’s more of a tired story.” He smirked, looking up at the woman who had been standing by his side. Just days prior, he had went through the arduous task of explaining to her who he was. Luca didn’t think that David would have reason to hear from him what he did. Actions always spoke louder than words regardless; there was only so much he can prove by talk alone.

“You’ve been cooperating with us even before we ran into you. It is something I will not easily forget. If that is all, you’re free to go about your business. Thank you for coming to me with this information. Reliable people are invaluable assets.”

David nodded and stood, then shook the friendly gangster's hand. "I have put more trust in you than I do most people in this world, and I have seen you reciprocate said trust." He buttoned up his shirt. "I will be heading back to my house now. It was a pleasure conversing with you," he smiled, "Luca."

"I am nothing if not a man of my word."

He stood and did a kung-fu salute to both of them, then turned. In reciprocation, Luca lifted the index and middle fingers belonging to his right hand up to his forehead briefly. Then David walked out, closing the door behind him. He bade farewell to Maria-Caomhie and Leliana, then started the trek back to his abode. The Italian picked his book back up off his nightstand, before peering back up at the woman who had continued standing at his side.

"You do not need my permission to sit down." The man mumbled with a small shake of his head. He opened the book up once more and continued reading.

Featuring: Dragonlord318 TheMightyRedLemon

 

[RayPurchase]

Generating Problems
Nessa, Aaron and Andy​

As the lights flickered out in the garage plunging him and the workbench he was sat at into darkness Aaron knew that this was going to quite simply, be one of those days. He dropped the cloth and disassembled parts of the ATV engine that he had been cleaning, and pulled open the metal door, allowing the late afternoon light in flood into the organised chaos of the garage/come workshop that he had seemingly claimed as his own in recent days. It was only a matter of seconds before he was confronted by the seething figure of Andy. The red head was clearly pissed off, even in the cool afternoon air her anger was like a warm wind wafting towards him. He sighed and turned around, picking up the toolkit he had cobbled together from his own supplied and that which he had found in the garage (with Andy’s permission).

She exhaled loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. It seemed that she was on a roll for harassing poor Aaron today. The man had been worth his weight in gold since he had gotten to the lodge. With any luck, he could help her out of another bind.

“What do you know about generators?” She asked, her voice tense and controlled in her anger. “Some two bit ballerina decided it looked like a goddamn trampoline.”

"You don't say… well I know enough, just an engine that drives a dynamo instead of an axel at the end of the day. Willing to give it a shot," Aaron grimaced and shook his head. His nose twinging slightly at the mention of a two bit ballerina. Didn’t need to be rocket scientist to work out who that was. “Sweet jesus, you’re gettin’ me real worried now Andy. Don’t suppose you could give me a few easy bits, maybe a busted light bulb or a plug that needs re-wirin’?” The grimaced half morphed into a somewhat pained smile.

“I just figured I’d leave changing light bulbs to the people too stupid to do anything else,” Andy said with a smirk. She gave the man an apologetic shrug. It wasn’t his fault that Vanessa decided to stumble off the roof. He really had been very useful and he was always in good spirits about helping out.

“Thank you.” They were rare words from the redhead’s lips, but she chose not to make a big deal about them. Aaron likely didn’t know her well enough to put any stock in them anyway. Almost like a nervous tick, her fingers went to her hair, weaving it into a long braid down the side of her neck.

“I’ll show you where it’s at. With any luck we won’t freeze tonight.”

“Here’s hopin’. Still wouldn’t mind breakin’ out a log fire, not that any of those city slickers would be too pleased, reckon they’re strugglin’ enough without their espresso makers and satellite tv, eh?”
______________________________

Andy stood off to the sidelines as she let Aaron work. Luca had already dealt with Nessa and she didn’t trust herself to converse with the woman without laying back into her. There was nothing that could be done now but to wait and see what Aaron’s prognosis was.

He sucked his teeth as he stared into the inner workings of the generator, having already spent the best part of an hour prying his way into the body of the beast, and finding out just how much had gone wrong..

“Well shit, just mindin’ your own business and someone does this to you...”

He sighed, letting out a long exhale of air. It didn’t look good, In his hands he held the air filter, or at least what remained of the air filter. It was crushed beyond recognition, the impact on the top of the generator had carved the external housing upon it, mangling it and the connecting air hose. Now just the air filter being gone wouldn’t have been too bad, would have compromised the life expectancy of the genny, but they could have kept it running for a few more days before problems began to manifest. But combined with no air hose, it meant the whole thing was dead, like clamping your hand over someone’s airways. No airflow meant no power. Now he had the tools, all of this was pretty easy stuff to fix, but parts wise, that’s where it got tricky. The filter could be bodged for the time being, it wouldn’t be as effective but it would buy them time. It was the air hose that was the problem. Couldn’t just use any old regular garden hose cut to measure, the heat from the diesel motor would just melt the bugger, and then the whole generator would be reduced to little more than an expensive paperweight. With a grunt he wrangled the sorry looking thing from the machine, once again casting a critical eye over it. "...shit,"

Vanessa stopped as she saw Aaron from the porch. "Fuck its 'em.." she whispered under her breath. With a deep intake of air, Vanessa gathered herself mentally and approached the mechanic. "How bad is it?" She asked in a nervous tone.

Aaron looked up from the generator. First she’d busted his nose and now she’d busted the power. As first impressions went perhaps this was definitely circling the drain. “Well I ain’t gonna bullshit. It ain’t lookin’ rosy… what exactly were you doin’ up there?” He flicked his head towards the roof above them.

Her mismatched eyes darted nervously back and forth between Aaron and the roof for a moment as she contemplated her words carefully. "I.." she began. How was she suppose to explain that she got up there to avoid her schizophrenic hallucinations? "Ya wanna know the truth, or somethin funny as 'ell?"

Aaron glanced up at the roof once more. “I’d rather have the truth, but I’m guessin’ Andy has already gave you a verbal lashin’. I’ll take whatever one you’re willin’ to give,”

Vanessa sighed and closed her eyes. He had asked the truth of her, and she so hated lying herself. Try as she might, she couldn't avoid this conversation it seemed. "Its the only way I can get away from the.. auditory hallucinations… that's what the Doc calls it." she looked up at the mechanic and redhead who had insulted her profusely not long ago. She could already hear some of the insults Andy might fling towards her.

why is she here?
Here to insult you more
You deserve it
You deserve it
You deserve it

Vanessa broke her line of sight with the two just long enough to shake her head in an attempt to clear the voices that she knew couldn't really be there. They were getting worse, but not unmanageable. She just had to concentrate and remember that they weren't real.

Aaron glanced over at Andy, concern creeping into his visage. This girl definitely wasn’t right in the head. He’d seen something similar before with guys he served with, the ones who had seen and done too much, dark thoughts and memories teasing their ways into their minds until the nightmares that haunted their dreams spilled over into the waking hours. He’d seen too many good men crumble underneath it. There was clearly more going on here than a girl with a few screws loose, but given their current situation, he wondered how patient they could afford to be. She probably hadn’t meant it, but she’d knocked out the power to the whole lodge. What would happen next time?

"You can't physically escape them," the redhead chimed in from her spot a few feet back. Her arms were crossed and her face held the same bored and annoyed expression it always did, but her tone seemed to be less aggressive than normal.

"Have you spoken to Hector?" She was sure the doctor had some inkling of what was going on, since Hector had quite literally gotten bitten by the girl. However, if she was having hallucinations it only made Andy wonder how long it could go untreated before someone inevitably got hurt.


The acrobat's eyes darted down to the ground. "Well yes… He has been helpin me understand it all…" she admitted. She hated telling them this but refused to make a liar of herself. "He said that medicine can help make em stop."

"Then we will get you some." The only feasible explanation that he hadn't already put her in the medication was likely because he didn't have what he needed. Andy made a mental note to talk to the doctor and find out what the girl needed. The next time she went running away from phantoms she could accidentally break her own neck.

"Talk to me Aaron," she said, changing the subject. "Are we going to have heat tonight?'

Aaron looked back towards Andy, chucking the twisted piece of hose over his shoulder.

“Well the main problem is the hose. We can get by with a slightly busted turbo and like I said I can make us a temporary air filter. Unless you know where we can locate a store sellin’ these things we’re goin’ to have to make do with what we’ve got. One in the Humvee is too big for this, one in the ATV is too small. What other vehicles have we got lyin’ about?”

"If ya need parts fer it… maybe I know where te get some… the circus had a generator te run power te some of the trailers." Vanessa said, glancing up at Andy.

The idea of letting this volatile, clinically insane woman watch someone’s back while they were out in the city made Andy’s skin crawl. However, just like she was the best choice to go on the run to the university, Vanessa was by far the best one to go raid the circus. Emerald eyes narrowed as she looked the woman up and down, heavily concentrated as each wrinkle on her forehead represented a cog turning in her thoughts.

“We have the RV’s and a few beat up cars in the yard. It seems we hardly ever take more than one at a time. They all run, so it would be a shame to dismantle them but we need heat and more importantly we need to make sure Hector has power.” Andy cocked her head sighing loudly as she composed her thoughts. “If you can get us a makeshift fix, I’ll really owe you one.” She gave Aaron a smirk, her eyes immediately darkening as they turned back on Nessa.

“It will buy me some time while me and Thumbalina prepare for our outing.”

"Done fuckin call me that." The acrobat retorted. "I fucked up, I'm tryin te make it right."

Aaron placed the toolbox down with an audible thud, cutting through the bickering, causing Vanessa to jump and stare at the man in supprise.

“Right there’s enough heat comin’ off the pairs of you that I’m thinkin’ of just hookin’ you up to the radiators.” He pointed at Nessa. “You fucked up, apologisin’ doesn’t actually change anythin’ about it. Start makin’ a change through your actions,” He then looked towards Andy. “And getting pissed ain’t goin’ to help anyone at this point, unfortunately what’s done is done. I’m gonna go canibalise what I can. You two can either murder each other or make up while I’m gone, I’m happy with either result as long as it doesn’t mean breakin’ anythin’ else while my back is turned. This all sound reasonable so far?”

“Pissed?” Andy asked, her eyebrow was cocked as she gave Aaron a sarcastic eye roll. “Cute. She’s not even worth the energy.” The redhead turned on her heels and left the two in the yard. She had more pressing things to attend to than to be lectured anyway.

not worth the energy
worthless
they hate you
you're nothing but a nuisance

Vanessa turned away from Aaron and began to walk away towards the woods. She understood all too well when people disliked her and didn't want her around. As the acrobat made it to the treeline she began to shiver slightly, but to her the cold mattered little. The voices may not be real, but they were right.

Meanwhile Aaron was left very much alone as the two women stormed off in their own separate directions. With a shrug and a mumbled ‘that works for me’ he picked up his tools and headed in the direction of the RVs.

( Maj TheMightyRedLemon )

 

[The Mad Queen]

​

Pages of notes awaited Caoimhe, the woman woke up lying in an armchair, a blanket wrapped around her. Kicking it off and rubbing her eyes she quickly headed outside. Waking up was always disorentating, and not something she thought she'd ever get used to. With her back against a tree, she absorbed every page.

Men came with guns. I know they might have said some scary stuff to you, but David and me handled them. Don't worry.
I'm not sure about him, but I can at least trust him about us. Smart bastard worked it out.
He's agreed to keep it secret for obvious reasons.

The rest was normal enough, outside of detailing what happened to the gunmen. Caoimhe's stomach turned, but the woman knew she had to keep reading. There was more, going over the woman's injuries and how they'd been treated.
Maria had really kept fighting with a knife lodged in her shoulder? The woman almost chuckled at the thought. This was the girl who thought she was going to die the first time she fell off of her bike and scraped her knee.
Things really had changed over the years.

Nurse seems nice. Be careful with the stitches. She's bound to check on them in a few days so don't freak out.
I'll write more the next time I'm awake. To be honest I'm still a bit shaken from the woods.
Take care.
We're going to get through armageddon together.

A small smile grew on the woman's face as she rested, taking in a few deep breaths.

"You alright?" Asked a voice
Caoimhe's blue eyes shot up to see Doctor Ralph Fisher poking his head out from behind a tree.

Doctor Fuckin' Friendly. Delightful.

"I heard you took a bit of a..."
"I'm fine."
He gestured to the bottom of the tree with his cane "Mind if I join you?"
Caoimhe shrugged in response, causing the woman to wince as her shoulder was filled with pain.
"You sure you're okay?"
"I said I'm fine...Nurse patched me up anyway."
"Well..." Ralph threw up his hands "I wouldn't be best suited to treat you anyway. I've been..."
"Playin' Doctor Frankenstein all mornin'. I know."
"It's Frankensteen." He grinned

The woman glared up at Fisher, an eyebrow raised.
"You've never seen Young Frankenstein?"
"I haven't seen Old Frankenstein, let alone that one."
"Shame."

Placing the cane down, Ralph rested against the tree himself.
"Well I've learned all I can from the host. Going to keep it around in case though."
"What about a cure?"
Fisher shook his head "Not possible. Not yet. I'd need a full lab and a team for that kind of thing. Poking a host isn't going to achieve that. It never will."
"Fair enough."

The two fell silent for a few moments, each looking back at the lodge.
"What are ya doin' here, Doc? I mean, really?"
His brown eyes glanced over to her
"There's hundreds of trees around here and you choose to rest at this one."
"Well, I..."
"No shite. I can tell. Spit it out."
"Honestly? I just want the company and everyone else is pretty preoccupied at the moment."
"I can't say I make for good company."
"Better than sitting alone staring at a rabid corpse."
"Thanks. I guess."
"I mean...Crap. I didn't mean it like that." The Doctor sputtered, shaking his head. Squeezing the ridge of his nose, he sighed heavily "I'm sorry, Maria. I've just been dealing with a lot lately."
"I think everyone has. Ya just have to find a way to deal with it."
"I'm not sure I know how."
"You'll find a way. You're not stupid."
A light smile grew on his face "How do you deal with it?"
"That's private. Ya only met me about a day ago."

He shrugged "That's fair. I used to bury myself in my work but right now there's not a whole lot of work I can do."
"So find somethin' else ta keep ya busy. It's not rocket science. Learn a new skill or some shite. It's better than as ya said... Starin' at a corpse all day."

Mentioned: Leliana ( FireMaiden ) David ( Dragonlord318 )

 

[Maj]

​

Leliana was already out of bed by the time Beth had rose. That was typical of most days. The bed had seemed warmer in the days past. Not that her friend wasn’t always a warm and loving individual but something had shifted between them, in ways that Beth had felt was for the better. It was a relief to not have to hide herself from her friend anymore, and it illivated some of the guilt that constantly pressed on the slim girl’s chest.

She kept to herself mostly, but that was no different than most days. Beth would play with Milly occasionally or cook food for Shinoa or the kids but if Leli was busy being a one woman army, Bethany found it easier to try and do her part alone. Dishes, food, assorted chores were all things she was capable of. Medical experiments, zombie slaying and hunting were not among her strong suits.

When the kitchen was clean and her idle hands felt there was little else to do, the blonde decided to go for a walk. The lodge still smelled faintly of tear gas and that mixed with the scent of lemon pledge didn’t sit well on the girl’s empty stomach. With a fluffy sweater stuffed into the almost too tight jacket, she ventured out into the cold. The breeze bit at her pink cheeks, but the sunshine felt good on her face. Pulling the hood up to keep the wind from blowing her hair away from the sensitive skin on her ears, she made her way through the yard to walk along the fence that Nile had been so diligently working on days prior.

It was sturdy now. A drug addict he may be, but Nile did good work. She was comfortable around addicts, many of her best customers had been. Her and Nile had never conversed, but for no other reason than she didn’t care to talk to most of the lodge goers. The house had more than its fair share of salty, angry people to contend with. It was only a few weeks ago that she and Milly had been near this same treeline, and then snatched up by soldiers who wished to kill them.

The lodge had risked everything to return them to safety. Hector had lost his eye, Andy had gotten shot and Tre and Owen were on their deathbed for several days. It was Owen’s sacrifice that bothered her most of all. He had ran right into the line of fire for her, and somehow all she had the ability to do since was yell at him. Bethany wasn’t sure how to talk to him. How do you look your ex boyfriend in the eye and say ‘thanks for almost dying for me, even though I know I’d never do the same for you.’

She sighed heavily. It made being here difficult. If It wasn’t for Leliana, she would have moved on long ago. On various occasions she had thought about asking Leli to leave with her, but she saw the way she acted around the other members of the lodge. It was like the girl belonged here. Leliana had always been bright and bubbly to all those around her, but she seemed to really care about the residents of this place. She belonged and Beth didn’t, but she would never be able to leave Leli behind.

A glint of metal caught Bethany’s eye. The sun glanced off the mostly polished blade of an axe. It looked like some of the men had left their tools out here after a hard day’s work. They would rust if left in the frost. The blonde sighed before leaning down to slip under the wood of the fence and walk near the treeline. Reaching down to pick it up, she heard something rustle in the trees in front of her.

Bethany’s heart leapt into her throat. It was likely nothing, an animal or the wind but with the ever growing presence of the undead there was always a reason to be afraid. Not to mention soldiers or even the ever growing likelihood there were other survivors that might have found their location. Her blue eyes stayed glued on the treeline as she leaned down and picked up the items from the grass.

The noise was growing louder. Beth gripped her hands around the handle of the axe, her knuckles turning white. The rough wood of the worn handle was coarse in her palm. She began backing up toward the fence. If there was something there, she wasn’t sure how long the fence would hold, but maybe at least long enough that someone could come to her aid.

As the figure stepped out of the trees and into the light, the woman tensed. Holding the axe back, ready to strike. However, her eyes widened and she stopped at the last minute. This man was still alive, and he didn’t look like a soldier.

The man was dressed in a fancy black tailcoat with silver embroidery, matched with a wide brimmed hat and black dress slacks. A smile spread across his cheeks as he looked down at the blond. The aging man's voice echoed across the space between the two.

"You have no idea how long I have searched, comrade."

Featuring: TheMightyRedLemon
Mentions: FireMaiden Rumble Fish Brax

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part 2
​

A familiar smile returned to Ralph's face as his cow brown eyes moved from the lodge and back into the forest.

"What are ya smirkin' at?" Caoimhe asked
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking of the things I could try around here." His eyes moved back towards her, and Caoimhe looked away "Back when I was a child I tried a lot of things. Experiments. Baking soda volcanoes, taking things apart and putting them back together. That sort of thing...What about you?"
"What about me?"
"How did you pass the time as a child?"
"Fightin'." Caoimhe shrugged "At first, anythin' but that was before I found boxin.'" The thought of simpler, happier times did manage to bring a smile to the woman's face as a soothing wave of nostalgia hit her.
"Who taught you how to box? Your dad?"

Caoimhe sharply turned away, her smile fading instantly.
"Why do you care so much?"
"I'm just making conversation. And getting to know you."
"Well, ya can feck off." The woman stood to her feet "Stick that big nose of yours up your own hole."
"I meant no offence." Fisher raised a hand

Caoimhe scoffed and rolled her eyes, departing back to the lodge.


"Go back to your experiments for all I care, Doctor. I have things to do as is."
With a sigh, Ralph shook his head and pulled himself to his feet with the cane. There was a part of him that wanted to give up, and just leave the woman to her own devices but that just wasn't the man he was. The lodge knew that all too well, and Ralph knew it himself.

"Wait."
Caoimhe's head turned back, her fists clenched and her gaze narrowed.
"I'm sorry if I brought up a sore subject, Maria. I was just making conversation and I never intended to bring about any harm."
"My name is Caoimhe!"

Fisher raised an eyebrow at that, while Caoimhe placed her head in her hand.
"Fuck..."
"It's no matter. You used a false name when you showed up here because you didn't trust people. I wouldn't worry too much, but I can call you Caoimhe if you'd prefer." Ralph offered her a smile
"It's not that."
His eyebrow raised once more

"I don't want to talk about it."
"That's fair. But I can listen and help if that's what you want."
Her gaze moved up to him "Really? So you'll feck off if..."
"Look, I try to be a good ear around the lodge but not everyone wants a stranger trying to help them." He'd learnt as much from Andy that sometimes all he could offer somebody was space. "I will, as you say 'feck off'."

That caused Caoimhe's smile to return
"Thanks, Doctor."
"No problem." He nodded "Just know that if you change your mind..."
"I feckin' won't. Just, do one thing for me."
"Of course."
"Don't mention this freak out to the rest of the lodge."
"I never do. Look, whatever we talk about is confidential."

The woman groaned, her eyes rolling once more.
"Ya sound like a therapist."
"Maybe I do."
"I never cared for 'em."
"Honestly, me neither."
"Yer tellin' me that Doctor Fisher needed therapy?" Caoimhe scoffed
"I didn't. That's why I did not care for it."
"Same. Maybe you're not such an annoying shite after all, Doc."
"I'll take that compliment." Ralph laughed "I'm going to take your advice, Caoimhe. I'll be around if you need me."

"I probably won't." She lightly shrugged.

The two fellow survivors walked off in different directions. Caoimhe headed back to the lodge while Ralph walked towards a familiar beat up rental. He searched around his pocket, feeling for the keys and opened the door. Searching the interior, his eyes moved to the build in radio and his brown eyes lit up with an idea. He'd need a toolbox first, but at least his afternoon was no longer going to be a dull one.

Caoimhe, on the other hand searched around before taking down one more journal entry.

Maria. Today's been quiet so far.
I think I met a friend.
I won't tell him about us, just know that Doctor Friendly isn't all that bad.
-Caoimhe

Mentioned: Maj (Andy)

 

[BloodLightning27]

A Disgraced End - Part I​

For the last several days, Brian had been traveling alone, with limited ammunition and even more limited food and water. It was a long, long walk back into Aurora, not an easy one either. To his luck, he had been able to find an abandoned vehicle, but it was about drive-able. Upon making it back into the city, the car broke down when he had reached the outskirts. He had saved a lot of time and effort, but it was back to traveling on foot. With a limited number of bullets, he had to make the shots count. It was quite the shock that he hadn't died of hypothermia yet. Out in the wilderness, there was not really a place to find shelter...Then again it wasn't like the Lodge was that far from Aurora. Walking into town, he switched the safety off of his rifle as he was unable to help but feel as if he was being watched. The Hazmats were undoubtedly still around and were hunting him for his betrayal. It wasn't long until he reached the place where it all began...Wilcox Middle School. As he reached the front door, he raised his rifle. Knowing that he was down to his last mag, Brian had to make it count. He proceeded to try one of the doors. Locked... All locked. After going around and trying the door to the gymnasium. Decomposed bodies littered the floor. "Didn't think you'd come back here, Agent Rousseau..." A Voice greeted him.

Brian whipped around, with his Rifle still raised, only to find a Hazmat Soldier before him. "A shame that you betrayed us. Your superiors are not pleased. We were going to launch another raid on that cabin that you were staying at...But I guess we don't have to do that anymore. Now that you're here, you can either surrender and come with us quietly to face the consequences of your crimes...or die a painful death."

The Agent put his finger on the trigger not taking any chances. "Then I'll go out fighting...if its the last thing I do..." He proceeded to pull the trigger.

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between FireMaiden and Rumble Fish
​

These guns were in worse condition than Leliana thought they'd be. But, they had more weapons now, and some extra ammo. Sitting beside her on the floor was a backpack, inside everything Leliana got from those bodies. Pistols plus some ammo, knives, and a few other things that were not as important. On the table was one of the pistols, taken apart so she could clean it before adding it to the other weapons. The bodies had been burned, maybe they were still smoldering, the smell of burning flesh still hung lightly in the air. The smell of smoke stuck to her clothes, a chill still clutched onto her spine. It was an easy thing to ignore, but Leliana wished she had a better jacket. She was tired, but that was nothing new, her hand's moving without her having to really think about what she was doing. The first pistol wasn't too dirty, so it didn't take too long before she reassembled the gun with the safety on. She set it aside, grabbing the second pistol, beginning the process of striping it so she could clean it.

“Circus bugs!? How can you be circus bugs!?” The youngster then switched to a lower, deadpan tone akin to Dennis Lerey’s voice for Francis, “Ey, hey-Hey you never said anything about fighting grasshoppers, pal! You lied to us!” she swapped to a dopier voice for Heimlich, “Yeah!” Before switching back to Flick, “You’re kidding! You know what this-?” Milly stopped as she paused in her wanderings. She was bored. After her games with Maria and Nessa, she was also a little lonely. She had been wandering around the lodge in circles for a while to curb it.

It was only as she was around the corner, in the middle of her recitement as she spotted Leli. The small girl blinked softly and let out a happy trill at seeing her friend, but upon seeing the firearms, her mood shifted as memories stirred in her mind, causing her to shrink and back off. Guns were bad. They killed Ray. Why was Leli around them? Was she going to hurt anyone with them?

When she heard the little happy little noise, Leliana looked up. Milly was so cute, Leliana really enjoyed spending time with her. Though the nurse knew that the guns would make Milly uncomfortable, Leliana gave her a soft smile. The kid shouldn't have to feel scared, but it was, in a way, a good thing. If she wasn't, she could accidentally hurt herself or someone else. "Hi Milly, what are you doing?" The nurse's voice was soft, laying down whatever piece she had been cleaning so her full attention was on the little girl. "Don't worry, I'm just cleaning them, it's safe to come over."

Milly’s shrunken posture didn’t change as Leli put the guns down, only blinking quickly as she then assured her that she was just cleaning them. It took her a moment to fully realize what she was saying before finally approaching.

“You know what this is? This my friends is false advertising.” She mattered in Flick’s nasally voice before returning to her own. She looked at the guns for a second before looking at them. “Aren’t guns dangerous?” She asked quietly, still afraid of approaching them, even with the nurse’s assurance.

Watching Milly mutter a line from Bugs Life was pretty cute, Leliana resting her chin on her palm as she leaned on the table. "They are, which is why it's good to be careful around them." She said, grabbing the backpack from the floor and setting it on the table. The gun she had already cleaned and reassembled, she put back in the bag. The other one was in pieces still, so Milly should feel a little better about that. "But they aren't dangerous like this, though you could pinch your fingers a little. Anyway, it's safe, you can come over here if you want to."

Milly moved closer and finally sat down, staying quiet as she could before sitting down quietly. As she spoke further about guns, she looked at them but kept her hands firmly folded as to not touch them. She gulped a little as she was anxious about them.

The small girl pulled her teddy from her bag before turning to Leliana, her head tilted a little. She pointed towards a glock, “Um... is that like the gun Colt has? The one she always carries with the horse on it?” She looked back to Leliana, “I’ve never used a gun... they... kinda scare me.” She squeaked, her grip increasing on her best as she cuddled her right against her chest.

Leliana watched as Milly got closer and sat down, her hands once again busy cleaning the pistol slide. From the corner of her eye, she saw Milly pull the teddy bear out, then ask about the gun. Leliana chuckled softly, nodding. "No, she has a different kind of gun. Her gun uses bigger bullets, but her gun is a pistol." She explained. "These are more like my gun." It was in its holster, on the leg not next to Milly. But Leliana just couldn't bring herself to not have it on her. "It's okay that they scare you, it means you won't be trying to do anything dumb with them. But, it would be a good idea for you to learn how to use them."

Milly watched Leli closely as she answered her about Colt’s gun and she tilted her head as she then revealed to having her own. The small girl blinked but she did not feel threatened by this. While Colt was... different, she only used her gun when necessary from what she saw. As Leliana explained how she could learn how to use them, a shudder ran through her spine. “Oh-uh I don’t know. They’re loud and-and what if I use it wrong?” She asked, gripping her bear so hard she was surprised its head did not pop off. “Mum always said guns were bad. My dad had one and... no... um... he didn’t. He had a knife- wait. No. E-either way, they’re dangerous. Sh-she said people like, uh like Colt or Nile could get them and that’s why they were bad.” She stopped herself, realizing she was rambling.

“But... they aren’t bad, right? So... if they aren’t bad then the gun isn’t, right?”

Milly reminded Leliana of herself. The nervousness, the rambling, it was cute. But Leliana understood how Milly felt. When she was younger and her mother was teaching her how to shoot, Leliana was so nervous. "I wouldn't say guns are bad...but they can be used by bad people. I use a gun, but I only use it when I have to. Like everyone else here," Leliana said. Before all this went down, the nurse didn't think people around here shouldn't have access to most of the weapons they did. Now though...her attitude had changed a bit. "Colt and Nile are good people, though Nile can be a dummy sometimes. They do a very good job protecting us, so there's nothing to be worried about. It's okay."

“I guess he is... though he seems to be, as my mum would say, in the clouds a lot of the time.” She felt her stomach twist a little as she said it, “N-no sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad.” She mumbled as she rubbed her arm. The small girl gulped and her grip on her bear tightened even more. She then looked back at Leli, her eyes glistened yet dull, “I just... wonder.” She stopped for a moment, “if I knew how to use one, and I had one, maybe... maybe I could’ve stopped Beth from being caught. And... maybe Ray might not have died. It... it’s my fault.” She squeaked, looking away with a glazed look, her shoulders shaking a little as her mind thought back to that awful day. This had been on the youngster’s mind since the attack and it would not leave. But without the aid of substances or the courage to speak out, it festered. Even stabbing that monster during the last assault preyed on her mind. It was... easy. Easy to kill a monster. How easy would it be to shoot someone who was going to hurt her?

"Hey, no, you don't have to worry about saying something mean. If the grown-ups get to make fun of each other, then you can make fun of us too, it's okay. You won't get in trouble." Leliana chuckled, inspecting what seemed to be a bit of rust one of the pieces, before once again totally focusing on Milly. "No, don't you start that. Nothing that happened is your fault. Some things are just out of our control. I promise you have nothing to feel bad about." Leliana felt bad that Milly was so worried. She didn't deserve that, this kid deserved to do whatever kids did without having to worry about if she would get killed. "If you learned how to use a gun...it would mean you knew how to defend yourself. But, you don't have to learn yet."

“But... should I know how? I-i can use a knife but what if I don’t have one?” Milly Sighed and finally released her grip on her bear, “but they’re so loud and they scare me.” She mumbled afterward, her view downcast. “I don’t even like knives. I have... bad memories of them. But I also don’t want to be hurt again.” She admitted. Milly didn’t understand why she felt the way she did about them. But the once foggy memory was becoming clearer, but not enough for her to know where her thoughts originated from.

Leliana sighed softly. Something had happened to this kid that shouldn't have. And Leliana didn't know what. She didn't like the idea of someone abusing her, but it was often the likely outcome. The nurse turned sideways in her chair a, looking down to Milly's face. "I think you should learn, but only when you're ready. You don't have to be scared of the guns here or the people here who use them. But you should have something to defend yourself." The nurse turned back to the table, reaching into the bag. She felt around for a moment or two before she pulled a sheathed knife out of it. "I know you said you didn't like them, but a knife would mean in case something bad happens, you can be a little less worried because you have something to use. This just hooks into a belt loop on your pants. If you want it, I can hook it on for you." Leliana paused for a moment, her face still soft and smiling sweetly at her. "And don't feel bad about being scared. Everyone here gets scared or has something they don't like. I don't even like knives that much, so it's nothing to feel bad about."

Milly winced as Leli pulled out the knife before she relaxed when she started speaking. Leliana had such a soothing voice, it was always able to soothe her nerves. She rubbed the back of her neck as she thought about it. Milly rubbed her hands together, “it’s just... what... what if I hurt someone with it? I don’t want to hurt anyone. But I might...” She looked down, her eyes glistening from worry. She hated the idea, but she had to tell someone.

"You won't hurt anyone who doesn't need to be hurt. But...sometimes it's uncontrollable. Accidents happen, Milly, it'll be okay. You're a very sweet girl I know we can trust. Even if you don't think the same way." Leliana said softly, resisting the urge to hug the girl. She knew Milly had autism, she didn't know where on the spectrum she fell, or even if Milly knew. So Leliana wasn't going to touch her unless she initiated it, the nurse not wanting to cause her to panic. "But if you don't want to wear the knife...how about we figure out a place you can keep it until you need it?"

Milly mumbled something quiet under her breath, wrapping her arms around herself. She wanted to give the nurse a hug but she wasn’t sure if she’d accept it. As the woman complimented her, Milly’s cheeks flushed a slight pink. She thought she was sweet? A little smile curled her face and she looked away shyly, rubbing her arm, “M-maybe. Keep it somewhere safe? Yeah.” She answered finally. The clatter of small claws on the hard floor reached her ears as Penny scuttled along the floor, stopping at the door and peering at the two trough her poofy feathers.

Leliana couldn't help but smile at her. Damn it, Milly was really cute. Just absolutely adorable. When she agreed to keep it somewhere safe, the nurse moved to stand. "Let's go find a place then. We have to make sure it's within reach for you, okay?" Leliana said, looking around. There were bookcases, a loose stone in the fireplace, around the door of the little Harry Potter closet. Of course, she could always keep it near where she slept, but the choice was Milly's. Then she heard it. The little tapping of claws on the hardwood, she wasn't expecting to see a fluffy chicken. Leliana snorted a little when she saw Penny, still smiling. "Wow, that's adorable."

“Penny~” Milly called gently to the chicken who then crooned and scurried over into milly’s outstretched arms. The small girl stood up, scratching her between the eyes as she looked at the nurse, “Oh, this is Penny.” She introduces the hen, “I found her wandering around outside the other day when I was feeding the other chickens.” She added, letting the hen climb into her hoodie pocket, with her head sticking out one end.

Leliana watched as Milly called the chicken and lucked her up, smiling at the scene. It was very cute, Milly looked so happy. It was nice to know those world hadn't ruined ever part of her childlike wonder, it was amazing. "Well it's nice to meet Penny," Leliana said with a small chuckle, watching as the hen climbed into Milly's pocket. "She looks like a very good girl. You think she can help us find a good place to keep this?" The nurse asked, motioning to the knife in her hand. It was a small combat knife thing, not too big for Milly, but she may need to practice a little with it first.

Penny clicked her beak with a friendly cluck at Leliana, while Milly pet her gently. As Leli asked about the knife again, Milly nodded vigorously. Having Penny in her pocket, something to cuddle, made her more comfortable. “Yes! She would know a lot of hiding places cause she likes to nest in a couple of places that some people can’t get her.”

"She seems like a very smart chicken." Leliana couldn't help but smile at Milly. She seemed so happy about Penny, her mood had certainly improved in the last few minutes now that the chicken was in her pocket. "Let's go find a good spot then, okay? Make sure Aderyn knows where it is in case she ever needs it okay?" Leliana was worried about both the kids. Well, she was actually worried about everyone, that's her deal. Her whole job was worrying about other people. Anyway, Leliana moved away from the table, looking down at Milly. "You lead the way, show me a good hiding spot."

“Okay~” Milly chirped to the nurse, “Oh and yes I will tell Adryen. She knows a lot about guns but, I don’t think I’m ready to use them yet.” She gently put Penny on the ground and the hen happily trotted to a corner of the staircase, close to the cupboard door. With a few trills she pushed her head into a small hole big enough to get her front half in. Milly looked to the nurse “that could work. I need to make sure she hasn’t laid eggs in there first.”

Watching that chicken squeeze into the little hole was really funny, Leliana unable to keep herself from giggling. "Alright, check and see if there are eggs, and then I'll give you the knife so you can hide it where you need to." The nurse waited and watched Milly do what she needed to, leaning against the wall for a moment, glancing at the table with the gun pieces. She didn't trust people to leave them alone, but hopefully, she was just being paranoid about that. When Milly was finished, Leliana handed her the knife, grip first. "Alright, hide it where you can reach okay?"

Milly hummed gently as she crouched down and reached into the hole. Penny grumbled and clacked her beak as she tried to pull at the girl’s sleeve. “I’m not going to hurt your eggs, Henny-Penny, I’ll just move them.” She said as she emerged with a pair of pearly white eggs, putting them safely in her pocket. The hen chirped and sat down, looking like a black and fluffy tea cozy. As she stood up, taking the knife gently from the nurse, she looked up towards her face, wanting to look her in the eye but couldn’t bring herself to. “Th-thank you, Leli.”

Leliana had to chuckle watching the chicken and Milly's interaction. It was funny, but at the same time just so cute. It made the nurse feel better knowing that even in a hell like this, there were some pockets of innocence left. When Milly took the knife and thanked her, Leona nodded. "You don't have anything to thank me for Milly, I just wanna make sure you're safe." She looked away from the girl for a moment, back to the table, before once again focusing on Milly. "Which is why I'm going to go finish cleaning those guns. But you can come sit with me if you want to."

“But I want to. You’ve done a lot for me. I just wish I could do more for you.” The small girl answers as Penny crawled into her pocket once again. When the woman asked if she could sit with her, the girl nodded vigorously. Penny peered at the nurse curiously. She seemed to take to the woman despite just meeting. She had a good vibe.

Togy (Nile) ​

 

[Corgi]

​

“Fuck that.” Nile said, rapidly backing up. “Yep, that’s right, fuck that noise. Didn’t know we had Bruce fucking Banner here. Fuck that, fuck this, fuck everything, I’m out.” Nile said, speed walking out of the room.

“...” Colt could only stare, her eyes wide and brows raised to the point of aging her forehead by several decades as she tried to mentally scramble together what the fuck had just happened in front of her. She had seen some shit, people being blown to pieces, had pieces of brain on her face among other things that provoked the veteran’s compulsion to drink but had to face them sober, all she could hope was that Aderyn or Milly wouldn’t find it otherwise she was in really deep shit.

“See. This is what happens when y’go skippin’ in like a priest into a nursery.” she finally grumbled, unable to conjure up a more eloquent sentence, “Y’got some brain on yer right cheek by the by.” Her tone was flat and calm despite the fuckery she had just witnessed while internally her true thoughts were laced with f-bombs, shakedowns and the urge to deliver a swift kick in the nuts for making her panic. Owen reached up to wipe his cheek, but ultimately only added more bloody streaks to his features.

“Where are the drugs in this godforsaken farm!? Ole’ River isn’t doing so hot!” Nile called from somewhere in the halls.

“Y’wanna alert every Thing on the street!? Tone it down!” the woman growled. Trust him to only give a shit about fucking drugs rather than what they had just seen in front of them. The woman snarled under her breath, making a choking gesture with both hands, internally wishing it were possible, but she was able to shake off the frustration and turn back to Owen, “Y’okay? Y’bin bitten?”

“Nile no,” Owen called to the man. The last thing they needed was a supped up druggie on their hands. Maybe taking him with them to the pharmacy wasn’t the best of plans but Luca had asked him for something very important and the redhead didn’t have it in him to say no.

“I’m okay,” he finally responded turning back to Colt. “My jacket has seen better days though.” He lifted his arms so the veteran could see the gouged leather where the thing had attempted to claw at him. “Aubrey is going to have to give me another patch job. Speaking of which,” the turned to look around in the darkness before leaning down to pick up his own flashlight. “Where is blondie?”

Colt had caught Owen’s response to Nile. It seemed that it was beginning to dawn on him that having him with them, especially here of all places was not a good idea after all. Her eyes stayed on Owen as he reassured her that everything was okay, causing the woman’s chest to lower in relief. Unbeknownst to her, her hand kept waving back around her empty pocket. Her heart would still jump upon feeling the flat fabric against her skin, despite prior knowledge. The woman sighed through her nose and moved her other hand, giving the man a hard yet good hearted slap on the shoulder before turning around, looking for Aubrey as Owen had requested.

“Aubrey, y’can come in.” She spoke bluntly, “It’s okay, the Thing’s dead and Owen’s fine!”

Aubrey jumped at the call of her name, snapping herself back to reality. She had been lost in thought, thinking of all the scenarios that could go wrong and what to do if that happened. More time had passed than she realized when she came to hear Colt's voice. The words were both a comfort and a stressor. Even though she believed Colt when she said Owen was okay, it didn’t make her feel any better. She had to see him for herself. Without skipping a beat, she ran inside.

The blonde wasn’t sure what she was going to see, but what was in front of her certainly wasn’t it. An overwhelming scent of rot and pennies suddenly smacked her. It took everything in her to keep herself from gagging as she ran towards the tall redhead. She was so caught up in the sight of Owen she almost didn’t notice the soft squelching underneath her soles. Instinctively, Aubrey glanced beneath her to see a sea of red. For a moment, she didn’t process what that was. Eyes followed the trail, taking in the pulped mess of a body. Whatever that thing once was... It was now indistinguishable from the gored tile.

The woman quickly looked to Owen, the sticky substance staining his once clean jacket. Dark blood splattered against his pale cheeks. It looked wrong. His soft expression defiled by carnage. It quickly hit her that she didn't know what was the Thing’s blood and what could be his. “O-Oh… Owen, are you okay?!” She half-shouted, running shaky hands down his shoulders and sides, checking for any cuts or open wounds that they possibly didn’t see. All of that blood couldn’t have come from one individual. What would happen if Owen and the Thing’s blood mixed? She felt her throat close at the thought.

“Huh?” Owen asked, turning to look at the blonde, still clutching his baseball bat. He smiled, round face pulling up at the cheekbones, splattered in gore. The redhead finally looked down at his arms in the dim light of the flashlights and chuckled sadly. He looked a sight.

“I’m fine,” he assured her. “It’s not mine.” Slowly he held up his arms to show her how the jacket had protected him, but it was now in tatters. All of her tedious work was wasted. Aubrey hadn’t really done the most professional looking patch, but she had been the only one kind enough to patch it up the last time.

“I may need your sewing abilities once more though.” Aubrey's panic slowly settled as his go-lucky personality shined through the mess. She gave small nod, letting one hand settle on her cap. She trusted that Owen would speak up if something was wrong, though his jacket was a mess.

"I... I can do that." She spoke, giving a weak smile.

Colt sighed internally as the pair conversed. She knew better than to jump in with her stupid opinion but could not help but be visibly relieved to hear that the blood was indeed not his. However there was still a lingering suspicion. The woman had seen it time and time again; it was common in the forces, assuring everyone they are unharmed but within hours or even a day later they would collapse either in critical condition or dead from a concealed stab or shot wound. Her scarred back and shoulders shuddered as she remembered lost faces. The veteran huffed sharply and rocked on her mismatched heels before finally speaking.

“C’mon.” Her husky voice was low but short, “We should git what we need and get the fuck outta ‘ere.” She looked to Owen again, a glimmer of worry in her dull eyes. The man had been through hell over the last month and she could not bear the thought of something else happening to him.

“Found the drugs!” Nile called from somewhere in the building, followed by what sounded like pills jingling inside plastic bottles.

“Sssstooooop. Fffffuuuucking. Yeeeeelliiiiing!” Colt growled as she strangled the air, feeling a vein throb in her forehead. She was going to kill Owen-no Nile- no Owen- no, both of them if the idiot did not stop yelling at the top of his lungs! She could not care less if she tried about the drugs, she stopped caring about Nile a while ago, he could do what he wanted as long as it did not cause anyone else harm. Breathing sharply through her nose, she turned away to look at some shelves. While they were here, she might as well pick up some feminine products. With so many females at the lodge, they were necessary.

“Pot, meet the rage filled Kettle who failed their first grade English class!” Nile’s voice echoed from a backroom, followed by the sound of a zipper and the jingling of pills in bottles. “What the hell’s Adderall? Isn’t that for, like, Narcolepsy or some shit? Ah, screw it.” Nile said, tossing the bottle out the door behind him, the bottle of pills bouncing across the floor before hitting the wall.

“Motherfucker-ack! Owen!” She turned to the man, eyes flaring in a sense that one more clatter from the man would induce her wrath, despite her tone being no louder than a soft growl, “Tell that dense fuckin’ bastard to shut his fuckin’ maw. Or else.” Her brows lowered and her stare went through them. The thought of having to relive that hunting shop incident because another stupid prick couldn’t stay quiet wasn’t one she wished to re-visit. Owen was the one who let him come, he was going to deal with it! She had no ties to nor reason to trust Nile so it meant little to her.

“Nile. Buddy,” Owen cooed over Colt’s frustrated groans. “Shut the fuck up. Let’s not make the angry lady with a gun,” he gestured to Colt, “more angry.” It was clear he was tired despite the goofy smile. His body wasn’t used to all of this activity despite all of Hector’s workouts leading up to this point. The redhead ruffled his hair, forgetting about the blood that was quickly drying to his fingers.

“You aren’t going to find anything you want here anyway man. My guys robbed this place right before all this shit went down. It’s all back at our safe house.” He turned to the girls. “We should probably find a place to hole up near the suburbs. We can sleep at my old house and that way we'll be right near Aubrey’s sister’s in the morning.” Aubrey stood aside and watched the event unfold, her muscles aching from the tense worrying. The mention of her sister only made the sick feeling in her gut worsen. It had been nagging at the back of her mind for months now whether or not she would still be there. And if she wasn’t, what of her would be left?

“Maybe… Maybe we should… I don’t know… Look for Milly’s house first? I have a picture of her house and,” With shaky hands, she pulled out the drawing the poor girl did, a couple of tear drops still staining the paper, “And I think it’d be easier to find.” Showing the others, the nausea flooded her even more. She felt like she was doing the right thing in looking for Milly’s place first, but it only made her feel worse. Since the words had already come out of her mouth, she couldn’t take it back. The last thing Aubrey wanted to do was give the impression she didn’t want to go out on this trip. These people were risking themselves for her and she couldn’t allow herself to seem unappreciative.

“Whichever,” Owen said absentmindedly, wiping his bloody palms on his jeans. “Both are in the suburbs right? So is my mom’s place. We can hole up there tonight and that way we have a full day of daylight to search in the morning.” He gave Aubrey a reassuring smile before nodding back out the door.

“You guys can meet me out there. I’m gonna grab what I came here for.” Owen picked his flashlight up off the ground and began to pick up any bottles that looked useful, searching for the name Luca had sent him after.

“Brasi better fucking appreciate this,” he muttered under his breath.

Featuring: Togy Rumble Fish Maj