Fandom The Walking Dead; A Different Perspective

[Crono]

Ryan kept up a quickened pace as he followed after Kat down the main street. Keeping his eyes opened and scanning the immediate area along the way. It was clear she had a course of action in mind as she was making a b-line to a specific area. Of course, she hadn't let Ryan in on what that was exactly so he followed suite and nodded about getting into character. "Do dads even wear leather jackets? I'm beginning to wonder just how reliable this plan is." Did he look like a dad? Did dads have a look? Ryan was suddenly very self-conscious about it all, while amused at the same time.


He glanced at one of the nearby stores, a banging noise catching his attention. There was a corpse inside, clawing at the tall window trying to get out, at them. They could easily be the first living thing it's seen in a while, but it was trapped and wasn't a threat to them. "We should have a meetup spot other than the SUV, in case we get split up and it's not feasible to meet there. How about that store,", He started, pointing at the corpse. "Whoever arrives first can kill it, leave it's body against the window and hide out inside. When the second person arrives they'll see it's dead and know the other person is there."

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat glared back at Ryan, swiftly replying in a firm tone. "Dad's can wear anything. They don't have uniforms for fuck sakes." She said, continuing onwards towards the shelter, turning to look at the store with the infected banging on the window, she had half a mind to shoot it, but she was stopped as Ryan told her his plan for a rendevous point. Nodding and continuing to walk down the empty street, abandoned vehicles lying in waste everywhere, and she was bored out of her mind until. "They're still here.." She said, as she noticed hollow barrels with fire inside them, signs with various quotes similar to "Repent." Or "Obey." And other religous nonsense, she glared at the signs, kicking one over in extreme frustration. Grabbing her pistol from it's position tucked in her pants.


"Screw the plan, I'm going hunting." She told Ryan, running down the street now, her eyes darting in every possible direction, scanning the area for any movement or sign that they were once there, as crazy as these assholes were, they were very organised and structured, they had most likely changed their patrol routes from last time Kat was here. She and Rachel had made life very difficult for them, they made life unbareable for her, so she was going to end their lives now. Something she took extreme pleasure in thinking about. She had heard sound, more specifically talking from one of the alleyways. Ducking behind an empty truck as the voices got louder.

 

[Crono]

The signs we're truly obnoxious and out of place and the only qualm Ryan had with Kat knocking them over was the noise, she was looking for a fight. And then she did the one thing Ryan didn't want her to do. She threw the plan out the window, and ran off. "Kat!" He called out, still hushed as she ran off. The man threw his hands up in the air before letting them fall back down. "I cannot f@cking believe this." Actually, I can. He was done, so done. She wanted to go off half-cocked and get herself killed, fine. Asking him to throw his own life away though, not okay.


The man turned around and took two steps to leave when he remembered the Kat from the tent back at the base, the fragile, emotional, grieving girl who had confided in him. Maybe it was a ruse to get him to help her, maybe she'd seen that he had a soft side and decided to exploit it for her personal gain, he was frustrated enough to believe that at this moment. And...he couldn't believe he found himself turning then running in an attempt to catch up to her.


And...she was gone? How had he lost her that quickly. He growled in annoyance of his own hesitation as well as her impulsiveness. He tried looking further down the street, between the deserted cars but couldn't see any movement. Deciding she must have moved on he did as well, walking to the back end of the stores and following it along. There was a brief moment where he was aware of voices, didn't sound like Kat's though she'd likely not be talking to anyone right now, just shooting them. As he neared the voices he was about to peek around a corner into an alleyway when he stumbled on a can. A can, for fucks sake. The voices ended and Ryan's breathing hitched, expecting them to round the corner he quickly shuffled his way backwards before hiding amidst one of the back dumpsters. He un-holstered his pistol as he squatted, waiting. I should have gone back to sleep in that car.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat had noticed quickly that Ryan was no longer behind her, or anywhere she could see currently. She groaned quietly in irritation. She continued to watch the small group of around 3 men, 2 carrying pistols and one a shotgun, a 870 from the looks of it, they were talking about the devotion to god or whatever the fuck those nutjobs talked about, not that she cared, or would bother with paying attention to their insanity, she hadn't been fully paying attention to anything until that was a crackling metallic noise of some sort came from down the alleyway, the men quickly ending their conversation and turning to the source of the sound. `Ryan..` Kat groaned in her head, the men now walking towards Ryan's position, she wasn't going to allow that to happen, she vaulted over the truck's hood. Firing a shot into the head of one of the men, tucking her pistol back into her pants as she confronted the other two.


The glint in both men's eyes indicated that they remembered who she was, or had been told about her. Kat kicked the second man in the knee with enough force to displace it, his knee facing the completely opposite direction now, a spine tingling crack emitting throughout the silent alleyway, along with his painful screams, Kat smiled in pure joy as she watched the man suffer in agony, grabbing the very young teen with him, probably a bit younger than Rey by the collar and slamming his head against the brick wall behind him, blood smashing against the wall now. Taking the pistols off of the boy and man and leaving them to suffer as she walked in direction of the sound Ryan most likely had caused.

 

[Crono]

Ryan waited very briefly before hearing a shot come from the alley. There was only a brief moment of confusion before he realized it was probably Kat. Pushing from his position at the dumpster he was just about at the alley once more when the screams erupted from inside. Yup, definitely Kat. And there she was, with the biggest smirk on her face as she walked towards him. With three bodies in the alley behind her, two of which we're writhing on the ground while the third was un-moving, a pool of blood by his head. "Thought we we're just killing them." Seeing the young guy bothered Ryan, the kid probably found himself with this group having nowhere else to go, or atleast that was his guess, if they we're as bad as Kat said.


"Why make a plan if your going to abandon it five minutes in?" He was visibly frustrated, he'd just about left not long ago and he was beginning to wish he had.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat shook her head at Ryan as he brought up the point of `just killing them.` They weren't worthy of living, or even deserving of a quick death. "They don't deserve to have a painless death." She told him firmly, walking out of the alleyway now, there was one place where they'd most likely be, and that was where she was going, the two were walking away from the alleyway when Ryan asked her what the point of the plan was. "Pfft, don't get your panties in a twist. I'll handle it." She said with a rather laid back attitude in her voice, grabbing her pistol from the back of her pants as the two drew nearer to the middle of the town, closer to their base of operations. Well where it was last time. After a few minutes of walking, they had both reached where Kat had wanted them to stop temporarily, a few streets away, but in view of the town's church, nicely constructed walls surrounding it, with armed guards patrolling the area around it. Kat gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she watched it intently.


"A pit of fucking snakes, the little dicksucking fucking fucks.." She spat out behind gritted teeth, her saliva building up from the constant angry mumoring of insults and curses to the group, swallowing it down and turning to Ryan. "Today, they die. Every single one." She informed him quickly, it was true, although she had intentionally chosen to leave some things out of the briefing until such a time where it was presented to Ryan naturally, not that she cared what he'd think of it anyway. This was all for Rachel of course. Thinking of her, Kat brought out her photo again, kissing it before putting it back into her pocket, crouch running over to a pair of abandoned vehicles for cover.

 

[Crono]

Ryan spotted the walls and armed guards and he'd be lying if it all didn't make him nervous. He was eyeing two guards near one of the corners of the wall, conversing. "You've got to be kidding me." He whispered to Kat as they hid a few streets away. She was getting more angry and aggressive the closer they got. He saw her look at the photo again before rushing to some vehicles. Ryan hissed his discomfort as he followed, and when they arrived he sat with his back against the car looking in the opposite direction of the base.


"You can't seriously be thinking of going in there can you? You want them dead, I get it...I do." Do I? "But we don't know how many there are, and I don't care how good of a shot you are. This is a suicide mission." He was tired of telling her how this was a bad idea, and he guessed she was tired of hearing it but this was the end of the line, there wouldn't be anymore saying or hearing it.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat didn't pay attention to Ryan's obviously concerned voice, instead flicking the safety off of her pistol, but turning to look at Ryan as he continued with what he was saying, now paying attention suddenly and for no clear reason in Kat's mind. She listened as he spoke about what she wanted to do, and she looked back and fourth between him and the base down the street, letting out a deep breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding in and replying with. "I know it is.." She said quietly, and a lot more softly. Looking down now. Not wanting to make eye contact with Ryan anymore. Breathing through her nose quietly now, as she began speaking once again in her more soft tone.


"But they took her from me...how can you possibly know how I feel.." She said, looking up at Ryan for the last part of that sentence, her lips quivering slightly, tightening the grip of her pistol, looking back at the base now, in silence. Her eyes threatening to tear up again at the memory of those moments, she swallowed what felt like a stone down her throat, and looked back down, sitting, cross-legged on the debris filled street. Contemplating things deeply in her mind.

 

[Crono]

Ryan sighed, letting the back of his head rest against the car door behind him. "Guess that's why you had Rey wait at the car huh? For all your big talk you couldn't bring yourself to put him in this situation." Bringing his elbows up to rest on his knees as he cracked his neck, "I'm the expendable one." His voice was void of anything from before, more understanding now than anything.


"You know if you go in there and get killed Rey's going to do the exact thing your doing. Maybe not the same, but concept wise..." The man leaned to his left looking around the car at the church once again uncomfortably, then returning to his original position, turning to look at her staring at the ground. "I don't really want to die, and I don't particularly want you to die either." Running his hand through his hair before letting his head knock back against the car once again.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat looked up at Ryan, her brows furrowing. "It's not big talk." She told him sternly, it wasn't. It was just a tactic, better to not waste your entire force in one go. Leave some in reserve, it was NOT big talk, not in Kat's mind anyway. Then shaking her head as Ryan said he was the expendable one, swiftly replying with "No, you're not. You're the one I trust.." She finished off with, now returning back to that softer and quieter tone of voice from before. That part was the truth, she didn't trust Rey to do a good enough job without complaining or setting her off, thus compromising the objective, and she didn't trust Barnaby to follow any of her instructions if Rey didn't agree with them. Ryan was a sort of neutral party in their affairs, making him the perfect choice.


"I don't care if Rey does what I'm doing. He doesn't love me, not truly." She added on after Ryan continued with his sort of calm rant, if it could even be called that, to be perfectly clear Kat didn't know what to call what he was telling her, advise, no, warning, no. She wasn't familiar with people talking to her like this. But she wouldn't become aggressive towards it, not yet anyway, but Kat knew that what Rey felt for her wasn't what she felt for `her`. Shaking those thoughts out of her head as she looked back to Ryan now, lowering her pistol slowly. Loosening her grip.

 

[Crono]

"When did you become an expert on how people feel? I know I'm not so maybe he doesn't love you." Ryan shrugged, "But he cares enough that he'd be pissed as hell to find out you'd planned this suicide mission all along. More than I am, and trust me I am, and not just because it involves me probably getting killed as well." The man furrowed his brow as he turned to her.


She had to say she trusted him, didn't she? He was already regretting this. "But...dammit I have a soft spot for people who need help." Ryan scowled as he ran his hand through his hair. He told me it'd get me killed one day, guess he was right. "If we're doing this, then tell me what to do. Cause if I'm going to die, there'd better atleast be a good damn plan involved." His tone resolute through a shaky breath. He'd been prepared to act like a dad, fight, shoot people if he had to, but die? He wasn't dumb he knew the chance was there but he hadn't been prepared for just how likely it was going to be.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

"I know that he doesn't love me! For fuck sakes. I've seen true love and this isn't it!" She let out rather loudly to Ryan in anger, her fists clenching, grip tightening once again on her pistol. Glaring up obviously at him now. She had to force herself to refrain from anything else incase she drew attention or got herself even mroe worked up on something that didn't matter to her, or should've not mattered to her. Rey didn't love her, not as she was onced loved, that was true love, whatever this was wasn't. That was what Kat knew for a fact, something Ryan could never know, atleast that's what Kat thought to herself. Now punching the side of the truck in an effort to vent her frustration in a non verbal way.

 

[Crono]

She was getting loud and angry, the mood swings we're in full force. Though mostly his big mouths fault, he never knew when to keep it shut. "Cool it. I'm not trying to say one way or the other. You said you trust me? Well trust that I'm on your side and stop letting the things I say get to you and make you angry." Ryan turned himself so that he was facing Kat now, cross-legged. "You wanna talk? Talk. We've done it before, don't get angry, don't hit things. Just be in the moment. Cause if we're going in there to die." Points at the car, in the direction of the church. "Then this is going to be your last chance to say it."

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat sighed at Ryan's mood. Nodding slowly, looking down, quite ashamed at how bad she was at controlling her emotions. She said quietly "Sorry." Not looking up at him to say it. Then nodding as he talked about her trusting him. She looked up at him now, her face showing signs of being quite apologetic. "I'm Bipolar." She told him as he talked about the two having a moment together, talking about things that were important, it had helped her cope with her feelings the last time, perhaps it would work again. Stop her from getting them both killed with her blood lust and craving for revenge. "And the group.." She said, taking in a deep breath, letting it out soon after, pointing to the church now.


"I used to be affiliated with them..mercenary work, me and Rach." She really didn't like opening up like this to anyone, it made her look weak infront of them, thinking about having others view her as weak got her angry, but she quickly pushed that back down. "When they found out that we were..together, they.." As she finished the last part of that sentence she looked down at the ground once again, shaking her head. Not looking up at Ryan as her next words came out, due to the tears filling up in her eyes. "It..it doesn't matter. It's fine now.." She told him shakily. Letting her pistol drop to the ground, not having the mental strength to be bothered holding it anymore.

 

[Crono]

Ryan was glad to have her talking though what he heard wasn't exactly what he wanted to. They we're up against Mercenaries? He really was a dead man. When she mentioned being Bi-Polar he simply nodded, it wasn't too shocking and didn't bother him, though there was a pang of guilt for telling her not to get mad at him. He listened quietly as she continued, it was a surprise to hear the whole story. It made sense especially with what he'd seen with the religion aspect these people seemed to have.


"Hey, it matters." Ryan told her sternly, but soft. "It happened and it matters, and you can keep it to yourself if that's what you want. I'm not here to judge, I'm here as a friend, or atleast someone who cares anyway." He outstretched his hand towards her, if she wanted some sort of contact for comfort he was there but he wasn't going to force her. She was strong and he saw that, through all of the anger and pain.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat was beginning to break down again, she could just tell, but she couldn't stop it. No matter how hard she tried to remain strong for the benefit of herself and Ryan. But she couldn't, she just couldn't. She hugged onto Ryan tightly. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly to prevent the tears from leaking out, which did work to a small extent, a few slipping out regardless of her closed eyes. Breathing rather rapidly now in an attempt to control her emotions. "I just want her back!" She let out in desperation, Kat was on her last legs mentally, she couldn't cope under the pressure her own brain was putting on her. Shaking visibly now as she wrapped her arms around Ryan.


It took a very long time for her to calm herself down after that, the tears stopped and her breathing calmed down to a slow and steady pace. "We need to find her." She told him now, sounding rather determined, Kat couldn't believe that she was dead, she couldn't be, Rach was better than that. Yeah, that was right, definetely. Rach was still out there, looking for Kat more than likely being the answer, Kat found confidence in this belief, no. Not belief, in this fact, this undeniable truth. She felt herself getting stronger by the second with her newfound fact.

 

[Crono]

Ryan shushed Kat as she cried into him, not only because it felt natural but because they we're in all actuality close to people that would very likely kill them on sight. "I'm sorry that she's gone." He told her as she kept going. "You can't get her back, it doesn't work that way." Sorry. Saying the word didn't feel like enough but it was all he had. Ryan kept ahold of her making sure she didn't fall any lower, and he huffed out a depressing sigh. This world was cruel, more to some than others, and he hated it.


After she'd calmed down she spoke of finding the girl and shook his head. Was Kat grasping at straws in her emotional state? "Hey." Ryan said moving his head so that their eyes met. He was worried and his tone would express it at the sudden change, yeah she was Bi-Polar but this seemed to be on a different scale. "Don't let your emotions fool you. You've gone this long thinking she was gone, why the change of heart? Don't do that to yourself. Not without reason." Ryan felt uncomfortable, he didn't want to say these things, but she believed them for who knows how long.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Ryan moved his head, the two now in direct eye contact. "Because she's stronger than that. I know it." She told Ryan firmly now, clenching her jaw in a more confident gesture, pulling away, gently from him, and crouching reguarly behind the bumper of the truck, peeking around the corner of it to view the church base of operations, her eyes narrowing to give herself a little bit of natural focus on the base, noticing the religious goons patrolling the outer fences, a few jeeps with strapped on heavy weaponry being worked on outside the main entrance by a few mechanics. She turned back to Ryan now, regaining some of her more professional posture. "We need to memorise their patrol patterns, shift changes, lunch breaks. Etcetera." She carried on, pointing to the individual small groups of 3 around the base's outskirts.


"They split up into teams of three, two men with pistols or melee weaponry, and one with a larger firearm." She informed him, they hadn't changed much since she was last contracted for them. "We won't stand a chance going in guns blazing, so we'll need to be smart. I've got an idea." She finished off with, a slight smirk forming on her face. She already had a plan forming in her head that had a long span ahead of it. "We'll burn down the base, it's made of wood most of it. Then I'll find Rach. Simple." That was a plan she could get behind without any fuss, and a plan that she could carry out too.

 

[Crono]

Ryan listened to her new revised plan, happy that it didn't involve them running in and dying in a gunfight. "I'm glad to see you thinking more rationally now." He said getting off the ground and into a crouched position. "For both our sake." he teased. The man had his doubts about the other girl being alive but maybe it was worth the hope. He was just afraid that if they didn't find her Kat might sink into a low place. "It involves us actually staying alive." Hopefully.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat nodded at Ryan's comments, crouch walking away from the truck now. Gesturing for him to follow her as she waited behind the corner of the 2 story apartment building that sat down the street from the church's base of operations. Checking her ammunition quickly, they'd have to check the gas station for some flammable shit, then a convience store for some matches or a lighter or something that can set things on fire, Kat was thinking to herself. They'd have to strike at night, more specifically 10:10PM, when the entire church goes in to pray. When they had no guards on duty, and when they were at their most vulnerable. She flicked the safety back on her pistol, and pushed the door to the apartment open with her foot gently.

 

[Crono]

Ryan followed Kat in quietly with machete in hand. To the left was the more open route with living area and kitchen, the right held a hallway that likely lead to bedrooms. The man maneuvered around her into the hallway before looking into the first door on the right, mess of a room really with things scattered about. Soft items like sheets and pillows we're built up into a corner like a nest as if someone had been sleeping here at some point, it was hard to tell how long it'd been there or if it was still being used.


He slowly slid the closet door open with the blade of his machete to find more clutter. There was a gentle knock in the bedroom next door that had Ryan turning his head up so his ear was facing the direction in an attempt to listen for more but nothing more came.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Kat had heard a knock emitt from one of the apratment's bedrooms. One of the bottom floor, from Ryan's reaction, he must've heard it too. She turned to look at him, nodding once and slowly walking towards the door. She had noticed a little nest sitting in one of the corners, someone was here, when they were here was a whole different question, she stood beside the door, her back pushed up against the wall, gesturing for Ryan to come to the door. She raised her hand to pull it downwards in a signalling motion, one law enforcement and the military used to signal when to kick and or push open a door. But she knew he most likely wouldn't have understood.


She raised her leg and kicked it forward, then pointing to him as she did it. Then pointed to the door, all of this being a signal for him to kick the door open, without any words or complicated hand gestures as she flicked the safety off of her pistol, she was playing around with the safety a lot now-a-days. Tightening her grip and getting her `game face` on, IE just a more focused glare.

 

[Alstromeria]

Rey was in a stupor. He was pissed. Kat didn't follow the plan. He heard gunshots. They were not quiet. "Jayziss FUCK!" He said, kicking the side of the SUV. "Barbs, I'm done with this shit. Follow me if you want, it's going to be quiet. You can have my leftovers, heh heh." leftovers as in anyone Rey deemed to inefficient to kill, if they weren't dead or dying allready. Rey hurdeled up the open windows of an apartment building, making it to the roof. He screwed the silencer onto his Uzi and secured it under his jacket, weilding a knife between his teeth. Time for freerunning.


There seened to be an abnormal amount of human activity at a... base of some sort, from his vantagepoint, and Rey made his way there. Leaping over gaps in the buildings roofs, scaling some paralel buildings for extra height, hurdeling over ventilation units. He made good time. There were a couple people patrolling the walls, but they seemed lethargic and out of practice, unnatentive to say the least. Rey chuckled under his breath, the jump from the top of the wall and his current building was a long one. But he would make it. If he had some extra force... He spotted a piece of plywood on his roof, he grabbed it and arranged it as a springboard on top of a cinder block. Rey backed up for the jump, launching himself into the air, barely catching the top of the wall with one hand. One of the people patrolling made a questioning noise and looked over the side. Rey smirked at the man around his knife, spun out his uzi, and shot him in the head. The man fell over the side of the wall without a sound. Rey chuckled and hauled himself up over the wall, quickly and quetly. A woman had heard the noise, so Rey holstered his uzi and crept behind her with his knife, now in his hand. He put a hand over the womans mouth and slit her throat, blood spattering over the edge of the wall, followed by her body. Rey smiled, a bit bloodily, he had cut his tounge on his knife once again. "Time for some REAL fun..." He chuckled quietly.

 

[Crono]

Ryan watched Kat make the hand motions, open the door right? Wrong, he realized as she made the kicking motion, he felt it might be a bit much but there was no telling what could be in the room. Moving into position in front of the door he tensed, bracing himself as he raised his foot and kicked heavily at the door. It splintered near the handle, and flew open. There was a flurry of noise following it as he watched an orange cat fling itself up onto a short dresser and out of the partially broken window, screaming bloody murder as it went.


A chuckle escaped the mans lips, he can honestly say he'd never broken down a door because of a cat before. Now he had. "Well, we ruined somebodies day." He said quietly.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

As Ryan kicked the door open, she swiftly followed behind, raising her pistol and turning her body quickly to face every direction in the room at least once, if not twice. It all happened in a split second, and then she noticed that it had been a cat, she groaned in annoyance and left the room quickly. Jogging up the stairs, pushing open the rest of the door's gently with her foot, slowly entering all the other rooms, she had finished sweeping every room, with only one exception, the attic was still unchecked, she pulled down the ladders, climbing up slowly, poking her head up through the entrance to the attic, only for an unknown assailiant to spray some form of gas into her face, it wasn't pepper spray that's for sure, but it gave her a hell of a scare.


She fell down from the ladders with a thud, groaning and getting back up, rubbing her sides as she quickly climbed back up, the unknown man attempting to get out through the window, tackling him and putting a bullet through his brain, his head itself covering most of the noise made by the gunshot, acting as a silencer essentially. She began rubbing her eyes and spitting on the floor in an attempt to get as much of that stuff from her face as possible.