Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[Brax]

In Fear and Faith

Andy had calmed down by the time she made it to the door of her bedroom. While she was not going to pretend she liked Vanessa, knowing about her hallucinations made it easier to see why she acted the way she did. Luca seemed to have taken a liking to the performer, like a little stray that he took under his wing. The fact that this bothered her upset her more than the actual fact that he liked her. At the end of the day, she didn’t trust the girl though. She was too unstable, too impulsive, and too unpredictable. Going out into the city with only Vanessa to watch her back would be essentially suicide.

When she opened the door, she found Luca with a book in his hands. He looked peaceful. His icy eyes scanned the worn parchment colored pages before looking up to greet her as she entered. Green, analytical eyes scanned his face for the first time since she had gained new information. She wasn’t sure how she had missed how tired he looked before, maybe because he often looked that way. His words from the other night danced around in her head more than she cared to admit. It made her feel like a child. Each time she opened her mouth to speak, she ended up only closing it instead.

“We need parts,” she said, deciding to get straight to business. “For the generator. Vanessa said the circus had a rather large one, which makes sense. Either we can scavenge it for parts or upgrade. Either would benefit us, a large chunk of the appeal of this place is that we still have power.” The woman took a seat on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap. Her fingers fiddled with her braid as she processed through the information.

“Okay.” Luca groaned, keeping his eyes fixed on the woman’s form. He folded the page that he was reading before shutting the book once more.

“I’m going to take her out tomorrow to get it.”

“She is the one who busted it. It is only right she goes out and gets the shit we need to fix it.” The man grabbed the pack of cigarettes from the top of his nightstand and put one in his mouth. Knowing that Andy had been getting ready to go out with Vanessa was an issue only for the fact that he knew he would not be accompanying them. The Italian didn’t misplace his trust in the acrobat; she was much like a lost puppy, tied to some sort of ideology which he did not agree with but understood nonetheless.

“Are you going to be alright without me?” The man asked.

“Sure,” Andy responded with a shrug. A playful smirk pulled at the corner of her full lips. “Without you I won't have anyone unloading whole clips of ammo for fun.” The redhead called back to their earlier trip to the university. “I’m going to take Aaron with me I think. He’s proven himself to be loyal enough and he knows his way around a gun. Not to mention I’ll need him to dismantle the generator. The more important question here is if you are going to be okay without me.” The Italian leaned forward, resting a closed fist within the other. He cracked his knuckles as he leaned forward so that his elbows could rest on his kneecaps.

​

“Whatever you think is right, go with that. I have made it over fifteen years without you just fine. The lodge will remain standing.” While Andy had a moment to smile to herself, there had been nothing about this conversation that prompted Luca to do the same. Perhaps it was the fact that he found himself drained of energy, but he didn’t have the patience to return the volley of sass provided by Andy’s presence.

“Just be safe. I can handle the rest of these idiots. If not, someone else will step up and take my place.”

“I’m not leaving you much backup,” she noted seriously. “Colt and Owen are gone, but I hope they will return tomorrow. You really only have Hector and Tre here if something goes amiss. Radio me if anything happens. I’ll turn around.” It was stated as a command, but felt more like a question. Last time they had left the lodge without any fire power, the soldiers had attacked.

“You did not even consider yourself a viable leader until a few hours ago. I will not be briefed on protocol or the details.” The man retorted, lifting a hand up to place an index finger against the side of his head while his thumb extended along his jawline. “I have taken care of far worse people in equally harsh conditions.” Part of him was angry that she had decided to go, but he also knew it was probably for the best. Leaving it to just Aaron and Vanessa by themselves would be a questionable decision, alternatively.

​

"I still don't consider myself a 'viable leader,' I'm just doing what I can to help out." Andy used air quotes to further articulate her irritation. She gave a characteristic somersault of her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. Surely he could read between the lines here. Andy wasn't heartless even if her worry was going over the Italian's head. "I've never doubted your ability to take care of things." The redhead added as she stared him down. "No matter how irritating your inflated ego is."

There was no response. Just a pause, before the man nodded reluctantly. Luca pushed himself up off of the chair he had been sitting on. He used the side of the glass bottle on his nightstand to put the cherry of his cigarette out before he dropped it onto the wooden tabletop. Even something as simple as getting up from taking a seat was becoming a chore. The man turned his head around momentarily so he could look at Andy before letting out a sigh. His feet led him closer to the girl, until there were only a few inches between the two. Without a word his hands extended out to cup both sides of her face, guiding her lips onto his own for only a brief moment. Then he let her go.

“Come back to me, amor.”

Andy pushed up on her toes, the brief kiss obviously not enough to sate her appetite. She pulled him down till their lips met once more. With her arms still draped around his neck, she pulled back and looked into his eyes. In return, Luca rested his forehead against hers, before closing his own. The worry that churned in her emerald hues contradicted with the smug turn of her mouth. Meanwhile, Luca's hands had made their way around the small of her back so that he could hold her close.

“Just make sure I have something to come back to.”

Featuring: Maj

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

Vanessa walked through the woods outside of the fence around the lodge. Andy intended to take her to go get parts. Was it going to be just the two of them? The acrobat somehow didn't see that ending well at all. On the other hand, if this succeeded without a hitch, Luca may be happy with her for a change, instead of frustrated by her. Still, did it have to be with Andy?

you should kill her
no one would ever know
There is no chance of you getting caught
she was never nice to you anyway
she's just like the rest of them
kill her
do it!

"No! Fuck off ye bawbags!" The Harlequin growled at the voices that chattered away at her. "Luca would be unhappy if she didn' come back, so that's that." She said, crossing her arms across her chest. Truthfully, she couldn't wait for Hector to get that medication if it meant getting rid of the voices.

Ever since his talk with Ralph and the throat shattering punch that Andrea gave him, Michael had retreated back into “his” RV to recover from the unprovoked attack from the redheaded female; even though the lock on the vehicle’s doorknob had been broken for the last few days, and as such, the safety he actually would get if the girl decided to attack again were slim to none.

It took the man time and crying on the bed to recover. But once the immense pain in his throat had ceased, Michael finally rose from his bed like a fat phoenix from the ashes with the mission to recover his birthright and the thing he had gone into the lodge for originally. His breakfast

Bursting the door open, he angrily stormed out of the RV and began marching towards the lodge. Yet, moments before he could get to the entrance of the wooden building, he saw the acrobat girl from before beginning to walk into the woods.

Michael may have been hungry, yet his thirst was simply too great to ignore. Once the girl had exited the surrounding fence, Michael followed after, with the intention of trying to flirt once more with her… and hoping that the conversion didn’t head into explaining twitch to the Scottish again.

While following her around, Michael started hearing Vanessa talking to herself, almost as if she was dialoguing with someone. This ended weirding him out, yet he had one question from all of this.

“What the fuck is a bawbag?” The man asked himself.

The neckbeard decided to ignore the talk the girl was having with herself and continued forwards.

With no plan nor clue of what to do at all, Michael just asked her from afar.

“Hey, you want some company?... or something.”

Vanessa opened her mouth to yell at the new voice, but this one sounded different somehow, familiar even. She turned about and looked around, her mismatched eyes scanning the treeline until she saw Michael, and her right eye widened in recognition.

"Aren't… you the guy what were tied up in the bathroom?"

From anything he was currently expecting to hear, Michael did not expect that question. Was that really the only thing she remembered him from?

“... Yes, Yes I was in the restroom. What about you, where you also tied in a restroom or something?”

"No, I was tied up in a basement for two years." She stated bluntly as she walked over to him.

“...”

Alright, he also DID not expect that. That statement made Michael nervous, and he knew that when he got nervous he ended up doing or saying some stupid shit. He used all of his power to try to not blurt out anything at all.

“So why did you Hang around there for so long”

Fuck.

he wants to know about it
don't talk about the orphanage
he asks too many questions…
make him go away...
he will find out!

The voices whispered relentlessly, constantly digging away at what is left of her sanity. She blinked a few times and smiled. This smile was not a kind or genuine one, but rather a grin of mischief and malice. "Mind yer own business. Unless your me thong, don't get up me arse." She growled through her teath.

“Well- I, uhhhh”

This entire conversation was now crashing down along with any hopes of attempting to flirt with the girl, and Michael knew it. Under all circumstances, he was Not gonna let himself be throat punched once more, so the neckbeard took a few steps back before attempting communication with the female once more, in the possible scenario that she turned violent such as Andrea had before.

“I-I’m sorry for my last comment… but how could I Knot after that?”

This was the second bad pun he had made to a possible serious thing she had said. Michael quickly realized he had likely fucked up and started to prepare himself to run away in case the girl showed aggression.

Vanessa's head tilted to the side as she contemplated his last sentence. She could tell her ment no harm in his words, and she had indeed caught his joke. "Ya think yer so punny, don't ya?" She sneered mockingly.

The response that Vanessa had given him was a lot calmer than he had anticipated. But still,he could not let his guard down just yet “w-Well… I guess?”. Michael wasn’t actually that good with puns, yet they always ended up coming out when he least wanted to.

"So why are ya out 'ere?" She asked curiously. She was still a little suspicious of his motives and why he was out here, but she did have a memory of this man before the restroom instance. He had been awkward but kind enough. She decided she would gauge his reaction to get a better sense of him.

“Well, I...” There was no way in hell he would just tell her that he had decided to follow her outside due to his thirsty ass. Michael quickly began to think of what his next action should be, and it took him around 10 seconds before finally coming up with a solution. The neckbeard proceded to lean himself against a nearby tree in the least impressive way possible, and once the neckbeard had comfortably positioned himself on the tree he finally responded.

“Uhhh- just wanted some fresh air. You?”

"Well I broke the feckin generator and cracked my whatever an everyone's mad at me. On top o' that, I've gotta go out on a run with Andy and that's gonna be about as painless as wrestlin with an angry lion." She fumed as she began to pace back and forth. "I know where we might be able te get the parts te fix the generator, and I want te help… but I've not gotten along with that cuntybollocks since Luca found me." Vanessa stopped and looked at the fat man leaning awkwardly against the tree and finally finished her rant. "I just want te please Luca. He saved me.. I owe him everythin."

Excluding all the Scottish sounding slangs which he had not understood, Michael could kinda understand how the girl felt “Hey, Don’t sweat it for the generator thing, I have made everyone at the lodge mad so many times that it should probably be a sport by now” the man chuckled before continuing “And well, although I may not know your history with Andrea to make the run with her as difficult as...fighting a lion?” The neckbeard questioned the last statement a bit since he had never heard it before. “Well, I can tell you that my two only interactions with her ended with my throat punched, so I’ll have to assume that getting along with her is probably… difficult” the man decided to leave the hentai manga out of the statement for obvious reasons.

“So hey, as long as you make that run as fast as possible then you’ll have to spend the least amount of time with her… and well, I don’t know what to tell you about how to repay the ¨debt¨ you have with Mr. Corleone over there, but you’ll probably figure it out.”

"Mr Corleone?" She asked quizzically, confusion evident in her tone. She didn't know who that was/ or what it ment, but that definitely wasn't Luca's last name.

“Goddammit” Michael thought after the girl had not gotten the reference. Had she been living under a rock her entire life?... well, she did state before that she had been tied up in a basement for two years, so that may have had something to do with it.

“I mean, you know… Don Vito “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.” Corleone?. From the godfather” The neckbeard told the girl while making possibly the worst impersonation of the character for the iconic line.

Vanessa tilted her head to the side. The voice he had made seemed so odd that it would have made her laugh if not for the utter strangeness, and her lack of understanding. "I… don't have any family." She said slowly, confusion still evident in her voice. "Much less a godfather."

The acrobat waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. "Besides, I'll be fine. What's important is this upcoming trip with Andy. It's on me home turf where we are goin. Thats in my favor. I'll be in me element." A grin of bravado stretching across her cheeks as her chin lifted confidently and she placed her hands on her hips. She almost seemed like she was posing like a hero.

“w-What?” Michael replied in confusion, he had just told her about the godfather, not about her godfather… or well, lack thereof.

"We're goin to the circus I'm from te get the parts!" She explained, throwing her hands upward in an almost exasperated manner that was not reflected in her jovial tone. "We had a generator te run the power for fer trailers used by the more important performers." Her eyes lit up in excitement. "While we're there, I can get me stuff!"

“o-Ok?” The neckbeard said while still being confused. From all places from which to get a generator, he would have never considered a zoo to be his first option. Wouldn’t any store with an electronic’s department be a better option than going to the zoo due to the simple fact that the zoo probably doesn’t have that much stuff in it anyway?.

But alas, it was not his decision to make in the first place, so as long as they come back with the generator then why should he care?. “Aight” Michael exclaimed “Wish you luck on going with the red headed hawkeye to the circus, and hope you don’t find a zombified elephant or something.”

"D'ya really think that could happen? We have bears and lions… shite like that at the circus!" She exclaimed. She hadn't seen any undead animals, but she wasn't looking forward to finding out if they exist by encountering an infected bear or lion "That would be no fun at all."

“Well...” Michael then tried to remember any instance in which he may have seen any zombified animals for the entire month that the apocalypse had run rampant across Aurora, yet no occasion of that event could come to his mind. “I haven’t seen any zombified animals...yet. Plus, I would like to disagree, a zombified bear would be fucking awesome!... with the exception of those who encounter it of course."

"Well…. At least I've got somethin te worry about more than an angry carrot." Vanessa declaired with a slightly nervous giggle. "But would they be slow… like we are when we come back?" She asked with morbid curiosity. "It could be as simple as outrunnin em, right?"

“Since animals are different to humans then I would have to say...fast, they would probably remain their speed.” He actually had no idea of what he was talking about, but since dogs in Resident Evil maintained their speed then it should be the same in reality.

“So, don’t tell anybody I told you this, but it’s not actually if you can actually outrun the zombie bears from the circus, but if you can outrun your companion. So as long as you can outrun female Legolas over there, then I’m sure you’ll be Fine, haha.”

"Hmmm…." Vanessa began to contemplate his words. She was tall, slim, and able to maneuver quite well. The acrobat had no doubts that she could outrun the angry redheaded woman. But then again, she didn't exactly trust Andy yet. For all Nessa knew, the woman would shoot her in the leg to escape herself.

but if you get her first…
it would be so easy
you know the place best.
why not do it?
why not?
why not?

Vanessa shook her head quickly, trying not to ignore the disembodied voices. "Perhaps … it's not the worst advice, at least." She decided, meeting his gaze.

"I mean, I can't be any kind 'o useful if I'm dead now, can I?"

 

[The Mad Queen]

The following is a collab between myself and TheMightyRedLemon​

Maria stepped into the kitchen and glared up into a familiar place. It was where the acrobat, the only other foreigner at the lodge was staying. As per usual, she wasn't sure just how long she'd been out but the woman did remember that she had made a promise.
And better for Maria to train than Caoimhe.
"Vanessa. It's time. Meet me outside in five." She called up "Unless yer busy."

The purple clad acrobat peered over the side of the rafter she was perched in, having heard the familiar irish brogue of the MMA fighter. "I'll be down in a sec!" She called, swinging her legs over the side of the rafter.

With a smirk at the young woman's insistence, Maria marched outside. When Vanessa got there she was already wrapping her hands up in bandages and pacing back and forth. The garden (if you could call it that) outside the lodge would have to do. It was a far cry from the boxing ring Maria had first learned to throw a punch in, but it would serve it's purpose.

"So I think I should either start by askin' what yer wantin' from this. Yer small, so chances are you'll be fighin' people bigger. I could teach ya how to use their weight against 'em, or I could just stand back and let ya go crazy on me. See if ya can actually manage to land a hit. Either way...We're startin' now, love."
She shrugged, a smirk still across her face.

"I just want te be able to fight back and defend myself. How can I be useful te anyone if I need savin all the time?" It was clear that Vanessa was determined and ready to learn. "I'll do whatever ya think is best fer me to learn." She concluded, preparing herself mentally for what came next.
"Well, you're eager then." Maria nodded "I guess the best way to start is for ya to show me what I'm workin' with. Try and hit me." The woman smiled and raised her fists. Her legs spread out as she took up a defensive stance.

The acrobats eyes darted back and forth, scanning the woman's stance before making any move. Slowly, she started to inch in. "S'just gotta land a hit right?" She asked as she came closer, her muscles tensing slightly, almost like a cat about to pounce.
"Aye. If ya can." Maria chuckled "Look, don't worry about hurtin' me. I've been battered plenty 'a times in the ring, I got stabbed a few days ago for the first time and none of it has slowed me down."

Without another moment of hesitation, Vanessa sprung forward, throwing a quick overhand punch. She expected she wouldn't make proper contact with the experienced fighter, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give it everything she had. At the last second, the acrobat dropped down, jutting her leg out to catch Maria in the back of the ankle suddenly.
Maria stepped to the side when the first punch came flying towards her, trying to grab Vanessa by the arm. Although she managed to get a grip, the leg caught her by surprise and she almost went down. Her grip around the acrobat's wrist loosened as she fought for balance, and she tried to throw Vanessa onto her back by redirecting the punch.

In her head, the woman knew it probably wouldn't work. She'd lost a lot of the momentum, after all.

Vanessa pulled her wrist towards her and rolled forward quickly, trying to either break the grip on her wrist or make Maria hit the ground.
Maria let go as Vanessa pulled on the wrist, and stepped back. She threw no punches nor kicks in the acrobat's direction and continued to hold a defensive stance. Her eyes watched the woman's movements, not seeing any style in particular but she definitely had agility. That was to be expected.

The acrobat came out of the roll on her feet, quickly spinning around to face her adversary. She scanned for any openings, but didnt see any obvious ones.

other than her legs
if she cant move..
if her legs are broken..
..she cant win!

Vanessa shook her head to clear away the disturbing voices so she could focus on the matter at hand more clearly. Besides, Maria was sure to be expecting another leg sweep. Taking a step forward, the acrobat dropped her guard and simply began to walk calmly towards the Beast of Derry, a smile coming across her lips. As she got closer to her opponent, Vanessa tossed a knee up in attack.

Maria just raised an eyebrow as the younger woman approached with a smile, her arms still up to defend herself. She blocked the knee from impacting against her by throwing down one of her elbows, impacting against the kneecap.

Her leg smacked back down to the ground and Vanessa felt her knee start to buckle. In more of an attempt to stop herself from falling down than an attack, vanessa threw her weight backwards, catching herself on her hands and using the momentum to kick out in a wide ark over her body in a back handspring that served to not only help her catch her balance, but to attack and retreat simultaneously.

With her wrists still raised to her chest and face to defend herself, Maria took a wide step back to avoid the kicks. Steading herself, she prepared for Vanessa's next blow. "Ya got heart. Just need the focus." She called out "Try to wallop me again."


Vanessa stepped forward, pain shooting through her knee as she moved. She stopped advancing and began to strafe around Maria, looking for any opening.
Maria's eyes scanned the acrobat, moving her body only slightly as the young woman did just to watch where she would pounce next.
A smirk was still pressed on her face.
"That's it. I see what you you're tryin' to do..."

Nessa suddenly kicked off to the opposite direction she had been strafing, darting in low and moving past the Irish woman. As she passed by Maria, the Harlequin spun on her heel and brought her fist upward towards the women's side.
Maria defended the fist, grabbing Vanessa by the wrist and twisting it while bring her leg up in an attempt to kick the woman back. She held back with her blow, making sure she wasn't actually injuring the woman.

Nessa was caught by supprise. She thought for sure that would work. As Maria caught her wrist and twisted, the acrobat stumbled forward, causing her to become momentarily off balance and disoriented. As she regained her focus, she had only time to utter "o blyad'..." before the kick connected with her.

"Ya need to keep yer guard up. Even if yer goin' in to attack ya can't leave yerself open like that." Maria scolded, stepping back "Go again."
"Guard up..." Vanessa panted. "... Right..." She put her hands up, mimicking Maria's stance. "Like this aye?"

Maria approached the woman, her arms down as she studied the stance.
"Aye, that'll do it. Spread your legs out just a little bit too, like this." Maria demonstrated, one foot in front of the other to maintain balance while also allowing room for a kick should the woman need it.

"I'm not sure if y'ill be able to hit me today, love. But at least I know what ya can do. Yer small and fast, but can't really take a hit yerself. What we should focus on is getting ya to do hit and run." Maria smiled, she continued to pace the woman as she examined her stance "Dashin' in, layin' down some hits and then disengaging before they kick yer head in. Kinda works on these dead fuckers anyway, so yer in luck."

 

[Rumble Fish]

​

Ralph found himself pacing back and fourth in the lodge's kitchen, his cane tapping on the floor every few seconds. Sure, it had taken him a few (dozen) tries but he'd put the radio from Jenna's car back together after taking it apart and the thing was still working. With that task out of the way, he was stuck for something to do when it hit him like a cold slap across the face. A field test of his findings. But when would the man have a chance to test the nurse's findings? That was when he remembered the run, and how he'd mentioned it to the gang.
Taking the radio he cleared his throat.

"This is Doctor Ralph Fisher. Everything is normal enough at the lodge...How are you?" He winced a little bit as his question.

Colt's nerves prickled as she felt the vibration of the radio against her skin, the good doctor's muffled voice coming through her cargo-pants. At least it did its job and remained quiet enough to not alarm the others or anything that could be around them. The woman slipped further away from the group as they walked and took the radio from her pocket, clicking it and holding it to her ear.

"Hey mister." The veteran responded huskily, "Good t'know yer all alright. We, uh... we're okay." she scratched the back of her neck in her pause. She decided against telling the doctor about what had happened at the pharmacy. She did not want anyone to worry, especially Andy. The last thing she needed was to worry more about Owen than she already did. She breathed through her mouth quite hard before finishing, "Couple of hiccups but shit happens. Everyone's in one piece."

Ralph sighed in relief "That's good. Hopefully it stays that way." He smiled "I was wondering, and sorry to ask this now but would you get a chance for a field test of the findings? If everything is going smoothly we may not get another chance, at least not for a while." He winced once more at his question, knowing how it sounded. All he could do was wait for Colt's response. Hopefully she wouldn't shoot it down completely.

Colt blinked a few times at the man's question. Field testing? The veteran grumbled a little as she considered her answer. What would he want them to do? Could they do it? Finally she cleared her throat, "Um, I-I think it depends on what it is, sir. But... probably." The inflection in her tone sounded more like a question rather than assurance. Realising this, Colt turned the radio back on again, "No' like I'm tryin' t'deflect or nothin' I just-I- eh, just gotta be sure it's doable, y'know." There was a nervous chuckle before releasing a groan, head tilted up and teeth gritted as she sucked air through them. Her nerves were bouncing and without her flask, they were able to roam free without the risk of drowning.

"The thing I mentioned about masking our scent." Ralph sighed, squeezing the ridge of his nose "I know I'm asking a lot, but if this actually pays off it will mean that runs in the future should be a lot safer. Just so long as you keep quiet, and keep your distance it should work." He shook his head "Remember, these things can still see but their strongest senses are hearing and scent. You'll have to smear your clothes in...Their guts."
"Fu-oh FUCK- yes! That!" Colt could feel the prickling in her skin as her face lost colour, how could she forget that? It was this morning! The woman groaned and a palm connected to her face. Fantastic... "I-Ugh fuckin'-I'm fuckin' sorry, doc my... my fuckin' mind is a bit-" she did not know how to finish that sentence. If she told him why, he would worry and probably tell the others. She had to keep her thoughts together. Testing his theory, she had to focus on that.

"N-Never mind, never mind- yep. Yep, yep I'll bring it up with the others and will do it tomorrow. They've been through a lot today and I don' wanna push 'em. I mean... No. I'll figure something out to make it work." the veteran breathed out, her body deflated. Thankfully it was only just them talking, but as much as she trusted Ralph, she knew she sounded unusual. Her memory was not that bad, was it? This was not good. What else had she forgotten?

Ralph paused, an eyebrow raising slowly as he clutched the radio in hand. "Colt, is everything alright?" There was something about the woman's tone that he noticed immediately. Colt was the sort to tell him if somebody had died, but that didn't mean that the run had been clean. Then again, if someone was injured then they would be rushing back to the lodge and Leliana would have been informed. No, this was something different.

"Yeah, we're fine." Colt cleared her throat, "I-I jus- pfft, heh ha, I just feel a lil' fuckin' stupid for forgetting." The woman tried to keep her tone steady. She should not be this anxious talking to Ralph, but at this point everything was rattling around in her head with no rest. Trying to save face, Colt scratched the back of her increasingly damp neck as she turned the radio back on, "If yer askin' if I still got me leg, ha that's a good 'un. Hasn't fallen off yet." It was only after saying that that the woman cursed herself, she never joked about that, and hated people that did. Idiot.

Ralph chuckled a bit at that last remark but quickly held his tongue. "Well, that's quite alright. When you're away on a run it's hardly the fist thing that comes to mind." Not when supplies were low, anyway. "Don't worry about it, Colt." That wasn't the only thing bothering her and Ralph knew it, but the doctor wasn't about to push. Not while Colt was still out there.

"Heh, well... it does to me." She finished her chuckle before pausing. He was already suspicious. Would he be more mad if she told him now or if he found out through a third party after something happened? With a deep breath, she finally spoke again. If something happened because of this, surely they would be more upset if she hid it. She was not going to tell her group. They did not need that baggage.

"Ralph, I'm fucked." Her grip on the radio increased as she spoke in a worried whisper, "Really fucked! Not-not like anything has happened but... Christ alive, this-thi-this could be a problem." she gripped her arm tightly, partially regretting this already.

Ralph's gaze narrowed and the man sat down. "Take your time. What's been happening?" His tone, as always was soft and welcoming. It was as if the man was opening a door.

"Nothing, everything is fine. With the others at least. Even Nile's bin behaving himself. They're okay and things are okay and I don't wanna ruin it." Colt sighed, turning further away from the group and folding her arm over the other. "I don't have my flask. I dropped it outside before we left." she sighed, "But-but it isnt a big deal, I-I'm overreacting, it'll be fine. I just-just gotta try and keep focused."

With a heavy sigh, Ralph leaned back in the chair and spoke into the radio once more. "You've been the one to keep things in check over there. As per usual." He smiled "I'm pretty sure Nile's that scared of you at this point he won't try his usual tomfoolery." He chuckled "You don't need your flask, Colt."

"He'd better not. Might make him my lab-rat for yer theory if he pushes me enough. At least that way we both get what we want." Colt rubbed her neck with a little chuckle, but what he said next made the woman sigh heavily, "I-I know but, it's already been a few hours and I'm," why was everywhere so itchy? After a few moments, she continued. "Feelin' all shaky, nothin' bad but, I-I'm worried. They don't know, and I don't want 'em to, they don' need t'worry 'bout me. It's my job to worry for 'em." The woman stopped again to sigh. Breathing heavily did help to an extent.

"I'm not sure Mr Crayman would be too fond of that idea." Ralph shook his head, a grin on his face. "Well, if you can make it a few hours without anything happening you can make it longer. That said, the lodge isn't going to fall apart if you take five minutes to look after yourself though."
"When have I ever cared what Mr. Crayman thinks?" Colt tried to keep a happy inflection but it was nothing but a mask. When the man spoke again, Colt cleared her throat a little, "Um... uh, about that. I don' think we'll make it back t'night. It'll probably be t'morrow. I dunno if I'm gonna manage." Her grip on the radio tightened as her tone rose and wavered, "I'm worried I'll do something." Her shoulders hunched up as she said this.

"You won't do anything." Ralph shook his head, holding the radio closer to his face "Outside of maybe worrying too much. It's as you said though, Nile's behaving himself. For once." If Nile could change then maybe Michael wasn't a lost cause after all. Ralph wished he could've said the same for Cletus or Ivan, but Cletus had been torn to pieces before he had a chance and Ivan had left in the night. "So maybe things will go smoothly."

"Maybe..." The woman sighed gruffly, "It's just I," she shook and gripped the radio even tighter, "Really need a drink right now and I can't do anything about it." The woman sighed for the umpteenth time, running a scarred hand through her hair. She was not planning to tell Ralph what had happened, inducing more worry would do little to help. After a moment, steadied her breathing. "Yer right. It might be okay."

There was another long pause from Ralph before the good Doctor spoke again. "I know. But if you can get through today then it's a good start. Just take this drinking thing one day at a time and I know you can make it. It's sort of the same as staying alive in Aurora when you think about it. Each of us is thinking about the day to day stuff, living to see tomorrow."

"Hm. It's funny y'mention that." The woman mused, "That's how it was back in Afghanastan and Syria. Pushin' through to tomorrow. Jus'... hopin' to see the next morning." There was a silence as the veteran tried to wrangle those intruding thoughts back into the dark paddock of her mind, knowing if she were to dwell on them the urge to drown them would increase and make things infinitely more difficult. "I don' think I can go cold like that. But... I'll do what I can till we get back."

He leaned back in the chair, listening to the woman's words and waiting for his moment to offer what he could. "Just do your best."

"Fuck, sir... When have I not, hm?" There was a slight chuckle in that weary yet worried tone.

Ralph chuckled back. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I know we wouldn't have made it this far without you."

"Don' start that. We got some pretty able people. Y'would've been fine without me."

"To pardon my French, Colt. That's a load of crap and you know it."

"I dunno, I mean... things run fine when I'm no' there. Ya'll held yerselves fine when them damned Things came a-knockin'. I just attracted them."

"And where would we have been if you weren't there to lead them away?"

There was only silence on the other side, despite her thumb clearly being on the button due to a lack of white noise.

"Exactly. See, you know I'm right about that one."

"Maybe. Still, sometimes I dunno why ya'll even listen t'me. If I remember right, most of ya'll just thought I was some useless drunk. And I still am. I can just shoot'n bark orders." There was a melancholy chuckle, "Still. Most of ya'll are still alive."

"Maybe one or two did and maybe they still do but that's not true for most of us here." On the other side, Ralph sternly shook his head.

Colt only sniffed from the cold air in response before ending her pause, "I dunno. Maybe it's just me that thinks that. But that don' matter. Don' go spreadin' this around, but I give more of a fuck about ya'll."

"Of course, I'll keep this whole thing between us."

"Like I'm meanin' jumpin' on a live grenade givin' a fuck." The woman pointed down despite the good doctor not being here, "If I had t'git myself killed if it meant ya'll were okay, I'd do it. Why wouldn't I? I don't... don't care about my life. I only save myself from shit t'make sure folks git out okay."

Ralph's eyes widened at that. "Oh, damn...Well, don't go throwing yourself on any grenades anytime soon. You're worth so much more to the people here than that. A lot more than you think."

"Sorry, um, that talk was normal in the- never mind." She did not want to keep returning to that place. "I mean it, though. This is gonna sound morbid, but if this whole shit-storm ever happened," there was a pause, "I'd... not be here. I'm not happy about it -Christ alive, no! This fuckin' bullshit shouldn't have happened but, um, y'know what I mean."

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean." Ralph sighed "Just...It's like I said, don't go sacrificing yourself. There's people around who care about you."

The woman sighed, "Maybe."

"For sure, Colt. For sure."

There was another sniff, "Yeah... Look, um. I should go back to the group. Just, tell Andy and Luca that we'll be back tomorrow- We're fine, everyone's okay but we'll be back tomorrow and... I'll be in touch and... hopin' everyone's okay. Can y'do that for me?" the conversation had left the veteran rather rattled. She had the trio with her, but something about knowing everyone else was safe would help to settle her turbulent mind. Perhaps it was the lack of ethanol in her blood, but the walls were cracking.

"Of course. I'll take care of it." Ralph nodded "Just worry about getting back in one piece, you hear me?"

"Well... let's hope so. Dunno how I'm gonna cope, but I guess gettin' everyone back in one piece is a good incentive. I'll tell ya how the trial goes if we can do it. I know it's important to ya. And us by peroxy." And with that, the radio was shut off, but she would still be able to hear anything. As she put the radio away, her right hand swatted to her flask's usual pocket. No panic this time, simply a melancholy sigh of defeat. Picking herself up, the vet caught up with the group, her eyes staying forward and empty.

Featuring: The Mad Queen (Ralph)
Mentions: Maj (Andy) Brax (Luca) Togy (Nile)

 

[Maj]

PART 6​

November 21st, 2018
6:34 PM
The Jordan Residence


Owen hadn’t anticipated the ache in his chest that came when he gazed on the familiar porch of his family home. The white door with the etched glass windows shone from under the grey roofed awning as if to bring him into a familiar embrace. Despite all the madness that had happened, his mother’s house looked untouched. There were no broken windows or busted in doors, the stone steps stood exactly as they did only a month before, even the small painted rock that said “Jordan’s Place” sat in the garden next to his mother’s rose bush. There weren’t any blooms because of the season, but even that seemed to be in good shape.

He shut the car door behind him with a heavy clunk, pulling his bag tighter around his chest. Owen let out a heavy sigh. This house had always been a sanctuary for him. He wasn’t a drug dealer when he walked over the threshold of his mother’s house, he wasn’t a brute or a criminal. He was just Owen Jordan, the goofy loveable son of the best mother in the world. Mary had worked her fingers to the bone for this place. His early childhood had been spent either living with Eric or in seedy apartments in the downtown area. That had never been good enough for his mother. Through tireless work and dedication she had built a home for him and his sister. The house looked like it was just waiting for his mother to return, but the ginger knew that his mother would never fill those four walls with her light and warmth again.

“Come on,” he called to the others before heading up the cobblestone walkway. He reached down to pick up the rock, one he had painted in elementary school. Under it was the spare key his mom always left for them. It was in the same place that it had been for years, there had been a few times that Luca had used it to get in. She never said as much, but Owen thought she left it for him in case he ever needed a safe place to be once more.

The door was still locked and he opened it with the ease of someone who had been opening the door for years. There was the faint smell of rotting food, likely due to the power outage and a month old refrigerator of groceries. Otherwise, it looked very much the same. Pictures of he and Andy littered the walls, the kitchen table had a few opened bills and his mother’s notebook in the middle. Her beautiful handwriting was scrawled across the lined pages, looping in careful cursive.

The male smiled sadly down at it, running his fingers over the page. He felt his throat grow tight and swallowed hard, forcing the emotion down. It was a miracle that this place hadn’t been looted or lived in, but somehow it made it harder. Mary Jordan’s ghost haunted this place, and her son couldn’t help but imagine her in all of the places she should have been. She wasn’t though, she was rotting on the floor of the hospital, alone. Owen sighed again, slipping out of his cross-body bag and sitting it in one of the dining room chairs.

“Make yourselves at home.”

Aubrey stood on the front porch a moment longer than was necessary. This was Owen and Andy’s home, their whole childhood was through that door and she was just going to barge in and see all of it. Even though an invitation was given, it didn’t feel right. She couldn’t help but wonder if the others were going to feel that way about her sister’s home.

Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts away. They hadn’t arrived at her sister’s house yet so there wasn’t a need to worry about it. Hand nervously around her cap, she stepped inside the door, following behind the others.

Colt had been quiet since her call to Ralph up until now. As they approached and entered Owen’s home, the woman only released a “Hm.” of acknowledgement as he invited them inside. It seemed like a quaint place, amidst all the chaos of the last month. It was strange to think, if she had bought a house here like she could have, maybe she would have met the man’s mother. She could have known them all. And yet, the seemingly lovely Mrs. Jordan had perished and Colt could see the effect it had on the man. The woman stayed quiet as she placed her bags gingerly on the floor next to the dining table, afraid to disrupt anything in the room almost stuck in time. Standing up again, she only gave Owen a slight nod in response to his offer.

It was only when she limped into the kitchen that the faint scent of rotting food reached her, causing the woman to grunt to suppress a retch. A million needles pricked her skin and there was a heavy sickness in the depths of her throat which was only now punctuated by the vague stench. Colt had been afraid of this coming, but had said nothing. It did not matter. Owen had been through hell today, she had to focus on that. The fright she had gotten from seeing the spiky red-head yanked into the darkness left the veteran rattled. She had almost lost Owen once, so this peaked her stress. Breathing hard through her mouth, she walked back to the dining room and approached the man, forcing a neutral gaze on her face.

“Y’okay?” she asked, rubbing the back of her sweaty neck as she gave him as soft a look as possible. That question could have meant anything. It was open to any kind of response from the man. It could not have been easy to have strangers in his home, a home clearly missing an important figure. “I mean… th-that’s a stupid quetion, I know yer probably- I meant like,” Colt sighed again, internally cursing herself, “Better question; How y’feelin’? Wait… ugh.” Colt groaned, slapping a hand against her clammy forehead. Her mind was bouncing and unable to maintain a simple thought. How hard was it to ask a basic question?

Owen chuckled, looking up from the notebook to Colt. His smile was soft and sad but still held the warmth that radiated off of the boy. The walls of the house were doing their job to protect him against the cold winds outdoors and slowly, he could feel his face and arms lose their chill. Owen shrugged out of his bloody and torn jacket, draping it with care over one of the dining room chairs.

“You don’t have to worry so much,” Owen said with a raised eyebrow. “I think I know you well enough by now to know what you mean even if it isn’t what you say.” The redhead made his way to the pantry and opened it, knowing that all the non perishables would be stashed inside. A case of unopened bottled water was on the bottom shelf. With large hands Owen punctured the thin plastic film that held them together and produced one, handing it back to Colt. She looked green.

“I’m okay.” It was clear he was trying to assure them, and maybe for all it mattered what he said was truthful. The sadness in his voice was evident, but in all honesty despite that it felt good to be home. He reached in and grabbed a water for Aubrey and then Nile, passing them to each of them. Aubrey gave a small nod, twisting the water bottle in her hands as she looked around

Collab: Rumble Fish Corgi Togy
Mention: Brax

 

[Rumble Fish]

Part 7

“Yeah… I guess yer right ‘bout that. Still y’know I’ll still worry.” Colt was still huffing heavily as if she had finished a 10K sprint so the water would be a welcomed relief. However her scarred hands quaked as she tried to open the bottle. After a moment, she gave up, releasing another sigh as she sat down. The prickles continued and they were especially stabbing on the last remaining joint of her left knee, but kicking off the prosthetic in Owen’s mother’s home felt wrong. Colt scratched the back of her neck before finally speaking again.

“It is lovely here, Owen. Yer momma, she…” she breathed out, “Kept a lovely home.” After speaking, the woman once again groaned and put her head in the palm of her hand. It seemed her vocabulary was even more limited than usual. What else could she say? There was nothing she could say. It had been hard enough to simply be here, it almost felt intrusive. “Y’should sit down. Y’can’t keep goin’ like Gordon Freeman if ya don’ rest.” She added. Somehow his bat reminded her of the aforementioned video-game character’s crowbar. Even their hair was a similar shade. If Owen grew out a beard and developed the need for glasses, they could pass as related. The smirk on her face vanished as her head suddenly pounded harder and with every thump her vision grew blurrier, Colt sighed and rested her head in her hands with shut eyes. She could only hope the feeling would quickly pass.

“Fuck me…”

“You played Half Life?” Nile muttered, somehow managing to focus his attention on that. Giving his head a little shake, it looked like even he knew that was just fucking stupid to ask. Giving the little scene a once over, Nile decided he was better off staying out of it. Mushy crap wasn’t really his forte, so he simply resigned himself to leaning against the wall, nonchalantly sipping his water.

Colt did not respond with anything other than a heaving sigh and a muttered “Both of ‘em.” While refusing to open her eyes with the fear that the light going into them would trigger worse symptoms. She put her forehead onto the cold table with a heavy sigh while her hands reached back up to try and open the water bottle. After a few more attempts, the plastic cap popped off and Colt was able to take a long swig of the life-giving liquid. She drank for several long seconds before remembering to breathe, taking in a deep breath as she put the bottle down on the table and leant back in her seat, shutting her eyes. The woman was exhausted despite the most vigorous activity for the day came from walking.

“Huh” Nile thought, surprised. “The more you know, I guess” He mumbled, scratching his chin. With a snap of his fingers, he’d been reminded of something. “Right, the more you know and shit, but, like, I don’t know how you knew how to get into a drugstore” Nile said, turning to the Red Hulk. “How in the Rime in the Ancient fuck did you know how to break into a drugstore?” Nile asked the man, looking up to face them. Yes, the height difference was incredibly pronounced.

“Don’t you recognize me?” Owen asked, looking up from his now mostly empty water bottle. The plastic crinkled in his hands, void of liquid and now filled with the air from his gasping lungs. A red eyebrow raised in disbelief as fake hurt took over his rounded, freckled features.

“Damn man, I knew you were out of it but I figured if you would recognize anyone it would be your fucking dealer” Owen let out a chuckle. “I sold you some Blow like the day before the lockdown man, you seriously don’t remember?”

“Uh, no, no not at all. Not one bit. This is to be expected” Nile said, leaning against the wall. “Like, for example, I’m pretty fucking sure that, uh, Z something over there” Nile said, waving vaguely at Colt. “Has no name. I have no clue what it is, and I’ve given up trying to find out despite the fact that you people throw your names around like Confetti” Nile said, looking at the red behemoth.

“I worked for Bert and Ernie,” He explained with a sheepish shrug. Sobriety would do Nile some good. The fact that he was able to stumble around without getting killed was really a testament to his will. “That isn’t the first time I’ve broken into that pharmacy to stock up on pills for the brothers. They often asked me to go on grocery runs to fill up the storehouse.”

“Storehouse? What, so you just shove piles and piles of Coke into a random spot in this tiny, everybody-know-everybody- town?” Nile asked, genuinely surprised as he took a sip of water. “Wow, I’m actually surprised you got away with that shit. That um, what was he? Canadian guy, yeah, he was a like a gangster or something, right? Cause I’ve seen him do really illegal stuff, even by apocalypse terms. How many of you people are criminals? Why are there so many criminals in this town? Is this like a Colorado thing or something? Does all the crazy shit just happen in Colorado?” Nile said, apparently getting worked up. After a few seconds, the fire inside him extinguished. He’d been seeing and doing a lot of weird shit lately. Like building an entire log cabin with nothing but a hatchet and three nails. It was better for his mental health not to question it.
Owen blinked at him several times as he let Nile run through his rant. Canadian? Was he talking about Luca? The redhead scratched the back of his head awkwardly, he couldn’t be more off topic, although his notes on the amount of criminals was valid. Maybe people who were comfortable breaking the law just made better survivors?

“Alright, alright, back on topic. You guys just have a whole warehouse of drugs, and no one knew? Were there even Police here?” Nile asked.

“It’s more like a headquarters,” Owen backpedaled, realizing the mistake in telling the jonse-ing addict about the stash back in the apartments in the downtown area. “I grabbed most of anything useful from it last time I was there,” he lied. “Thats where I grabbed Colt’s pain meds.”

“Uhuh. Pain meds? Lemme guess, we were too big of pains in her ass?” Nile asked, taking a sip of water. Owen let out a chuckle, trying to hide it behind the back of his hand.

“Yeah something like that.”

Collab: Maj Corgi Togy
Mention: Brax

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between Maj , TheMightyRedLemon and FireMaiden
​

Nervous didn’t begin to cover how Beth was feeling. She had never really felt secure in her place in the lodge and now that she was walking back up toward the property with a strange man in her wake, she felt even more uneasy. How was she going to explain this to the others? The man didn’t help matters either, his weird dialect and unusual dress made him a strange sight to say the least. With his eyes on the back of her head, she found that her hair stood on end.

Thankfully, the familiar form of Leliana was the first to fall in her gaze. She at least, would be gentle with her. People brought strangers back to the lodge all the time, surely this was no different. Beth was overthinking it and causing herself unneeded anxiety.

“Leli!” Beth called. “I have a situation.”

The sound of the slide snapping back in place signaled that the second gun was finally cleaned and reassembled. Two down, three to go since Leliana had decided to clean her pistol as well. It had been a while since she had, probably back before this whole shit storm started. But it would be the last one. Grabbing the third pistol from the bag, she began stripping it, popping the round in the chamber and ejecting the clip. She was about to start taking the gun apart when she heard Beth. The other blonde sounded scared, no matter how small it was, Leliana had always managed to pick up on it. So she stood quickly, turning her side with the holster on it to hide the fact she was taking the safety off before she went and found Beth.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Leliana asked, her eyes focused on Bethany. Something was definitely wrong, Leliana about to ask again before she spotted the man. Immediately her shoulders tensed as the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Her brows furrowed just a bit, giving him a once over. He...shouldn't be dressed that we'll in the middle of the end of the world. And the way he was staring at Beth didn't make Leliana feel any better. So she kept her arms at her sides, ready to draw her gun if needed. "Who's he?"

"I found him over by the treeline," Beth offered truthfully. "He said he's been wandering around in the woods for quite a while. I couldn't just leave him there," She shrugged to her girlfriend apologetically. "I don't want Andy or Luca to be mad at me though, what should we do?"

That was pretty suspicious, who wanders around the forest dressed like that? Not to mention he didn't look like he had been wondering for a while...Her fists curled, nails digging into her palms. But her face did a good job not showing how tense she was. "It's okay, the others bring in newbies all the time," Leliana assured her, one hand reaching up to rub the back of her neck before it fell down to her side again. "Andy and Luca won't be mad...but maybe he should introduce himself?"

"My apologies, molodaya ledi." The aging russain man spoke with a pleasant tone, his features softening into a kind hearted smile. "My name is Reznos Koorbatse. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. It is so wonderful to see faces that do not wish to eat mine."

Leliana did her best bit to show it, but suspicion coursed through her. Whether it be paranoia or just this guy's general vibe, but Leliana didn't trust him. She didn't really trust any newcomer right away, though Vanessa seemed harmless. "Leliana James...how long we're you out in the woods?"

"A few days at most. I've searched much of the city looking for others that live. Admittedly, it has been a difficult up until now." He replied with, a slight frown tugging the corners of his lips downward. "I can tell you are suspicious of me. I assure you that I am not here to cause any trouble. All I seek is a respite from loneliness and the gripping hands of the mortverts." Reznos informed the nurse. "If it would put your mind at ease, I will hand over my knife." He offered.

Beth shifted nervously on her toes, rolling back and forth as she watched the two exchange greeting. Slender fingers moved up to tuck blonde tresses behind her ear. The woman shrugged and flashed Leli a sheepish grin, reaching out to take her hand.

"He seems alright, a little weird maybe. But, so are most of the people here."

"Look, as much as you can assure me, doesn't mean I'm going to trust you. That's something you'll need to prove you deserve," Leliana replied, letting Beth take her hand. She understood why Beth seemed so nervous, bringing new people to lodge right now wasn't the best idea. They were low on everyone, and it seemed like the generator was out again. Blue eyes shifted to the other blonde, Leliana meeting her girlfriend's gaze with a soft smile before her face hardened when her eyes moved back to the man in front of them. The nurse was still unsure if she believed his story. But then again, there were parts of Beth's story that didn't make sense. "You can keep your knife, but you should know it's not my decision if you get to stay or not. It's up to Andy and Luca. Though I'm capable of shooting you if you decide to cause problems before they make that decision."

"I understand, of course. I will cause no trouble."

"I guess we should take him to meet the others?" Beth asked with uncertainty. "I am sorry Leli," the blonde's hands wrung through the thin, straight locks of her hair. "I don't want to cause more trouble for you. "

Her eyes were still focused on the man, unsure of what to make of him, but the rest of her attention was on Beth. "I'm pretty sure Luca might shoot the next person who bothers him, so we should probably find Andy." If she was still there, of course, something happened to the generator, the lights were off. Finally, after what seemed like forever, her eyes moved to Beth with a sweet smile. "Hey, it's okay. Everyone else brings in strays all the time, one more...one more shouldn't hurt."

Beth went to move with Leliana toward the lodge. Her breath was caught in her throat as her feet shuffled forward. Elegant, long fingers still tangled in her own hair, an almost perfect personification of the anixety that was saturating the woman's features. Finally a hand reached out to grab her girlfriend by the shoulder, turning to look her in the eyes. Sapphire blue hues searched the nurse's face before falling, a heavy sigh causing tension to release in Bethany's shoulders. "Listen, there is something I need to tell -"

Beth was abruptly cut off by a scream that could have made even a banshees ears bleed as a flash of purple shot past the two blond women and impacted with Reznos, knocking him backwards onto the ground. The young acrobat who had tackled the aging russain man continued to scream like a furiously fearful wolverine as she began slamming her fists against the man.

Brax (Luca)​

 

[The Mad Queen]

Just Another Journal Entry​

Maria read through the rest of the entries and sighed heavily, her head buzzing due to only waking up a few minutes ago. The woman found herself once more with her back against the tree, as it was the only place where she could think. If there was one thing both she and Caoimhe could agree on, it was that the lodge's numbers grew pretty much daily and sometimes it was a little bit too much.
She reached into her bag, taking out the urn. The urn was silver and dotted, it wasn't anything special but it wasn't like Martin had been picky about it. He'd chosen Maria to pick something on the cheap, even though the woman had money.

With a heavy sigh she clutched it tightly, her eyes shutting.
Her eyes shot open as a branch snapped behind her. With a groan, Maria jotted up, expecting to come face to face with one of the lodge's inhabitants. Instead, one of the dead stared back at her. It's arms missed her by inches as it swiped for her, but the woman quickly jumped back.
"Can't ye just leave in peace?" She snapped, growling at the creature. It growled back in response, but did not last long. With a swift kick she dropped the creature to the ground before bringing her boot down upon it's head.

She kept going until she caved in the skull, and there was no movement from the creature. Rolling her eyes and scraping her boot against the ground, her blue eyes were drawn back to the urn.
"What was it ya said? There's always another fight around the corner."
Squeezing the ridge of her nose, Maria placed the urn back in the bag and searched around the trees. One thing she'd learned since day one of being stuck in Aurora was that these things were rarely alone.

She searched the forest multiple times, going over it like a fine toothed comb only to find nothing. With a raised eyebrow she started to head back to the lodge, only to hear a slight growl.
Turning around, her eyes looking at the blackened ground she saw something moving. Poking it with a long stick she found one of the dead things, it's corpse charred and it's legs buried under a log. It's arms had been reduced to stumps from the intense burning, and the creature had no eyes or nose to speak of. She held back the urge to gag at the state of the thing.

Maria didn't look at the thing for very long, as all it took was poking it through a gap in it's head with a twig to get through to it's brain and end the thing. With one more sigh, she walked back to the lodge and made her into the living room.
"Alright. Let's see what she needs to know..."

Taking out her pencil, Maria started to write things down.

By the way, we should probably decide on a place to scatter his ashes. Can't carry around the urn forever.
Next time you're awake, could you help me come up with some suggestions?
-Maria.

 

[Corgi]

​

As the conversation between Colt, Owen, and Nile continued, she found herself drifting away from the group. She knew it was wrong to wander Owen’s childhood home but she couldn’t help herself. As well as she knew the redhead, she felt that she needed to know more. The pale walls painted with memories drew her towards the hallway. Scuff marks laced within one another, wooden picture frames turned ever-so-slightly as to draw the eye. One in particular caught her attention.

It was a smaller image, longer than it was tall. It showed Owen’s living room but slathered in reds and golds, ornaments hanging from the limbs of a fake yet charming Christmas tree. A small smile made its way onto Aubrey’s face as she saw the sloppy, glitter-glued letters of ‘Owen’ written across a handmade stocking that hung from the brick fireplace. Accompanying it was another stocking, though much more decorated in hearts, stars, and cutesy smiley faces. She expected to see the words ‘Andy’ embellishing the front, but was surprised to see ‘Andrea’ instead. Of course she was nonplussed. It hadn’t occurred to Aubrey that ‘Andy’ may have been a nickname, though she’s never heard anyone call her ‘Andrea,’ so she doubted the rest of Lodge knew of this either. It wasn’t her place to say anything. If Andy introduced herself as such, she had no reason to say otherwise.

What really caught her attention were the three figures in the middle of the photo. Young, smiling faces staring back at her. On the far left was a baby-faced Owen, slightly shorter than he was now and much lankier. It was kind of funny seeing the difference, his eyes much wider and more excited than she’s ever seen. It was slightly comforting to see all of those differences but still see he smiled the same crooked smile then as he did now. The entire time she stared at the picture, she was stifling her smile... but when she glanced at his outfit, she could help but let out a chuckle. What he was wearing was much funnier than his awkward teenage gangiliness. A bright green Christmas sweater swallowed him, a dark green tree taking up the majority of his chest as bright yellow tinsel stuck out like a 3D image. Little silver bells were placed haphazardly as decorations. She imaged how much of a ruckus that made each time he took a step. It was delightful to think of how much joy that one sweater may have caused him.

On the far right was Andy, a smile plastered on the girl’s features that wasn’t like one she had seen before. At least, not one she had seen sober. Andy had a perpetual scowl on her face, which seemed so distant from the multi-colored braces the grin before her showed. If it wasn’t for the fact her name was written behind her and Owen was in the picture, she may have assumed it was someone else. It wasn’t that Andy wasn’t friendly. She had given fair advice to Aubrey, and she appreciated it, but the childish twinkle that was in this young girl’s eyes was no longer alive in Andy’s. It’s like they’re a different person entirely. The joy she had felt previously slowly faded into hollowness as she spiraled into why Andy changed so much. Hoping the feeling would dissipate, she looked towards the figure in the middle of the twins, their mother.

The bitter-sweet taste unsettled Aubrey as she looked at her beaming face. The picture the redheaded man showed her captured the woman’s beauty, but didn’t capture her radiance. The way she held her children so close and with so much pride set something off within Aubrey. She looked wonderful. She looked like she would do anything for her kids. It looked as if Ms… It dawned on her that she knew next to nothing about the woman. She didn’t even know her last name yet she seemed like this ray of integrity. The twisting in her stomach didn’t let up, and before she could realize what she was doing, she took the picture off the wall.

It felt so wrong. Barging into Owen’s home, going through his home, it felt like she was forcing her way into a family she was never invited to be in. Was that how she was going to feel about finding her sister’s home? Would it be as uninviting and distant as how she felt now? Aubrey rubbed the picture frame for awhile, staring at the contents before slipping the image out of the fixture and into her back pocket.

Mentioned: Maj (Owen & Andy), Rumble Fish (Colt) Togy (Nile)

 

[Rumble Fish]

“I. Have. A. Fucking. Name!'' It appeared that the two men had forgotten about the veteran’s presence in the room as they talked around her until the woman chuffed angrily, wanting to channel her expected fire but could not manage more than that frustrated growl akin to a mildly irritated bear. Her snarl was more directed at Nile than Owen but was too flustered to muster any more energy to say anything else. Instead, the veteran remained quiet as she snatched the water bottle, crinking it hard in her grip as she limped from the dining room and to the front door. The smell from the fridge caused her already unsettled gut to gurgle harder and threaten an expulsion. The fresh air hit her charred skin and the clean air settled her lungs. Colt sighed as she slumped onto the porch. The prickly sensation remained and beads of sweat ran from every gland despite the cold air. It was not going away. What if it got worse? The woman sighed and tilted her head back to take another long gulp of water, gripping it so hard it was a miracle it did not spray right into her face.

After nearly water-boarding herself, the woman sighed and rested her head in a hand, staring ahead. It was like wearing blinders, the sides were black and she could only look ahead. Part of her wanted to radio Ralph again, now that she was feeling worse but the thought of either Luca or Andy picking up the radio spooked her enough to not do it. She trusted Andy; but would she not trust her if she knew this was happening? Nobody seemed to trust Nile going through withdrawals, so why would they trust her? With a sigh, Colt unscrewed the water’s lid with shaky and pale hands but allowed the cold plastic to settle in her grip. The bottle crackled from the shaking but was quiet enough that it would hopefully not alert anything. Colt chuffed with her cheeks puffed, thinking about what Ralph had said about the field research. She needed to bring it up with the group; but not now. But she could not wait much longer. If they went back and she hadn’t done what the doctor had asked, they’d be disappointed.

“Hey there cowgirl,” Owen called as he exited out onto the porch.He took the seat next to her, groaning as his underused muscles protested to the rest. He settled in with a large thud, the weight of his body slumping as he sighed in relief. Without looking at her, Owen handed Colt another bottle of water, waiting for her to take it from him.

Like his sister, Owen was highly observant, but unlike his sister, Owen didn’t feel the need to bring up every flaw or detail just to rag on someone. He had noticed that Colt hadn’t drank from her flask all day and he had been around far too many addicts not to recognize the uneasy green feeling that seemed to settle in around the woman. He reached into the pocket of his pants and fished out a small bottle of ibprophen.

“Here.” He handed it to her also, letting her take it out of the palm of his hand. “It won’t help the nausea, but it should at least take some of the ache from your bones.” Owen gazed down at her knowingly, his red eyebrow raised.

“Hey Freeman.” Colt sighed sickly before taking the medicine that the larger man had offered her. She could see in his green pair that she would not need to explain, there was already an understanding. Taking the ibuprofen, she mumbled a sincere “Thanks” before popping the bottle open and tapping a couple of the pills out into her palm.

“Um, sorry fur that. There’s only so much of his bullshit I can handle at once.” She spoke again before tipping the pills into her maw and dousing them in more water. The veteran coughed, the little disks might as well have been marbles with the difficulty she had swallowing them. As they finally made their way down her gullet, Colt sighed heavily in relief before turning back to him,

“Y’sure yer okay?”

“As okay as could be expected I think,” he replied with a sad smile. “It’s hard to be honest, harder than I thought it would be. But I’m just grateful this place is still standing. If I came back to find a bunch of looters in here…” his face darkened at the thought of a bunch of scumbags defiling his childhood home. He felt his nails dig into his palm as his fists clenched tightly. The redhead sighed, releasing his grip and shrugging.

“I’m just glad there weren’t. As for Nile,” the man shrugged again. “He’s not a bad guy Colt. He’s just not thinking clearly. I know it's hard, but try to be patient. We are stuck with him and even if you don’t want to admit it, he’s more help than hinderance to our group. Think about our barracks and fence for example. When his head is clear, he’s not half bad.”

“He lost the luxury of my fuckin’ patience when he almost got me killed and said that shit about my girls.” The woman growled darkly, “Remember; I’m putting up with him for you.. If he wants me t’like ‘im he’d better keep watching’ his gawddamn mouth.” The memory of his comment about putting down her own squad hadn’t left the woman and it probably never would. The spiky haired man squatting next to her was the one thing keeping her from sending Nile packing. And after what she heard in the kitchen, no wonder he put Nile first. She came close to killing the man once; she’d do it again. Wanting to turn her darkening thoughts, Colt put her head in her hands, staring ahead across the street.

“It’s a real purdy place here. T’think, if I had moved here like I was meant to, we would’ve bin neighbors. Dunno if I’d be a good one though. Still, it’s a nice thought.” Her hunched posture and lack of eye contact hopefully came through as she no longer wanted to discuss Nile, even with this mild conversation, her heart had spiked and she felt her chest tighten. Her tone had lowered into her typical tired drawl, slower than usual but devoid of slurring.

“You would have hated me as a neighbour,” he added with a chuckle. “I have gotten more than a few noise complaints in my day.” Truth was he got really aggressive when he was playing games, and on more than one occasion because of his size and bad boy persona people had worried that he was causing problems. A few nosy Nancy’s had felt the need to call the police, but his mother always shooed them away, assuring them that her boy was an angel.

He wished that was true.

“It will get easier,” He said, putting his arm around Colt’s shoulders to pat her lightly. “I’m proud of you for trying to quit. I know it’s hard.” In fact, the linger sensation to smoke had never left him either, but Hector had given him such a hard time about it that he hadn’t gone against his wishes since. Working out with him was hard enough without the extra stress.

Colt tensed a little as Owen patted her shoulder and told her that he was proud of her but said nothing. Telling him that it was only through her being stupid enough to leave the flask worried the woman. How was she going to keep this up? She scratched the back of her head,

“Thanks.” She mumbled before chuckling slightly from what he had said, “Hm. I wouldn’t have been any better. At least at the apartments nobody cared. Still. Would’ve been nice to live here. Should’ve in the first place.”

“Well we are neighbours now,” He added with a chuckle. “Better late than never.”

"Hm." Was all the veteran could muster as she leant into Owen's embrace, her muscles settling and remaining quiet, allowing the silence to engulf them to end what had turned out to be a loud day.

Featuring: Maj (Owen)
Mentions: Brax (Luca) Togy (Nile)

 

[shadowz1995]

With the power out, Andy wasn’t sure if she would find Hector down in his lab, but she found herself coming down the stairs searching for him all the same. Without the lights, the stairwell was very dim, the only light was the sparse daylight filtering in from the open door at the top. Thankfully, years of running up and down the old wooden things caused her feet to know just where to step, the familiar creaking filling her ears as her hand slid down the railing, careful not to get a splinter from the aging wood.

“Hector!” the redhead called. Her eyesight was good, but in the dim, navy darkness it was hard to confirm or deny the doctor’s presence despite his large size. When her eyes failed her, her ears picked up their slack and she could hear some shuffling, followed by a string of spanish curses.

“You might already know this,” Andy started sarcastically. “But Nessa killed the lights.”

The older gentleman stopped his fiddling with the specimens and gently put them back into the fridge that was getting warmer by the second. "Yes, I'm aware. I had a conversation with her about how idiotic that was. Ultimately though, the fault does not truly lie with her." He stood from where he sat himself and made his way over to where the redhead made her entrance. "Her episodes are rather unique and the responsibility lies with me for not taking the time to assess the extent of her schizophrenia."

The doctor crossed his arms in front of the much shorter lady and shook his head with a light sigh. "Until we can find her medication, we must take extra care to not provoke her episodes."

“What a perfect segway to what I came down here to talk to you about,” She chirped with false optimism. Her eyes were still having difficulty focusing on him in the depths of the darkness, but as they adjusted she could make out the outline of his shoulders. “I’m taking Vanessa out in the field tomorrow for parts for the generator. I’m going to make sure we get her medication while we are out, or see if Owen is able to secure it. She isn’t safe until this gets put under control.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a very matter-of-act gesture, cocking her hip out to the side as she addressed him.

“What do I need?”

"Olanzapine, Thioridazine, Risperidone, Clozapine, or any antipsychotic really will help reduce the intensity of the symptoms. If not stop them outright with minimal side effects." The man's eye had already adjusted well enough to see the blank look on the young lady's face after rattling off medications. "My apologies. I sometimes forget you aren't a colleague. I will write them down for you."

Hector quickly "scrawled" out a list of potential medications for Nessa along with general anxiety and depression medications. He didn't think she had depression but that doesn't mean someone wouldn't eventually turn up that did. And as for anxiety… well there was plenty of that to go around these days. His eye flicked to Andrea before returning to the paper. "Alright, shall we get out of the darkness? So, we can discuss this properly?"

Andy raised an eyebrow, unsure how to take Hector’s backhanded compliment. Hector didn’t even see the fellow scientists at the lodge as ‘colleagues.’ The fact that she could be mistaken as one was both kind and scary. Maybe she was spending too much time around the doctor.

“The fact you can write notes in the dark is impressive enough, and then I remembered you only have one eye,” she said dryly, heading back up the stairs. Andy could tell that Hector was peeved. His progress and work halted by Vanessa’s fall. She could hear Hector following behind her as she bounded up the stairs with the grace and speed only found in someone who had done so a million times. She remembered as kids, going down to get something for her Uncle and being forced to turn off the light before climbing back up, running as fast as she could to get out of the dark as the unsettling feeling of the unknown had fallen around her.

It had been a long time since Andy was afraid of the dark.

“You’ll be pleased to know that we are likely upgrading you to a larger generator,” the girl called over her shoulder. “Me, Vanessa and Aaron are leaving in the morning to get one.” She hadn’t actually asked Aaron yet, but was convinced the man would not deny her.

The doctor's head just popped into sight by the time Andy broke the good news. Strong as he was and even quite flexible for a man halfway done with his life, agile was never something Hector never considered himself to be. Much less so in his current age. "Yes, that would be one less thing to think about." He confirmed, "I tried conserving as much power as I could when I wasn't researching but the fact remained that it was quite the drain when I was."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the cellar door frame, "While all of you are out, I'll keep an eye on things here. Without the laboratory, it's about the best I can do." The man said calmly, pausing for a moment before adding, "Unless someone gets shot again."

“Thank you,” Andy said genuinely. The girl paused, looking around to ensure no one was within earshot of her. “I’ll feel better knowing that. I actually need one more favor from you, if you don’t mind.” Her voice lowered, as her fingers began braiding through her hair in an absent minded gesture of deep thought.

The doctor leaned forward to listen, seeing as Andy didn't want others to hear.

“Luca is…” Full lips stayed parted as she faltered, looking for the right words. She wasn’t sure if the Italian had bothered to tell Hector yet. “...not operating at full capacity. Will you keep an eye on him?” Emerald hues fluttered up from her braid to look into Hector’s face, locking with his own eye. Andy wasn’t great at communicating, with her it was more about what she wasn’t saying that was important. In her eyes, Hector was the only person here who could take care of things if they went south while she was out.

"Easily." He affirmed immediately with a nod. There was no hesitation nor doubt in his movements or expression. "No matter how bad it gets here, it's easier than an entire surgical ward full of patients." As arrogant as it may have sounded, it was meant to placate any worry. Andy smirked.

Maj TheMightyRedLemon RayPurchase

 

[Maj]

​

The screams emanating from Vanessa's throat were almost guttural in nature as she brought her fists down on top of Reznos repeatedly. The man made no attempt to strike back, simply defending himself against the acrobats onslaught. Soon she abandoned the failed attempts to strike him, instead going for his neck, attempting to wrap her fingers around his throat. "Ty mertvets!" She screamed. "YA ubil tebya! Ostavaysya mertvym!"

Leliana never had a hard time picking up on when Beth was scared or nervous, even if the other blonde could normally hide it well. She watched as Beth ran a hand through her hair, stopping immediately so she could tell Leliana what she needed to before Nessa screamed. Unfortunately, it was a type of scream that Leliana knew all too well. She immediately spun around, glancing at Beth before making the possibly dumb decision of trying to separate the two. She was at Nessa's side, trying to pull her off the other Russian. "Hey! Hey, Vanessa, it's okay! But you gotta cut this out, stop hitting him!"

"Blyad'!" The man shouted from underneath the raging harlequin. "Get this crazy bitch off of me!" He had grabbed her wrists and was struggling a surprising amount to keep her fingers from lacing around his throat.

Vanessa's words had become a guttural garbled mess of unintelligible Russian profanities. Rearing her head back, the acrobat tried to slam it into his nose. He easily blocked this by moving his arms to guard his face, not letting go of her wrists so that it would throw her off balance and get in the way of her own attack. In that moment Reznos rolled, forcing himself on top of the acrobat as he tried to restrain her. She struggled against him, attempting to grab onto anything she could with her limited reach to harm him, but Reznos forced the young women's arms to the ground and leaned in. His face was mere inches from her own as a wicked smile played across his lips and he began to speak.

Postaraysya ne krichat' na etot raz"

At his words, Vanessa's face morphed into a twisted combination of horror and revulsion. She rocked backwards on her spine so as to swing her legs up along the man's back, locking her heels around his throat. The aging Russain man gasped for air, seemingly surprised as his airways began to restrict. He released his grip on her wrists and began trying to pull her ankles from around her throat, but she had finally gotten a hold on his neck and she did not intend to let go. As he tugged trying to loosen her hold, Vanessa shifted her heels till she was able to hook one foot around the opposite ankle, effectively cementing the constrictive hold.

The sound of the yells distracted Andy from her conversation with Hector. Her eyes locked with his for a moment, worry and exasperation churning behind her stony emerald hues. She recognized that incoherent string of russian, even through the thick walls of the lodge. With a growl, the redhead tore away from the doctor and headed for the door, the man close on her heels.

The sight she found outside was confusing and infuriating. This bitch couldn’t be trusted to go more than five minutes without trying to bite someone’s damn ear off. She didn’t know who this man was, but it was clear that Vanessa was trying to kill him. Provoked by the man or hallucinations, Andy was unsure. However, there would be time for more interrogation later, when there wasn’t a psychotic acrobat on a killing spree.

“Hector!” Andy called back to the man, the unspoken command on her lips. Her feet led her to them, but she knew that she lacked the strength to keep the two apart.

Wordlessly, the doctor surged forward towards the tussle in the dirt. While Andy's exasperation was understandable, Hector did not share the same sentiment at that moment as the young red head did. The man that was in the leg lock was a complete unknown. If it turned out that Vanessa was just having another schizophrenic episode, then it would be dealt with appropriately but until all the facts were clear….

The researcher reached back and pulled the Beretta M9 free from his waist, racking the slide and clambering the pistol with metal death. The female jester had him in a solid hold, constricting the life from his throat. Hector slammed his boot down hard on the unknown Male's chest, easily knocking what little wind remained out of him. "Vanessa." He said with a calm, bone chilling authority. Enough to send goosebumps down anyone's limbs. "I have him. Let him go. Let the nurse take a look at you, Niña." His grey eye flicked down to Nessa's own enraged glare. "Now."

The harlequin ignored Hector's instructions. Her glare stayed focused on the man she was strangling. "YA sobirayus' ubit' yego!" She growled out venomously. "Ne ostanavlivayte menya! Mne nuzhno ubit' yego! YA dolzhen!!" .

The barrel of the gun was quickly leveled at the man's forehead and Hector's height kept the weapon well out of his reach. Not to mention the pressure he was applying with his foot. With a face as cold as stone, the doctor spoke to the stranger, "You are going to explain, slowly, who you are and why you are here." The Spanish-tinted voice ordered.

Despite the hold around his throat, Reznos put his hands up to Hector in surrender, every breath he took was strained and gurgled, and Vanessa's grip was only tightening. He looked up at Hector with a pleading expression.

A single round barked out its deafening roar and embedded itself in the dirt next to the acrobats head. It was close enough that the dirt kicked up into her face and eyes. "I won't warn you again." He relayed. The ice cold sincerity was clear for all to hear. The doctor was not joking. The next one would go through her legs.

The acrobats eyes widened at the sound of the gunshot and her head snapped to the doctor in surprise. She offered a baleful look up to Hector before her gaze hardened once more. Even though she was winning against Reznos, she wore the face of a cornered animal, twisting with both fear and malice.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Andy growled. While Hector was of course menacing, surely he realized the girl was far too gone to actually heed his threats. If he was going to shoot her, he should have done it days ago, before she felt it necessary to bite a chunk out of his shoulder. The redhead pushed Hector’s hand down to keep the barrel from being pointed at her and reached down wrapping her slender hands in a fistful of Vanessa’s lush, brown waves. She tangled her fingers in it, grabbing it close to the scalp.

Balancing herself on her back foot, Andy used as much body weight as she could muster to throw Vanessa back and into the dirt. Her grip on the man was tight, but not tight enough that the bulk of Andy’s thin frame couldn’t pull her off. The redhead’s green painted nails never left Vanessa’s locks.

“She attacked this man without any provocation,” Beth’s meek voice called up from the chaos. Andy turned abruptly, hard green eyes on the girl's face. This was the first time the blonde had spoken to her, and Andy didn’t like the way she seemed to shift and squirm under her gaze.

“Where the fuck did he come from?” Andy snipped.

“I found him by the treeline,” the woman admitted.

“You found him by-” she had meant to interrogate the blonde further but Vanessa’s thrashing was becoming more exaggerated by the second. Frustrated, the twin blew a stray strand of her red hair from her face, ripping down on Vanessa’s hair again to force the acrobat to look up into her eyes.

“Listen Tweedle-dee,” The woman growled. “Luca can’t deal with your overly bothersome bullshit right now. You know that.” Surely she did, they spent enough time around each other by now that she had to know something was up. That is why Andy was out here and not him. “I’m the best you have, and if you don’t cut it the fuck out, you get to explain to him why he’s being woken up again.”

This caused the acrobat to stop struggling against Andy entirely. Her breathing was still heavy and seemed slightly panicked, but she stared back up at Andy with understanding in her eyes. No matter how badly she wanted to kill this man, it was not worth incurring the wrath of Luca.

She's hurting us! the voices hissed within Vanessa's head.

why aren't we fighting back!
shhhhh! She'll wake Luca!
but that devil will go free!
You were so close!
He must pay!

The acrobat firmly gripped the sleeve of Andy's shirt in an attempt to grip her shoulder as her duel colored eyes stared back into her own emerald hues, seeming to beg for her to understand. The acrobat opened her mouth to speak but could not find the proper words to explain or convey what she meant to say. Letting go of Andy's sleeve, vanessa turned her head to the right and closed her eyes.

Andy felt Nessa’s desperation in her core. The eyes that stared up at her penetrated the frustration that seemed to boil up each time she heard the girl’s annoying mix accented voice. No matter how she wanted to deny it, Andy recognized fear. It could have just been the result of one of the harlequin's delusions, but something caused the redhead to falter. Andrea had seen this same look in the mirror. Her grip softened and she reached down to grab the woman under the arm and help her to her feet. With her grip still firmly in the woman’s hair, but not to the point of pain Andy led her toward the front door of her workshed.

“Hector, please make sure our new guest isn’t hurt.” Her voice was overly formal and polite as she gave him a pointed look. It was almost eerie to hear her tone distorted in such an un Andy-like way. “His friend can help you tend to his injuries.” She shot Beth a glare before her eyes moved back toward the shed, and she led on.

"Naturally. He will be well provided for." He replied in an official tone, his icy glare flicking over to Bethany before quickly returning to the man under his foot. "Welcome to the lodge." Hector said in a very overly polite tone before driving his foot to the side of the man's head. He flipped over onto his stomach from the blow, still conscious, stunned, and in pain. Which was the intended effect. "Grab something to restrain him." He ordered the two girls still standing nearby.

Collab: shadowz1995 TheMightyRedLemon FireMaiden
Mentions: Brax

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

​

The sound of Hector’s boot crashing down caused Andy to startle. While she hadn’t really intended for him to be kind, that wasn’t exactly how she would have handled it. There was still no guarantee the man had done anything wrong, and even under Luca’s heartless regime they didn’t often make habits of treating newcomers with violence. Still, that didn’t quiet the unease in Andy’s gut.

With one hand she pulled open the steel door of the shed, the other still firmly planted in Nessa’s hair. She pushed the girl in the door and kicked it shut behind her with the heel of her converse clad foot. Andy looked at the girl once more and sighed.

“I’m going to let go of you but if you bite me I swear to god…” she trailed off. In fact, Andy wasn’t sure what she would do to follow up on that threat. Vanessa had proven herself to be the kind of person Andy didn’t want to tussle with unless she was at long range. Trusting her instincts, the redhead released her grasp, allowing Vanessa to be freed. She nodded to the stool by the workbench and gestured for her to sit.

Vanessa massaged her tinder scalp gingerly as she moved to sit on the stool without argument. It had been some time since someone had pulled her around by her hair. "Thanks lass." She said, failing in her attempt to sound cheery and jovial. "Almost forgot what bein drug around by me scalp felt like." Despite the way she spoke, she had an almost defeated undertone to her voice.

Andy’s demeanor softened. Who in the hell was dragging her about like this all the time? The redhead had found it to be a rather dramatic display of dominance, but was left with little options. She didn’t want the woman wrapped around her neck like that. She knew Vanessa was crazy, clinically so, but it was just now becoming apparent to her how dangerous the girl was.

“Drop the fucking act,” Andy barked, pointing once again at the seat. “You aren’t on stage any more, you don’t have to smile, you don’t have to pretend.” The woman stared her down, emerald eyes scanning Vanessa’s face.

"The world is a stage and the stage is a world of entertainment." The acrobat said in a flat tone, looking down. There was no point putting on a happy face at this point it seemed. Andy continued to look for the gaze she had seen moments before. It was there, masked under fake comedy and stony eyes. That was something Andy also knew too well.

“Did he hurt you?” She asked pointedly. Andy crouched down, placing her hands on her knees to look Vanessa dead in the eye. “Someone did."

The acrobat froze, and her eyes widened for a moment. Her grey eye began to quiver back and forth as she held the redheads gaze. Nessa bit the inside of her lip to hold back the hot liquid that threatened to spill from her eyes as she nodded, tracing over her scar with her fingers absentmindedly as she relived the moment in her mind.

Andy’s eyes were cold and analytical as they danced back and forth, scanning Vanessa’s features. As she watched the woman trail the length of her scar, something caught in her throat that she couldn’t quite explain. While Andy had noticed it before, it never had as much meaning as it did to her now. She swallowed hard as she nodded in understanding, nostrils flaring. Her eyes never left the unmatched pair that belonged to the acrobat.

“And you are sure it’s him?” The twin asked tilting her head to keep the woman’s gaze. “This isn’t another ‘phantom’ or delusion of yours right? You are sure?”

Vanessa began to shake slightly. "He… he said to me… Postaraysya ne krichat' na etot raz" She confessed in a shaky voice.

“I don’t speak Carny. Try again in English,” Andy snipped, but the heat of her tone was gone. Something else was in its place.

At this point, Nessa didn't have it in her to joke or even quip back at the redhead. In the same defeated tone, she translated. "It means….. Try not to scream this time..."

Slowly, Andy stood back up. If there had been anything akin to warmth in her features, it was void now. As her spine straightened, the woman seemed like a viper in the grass, tensing and flexing as if she was readying herself to strike. A steady hand reached down into the top of the boot, ensuring the deer antler handle of her knife was still in its place.

She reached behind her, grabbing the quiver off of the desk. The force and aggression of which she pulled the leather strap around the bulk of her hips, showed the fire that was simmering under her frozen exterior. Expert hands looped the leather through the buckle and cinched it tightly, the sound of the leather smacking against her thighs, harsh and loud in the silence of the shed. Her hands moved down to the strap around her thighs, squeezing the meat of her runner's legs under the force of the pull. When she stood, her bow was in her hand, turning her gaze back to Nessa for the first time since she had spoken.

"Stay put"."

Collab: Maj
[/Font]

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between Maj , TheMightyRedLemon , shadowz1995 and FireMaiden
​

Hector circled around and planted his foot in the small of Renzo's back, aiming the gun at the back of his head. "You move, you die." He affirmed. "Now, I will repeat one last time. Who are you and why are you here?" Hector repeated neutrally. As if he was having a casual conversation as opposed to threatening to kill someone.

"What the hell?" Beth said, her hands coming up to her face to hide behind them from the brutal display. Her voice sounded strained like she was trying to keep from crying. "Why are we hurting him?" She turned to look at Leli, reaching out to grab her hand, it was shaking.

Leliana didn't say much after she backed up from Nessa, eyes moving between Hector and the Russian. One hand hovered above the grip of her pistol, the nurse glancing at Beth when she spoke. Leliana took her hand, running her thumb over the back of Beth's hand as she turned enough to focus on Beth but keep her eye on Hector and Reznos. "You saw how Nessa reacted, just....breathe Beth, it'll be okay."

Reznos turned his head to the side and spat out a bit of muddy snow. "As I told both women over there, I have been wandering alone. I was in search of comrades. My name is Reznos. If you let me go I can explain myself better. I do not like eating mud."

"You'll be able to speak all you want once I get my restraints." He repeated without looking up, his tone harsher. "Cloth, a belt, zip ties, rope, anything will be useful."

"This is not fair She attacked me yet I have not harmed her. Only have I defended myself!" The man protested under hector's heel, but his tone was not hostile. Rather, it was more informative than anything.

Leilana narrowed her eyes, staring down at Renzos. "You don't get attacked like that for no reason, " The nurse muttered, letting god of Beth's hand to go and find something to restrain Renzos with. They didn't have any rope strong enough, and she couldn't find the zip ties, though she knew that had to have some. But she did find two belts. Hurrying back outside she rejoined the group. Leliana took it upon herself to restraining his hands, pulling the belt as tight as she could, glancing at Hector once she was done. "Should I restrain his legs too?"

"Naturally." The doctor replied to the nurse, purposely ignoring the younger Russian male's protests. As the young lady got to work on restraining his lower limbs, Hector took his weight off Renzos's back and circled around to the man's head. A large hand clamped down on the back of Reznos's neck and hoisted him up like a newborn kitten.

Without warning the scientist then slammed Reznos down onto his knees, pulled his hair back some and place barrel tip of the beretta against his neck. "Searching for comrades?" The Hispanic man repeated gently. "Is that what you were doing?" He asked. A single grey eye and black hole bored into Reznos's gaze as Hector studied every twitch in his face.

"I've certainly had warmer welcomes..." he said with a halfhearted chuckle. "What else should a man do when the dead rise to devour the living?" He reasoned. "Safety in numbers they say." The Russian looked up at the cyclops of a doctor, peering into his grey eye. "I think I've been more than cooperative in light of what has happened. I've not attacked anyone... I come with no intention of harm to anyone."

Leliana gave Hector a nod, moving down to tie the belt around his ankles, tightening is to he couldn't wiggle free. Not easily at least. She stood after checking both were tight enough, moving back next to Beth as Hector picked him up and knocked him down to his knees. One hand took her girlfriend's hand, the other hovered over her pistol again, eyes focusing on Renzos. "We've heard that before. For all we know, you could be a goddamned spy." Her voice held a soft bite, venom hidden behind her quiet tone.

"A spy? How ridiculous! I came with the circus." He said, almost laughing at the sheer absurdity of her statement. "My people were slaughtered weeks ago, and I have searched since for new comrades." The Russian explained, letting out a raspy sigh. "Admittedly I was not expecting to be attacked by the same psychotic woman that murdered the rest of my troupe..."

"See," Beth said offhandedly, gesturing down to the man. "In the short time Vanessa has been here she has done nothing but cause issues for us as well, and now he's saying she murdered his whole troupe. Ultimately we don't know much about him either. We didn't attack Vanessa or Aaron or any of the others when they arrived." Her palm was warm in Leliana's grasp, but her cheeks were growing even hotter by the second. She didn't like the way Hector spoke to her and she liked it even less that Leliana seemed to agree with him.

"Ms. Vanessa..." the doctor said pointedly with a jab of the barrel into Reznos's throat to encourage him to talk a little less but it was obvious he was speaking to Bethany, "...Has a myriad of psychological issues. Issues that need to be addressed like any other patient. But she has never attempted to kill a single person. She only has ever acted violently when she felt threatened, even if it was false emotion or misunderstanding. I can personally attest to that." With a slight turn of his neck, he showed the girls the bite that lingered just beneath his clothing. He was wearing a normal cotton shirt so it was easy to take a peek. "And last time I checked, YOU have no say on what happens in this lodge and you seemed well aware of the fact. Yet, you seem rather opinionated today about a stranger. An intruder."

The doctor's eye never left the his target but he was beginning to speak with a little more edge in his tone as opposed to the icy steel of his previous statements.

Leliana would have responded to Beth, but Hector decided to speak up. So she stayed silent, giving Beth's hand a gentle squeeze. Though the nurse had to wonder why Beth was pushing to let this guy stay after what they had just seen. There were more than a few people she would have the same reaction to, and Beth should understand how...they may not have known why Nessa reacted the way she did, but randomly attacking someone didn't seem like her thing. Despite the fact Hector was still sporting that bite mark, Leliana knew why. When he addressed Beth, the nurse wasn't a fan of the tone, but...he had a point. "Beth I know this seems extreme, but just...trust us alright?" She asked quietly, looking to Beth as she lowered her voice. "Unlike everyone else we've brought in, he hasn't done shit to prove he's not a threat or is useful." Aubrey saved her and Colt, Hector saved Owen, the people at the middle school all did their fair share to prove they could be trusted. It may be more complicated, but it was easier believing someone they find in town rather than someone who just showed up out of the blue. A strong opinion since Beth was in the second boat, but Leliana knew her. She wasn't a threat. Finally, her blue eyes turned back to the man on the ground. "We have too many people anyway, adding one more is just...it's not a call we can make." It wasn't a wise call anyway.

Beth's voice caught in her throat as she opened her mouth to speak. Her eyes locked with Leli's for a moment, scanning her face for several moments in silence. Slowly, her mouth closed and she swallowed hard and nodded. Her blonde brows knit as she glanced down at Renzos, something almost apologetic seemed to wash over her smooth, glasslike features.

"Do what you have to do I guess," She agreed, pulling her hand from Leli's and turning from the group. If they were going to brutalize this man, she wasn't going to play any part in it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she shivered in the cold and headed back up toward the lodge.

As if on cue, the metal door of the shed swung open hard on it's hinges, smacking against the wall of the workshop. Andy stood in it's wake, her satirical green eyes oozing menace.

"Hector, get him on his feet."

 

[The Mad Queen]

Make A Request​

With a new arrival making noise, now was as good a time as any. Fisher hobbled his way around the edge of the lodge, making his way towards a car. She had her fair share of bumps and bruises, some obtained before Aurora and some after. Bullet holes and dents decorated it's surface, with one crack in the windscreen.
Ralph studied the car, his warm hands resting on the hood as he made his way to the driver's side door and opened it. Revving the engine, he scanned the area. All of his fellow lodgers would still be busy, given the commotion. Too busy to notice a banged-up rental car.

That was, almost all of them.

As the car sprung to life, Fisher almost jumped out of his seat at the sound of someone knocking on the window, letting out a quiet yelp. He sat face to face with the woman who had introduced herself as Maria, her blue eyes piercing into him.
"What the feck do ya think you're doin'?"
Shutting off the engine, Fisher sighed in relief.
"I need to pick up some things. That's all."
"And you're going alone?"
He shrugged

"I can't have anyone else risk it. Nobody should put their life on the line for what I'm looking for."
"So you're goin' on a suicide run?"
"Not suicide, no." Fisher sharply shook his head
"You're a one-legged man drivin' into a city full of dead cu*ts. Sounds like suicide ta me."
"I haven't got one leg." He scoffed
"It's busted. You've got one leg."

She opened the passenger-side door and sat down, placing her bat down by her feet.
"Maria, what are you doing?"
"It's Caoimhe."
"My apologies."
"Unless I drag ya from this car, kickin' and screamin'...Yer not gettin' out. So drive to wherever it is and I'm gonna make sure ya don't die. Simple as."

He sighed heavily, placing his head on the steering wheel.
"Shit." He muttered under his breath "I can't put you in danger."
"What's so important you'd risk your own life, then?"
"Working on this thing." He sat up, his eyes facing the front "But I need actual equipment, and the other Doctor around here would not trust me with a pair of safety scissors, let alone a microscope or needle."

Caoimhe raised an eyebrow at that.
"Why the feck not?"
"He thinks I'm a madman."
"Well..." She chuckled "When I first met ya, ya were pokin' and proddin' a dead man. I'd say he's right."
Ralph managed a smile at that.
"Very well. You can come with me. I don't know why you'd want to, but it's not like I could stop you."
"Nah, ya couldn't."

The woman turned, her eyes peering into Fisher.
"So, where we off to?"
"The university. It's the best place to get equipment, outside of the hospital. But, the hospital is..."
"A deathtrap."
"To say the least. I was there when it was overrun. Nobody is getting in or out of that place alive." He peered back "Not even you."
"Well, I don't think I'd like ta get close to that place anyway. Never liked hospitals. That doesn't change when they're full of dead men."
"I don't imagine anyone would like a hospital full of the living dead."
"Well, maybe a madman. Like you."

He chuckled
"Oh, before we go. Can I take a page out of your notebook? I want to leave a note in case people think we've run off."
"Get yer own paper." Caoimhe hissed

Without another word, Ralph took paper of his own and nailed a note against a tree right next to the car. If any of the lodgers wanted to know where either had run off to, they would find their answers there. The rental sped off, making it's way into war-torn Aurora.

 

[FireMaiden]

​

"Finally. Progress." The hispanic muttered.

Andy's rage was about as clear as it could get. Even for someone with half their vision missing. Which means that the red headed miss found some answers and she clearly didn't like them. Vanessa must have calmed down enough to articulate why she attacked this unwelcome stranger.

Like he had before, Hector gripped him by the back of the neck and hauled him up, making sure his feet dangled for a moment to send a clear message that the larger of the two could easily crush him with one arm. His arms and legs were still bound, so he probably wasn't going anywhere but it was better to be safe than sorry. With the hand that held the firearm, Hector jabbed Reznos's back to remind him, once again, that he was at their mercy and to not get clever.

"Seems like you got some answers, Ms. Jordan. Enlighten us."

"No need to be rough, comrade. I have been cooperating!" Reznos protested. "I mean, if you hold me any tighter, I might pop!" He jeered, tilting his head back to smirk at the large Hispanic man.

Leliana's eyes snapped to the shed when Andy threw the door open before she focused on Beth. The nurse didn't know why she was aching like this, it was so obvious that something terrible had happened to Nessa thanks to this Renzos guy. Or at least he was involved. But Leliana didn't follow the other blonde back to the lodge, instead, she stayed in place, her eyes slowly moving back to Hector and Reznos. This guy seriously needed to shut up. "I don't think he's who you should be worried about right now," Leliana muttered, glancing towards the redhead before back again.

"What is so hard to believe about my words? Have you not seen for yourselves that she is dangerous?"

“I’m sure her pretty face got carved up all by itself.” Andy’s tone was eerily calm. The woman usually spoke with fire, practically spitting brimstone at anyone who mildly annoyed her. Contrastly, as her hard gemstone eyes stared the bound Renzos down she was nothing but ice. Controlled, calculating and cold. Each of the steps that brought her closer to them were firm in the cold, muddy ground as if she was ready to brace herself at any moment.

“It doesn’t matter how dangerous she is,” the redhead defended. “This is her home and you are a danger to her. So you could be Mary-fucking-Poppins for all I care and you wouldn’t be welcome here.” Should she have just let Nessa kill him? It didn’t seem like the right call. As much as Beth’s voice had irritated her, the blonde had a point. The group hadn’t made a habit of killing survivors that didn’t try to kill them first.

“Let him go, Hector,” the Jordan Twin commanded. “And if he is stupid enough to come where he isn’t welcome I’ll put a fucking arrow through his windpipe.” Though she addressed the doctor, the woman’s eyes never left the face of the newcomer, ensuring he understood the finality of her promise.

Reznos grinned, pulling his hands from the binding easily before anyone could make another move, and he straightened his coat. "Through my windpipe? My how violent a leader you are, Andrea."

Without hesitation, Andy's hand has drawn an arrow from her quiver. Her fingers barely had time to run through the yellow fletching before it was knocked and the reverberating thwack sounded as she loosed an arrow. Her brow was furrowed, nostrils flared as the metal tip found it's mark right under Renzos colar bone. Anyone unfamiliar with Andy's prowess with a bow would have thought she missed, but the non leathal hit was intentional. She gazed with mild satisfaction as she watched the crsion color of his blood bubble up from the wound and soak into the clothing.

"I've had enough of your fucking mouth. Limp your scrawny ass off my property with your life intact, or I'll happily throw you on the pyre of bodies out back with the rest of our garbage. The choice is yours."

Leliana was more surprised by Reznos' hands getting free than Andy shooting him. Creepy son of a bitch had it coming though...Leliana thought Andy should have aimed for something higher. There was no telling if this guy was telling the truth about being alone or not, but the nurse had a very strong feeling he was lying. The way he dressed, the cockiness, him trying to get them to turn on Nessa...something more was going on here. Not to mention his use of Andrea instead of Andy. Didn't surprise her Andy was a nickname, but it did surprise her that this guy knew. Made her thought about him being a spy even more solid. Without even realizing, Leliana had drawn her pistol, apparently, just in case, the arrow didn't scare him like it should have. "She's not going to warn you again."

Vanessa had peaked around the door of the shed just in time to see Andy loose her arrow. Her mismatched eyes widened in supprise when the arrow found its mark and struck the Russian.

Reznos let out a furious gargle of pain as the arrow sank into his flesh. He had expected a violent reaction, but not to actually be shot. He began to let out a raspy chuckle as his gaze turned to Leliana. "You should let your little Tyrant handle this, blondie." He said, grabbing the arrow and giving it a light tug, causing him to wince. It seemed to be in his shoulder good. "Very well. I'll be on my way... comrades..." she said, spitting at the ground near Andy's feet.

She watched him until he traveled up the trail and out of sight, hand trembling as she lowered her bow.

"Hector, come with me." She called, turning away from Leliana and Beth who was stopped in horror near the porch. "we have a few more things to discuss."

 

[The Mad Queen]

​

"Ya sure ya don't want me to drive?"
"I can manage, but thank you." Ralph nodded "Streets are full of abandoned cars and the infected. It'll take a bit for us to get to the university." He glanced over to his passenger "Day one, everybody was raiding pharmacies and stores in the panic, especially after the government's botched job to wipe out the town. For all we know the university could be a treasure trove of sorts. Chance are we'll find more there than the equipment."

The car fell silent, Fisher's brown eyes facing the road once more.
"Do ya think the university will have pudding?"
He raised an eyebrow, turning to face her. Caoimhe shrugged in response "What can I say? I've got a craving fer it."
"I'd say so." He chuckled "Pudding isn't really an essential supply. Nobody would be rushing to grab it."

She managed a smile at that.
"Oh, crap..." Ralph gasped. He jerked the car around a corner and shut off the engine. Caoimhe glared up at him but all it took was for the Doctor to point. Two dozen bodies shambling down the street, making their way (thankfully) away from the car. Both of them ducked down, with Ralph reaching for the assault rifle in the back seat. He unclipped the safety, and held his breath.

Caoimhe peaked up, watching as the corpses continued on their path. Half of them looked like they had been mauled by wild animals. Limbs missing, torn clothes and bloodied faces for uniforms. Clasping a hand over her own mouth, she ducked down as well. The two remained silent for what felt like hours and after one final check, Caoimhe nodded at Ralph. The bodies had gone, likely marching towards their next meal.

She glared at him, noticing that the man had a smile on his face.
"What are ya grinnin' at?"
"I just had an idea. It's a bit risky to try it now, but keep an eye out. If we find a lone infected on the way I have an experiment in mind."

He clipped the safety back on, placing the rifle in the back seat once more
"Off we go, then." A smile remained on his face as he brought the car back to life and headed off. He took it slow, making sure that he at least got a look at what was around the next corner before he turned. The dead didn't frighten him, at least so long as he was behind the wheel and their numbers weren't too large. There were a few inches of steel and glass between him and their teeth.

The idea of running across the living made his gut turn though.

Caoimhe took the time to make notes in her notebook, glancing up to keep a lookout.
"There."
He slowed the car to an absolute stop at the sight of a lone infected wandering down the street. He revved the accelerator
"Ralph?"
"Put your seatbelt on."
"Ya crazy bastard..."

The infected was struck with the car, knocking it onto it's back as the sound of something cracking filled the ears of both Ralph and Caoimhe.
"Alright then."
He stepped from the vehicle, drawing a knife from his belt. "Keep a lookout, will you?"

Caoimhe's eyes were widened, but she remained silent as she too stepped from the car, watching Ralph's back as he got to work. The knife went into the skull of the infected first, and then he plunged it into the creature's stomach. Placing gloves on his hands he started to smear it's guts on the car.
"What are ya..."
"Masking our scent. The infected, they heavily rely on a sense of smell and hearing. I want to see if this works, and we need to get to the university before it gets dark."
"Ah, the smell..."
"It's a good thing. If it reeks enough they won't notice us." He chuckled, holding back the urge to gag.

 

[Maj]

​

Andy’s hands were still shaking as she put her quiver and bow down on the worktable in the shed. She still wasn’t quite sure why she had reacted the way she had. Vanessa was clinically crazy, an absolute psychopath, and yet when Andy had knelt down and looked in her eyes, she had recognized the fear that lingered behind them. Logically, she questioned her decision to make the man leave, but something more guttural told her that she had made the right call.

She busied herself with crafting arrows, now at least one short that the man had left with one embedded in his flesh. Plus, it was something mindless she could do while she let her mind process through what had just happened. Normally, she would work on sketches to ease her mind, but her hands were shaking too badly. The redhead had only been in charge one day and already there was blood on her hands.

Trained fingers reached for the tips in the drawer of her work table, metal gleaming under the bright light of the work lamp. The carbon shafts were already laid out across the surface. Before long, she would have to resort to actually crafting arrows. Wood and stone wasn’t the most ideal way to go about things, but the supplies wouldn’t last forever. A sigh poured over her shoulders and back as she screwed the tip into place, moving to check the fletching.

The door slid open with a horrible metallic screech. Aaron winced, “Shit that’s goin’ to need some oil,” He swung himself round, maneuvering the large piece of corrugated metal that was was wielding through the door. Given the angle, he only realised Andy was there as he nearly bumped into her. As a result he nearly dropped the sheet of metal.

“God damnit Andy… didn’t notice you there, thought I was the only one who bothered to come in here anymore,”

He dumped the metal with a thud towards the back of the shed, followed swiftly by the gloves he was carrying. “Runnin’ low/” He flicked his eyes towards the line of arrow heads.

"Something like that," Andy agreed. Her instinct was to keep working and ignore Aaron’s presence, but that was a luxury the girl could no longer afford. Things needed to be done and there was no one else to ensure the wheels kept turning. Not to mention, now more than ever Andy felt like she was going to need some back up on her trip in the morning.

“I’m going in the morning with Vanessa to get the other generator.” Her words were stated coldly, firmly. The woman sounded more like a robot stating facts than a person asking for assistance. “However that isn’t my only objective while we are out. Hector says the girl needs medication and I’m inclined to agree with him. I had planned to go alone…” She trailed off, turning to look Aaron in the eye and shrugged. “But you’ve seen how she is.”

Aaron grunted and rubbed at his nose. “I’ve done more than see, I was on the receivin’ end of it. Combine that with what happened with that murlarky that went down with the generator. Girls a loose cannon, I don’t know whether she needs medication or just tiein’ up, I’m not a medical man. But somethin’ needs to be done.” He removed his cap and scratched at his neck.

“You goin’ alone with her?”

“Listen, I don’t know how much time you spent in the city but, it’s ugly out there. The few times I’ve ventured out I’ve barely made it back alive and the only reason I did was because I had Luca with me. He’s not able to come with me this time.” She turned entirely from her project, leaning her back on the worktable and crossing her arms across her midsection. Asking for help was not the girl’s strong suit. Her emerald eyes fluttered up, locking on Aaron’s face, analytical as she studied his features. She exhaled sharply out of her nose.

“I need someone I can trust.”

Luca needed rest, Owen was on a run already with Colt, and she couldn’t take Hector from his work, let alone leave the lodge entirely defenseless. Aaron on the other hand, while new, had done nothing but work hard to show his usefulness and loyalty to Andy. Every single thing she asked the man had done for her without hesitation. However, this was not something she felt comfortable asking. Fixing an ATV or generator was one thing, but risking his life to watch her back out in the monster infested streets of the city was something else entirely.

“You have no obligation to come with me, you’ve more than earned your place here. But,” she paused again, struggling with the right words. “I would appreciate it if you did.”

Aaron grinned his hands on his hips. “And so you’ve come seekin’ the best damn survivalist this lodge has to offer,” He shook his head and leaned against the table next to Andy.

“Seriously though. You gave me shelter when I had none, and to be honest a bit of a purpose. You may say I don’t have an obligation. But the way I see it I’ve got plenty of reasons to oblige.”

Andy was a tough nut. Hell of a hard outer shell from what he could tell, most of the interactions he’d seen her have with people had resulted in their teeth getting chipped. For whatever reason she seemed to trust and open up to him, he wasn’t going to take the piss out of her.

“From what I can tell it’s a shit show Downtown, tried to avoid it best I can. But if I was goin’ to tackle it, well you’re the one I’d pick… aside maybe from Luca, but I’ll be honest he scares the shit out of even me,”

“You’d be crazy if he didn’t,” she added with a smirk. What did that say about her, who literally slept cuddled up in bed with him every night? Relief washed over her as he agreed. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he had refused, but she honestly wasn’t sure what she was going to do if he had.

“We will leave bright and early,” she continued, the smirk leaving her expression, for her normal logical and thoughtful face. Hands reached up to twirl through her hair as her mind was already working through the next plan attack.

“Listen Aaron, I want us all to come back in one piece.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought hard about how to phrase her next warning. “However, if it comes down to her vs us?” Hard, pained eyes locked with his. “I need you to have my back. No matter what.”

“No fear I’m up with the birds most of the time, far too much energy to lie in,” He grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. “Simple if it’s her against us and our lives are on the line, I ain’t got no qualms about what needs to be done,” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder,

“It’s a warzone out there. Normal rules don’t apply. Am I happy about what may happen, course I ain’t, but doesn’t mean I’ll shirk from it if the time comes,” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Same for you. I’ll have you back, and you’ll have mine if it all goes south,”

Andy swallowed hard. She almost flinched from the touch, but held her ground, nodding thoughtfully. It was easy to forget she was only twenty-two. The way she kept command and barked orders made her seem far more confident and in control than she actually was. It was easy to say that the hardship of the new world they inhabited had changed her, but the girl had been hardened long before the dead began rising.

“See you in the morning.” She said with finality. The girl scooped up her arrows and left back from the same screechy door she had entered.

Collab: RayPurchase
Mentions: Brax shadowz1995 Rumble Fish TheMightyRedLemon

 

[Maj]

​

If one payed attention, or cared in the slightest as to what the druggie was doing, they'd hear the sound of creaking floorboards as Nile marched through the house, rummaging around for anything useful. If one payed attention, or cared in the slightest as to what the druggie was doing, they'd hear the sound of creaking floorboards as Nile marched through the house, rummaging around for anything useful. Entering the big bad Weasley's room, Nile payed no attention to his surroundings as he reached to open a drawer of the dresser. Upon opening, he was met by the sight of dusty action figures, small and weird knick knacks, and bent Pokemon cards.

Quickly backtracking, Nile looked up and squinted at the walls.

"Huh" Nile said, scanning the poster filled walls. Fallout, Minecraft, Skyrim, pretty much every game poster in the book. Was that one for World of Warcraft?

"Nerd" Nile said, realizing he wouldn't find anything in the room. Pushing the drawer closed, it stopped midway. It looked like something was sticking out of the drawer. Rolling his eyes, Nile tried pressing it down into the drawer, but stopped when he found it was cold, metalic, and black. Gripping it, Nile pulled the thing out.

It was a handgun. A Baretta Jetfire pistol to be exact, but of course Nile wouldn't know. An easily concealable weapon that Nile had no idea why it was mixed into the Red Hulk's action figures.

"I found a gun!" Nile called to the others. No response. They either neither heard or cared.

"Nothing?" Nile asked, a bit surprised no one responded. Shoving the handgun into his backpack, Nile walked out of the room. "Alright, it's mine now, I guess" Nile said with a shrug as he closed the room door.

---

Owen came in the house some time later. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and his fingers ached, red and blotchy. They were wrapped around the familiar plastic of a radio. His sister’s voice had called over in just moments before, strained and tired.

“Andy what is it?” he answered back, with the warmth of the house soothing his flesh. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine,” she called. “I hate to bother you, but I need you to get some medication while you are out.” Owen sighed, that would have been good to know while they were still at the pharmacy. However, the frustration in his tone was masked by the time he pushed down the button to respond.

“Sure, what’s up?” His sister briefly went over the fact that they needed anti psychotic meds for Vanessa and had him write down the list. He would have to check and see if that lined up with anything they already had picked up, but if not they could just swing back by the pharmacy on the way back.

“Are you okay?” Her brother asked again. “You sound tired.”

“What an astute observation” She growled. There was a few moments of silence before the static of the radio sounded once more. “I’m fine, it’s just been a long day. When are you guys getting back?”

“Tomorrow night at the earliest. The next morning at the latest.” There was several moments of silence before her voice came back over the receiver.

“Be safe.”

The line went dead. He could tell there was something further on her mind, but didn’t pry. Owen was sure she had a lot to process through. In fact, she already sounded better than she had the night before crying into his lap. With a tired sigh, he clipped the radio back to the waist of his jeans and made his way to the hallway closet where his mom left all of the spare blankets and bedding. He grabbed the 4 fluffiest comforters he could find before emerging, his entire lanky form covered in blankets.

He found Nile, already passed out in Owen’s bed and laughed, shaking his head. The tall redhead tossed one of the blankets over him so he wouldn’t freeze in the night. Aubrey was found in the hallway and she handed her another of the blankets offering for her to take Andy’s old bedroom. The thing was mostly baren now, as his sister had moved most of her stuff to the Dorms, but thankfully the bed was still intact. Finally he made his way to Colt, handing her blanket and offering his mother’s bed to her for the night. They were all weary, and despite any protests that might come up, he knew they all needed sleep.

When the work was done he made his way to the couch, his heavy form slumping into the pushness of the grey sectional. His eyes were closing before he even got the blanket all the way pulled over his tall form.


---

November 22nd 2018
The Jordan Residence
3:56 AM

Owen was woken up in the dead of the night. The sting of icy metal against his temple. Habitually, his hands went up defensively as he tried to give his emerald eyes time to adjust in the dense darkness of the room. He couldn’t make out the figure, just the silhouette of his thin form in the moonlight. The mysterious assailant gestured for him to rise, and with the barrel of a gun so close to his head, the Jordan Twin had no choice but to oblige.

“Did you know that you’re, like, 400 hundred fucking pounds?” The stranger said in lieu of answers as they held the firearm to Owen’s forehead. “Well, I didn’t until I tried picking you up. I think I popped a muscle or some shit. Really, Jesus man, I’ve worked with steel fucking beams lighter than you, you 8 foot Volcano you” The guy said, rising with the ginger. Taking a few steps back, they went farther into the darkness.

“Anyway, drugs!” The man said, this time enthusiastically as the. Vaguely waving the gun at owen, the guy pressed it forward. “Where?”.

"You better hope to God Colt never finds out about this man," the giant twin hissed. "The fuck are you even thinking?" Still it was hard to argue with the cold steel of the handgun pressed into the base of his neck. With no other choice but to oblige Owen Jordan let the junkie lead him out of the house and out the front door.

Collab: Togy
Mentions: Rumble Fish Corgi shadowz1995 TheMightyRedLemon

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

​

Featuring: Maj As Andy, RoughRedneck as Aaron, and myself, TheMightyRedLeomon as Vanessa

November 22, 2018
5:30 AM
The Lodge

“Andrea!”

Emerald eyes shot open with a start, Andy sat up in her bed. It wasn’t as jarring as the night terrors that had come after she put down Dixie, but enough to jolt her awake before her alarm sounded. The redhead took in a deep breath and sighed, looking down to see that Luca was still sleeping soundly beside her. That was good, she would have felt terrible if she had woken him over something so trivial. Unfortunately, no matter how much time passed some nightmares never faded entirely.

As if on cue, the muffled sound of the Star Wars Imperial March came from her phone in the form of her alarm. In the dark, she slipped her hand under her pillow to retrieve it, shutting it off before it could cause too much disturbance to the rest of the lodge. She pushed back the covers and the cold bit at her exposed bare flesh. Goosebumps rose, cascading over her pale and freckled skin like a shower. She shivered, making haste to rise from the bed and dress.

It was cold. Colder than the last run she had gone on, and with only Vanessa and Aaron watching her back, she wasn’t sure realistically how long it would take to get back. She slipped on thermal underwear, tucked neatly under her jeans and her ‘I have the high ground’ T-shirt. Her hands looped through her tresses with ease, taming them into a braid before she brushed her teeth and grabbed her jacket from the closet.

Her bags were already packed by the bedroom door. A messenger bag stuffed with the first aid kit Leliana had made her, dried deer meat, and various other supplies was bracing her bow and quiver which she picked up off the floor and looped her hand through the straps. Her hand was on the doorknob, but Andy found herself pausing and looking back over her shoulder. Green eyes settled on Luca’s sleeping form and she faltered for a moment, unsure if she should wake him or tell him goodbye. Instead, she sighed and steeled her nerves and turned the knob. This was her first run without the security of having him by her side, but she knew that she would have to do this on her own.

Unsure of where the others were, Andy made her way outside and into the cold, zipping up her leather jacket to keep the icy wind from invading her clothes. With her free hand she tucked her still damp braid further into her hood to keep ice from forming in her hair. With a small thud, she placed her bags on the porch.

Aaron had already been up for some time. Removing empty jerry cans from the Humvee, checking fuel and oil levels, making sure that she was in tip top condition. This was the first big run he’d be going on, and with the Old Girl being the lone vehicle, he wasn’t going to have her going into danger in any condition other than perfect. Luckily he had never been one to sleep in, so the 5 odd hours he had snatched had proven to be more than enough.

He ran his hands through his steadily growing beard. If his sergeant could see him now he would have been on the end of a right bollocking. Beard in violation of the grooming standard, combat trousers and jacket not ironed and with stains in place, combination of military and civilian dress with the baseball cap and faded AC/DC t-shirt he was wearing under the unbuttoned jacket. His hand slipped down to his belt, tyre iron, check. Pistol strapped to his thigh, check. Small toolkit on his belt, double check. He’d packed the main one in the boot, but given the size and weight of it, he only wanted to use it if strictly necessary. They were going out into the madness, less weight meant faster and quieter, this wasn’t the sort of rodeo that you could shoot your way out of.

He eased himself into the driver’s seat, giving the mirrors a wiggle, not that there was much point, they were all set perfectly, it was just part of the superstitious checks he made. After awhile you couldn't help it, all part of an intricate ritual of bullshit and dogma. A lot of troops fell into it, all part of the illusion of control in the face of the sheer randomness of combat. Helped a lot of guys cope. He leaned forward and pushed a tape into the deck. The volume was turned down low, only just audible against the growl of the engine as he slowly drove around towards the porch.



The hooded figure of Andy was already there in the early morning light, wrapped up against the elements. He lowered the driver window, a blast of cold air cutting through the steady stream of warm air and stabbing at his face. Despite this his grin was unwavering.

“Mornin’ Andy, early enough for you?”

The redhead blinked several times, as if the cheeriness of this man was just too much for her sleep deprived and under caffeinated brain to grasp. She picked her bags back up and began her march across the icy ground. The soles of her calf length boots left prints in the crusted, frozen mud before she walked up to the door, gazing up at him with mild contempt across her features.

“People who are happy at six a.m. are sadists.” In fact, Aaron was so happy that Andy sometimes wondered if he had replaced some of his brain with gears. It would explain the weird semi-romantic relationship he shared with the car. She handed him her bag through the window. “Where is dear ol’ Thumbalina this morning?” The twin asked dryly. “I haven’t seen her lurking about yet.”

Aarron grunted as he wrestled the bag through the window and dumped it on the backseats. “Early worm catches the worm and all that. Besides it’s too goddamn cold to sleep, much better to be up and movin’. Or at the very least in a car with a heater.” He let out a bark of laughter, just about managing to catch himself and suppress it before waking up half the lodge. “Hell if I know, up on the roof again, swingin’ from the rafters… your guess is as good as mine right now,”

"I wasn't aware that worms were cannibalistic." Vanessa said in a jovial manner as she walked through the doorframe. "Also, I wouldn't be back on the roof. Luca said te stay off." She added matter of factly as she approached the truck. She had a small knife belt strapped to her right thigh and her backpack on her back with the handle of a hatchet sticking out of the top. As the acrobat looked between Andy and Aaron she connected the dots in her head. "Wait, he is commin too?" She asked, pointing at Aaron.

Aaron leaned his elbow on the window frame of the Humvee, sticking his head out fully into the elements now. She was in a good mood now at least, whether that was going to last was another question altogether.

“Well someone’s got to do the drivin’ and work out exactly what we need. No sense in me stayin’ back and tryin’ to describe the difference between a 2 stroke or 3 stroke engine and why we can’t just use parts from either…. So in other words here I am,”

Vanessa's eyes darted between Andy and Aaron as she wondered if the redhead understood what he was referring to any better than she did. "Alright… fair enough." She said, somewhat defeated.

Andy chose not to respond to Vanessa’s presence other than to raise an eyebrow at her before opening the backseat door. She nodded toward it for the acrobat to get in the car, too tired to try and converse with her this early in the morning. Then the woman climbed up into the passenger side of the large vehicle, placing her quiver and bow down in the floorboard. She knew her way around Aurora better than anyone, and therefore would have no issue guiding Aaron to the location of the circus.

“Let's try to avoid most of the main roads if we can,” Andy said as she settled in, pulling the seat belt over her chest. The last time someone drove her into town it ended up with her dangling upside down. It was not something she cared to repeat.

“When we get closer, Vanessa will have to help direct us, but I can navigate around most of the major pitfalls on the way there. Stay off the highway and be careful of ice.” It wasn’t like there was anyone around to salt the roads anymore.

Vanessa climbed into the vehicle wordlessly. From this moment, she was going to be with only Andy and Aaron. Neither of them liked her, she knew that much. With a sigh she got comfortable in the back seat. This was going to be a long run. At least there was something to peek her interest and hold her attention. She had never heard such music before. In truth, Vanessa couldn't remember much of music besides the russain polka and carnival music she grew up around, so this was an interesting change of pace.

Aaron shifted the stick into drive. “Right no main roads. The weather has caused some of those backroads to more or less fall apart. We’ll be alright, but it may get a bit bumpy in the back, this thing wasn’t exactly made for delicate asses,”

He turned up the volume on the tape deck as he wound the window shut. Andy was solid that much was for sure, but Vanessa. Right there you had a loose cannon. And where they were heading a loose cannon was the very last thing that they wanted.

“Just give me plenty of warnin’ before any turnin’s and I’ll get us there in one piece, try and avoid any trouble or what not. Still far too early for that sort of thing,”

“It’s too early for most things,” Andy grumbled, settling into her seat. She felt the need to tell Aaron that it was too early to hear his annoying, chipper, voice but was far too smart to insult her backup first thing in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and settled into her seat, wishing desperately for a starbucks drive through.

“When you hit the end of the dirt road, take a left.”

 

[Rumble Fish]

Beyond her ragged and shallow breath was silence. The creaking of the wood above sent threats of more of them charging down, arms wild and maws agape, ravenous for blood pumped by a rapid heart and a conscious victim. Those who lost the battle with the single armed woman littered the ground, brains and blood on her boots from those who got too close and paid the price. There were more. But where? The ruins of the house threatened to fall. The blackened beams clipped off charcoal and dust hung in the air like suspended snow. The only source of light came from the small torch mounted on the top of her gun, which clicked and swung as she moved. She had already called out for others, but her voice was muffled despite her efforts to shout, as if she had been gagged. All that came were the Things. They were reduced to muscle, their white eyes bulging and unhinged jaws. None resembled her group. In that moment of calm, she looked around once again.

Colt had woken up here. The last she remembered before finally shutting her eyes was Owen settling her into the bed, deaf to her protests and insistance to stay up and watch and then staring at the ceiling for hours, desperate to settle her breath and shaking before finally slipping into slumber by the sheer exhaustion of mind and the day. When she woke up, the room was blackened as if the house had been ablaze and the stench of smoke stained the air. And then the Things came. What had happened while she was asleep? How did she sleep through the inferno and remain unharmed?

"Owen? Aubrey?" she managed to muffle out, "...Nile?" Nothing but the creaking of the ever-threatening house answered her. She did not want to leave the room, but she had to find them. With the charred Things, she could not tell if the trio were even alive. Despite her better judgement, she stepped forward. As her foot put its weight onto the floor, Colt yowled as she felt herself fall forward, her leg ripped with splinters and cuts from the broken wood, up to her thigh. There was a loud snap in her right hip and a rush of agony up her spine from the impossible angle of her leg. Gasping from the pain, she wriggled her left leg to get it free but the more she struggled, the more heat began to rise from below like the fires of Hell were licking her skin to pull her down. Her skin began to prickle and burn the more she struggled. The stench of burning flesh triggered panic in the woman as she panicked, trying to cry out for help but nothing came out. Nobody was coming. She was alone....

"Collette!" A sweet yet worried drawl hit her ears. Colt looked up, standing above her in her Marine wear, complete with face paint which still failed to hide her sprinkle of freckles and her fiery red hair hung loosely in curls on her shoulders was Sasha. She was assaulted with a flutter of the heart and the weight of despair, knowing what this all meant. Behind Sasha, Molly and Becca emerged. As they did, Sasha turned to the pair. "C'mon get 'er outta there!" she barked and the three in unison carefully walked in. Seeing her three closest comrades, who were long gone, Colt stopped struggling and just waited. This could not be real. Maybe she had kicked the bucket while asleep and this was some fucked up dying dream; Colt knew that could happen, it almost happened once before. If that were the case, she was just going to let it happen.

"We gotchu- give us your arms!" Colt did not move as Becca and Molly grabbed her hands and she felt Sasha wrap her grip around her torso. But just as they began to pull, the trio suddenly leapt back with screams, sending chills down her spine as Colt felt herself be dropped back down, now deeper into the hole. The pain in her left leg increased as the flames charred the skin, but she could not scream.

"What did you DO?!" Becca shrieked, looking at her arms as Colt could see her dark skin dripping from her flesh, melting like she had encountered acid, her once beautiful form perverted as panic began to set in and she flailed like a maniac. Colt squeaked and tried once again in vain to get out. She had to help! But despite her flailing, she only sank further and further into the hole. Where was Sasha!? She spun her torso around, to be met with a sight that made the woman freeze, tears leaking from her green pair.

Sasha's screams were muffled by her hands as she had grabbed her face with her red, peeling and melting hands, desperate to relieve herself of the agony. Colt could only stare as he tore her hands down, the skin and muscle coming away like it was nothing, revealing a screaming and red skull. The only remains of her once beautiful form being her teeth. The screams were unholy and familiar. Colt whimpered helplessly as she once again attempted to get out herself. But the screaming then stopped. Instead, it was replaced with feral, garbled snarls. Like Things. Looking up, Colt was now faced with three rotten and deformed Things, all their memories gone, all the time they spent together. Now, they had one motive; feast.

"N-n-No! No! No!" Colt struggled against the wood as the Thing that was once Sasha snarled and lunged. Colt covered her arms but before she could be grabbed, she felt the floor give way beneath her. Colt screamed as she felt herself fall into the flames...

*​

"NO!" Colt's body jolted as she leapt up, breathing hard and fast with her heart going like a train. She was still in Owen's mother's bed. It was quiet and the house was intact. Still, the veteran was coated in sweat, the sheets were wet and cold and it dripped from her white skin. Her stomach was turbulent and the skin prickled with nerves. With a groan, Colt rolled over in an attempt to get up. Her mind was trapped by the image of Sasha's final seconds in that nightmare. As she rolled over, the woman gagged as she felt a rush of sweetness in her mouth. With her leg against the wall and no strength to hop she used the only thing in her close proximity; the trash can next to the bed. Grabbing it, she did not have a moment to check if it was empty before emptying her gut's contents into it. It was this or on the carpet and, already feeling guilt for being in this room in the first place, she did not want to make even more of a mess. Rivers of tears raced down her cheeks when she finally stopped vomiting, setting the trash can down but with no energy to move. Her headache persisted and everything shook.

"Ugh... Oweeeen!" she wailed. This was worse than any hangover, at least with a hangover she could still function regardless of how much it made her want to die. How much longer was this going to last? She hated to call out for someone like that, but after that nightmare and waking up to this, she needed someone here. Even if he just stood at the door that would still be better than being alone in this room. After some effort, Colt was finally able to sit up and open the water next to her and took a long swig from it. The clear liquid did it's magic and her headache lessened. Owen still had not come, maybe he was asleep. It was still early, but she had cried with volume and she knew Owen well enough to know he would have responded. Now she felt more stable, she grabbed her prosthetic and put it on. She had no will to try and sleep again. Seeing Sasha die again, even in a dream made her unwilling to ever sleep again. Maybe she could tell Owen about it, otherwise it would sink and fester in her mind. And without the assistance of alcohol, it was going to stay there.


"Owen?" Stumbling from the room, Colt made her way to the living room, she had heard the larger man crash onto the couch. It was empty. She considered that he may have stepped outside or taken an early run somewhere, but she then caught sight of his rucksack. "Owen! Where are ya?" The woman, her already racing heart beginning to pound harder, struggled down the hall to look into his room. The door was open and the room was absent of life. She had seen Nile there before. The house was silent, aside from the gentle sounds of Aubrey sleeping in the room next to her. The woman ran to the kitchen despite the sickening scent of rotten food but he was not there, or the dining room.

"Owen?! This isn't fuckin' funny- OWEN!" Colt squawked, now in panic mode. Where was he and where the fuck was Nile?! Sitting on the sofa, the woman put her head in both hands, shaking. What was she going to tell Andy? That she had lost her brother again?! Where was he? Owen would not just up and leave like that, would he? And where the fuck was Nile?! Owen would have told them or left them a note to tell them where he was going. Colt breathed hard through her nose, staring at the ground as she felt the sweat drip from her skin. She had to think. They had not discussed leaving before or anything they had missed. All Nile seemed to care about was drugs, of fucking course. What else would that worthless bastard care about? He wouldn't go with Owen unless involved... Then it clicked. Owen had mentioned a stash. A drug stash. Nile had gone without them for a while. And Owen was his dealer...

A pair of feet shook the floor as they slammed down as she jumped up, fists clenched and face now maroon.

"CRAY-MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Mentions: Maj (Owen/Andy) Corgi (Aubrey) Togy (Nile)

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between FireMaiden and Rumble Fish
​

It had been...awkward between her and Beth for the past few hours. Beth didn't like the fact Leliana was involved with that whole Reznos thing. It bothered her, but she didn't say anything. Not yet at least. the rest of her day went by quickly as she did small chores and made dinner. She stayed up with whoever was on guard duty for that night until Beth had gone to sleep. It was around 5:30 am, after Aaron, Andy, and Nessa had left but not by much. When she headed downstairs, it was dark and cold, and she wasn't looking forward to having to deal with this. She didn't have anything warm enough to combat it, the chill had already set into her bones, the shivering never seemed to go away. Since the generator was broken, there wasn't much to do, and Leliana couldn't even make coffee so instead, she turned to the one thing she hated doing but the only choice she had to get warm. Leliana was gonna use the fireplace.

After a very brief trip outside to get some firewood, she was back and trying to get the fire going. Though Leliana wasn't that good at it and she could barely see anything.

The entire situation had frightened the youngster, driving her to stay in her room for the whole day, desperate to take her mind off of the current events through drawing and sleeping but the stress from the turbulence of the day and the knowledge that the trio would be going to her home, she could not sleep. She did not want to eat or go outside. Everything felt wrong. Even more wrong than it ever could before. When the night drew, all she could do was try to sleep. But the cold rattled her small body and made it hard.

It was early when she was awoken by the sound of someone moving around. The youngster jumped and was instantly met with a wave of fatigue and sore eyes. A lack of sleep. The small girl squeaked and poked her head out of the cupboard, relaxing upon seeing that it was Leliana. Wrapping her blanket around herself, she gingerly left the room within the cupboard.

"Leliana?"

Unlike many other times she tried doing this, Leliana was successful. As the flames came to life, light filled the living room, the shadows started dancing. But she sighed, a light smile on her lips as the warmth washed over her. The chill wouldn't let go for a while, she knew that but this was a start. Leliana was about to sit down on the couch when she heard a small voice. Turning to look at Milly, she smiled. "Hi sweetheart, what are you doing up? You should be sleeping."

"I know... but I can't," Milly spoke as she sat on the sofa, pulling the blanket closer around her as she looked at the newly lit fire getting acquainted with the room. She looked up at the woman for a second before her eyes cast down, "I... I don't really..." she looked to the fire, "Understand what happened. It's all so confusing." she bit her lip. She honestly had no clue how to feel about it. Everyone seemed so angry. But why? It made no sense to her. Nothing made sense anymore. And nonsense was one thing that Milly could not stand.

Leliana sighed softly, watching as Milly moved closer and sat on the couch. Yesterday must have scared her, not that Leliana could blame her. With a small sigh, she sat down next to Milly, rubbing her hands together before bringing them up to her mouth to blow on them. She was still freezing, but slowly warming up. "A bad man showed up and...well, sometimes it doesn't end the way people want it to. Andy was just protecting the lodge, I promise. Don't worry Milly, everything is okay."

"But Andy's gone... so is Colt." Milly gulped before wrapping her arms around herself trying to warm up. She could only hope that Colt's group would be able to get her weighted blanket, while that was much more comforting than the one she had, it was also warmer. Milly breathed slowly through her mouth before glancing back at the woman. "What if more bad people come and they aren't here? Or monsters?" The young girl sighed, wanting to think of something else, but it dominated her mind.

Milly's concern was...something Leliana had been thinking about. Ralph and Maria were gone. Nile, Owen, Colt, and Aubrey were all gone. And now Andy's group, there weren't many people left here. Even fewer who were actually competent when it came to combat. Tre, herself, and Hector since Luca seemed to be...unable to do much. Just three of them. With a sigh, she smiled at Milly. "You'll be safe Milly, I promise." It was really the only she could promise. Leliana didn't know if a horde would pass by or if someone else would try a stunt like that Reznos dick. Leliana couldn't promise anything more than Milly would be safe. If something happened and shit went south, it would be the one thing Leliana made sure of.

Milly blinked softly and sighed a little as Leliana assured her that she would be safe from danger. The small girl tilted her head a little at her. "I know I have my knife but... I still don't know. It still scares me." she mumbled, rubbing her chin. While she spoke, Penny made her way from the cupboard to the pair on the couch, crooning happily at seeing the pair before scrambling onto the sofa to set herself between them, her black beady eyes looking between them. She had her fluffy plumage to keep her warm so the two girls being cold seemed a foreign concept to her. Milly scratched the hen under the beak to which she gently nibbled in a friendly gesture.

"It's okay to be scared Milly, everyone is." If anyone said they weren't they'd be lying. And what would be the point of that? Saving face? It's not like anyone needed to do that anymore. Leliana opened her mouth to say something again before she noticed Penny. Leliana smiled, chuckling softly as she watched her trot over and somehow manage to get on the couch between her and Milly. It was probably time to change the subject anyway, but the nurse couldn't resist reaching down to gently pet the chicken's back. After a moment, Leliana slipped off her shoes and pulled her legs up onto the couch, the fire finally doing its job of warming her up, she sighed with a soft smile. "You like animals don't you? What's your favorite?"

Milly looked at the woman with her head tilted. Everyone else was scared? But they never showed it. But the subject then changed as Leliana asked her what animals she liked. The small girl sighed gently through her nose and her eyes drifted upward in thought. There were lots to choose from. “I like ducks. Ducks are cute. I like how they waddle. And they are cute when they quack... I had rubber ducks to play with in the bath and... one to cuddle at night.” She went quiet. Not wanting to allow her emotions to overpower her, she shook her head and turned back to her “so, uh, what about you?” She questioned, her eyes sparkling once again.

Leliana couldn't help a small smile when Milly started explaining how she liked ducks. "I think Penny might get a bit jealous if she knew that." The nurse joked with a lighthearted chuckle, glancing down at the chicken before her eyes found Milly again. This kid didn't deserve the life they were living now. None of them did but...this was probably the best of a bad situation. Her blue eyes shifted to the flames, watching as they danced a little bit while she thought about her favorite animal. "Ducks are pretty cute. I'd have to say they were my favorite if ball pythons didn't exist. They're very cute snakes, I always wanted one but I could never afford to buy one."

“Chickens are cute too though.” She assured the hen, before tilting her head at the woman as she mentioned snakes. Her body shuddered a little “Mum always said snakes were scary. But... I like the small ones.” She responded. "Miss Honey had a hognose snake called Bacon-Bits she’d bring every morning. She was cute but really hissy. I never held her.”

"Some snakes are scary, but not most of them. Ball pythons are really gentle, and if they like you, they cuddle," Leliana explained with a giggle. One of her childhood friends had one. Well, her dad did, but that snake loved everyone. She couldn't remember its name, but that wasnt the important part. Once again, her eyes moved from the flames to Milly, Leliana smiling softly once more. "You need to try and get some sleep. If you want to, you can sleep out here so it's warm. I'll even sit here with you if that's what you want." Leliana was far from able to fall asleep again but that didn't mean she wasn't exhausted. Milly, on the other hand, needed it. Not that the nurse didn't, but Milly was 12 or 13. "I bet Penny would like the nap too."

“They do? That’s sweet.” The small girl smiled at the nurse before she mentioned she should go to sleep. Milly sighed gently and looked down as she pulled the blanket closer around her. “It’s been getting harder to sleep. Aubrey said they would get my weighted blanket and some more of my teddies. I miss them... I miss my room.” Penny seemed to notice her sober note as she crooned and cuddled up against her gently. Milly shook her head lightly “sorry um... I probably should try and sleep.”

Leliana smiled a little at Milly, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. Leliana knew what it felt like to be her. Well, not exactly, but some of it. "I miss my room too." Leliana sighed. A lie, but it was something Milly could connect with. In all honesty, Leliana hadn't slept in her room for years, she had made the couch her bed. But she did miss her house. "Don't be sorry. If you want to, you can lean on me."

Milly didn’t need to be told twice. With a little whimper, still slightly upset at her homesickness, she shimmied over and snuggled up against Leliana, watching as the fire danced. The warmth began to grow and her blue eyes began to feel heavy, “...sometimes, I feel like I can see people dancing in the fire. Like it’s a party...”

Leliana smiled when Milly snuggled up next to her, the nurse wrapping her arm around the smaller girl. Leliana was glad she could help her sleep, or at least relax. "Yeah, I can see that...looks like a very warm party, " Leliana spoke softly, her other hand moving to brush hair out of Milly's face before it moved back fo her side, Leliana sighing softly. "Sleep tight Milly."

Milly did not respond and only snuggled further under the nurse’s arm, she barely heard Leli speak the second time as she had already began to slip into a slumber. Her breath became heavy as her mind started to dream of happy and free fire dancers.

 

[The Mad Queen]

The night before: Part 1​

Even with their scent marked in guts, a drive that usually took mere minutes took the pair almost a full hour as Ralph took extra care to avoid main roads. They were concealed from the dead, but not the living. He may not have been a local, but he'd thoroughly read maps of the city prior to arriving to the hospital. He needed to know the battleground between the CDC and the virus. High population centers, access to drinking water, everything it could use to spread.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he was scolding soccer moms or dealing with potential Ebola outbreaks. It had been the last big scare, and he'd seen how people had lost their mind over something that was deadly, although difficult to catch. If the American people were to get word of a virus that killed the host and brought it back as a living corpse, it would lead to a complete shutdown. Panic buying, violence, riots. The works.

He hated to admit it, but a coverup did make at least some sense. It was the execution that had taken things too far. Ralph's thoughts briefly turned to both Brian and Jenna, wondering if either had made it out of the city. Brian had potential, but if he escaped he'd have probably gone underground. He did leave all of his information with Jenna, after all.
That meant he was disappearing, and an ex-CIA man had a contingency plan for vanishing off the face of the earth. He chuckled to himself at the idea of Brian retiring to some quiet corner in Cuba, or even to rural New Zealand to become a farmer.

"Doctor Friendly." Caoimhe's voice broke Ralph out of his daydream. He'd have questioned his name, but his brown eyes met the university instead. The exterior seemed quiet, a few scattered infected here and there that paid no notice to the car, but Fisher knew that within the walls it could well be a different story. Still, other members of the lodge group had paid a visit to the university and come back in one piece. They'd even brought somebody back with them, a professor. If he could survive within the university's walls, then perhaps it wasn't so bad?

He shook his head. No, when it came to the war against disease Fisher always had to assume the worst-case scenario and then work backwards.

Caoimhe had spent the car journey as a lookout, her blue eyes watching the road and surrounding buildings, looking back at the notebook from time to time and writing in it. She talked to Maria about where they were going, about Doctor Friendly and even the smell. Dear God, the smell. Martin had once told her about how people shit themselves when they died, but the repulsive smell surrounding the car was almost unrecognizable to her. By the time they arrived at the university, she wanted little more than to jump out of the car to escape it.

"What's the plan? How are we gettin' in?"
"There's only a few around. We get as close as possible, take them out and then smear..."
"Feck no." Caoimhe gagged "I'm not coverin' meself in that shite."
"Then wait in the car. We can't risk it in case more of these things show up."

She turned away, sighing heavily
"In a fight you take every advantage you can get, right? Well look at this as..."
"Shut up."
"We'd only be putting it on our clothes. And not even all of it. Didn't have to cover the whole car, after all."
"Fine. But the second we're out of danger, I'm tearin' my coat off."
"I'd recommend that anyway. This thing is highly contagious. Speaking of which..."

Reaching into his satchel, Ralph handed Caoimhe a set of disposable gloves and a medical mask.
"We're going to be dealing with their guts, so..."
Without saying a word, simply glaring daggers at the Doctor Caoimhe threw on her coat and put on the protective equipment. She wanted it to be over as quick as possible, so Caoimhe dispatched two infected with the bat. It was strange to smash the skull, given that Maria had always been the combatant but, they shared a body and muscle memory was one of the things that came with that.

That, and Martin had taught them both how to fight.
Dragging the infected behind the car, she held her breath as Ralph smeared the guts on her coat. The worst part came next, for she got to work on his overcoat, going for places the Doctor simply could not reach on his back. All in all, it only took a few minutes but it dragged on. Both of them fought back the need to gag.

Fisher had seen plenty of autopsies in his time, and more bodies that he'd like to admit. The conditions somebody is left in after dying from Ebola was something that stuck with him, giving the man a few nightmares to say the least but of course, prior to this outbreak he'd never dug his hands straight into the cadaver, let alone covered himself in it's blood.
He tried to take his mind elsewhere, at how June would be laughing at him right now. She'd seen her fair share of blood, and been covered in it too. She'd have handled this like a champ. No complaining, no gagging and she certainly wouldn't be throwing up inside of her own mouth.

This, of course did cause him to smile.
"What?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about something."
"Distractin' yerself?" He nodded "Me too."

Caoimhe wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but the idea of Maria suddenly waking up to find herself covered in zombie blood did bring her at least a little bit of amusement.

The two made their way towards the university, staying low and quiet. Their smell may have been invisible, but the dead weren't blind or deaf. One wrong move was all it would take and suddenly, all of their efforts would have been for nothing. A few abandoned cars in the parking lot made for good cover as the two approached a side entrance.

 

[Dragonlord318]

ALL FIRED UP
...WAY TOO EARLY
​

David walked onto the lodge's property just as the sun peeked over the horizon, carrying a long pole on his right shoulder and a bag in his left hand. He had radioed in earlier that he was coming to help them with their heating problem, as he had noticed the lack of heat inside yesterday afternoon when he met Maria-Caoimhe and Leliana. He set the bag down as he got to a window that he'd be able to use as a foothold, and tossed the pole onto the roof. After a few catches and repeat attempts, it stayed and he put the bag over his shoulder then started climbing.

The wood exterior provided more than enough grips and holds to traverse the side of the structure, and he was on top in less than a minute. He picked up the pole, walked over to the chimney and set the bag down. After rummaging through it, he found his socket set and screwdrivers, then set to removing the chimney cover.


At some point, Leliana had dozed off there with Milly. Her head ended up leaning on the younger girl's, the fire slowly dying with nobody to attend it as 5:30 am slowly shifted to 6 something. By the time the sun started rising, there was nothing more than embers but the room was warm enough to keep the nurse under. What started to stir her though...were suspicious noises coming from outside. Slowly, her eyes fluttered, the blonde sitting up a little straighter, the room no longer pitch black as her eyes scanned the room. The noises continued, a small sigh forcing through her nose as she gently moved Milly so she was laying down, nice and warmly tucked in under the blanket before Leliana moved to slip her shoes back on. Slowly standing up, she checked her holster making sure the pistol was still there before she headed outside.

She expected to see an animal or something climbing up on the roof. Or Vanessa. Or...well, you know any other possibility than David.

Leliana didn't know what to make of him still. She wasnt sure if she trusted him. She was even less sure if she liked him, especially standing here sleep-deprived, freezing her tits off at who knows what in the goddamned morning. For a few moments, she did nothing but watch as he did something with the chimney, her eyes moving around to scan the yard and tree line. Well...it was probably a good thing he was here, they were severely lacking in defense. "Hey!" Her eyes finally moved back to his hulking form, eyes squinted as she pulled her thin Moe's jacket closer to her body. "The fuck are you doing?"

Meanwhile, inside the barracks, a certain blonde awoke with a tired groan. The walls of the place weren't exactly great mufflers and there were slits between the boards here and there, so a light sleeper like Harriet never stood a chance. Hearing shouting coming from outside, Harriet tried to go back to sleep. Nope, the sweet realm of unconsciousness wouldn't take him. God dammit.

With a forlorn sigh, Harriet more so tumbled out of his hammock than he did step out of it. With a rub of his eyes and and a hand pressed against his back, Harriet let out a yawn as he stumbled out of his room. He didn't have back pains, his spine just couldn't cope with the fact that it'd be sleeping on a hammock made from tree ark with no comforts whatsoever for the foreseeable future. Really, he wasn't old. At least he thought he wasn't...

Stumbling across the hallway, The bleary eyed blonde picked up his thermos from where it rested by the pit lined with stones that Nile had passed for a fireplace. The thing was just filled with ashes, but judging by the warmth his metal Thermos emitted, it'd done it's job.

Uncapping the Thermos, Harriet let the sacred wonder liquid called Coffee pour into his mouth.

Ah.

Much better.

What time even was it? Bringing his wrist watch up to his face, Harriet squinted at the time. What? 6 AM? It was too early for...well, just about anything in his book. To be fair, he's had to wake up before 6 for years due to his profession, but still, you'd think the apocalypse would come with the one plus of sleeping in.

Rubbing his eyes, Harriet stepped through the door to the outside to see what the fuss was. Spotting Lelianna, the man waved as his eyes roamed upward. Harriet just took a sip of coffee. He felt the nurse's earlier statement summed up his thoughts.


David removed the cap that he had just freed, setting it to the side. He grabbed a flashlight from his bag and looked down the shaft, feeling a slight heat from the dying embers below as he did. The sides of the flue were caked in soot and creosote, so much so that he was convinced if it built up anymore, it'd catch fire.

He heard the door open followed by heavy footfalls, then a familiar voice shouting an obscenity up at him. He looked back to see the source of the voice, finding the nurse from the other day glaring up at him as if he was the devil incarnate. He turned back around to his work. "I'm cleaning the chimney, Ma'am. I noticed the cold inside the cabin the other day, and wanted to ensure the flue was safe for use."

He picked up the long pole and attached an abrasive hard metal brush tip to the end, then inserted it in the chimney. "Turns out, you were a week away from burning down the place. There's almost enough creosote in here to fill a bucket." He didn't hear Harriet come outside while he was scraping the chimney clean, most likely due to the fact that the professor was less irritated than his female counterpart.

Well nobody knew about that. Or at least...nobody who did know told her. Leliana briefly glanced at Harriet, giving him a polite smile before her attention was back on the roof and in turn, David. "Thanks...but...you could have maybe told someone inside before climbing up. That's just like...being nice." Talk about a weird neighbor. David gave her some seriously weird vibes so, honestly, Harriet being here made her feel a little better. "And please stop calling me ma'am, Leliana is fine."

"I did call via radio before I came over, but I got no response."

The sound of a window sliding up came next. From the inside, Luca had leaned his body practically halfway out of the window to see who was responsible for making so much noise at such an early hour. He had first recognized Leliana’s voice, telling - well, someone else, that she did not like to be referred to as ‘ma’am’. This was not surprising, but the Italian’s first guess as to who she was talking to was Michael. He was the only person who used such odd rhetoric in everyday speech. Eyes moved from the girl to Harriet briefly, before the grumpy man parted his lips to speak.


“What the hell is going on out here?” The large dark circles underneath the man’s eyes had not been fading with sleep. Rather, they had been getting worse. Their conversation hadn’t woken him up - Luca had been awake for hours. He was just bothered by the continuous back-and-forth that had been occurring just outside his bedroom. Fingers led the filter of a cigarette between his lips before the opposite hand crumpled up the little cardboard box. The ex-capo tossed it over his shoulder into the dark depths of the room that surrounded him.


"David's fixing the chimney," Harriet called to the Brazi as he leaned out. Jerking a thumb upwards, he motioned that the man was above them. Rubbing his eyes with a yawn, Harriet took a sip of coffee and trudged away from the front door of the barracks. "Hey, I admire you're impressive work ethic and all, but it's 6 AM," Harriet called to David, assuming the last part to be self explanatory that it was a bad thing. Taking another chug of Coffee, Harriet considered offering help. Nah, he had no idea how to clean a chimney, stupid idea.

Leliana's eyes flickered to Luca, a soft sigh immediately passing over his lips. "Good morning Luca, sorry if we bothered you." He shouldn't be up yet. But based on how tired he looked, there was a good chance he hadn't even been to sleep yet. She was about to answer his question when Harriet chimed in causing Leliana to furrow her brows again. "I don't know what you're on, but it's not 6 am. The suns up, when has the sun ever come up at 6 am during the middle of the friggin winter?" It didn't really matter if he knew what time it was or not, Leliana didn't know, her eyes drifting back up to David before they once again settled on Luca. "David dropped by so I came out to see what was going on, it's nothing to worry about. What you should be worried about is getting some sleep. Or at least laying down, I'll bring you some water when I go back inside."

Luca’s eyes moved from Hariet’s form to Leliana as she began to speak. After a bit of explanation, the man’s facial expression deviated to one of curiosity. He blinked twice, a hand moving up to rub one of his eyes. “I have not even thought about that chimney once. In my opinion, it’s amazing to me how given our current circumstances, that the man could even muster up enough of a shit to get up there and do the hard work. It’s commendable at least.” Originally, the Italian had intended to bitch out all three but found himself without the strength or patience to muster up his blood pressure. In fact, it had taken Leliana pointing out that the sun was out for the man to even notice it. Andy’s uncle must have gotten his money’s worth out of those curtains and now he was benefiting from that investment.

“Grazie, ragazza.” He mumbled in response, thanking the girl before his head withdrew back into the depths of his cave. Next came the sound of the window slamming shut.

David pulled the pole out, swapping the tip for a black, less abrasive brush. He looked back at Harriet. "And it's better to get this done early so the cabin isn't freezing all day." He wasn't retorting back, though that's exactly what it sounded like. He was just stating the obvious. Well, the obvious to a wilderness-trained monk. He looked down couple times during the conversation back and forth between the nurse, capo and professor, but kept at his work. After a few more minutes of cleaning, he was done.

He looked down the shaft with his light, and was satisfied with the noticeably cleaner flue - more than half of what had been stuck to the metal tube was now in the fireplace. No doubt the front room was dusty due to all the debris falling during his ministrations, but it was a small price to be safe.

"Alright. I'm done," he said, moving a few paces to the side and sliding the pole down. "Miss Leliana or newcomer, sir, could you be so kind as to catch this, please? I would appreciate it." He then put everything back in his bag and made his way to the edge of the roof. He ran two or three paces before leaping forward and somersaulting when he landed to lessen the impact.


With a tired shrug, Harriet trudged over to the side of the lodge to grab hold of the pole before it full slid off the roof. Lowering it, Harriet grabbed it with two hands.

"Got it. There's a ladder in the shed, I can go get it for yo-wait," Harriet said, his tired mind catching up to the implications of the man being up there with no ladder in sight. "How'd you-" Harriet began to say before David hardcore parkoured all over him.

Eyes widening a little, Harriet found himself tucking the pole into his armpit to hold it as he gave a few little claps. "I'll just go put this away then," Harriet said, putting the pole back into his hands as he trudged off.

Leliana gave Luca a smile and a small wave when he thanked her and retreated back into the room, a small sigh passing over her lips. She may not have been as worried about him as Andy was, but she was still worried. After all, he had saved her life, that was something she couldn't ever really repay. Her eyes drifted back to the other men, particularly David when he explained that it was better for the lodge to get it done now rather than later. She would have to agree. Since the generator was broken again, it would be pretty much impossible to do anything that required heat if they didn't have a functioning fireplace, outside was too fucking cold.

She took a step forward to grab the pole for him, but Harriet took it and they got to watch David parkour off the roof. Leliana narrowed her brows a little since there was no reason to show off. "Thanks, David. And he's not a newcomer, you just haven't met him yet. He's Professor Harriet from the University," Leliana said, gesturing to the smaller man before focusing on the weird monk guy again. "Would you mind sticking around for a while? Most of our combat skilled people have gone out on runs, and Luca is in some serious need of sleep. Just keep it down if you do, we don't need to go bothering people if we don't have to."

David nodded. "I'd be happy to stick around. I'll also clean up the hearth and fire it up." With that, he gave a Kung Fu salute to Leliana and headed inside.

Interactions:
FireMaiden (Leli)
Brax (Luca)
Togy (Harriet)

Mention:
Rumble Fish (Milly)
TheMightyRedLemon (Vanessa)

 

[BloodThunder27]

A New Day... Early the next morning, following another primarily uneventful day, Shinoa awakened early the next morning. The young mother was rather surprised at how quiet her baby was. For a child that was less then a month old, there was very little to no crying and given the circumstances that she was in, it was safe to say that she was shocked at how smooth her early days of motherhood had gone. Then again, the current situation they were in wasn't exactly like what was portrayed in Hollywood films, which were often purely fiction and unrealistic anyway. As she went ahead to take Valerie for a brief bath, Shinoa began thinking about her Grandmother, who was most likely still in Aurora if she was even still alive. Although things were looking grim, Shinoa had to hope for the best, as there was no way for her to contact her Father right now. Quietly, she just walked into the bathroom to go clean up her newborn before taking care of her own personal hygiene since Valerie's immune system wasn't all that strong yet.

30 Minutes Later...

After about half an hour, not only was Valerie all cleaned up, but Shinoa was feeling much more refreshed. She spent the next few minutes feeding little Valerie and keeping a watchful eye on her little girl, even hoping that she would settle in for her nap soon. While she cradled Valerie, she thought about what was going on with Brian and Jenna, both of whom departed from the Lodge, with only Jenna saying why. Brian on the other hand, probably left to steer the Hazmats away. Doubtful that she'd ever see him again, she kept her focus on the two things that were more important aside from staying alive: Raising Valerie and finding her Grandmother. Only question was who is going to help her on that, because there was no way she was gonna be able to go into town by herself. That was just suicide by zombies...or hazmats, whoever got to her first. And unlike some of the current occupants of the lodge, she wasn't exactly a fighter. Sure, her Grandmother may have been Athlete and a Markswoman. And her Mother did try to teach her how to use a knife in a fight, but her Father wasn't too happy about that. Fighting at school was one thing, but fighting a trained soldier? That was signing her death warrant.

Once another half an hour passed by, Shinoa put Valerie back into her little bed so that she could sleep more comfortably. She then proceeded to go downstairs into the kitchen to grab a small bite and there was hoping that Michael, the food vacuum, didn't eat all the rations. Although she never really interacted with him, Shinoa didn't really like or trust him... and it was a wonder how he was still around...and even still alive. If anything, she was shocked that he hadn't turned into zombie chow yet. Though honestly if he did, Shinoa wasn't gonna really shed tears over it. At that point, it'd be good riddance...

Mentioned: Michael Hyped_Taco

A Grandmother's HopeShinoa's Grandmother, Brandi, was slowly walking up the stairs to her apartment. Weeks have passed and she had been unable to contact her grandmother and every day since Shinoa went missing...and the entire town going to hell...she woke up every morning and spent the day looking for her Grandmother, who probably had already given birth and most likely vulnerable and defenseless unless she was super lucky. There had been a few suspicious looking people in gas masks and tactical gear roaming around the town, so the elderly woman had to tread carefully. From what she had observed, they were heavily armed with semi-automatic handguns and rifles. All she had was a lever-action rifle and a revolver whenever she was out. Using her skills as a Huntress, as she had gone hunting a few times a month, especially on the weekends for deer, she ensured to take out any zombies before they had a chance to get close... and avoid the mysterious hazmat soldiers whenever possible.

Hell, the elderly woman was shocked she had survived this long, as she had expected to die while still in the mountains with some of her colleagues, whom she was separated from. Unable to go back and look for them due to a lack of strength and energy, she returned home without a second thought. Reloading her Winchester and checking her revolver, Brandi set out once more to hopefully find her granddaughter and great-granddaughter. But hopefully those soldiers...nor the zombies...would get her first. Locking the door and keeping that rifle close, she left to go into the dangerous streets of the abandoned Aurora...