Realistic or Modern The Dead Hills - IC

[Lava]

"I'd love to help him out." She said, smiling for real this time. maybe this was a good place. Maybe she could have some safety here. She was such an idiot for not listening to her best friend. And now he was gone... and she was where he wanted to be, being cared for and talking about her life with another human being. What the hell was wrong with her? The guilt briefly flickered across her face and she felt her eyes prickle. She had been about to change the subject and say something else when all hell broke lose. Two injured people were rushed in, blood was everywhere, Holly's mouth hung open as she watched them. Everyone was yelling and Holly's head began pounding as fast as her heart. She managed to sit up and swing her feet off the table "Y-Y-Yeah I'll get out of the way I just" She pushed herself upright wincing. She felt rather sick again, she might have even fallen over if it weren't for the big man behind her. It was even more apparent how much he dwarfed her in size and build when he was standing right above her. Suddenly her bed was moving through the halls. Holly looked over her shoulder as the bloody scene behind her disappeared behind closed doors. The man wheeled her into another room. She could no longer see Zelda and her new, very wounded patients bleeding all over the floor. Instead she could just hear the yelling and the panic. It eched through the halls.

For a moment she was lost in the sounds around her, she didn't even hear that the man had begun talking to her. She focused on his face and tuned in just as he was asking if she wanted anything. "Oh, sorry," She shook her head "Um, no, I'll be ok" She could tell he was worried. One of them had mentioned that the old man was their leader. She wondered weather he'd make it. What did it mean if he didn't? How did this place even work. She had so many questions and her head was spinning but the pain was less than it was "I don't know how anyone has that kind of strength." Holly closed her eyes "To be a doctor, I mean... even before. But especially now." She was muttering, and just talking to herself really.

Holly opened her eyes "What's your name? I wasn't very talkative earlier when I met you, but the painkillers appear to be doing their job. I'm Holly" She told him

 

[FireMaiden]

Salem, ignoring how rude this Mack guy was, followed after the two strangers. It wasn't what she normally did, but Salem was out of options. She couldn't hold up in that little house and wait cor a herd to pass on the limitied supplies shes had. She just couldn't risk it with Addilyn. Immediately outside, Mack ran right into a undead. Instinctively, her hand went to her knife instead of her gun, but Jennifer took care of it, allowing them to get to the car. And they took off. Looking down, and taking some of the scarf off from around her facr, Salem smiled down at Addilyn who was just starting to wake up. Looking up the baby cooed, until bullets pierced the windshield.

Salem ducked her head, but not before a bullet grazed her cheek. Of course, it was no big deal, but the loud noises startled Addilyn, who started to cry. Salem however, couldn't focus entirely in her child at the moment, as she drew her pistol incase they needed her. The first cult member fell, thanks to Mack, and the second one had their knee cap shot out as they sped past thanks to a well placed shot from Salem. She put her gun down, and now could focus on Addilyn. Quickly checking to make sure that her baby wasn't shot, she have a sigh of relief. "Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Salem replied, before she noticed Mack.

"He's not. We gotta hurry." Jennifer of course was about three steps ahead of her. So, for the remainder of the trip up the mountain, Salem switched between calming Addilyn down and checking to see if Mack still had a pulse. And, trying to keep Jennifier awake. When they got to the camp, it wasn't util they reached the medical wearhouse. Salem climbed oht of the truck after Jenifier, but remained silent for now. There was really nothing that she could say. At least, until she was approached by a rather distressed man.

"That was rude," Salem muttered, "I was in the truck with Mack and Jennifer," She said a little louder. "I'm Salem, and you just need to slow down," She told him. With that, his questions would go unanswered for a short minute as she took a seat, and took Addilyn out of the scarf. The baby was rather scared still, but, no longer crying as her mother began to gently rock her.

"There's a herd in Sutton, and some weird cult. Jennifer invited me up here, and in the truck we were attacked by two do the cult memebers. I was grazed, they were shot, that's pretty much what happened," Salem explained curtly. "So Who the he'll are you?" Peacemaker .45

 

[Rumble Fish]

Zelda felt sweat dripping from her forehead and trickling down her face. "Wipe." She grunted bluntly, feeling a cloth being pushed against her forehead to rid it of the droplets. Unknown to Zelda, a clean patch appeared on her forehead. Some of the other medics, who stood by watching sniggered at it, only shutting up when given an angry glare from the woman. She sighed heavily as she continued to focus on Jennifer as she stitched the wound up. She has successfully stabilised Mack, but only after six horrible and slow hours of painstakingly stitching, cleaning, bandaging and at one point pumping him with adrenaline when his heart and pulse became too weak. It was exhausting and stressful. Of course, they wouldn't get it. Sure Zelda had brought this upon herself by insisting she did this alone but only on the count that she at least had some idea of what to do here! They almost pumped him full of bubbles for fuck sake! She was not going to take any chances here! Still, a toxic concoction of drink, dehydration, lack of sleep, hunger and the countless hours of standing and intense focus was taking a toll on the woman.

"Not... Much... More." She managed to grunt out, feeling herself drifting away. Nope! Nope! Nope! She had to focus right now, she couldn't stop! Her feet ached and she just wanted to sit down but it was that or lose Jennifer. She herself did not care much but given her importance to Mack and the group, she had to try. When she finally finished stitching the girl's wounds, she huffed heavily as she looked the pair over. They were stable. Good. They would need a long recovery but it should not hinder the pair once they were awake. Which would also take a while... "There..." She sighed as she took off her mask and gloves and looked at the others. "Okay... Now we gotta take them to recovery. I'll go... I'll... go..." she felt her feet suddenly give up under her and before she could say anything, everything went black.

The medics jumped as the Zed hit the floor hard with a dull thud, out cold. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do. One of the medics, a redhead woman by the name of Emma J.Collins spoke up. "Come on, we need to take them to recovery, people will be waiting for them." she started pushing one of the beds.
"Wait, what about her?" one of the men, Caddy asked as he pointed to the unconscious Zelda on the ground, "She's the only one who knew what was going on!"
"It doesn't matter, just leave it!" Emma waved a hand dismissively, "It'll wake up later. Not got the time." She added before continuing to push out Jennifer. Caddy and the other medic, Sebastian looked at each other with a shrug before bringing Mack along, leaving Zelda in the operating room.

***​

Milly paced back and forth, biting her fist over and over again. She had done so much that it was starting to bleed. She hadn't found her glasses or bear all day which added to her frustration and worry. She wanted to see Jennifer, she wanted her to be okay! She hadn't seen her before but given everyone's reaction, it must have been awful. What happened out there?

Just as she thought about this, the sound of the doors reached her ears. It was them! Not wasting any time, she ran over despite her knees. She could just barely make them out. "Mack? Jenny- are they alright?" she squeaked worryingly, only to feel a hand push her back.
"Not now, kid." Emma grumbled, causing Milly to shrink back and hug herself.
"Oh um... I-I-I'm sorry..."
"Get out the way!" She snapped, causing Milly to turn around and run to get out the way... only to feel a hard impact as she ran into a wall. Milly whined as she cupped her nose, feeling it bleeding. She sat back down, hugging her knees. She wanted to see what was happening and the ambiguity was killing her! Once they were gone, Milly followed them into the ward. She could tell there were a lot of people wanting to see the pair. Milly managed to push through and ended up at Jennifer's bed. She sat down next to it, cementing her intention. Despite not having her glasses and teddy, she did not want to leave the girl's side. She knew Archie would feel the same way about this.

***​

Zelda groaned as she slowly came back around. What happened? She sat up and rubbed her head. No headache? Okay what happened? She was working on Jennifer and... wait... did she finish the surgery? "...AHH!" She shot up, only to see the beds missing. Wait... had she...? Oh no! Scrambling to her feet, Zed launched out of the operating room, only to see the ward ahead was packed with people. "Out the way, get back! MOVE!" She snapped at people as she stumbled through, still feeling the effects from her blackout. Eventually her bloodshot eyes settled onto the two beds, seeing Mack and Jennifer all patched up and looking fine. She let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Jesus... right, think we otta filter out. Give 'em space-"
"Oh look who finally woke up." Emma suddenly spoke up, "The surgery's over, you're not needed here, wino." Zelda's eyebrows furrowed, what was she on about?
"Woke up- Oh that, I was just so-"
"Shitfaced, we figured from the smell. You were really helpful, thanks." She added, her voice dripping in sarcasm. Zelda opened her mouth to answer back only to notice the glares from practically everyone in the room. Soon it fell into place. She simply sighed.
"But- ACK!" She gagged as she felt herself being pushed quite violently from the room. She stood for a moment, knowing that going back in there was not a good idea if she didn't want to be lynched. The woman sighed, not seeing the point in trying. Jennifer and Mack were safe, that mattered more. The medics were useless in the operating room but they had good bedside care. Zelda sighed and walked away, taking her flask from her pocket and drank out of it. Better leave than try and fight them...

***​

Milly, having heard everything, looked in Emma's direction, "What happened?" she asked worryingly.
"Oh... passed out as soon as we got the pair of them in. We sorted it though, don't worry. Not a huge surprise really." the woman explained. A few people mumbled amongst themselves and it did not sound good. Milly wasn't sure what to make of that. Wasn't Zelda a professional? But then again, she did like her drink. Milly shook her head and turned her attention back to Jennifer, putting her small, pale hand on the girl's. She hoped she would wake up soon. She wanted Jennifer better and happy. She had been through so much, she didn't need this.
idalie Peacemaker .45

 

[idalie]

ARCHIE "THE SCOTSMAN" MCKEEGAN​

With a smile and a nod, he stuck out his hand to Holly, "Names Archie. Or just Arch. Nice to meet you a second time, lass. Holly is an awful nice name." He let his gaze drift, lips down turning for a sour expression as he noted the almost ferocious activity which surrounded pushing Jennifer and Mack into recovery. "Just - hold back a second. I left my little friend over there, and I gotta go take a raincheck. Be back before you know it. Just - uh - take a nap. Everythin' is under control. In some way or another." He gave an uneasy chuckle, sweeping those sharp hazel eyes across the floor to find Milly's remarkably unbroken glasses. Swooping in to pick them up, his frown deepened with concern. Taking the logical step of moving towards Jennifer and Mack, where everyone had momentarily gathered, he pushed through the small crowd with a mixture of intimidation and ease of strength till he spotted Milly. Alas, blood stained her features from beneath her nose to the girl's chin and it caused the Scotsman to tremble in anger.

The gentle giant had a bone to pick. Reaching Milly's side, he placed his palm upon her back and helpfully pressed her spectacles into her spare palm which lay unused as the other kept Jen's company. "Heya, sweetheart." Crouching to her side, he produced a red-spotted handkerchief and again offered it for the girl's nose. Jaw pulled taught enough it could've broken titanium, and a clear build of fury only accentuated the strain. Getting to his feet, McKeegan wrenched Emma off her own and practically snarled - in a low, threatening manner as not to disrupt the calm of the recovery room. "Who the fuck, broke the little lady's nose? Who the fuck, couldn't see, she's got seein' problems. Who the FUCK is in charge of this FUCKING med team? Because I want you to go over there, lass, and I want you to FUCKING FIX IT OR I'LL USE YER FUCKING KNEE CAPS FOR MY FUCKING DOOR KNOCKER. Aye?" It was by that, one of the other medics, held a large pair of forceps as if to threaten the Scot, accompanied by a wobbly 'Put her down!'. Clearing his throat, blood boiling, the big man nodded. "Right, 'scuse me for disturbin' the peace." Emma was dropped without warning only for McKeegan to advance on the poor man, "I just don't like it when people I care about, get the shitty end of things. You get me?" He tilted his head, somewhat crouching to reach eye-level before he snatched the steel medical instrument - between his two hands - and bent it like a circus strongman, till throwing it on the floor to clang and skid till hitting the bottom of a cabinet.

"I'll strangle you with yer own fuckin' stethoscope and make it look like a suicide." He whispered, with those mad staring eyes as he drew a finger across his throat. "So what you and yer friends need to do, is fix that little lass' nose. And if you don't make it perfect again, I'll fuckin' come after you. And Mack won't know a fuckin' thing, will he?" Drawing away, he flashed a smile at the group of professionals. "So you do that, and I'll be a happy lad. Hm? We got a general agreement? Perfect. Perfect. And while yer at it, mind looking for a little teddy bear? Watch out for the chicken."

Rumble Fish Peacemaker .45 Lava

 

[Rumble Fish]

Milly just sat next to Jen, ignoring the blood that was running from her nose and into her mouth. The copper like taste made her feel quite unwell. She blinked as she noticed the massive shape that was Archie sit next to her. He seemed to have noticed her broken nose as he handed her a handkerchief and also her glasses. Milly let out a little sigh of relief as she put her glasses on. Once she did, she felt her heart rate relax upon being able to see clearly out of her one eye. She looked at Archie with a slight smile, despite her wrecked nose. But that smile quickly vanished when Archie suddenly started snarling like a mad-man "A-Archie?" she whimpered, rather alarmed at his sudden rage. She did not want to watch what was happening but couldn't help it. She only turned around to see Archie bend a pair of tongs like they were made of rubber. Milly just whimpered as she looked between the three medics. She didn't even want her nose fixed, she just wanted it to be quiet... and she wanted her teddy.

***​

Stupid bitch. You're a piece of shit, you know that? I mean I know that but that doesn't make it any better. Or does it? Nah. Zelda had been going through this same mental cycle for a while. I mean you could just tell them- oh yeah give them a good laugh, that'll make them like you more. People like a clown. But then again people hate clowns. Why is that- IT comes out and suddenly people come talking about clown-phobia that was never there before? Is that it? Humans aren't afraid of something until something actually makes them open their god-damn eyes? Nobody took zombies seriously until this happened. Oh God- Is that my life? People take me seriously until I do something stupid then nobody looks at you the same? Am I a phobia? People don't know you're there until something happens- is this my IT? Shit... Zelda sat up and ran a hand through her hair. Jesus- why was the world spinning?
"Hey, asshole. Mind doing something for me?" A voice cut through her mind like a knife, "The Scotsman's brat broke her nose-"
"You broke Milly's nose."
"Whatever, we're too busy with Mack and Jennifer so you fix it."
"Or what?"
"Just do it, you tanked-up shithead."

Zelda sighed gruffly and left her office to find Milly standing there, looking anxious. "Right come on. Get over with this- I mean... Shite." The woman sighed heavily as she brought Milly in to fix her nose. It looked bashed but nothing terrible. It was probably more painful than it was meant to be. She didn't say anything while dealing with it, leaving Milly feeling a bit anxious.
"Right..." She finished putting on the bandage, "Come back tomorrow so I can change it." she sighed as she took another drink from her flask.
"Um... okay." Milly mumbled.
"Oh and before I forget, I saw your bear in the hall, should still be there." Zed added before lying back on the surgical bed in her office, staring at the ceiling. Milly wanted to thank her but given the aura the woman was giving off, she figured she should go back to Jen's side, after grabbing her teddy of course. Once she sat back down, Emma just shrugged.
"Let the Zed deal with her. Given it missed all the action before." she said, to which Milly narrowed her eyes at the woman. But she turned her attention back to the unconscious Jennifer and, without hesitation, placed the bear under the woman's arm. She sighed sadly, hoping it would not take too long for the girl to wake up...

THREE DAYS LATER​

What's the point? You're just a piece of shit- wait... how did you get up here? Huh? Wow... what did you do yesterday? Zelda's bloodshot eyes opened up slowly to see a blurry room upside down. Woah... Christ this better be good, good thing Mack's not awake yet, you stupid bitch he'd have your ass for this. As she woke up more, Zelda became more aware of what situation she was actually in. She was hanging upside down from a bunk bed, tied by her ankle to the banister. She could feel her face was covered in some kind of nasty smelling liquid which she could only assume was vomit and her suspicions were confirmed by a puddle on the ground. She was in her normal jeans but was not wearing a top or even a bra What the fuck happened the night before? Then again what's been happening the last three days? She let out a groan as her head pounded and she managed to get herself upright to untie herself. Well... now what? Okay, first get some breakfast. She took her flask only to find it was empty. But she still had wine in her office. With a gruff sigh, she made her way over, ignoring everybody she passed, not caring to any of their looks or any mumbles she heard from them. As she walked along, she passed the ward which had Mack, Jennifer and Holly in it. She saw the other medics there tending to them. She leaned on the wall with her glazed expression, looking at everything. She knew Milly would be back to her so she could check her on her nose. But she knew if she went in there, she would get thrown out. She just looked at Archie and Milly as they were still next to the girl as if they hadn't left. They seemed to feel strongly for the girl, more than she did anyway. She helped Jennifer for Mack's sake, not her own. Milly noticed Zelda standing there and just gave her a quick smile. It seemed she either didn't notice or care that she looked like a bloody zed and had vomit on her face. Unlike some people!!!

As she watched, Zelda suddenly felt a wave of sickness and her head pounded, making the woman sigh and rub her head. The last three days were... hazy for her to say the least. She must have been on some kind of bender. After the strain from the surgery and what happened afterward, she felt the stress weighing on her more than ever. And the worries of the potential that they could die or never wake up did not help. They might die, the voice spoke up again in her head what if your surgery did not work? Sure they never even knew that you had done it- Oh Christ what if it's only after they die that they finally admit it was you but only so they weren't blamed?! What would happen to the group?! It could collapse completely! There would be anarchy! All of Mack's hard work would fall apart and it would be all YOUR fault!?

"Ughh... I need a drink." She groaned heavily as she walked to her office, all the evil thoughts still going through her thumping mind. Sure, they all heard that and were probably laughing or just being assholes about it but it wasn't like it was undeserved, right? So technically she was wrong while they were in the right? Yeah, that sounded about right. She got to the office and shut the door. Zelda sat down and took out the wine she had the other day, she forgot it was here. Right, have this and... then what? C'mon you hungover piece of shit, be less hungover! Actually eat something- or just drink this instead; see this is why people hate you, you never fucking listen! Zelda ignored the angry little voice as she took a long drink from the bottle. She was going to try and keep sober so Mack would have something positive to think about when he woke up but... it wasnt like it would actually do anything.

Milly hardly left the ward over the last few days. She didn't want to. She just hoped the pair would wake up soon. She shuffled in her seat and preened the hen's feathers as it cooed and sat contently in her lap. She still had not thought of a name for her yet. Archie wanted to call her 'Chick Norris' but Milly was not sure. She found it funny but it was quite long. But despite that, she didn't want to tell him that. She looked at Emma and the other medics as they took Mack and Jen's vitals. It all seemed very tense and she didnt like it. She just wanted them back to normal... She felt the bandage on her nose, knowing she would need Zelda to change the bandage but she didn't seem all that... together right now. Even the last few days she seemed to be in some kind of daze, be really paranoid and talked like she had a gun to her head or seemed really angry. Maybe she'd have Archie go with her this time... Her attention was taken away by the chicken who was pecking at her cheek, making the girl giggle and hug the hen tighter. She was still getting used to her new "pet" but she already loved it so much. Though she doubted she would replace her teddy, which was still safely tucked under Jennifer's arm.

Peacemaker .45 idalie Lava

​

 

[Lava]

Three days had past since she'd been here. She woke up early, as she always did. There were doctors milling about and other victims laying in hospital beds around her. One of them handed her a bottle of water and she sipped at it slowly. She still felt a bit off, but she'd been told her fever was going down and her wound should start to heal now if she got it regularly bandaged kept it clean. She couldn't saw the same for the two people who she now knew as Jennifer and Mack, they were not recovering very well. Zelda always looked a little rough but this morning she was downright terrible. She smelt like vomit, she looked distressed and dizzy and... well, she wasn't wearing a shirt...Holly could tell that she was hungover as hell. Holly swung her feet out of bed, assuring anyone who asked that she was fine. She wanted to find that Dave person who'd let her in since he probably know what the heck was gonna happen to her now. She also wanted to check out the veggie and fruit garden that Zelda said she might be able to help out with. but all that wasn't s important right now. She hoped for the doctors well being that whoever these two people were woke up. She had a feeling that Zelda was taking their unresponsiveness as her own personal failure. Maybe that's why she was drinking so much.

Holly had a strong urge to go after Zelda, but it's not like she knew her very well. She needed an excuse. Holly grabbed her belongings, which were still sitting near her bed (Minus all of her weapons, unfortunately) in it she knew she had a bit of food left, nothing much, some energy bars and some trail mix, but it might be a nice gesture, she also grabbed her wet cloth that had been resting on her forehead.. Stuffing them in the hoodie she'd been given instead of a blanket at some point when she was shivering, she made up her mind to see the Doctor that had saved her life. Holly padded down the hallway with her bare feet and her hair sticking up every which way. She was extreamly nervous about being told just to fuck off. This woman was much more self destructive than Kevin had been, and she wasn't a good friend to make. Despite her medical skill, her alcoholism would make her rather risky to have as an ally out there if this place fell apart. But then again, maybe medical skill was worth the risk... after Holly Holly would have been dead without her.

Reaching the Office Holly paused, her hand outstretched and ready to knock. Her hear was pounding, and she didn't really understand why. Shaking her head at her silliness she knocked a few times then opened the door a crack and peeked in "Hi Doc." She said "I thought you might need a little help yourself so-" She pushed the door open and walked over to the doctor. She placed the nuts and the bars on her desk, and also offered her a cloth to wipe her face and hair clean of vomit. "I can give you my hoodie too" she offered nodding her head toward her bare chest. Holly also offered a friendly smile, but didn't say much more than that, mostly because she knew any attempts at consolment wouldn't work. She'd never been good with words like that. The gesture would have to do for now.[/QUOTE]

 

[idalie]

ARCHIE "THE SCOTSMAN" MCKEEGAN​

For the three days Jennifer and Mack remained out cold, Archie had begun to integrate himself into the community as a hardworking and favourable team member on the agricultural plots of land. Before the apocalypse, Arch had always been the sort to have a little knowledge in most practical things; a jack of all trades, and only a master of one. During his time spent among the various crews, McKeegan had started a routine of getting up early, ensuring Milly was fed and watered till vanishing for his labouring hours and returning during lunch breaks or half-days where he often joined the young girl beside Jen, keeping watch and somewhat projecting faith unto both wounded father and daughter. Whenever he did manage to spy Zelda, which he supposed she was off her face for half of it, Archie always tried to go out of his way to greet the doctor. The hullabaloo with Emma and Milly's broken nose had the gentle giant attempt to extend his thanks, if not for the alcoholic tendencies of the frustrating woman. Still, as far as rumours went, Archie wasn't a fan of taking sides without evidence presented - and since his threats with the medic team, they'd given him an especially wide berth whenever he had to pass by.

It was sitting beside Milly, on one of those aforementioned days at Jennifer's bedside when he noted Zelda walking past looking like death itself, and then the new girl Holly following only minutes afterward. Placing his palm on Milly's shoulder, the lumberjack gave a light squeeze. "I just gotta go check on somethin', lass. Be back soon as I can, aye?" He flashed a grin, which caused the deepening lines of his features to crease and fill with warmth. Although it was easy to note at only twenty-nine, the apocalypse had him pushing for the appearance of a man in his mid-thirties. Not bad genetics, just a constant state of flux with stress and nutrition. In the end, McKeegan had given up on looking any better if he actually managed to reach thirty-five without dying of something like some medieval peasant. He'd seen all that Natural Geographic stuff on men in the Dark Ages only living till thirty if it was a good year, and in all honesty, he didn't think it was any worse than getting mauled to death by a shambling undead fella.

Reaching his feet, Archie slipped out the recovery area and into the medical centre hallway, to make a visit to both women. Upon reaching Zed's office, he was right in thinking Holly was giving the poor medical professional a visit. "Whats this then? Mothers meetin'?" He cheerfully called, peering inside the office till slipping around the door and making a face at Zelda now close up. Although what mostly caught the man's eyes, was her exposed chest. Now Archie wasn't the sort to hold onto old-world values of modesty, but the shock caused a deep red blush to spread over his expression. Clearing his throat as he used all remnants of mental capability to keep his gaze on her face. "Worst case I've seen yet Doc. Whaddya call it 'round these parts? Chronic wine consumption?" The Scotsman nervously attempted to joke, shaking his head only to point at her state of undress. "Look I can't talk seriously with yer tits out, aight, love? Where's your clothes? Come on, wanderin' around like that is all free the nipple but you'll get yerself in trouble." Searching momentarily for something clean, McKeegan gave up half a second into it and began unbuttoning his own shirt (thankfully wearing a vest beneath) to wrap the red tartan flannel around her upper body.

Then wrapping his hand around the neck of her wine bottle - capturing hers beneath it, he pointed his finger accusingly. "Come on, hand it over. You'll start gettin' sick again. Start eatin' somethin' like this nice lass is givin' you. Alcohol on an empty stomach ain't good." On the same note, he again turned to Holly. "Nice ta see you up and about by the way, everythin' been a mad rush so far. And thanks for lookin' after this asshole, who I gotta start keepin' my eye on. Alcoholics and nudists run in the same circles."

Lava Peacemaker .45 Rumble Fish

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Light began to shine through her eyes. The sound of a vital monitor beeped with every heart. Jennifer hasn’t known what was going on. Opening her eyes for light had been painful, the light above her being too bright, and the room’s color helped reflect the light at an intensity that was too much. She shut them, as the light was too much for her to bear for the moment. As she did so, the sound of the vital monitor began to increase. She heard some muffled voices, the words being inaudible. Her body was numb, and her mind was confused. She tried making sense of where she was, and what she remembered last. But her mind was blank. She couldn’t quite possibly think, nor could she feel anything.

Pain began to run through her body, vibrating with increasing intensity with every breath she took. This forced the girl to start moving, trying to clutch the painful parts as if they could relieve pain. But as she tried, she couldn’t move her left arm. There was much pain in it. The girl still hadn’t opened her eyes as she began to make odd movements, trying to relieve pain. She faintly tried to say help, but pain filled her chest, her lungs being unable to suck air in. She began to cough, and gasping for air periodically. The pain grew more and more in intensity. She could hear around the room movement, someone saying. Whether or not it was to her, she couldn’t make out. The pain was too great, her movements were so spastic. She just wanted the pain to end.

The struggle lasted for several minutes, until the pain began to lessen, and Jennifer started to feel odd, like she were on a high. With the pain lessened, she began to try to open her eyes. Slowly, she opened them to blinding light yet again.

“L-lig-lights,” she forced out of her mouth, her lungs unable to catch enough air, effectively making her word sound more like breath escaping her lungs than words.

Some more sound went about in the room. Suddenly, the blinding light turned to a darkness that greeted her eyes, and she opened them more, only to see a woman and a man standing over her, looking at her, trying to speak to her.

“Jennifer, can you hear me? Can you understand me,” asked the voice, albeit faint and had for Jennifer to hear.

“Ye,” said the girl, her word just becoming more of a wheeze st the end. “Da-d?” She asked, her words not being very decipherable.

“He’s stable, he’s okay, but not awake,” responded the man on the other side of her. “Do you feel pain right now? Anything? Is it hard to talk?”

Jennifer hadn’t the strength to say how she felt, nor the mental capacity to think of answers. But her reassurance that her father was okay brought her some mental ease.

“Bod-y hurt all o-ver,” Jennifer said, her words becoming more audible words than wheezes. “Mil-ly? Arc-hie? Jake?” She asked the doctors.

“They’re still all here. But Milly is in the room, right there. She even gave you a gift,” said the female, pointing to a teddy bear under her arm, then looking to Milly. Seeing the innocent girl there, it made her smile slightly. Though, even smiling was difficult right now for the recovering girl. Though, Milly seemed to have blood on her nose, and it seemed unusual. Perhaps it had been broken or fractured or something. But Jennifer didn’t have the ability to think at the moment to ask. She was too weak.

“Hi,” she said to Milly, though it sounding more like a wheeze. She attempted to smile. “Tha-nk for b-ear,” she tried to say.

Every breath she took, every word she said was a battle on its own, reminiscent of when she recovered from her heart transplant. It took a lot of energy-and pain-to take breaths, something someone doesn’t understand the blessing of being able to do without pain.

The girl looked back at the doctors, licking her lips before she spoke again. “What happen?”

“Well,” the male said, “you’d been shot, once in your left bicep and twice in your lower abdomen. You’ll be fine. It’ll just take time and care to slowly heal. Do you remember anything from that day that led up to you being shot? Or getting here?”

Jennifer turned her head to the right, and began to think. Her movements were lethargic, and her mind wasn’t clear. She recalled getting hit in the arm, but after the shootout, things are vague at best.

“Not much,” she said, her voice having more strength to it.

“Okay,” the man said. “Let’s give you a bit more space to recover. You’re too weak right now. You need to rest without being questioned to the grain. We’ll give you some space.”

“Thanks,” Jennifer said, turning her head to look straight up. She felt the oxygen mask at this point over her mouth, something she didn’t notice prior, which probably made it harder for others to hear her. But being how bad her lungs were right now, she could understand why she needed it - and she welcomed it.

“Hey, Milly,” she said to the girl, turning towards her and looking at her, noting her nose. “You o-kay,” she asked through her mask, her words being broken up unnaturally from her inability to take sufficient breaths without being in pain from doing so.

Rumble Fish

 

[Cosmosis]

Jacob Everneil​

Jake had passed out long ago from lack of sleep. When he had awoke, they made it out like he was in a coma. Jennifer had explained to him the gist of what had happened though. After he had passed out from giving the kindish Scotsman named Archie McKeegan some of his blood for a transfusion, he had just fallen asleep. Wasn’t much too it for him as he had been out for quite some time.

When he had woken up, Jen visited him breifly as Jake was obviously worried and thought they had been captured at some point. His leader told him about nukes. The last time those were used were in hiroshima and nagasaki’s bombings. That didn’t count the tests from any other country since then though.

Then there was Simon. That man knew how to take out The Lost quickly without wasting too much time to let his body register he had to stop. Upon learning he was shot and ran, Jacob had frowned.

“It seems to me that based on what you told me, he did actually have a point, though it wasn’t good morally in most human nature.” Jake told his former leader. “Sure, those two helped get stuff for Archie but i mean, that one with the teddy obviously wasn’t gonna run without that animal girl, specially from a Russian with a giant meat mallet who easily could backhand and snap her neck. They were under stress and usally if you scare someone before you ask em a question they’re more likely to say yes.”

After his words Jennifer’s father came in. He had said they could use another farmer and that once the medic Zelda gave the OK, he was to work the fields.
~
Days past and he felt prett well. There was not much to farming for the teen as he did it with the other mountineers. Sure, at first they were not too trustful but in the ruined society they lived in, who would be? Once Jake actually got into the gardens and fields, people saw his value increase dramatically, specially when he had something in his mouth. An old taste he missed with his time travelling in the woods before he met Jen. A nice strand of golden wheat.

Having a golden wheat strand in his mouth made all the diffrence with his overall mood. His work ethic on tending to the crops increased and the mountianeer farmers saw he was more lively than he had been before. The few days he had been there, they were catching rabbits with traps he had made and getting other small critters as well so they kept out of the gardens and he was drawing up plans for a better irrigation sstem and terrance farming when a farmer by the name of Denise came into the litle room he and the head mountaineer farmer were in.

“Jacob. You came with Mack’s daughter right?” The girl asked, huffing. When the kid slowly nodded she told him she’d been shot and was out cold.

Jake slowly stood up, rolling his wheat in his mouth and looked at the other man.

“We’ll continue on the blueprints for proposual to Mack and whoever else later. If you’ll excuse me now.” The kid said his goodbye in a grave tone as he left the room. He hadn’t seen the others in days because he was trying to get let in to the new way of life. They knew he was good but the mountineers didn’t just yet and he rather be around them now, so later he could be with his old group and not be questioned for possible treason or the likes. As he made his way to the room, some doctor or nurse tried to tell him to back off but Jake just grabbed his collar and dragged him along while he kicked out until he realized Jake wasn’t letting go.

Seeing his leader hurt as she was made him want his axe right about now. Archie was on a rampage for something Jake knew was worth it and Milly was bleeding pretty bad which made jake take note Archie had probably become that teddy-weilder’s father figure. Looking back at jennifer, Jake set a strand of wheat from his pocket next to her bedside table and whispered “Don’t go visit that grumpy fireman just yet, you hear?” And Jake had left.
~~~~~~~~
Three days had went by. Jake knew Jennifer would want him to be working instead of moping around or staying by her bedside if he had work to do so he had been doing that. Splitting wood, weeding the food supply and gathering eggs from the chens had kept Jake’s mind off of his wounded leader except when he stood as a silent vigil for her lost comrades and her old group before Archie, Milly and the others came along.

Soon after he got the eggs to the food storagehe was by Jen’s bedside until he had to tend the crops in two hours time. Due to a long night watching the clouds roll across the moon, Jake had passed out standing in the shadows as he had been every time he came. He knew the girl was bad still and hoped soon thatshe would wake-up but he felt that if she didn’t, the group would either fall apart or be left to Archie or Jake himself to lead. It was an odd thought, for him to lead again, but if he had too he would. That was the last thought the farmer had before he passed out standing up, arms crossed in the shadow of the room, waiting for fate to choose for Jen weather to live or have her re-unite with Austin and her former crew.

 

[Rumble Fish]

Zelda had almost fallen asleep and was now bent over with her chin resting on the desk with her eyes shut. She had almost succeeded when a couple of voices rattled around her sore head. She groaned and opened her eyes to see both Holly and Archie standing there. "Why are you up? You should still be in bed." she grunted with a frown. Sure she wanted the woman to recover well but... she wanted to be left alone though. She saw the food on the desk which made her feel rather uncomfortable. She really didn't want to eat, she felt like she was going to throw up her insides if she ate it. "Uh... I'm... I'll have them later." she went to take another drink of wine when she suddenly felt it being tugged. "Eh- Oi!" She snapped at the lumberjack "Hands off!" She growled as she tried to pull it back, it wasn't going to make her sick!

She then stopped when the lumberjack mentioned her... chest? "My tits, what're you-?" she glanced down, "...Uugh." She groaned and ran a hand down her face, only to jump and gag as she felt the vomit on it, "Fuck- thanks." She took the cloth from the girl and ran it down her face. Sure, she couldn't give two hoots about hygiene but vomit? No... Once she was done with it, she threw it in a nearby bin and gave the girl a fresh one. It was only then that Zelda noticed that Archie had put his own flannel shirt on her. "Um... thanks?" she frowned as she slowly buttoned it up. Zelda turned her head back to the girl who had offered her hoodie "No, you need it more than I do. Gotta keep warm." She then snapped her gaze to the lumberjack as he called her an asshole, alcoholic and a nudist all in the same sentence! She grabbed the bottle back from it by its neck, "I'll shove this up your asshole if you don't shut your mouth!" She growled at him, before she then heard another louder growl... from her stomach. Reluctantly, knowing she was not going to win this, she took the trail mix and bars and started eating them slowly. Christ... I'm such a mess. I don't deserve food- shut up, don't feel sorry for yourself what does that do? Eat the food, you stupid bitch! her mind snapped at her for thinking that. Maybe if she ate this shit they will leave her alone.

***​

Milly was anxious that Archie was gone, but she stayed put. He couldn't have gone somewhere far. But then again that girl Holly had left too. Where did they go? She wanted to follow them but... she didnt want to leave Jennifer. She stayed put, holding onto Norris tightly, who let out a confused "Bawk?" like even she was worried. Milly cuddled her tightly, making the chicken make a purring sound as she seemed content at being held. But it was when she was holding her that she heard a quiet voice. She looked down at Jennifer, and her eyes lit up at seeing that she was awake! Sore, weak and tired but awake! "Jenny-Jennifer!" she squeaked and came closer to the girl, relieved to see her finally back in the world of the living. She blinked as the girl asked if she was okay, "Oh-me? Y-yes I'm fine!" She nodded vigerously, forgetting about her nose as she smiled stupidly, she couldnt help it! She was just happy!
"Okay, kid calm your beans she just woke up for God sake!" Emma scolded Milly, but the girl was on too much of a high to be upset about it.
"I-I-I'm sorry I- I need to get Archie!" She got to her feet and scrambled out of the ward, practically falling over herself. Norris clucked angrily at being dropped on the ground and followed Milly, grumbling.

***​

"Okay I ate the damn food, can I have that back now?" Zelda sighed tiredly as she put her hand out to Archie, though she doubted he was going to give it. She felt sick... like really sick. It had been at least a week since she last ate properly and a mix of that and a hangover made her stomach churn painfully and audibly. She wanted them BOTH out of here before she brought it up on them both.
"Archie! Arch- oh sorry! Archie, Zelda!" Milly's voice rang out, getting the woman's attention. The girl practically flew into the office, the most excited she had ever seen her. What had gotten her so excited? "Archie! Jenifer's awake!" The young girl could hardly contain herself.
"Wait- she is?" Zed suddenly forgot about her sickness at this news. Jennifer was awake? She had to see her! Without a word, the woman got up from her desk and -after knocking her shoulder on the door frame- stumbled her way to the ward... only to be stopped by a hand to her chest.
"Fuck off." She saw that it was Emma.
"YOU fuck off! I need to see her! I need to make sure she's alright!"
"She's fine. And wouldn't want to see the likes of you!"
"Hey!" She pulled the woman closer so their foreheads touched, "I saved her fucking life!" she hissed dangerously.
"Hm. Hungover, already drunk and clearly got no concept of personal hygiene? Fuck off." She shoved Zed harshly, making her stumble backwards. The woman watched the others go back into the ward. "...Ah you bastard, ye." She growled as she turned around to head back inside her office. Milly had noticed what happened but upon seeing Zelda stalk off angrily like that, but... Jennifer was awake! She quickly got back to the girl's bedside, looking for Archie to join her.
idalie Peacemaker .45 Lava

 

[idalie]

ARCHIE "THE SCOTSMAN" MCKEEGAN​

"Hands off? In yer dreams love. Drinkin' can start after you get yerself up, clean, and eat that at least." He jerked his head towards the trail mix and bars, narrowing his eyes with a hawkish appearance. Nevertheless, after she began started to accept the food laid out before her, the Scotsman tightened his grip of the wine bottle to avoid her snatching it back. "Also ain't it cold? I mean, I like goin' topless too but it's a bit nippy today, love." Archie began to sigh, nevertheless, his gaze didn't stray far from the older woman. Even as she ate he continued to fetch a tissue from his pocket and like a mother hen, use dabs of spit to clean any remaining bile off her chin in a few fervent scrubbing motions before doing his best to smooth her greasy hair back, tucking it behind her ears and ensuring there was no vomit caught in the strands. "You need to be more careful, Zelda. I don't care if yer never gonnae give this drinkin' up, but you could choke on this stuff if you were lyin' on yer back. And with yer tits out, there are kids around. What if Milly saw, huh? Keep it harmless. Or try to." After the sincere, odd sort of parental disappointment lecture, Archie lifted his finger. "You can have it back, but only because I know there's a stash somewhere and it ain't gonna help takin' it."

The lumberjack snapped around at the sound of Milly, firstly in emergency, till a smile creased his features. "I knew she was a fighter, come on then sweetheart. Let's give her a proper welcome back, huh?" He began to move forwards, jogging lightly with the younger girl at his side till they burst into the ward together. Although funnily enough, sitting in his vest, you could see his tanned forearms, neck, and face, in comparison to a pale chest which had ginger-ish hair poking slightly over the top. Somewhat his original hue before spending his days working in the sun. Even then, he towered at Jennifer's bedside and scooped her little hands in his. "Aye, whats this we found then? The girl who just cannae seem to die." Chuckled the Scotsman, rubbing the back of her palm. "You had us worried, y'know that Jen? Here I was thinkin' I wouldn't have no brown-haired girl to come kick my ass about work ethic." McKeegan, noting the bear beneath Jennifer's arm which had been prominent since the day she returned, led to him placing one hand on Milly's shoulder.

It was, however, the moment his attention was torn upward that a sadness overcame his face - in which settled a frown. Zelda stormed angrily off much to the victory of Emma. The medic who seemed to strut around the medical centre like she was Queen of the world. If the gal was a lad, he'd of punched her harder than a bag of bricks - although that didn't seem socially acceptable, even with the apocalypse. It made him increasingly infuriated but resolved to check in with the doctor when he could and see whether he could try raising her spirits without alcohol. Perhaps even a bath if the woman permitted (or even if she didn't, there wasn't stopping a highlander who had a mission).

Peacemaker .45 Rumble Fish Lava

 

[Peacemaker .45]

With Jennifer’s friends around her, the girl smiled slightly. Though, she was on so much pain medication that she really had no mental comprehension of what was going on.

The friends being around her brought her some comfort. She could see they were all still alive. And Archie, being the man he is, was sweet to her. Though she didn’t quite catch what he said, she tried to piece it together.

“Someone needs to push you around every time you,” she started, before feeling some pain and stoping for several seconds until the pain went away to speak again, forgetting what she was going to say. “Ah shit, that hurt.”

The girl went to try to adjust herself, but one of the doctors came over as she did so, and advised her not to do anything. He explained to her that moving could cause her to rupture stitches, or something in her stomach, and she’s be back to square one. Jennifer sighed, as she was already getting annoyed with her lack of versatility. When she put her head back on the pillow, she noticed something under her arm, something that made it slightly uncomfortable for her. She moved her head slowly to try and see what it was. Though it took a couple of seconds for her to realize what it was, she immediately smiled. Milly has given her her own teddy bear, one that Milly never let go of. Understanding how she is, even in her high state from the medication, it was a gesture that made Jennifer slightly tear up. It was so sweet, given how Milly is.

“Milly, t-than-k you for th-this,” she said to the girl quietly. She had no idea what else to say. Her mind wasn’t quite sharp at the moment.

“I’m not de-ead yet,” she started, her face exhibiting more pain as she tried to speak. “You guys wi-will need to try har-harder to get rid of me-e,” she said with a smile and a slight chuckle.

Jennifer turned her attention back to her father. Her smile from moments ago turned to a frown as sadness overcame her.

“This is my fa-fault,” she said quietly. “If I never sto-stopped the tru-ck we’d all be fi-fine.”

The girl’s mind started to turn on her, saying terrible things about herself and her father. It began to tell her what she should do. The mental anguish was partially hidden from the girl’s face. She knew her father was stable. But when he’d wake up was only a matter of when, really. But being that he had a round that grazed his skull, there was an uncertainty about whether or not he’d be the same. Jennifer recalled that in the past, when people suffered traumatic brain injuries, they changed as individuals. Some became worse as a person because of it. Some were never the same. Some suffered effects that made them different. Jennifer couldn’t help but think of how she messed up, and what her father will be like when he wakes up, and what he’ll say to her about this. But for now, she knew she couldn’t focus on that. Her own recovery matters right now. She could very well easily die if she isn’t careful. And she wasn’t ready yet to check out of this world.

Jennifer noticed that the one alcoholic doctor seemed to want to come in, but she didn’t. She didn’t know why, but whatever the reason was, she didn’t care all that much. She didn’t like her. But, if she had saved her life, she’d owe her a thank you. But for now, she couldn’t say thanks yet. She needed to get better first.

“I’m going to be out for... a-while,” she started as she looked back at them. “I won’t be there to push y’all’s asses a-around. Don’t miss me too m-uch. But it hurts t-too much to t-talk. I n-need more re-est.”

The girl smiled at them all, before turning her head to face center. She closed her eyes. The medicine was making her extremely tired, just like back when she got a heart transplant. It wasn’t that the girl didn’t want to talk. It was merely the fact that her medicine and pain were making her want to sleep. Whenever she felt pain, she wanted to sleep. Because when she slept, the pain would go away. And right now, as the pain begins to get worse, and her pain medication becomes ineffective, sleep was the only escape from the pain. And that’s just what she began to do.

Cosmosis idalie Rumble Fish

 

[Lava]

Zelda immediately thought more about her recovery upon seeing her than her own physical and mental well being, which was nice but concerning really. If the doctor didn't look after herself then how could she look after anyone else? "I feel a lot better, and the wound is healing. Maybe I'm not quite ready for a full day of growing watermelon but I'm feeling better every day. And I have you to thank for that!" She told her with a lot more charisma than she usually managed to muster. But it was because everything she was saying was genuine. Holly just wished she knew how to talk to her about her issues, but she couldn't even begin to find words better than 'are you okay', which was pretty useless.

Once Zelda had eaten, washed up and clothed herself, Holly had resolved to leave her be. It wasn't exactly her place to stop her from drinking, although she did hope that being helped out might make her feel a little bit more inclined to help herself. The scottsman handed her back her drink after giving her a lecture. Holly was kind of thankful he was there because she wouldn't be able to say half the stuff he was saying. She gave him a little smile meaning thanks when he came to aid her. She liked him, he was a good man, she hoped to get to know him better soon.

She was about to take her leave when the small blind girl with the specks came barreling in with news of one of the patients waking up. Holly looked over at the doctor, a mixture of relief and disbelief crossing her face. Quickly she moved aside to let everyone in the room pass her to get to the door, before following herself. She didn't know Jennifer but she was curious. However when she saw Zelda getting barred at the door and coming back towards her she decided not to go in. It baffled her why the doctor that saved her life wouldn't be allowed in to see her patient. Holly walked over to Emma and looked at her with bewilderment, and then walked off after the doctor, genuinely afraid she'd be off swigging an entire bottle of whiskey or something like that "Zelda?" She said walking quickly to catch up with her "Hey, I'm probably not to good in a fight right now but I'll give her a swing if you ask nicely" She said, thinking a joke might lighten the mood a little? Maybe it would do the opposite, but Holly was feeling a little bit unsure what she should be doing at this point, and Zelda was the only one available that she actually knew, so admitting she was clinging onto her a bit.

Holly had also managed to bump her wound a little at some point because there was a small puddle of red on her bandages. She was a little sick of losing blood, but luckily it was still clean and there was no infection to be seen anymore. "Hey, you can tell me to fuck off if you want, but I was wondering if I could grab another bandage off you to re-dress this." She said, mainly just so she had something to say to fill the damned silence and to make her feel less awkward about attaching herself to the doctor all of a sudden.

 

[Rumble Fish]

Zelda had not responded when the girl thanked her for... well, saving her life. She didn't know what to say. A "thank you" was a rare thing nowadays. But what was she supposed to say? Could she say anything? She just given the girl a brief but sad smile in response, not able to find words. She also did not respond to Archie's lecture other than a quiet "Hm." when he had given her the wine back. She had heard all of this before and frankly, she didn't care. And if she didn't then why should he? All that mattered to her was that she helped people... it was all she really had nowadays.

When walking back to her office, Zelda heard a voice behind her. She looked at the girl, Holly as she humoured her by saying she'd punch Emma for her. The woman snorted and rolled her eyes, "they already have one pariah. Don't need another one." She sighed as she sat back down and opened the wine. "Let me worry about her..." she added as she took a drink from it. She had had to roll her sleeves up, Archie's flannel hung off her, especially on the arms. It reminded her of Mark's shirts that he would let her wear. With a sigh she took another sip. She wasn't feeling quite as ill now. And she wasn't as shaky. Archie didn't know what he was on about. She then noticed Holly as she asked her if she could get a new bandage. When she mentioned that she'd be fine with being told to "Fuck off" it made the woman frown. She knew the girl didn't mean it but still... why would she do that to a patient? "Sure..." she sighed and got the fresh bandage. "Just... sit there and I'll change it." She added as she got to work.

Milly looked at Jennifer as she still seemed unwell. She gave the girl a smile as she thanked her for the bear. She couldnt help but feel sad about her whole situation. Jennifer was so strong and capable, everything she wasn't so to see her like this was really disheartening and worrying. She didn't want her to be like this. She would rather that she was lying in that bed rather Jennifer, she hadn't done anything to deserve that. When she mentioned that it was her fault that this had happened, it made Milly's lower lip quiver. "N-no it... you..." she struggled to get the words out. She didn't want to upset the woman, not Emma and Archie right there. She didn't want to upset Jen and cause more conflict. "...but... you got you and Mack back here. That's something?" She asked, rubbing her arm anxiously before looking away. Maybe she should just be quiet.
Lava idalie Peacemaker .45

 

[idalie]

ARCHIE "THE SCOTSMAN" MCKEEGAN​

The big lumberjack clutched Jennifer's palms till they slipped from his own, "You should rest, lass. No more of this blame bein' thrown around. It was nobodies fault yer da got hurt. Hm? He'll be right as rain, I know it. Feel it in my bones - or knees - or wherever yer supposed to." The Scotsman chuckled, nevertheless, allowed the dark-haired woman to drift back off to sleep. Archie, instead placed both his hands on Milly's shoulders whilst looming over the tiny girl. "Just give the gal some time, hm? She'll come around soon, start seeing everythin' as less her fault. You know how it is." Archie dropped into a crouch. "Just like when you thought it was all yer fault, but it weren't. Not even by a smidge." The big man then held up a finger, searching for his coat - a brown leather piece - wool lined, which had replaced his old black leather jacket. Searching the pockets he withdrew a small pack of Smarties, giving it a rattle with a knowing gaze till pushing it into Milly's palm. "Keep it cheerful. It's all about positivity." McKeegan tapped on the younger, sickly teenagers temple. "Jen and Mack are gonna need it from you, so save it for when they're a little more up and about. And if they shout at you, just call and I'll come runnin' - give 'em a talking to like their own mothers." McKeegan lingered, ruffling Milly's hair in a fond manner. "Keep an ear out for anything, love. I'm gonna fit in some work out back, fire-wood stores need helpin' to. And I can get a view of that doctor friend of ours, make sure she ain't off drinkin' in a corner. I won't be far off. You can even tag along, I'll teach you how to get a good swing." He winked in a friendly manner and vanished from the room after one gentle pat landed on Jennifer's calf.

Archie, moving out of the medical centre, located where Zed's office faced the wilderness and promptly began to set up an area to work. Dragging a larger, wider stump which had matured to split firewood on. Measuring a good distance to the window whilst she busied herself, McKeegan was darned if he wasn't going to get her attention. Setting to work on one basket of uncut logs, the thud became far more recognisable at a rhythmic pace the Scotsman fell into. Although a grin formed on his features, for he could see she was facing away from the window a moment, whilst Holly sat nearby. Peeling off his vest, McKeegan had an unusual look of mischief in his expression, signalling to Holly with a motion of zipping his lips. He did say he'd try and raise her spirits, and what better way to do it than garner her playful irritation. He'd already got puns planned. One might say it was a long way to go for something which was barely a prank, nevertheless, Archie was Archie for that very reason. Flexing out his shoulders, with a forever impressive figure for a man in the apocalypse - quite literally sporting arms the size of silver birches, he began making a louder disturbance with Zelda's hangover in mind.

Peacemaker .45 Rumble Fish Lava

 

[Peacemaker .45]

The HMMWV moved along the highway, with a full crew inside. Dave took the exit to go into Clarksburg. It was another day, and a beautiful Spring morning. It’d been several days since both Jennifer and Mack had been shot. With Dave in second command, he took reign over the Mountaineers until Mack woke up. If he woke up. The day Mack had been shot, he’d spoken with Dave about some of the plans for the current week. Mack had heard from scouts that in Clarksburg, there was an Army National Guard center with some military vehicles that had been left rather untouched. According to reports, a lot of the vehicles were dump truck looking vehicles, and not of much use to every day scavengers, or even various groups. But, Mack wanted to acquire some of the vehicles, and if possible, put them to use and modify them to be more combat effective. With other groups in the region, maintaining superiority in every area was key. Some vehicles that nobody would want, Mack could get his engineers to improvise and create vehicles that could suite many needs. Though, there were some vehicles of interest there that the scouts said they saw in a warehouse. It seemed these were the more firepower heavy military vehicles. This was a priority of theirs to hit.

With the sun in his eyes, he put on his sunglasses. Though it was early morning, the sun was as blinding as it always was.

“Alright. Tim, Jared, Rich, after we find you guys a vehicle, preferably a larger one to put a whole hell of a lot of supplies in, we’ll head to the park and wait. There’s a bunch of vehicles here to get. Let’s be quick and get anything we need,” Dave said to the members in his HMMWV, before grabbing his radio.

“Remember team two, rendezvous at the Memorial Park at 1200 hours. We’ll be there with the newly acquired vehicles.”

Dave had a lot riding on his shoulders. He had a group, one as large as 50 people roughly, expanding and gaining more and more power and dominance, that he now has to command, waiting to see if the leader, Mack, will live. It was a burden he had hoped he wouldn’t have to carry. Though he wouldn’t admit it, it was something he had feared. He didn’t have the smarts for it. Dave was one who could fight and follow commands. But giving commands, leading, making smart decisions on his own was something he didn’t have the ability to do. Ever since the start of The End, Dave followed Mack. They were neighbors, then it happened, and he followed Mack because he knew Mack had the ability to leave. And Dave followed him. It’s what he did best.

Arriving at the National Guard post, Dave and his crew entered and observed the vehicles outside, team two heading to the hospital with the M35 to get lots of supplies. The vehicles outside consisted of prime movers and truck, such as M35’s, M939’s, FMTV’s, HEMTT’s, as well as some weaponless HMMWV. Interestingly, a M104 Wolverine, a M1A2 Abrams chassis with a deployable bridge l, was there. This was one that Dave noted and marked for pickup.

The outside vehicles didn’t garner much attention. However, a large warehouse had been the focus of Dave’s attention. The prospect of more firepower was one Dave cared more about. Mack understood the ability of the engineers and the utilities of the vehicles. This was something Dave wasn’t too great at. Although the building was locked on every door, Dave had an idea. Taking a shotgun, he took a breaching round and aimed the shotgun at the door hinge on the top. With the barrel five inches away, he pulled the trigger. The hinge deformed. Taking more rounds, he shot the corresponding hinges, and then aimed at the doorknob. Firing, the doorknob almost seemed to disintegrated. But when Dave went to try and rip the door off, it didn’t budge. Upon further inspection, Dave and his team realized the door had bars that locked into the doorframe, making it almost impossible to breach. This posed an issue for the small team. Any keys for any vehicles were most likely inside the the building, as well as heavier military equipment.

As the men began to try and come up with a plan, Dave reluctantly decided that the only way to get inside the building was with a breaching charge, one containing C-4 explosives. The Mountaineers had several they’ve obtained from raiding places, specifically the military base. Dave took one before they left, noting that if the warehouse was fortified, they’d need it as a last resort.

Placing the charge on the door, the men got back as Dave walked backwards, rolling the det cord back. Hitting the button once in a safe place, Dave hit the detonator. The explosive went off with a load explosion that bounced around the town and the mountains around them. Team two radioed Dave to make sure that was them, to which he replied that it was intentional by them to breach the warehouse.

“Alright, men, that was load as fuck. Let’s get in and out quick. That’ll draw lots of attention. Let’s move,” Dave said as he got up and flipped his rifle off of safe, scanning the surroundings and inside the warehouse door as smoke cleared from the door.

With smoke still obstructing the inside of the warehouse, Dave continued walking forward. He stopped for a second, waiting for the smoke to clear. But as he did so, a undead appeared, reaching out for him. Dave jumped back from the monster, it startling him as he wasn’t expecting it. With a quick shot of his rifle, the beast fell.

“There might be more in there,” Dave said to the rest of the group.

Sure enough, undead started piling out from the smoke filled doorway. The men opened fire on each they saw. After about fifteen came out and were shot, and the smoke cleared, the men began to walk inside. Turning on flashlights, they looked around. And they were more than happy to see what they did. The entire wall lining the side they entered contained an armory. There were loads of arms and ammunition: including ones for the IFV and MBT they had back at the Mountaintop. Furthermore, there was a M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) in there, essentially a M1 Abrams modified for breaching purposes. Next to it was an Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) and a M1135 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV). No one knew what these were, but Tim, a combat Army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan War, was able to explain what they were and what they did. When they found out, they knew they had an edge with that vehicle.

The team got keys to some of the vehicles outside, specifically a HEMTT with a large cargo bed, and they began to load on all the supplies they could get, and they took the vehicles inside, using the the vehicles to to break through the doors.

Once their part was done, the went to the rendezvous point. Waiting in the park with their new vehicles, Dave got out to look around the area. There was still an hour left until the next team were to arrive there. However, Dave noticed a convenient store, called Sheetz, right across the bridge, close to the park, alerting the team, he went with one of the HMMWV’s across it to the store. It was close enough that they were in shouting distance. Dave knew that there would be some food there, stuff they could use. Arriving at the building, he looked inside. It was clear from the looks of it.

Picking the lock, Dave went inside and began taking a look around. The shelves were most empty. It seemed as if there was a panic at some point there. While shelves were empty, the floor was riddled with stuff. Some of it was opened, some not. But, there were canned foods there, and various other foods and snacks the Mountaintop could use, but didn’t necessarily need. Regardless, Dave started to pick up supplies and gather them by the door.

With time passing, he checked the time, and he still had another half an hour to get things and then head back to the rendezvous point. Whatever he could scour from here could be useful. With a growing community, more food and supplies is better. But at some point, Mack noted to Dave that they would have to stop accepting people in. More mouths to feed means they need more supplies. While they hadn’t reached this point yet, Dave kept this in the back of his mind as he looked for food, water and supplies to grab to bring back to the Mountaintop.

Emotional Enigma

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Calliope and Daniel walked side by side down a dirt road, the crunch of it under their boots. The sun was high in the sky beaming her bright rays across a blue canvas. The leaves hummed to the wind and Daniel shivered against the coolness of it. They hadn't talked much since waking up early that morning but there was a silent agreement that sleeping on hay in a barn was better than rocks in the middle of the forest or in an old car with the windows busted out. Calliope bit back the urge to try and make things light again, seeing as it failed the first time.
As they walked they could see the tops of buildings in the distance, only a few tens of feet away. Calliope knew she had to be cautious but also knew they could use some more supplies. They had a bit but who knew when they'd get a chance to restock again. Daniel, unlike his sister, was very excited. After spending so many days walking aimlessly through woods, he was hoping he could find some interesting toys or books someone left behind. He stopped walking to pick up a few rocks and juggle them in extreme boredom and excitement, unable to be still, but dropped them all simultaneously at the sound of a loud explosion. It sounded as if God had punched the earth in frustration with it's declining humanity.
Calliope froze a little ahead of Daniel, straining to see any signs of smoke but all she saw were birds flying into the sky. This didn't serve to ease her nerves by any means. Groups of people, Calliope had surmised, were more dangerous than one or two scavengers like herself. In her experience, they were more desperate for supplies and more ruthless. As much as she wanted to leave Daniel behind to go and scan the area, she couldn't risk someone finding him, or something.
"Bombs," Daniel said as he paced to her side, "C-4 most likely by the sound of the explosion." He looked into the distance as well, hoping to see anything his sister had missed by a glimpse.
"How can you tell by sound alone?" Calliope was impressed with each passing day how much Daniel actually knew, even after not recycling the information in so long. He shrugged but then explained anyway,
"Well, if it were a large scale bomb, it'd have a lower pitch and considering we can't feel the shockwave of it, it's probably small and a ways off" The pair began walking again, slower, "If it were a large scale bomb, it'd be like amplifying a lightning strike times ten; well beyond just painful to hear." He picked up some rocks again but just held them this time, feeling them in his palms, "One lump of C-4, roughly the size of a baseball, can destroy a rather average sized house. So, because we couldn't see the explosion or feel it, probably C-4. Not to mention, it's the easiest to make, most stable and insensitive to gunshots detonations, and most commonly used by military personnel." Now, Daniel was just showing off. Calliope rolled her eyes briefly, flashing a smile but was actually proud of him. He had always been smarter and able to retain more information than she could. The moment was short lived though for she paused again before reaching the last stretch to town.
"Daniel, wait," Her words were laced with fear as Daniel looked at her, "What did you just say?" She prayed she heard him incorrectly.
"What? C-4 is insensitive to gunshots?"
"No, after that."
Daniel's eyes searched the sky a moment in thought, "Oh," He tossed the rocks around in his hands, "Generally used by military."
Calliope's heart jumped into her throat. Her mind raced with a plan but was coming up short, "Are you telling me that whoever set that bomb off is military?" She was starting to panic thinking that they were possibly the same people who were wiping out sick people when the virus first hit. They were merciless. Calliope had witnessed them after the first month or so after departing from home with Daniel. She watched people in suits kill sick parents and children. The odds these were the same men was a stretch since it had been years since, but it didn't ease her PTSD of it any.
"I guess..." Daniel didn't stop juggling his rocks, seemingly unenlightened.
Calliope and Daniel bickered a little while longer, her telling him they could not get within ten feet of the town for fear with their military training they'd see them, and Daniel complaining he was bored and needed stimulation or he'd die. It ended with Daniel almost crying and Calliope giving in.
"You stay here with the bag, if I don't come back in two hours go around town, don't go through." She had stripped off her gym bag and set it next to Daniel on the path. He had sat down begrudgingly,
"Fine.." He was clearly upset at his sister's decision to make him stay behind but Calliope wasn't too thrilled about the decision either. She hated leaving him by himself but the situation had changed. They weren't just a group struggling to survive anymore or a pack of scavengers; there were trained to kill with C-4 and probably other terrifying weapons.
She began walking again, feeling more alone than ever but at the same time, also very not alone. As she neared the town, she could see the broken doors of some buildings and make out some graffiti walls. She tried to imagine what it looked like before the virus choked the nation, but she couldn't see past the blood splatters and shards of...everything, on the ground. Her boots crunched against broken glass on the sidewalk as she got more into town. She froze momentarily, her ears searching for a faint scratching sound. She brandished her baseball bat at the sight of something reflecting light from inside one of the local convenient stores. Calliope peered into the broken window to see something huddled on the floor. She couldn't tell if it were animal, person or zombie, but she wasn't willing to die to find out. She was about to sneak past the carnivore until she saw what was reflecting light; a gun holstered and shining in the sun. Calliope wasn't absolutely positive, but she was sure zombies and animals didn't holster their weapons.
The grip on her bat tightened as she crouched under the window frame, still watching intently. Her gaze moved away hesitantly and her heart almost stopped as it fell on the vehicle. She hated it, but knew animals and zombies also couldn't drive. Which means she would have to sneak herself and Daniel around military personnel, the one thing she prayed against. Without turning back to the window to see what her target was doing, she stood up from her crouch, still in awe at the large vehicle and her mind racing with new alternatives of decisions. Her mind had forgotten the present danger behind her.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Lava]

"Thanks" she said. As the bandage came off she looked at her wound. It was still pretty gnarly but nothing compared to what it was, when the dressing was replaced she smiled and said "So, do I ever get my guns back here?" Holly asked the doctor, looking kind of concerned she was never going to see her best friends rifle again. It was kind of important to her. "How do I know if I even get to stay? I feel like I should be... talking to someone..." She sounded a little nervous when she spoke. There was always the possibility that she might be kicked back out when she was deemed healthy enough. This place did look quite populated. But the doctor had mentioned gardening, if she could prove useful maybe she'd better her chances. Honestly having some safety was nice. Plus, if any of her childhood friends happened to be alive this was probably her best shot at finding them... after all it was near where they all used to camp as little kids.

Feeeling nostalgic only made her want that rifle even more. She had learnt how to hunt with that rifle. Just as she was about to ask more questions she heard a loud thudding sound like someone was chopping up wood. Holly looked up and out the window she saw the culprit. He gestured to her to zip her lips, and ten proceeded to split the lod and burst both their eardrums at the same time. She could only think he was trying to irritate the doctor because of her hang over. holly tried to hide her snigger behind her hands as she watched the man very loudly go about his business right outside her office. That had cheered her up a little, as was probably the aim. Once again she thought what a nice man this man was.

 

[Rumble Fish]

Milly looked at Archie as he assured that Jennifer would come around eventually. She looked at the woman as she seemed to drift off to sleep which was probably the best thing for her right now. She looked at him as he then said it was like how she blamed herself for things, which made the younger girl sigh. As he spoke about her having to be positive, she nodded eagerly but stopped as soon as he said "save it for later" which made the younger girl freeze. Save what? He wanted her to be positive so... he wanted to save negativity? Was she being negative?! Wait- so she was upsetting Jennifer? She did not want to upset Jennifer! Did this mean that Archie was annoyed with her?! Despite all of these harrowing thoughts, she kept a smile as Archie then gave her some smarties before heading off to do... something, he didn't quite specify.

Milly didn't open the smarties and continued to watch Jennifer. Those thoughts kept circulating in her mind and would not go away. They scared her. Was she being a burden on them all? With her poor eyes and bad knees, surely she was useless to them? Even though, thanks to four days of three square meals (under Archie's watchful eyes) she was a lot stronger and starting to put weight back on, food would not cure those. Worried, Milly looked around the ward. She wished Archie would stay here with her. All these worrying thoughts were upsetting her badly. She needed something to cling to but Jennifer had her teddy and she did not have the heart to take it back, the woman needed it more than she did. Her next option would have been Norris but she had hopped outside and was pecking away at some rogue seeds that had been dropped. Milly desperately wanted a hug, but she did not want to bother Archie and going to Zelda was NOT a good idea.
"AHH DAMMIT!" A voice suddenly shouted, giving the girl a terrible fright, she jumped and turned to see Emma glaring at her.
"Wh-what's-?" she stammered.
"Fuck sake, Molly keep that bird out of here!" She snapped quietly as to not wake Jennifer, lifting her shoe to show that she had... stood on an egg.
"Oh-Uh-Oh I'm sorry I'll be careful!" Milly whimpered and wrapped her arms around herself and looked around. She just pulled the neck of her jumper over her head tried to keep quiet. She just had to suck it up, she wasn't supposed to be negative!

***​

Zelda did not talk while bandaging the girl's arm until she started speaking, suddenly bombarding her with questions "Woah-ok, slow down..." she groaned, her head still thumping "Give me a moment to think please..." She shook her head a little. "Ugh... Look, I'm the wrong person to ask for that. Dave's the guy." Zelda sighed "Wherever the fuck he is..." she added with an annoyed eye shift. She was NOT going to deal with this girl. Not that she didn't... not like her or anything but... just dealing with other humans was not her forte. And yet you became a doctor that has to deal with stupid paranoid humans and their bratty kids who won't let you put a fecking plaster on their knee. Really chose your life carefully, you dumbass! Zelda couldn't help moving her eyes and eyebrows a little as those thoughts came through, Why not do everyone a favour and drown yourself in the lake? ...No, you don't deserve to die young. Only the greats die young- Oh now you think you're young all of a sudden? Zelda shook her head a little as she came back to reality, "Uh... where was I- Oh yeah, I'd wait until Dave is back. Pretty sure he's keeping your gun safe somewhere. And... hey we always need gardeners." She added as she finished bandaging the wound.

Turning away from the girl, Zelda picked the bottle up from the desk. She looked at it for a few moments, frowning deeply. For some reason the words that thick Scotsman had said were going around her sore head. Maybe he had a point. She had tried going dry before, after Mack took her in... though it only lasted a fortnight or so and was horrible, but she did kind of see the benifits of it. But then all her surpressed memories and thoughts just resurfaced without the alcohol to drown them, leading to a lot of paranoia and even a hallucinogenic fit that resulted in her being put in a strap jacket for three days. Everything about the past right up to this shite situation she was in now would never go away... Sighing, Zed uncapped the wine and took a long swig from it, only pausing after a number of seconds to take in a breath.

But as she went for it a second time, a sudden and unbearably loud CHOP! rang through the office, causing Zelda to cough and choke from the fright she got. "What?!" She snapped, the noise still pounding through her poor head. She then paused "...that FUCKING-!" She went to the window and poked her head out, just as she suspected Archi was chopping away at trees like nobody's business, making as much fucking noise as possible! He was doing it on purpose! Why else would he chopping wood RIGHT OUTSIDE HER SPACE!? "WHY YOU DODDERING IMBECILE, I-!!" She thought she heard a snigger and she whipped her head to see Holly sitting there, covering an obvious smile which made Zed cough from some wine that seemed to have gone the wrong way, "WHAT?! YOU'RE A JU-!? YOU'RE IN ON IT!? OH WHAT-?!" she grabbed the window and pushed it open as far as it would go, which took a lot of effort. As she did, a gust of fresh air hit her in the face, Zelda only noticing this since the room itself was... funky to say the least. "HEY, BILLY COCK-OLLY! STOP THAT BEFORE I CHOP YOUR WOOD OFF!" She barked as she leaned pretty much her whole body out of the window, standing on her toes and pretty much forgetting about Holly and... well everybody else.
Lava idalie Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

After searching some, Dave had collected a small load of supplies that would help the Mountaintop. While the various scattered foods weren’t necessarily needed, or anything substantial for nutrition of survivors, they were snaps or foods for energy. Being that, in West Virginia, it was sparsely populated, places like towns containing food were far apart, you needed all the energy you could get, whether it was for driving, running, shooting, etc. It was really a matter of it being better than nothing for the survivors.

Taking a moment, seeing he still had twenty minutes, Dave decided to lean against one of the walls and just relax, or try to, and let a firestorm in his mind settle some.

Dave was not a leader. He was far from one. He said things that sounded smart. In this time, the Mountaineers were in a rough spot. And during it, he were to be the one to take the reigns and steer them in the right direction. But he was never a leader, and he knew it. He could be quick tempered, make stupid decisions and endanger others when he was in command. Despite this, Mack trusted him as second in command due to his loyalty. He knew that no matter what, Dave would carry out his orders. Dave was Mack’s lapdog, and everyone knew it. Dave, however, denied this. He was intellectually dishonest with things like that. But, what Mack knew was that he was a more than capable fighter. While he made dumb decisions at times, fighting was his strong suit. This also was something Mack knew, and why he was in charge of the militia.

As Dave sat there, he played with some of the parts on his AR-15. It wasn’t so much out of boredom as it was him having anger build up, and he needed to move his hands, in a way that was methodical that helps him somewhat soothing despite the anger. He took it out on the various things on the AR, such as dropping the magazine and thrusting it back in-rather violently.

The bearded man knew he was having a lot on his shoulders right now. And potentially, he’d have to lead for good should Mack not make it. In the back of his mind, he knew how unqualified and ineffective of a leader he’d be. But his arrogance and cockiness side fought the one who told him the truth. And he encompassed their emotions. His anger wasn’t so much about the situation he found himself in, but rather the fact that he knew he was unqualified and he denied it.

But, upon getting up and moving to squat down to get his supplies, the man’s began to feel his anger boil and reach a tipping point. Suddenly, a sound from outside caught his attention, a sound any survivor knew was potential bad news: footsteps.

From outside, he heard the sounds of footsteps stepping on broken glass. Dave wasn’t sure necessarily if it was an undead monster or a person. If they were a person, they were being utterly careless as to giving their position away with every footstep. This made Dave think that maybe they were careless or young or scared and looking for help. But, nothing can be known until a confrontation began. And Dave knew it was always better to have the power in the confrontation. He would make sure that he caught them by surprise by asserting his superiority on the person, if it was one.

But as Dave suddenly turned around, he was surprised to see the source of the sound just standing there. This young woman holding a bat caught him by surprise. Though, it seemed that she too was caught by surprise by him and his HMMWV. Regardless, Dave’s rifle met his shoulder, aimed at the girl.

“Hands up,” he commanded to the girl, walking forward with his rifle on her. He looked around as he approached her, worrying that this might be a setup.

When Dave approached the girl, he grabbed the bat and disarmed her.

“Forward,” he said, making a motion with his rifle for the girl to walk.

“Now I’m going to ask questions and you’re going to answer them. So my first is, who the hell are you, why the hell are you here, and what group are you with? And don’t play games with me, girl, as I don’t have the time or patience for it.”

Dave was aggressive, perhaps taking some anger out unfairly on the young girl who may pose no threat. But he wanted to assert his dominance, she her that he was in charge. But with his emotional state, his arrogance had driven him as well. He wanted to sound more menacing than he actual was. He wanted to sound smarter than he was, more powerful and fearful that he actually was. It was an egotistical and arrogant move. But, it was what did at this moment, unfairly to the young girl in an even more unfair world.

Emotional Enigma

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Calliope stared at the vehicle, so gargantuan and intimidating. It made her skin crawl seeing even in a god forsaken world, someone still had power. She wondered what Daniel would say; he'd be thrilled to see such a beast. Probably want to ride it in and someone would have to physically remove him. Her mind quickly went blank though at the sound of her target's voice, "Hands up". It sounded strained and so foreign to her ears; it'd been so long since she heard a voice that wasn't Daniel's. Normally, she'd run. Being a retired soccer player she was quick on her feet, but seeing as his voice was already so close to her she didn't think she'd get far. Her grip tightened on the bat only for it to be ripped from her grasp in seconds. Calliope wanted to elbow him in the face. Hard enough to knock his teeth out. But somehow she didn't think that'd go over well. Her skin prickled at the sensation of someone behind her and made her feel like she was going to vomit the canned fruit she ate that morning. Now she knew he was definitely military by his choice of language and that didn't help matters...
Calliope made no attempt to turn around after he demanded she move forward and raised her arms limply. Her head twitched with the urge to look at her captor, but she remained forward and took very slow steps. As soon as she got the chance she'd break away.
When he began asking her questions, she debated whether she should entertain them with an answer or not. Surely, he wouldn't shoot her for not answering, would he? Either way, she didn't want to test his boundaries. Everyone these days was on edge, herself included, and she didn't want to be the girl who got herself shot for having a problem with authority figures.
"My name is Ellie," she offered after taking a few more slow steps, "I just came for some food," She tried to sound as pitiful as possible, "I'm from a group a little ways back. I just need to get some food and go, please". Calliope never was a good liar and her attitude was always clear on her face, but she grit her teeth and willed tears to well in her eyes for extra effect.
"We have sick people and kids" Her jaw tensed with each passing lie and her voice cracked with tension. Could being a girl give her act an extra boost?



Daniel sat quietly, tossing rocks across the dirt path and watching them land in side bushes with a faint psssshhh . He was a bit worried about his sister but knew she'd be safer without him, as angry as that realization made him. He stood up, despite knowing he shouldn't go, and holstered the gym bag over his shoulder. It was heavy, a good 40 pounds, and almost his size. He struggled to carry it but shuffled down the dirt path anyway. He had never been alone without Cali for very long and his separation anxiety was starting to boil up. Being with her would be worth the tongue lashing later.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

With the girl rather under Dave’s control, he listened to her answers. Though they somewhat dodged the questioned he asked, she went on about how she was with a group of people who needed the food and water. The girl seemed to try and get his sympathy. She was young and begging, with tears in her eyes.

There was a time when Dave was a kind man, a gentleman. He’d hold the doors for anyone walking in and out of a place. He offended showed women with courtesy, wooing them with his kind way and treating them genuine. That is how he got his wife. He’d be one of the people out there doing whatever he could to help anyone in need: regardless of who they were. He was a stand up guy and a stand up citizen, one to look up to and model yourself after.

But that was until the world turned and he lost his wife. Mack saved him. But, Mack didn’t save the person that was Dave. That person was gone. He was replaced with someone more ruthless, someone who didn’t care to be polite. What he became, what he has done and is doing, was not Dave. He often asked himself, thinking of his wife, there’s a man who walks beside me; he’s who I used to be. And I wonder if she’d see him and confuse him with me? Dave tried to stop himself from thinking that. It brought much conflict. But it was a question that he just couldn’t help be ask himself, because it was something that bothered him much.

And this leads to Dave’s confrontation with this girl. Dave wasn’t quite sure how he felt. Everyone today had a sob story. It was an effective way to gain sympathy from someone. But Dave could almost tell this was an act. There almost seemed to be a lack of a true genuine plea behind The girl’s plea. There was so much so, he had to call the bluff. She could be stalling for an attack, should she really be a member of a large group. Given proximity to two ground zeroes of the bombs, it’s possible she could be part of Haeredes Helios. But her seeming sanity is something he noted. No one in Helios was sane enough to put this show on. Given the other groups in the region, he still wasn’t sure about her true intentions.

This gave Dave one option: call her bluff.

“Cut the shit,” he said back to the girl with annoyance. “The Mountaineers know every group in the region. We know the status of them, how many people they have, and how many times Joe Blow ate their food ration. We’re the top dogs here. You’re not from any group here.”
“So do me a favor,” Dave said, trying to quell his annoyance, and doing so in a somewhat effective manner, “cut the shit and tell the truth. If you pose no threat to me, make it known. Tell me the truth. Lying doesn’t get you very far these days, especially with the Mountaineers. I’ll give you a chance to tell the truth, forgive and forget, and move on from this. So tell me, truthfully this time; why are you here, who are you, and what do you want from me or the Mountaineers? And if you are from some group looking to try and take us out, I’d advise you to turn your ass around and never come back. Because we are hidden, armed to the teeth, and yes, we have military vehicles, including an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, among others, with a thriving community of 50 people who are armed and skilled. So if you want some holy retribution for your sins, pick the wrong bone with is. We’ll send you crying back to your God. Now if you’re not some group trying to kill us, and are some survivor trying to win, I’ll repeat again; be honest with me, I’ll forgive and forget, and we’ll work something out with you. Don’t be stupid. Be reasonable. Be truthful.

“I’m giving you a chance, which I rarely do,” Dave explained to the girl, AR-15 still trained on the girl. “But since you’re young and a girl, I’ll be nice to you. I normally don’t deal with this shit like Mack does. I’m the mean one. He’s the diplomat, and I’m the bullet. But I’m trying to mirror his ways. So, I’m giving you a chance to unfuck this up for you. Make the right call. Or this will not end well for you.”

Emotional Enigma

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Calliope was almost immediately annoyed with his response. She spun around on her heels to face him, her hair whipping around, "Excuse me?!" The rich girl privilege was evident in her tone. Calliope before the return, had been a rather feisty young girl but since she had tried to bite her tongue. Her mouth often got her into some pretty bad situations. She grudgingly put her hands on her hips, her mouth gaped open in a somewhat angered expression. She had finally gotten a glimpse of the man though which seemed to quell her annoyance briefly. He certainly didn't look like a killer but the barrel of the gun that was currently staring her down said otherwise. He looked more like coffee shop owner or a father from a sappy rom-com. Her shoulders shifted uncomfortably as she studied him until his rant ended. He had round cheeks and round tipped nose to match; nothing about him seemed like it fit a scary profile. But Calliope wasn't sure what her call should be no matter how rom-com-ish he seemed. She still wasn't sure she trusted giving up her brother's existence to a stranger.
"Mountain-what?" After his words had sunken in she started to process exactly what he meant, "Listen, I don't know who the Mountain-whatever is, I came for some food." She crossed her arms impatiently and glanced towards the path she came from. If she chose to believe what he said about this group having a lot of fire power, good or bad, she didn't want to get involved. But if she proved to be difficult she could possibly be giving up a chance for Daniel to have a semi-normal life or even a bed to sleep in. On the other hand, there was no guarantee that this group even cared about other people outside them... She wished Daniel were here. He gave her courage to make decisions more accurately and trust her gut.
"I'm alone." Calliope looked around her nervously, almost afraid he had called reinforcements secretly, "I'm alone and I just want some food. I'm no threat to you. Can I just take some and leave?" Her last sentence was sharp with attitude and agitation, though she meant to hide it and seem more genuine.
Calliope's feet ached to run but the gun enticed her to stay still. As much as she loved the attention from her male counterpart that she had been neglected of for months, she wasn't thrilled about the possible outcome of a bullet being lodged in her rib cage. Her jaw tensed and eased as she watched him carefully, her dark eyes not wavering for a single moment. They flickered briefly to something in the corner of her eye but centered back on the man stubbornly.




As Daniel scuffled down the trail, he could see light reflecting off broken glass in the town. As he got closer he could see something more clearly. Two figures standing defiantly. One shorter than the other, tinier too. He threw the bag down near a bush and crouched down to take a breather. He reached into the gym bag and pulled out a bottle of water, not hesitating to take a sip. When his gaze returned to the two figures, he noticed the gun. Daniel quickly put the bottle away and crouched down. He crept around the bush to get a better glimpse but could barely see anything from his distance. Still, he knew it wasn't rocket science to put together that one figure was probably his sister, and it wasn't the one holding the gun. Fear spiraled through blood and adrenaline pumped into his limbs. He had to do something.

Peacemaker .45

 

[idalie]

ARCHIE "THE SCOTSMAN" MCKEEGAN​

Noting Holly's amusement, McKeegan aimed a wolfish grin before splitting the log with a sharp thud, garnering the Doctor's attention and unsurprisingly - her anger. Half hanging out the window of her office, shouting a range of creative insults that made the Scotsman begin to laugh. "CHOP MY WOOD OFF LASS? COME OUT HERE AND SEE IF YOU CAN WRAP YER HANDS AROUND IT FIRST." Half leaning on his axe, he gave a positively mocking slap of the knee, finding himself funny to the extent it was hysterical. "WAIT, WAIT, I GOT A GOOD ONE HERE-" He cleared his throat, wiping beneath his eyes whilst placing a hand upon his stomach to help the ache of his laughter. "WHAT DID GOD SAY TO NOAH?" He breathed out in a wheeze "GOT WOOD?" The fact Archie was chuckling so hard he found it difficult to breathe, was a further comedic value than the added situation of a topless Scottish bloke standing outside an alcoholic Doctor's practice whilst serenading the poor rageful woman with puns.

"HEY, ZED, WOOD YOU CUT IT OUT? I NEED TO AXE YOU A QUESTION?" Attempting to calm himself, half hunched over his axe with tears streaming down his face in guffaws, he then hoarsely tilted his head to the doctor. "I think I need to BRANCH out into another form of comedy." He choked on the sounds as he tried to contain himself. Clearly, he had possibly one of the easiest laughs that ever belonged to a man, and a sentiment to both annoy the crap out of Zelda whilst getting her out of the Doctors office for longer than a few minutes. The woman needed a break from getting insults thrown her way and doubtful glances. Alas, Archie was a typical lad - and befriending people required these odd moments like a comedy sketch. It was, after all, the same thing lumberjacks did to the new apprentices. Even so, he had a soft spot for young 'uns, or those like Milly who had led an existence so sheltered he couldn't tell the difference between her and a child. It was merely such an Archie thing to do.

Accompanying that, he practically adored playing hide and seek with the children of the Mountaineers. If it hadn't been for his not so glamorous grades, perhaps in another life he would've been a teacher. Alas, even then, Archie was far more able in teaching such things as hunting, plants, and how to throw a good upper-hook. But the games he played weren't just for fun, as many knew, playing hide and seek simulated hiding from the undead - repurposed to teach a lesson far more important than the written word. Nevertheless, if it wasn't for his work out in the fields, no doubt he'd be more inclined to do it far more often. Even then, Milly was oft at the forefront of his mind, whether or not there was a child hanging off his leg or begging to be swung around. Furthermore, nowadays, Milly was something of a niece, sister, - family. He'd already been mistaken as both father and uncle of the young woman, which made him slightly depressed in thinking he really did look that old.

Rumble Fish Lava

 

[Peacemaker .45]

“Cut the attitude,” Dave shot back, getting rather annoyed with the girl, but trying to keep his cool, although his anger seemed to start showing slightly.

“Look, girl, or Ellie, I know you’re lying. Lying doesn’t get people far in this world, especially when the gun is pointed at you. I can tell your lying, so tell me the damn truth and maybe I’ll let you go.”

Dave noticed the girl looking around anxiously. To him, it seemed the girl had been expecting someone. Reinforcements, perhaps? Her looking around made him very uneasy. He began to scan the surrounding area for threats. But, remembering that’s the rendezvous was soon, he checked his watch briefly. He had just over five minutes left until he had to get back there. Dave cursed in realization of what little time he had left upon seeing it.

“Look,” Dave said returning his attention to the girl, “I don’t have time to be dicking around here and jumping around the questions. I have to go very soon. This is your last chance to tell me the truth. Because if you lie again, I’m leaving this building with this food. If you want to have any food, I’m giving you one last damn chance to tell the truth. If you don’t, I’m leaving. And if this is a setup, you’ll be the one dead in the end. So, final chance, tell the truth.”

While he asked, the man continued to check the surroundings. It was quiet outside of the store. The dead weren’t really gathered in this area, since two blast zones were nearby. The dead seemed to gather around those areas, almost turning into pack creatures. They joined up with the rest and formed larger herds. They were, in a sense, a living version of the phrase, “monkey see, monkey do.”

As Dave held the girl at gunpoint, he continually checked his watch for the time. He needed to be there on time, or everyone is going to start looking for him. It’d be unnecessary, and they still needed to finalize everything they had done today that they picked up. There was still some scavenging to do. He had to be there on time to command everyone on what was next to do. This girl was making it harder to get things done. She needed to be dealt with now.

Emotional Enigma