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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,966 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
As Brandon started talking to Kelsey, Jen suddenly remembered something. She had picked up a bag of M&M's for the kids and never given it to them. She reached into her bag and dug out the bag that was nestled deep within.

"I know." Kelsey said flatly to Brandon.

"Hey, Kels. Catch." Jen tossed the bag of candies to Kelsey.

The young girl reacted out of instinct and caught the bag out of midair. She looked at it curiously as if she didn't recognize it at first. Jen felt a little bad giving a rare piece of candy history away to Kelsey like that without giving any to Connor, but Kelsey needed to pick me up a lot more. She would grab him something later if she had a chance.

"Found 'em at the gas station before. Meant to give them to you, but I kinda forgot. Consider it a late gift." Jen smiled wryly.

Kelsey looked at the bag for a few seconds and then slowly tore it open and started helping herself to it.

"Give you a little energy before we hit the Mississippi. In exchange you gotta take a look at the river as we pass it. B is right, it's definitely worth remembering. And as long as you remember something, then it's never really gone no matter where you are."

Jennifer felt a small spark of pride after giving out that bit of sagely advice.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
As he drove, Eli glanced in the rear view mirror at the goings-on behind him. Brandon and Jen were doing their best to poke through the gloom. Eli appreciated the effort, but he didn’t think they had much hope of success.

And personally, he was more anxious than excited about crossing the river. Recent events had made him very wary of bridges.

He shook his head to himself just a little, as he was known to do, and concentrated on the road.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon abandoned trying to help with the mood. There was no ignoring their loss, and unlike with her mother's death Kelsey had nobody around to put a brave face on for. She should feel this completely like she wasn't allowed to before. When she caught the pack of M&Ms he smiled a little; at least she was still functioning. He didn't have to worry about her shutting down in the middle of a crisis. He turned his attention to Jen. He really owed it to himself and her to get to know her better. They'd already fought through the the two hairiest, ugliest fights he'd ever been in together, and she had taken the time to give Connor and Kelsey a shooting lesson. He was glad somebody else was ensuring those two were as prepared as possible. He nodded his own personal thanks to her.

The silence reasserted itself as they continued on. The sun was starting to take on a slightly more orange tint now as it made its way towards the horizon. They turned lazily north onto the I-80, which would take them north of Davenport and Bettendorf. The monotony of their surroundings was hypnotic, so much so that Brandon was taken by surprise when the waters of the Mighty Mississippi River. In the early afternoon light it was magnificent.

"Kelsey!" he whispered.

It reminded him of the first time her saw it. It was on the way back from a week with his aunt and uncle in Colorado. He'd fallen asleep on the way there and was angry with his parents that they hadn't woken him up for the crossing. On the way back it was darker and he couldn't make it out well. Since that first trip though it'd become a favorite sight of his. If it was some spiritual power the river had, or just that he associated it with those trips to Colorado and the mountains he loved so much he didn't know. Whatever it was the sight made he want for those days. It was a beautiful sight.

The van drove forward at a cautious speed. The Bridge was clear of obstruction on their side at least, but past experience being what it was they kept their hands close to their weapons. Something came into view ahead of them, on the southward heading side of the bridge that brought the van to a stop. 200 yards ahead of them was a truck like the one Emmett had used, surrounded by a small sea of waving arms and lumbering bodies.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Well, that's new." Willow murmured quietly.

Her first instinct was 'look another band of rotters' but the way they were positioned here was a little odd. Normally they just meandered aimlessly until they found something that attracted their attention. These rotters were actively trying to get into that van. That meant that something there was holding their attention.

"Do you guys think there could be people in that van?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli frowned as he considered this new mass of rotters and the truck they were swarming like bees. He had come to Willow’s realization a lot quicker than her. He had also considered the implications, and he wasn’t happy with them.

People were dangerous. Even the ones that didn’t look it. They were unknowable and unpredictable in ways that rotters never could be. Maxwell had taught him that too well.

“’Course their could be,” he said, eyeing the top half of the truck ahead of them, the part that was visible over the rotters. “But let’s hope there isn’t.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"We're not... gonna help?" Willow seemed slightly taken aback by Eli's removed response.

After Maxwell had worked against them for so long, Willow could understand why Eli and everyone would be hesitant about helping others. But she didn't want to believe that all people were like the assholes they had met so far. But on the other hand, even if they were decent people, whose lives meant more to her? Would she take a risk on those people in the car if she knew it might cost one of their own? Were their lives worth that risk? Willow didn't have a proper answer.

"Oh, come on!" Jen spoke up. "Is this the kind of people we are now?"

"They could be bad people. Or nobody." Kelsey reminded everyone quietly. "It's dangerous. I don't want you guys to die too."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Well they're not on our side of the bridge. We could drive past them easy enough. Like you said though it could be a bandit trap. Maybe they take out the tires, let the rotters kill us and wait for them to leave again, then take all our stuff. Or, somebody could be alive in there, and we'd be leaving them. We've got more than our own lives to think of though. If we die, the cure dies with us, and everybody else dies without the cure. Think about that." Brandon offered without giving his opinion.

He was undecided precisely because all of those points were so equally compelling. Abandoning somebody in need was cold. Really cold. The possibility of harm coming to the others, whether this was a hapless victim or a bandit ploy, was a powerful motivator to leave it be. He at least made his mind up about something.

"Pointless to wonder without checking it out a little better." he said reaching into the back and retrieving the scoped Winchester.

He slipped out of the van and placed the rifle on the roof, before clambering up there himself. He stood up and brought the scope to his eye. There would have to be about thirty rotters all crowded around the truck. He couldn't see anybody in the cab, but they could be trying to hide in the hopes the rotters would forget, they couldn't probably still smell them though. Then he noticed them. There was a person on top of the truck, lying down on their back looking up at the sky with their hands across their chest. Brandon rapped lightly on the roof.

"There's somebody on top of the truck. They haven't seen us. They're just lying there." he informed the others in a quietly voice.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli stewed in the front seat, and didn’t outwardly react to Brandon’s report. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to keep driving. He may have even pressed down on the pedal already, if Brandon hadn’t gotten out of the car and climbed onto the roof.

“Look, I’m as nervous about strangers as any of you,” Annie interjected. Eli turned to find her leaning in from the middle seats. She seemed to have noticed his reticence. “I know stepping in is risky. However, I can’t help but think… What would Randall do?”

WWRD? Eli thought with some bitterness. He would probably help – he was big on that, even when he probably shouldn’t have been. Eli wanted to live up to his memory, but he wondered if getting to Iowa City quickly and safely might be the better way to truly do that.

From Jen and Willow’s earlier tone, Eli felt like he knew where they stood. He wasn’t ready to agree, though. Instead, he looked to Emmett in the passenger’s seat, hoping to gauge his opinion.

Previously, the big man had shown himself to have a surplus of humanity – he had spared Eli’s life, after all, and had advocated for a peaceful crossing of the bridge into Michigan. But he had also brutalized that man during the midnight raid on Flint, and had given Eli his approval to put down Maxwell. That night’s events had clearly broken something in him, much like they had broken something in Eli.

Sure enough, this time he offered no immediate opinion either way. His stony look was enough of an answer.

“I think we should vote,” Annie suggested from behind them. “And I vote we help.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Yeah, we should help." Jen quickly agreed. "The world may have gone to shit, but that doesn't mean we have to as well. Randall knew that."

The people from Flint were on board with helping. They would be though; their idealism was still intact despite everything that had happened. They hadn't really seen the world outside yet. There was a lot they had left to learn. Willow found herself still undecided. Randall would help. But Randall was also dead. If they followed his example perfectly, they might end up dead as well. This reality was more clear to Willow now than it ever had been. She folded her hands and frowned. She didn't want to vote to help them. She also didn't want to vote to ignore them. She kept her lips sealed and waited to see what everyone else said.

"I vote we ignore them." Kelsey solemnly added her opinion.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon let the others talk it out inside. He kept an eye on the other vehicle through his scope. The person on the roof stirred. They raised their head a little and then pushed themselves up as they caught sight of the minivan. Now that he could see more of them he could tell it was a woman, and she was wearing a police uniform.

The woman rose to a kneeling position and began waving with both arms. She went for something and Brandon tensed up, ready to squeeze the trigger. Binoculars. Just binoculars. He breathed a brief sigh of relief but didn't let himself relax too much. She looked back at him through them and visibly tensed up as she saw he pointing a gun at her. If she were a bandit that was good, let her know they were armed a ready to kill. If she weren't then she may be wondering if they meant her harm.

"She's seen us. She's a cop, or at least wearing a cop's uniform." he informed the others.

Brandon was already conflicted about what to do. His head told him to leave. To keep Kelsey safe above all. She knew they were there though, it wasn't quite so easy to dismiss them when they knew they were being abandoned. His gut said help, though he had no idea how.

They could pull up fairly close to it and still have a divider between them to hem the rotters in a little. If she were quick and good on her feet she could jump over to the roof of the minivan and hold on for dear life as they put a little distance between them and the rotters. Brandon had enough ammo in his C8 to take all the rotters if he killed them one for one, though that would leave him completely dry. They could all pitch in but what little ammo they had was precious, and there were also too many to take out in melee. So fighting was even more unappealing.

He turned the situation over in his head. How much traffic could have come through here to justify setting up a trap? It was highly unlikely they were bandits, he decided, but that still only made the picture a little smaller. He frowned at what he was about to say, no option felt any good to him, but this was the one that promised the greater reward if they were successful.

"I vote we help." he said heavily.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow was still hesitant. Wearing a cop's uniform didn't mean anything; they could have stolen a few from the police college they were at earlier if that had been their intention. She could be a bandit. She could be mentally unstable. She could just be a psycho like Maxwell had been. None of those really sat well with her. But this setup seemed a bit... elaborate. Surrounding one of your own with rotters on top of a bridge was an odd way to attract attention.

Slowly but surely, Willow mentally talked herself out of her indecision. She understood that a large part of her argument for it was purely emotional as opposed to logical. But she didn't run away from that. She agreed with Jen. The world had gone to shit, but they didn't have to as well.

"I think we should help, too." She added hesitantly.

Brandon, Jen, and Annie all agreed with her now. That was enough support. She was all for the voting system and she would have gone along with whatever decision the group came to. But she was glad it was working out like this. She wasn't ready to give up on humanity just yet.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli frowned at Brandon and then Willow’s votes. That sealed it. He couldn’t drive off now – not without defying the majority of their group and probably causing some intense unrest.

“Fine,” he said, taking a breath.

He considered the situation on the other side of the divider, and the distance between them, the rotter, and the surrounded trailer.

“I’ll pull up beside this… cop,” he said. “She wants, she can jump over. Then we’ll see what’s what. Sound good?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Okay." Brandon said, nervously gripping his rifle.

He waved the gun over his head to get the woman's attention. With some uncertainty he attempted to pantomime their plan to her once he knew she was watching. He looked down the scope at her again. She shrugged and shook her head, clearly not grasping what he was trying to convey. He waved dismissively and motioned for her to stay put, as if she had many options.

Brandon climbed back down and got into the back. He readied his HK, he had only readied one mag in their downtime.

"Pistols. We might need to off a rotter or two. Hopefully she gets what we're going for quickly so we don't have to drive through any of them." he said and exhaled, steadying his nerves.
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Is that so?
Willow reached for her hip and pulled her FNP from the holster. She had 'borrowed' one from Flint since she knew she wouldn't always be able to carry her rifle, but she always wanted to carry a gun. Being on the road for a few weeks, she didn't feel safe without a gun at her side anymore. She wanted to blame it on her ever-present anxiety, but she knew that everyone felt the same. They had to.

She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. She was nervous. She was anxious. This could be a trap. Any minute now, she was expecting the rattle of gunfire. But so far, it had not come. Maybe it wouldn't. But the very possibility of it sent a shiver down her spine. Ahead of her, Jen was needlessly fiddling with her Uzi; beside her, Brandon sat nervously on the other side of the grim Kelsey. They were all in the same boat. It made her feel a little better knowing she wasn't the only one scared right now.

"Okay, I'm ready for this." She said quietly to herself. "Let's do the right thing, Willow. Let's do the right thing."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
When Brandon was back inside the minivan, Eli hit the gas. Gently at first.

“One more thing,” he said as he put the van in motion. “Let’s keep all cure talk to ourselves. It just complicates things. Far as she has to know, if she’s gotta know anything, is we’re going to Iowa City to find Kelsey’s brother.”

He looked in the rear view mirror, hoping for expressions of agreement.

“Cool?”
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