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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,964 Views)
Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Same thing as everyone else. Striking out blindly hoping for somwhere safe. Been living in the truck for a week now. Going station to station here in Iowa hoping to find somebody, but everyone of them has been the same story; signs of struggle and no people. Gathered what I could like radios, guns, ammo, flashlights, anything of value and decided to try my luck somewhere else. Then the truck broke down on the bridge and a group of creeps wandered over from the west. They got close enough that they would have seen me if I went around the sides of the truck so I climbed up instead hoping they wouldn't see me and I'd be able to climb back down and fix the truck or grab my things and head off again. That was around 6am." she explained clearly venting a little frustration.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli took in the story with a nod. There was more to tell – what she was doing before last week, for example, and if she had run into any other people besides them that would be good to know too.

The talk of her supply-gathering got his attention, however. He wanted to address that first. If she was talking a shopping bag's worth, then it didn’t matter. That truck could potentially hold a lot, however.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said, and it sounded obligatory. “Tell me, though – how much was what you could?”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow glanced over at the truck resting on the bridge. The rotters were already started to meander in their direction, but it would be quite some time before they would find their way down here. This Emily woman clearly had nowhere to go and, since she knew Brandon, she would probably want to come along with them. But there wasn't enough room in the van unless Kelsey sat in someone's lap. Which meant they needed a second set of wheels. Willow's first thought was on her truck; especially if it had supplies on it.

Unfortunately, Eli asked the obvious question before she could.

"And how likely do you think it is we could get the truck running again?" She didn't know if Emily had any idea but, if there was a good chance, it might make it worth clearing the rotters away.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
For a second Emily wondered if se was still about to have all her stuff jacked. She considered lying about it but reasoned that they did just pull her ass out of the fire, so she owed them something. Besides, she had no clue why she'd salvaged so much stuff, it was more than she needed. Her whole plan was to find other people and equip them, she just supposed she would have more of a chance to evaluate them. One of them was already a friend though, they'd also helped her without knowing about the guns and they had two kids. Most importantly, they were living people. They seemed to meet all the important criteria.

"About one hundred and fifty 5.56 rounds, about eighty rounds of .40 S&W, and three dozen 12 gauge slugs. I've got an M&P 15, my own personal sidearm plus two more just like it, and a Remington 870. I also have a ballistic vest, several flashlights, three batons and four radios. Not much food though." she listed off.

She noticed Brandon staring at her with a broad grin on his face.

"As for the truck. I'm no mechanic, I was still trying to figure out why the thing wasn't working when I had to make for the roof." she admitted.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli frowned as he mulled over Emily’s answer. It almost would have been easier if she said not a lot. In that case, they could have just continued on. But he was dangerously low on ammo. His AR15 had been empty since their last bridge incident, left behind at the warehouse, and his Supergrade’s one magazine was only half-full. It would only take one more desperate encounter for him to run out – potentially in the middle of it.

And after burning some of what remained in target practice earlier, the rest of the group couldn’t be faring that much better.

“Well damn,” he said. “Sounds like it’s worth it to go back. Maybe lure the rotters away, or… do that other thing.

He shuddered as he thought back to the warehouse escape. He cringed just remembering the smell.

“I’m Annie, by the way,” Annie interrupted, having climbed out the other side of the car and circled her way around. “Nice to meet you.”

She extended her hand for Emily to shake and wore a polite, professional smile.

Eli looked around and noticed Emmett had gotten out of the car too. He was focusing intently on the conversation.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow let out a sharp whistle. That was undoubtedly a lot of supplies. Even if they could burn through the bullets fairly quickly, the ballistics vest, batons, and radios seemed like a potential godsend. Even if they couldn't salvage the truck out of all this, it was definitely worth going down there for the supplies at the very least.

"I think we already lured a lot of them away. We did just kinda steal their lunch." She glanced down the bridge again. "Give them another few minutes and we might have already made ourselves an opening. If we come down the way we came, we can pretty safely pick off any stragglers over the divider."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Emily shook Annie's hand and gave her a quick look up and down. She looked trustworthy. Emily's doubts about the group were fading faster and faster.

"Likewise." she said.

"Okay so we have a way to get the stuff, but what about Emily? Are we just going to take her stuff and leave her with a busted truck or something? What's the plan there?" Brandon asked incredulously.

Sure they could use that stuff but to have so quickly assumed they could take it felt so mercenary. He also didn't like that her situation seemed like an after thought. He could understand that though, she was his friend, not theirs.

"It's okay, Brandon, that's kind of the whole reason I was gathering that stuff. And before I found the truck I was on foot for a few days after my cruiser rolled. I'll be okay until I find another ride." she assured him.

"You could stick with us. You know Iowa right? We could use your help." he suggested eagerly.

"You seem to have a space issue." she pointed out uncertainly.

Her initial plan was to leave not head back in. Although her reason for leaving was partially to find other people. Other people had found her it turned out.

"Kelsey can sit on my lap." Brandon continued insistently.

He realised only after he said it how presumptuous it was to speak for Kelsey like that. After all she had voted not to help, he didn't want her to feel like her voice carried no weight. The truth was she was his top priority. He would have

"Would that be okay, Kelsey?" he asked contritely.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Oh! Well, uhh..." Willow was slightly taken aback by Brandon's observation. "I just kind of assumed that she would want to come along with us. With you guys being friends and all that."

It was true. And it had been kind of a presumptuous assumption on her part. She just had a hard time seeing them leave behind an old friend of Brandon's now; what reason would Emily have to leave on her own? And would Brandon even allow that?

Would he? She was his first flame. And she has a much longer history with him than I do. If he really wanted, I'm sure he could-

No! Willow almost slapped herself to stop her brain from going crazy right now. This was just a happy coincidence. That was it! That was absolutely all there was to it and she should try to be happy about it. Brandon was happy about it so she should be too!

He was almost too happy...

"Oh, and I'm Willow." She extended her hand to Emily as well.

She wanted to add 'Brandon's Girlfriend' to that, but decided not to. She was kind of curious to see how much Brandon told her on his own. She hated to feel like she was testing him, but in a way that is exactly what she was doing. She knew it was petty and stupid to be worrying about that right now; but she was one of the best at worrying about petty and stupid things.

"I've heard nothing but good things about you."

Wait, that sounded weird. Shit...

* * * * *

Jen furled her brow. She hadn't known her for very long, but Willow was acting a wee bit differently than normal. Although she had no idea who this Emily person was to Brandon, it didn't take a rocket scientist to put a lot of the pieces together here. Willow was always a little on the awkward side though, so maybe the others wouldn't notice her change.

"Okay." Kelsey simply said from the back in response to Brandon's question.

"We might be able to squeeze you up here too if you want. It would be tight, but it might be more comfortable than Brandon's legs for a longer ride." Jen suggested.

"Sure." The young girl said again.

Jen frowned; she sounded so defeated. If she had been thinking more at the time, maybe Randall would still be here for his daughter. Jen knew nobody would have cried this much for her. There wasn't anybody left that cared for her.

I guess we're all a little broken after today. Jen mused to herself.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli nodded along to what Willow said – the first part, not her slightly bumbling introduction, whatever that was about.

“Yeah, no one’s saying ‘leave her here.’ And no one’s saying we take it all, either. Sounds like there’s enough to go around, whether we stick together or not.”

Eli wasn’t thrilled about how eager Brandon was to offer her a semi-permanent spot, but he wasn’t heartless. They had gone through the effort of saving her now, they couldn’t just leave her alone in the open to die.

He turned to Emily, raising an eyebrow. He realized she hadn’t yet responded to Brandon’s offer.

“Anyway, what do you wanna do?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Emily shot Willow another amused smile and shook her hand with an eyebrow raised. She seemed a little nervous or something, eager to make her acquaintance too by the way she stumbled out of the van. Brandon had told Willow about her apparently, which was a little strange, it'd been a long time since she even thought about him. The end of the world can make you nostalgic though.

"Willow." she noted.

She turned back to face Eli and considered what he said. They were near Bettendorf so she could probably find a ride there, but striking out on foot this late in the day without a camp already secured was unwise. What Brandon said was true, she knew the area, so her chances were better if she stayed in Iowa for now at least until she found another ride.

Having people around was also a big plus, she was getting a little edgy by herself. She could keep herself company just fine but the constant looking over her shoulder was getting wearisome. If she'd had somebody to watch her back those creeps wouldn't have gotten so dangerously close. For now it seemed like tagging along was the best option. It also meant she had more time to catch up with Brandon.

"Sure. I'll take you up on that. Until I find my own set of wheels at least." she agreed.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Jen sighed and helped herself out of her seat. She was getting tired of watching Willow shove her foot inside of her mouth in front of everyone. It was obvious that even Emily was a little taken aback. And sure, she was the new girl, but Jen had seen just about enough.

"Yo, Willow. You really shouldn't be walking around like that for no reason." Jen interrupted with a hand on Willow's shoulder. "You're still pretty desanguinated after getting shot so many times. We know you're tough, but you should take every chance to rest that you can."

Jen wasn't completely lying, Willow still looked a little pale. It took Willow a few moments to figure out what Jen was going for here, but Willow's brown eyes widened a little as she realized what Jen was giving her; an excuse to hide her odd behaviors behind. And not only that, an excuse that wasn't exactly a lie either.

"... yeah, you're right." Willow shook her head and, thankfully, played along. "I got a little carried away, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jen 'helped' support Willow by the arm and walked her back to the van.

She then 'helped' Willow into the back seat of the van where she had been sitting before.

"Thank you." Willow whispered sheepishly as she took her seat and was out of earshot of everyone else.

"Don't worry about it, we'll talk later." Jen whispered back to her. "For now... just try and chill, okay?"

Willow awkwardly nodded her consent.

"Okay!" Jen announced somewhat boisterously as she came out of the car -- an effort to draw attention to herself and off Willow. "It's good to have you aboard, Emily. If you're a friend of Brandon's then that's good enough for me. Whether you wish to stay or leave though, I think we should worry about the more immediate concerns for now. And that is helping you get your supplies back."

Jen glanced across the bridge. Rotters were still shambling over, but it was hard to get a read on how many there were and how many, if any, were back at the truck still.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli sighed a little – he hoped it wasn’t visible. He had gotten the inevitable answer. He knew it was coming and he had less and less reason to be against it the longer they talked and the more they learned. Still, all the unknowns made him uncomfortable.

He glanced away from Emily, then back at the direction they came, before settling again on Brandon.

“Since we’re gonna do this, you got any ideas how, Brandon?” he asked. “You usually do.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Well Willow's plan is good. Give them a few moments to catch up and then head back for the truck, a couple of us watch our backs while we help Emily grab her stuff." Brandon declared.

There was a lot of shifting around as they made room for the new occupant. Emily took the middle seat in the back, being smaller than Brandon. The rotters were still a fair way off.

"So you're looking for somebody. Are you situated somewhere?" Emily asked.

"No. I mean we have people back in Michigan and New York, but we're leaving all that behind until we've done what we came to do." Brandon practically leapt to explain.

"New York? Jesus Christ. You're family are they back there?" she followed up.

"No." Brandon answered simply.

"I'm sorry. I suppose that's getting to be a really common story lately. You guys seem like you've been through it." she said sympathetically.

"Yeah. It's been an eventful trip." Brandon said gravely.

Emily didn't need to be given any details. The solemn tone of his voice and sudden shift in mood inside the van said everything. They lost people. Everyone had, it went without saying. The girl, Kelsey, she assumed her parent's gone. She would have supposed she was Annie's daughter, ormaybe somebody's little sister but the fact they said they were looking for her brother specifically said enough. Poor kid.

After a while the rotters finally seemed close enough that they could make their move. Eli drove the van in a wide u-turn and headed back over the bridge, racing past a procession of rotters. Up ahead it seemed a couple hadn't yet clued into the fact that there wasn't anyone on top of the truck. The van stopped and everyone except the kids filed out. Emily made her way to the back of the truck and opened the door for the others, while they dispatched the two stragglers. Brandon moved to the back of the van opened it up too. Before going to help thr others Brandon came over to Willow who stood with her Ruger in hand.

"Hey. Take it easy okay, just sit here a while. We'll be out of here before you ever need to fire that thing." he instructed like a nagging mother.

Inside the truck it was evident that Emily really had been living in there for a week. Clothes were hung up on a line along one of the walls, with a sleeping bag in the corner. A portable stove and pot sat next to a battery powered lamp. In the opposite corner to ths sleeping and living area were several bags with Iowa State Patrol patches on them.

"All the good stuff's in there. All the stuff I mentioned and what's left of the food." she said as she stuffed her drying clothes inside her sleeping bag and began rolling it up.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow smiled a little at Brandon's tone. The one thing about nagging was that people only nagged when they did care. It did make her feel a little better that he was still thinking of her despite this new development. The irrational near-panic she'd been feeling before faded a little bit. He really did make her feel better. She didn't want to lose that to either rotters or an old flame.

"I know, I know." Willow rolled her eyes coyly. "I'll be good and sit still this time, don't worry."

* * * * *

Jen poked the second recently deceased rotter with the tip of her baseball bat. Just like the previous one, there was no movement. There wouldn't be any surprises from these guys anymore. It seemed slightly unnecessary, given how good everyone here was with their head shots, but it never hurt to err on the side of caution. She was reminded of one of her friends; she thought she had gotten it in the brain after it fell to the ground. When she let her guard down, the thing seemingly came back to life and bit her right in the ankle. Jen had every right to be cautious around these things.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Just like Willow had said there was plenty of time to gather all of the supplies. Many hands made for light work. The weapons were in one bag, the ammo and vest in another. The radios, batons, flashlights and the last f her food in another. Emily took the fourth one, a hiking bag full of her personal effects and her sleeping bag. The greatest problem that faced them was arranging this and all of their other baggage in the back of the van. It was all done as Jen managed to find enough space to stow Emily's stove, pot and pan.

The rotters had made impressive time for dead people, they were just about two thirds of the way back when the van started up again. Eli maneuvered the van deftly past the few of them on their side of the road. If they had been capable of anger or annoyance they'd be feeling it right now.

"So. You say Kelsey's brother is attending in Iowa City? I take it you mean the University of Iowa, and not community college. You won't need any help finding the place unless you're hopeless, it takes up a decent chunk of the city. Damn hard to miss." she assured them as they left the bridge for the second time.

It occurred to her then they had gone very far out of their way to get there. All to find one person. They'd even brought children with them. The road couldn't have been the safest option, there were plenty of out of the way places where you couldn't find a single creep for miles. Why had they risked so much for one person?

"I dont mean to trivialize human life, or criticize. I'm definitely glad you're out here because I'd be up shit creek if you weren't. But this is a hell of a lot of trouble to go to for one person." she pointed out quietly.

"We're not doing this for one person." Brandon answered.

Emily took his meaning and left it at that. Again her gaze shifted to the little girl.

"What's the plan now though? Are we heading straight for Iowa City tonight or are we going to make camp outside city limits, try to avoid rotter central?" Brandon asked from the back.
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