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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,963 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | Jun 2 2015, 02:13 PM Post #1696 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli was feeling a bit better after their success recovering Emily’s supplies. On the ride back, his most pressing concern had shifted from her to the car, since carrying this much weight couldn’t have been good for it. When Brandon asked his question, though, his concern shifted once again. “It’s a good question,” he said. “Emily, I’m assuming you know the city – what are we lookin’ at there?” |
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| Strompy | Jun 2 2015, 07:40 PM Post #1697 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"If the search is starting at the University we just keep on following the I-80 until you get to 1st avenue then turn left. That'll take you right to it. Pretty easy in theory. Iowa City was home to over sixty-thousand people though. When this all began the police and a small National Guard presence were attempting to set up a protected refugee centre at Kinnick Stadium. Communication from them stopped not long after so I'm assuming that went as well as anywhere else. If you're going to stop outside Iowa City, there's a town called West Branch not far from it, small place. Take exit 254 to get there." she informed Eli of some options. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 2 2015, 09:27 PM Post #1698 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli glanced upwards at the sun, hanging there in the sky. It looked like they had some time before it fell. He weighed the options Emily had presented. “We still got the light, so I say we keep moving,” he decided after a few seconds. “Especially if it’s as close as you say.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 2 2015, 09:49 PM Post #1699 |
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Is that so?
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While everyone else was packing, Willow had taken the time to cool down a little. She was already feeling a little more stable and rational after that unexpected surprise. Jen was right; it was time to focus on the here and the now. Losing sight of that was deadly and Willow was already ashamed of her behavior earlier. All she could do about it now was suck it up and keep on surviving. Willow looked up at the sky as the conversation changed to their timeline. It was already past midday and the days were getting visibly shorter as winter approached. Still, they had another couple of hours before finding a place to hunker down started to become a legitimate concern. Sixty thousand was a large number of rotters, but it also meant there was a large number of places to hunker down at. "I can get behind that." Willow agreed. "It doesn't leave a lot of time for the search, but I'd feel better at least getting a little done before we lose daylight." |
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| Strompy | Jun 2 2015, 11:12 PM Post #1700 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"It'll give us a chance to briefly check the place out. If there are survivors they'll be keeping a low profile so we probably won't find anyone today at least. We can at least find a good spot to start the search in earnest tomorrow though. We should keep going." Brandon reasoned out loud. He doubted anyone would have any strong objections to doing everything they could that day. They were all still driven hard by their recent losses. A chance to take something, someone, back from this situation was too important to put off. Brandon didn't let the silence persist long though as he turned to face Emily again. "So what happened with you after you left Patterson?" he asked. As their troop carried on down the interstate the drive was marked by a near constant low murmur from the back as Emily and Brandon brought each other up to speedon each other's lives since they parted ways. Occasionally a soft laugh punctuated the quiet conversation as they reminisced about their years together in elementary school. Emily explained how her parents divorced about a year after they moved to Des Moines, how she wanted to move back to Patterson but her mother had already gotten a job that kept them there. How track and field kept her sane through high school. Brandon was impressed by her focus. She'd made her mind up about becoming a cop and smashed her training. She had a bright future in law enforcement before all of this. Now there was no law, there were no cops. The rest of the drive was mercifully free of incident and easy going. Any rotters or abandoned vehicles they came across were easily avoided. Just like Emily had said they soon came up to 1stavenue. The van slowed and made the turn. It was a moment of breathless apprehension as they did, like the moments just before plunging into freezing water. Bad things tended to happen in the cities. Brandon prayed someyhing good would come of it this time. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 3 2015, 12:32 AM Post #1701 |
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Is that so?
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As they turned southbound onto 1st Avenue, the first thing Willow noticed was how open it felt. They were getting into the flat plains that made up the central United States, but for some reason she expected a college town and a city of sixty thousand to look more urban. It felt more like they were driving through an old ghost town. To their left was the tallest building Willow could see, a hospital that read 'University of Iowa Healthcare'. A few of the windows were broken -- likely from looting -- but it seemed mostly intact. To their right was what looked like an open field with a truck stop station just behind it. A few rotters meandered around both buildings. A solemn reminder that Iowa City had fallen just like everywhere else. "Least we're in the right place." Willow commented halfheartedly. They came here to find Kelsey's big brother. But what were the odds of him even being alive still? She didn't disagree with looking, Kelsey needed something like this now more than ever. But the initial prospects looked about as good as she suspected they would be. Further down, street lights hung over the road like arches leading them toward the brightly colored buildings down the street. Gas stations and restaurants from what Willow could tell. What bothered her more was what was under those arches at the intersection just ahead of them. A multi car crash of at least six vehicles and one overturned public bus. Some of the cars were flipped over and others were crushed or sandwiched between others. Around the wreckage, a thin herd of rotters loitered meaninglessly, but a few of the closer ones had noticed the approaching van and started making their way towards it. |
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| Strompy | Jun 3 2015, 01:54 AM Post #1702 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Huh. Well that didn't take long. How are we dealing with this? Do we get out on foot and start cleaning up or do we look for another way around?" Brandon asked as he leaned over to get a better look atvwhat they had before them. The blockage made him nervous. Last time they stopped to clear an obstruction Mac took a bullet to the head, he got shot, Julie broke her arm and everyone suffered cuts and bruises when they lost the SUV and most of their supplies with it. He made a point a keeping an eye on the hospital, the most apparent vantage point. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 3 2015, 02:18 AM Post #1703 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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"We’re going around,” Eli said, staring forward. The idea of getting out of the car unnerved him, likely for the same reasons it unnerved everyone else. Fortunately, they were on a city street and not a cramped overpass or in the funnel of a border checkpoint. He turned the wheel, and rode the bump as the minivan went off the road and onto the sidewalk. He cringed when he heard the bottom the vehicle – which was riding low due to the weight – drag across the ground for a moment. The sound was unpleasant, but it only lasted until the other wheels were up and over as well. He let out a breath as he started maneuvering the car around. He kept a close eye on the nearing rotters as he did. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 3 2015, 03:38 AM Post #1704 |
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Is that so?
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The rotters walked towards the van as it circumvented the car accident that had clustered the intersection, but even when they were off road the rotters were unable to catch up to them. Jen cringed at the futility of their efforts. "Thank God we didn't need to get tangled up in that." She stated with no small degree of relief. She sympathized with the mindset of the others. No needless engagements. It was how they had lost Julie after all. A part of her was ashamed that there was nothing they could do; these were all people at some point and killing them seemed like the most humane thing one could do. Nobody would want to turn into one of these things. But even if they spent the rest of their lives killing them, they would never be able to put everyone to rest. This cure was the best hope for both the living and the dead. She had to remind herself of that point fairly often. "So do we just keep going down First Avenue here?" Willow asked from the back as the van finally finished going around the crash and got its wheels back on First Avenue, leaving the wreckage behind them. "I guess so. That's what the sign said, isn't it?" Jen shrugged. "Last thing we need is to get lost now." Willow sighed. Jen wasn't comfortable with the lack of confidence, but nobody really had a map of Iowa City, so they were just going in blind and hoping for the best. For a while, it was quiet again. The homely streets were inhabited by the occasional car and the occasional rotter, but nothing more. It felt like any other small town; there were restaurants and other small stores, but almost no references to the college that gave the city its population. The reason it was even on the map. Not until they rounded a corner and hit the otherwise empty crossroads of First and Second did they see the first sign of something. A large, hastily constructed banner was hanging from the street lights with an arrow pointing left down Second Street. KINNICK STADIUM EMERGENCY REFUGEE CAMP Infected and bitten will be shot on sight! No exceptions! "Guess the National Guard wasn't fucking around by the time this camp went up." Willow commented. BANG! Before anyone could say anything more, everyone in the car fell into silence as a sound echoed from the direction the arrow had been pointing; down Second Avenue. The distant, albeit very familiar, sound of a gun. |
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| Strompy | Jun 3 2015, 04:29 AM Post #1705 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon's C8 was in his hands straight away. Gunfire was never a good sign. From the three firefights he'd been in he could tell the difference between the sound of shot taken in their direction and one that wasn't. Whether it was or not didn't change the fact that it meant trouble. Rotter trouble, human trouble or both. "Emily, take the Winchester." he said only to find she'd already grabbed it. "Could be friendlies..." Brandon suggested skeptically. "Could be a lead on your guy." Emily added. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 3 2015, 04:54 AM Post #1706 |
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Is that so?
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"Could be..." Jen hesitantly agreed with Brandon. Willow's heart had skipped a beat. She had been in her fair share of firefights by this point; but she never thought she would get over the feeling of the initial shot. It always sent a cold chill down her spine. It was the first sign of her body unconsciously preparing itself for a fight. BANG! "It sounds like just one gun." Willow observed out loud, tightening her grip on her Ruger. In the past, organized attacks always had a barrage of gunfire against them. This was the sound of a single gun being fired intermittently. A high caliber revolver? A shotgun? She couldn't tell. It didn't mean that there was only one person; all it meant for sure was that whoever (or whatever) was being shot at, it wasn't firing back. Willow wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse about this. She wanted to say better, but there were too many unknowns to piece together without more information. BANG! "Whatever it is..." Jen pointed to a rotter on the opposite side of the intersection that was limping slowly in the direction of the sound. "It's attracting some attention. If you guys think it could be a lead, we might be on a timer." |
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| Strompy | Jun 3 2015, 08:49 AM Post #1707 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"We need to jump on this now. I don't want to risk us getting caught with our pants down. If we come under fire we need to be able to shoot back. Our experienced and able bodied get out and proceed on foot. Load up these other guns and we head in with long arms and our secondaries. Emmett, you're awesome with that MAC-10 but it won't help at range so take Willow's Ruger. That's two assault rifles and two sniper rifles. Annie, the kids, Jen and Willow keep a radio with them and bring up the van behind us incase we need to bail fast." Brandon said not really waiting for an okay from the others before he started reaching into the back to grab the ammo and weapons they'd be taking in this scenario. He placed the ammo bag on his lap and the weapon bag on Emily's. There were magazines inside too. Three mags for the M&P 15, and three magazines for each of the M&P .40s, with Emily oly having the one full magazine on her, and one empty spare. "You guys start loading these magazines please. They take thirty of these." he said passing the STANAG magazines and 5.56 ammunition forward to Jen, Annie and the kids. "Is he normally like this?" Emily whispered the question to Willow. "Willow, load this shotgun." Brandon said passing the Remington and rounds across to her, before turning his attention to the pistol magazines. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 3 2015, 12:29 PM Post #1708 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded at Brandon’s plan – it seemed sound enough, and he and Willow were right to think they needed to hurry. Behind him, Connor looked lost when presented with the ammo. Annie also hesitated, but a moment later her hands started moving anyway, figuring it out as she went along. As they went about that, Eli unclipped his radio from his belt and handed it to Willow. Then he reached down between his and Emmett’s seat and retrieved his assault rifle. He had resolved to keep it there from now on. In the past, getting it from the trunk in a time of crises had been a very frustrating and dangerous inconvenience. When it was in his hands, he ejected the magazine and passed it to Annie. “It’ll take the 5.56’s,” he said, even if he was only pretty sure about that. Annie gave him a nod back – she now wore the poised and self-assured expression she had back in Flint, when they first met her. Eli didn’t think she was feeling so confident as that, but he appreciated her ability to fake it. Eli then got out of the car, about the same time as Emmett did. They both stared forward in the direction the rotter was heading. “Whoever this trigger-happy guy is, I’d like to see him ‘fore he sees us,” Eli said. “Could be a girl,” Emmett said softly. Eli gave him a sidelong glance. “Before she sees us, then,” he said. “Where can we can get a good vantage point?” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 3 2015, 02:31 PM Post #1709 |
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Is that so?
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Willow was a little overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of requests and gifts that had been thrown her way, but she quickly placed the radio to the side and started loading the Remington at Brandon's request. It was time for her to focus on the mission at hand and turn on her inner badass. Even if she wasn't going on the away team -- which was probably for the best -- she still had a job to carry out. BANG "We've... had a lot of losses the past couple of days. Including..." Willow somberly glanced and tilted her head towards Kelsey; nobody had brought that up directly and she was going to find out sooner or later. "We're all a little high strung right now. Sorry if that's off-putting." She shot Emily a sympathetic smile. Worrying about this woman didn't do anyone any good. All she could do was be friendly and hope that it all worked out for the best. BANG Willow finished loading the shotgun and handed it back over to Brandon. Then she grabbed the radio and wormed her way through the car and towards the drivers seat. * * * * * "I don't think you'll be able to." Jen told Eli from the car as Willow brushed by her. This time, the pink-haired woman got out of the van without falling and jumped into the driver's seat with no problems. "I was thinking about that earlier. This place is flatter than Keira Knightly. Only shot you'd have is one of the buildings." Jen placed one of the STANAG mags she had finished loading on her lap before picking up another one. "But we'd probably need to get pretty close before we'd even be able to see him over these short buildings." BANG "Or her." Jen added for Emmett. |
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| Strompy | Jun 3 2015, 08:16 PM Post #1710 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Annie, get your gun." Brandon said passing the shotgun her with a guilty smirk. He trusted that she could figure out to load and fire it if she needed to. Again he squeezed past Jen to get out and Emily followed. Emily tapped her foot anxiously as the others made their preparations. She made her way to the front where Eli and Emmett stood. "So. You guys do this sort of thing a lot?" she asked conversationally, staring down the road as her heart already started to beat faster. Brandon collected a spare magazine for himself and Eli and made his way to the driver's side window. He tapped the glass and motioned for Willow to roll down the window. Once she complied he leaned in and kissed her. He didn't like to admit it even to himself, but these situations gave him a rush that he enjoyed more than he should. Perhaps it was just that all those years of weekends spent shooting, hunting, sparring in almost militaristic training were finally being put to use. Whatever the reason was it got him worked up and there were only so many things to do with that kind of energy. If this didn't come to a fight he'd be wound up for the rest of the day, he'd need some kind of release. "Let's go." he said, joining the others and tossing one of the magazines to Eli. |
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7:29 PM Jul 10