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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,955 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | Jun 13 2015, 04:58 PM Post #1816 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Connor was tired, and had fallen asleep quickly. Annie wasn’t as fortunate. After a good 20 minutes of tossing and turning while thinking of Randall and Nolan and the long road to San Francisco, she had given up. After quietly leaving Connor to his rest, she wandered around the church a little and found an under-stocked library. It occurred to her that she choose a book that would teach her something. She looked around for a while for a ‘For Dummies’ or ‘How To’ book on farming, fishing, or hunting – skills which would be useful for a long time to come. After coming up empty-handed, she settled on a mystery novel set in Victorian England. She was only a few pages in when she saw a figure pass by the door. “Emily!” Annie called out after her, closing the book. Nobody had gotten a good chance to talk to the newcomer except for Brandon. When they found her, things were moving too fast. Now they had some time, Annie figured she should get a better lock on her. * * * After he cleared his plate from dinner, Eli took off again. He needed some time to himself. It had been denied to him earlier in the day. Rightly denied, he had grudgingly come to accept, but the desire was still there. He walked around for a few minutes and found his way into a small nursery. There were kids toys on the floor. A few miniscule tables and chairs meant for toddlers. A mural painted on the wall depicting a simple sunny day – a single tree with vivid green leaves, white puffy clouds, and cartoon birds flying through. The innocence of the room struck him in a way that even the corpse-filled high school from earlier couldn’t. Just two months ago, there were probably kids here every Sunday. Today, most if not all those kids were probably dead. Eli had to get out of there, so he did. He turned on his heel and left, and found an office further down the hall. There were no oppressive reminders of children, but there was a mirror on the wall. Eli was forced to take another look at himself and what he’d become. One thing he didn’t expect, but should have – he had softened up a little bit. He could tell. The definition of the muscles in his arms had dulled. He didn’t so much care about his looks. Two months ago, he would have, but his vanity had been an honest casualty of the apocalypse. This discovery bothered him for a different reason. It bothered him because he couldn’t afford to be soft. This world required him to be the opposite. This group did. He had put off working out for too long. He frowned deeply at himself in the mirror and decided to make up for it now. He lowered himself to his stomach, and immediately started doing some push-ups. |
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| Strompy | Jun 13 2015, 08:33 PM Post #1817 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Emily took a step back and peered through the doorway when she heard somebody call out to her. It was Annie. From what Brandon had told her she knew that she was a doctor and that Connor was her son. He also told her about Willow and how Annie had removed part of her lung to save her. It was really impressive, Emily had a lot of respect for her after hearing that. "Annie. How can I help you?" she greeted her. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 14 2015, 01:21 AM Post #1818 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Don’t think you can, at the moment,” Annie said, summoning a small smile so Emily knew to take her lightly. “Was just wondering if you had a second to talk? It’s been a crazy day, we haven’t really had the chance.” |
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| Strompy | Jun 14 2015, 02:14 AM Post #1819 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Sure, that'd be nice. I wasn't sure how welcome my conversation would be after the day you guys had had. Brandon told me lost two people before you guys pulled my ass out of the fire, I'm sorry to hear that." she began with a sympathetic smile. She entered the room and took a seat, briefly looking over some of the titles she could make out in the dim light. Lots of religious fiction and discourse, but that wasn't unexpected. She stretched herself out comfortably, now very relaxed after getting pleasantly stoned. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 14 2015, 02:23 AM Post #1820 |
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Is that so?
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Willow's lungs burning and her body quivered. Maybe going all out was a bit much for her, but she didn't regret it for a second. Not even the fact that it was in a church. If anything, that made it even kinkier to her. She needed the release; after the day they'd had, she wasn't sure she'd be getting any sleep tonight. Everything was just so heavy. Despite all of it, she held her arms tightly around Brandon, savoring the contact of their skin and feeling the beating of his heart through his chest. "I've been thinking about that myself." Willow admitted softly in response. "But I guess we just made the most sense. Annie was a good woman, but he didn't really know her. He wouldn't want to dump his daughter onto someone he just met. Not only would that not be fair to either of them, but if things got rough, it might force Annie into making a decision between Kelsey and Connor. I don't think he wanted that." She paused briefly, more to let what she was saying sink in than anything else. "And Eli? Randall and Eli were tight, that's for sure, and Eli is a good guy. He cares about all of us, especially Kelsey. But do you really think he is father material? He obviously has some commitment issues at the very least. Randall wanted Kelsey to be safe and cared for. He wanted someone that he not only trusted, but Kelsey trusted too. Someone that could care for her like a child, but still treat her like an adult." Willow just spoke her thoughts as she was able to organize them. "You helped train her how to use a gun and looked after her. You went out of your way to do things for her that you didn't need to. It helped me see you as more than just a cute face." She slid a finger along Brandon's jawline and gently nuzzled and kissed the nape of his neck. A part of her felt like it was a slightly inappropriate time to be showing affection, but another part thought there was never a bad time for that these days. "And I'll bet it helped Randall too." She continued after her break. "He saw it too. You're smart and strong but also caring and compassionate. I think he made the right call. Out of all the choices he had, you are without a doubt the best one to look after her. I just got thrown in as a freebie on account of the fact we're sleeping together, which is fine with me. At the end of the day, babe... you would make a pretty great dad." * * * * * It had been a day. Jen was exhausted. All she wanted not was a good place to sleep. She was thinking of looking to see if she could find any seats. Her old churches always had long pews that were great to sit on. Maybe not the best to sleep on, but definitely better than the floor. If she was lucky, this place had some pews in it too. Although, frankly, she knew nothing about the Mennonites. Maybe they didn't believe in pews. It was possible. She postponed her search as she walked by the front doors and found Kelsey. The little girl was curled in a ball, hiding in the shadows, crying softly to herself. Her first night without her dad. "Hey, Kels." Jen knelt over. "Where are Brandon and Wi-" Stupid question. Everybody knew where they were and what they were doing. "How would you like to spend the night with me instead?" Jen started sympathetically. "I promise I don't snore. I can tell you some secrets, it can be a real girl's night out." "No." Kelsey stated coldly without even looking up. Jen was taken aback. That was... not the answer she'd been expecting. Kelsey had almost looked like she was recovering before, but now she was closing herself up again. Pretty harshly this time. She knew not to take it personally. Kids under this much stress were rarely stable. She felt alone, so she wanted to be alone. "I don't think you really wanna be alone." Jen tried. "And you're not al-" "Go away." Kelsey cut her off. "You don't know what it feels like. I don't want your pity. Just... leave me alone for a while." Jen opened her mouth to continue. But no sound came out. Jen had lost her parents, yes, but she wasn't there for it. And when they were lost, she had friends. Though those friends were now gone, she had Flint after that. And now, these people. Kelsey had friends too, but she didn't want to let them help her. And Jen realized that they could not force themselves to help her. "Alright, Kels." Jen finally admitted defeat with a heavy heart. "If you change your mind, my invitation is still open. I'll be in the worship hall." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 14 2015, 02:28 AM Post #1821 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Thank you,” Annie said, nodding solemnly. “What Brandon said is true. It’s just all happened so fast, I don’t know if I’ve processed it. It’s crazy. Earlier this week, I was still taking a daily shower…” She trailed off. She wasn’t sure if that was news to Emily, or if Brandon had filled her in on that part too. She decided to just ask. “Did Brandon tell you about Flint?” |
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| Strompy | Jun 14 2015, 08:44 AM Post #1822 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"You're selling yourself short again. I think you had something to do with the decision. For the record I also think that you would be a good mom." he said stroking her freshly cut hair. She had a proven history of adaptability. She handled herself well in high stress situations. Brandon felt she could handle it. She would be scared but that was normal, it was a scary idea. Willow would meet the challenge though. His eyes and hands wandered her body appreciatively. He couldn't stop the image from coming to his mind of Willow next to him, her belly and breasts swollen, his child inside her. Thought sent a peculiar thrill through him and quickened his heart beat. It was an insane idea. Or it should have been. Convention told him everything about them was going too fast, but wanting children with somebody you just met was like going from their Mach one to Warp ten. As he turned it over in his mind he found it wasn't such an outrageous hope. He wanted them to go the distance, after all who goes into a relationship hoping for or expecting it to fail? Whatever this was that they had it felt real, and if it wasn't then he was afraid of what the real thing would feel like, because this was intense. He wanted a family. He also wanted Willow. It was only natural for him to want a family with Willow. He didn't want that right then, but even so it felt like he was getting ahead of himself, like this was all too soon. Didn't that feeling stem from society's conventions about relationships? Where because of the sheer number of potential mates he was encouraged to look around first, take it slow and be particular? If so he could reject all of that now for several reasons. Firstly, there weren't many people left. Secondly, even if there were he'd already found somebody he connected with. Thirdly, society didn't exist anymore. Fourth, those rules applied when you could go to the grocery store without a rifle, go on a date without keeping one eye open for cannibalistic dead people, or take a walk downtown with only a slight chance of having your throat ripped out. No. It was still an insane thought. He grinned and shook his head slightly, forcing the idea from his mind. Gently he rolled Willow onto her back again and hovered above her. He wanted to go again and the look on his face gave it away. "I want to stay up all night with you." he sighed. "It's getting late though. I've got second watch so I need to get some sleep, and I should go check on Kelsey. First night without either of her parents... it's a pretty big deal." he said ruefully as he pushed himself up onto his knees. He grudgingly collected his clothes and redressed. There was more bedding in the room with them, as well as Kelsey's bag, the idea being that she would stay in there with them tonight. She may even appreciate having a bed to herself for a change. He gave Willow another kiss as he made his way back outside to where he left Kelsey. She was a sight. Curled up and crying. "How's the thinking going? Getting pretty late now, and cold. There's a way more comfortable place to do this you know?" he said gently, sliding down the wall next to her. ... "Nothing too detailed. He told me you guys were set up really good. Walls and all, but that somebody turned traitor and you all got hit. Lost a lot of people, including one of their friends. Again, I'm sorry to hear it. I know what it's like to see your home come down around your head like that." Emily answered with a commiserating nod of her head. "Get used to your clothes sticking to you, and after a while you don't even notice your body odor. The greasy skin and hair though, that'll be the hardest. Showers. Hah. Hell of a thing giving all that up to come out here looking for this guy. I don't know if I'd have the strength to turn down hot showers after all this." she chuckled. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 14 2015, 12:33 PM Post #1823 |
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Is that so?
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Willow was terrified that Emily's reappearance would mean the end of their relationship. But it was still going strong with Brandon. Nothing had changed. Her fears may have been completely ill-placed and blown out of proportion. Brandon had been pretty close with Julie, and Willow never felt threatened there. But then again, Julie wasn't his childhood crush. But a lot could change in fifteen years. They had known each other long ago but they were still, in a way, strangers. Then again, two-ish weeks ago, she and Brandon had been nothing but strangers. A lot could change in so short a time now. People didn't have the luxury of spending lifetimes looking for someone. She considered herself lucky to find someone that could make her smile like this. Even as he was leaving, she was unable to bring herself to frown. He was leaving to get Kelsey; they both knew it was going to happen. And she was able to watch him get dressed, her eyes scanning his entire bare body appreciatively and with no degree of subtlety at all. It wasn't until after he left that she got up and dressed herself as well. "I'm still so restless." Willow quietly spoke to the empty room as she tied her scarf back around her neck. "Maybe I should go clear things up with Emily." She had wanted to formally apologize for being kind of a ditz when they first met. Jen had tried to salvage the situation by throwing out the blood loss argument, but Willow didn't feel right lying to her like that. If she was a friend of Brandon's, then she really should try to get to know her a little. And at least talk to her. Assuming she was even still awake. She grabbed one of the candles in the room brought it with her to the door, almost running into Antonio as she stepped out into the hall. "Whoa, sorry Father." The priest smiled slightly and raised a hand in front of him. "Think nothing of it." So far, Antonio had seemed like a pretty decent guy. After all, he was a priest. He was still dressed in his crusty cassock with his well trimmed mustache, goatee, and hair. In his right hand, he held a candle up for light and in his left, a Bible. "Hey, uhh... I'm sorry for being kind of in your face earlier." Willow apologized to him while he was here. "We were all kinda scared. You can never really trust people these days." "I understand. There are bad people in the world and you need to be cautious." "You've being surprisingly understanding of all this." She furled her brow. "It's kind of weird. I'm not used to that." "I was a counselor at a college filled with young people who didn't share my faith." Antonio smiled wryly. "I needed to be pretty good at understanding." Willow's lips curled into a genuinely amused smile. He was certainly not wrong. It was probably a pretty rough job. Before all of this happened, she would have been hesitant to talk to anyone who identified themselves as a religious counselor. Then again, she never went to college. Seriously, at least. But even if he was understanding, she didn't want him to know she just had earth-shattering sex inside his house of God. Pointing a gun at him was one thing; defiling the church -- and enjoying every second of it -- was another entirely. "You are an ordained priest, right?" Willow suddenly found herself asking. "I would think that is fairly obvious." Antonio replied with amusement. "So, you can do all the... ordained priest things... like confessionals... and marriages and stuff, right?" Antonio tilted his head at the young lady. "Yes, those are all within my power. Are you thinking of one of those, perhaps?" "Not necessarily." Willow defended herself quickly. "But, you know... in the future... maybe. Just a possibility." For the first time, Willow saw Antonio laugh genuinely. His lips curled into a genuine smile and he let out a light laugh from his chest. Willow shifted awkwardly. "I am sorry, I meant no offense." He said after a few seconds. "Young people are always amusing to me. And I mean that in the best way possible. But on that note, I must apologize; today has been a trying day and I am going to do some Bible study and go to sleep." Antonio bowed his head to her since his hands were full. "It has been a pleasure, Willow. I will see you tomorrow." "You too, Father. Thank you for letting us stay here." "It is nothing any true servant of God wouldn't do." Antonio told her as passed by her and continued down the hall. Welp, that was more awkward than I was planning on it being. Let's see if I can find Emily. * * * * * Brandon again? Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Kelsey wanted to be alone. It was a lot for her to process. The loss she had experienced felt more real now than ever. Before, she had a hope that, however small, her dad would come back. He would just crawl out of the wreckage and find them. Like he always had. But night had come. And with it, the realization that this time, dad wasn't coming back. Ever. "You're not my dad, why do you even care?" She finally asked him with a heavy sigh. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 14 2015, 01:00 PM Post #1824 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“I’m not positive I should have turned them down myself,” Annie admitted, candidly. “I’m pretty sure. But not positive.” The decision was made now, though. No sense doubting it. Annie forced another smile and moved on. “And thank you again, all that did happen,” she added. “The walls are still standing, however, despite it all. And I’d like to think the people there are stronger than ever, having survived that crucible. By the time we return, it might be a whole new community, so to speak.” She refocused again on Emily. For a moment there, she had been staring ahead at nothing in particular. “Have you given any thought to what you’ll do next?” she asked. |
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| Strompy | Jun 14 2015, 07:00 PM Post #1825 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"No I'm not. I'm Brandon. I'm your friend, and I care for a lot of reasons. I care because it wasn't very long ago that I was exactly where you are now. I also care because your dad saved my life and because he asked me personally to look out for you. Mostly I care about you because it's easy to." he explained patiently in an even tone. They weren't family, but as he considered what they had all been thrpugh together just in the last week he reached a conclusion. The way they lived now there was no difference between friends and family. What was a family but people who love you? What was love if not putting someone elses feelings and safety above your own? He could be making love to Willow at that moment but instead he was there with Kelsey, trying to get her to go to bed and help her in her grief. If it came down to it, he would put her safety ahead of anyone elses, and he'd give his own life for any of them. These people were his family now. ... "It's just been me on my own for a while now, never bothered to plan anything because it seemed too presumptuous given my chances. I only had a vague notion to leave Iowa, just hoping to find good people. After we're done saving Private Ryan I was thinking I might actually go back to what I was doing before, you know, hitting up police stations trying to find somebody still alive. After that though that town of yours sounds like about the best thing I've heard of in a long time. Might try for Flint." Emily said after a moment of consideration. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 14 2015, 09:31 PM Post #1826 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Annie nodded. It was as good a course of action as any. Of course, maybe if she knew where the rest of the group was going after, she might have a different plan. Going from police station to police station was a noble goal, but curing this virus was an even nobler one. Annie considered telling her about it. Eli had asked everyone not to, but that was before they knew she was a friend of Brandon’s. It seemed needlessly secretive at this point. “That sounds like a worthy goal,” Annie said, figuratively biting her tongue for the moment. “You know, it was a police officer that first brought me and my son to Flint. He’s… not around anymore. I’m sure the community there would welcome your help.” She paused for a second, still weighing the decision to confess about the cure or not. “So what made you want to get into law enforcement?” she asked instead. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 14 2015, 10:48 PM Post #1827 |
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Is that so?
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"I know." Kelsey sighed. "I know, I know." She was being needlessly aggressive. She knew it too, but it didn't make it any of this easier for her. She curled her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I like you and Willow too. And Eli. And Annie. And everyone." She told Brandon; her voice a little more steady after having some time to cool off. "It's just... mom told me to take care of dad while she was gone. Now they're both gone. I failed them both and now... I'll never see them again..." |
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| Strompy | Jun 15 2015, 04:11 AM Post #1828 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"How have you failed? You don't think you took care of your dad? Of course you did. He would have given up if you weren't here, I guarantee it. If you think you failed because he died, you're wrong. He chose to go back into that lab, to save us and save the cure so that there would be a world for you to live in. He's a hero. It's his victory, not your failure, don't take that away from him. You're trying to do the same thing with your mom too. She got bitten protecting you, and here you are, alive just like she wanted. Don't ever blame yourself for any of that." Brandon said, with a hint of alarm in his voice. She was blaming herself for what happened? How on earth could she have done anything? There were four other able bodied people down there with Randall and they were just as powerless to save him. He made his decision. He did it to save them, because that's just who he was, but he also did it to keep the cure safe. Brandon's conclusion about the cure and what it meant to people was that the cure itself only mattered to those who had nobody. For himself, and he imagine Randall too, the cure was only valuable in so far as it would save the people he loved. Only people who had no one cared about everyone. "As for not seeing them again I also think you're wrong. There are too many people saying good people go somewhere amazing when they die for all of them to be wrong. I think you will see them again. Not for a really long time though. First we're going to deliver this cure and you're going to grow up maybe have a bunch of kids and even more grandkids, then maybe even great-grandkids. You're going to be a very old woman before you see them again, but they can stand to wait for you." he said frankly. ... "Hah. Man, I always wanted to be a cop. Robocop was my shit as a kid. You know I really believed in the image of the good cop. Still do despite the bum rap we get. Other people aren't so discerning. Seen too many good ones to think otherwise, it's just that good cops don't make the news. Then some guy has a shitty week and gets rough with an uncooperative perp or panics and shoots some poor bastard, ends up in the news and all of a sudden we're all jackbooted thugs with complexes and racist ideologies. Not people nooo. Not just individual people who have the same potential to fuck up as everyone else." Emily said at first conversationallyand then frustratedly. She shook her head and gave Annie an apologetic look. "Sorry. Venting. I joined the Patrol for the same reason it was founded; took a look at road fatality statistics and didn't find them acceptable. I wondered how many of those people would still be alive if everyone just followed the god damned rules. I got in because I wanted to keep people safe. Then I'd give some shithead a speeding ticket because it's my fucking job and I'd get a snide remark about fascism or some shit. Some college age white boy who was high on the smell of his own farts full of righteous indignation at the death of a repeat armed robber in another city in another state at the hands of a cop who happened to be white or some other media circus case, talking to me like I'm the god damn devil because I was impeding his right to endanger other people and himself. What do I know about that though? I'm just a highway cop and he has an arts degree, of course he knows I'm part of the police conspiracy to enforce the one-percent's ethnocentric agenda. And being a woman? That opens up a whole new arsenal of asinine spitrful garbage. I've been called some awful stuff, and if I object to it then I'm just on my period or I'm being a hypersensitive victim complex lesbian feminazi." Emily said withmore amusement than frustration this time. She allowed herself a moment to smile and catch her breath. "Wheeew, Jesus. Haaa. So. A doctor huh? Brandon told me you took out half if Willow's lung in a marathon surgery in a makeshift operating room and didn't even get paid for it. Gotta say that's impressive as hell. What made you take up the stethoscope?" she asked. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jun 15 2015, 05:53 AM Post #1829 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Annie nodded along to Emily’s ranting, offering her an even smile the few times she met her gaze. Internally, however, Annie made a decision to stick to her promise to Eli. Emily seemed nice enough, and her words were understandable and even sympathetic, but there were some red flags there. She always wanted to be in law enforcement because of RoboCop, for example. And police brutality was apparently an unavoidable by-product of police work? The uniform – and the professionalism she displayed earlier that day – made it too easy to forget that Emily was still a young woman. “Well thank you,” Annie said, for what must have been the third or fourth time in the conversation. “That was an intense night. The first of many.” She inhaled a little as she considered Emily’s question. She probably should have seen it coming. “Similar story, actually, except my shit was MASH,” she said, then paused for a second. “I’m kidding… mostly. Really, it was my family. From all angles. My father was a doctor, my mother had some medical problems. So did my younger sister. I spent a lot of time in hospitals growing up. I suppose that might have driven a lot of people away, but I don’t know, it had the opposite effect on me. I liked the idea of making people better.” For better or worse, she thought to herself. That was what drew her to Chase, after all. He was a man who needed a lot of help, in a lot of different ways – including medical ones. He was actually one of her first patients as an intern. She realized she had gone silent for a moment, and then quickly spoke up again. “Still do,” she said, echoing Emily. “Despite the bum rap. And believe me, doctors used to get that too. Though, I must admit, that’s less an issue in recent days.” She cracked another small smile. “You know,” she said. “There are… different issues, now.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jun 15 2015, 12:08 PM Post #1830 |
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Is that so?
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Kelsey cringed at the mention of her mother dying for her. She hadn't actually known when mom got bitten. She knew it had happened sometime during the attack at Mount Kisco. But bitten saving her? She felt a stab of pain in her heart; that knowledge made everything worse. It really was her fault that mom died. Is that what mom and dad had been trying to hide from her? She tried not to dwell on that new and painful revelation and instead tried to take Brandon's words at face value. They didn't make her feel much better, but she did appreciate the effort. "It's hard... trying to get close to people." She buried her face in her knees. "Dad and Glenda and Julie... who dies next? I don't want to get attached to people so I can watch them die anymore. It hurts too much. What if Nolan is dead? What if Willow dies? What if you die? Then what do I do?" Her voice was strained even just mentioning the possibilities. It would be hard for anyone to argue that she wasn't already attached to everyone. And that was what was really scaring her right now. |
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7:29 PM Jul 10