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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,943 Views) | |
| Strompy | Jul 5 2015, 12:04 AM Post #1996 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"You remember what happened last time we smelled something burning. Just because there's no smoke doesn't mean there's no fire. Stay on your toes." Brandon said in reference to their first encounter with hostiles. He gave himself a mental kickfor bringing it up. Neither Eli or Emmett needed a reminder of what happened. He grabbed his carbine and gave Willow a kiss and a gentle nudge. "Wake up, babe. Something's burning." he paradoxically whispered. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jul 5 2015, 12:38 AM Post #1997 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Good point,” Eli responded to Brandon as the van rolled to a stop on the side of the road. He hopped out of the driver’s seat to get a better look at their surroundings. There was nothing to see, really. Just flat field for miles. Currently, there wasn’t even a rotter in sight. “If someone’s hiding out there, they’re doin’ a stellar job,” he said, mostly to himself. He frowned. If it wasn’t actually a fire, what could he be smelling? He turned to Jen, who had filed out of the passenger’s seat. Her expression was blank. She clearly had no idea. So he kept looking. Emmett was the last out of the van, having been positioned in the very back row. When he was on his feet again, he met Eli’s frown with one of his own. “We should check the oil,” he said seriously. Eli nodded. “I’ll pop the hood.” He leaned back into the front seat to do that. His fingers felt around for the lever. He found two. After accidentally opening the trunk, he got the hood unlocked. Emmett was waiting nearby to open it and prop it up. Eli watched him work. He removed a dipstick from the engine, wiped it down, then replaced it. A moment later he removed it again. His frown deepened at the results. “We’re low,” he reported. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jul 5 2015, 01:01 AM Post #1998 |
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Is that so?
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Antonio brought his truck to a stop behind the van and jumped out to see what was going on. Emmett was fiddling under the trunk under the supervision of Eli; Jen, Brandon, and a visibly drowsy Willow were meandering nearby as well. He was within earshot when Emmett announced his findings. "The oil levels were fine when we left." Antonio furled his brow and ran a hand through his beard. "I am sure of it. I double checked it just to be sure." "So, that means we have an oil leak, right?" Jen was the first to ask. He felt a tinge of pride in her. She remembered. He had gone over the basics of oil levels with her earlier. Of course, it was also a fairly easy deduction to make and his lessons probably had nothing to do with it. If the oil was there, and then it was not there a few hours later, the train of thought would be the same no matter how much experience you had with a car. "That's the most likely problem. It's a problem that is easier to figure out than to fix." Antonio inhaled sharply. "We may need to find a place to set up camp for the night a little early. Without digging around a little bit, I can't say for sure how where the leak is or how long it will take to fix. Or if I even could fix it with the supplies I have." |
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| Strompy | Jul 5 2015, 01:57 AM Post #1999 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Might have happened when we went up on that curb back in Des Moines. That was kinda rough and the van isn't exactly an off-roader, could've shaken something loose." Brandon suggested. Their terrible luck with cars continued. Cars and bridges seemed to be their two major sources of complications. "Maybe we should find some bicycles." he laughed as he kept a wary eye out for trouble. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jul 5 2015, 04:05 AM Post #2000 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli frowned once again at Antonio’s report. He’d been doing that so often it was almost second nature at this point. The muscles in his face fell into their positions all too easily, and Brandon’s joke was not enough to move them. He looked up at the sun. It was still high in the sky, having only just started to sink into the west. He hated to waste it. But he would hate breaking down in the middle of the road more. “Fine,” he conceded. “Let’s get off the highway, though. See if we can get far enough away that we don’t cross paths with any unfriendly travellers.” With his fingers, he gestured to Emmett to close the hood, and gestured for everyone else to get back in their respective cars. After some prompting, everyone took the hint. “Where are we going now?” he heard Connor ask as he followed his mom back into the truck, after only briefly stretching his legs. “Looks like we’re going camping,” Annie replied. * * * The interstate highway between Omaha and Lincoln was at ground level, and the ground was flat. It made veering off-road and into the miles of empty yellow grassland easy. Their progress was eventually cut short by a tributary, but they were able to follow it far enough north that Eli was satisfied they wouldn’t be an easy target for roving highwaymen. The entire ride, the burning smell in the van had not abated. Eli was glad when he was able to pull over for good. Hopefully Antonio would be able to take it from here. “We’ll make camp here, by the river – or whatever this is,” Eli announced when everyone had exited their vehicles. “If you were paying attention to the signs, you’ll know some town called Waverly is about 10 miles south, so we might get the occasional rotter wandering this way. They don’t concern me nearly so much as people, however. That’s why I want two of us on watch at all times. We’ll work out the schedule in a bit.” That was the conclusion of his brief announcement. Right now, he was eager to convene with Antonio. The sooner the good father figured out what they were dealing with here, the better. “You think to bring a jack and stands, padre?” Eli asked, after making a bee-line for him. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jul 5 2015, 05:39 AM Post #2001 |
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Is that so?
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Antonio had taken to washing his hands and face off in the tributary. Depending on how bad the leak was, it might be his last chance to clean up for a while. And no matter what, he definitely would need to again after he finished. And maybe a shave too. "-and then just set them over by the van for me, that would be a great help." "And where are the spare tire kits?" Jen looked at him quizzically. "I know in cars they're in the trunk, but we got a van and a truck here." "The van actually has it right on the back while the truck will have it on the underside of the bed." "Okay, cool." Jen thanked him briefly as she took off. She was a total novice. Antonio had learned that she knew a little bit about maintenance and such from her grandfather who worked on a lot of motorcycles. She had been required to learn a little bit about them in order to ride one. While there was a lot of overlap on the basic mechanics, cars were a different beast from motorcycles. Still, the background had helped, she was learning quick. And, perhaps more importantly, she wanted to learn about this stuff. Antonio had not asked for her help with the oil leak, she came up and offered it to him this time as well. He was glad his improvised lessons had not yet scared her off. As Jen left, she was replaced by Eli. And Eli was asking the exact question that Antonio had just finished solving. At least they were on the same wavelength on this one. Admittedly, it was the first problem anyone would have to solve in this case. He would be really restricted in his options if he couldn't get under the van to get a better look at everything. "Honestly, I only have a few basic tools." Antonio admitted with a frown. Raiding mechanics for tool and equipment seemed like a waste at the time. If a car was beat up enough that it needed that kind of maintenance in the city, that meant it was time to look for another car. But out here, that was not always an option. They had to make due with what they had. Antonio glanced up at Eli and rose to a standing position; "If I use the jacks and stands from the spare tire kits, I can make due though. It won't be pretty, but it will work. I already have Jen getting them ready for me." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jul 5 2015, 06:18 AM Post #2002 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli looked up once again at the sun, shielding his eyes with the back of his hand. He hoped Antonio could get done whatever needed doing while there was still natural light to go around. He wasn’t big on the idea of making too much noise in the dark. “Okay, well let me know,” he said. “Whatever I can do to help. I’m sure that goes for everybody.” He left the priest with that, then headed back for his bag. This was a good opportunity to take care of other stuff – maybe he could clean his weapons, even. He’d need Brandon to walk him through it. * * * Connor hadn’t bothered to exit the truck, and Annie hadn’t forced him to. She wondered if his melancholy had anything to do with Kelsey. Maybe he valued having another kid around more than he let on – even if he didn’t like to think of himself as a kid. Annie resolved to investigate later, hopefully when they could have privacy. In the meantime, she made her way over to Brandon and Willow. From what little she had gathered, Brandon came from a survivalist family, and his insight would probably be useful, especially out here in the relative wild. “Hey Brandon,” she said, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jackets. “It’s probably going to get cold out here tonight. It’s kind of already starting to. You think it would be okay to build a fire?” |
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| Strompy | Jul 5 2015, 10:29 AM Post #2003 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Pity we don't have any tackle. Perfect chance for some fishing." Brandon observed looking out at the water. He always hated fishing, but his dad loved it so he did plenty of it as a kid. He stopped going with him when he was thirteen. Now that his dad was gone he wished he had kept going. Time spent doing something you hate with somebody you love was still a good time. Annie got his attention and thankfully saved him from a painful line of thought. "So long as we keep it small and only use really dry stuff it should be fine." Brandon answered. There was always a concern with lighting fires. Build it too big or use fuel that smokes too much and you could draw some very unwelcome attention. Rotters were the main concern but the threat of being found by hostile survivors (who were only slightly more intelligent than rittees if they were looking for this group in his opinion) was a more worrisome thing. He knew how to hide his fires though and how to mitigate some of that smoke, which was also a health and comfort issue. This would be something very good to teach Kelsey... who was going to Flint now where she wouldn't need to know it. Everyone else would still benefit just as much though. Brandon looked over at the truck where Connor still sat. "Yeah, a hot lunch would warm us up plenty. There's actually something I want to show everyone if they're up for it. Invaluable stuff. It's called the Dakota fire pit and it's a way to stay incognito." Brandon said for everyone to hear, though it was mostly for Connor's ears. He hadn't taken as readily to any of this stuff as Kelsey had. If Brandon knew teenage boys, and he had plenty of reason to think he did, Connor might be feeling a little resentful about the whole situation. He had plenty of reason to be. He'd lost his dad and his mom had taken him away from the security and comfort of Flint and into dangerous situations, where he had come fairly close to dying. Brandon hoped Connor at least appreciated that it was his mother's thinking that had saved his and several other lives from that danger. Brandon also hoped he would come to realise it wasn't all bad outside. There was freedom there, and beauty, and if he learned the things Brandon and the other's could teach he might not just survive out there but flourish. They could all be theones who lived through this. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jul 5 2015, 07:13 PM Post #2004 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Great!” Annie said, genuinely enthused. She waved at her son. “Connor, honey, we need you over here. Brandon’s going to show us something.” This was exactly the kind of thing she and him needed to learn while they were out here – the kind of tool that would be useful for years, even if they successfully hand off the cure in San Francisco. She was glad Brandon had stuck around to teach it. He must have been at least little tempted to stay or return to Flint with Willow and Kelsey at various points. After Randall’s death, especially. |
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| Strompy | Jul 5 2015, 08:37 PM Post #2005 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Hey, Willow. Can I borrow your knife for a moment? The kukri isn't ideal for this." It would be a lot faster doing this with a spade of some kind, but in a pinch anything would do, even something as simple as a stick and your bare hands. Brandon cleared a patch of earth and got down on his knees. "Okay. What I'm going to do is dig a hole for the fire, and then dig out a ventilation hole to the side of it. This'll let the fire breath but also the walls of the hole will attract the heat and smoke from the fire so the smoke won't follow you around like it does with more open fires. Obviously because the fire is in a hole, nobody is going to see it from a distance, even at night. This does also mean less ambient heat to keep us warm but we'll be fine with some hot food and water in us. I think we may even have some tea bags..." Brandon started as he used the knife to dig the outline of the pit. Connor didn't seem to like knives. Or guns. Brandon loved both almost equally, but then Connor's experience of them so far had been entirely negative. "I know knives aren't really your thing, but the important thing about them is that they're not just weapons. They're tools. Probably the most important thing humans have ever invented they have so many uses. I think everyone can get behind that." he commented as he dug out the hole. It was fairly slow going without a proper entrenching tool but the large blade did admirably as a replacement. A few minutes later he had dug out enough earth to make a modest but useful fire and used that displaced earth to further raise the walls of the pit. He then began digging a second smaller hole at an angle toward the pit eventually connecting with it. He stood up again and gave the pit a nod of approval. "There we go. Stealthy fire pit. Once we're done with it we can just collapse the hole and cover thesite with leaf litter like we were never even here. Well, to anyone who isn't a tracker that is. Now we just need fuel so let's go do that." he said as he cleaned the knife off and handed it back. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jul 5 2015, 09:09 PM Post #2006 |
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Is that so?
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Willow accepted her blade back, sheathed it, and then looked over the hole that Brandon had dug. "So... putting a hole like that helps mask smoke or something?" She was speaking more to herself than she was to anyone else. The concept was pretty crazy. She understood keeping the light hidden and the hole on the side giving the fire air to breathe with, that was easy, but the smoke had to go somewhere, right? So how did the hole hide smoke? Was the fire just too small to give out much smoke? She was having a difficult time wrapping her head around how it really worked, but it would probably make more sense once she saw it in action. "I don't get it, but it's pretty neat!" |
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| Strompy | Jul 5 2015, 09:42 PM Post #2007 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"There's gonna be smoke, but it'll be minimal if we don't build the fire too big and use the right fuel, no leaves or moss. Just dry dry wood. I've built the pit under a tree to disperse the smoke." Brandon conceded. This was... fun. He hadn't been camping in a long time. It felt like home. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Jul 5 2015, 10:27 PM Post #2008 |
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Is that so?
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"Haaaah!" Willow let out something between a laugh and a loud sigh and shot Brandon a lop-sided smile. "I was kinda right. Just overthinking it." Willow took a seat by Brandon's little fire pit. Sure, it was still the middle of the day. And there was no fire or anything. And there was the constant threat of rotters and highwaymen... but it felt like a camping trip. Or at least what she imagined a camping trip would be like. Antonio and Jen were working on using the jacks to lift up the van. Brandon was showing her, Annie, and Connor how to make a fire pit and luring them in with promises of warm tea. Eli and Emmett were nearby as well. If this wasn't the end of the world, it would have been nice. And even if it was, she still wanted to enjoy it. It might be the last time she got to. I wish Kelsey was here, too. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Jul 6 2015, 12:36 AM Post #2009 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Cool,” Connor said, in a voice just slightly more animated than a monotone. Even Annie, as well as she knew him, wasn’t sure if he meant it or not. Either way, he looked up at Brandon after he was done talking with Willow and she had taken a seat. “So now we just to bring some… dry wood?” he asked. "Where do we get that?" |
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| Strompy | Jul 6 2015, 02:23 AM Post #2010 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Wherever you find trees. I spotted a dead one on the way here, just a little way back. That'll burn just fine. Wanna come stretch your legs a little?" Brandon asked hopefully. He got the feeling Connor might want a little space. Genuine space. Since they left he hadn't really been seperate from his mom much and teens needed some room to grow, there'd be precious little of that out on the road. It'd also be good to talk to him one on one, the two of them hadn't spoken much. |
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7:29 PM Jul 10