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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,920 Views) | |
| Strompy | Aug 9 2015, 10:13 AM Post #2341 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Peanut butter and rice. This dish have a name?" Brandon asked as he looked in on what Emily was making. He had just boiled more water and was making more coffee for the others. "Peanut Butter Rice." Emily answered flatly. "Where do they get these names from?" he pondered. He made his way to the table and placed the cups in front of Annie and Jimmy. There was a carton of UHT milk as well as a jar of brown sugar already out for everyone. "Good morning." Brandon greeted them both genuinely but with a sober note. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 9 2015, 04:48 PM Post #2342 |
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Is that so?
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Space at the table was starting to run low, so Jen instead made her way over to the couch, where Willow was sitting with Kelsey. In her hand, she had a bag of chips she had found crammed in the back of the pantry -- not the most nutritious breakfast, but she didn't particularly care right now either. She'd had a great time last night. She finally understood what the big deal with intimacy was all about and why Brandon and Willow were always on top of each other. But then Nolan went and blew a fucking gasket the next morning and shut her out completely. That sort of bullshit was that? This was probably why a lot of people stayed single, so they wouldn't have to deal with someone else's bullshit like that. Weren't the rotters problem enough? "Jen, you're scowling." Willow said to her quietly. "That's weird." Kelsey added in. Jen sighed and stuffed another potato chip in her mouth; "Yeah, well... rough night. And I smoked so much pot with Emily last night that these munchies are fucking killing me." "That's a bad word..." Kelsey chided. "Jesus, Jen, how much did you smoke?" "I dunno... how much is in a brick? Split three ways?" "It's enough. Even if it's shitty weed." Willow informed her. "I wouldn't even know the difference." Then again, she had kind of taken advantage of the fact they were both high. And she had blatantly disrespected his wishes. She may have been blazed, but she was fully aware of both of those facts even at the time. It was kind of a shitty thing for her to do. Shitty and selfish. At the time, it had been pretty easy for her to justify since he had gone along with it. But with a clearer head and a fuller stomach, she was starting to realize that maybe he had a good reason to be mad at her. After he was upfront and honest with her, she went and pulled a stunt like this. Gradually, her anger was replaced with a sense of regret. I fucked up. I need to apologize to him, don't I? But I can't just apologize. I need to do something to prove I actually mean it. But what? "Ladies." Antonio extended two mugs of coffee to Jen and Willow. "Thank you." Willow accepted the mug of coffee. Jen wordlessly accepted the cup extended to her, but managed a somber nod of appreciation to thank Antonio. He smiled and nodded back to her before heading back to the kitchen. Without thinking, Jen took a sip and her face instantly contorted into a look of disgust. But she forced the bitter liquid down her throat regardless. "Not a coffee drinker, huh?" Willow mused out loud as she took a sip of her own. "Nope..." Jen shook her head. "Coffee is gross." Kelsey agreed. "How can something smell so good but taste so bad? It doesn't make sense." "Sometimes, Kels, I think you're the only sane one here." For the first time that morning, Jen managed a smile. She reached over and rubbed Kelsey's head like she had seen Willow and Randall do so many times in the past. Kelsey giggled at the attention. The anger in her system was fading. While the regret was still there, Jennifer West was already starting to feel a little better about her awkward situation. She could still apologize with Nolan and maybe start everything over on the right foot. But even if she couldn't, she still had friends. Willow was awesome. Kelsey was adorable. Antonio was kindhearted. Annie was sweet. Emily was fun. These were all good people. How could she stay down when surrounded by people like that? |
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| DoctorYerishi | Aug 9 2015, 05:57 PM Post #2343 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“You know, I’m honestly not sure if you were happy to see me or not,” Jimmy said, as he topped off both their glasses. “I was distracted,” she answered simply, eyeing the wine he just poured. “Ah, yes, with that messy business we walked in on,” Jimmy said. “I’m sorry you guys went through that.” Annie doubted the sincerity of his apology, and she gave him a look that expressed that doubt. “You would have handled it differently?” Jimmy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not. But you know I don’t get my jollies ending human lives. Deadheads are another story, of course. The living, though – not such a fun time. That’s best avoided. But if it has to happen, it has to happen.” “And this had to happen?” “Probably,” Jimmy said plainly. “From what Eli tells me, they forced your hand.” Annie rolled her eyes and took another sip of the wine. She couldn’t bring herself to be mad at Jimmy for that attitude, even if the same unwillingness to find a compromise was behind her resentment of Eli and Brandon. The difference was she knew who Jimmy was, and she had accepted his failings. Eli and Brandon, for some reason, she expected better from. “So?” Jimmy prompted. She looked up from her glass. “So… what?” “So are you happy I’m here?” “Is this you shamelessly digging for a compliment?” “Of course!” Jimmy said. “You know shame’s not a word in my vocabulary. So what do you got?” Annie shook her head and smiled, amused despite herself. “Yes, Jimmy, I’m glad to have you here. For better or worse, you’ve always been good at surviving out here.” “Why thank you,” Jimmy said. “Was that so hard?” “It was pretty hard,” Annie said, kidding. She took another sip. “I got one for you now,” Jimmy said. “Nice haircut. Less maintenance, less for the deadheads to grab onto – smart move.” Annie felt her head with her off-hand. She forgot that Jimmy wouldn’t be used to the shorter ‘do. She was barely used to it herself. “That was the thinking,” she said. “Thanks.” “Now style-wise, on the other hand, I’ve got some tips for your barber,” he added. “Easy there, tomato top,” she shot back. He laughed. She chuckled. The wine must have been getting to her. “Anyway – what about you?” she asked. “Are you happy to be here?” “Hah, good question,” Jimmy said. “The answer is – yeah, mostly. You have a good crew. Pretty much all people I’d have been happy to take on runs. And surprisingly, not as serious as I feared. Of course, that's not counting yourself...” She gave him a mock scowl while raising her glass to her lips yet again. “…or Eli,” he added, just as she finished her gulp. “Yeah,” she said. “He’s… definitely serious.” “Let me ask you something,” Jimmy said. “That hotel where I found your map. I had a look through it, and one of the rooms was – well it was fucked up. Like a rock star had a coke-fuelled rager, then locked the maid out and had a coke-fuelled rager all over again. Was that…?” “Eli’s room?” she saw his question coming and nodded. “Yup.” Jimmy adopted an expression then that Annie didn’t quite recognize. The furrow in his brow made her think it was curiosity. The slight curl of his lip made her think disappointment. She couldn’t be sure. Jimmy grinned at Brandon in response. His expression was clear now. He was back to his jubilant self. “Gracias, B,” he said. “Thanks,” Annie added, though her voice matched Brandon’s. * * * Eli nodded in solemn agreement. He knew why Nolan felt like they had to turn around. He couldn’t dispute his reasoning. And it wasn’t fair to tell him he had to give up on the group, or the cure, when Eli himself ultimately couldn’t. Still, the feeling was strong. Nolan shouldn’t be here. He was making a mistake. And Eli couldn’t do anything about it. “Yeah, well…” he trailed off. “I guess we should probably get back inside. It’s pretty cold out here.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 9 2015, 06:27 PM Post #2344 |
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Is that so?
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"Morning guys." Nolan raised his arm in greeting as he entered the house behind Eli. It was a lot warmer in the house than it was outside -- the first thing he did afterward was unbutton his pea coat to adjust. It looked like everyone was already awake and getting ready for the day. The smell of food and coffee hit him pretty hard though. Not only was he still suffering from some of the munchies but he was still recovering his strength. The more food the better. "Morning, Nolan!" Kelsey waved at him from the couch. Beside her, Willow was sipping some coffee while Jen was visibly making an effort to avoid eye contact with him. Guess she was still mad. She had every right to be. He wanted to apologize for yelling at her, but it wasn't a good time. There was nothing he could do about it right now. "Here you go." Antonio brought Nolan a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Fa- Antonio." Nolan quickly corrected himself. He was still not used to referring to Father Mendez as simply 'Antonio', but the man had kept insisting that is what he refer to him as now. He said there was no longer any professional relationship between them. Now they were just two friends and there was no need for formalities. Nolan understood the sentiment, but old habits died hard. "What did I miss?" He asked as he followed Antonio into the kitchen. "You mean apart from people waking up and eating breakfast?" Antonio mused with a shrug. "Not much, I'm afraid. Unless you are feeling brave, then you can try Emily's patented 'Peanut Butter Rice' to spice up your morning." "That sounds... really heavy." Nolan admitted. "It will stick to your stomach, that much is for sure. Might not need to eat for the rest of the day if you can stomach it." "I'll take a bowl." |
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| Strompy | Aug 10 2015, 03:19 AM Post #2345 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"This will keep you going all day. I used to carb load with this all the time when I was in training. And it tastes like peanut butter, if you don't like peanut butter than you're un-American." Emily informed them as she began to serve up. "Beats instant noodles." Brandon observed with a mouth full of rice. ... They were as sparing as possible with cleaning up, they didn't bother to wash most of what they used with water being precious as it was. Brandon helped himself to a lot of coffee filters which would prove helpful later on in securing more drinking water. The Lee-Enfield was fully loaded, and it had been kept in great condition by uncle Sean, it was very likely that it was about to be fired for the first time in years. "We've got a little time, and a lot of ammo. You guys want to get a little practice in before we head out?" Brandon asked. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 10 2015, 04:09 PM Post #2346 |
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Is that so?
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"I was kind of hoping to get some practice in this morning." Nolan casually agreed with Brandon. Willow was still sitting on the couch with Kelsey with Jen on the other side of Nolan's little sister. Ever since Willow had explained to her what was going on with her body, and that it was natural, and gave her a few pads, she had perked up significantly. Puberty was a scary time for everyone, but just knowing that what was going on was completely normal was probably a huge burden lifted off Kelsey's shoulders. Willow was reminded almost daily of how tough Kelsey actually was. If she ever had a daughter, she hoped she would be like Kelsey. "On the other hand." Willow broke her train of thought from Kelsey and back to the discussion at hand. "Salt Lake City is still about 500 miles away. Assuming we don't run into trouble, we could be there by late afternoon if we left right now." Surprisingly, it was Antonio that answered with the rebuttal; "I think that we should take the extra time to prepare. Even if it forces us to take another evening before arriving at Salt Lake City, the practice could save some lives. The more prepared we are as a group, the better off we will be." Willow furled her brow. Antonio had never before taken such an active role in ideas like this. And more than that, he was advocating practice with guns. Maybe seeing the world beyond Iowa City for a few days had changed his opinions on violence. Maybe it was dropping the cassock in favor of something more rural. Or he could just be genuinely worried about safety. "Every day that we spend out here is dangerous." Willow rebutted. "Buckling down for another night in some hotel or something could be more dangerous than just making the trip to Iowa City. It increases our chances of getting found by the wrong people, especially because those signs are gonna be like a spotlight for everyone who sees them -- they're gonna lure in good and bad people." "We don't have any guarantee that the 'wrong people' aren't already at Salt Lake City. Even if we ignore the probability of Salt Lake City being a trap in and of itself, we should be prepared for the thugs that will be drawn to the area by the promise of people seeking a refuge." Antonio didn't back down. "And then we can hit Salt Lake City in the morning rather than the late afternoon. Then we have all day rather than a few hours to determine whether the city is safe or not." Willow sighed; she couldn't really debate Antonio's logic. The thought of spending a night by the freeway somewhere was not something that appealed to her, but she wasn't sure if rushing to Salt Lake City was a much better solution to the issue at hand. But if they did get in trouble, would an hour of shooting practice really be the difference between life and death? She didn't know the answer to that. "Any other opinions, or should Antonio and I just keep going at it?" |
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| Strompy | Aug 10 2015, 06:58 PM Post #2347 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon gripped the Lee-Enfield tightly and gave Willow a pleading look. Please? he mouthed at her. "If this Salt Lake City thing isn't on the up and up I'd sure as hell like to find out during the day with plenty of daylight left to put as much distance between us and them as possible." Emily concurred with Antonio. It was strange to hear Antonio speaking so pragmatically about the possibility of violence. He'd unwittingly sent people toward people who turned out to be exactly the wrong people, maybe that was eating at him. Emily hoped this wasn't all talk and that if it came to violence he could pull the trigger. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 10 2015, 07:05 PM Post #2348 |
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Is that so?
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Willow pursed her lips into a smile as Brandon silently pleaded with him. The way he went wide-eyed almost reminded her of a dog asking its owner to play catch. It was really hard to look at him and say no. "Alright." She ceded. "Let's do some shooting practice then." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Aug 10 2015, 08:52 PM Post #2349 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Willow agreed to the practice session just as Connor appeared at the top of the stairs. Annie heard them creak under his step and turned to look at him expectantly. She was surprised to find him smiling. “We’re doing some shooting?” he asked. “Cool.” |
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| Strompy | Aug 11 2015, 01:04 AM Post #2350 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Once we get outside of town that is. We can make as much noise as we like in those hills and rotters would never be able to pinpoint where we were." Brandon suggested. He looked over the rifle in his hands again. He'd admired the Lee-Enfield for a long time but the history of this specific weapon was what drew Brandon to it. His fingers traced the four notches cut into the stock. A kill count. This gun had slain four people in combat during WWII. This weapon helped defeat the Nazis, maybe it could help save the world a second time. "Okay. Let's get packed up and head out. Say your goodbyes to Estes Park." he said, slinging the rifle over his shoulder. Before they all left Brandon took a little time to write a note, in the event his family returned. He didn't hold out much hope they would but this was as close to a goodbye as he could manage. He left it just inside on a table by the front door. Uncle Sean, aunt Tanya, Shari My friend's and I needed to resupply and rest up. We've taken the guns and ammo as well as a couple extra items. We wouldn't have taken it all if it weren't important we do so, and what we are doing is very very important. I hope to see you all again some day. I love you. Brandon ... Brandon had been worried that coming back to Estes Park would have tainted his memory of the place. The town was devoid of life. Rotters walked the streets. He could smell death in the air. He mountains though. They were still the same. More importantly he had one new memory in particular that stood out. Every time he met Willow's eyes he couldn't help smiling. Estes Park was still his favorite place. ... After they left the town behind the convoy turned off onto a dirt road to a rest area. After checking the restrooms everyone who was going to practice began loading up while the others started setting up targets. Brandon huge a few license plates from a tree about fifty feet away and a few hubcaps from another fifty feet behind that. "Okay. Who's first?" he asked as he rejoined them. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 11 2015, 01:34 AM Post #2351 |
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Is that so?
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Willow sat on the sidelines on a bench by where Brandon had set up the makeshift shooting range. She was going to sit this practice out. Even with her medication, shooting a gun was not a comfortable experience. The powerful jolt it sent up her arms and through her body could be crippling. Just the few shots she fired from her Gunsite the other day really took it out of her. She was more than content to sit back and watch the others practice today. "Only if you give me some good tips." Nolan approached Brandon and asked. "I tried pointing the gun and pulling the trigger, but it only really works if the target is pretty close." |
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| Strompy | Aug 11 2015, 02:53 AM Post #2352 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Well that's the two most basic points down." Brandon said encouragingly. Brandon told Nolan what he'd told the others; there was only so much he could show them, the rest would come with practice. He walked him through safety as well as etiquette, just because everyone was dead didn't mean etiquette wasn't still a thing. Then he taught him the weaver and isosceles stances so that Nolan could decide fir himself which was more comfortable. "Resist the urge to teacup it, keep a firm grip with both hands to regain your sight picture faster." he finished, and gestured for Nolan to take his shots at the targets the others had placed on a nearby fence. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 11 2015, 03:18 AM Post #2353 |
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Is that so?
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Nolan started by adopting the weaver stance that Brandon had showed him, but with his left hand leading instead of his right. He could barely swing a bat with his right hand now -- he wasn't about to risk putting strain on it by firing a gun. He could see that going over real well. BANG! The autorevolver fired it's .357 magnum round. And it missed completely. "Damn..." He frowned, his ears still ringing from the shot. BANG! BANG! Two more missed shots. "Maybe I should use something we have a lot of bullets for." He sighed. "This could take a while..." |
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| Strompy | Aug 11 2015, 03:53 AM Post #2354 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Here, try this." Brandon said fetching the Savage 1907. The gun was small, very small. Small caliber too. "This thing is a .38, I think a .357 with your off hand was pretty ambitious. This' ll be much easier to control. It's much lighter and it's got significantly less kick." he said while he filled up a magazine and slid it in. He offered the pistol to Nolan. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Aug 11 2015, 04:05 AM Post #2355 |
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Is that so?
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Nolan slipped the magnum into his hip holster and accepted the smaller weapon from Brandon. This man seemed to know his guns, so he would take his word on it. The gun was certainly a lot smaller. The barrel was not only smaller, but half as long. It felt so small compared to the weapon he had taken from Jon's house and used as defense for the past month. BAM! The first shot missed. But the gun's recoil was significantly reduced from before. It was a lot easier to handle. He assumed the weaver stance again and took a deep breath as he looked down the trigger. BAM! The bullet clipped the side of one of the license plates that Brandon had hung. It was not the bullseye he had been aiming for, but it was more than he's gotten so far. The furthest target he had shot before today was the guy that had been holding Kelsey hostage. And he was only about 15 feet away. This was over three times that distance. Hitting a target from here seemed like an accomplishment. "It definitely feels easier to handle." Nolan told Brandon. "But why is a .38 smaller than a .357? I may not be gun literate, but that seems like it should be straightforward." |
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7:29 PM Jul 10