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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,915 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"You know, ten rotters wasn't as bad as I was expecting."

Nolan made conversation as the first floor party reentered the lobby again. They had found a decent ten rotters on the first floor, spread across three rooms, with one in the hallway. Half of them were employees of the place as well. Nolan suspected the staff had tried to lock themselves in and... well. It didn't end well for them. Nevertheless, with all the firepower that they had at their disposal, it had been a pretty easy feat to take care of them. Nolan and Kelsey even got one kill each. Though the fact he was tied for kills with his sister, who was half his age, was a little embarrassing. He tried to just roll with it though.

"Did anybody check the employee area. Behind the receptionist's desk?"

Antonio had brought up a pretty good point. They had kind of overlooked the area. They were more focused on the rooms and hallways that the employee areas were still left unsearched. Nolan didn't really fancy the idea of going to sleep in here without making sure that the entire place was clean. All it took was one moment of relaxation and a rouge rotter could take advantage of it. It was just like in the movies; the second you relax you get killed. Rotters would take advantage of that one second and be on you. Like a wild animal or something.

"Let's go check it out then." Nolan suggested -- he already knew Eli and the others were on the same page with this one.

The receptionist's desk was meticulously clean. Even the world ending wasn't going to make this desk a mess. If the place still had power, Nolan would have loved a chance to boot up the computer. Just seeing a functioning electronic would be heaven for him. But there were no surprised behind the desk or underneath it.

The surprise was in the manager's officer. Down a hallway, past a few other offices, a break room, and a restroom, the manager's office was the largest one in the building. The size of a large bedroom. Hanging from the ceiling of the office was a rotter. Clothed in a filthy three piece suit, the former manager of the establishment swayed back and forth as he reached out for the newcomers. His managed to force out a small groan through his crushed windpipe, but not much else.

"That's stupid." Kelsey commented flatly. "If he wanted to kill himself, he should have shot himself in the head."

"It's... still not that simple, Kels." Nolan frowned at Kelsey's dark comment -- something she had been doing recently. "He didn't know. Hell, people might not have even known that a bite was the cause of this at the time this happened. It's... pretty fucked up."

Nolan approached the hanging rotter and raised the blade of his machete. At least he would walk out of this with two official kills now.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie looked on the swinging manager with pity. That’s what rotters are when they don’t pose a danger of killing you, she realized. Pitiable. In her old life, she had probably met dozens of people who had ended up just like this.

“We’ll, uh, wait in the lobby,” Annie said.

The room was crowded anyway. So she squeezed Connor’s shoulder and began to lead him out. He didn’t resist. Connor had gotten more comfortable with a gun in his hand, but he was still lost when it came to situations like this. Though she appreciated he was putting on a braver face than usual. It made her think the whole goal of bringing him along on this quest – to prepare him for the world as it was – was achievable.

* * *

Jimmy and Jen had just reported that the third floor was safe. Jen had tracked some blood down the stairs to show for it. Emily had also returned minutes earlier, but Brandon and Willow were still missing.

Everyone else was gathered in the lobby. Eli scratched at his cheek, impatient. He gave Emily a sideways glance.

“You know, I sent you with them to avoid this exact scenario…” he groaned. “Would someone…?”

He shook his head before he could finish the thought.

“I’ll go,” he said. “Hold up.”

He headed for the stairs. Above, he could hear movement, and his fingers gripped the handle of his Supergrade – it was an instinctive response now, even when it didn’t need to be.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
As Eli went up the stairs to fetch the lovebirds, Jen covered her face with her hand while she waited in the lobby with the others.

"Seriously? I can't believe those two." She let out a heavy sigh. "We weren't even done clearing the place out yet and they go find a dark corner to hide in."

She liked Willow. She really did. Despite her issues, Willow was a pretty cool customer. But her libido was terrifying and Brandon was hardly making it any better. Frankly, Jen found it a little moronic. This time, it wasn't just jealousy making her think that either. There was a time and a place for it. Even if the hotel hadn't had flesh eating corpses walking around inside of it, Eli had specifically called for a meeting as soon as they were finished clearing out said walking corpses. There was no shortage of heavy stuff for them to go over.

"Nothing wrong with a healthy libido." Antonio mused quietly.

"Aren't you a Catholic priest?" Jen furled her brow. "Isn't the horizontal tango before marriage kind of a thing you advocate against?"

"Normally, yes. But that is hardly the biggest issue right now." Antonio shrugged. "I, personally, am happy for them. Though they admittedly could choose better times to be 'happy' with each other."

"Were they like this even before Flint?"

"No." Kelsey shook her head as she answered Jen. "Just a lot of awkward flirting."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"We gotta go. They'll be expecting us." Brandon said mournfully even as he kissed her.

Self control hadn't ever been his strong suit concerning women. He never really had to control himself since he was always unattached. If Willow had never been in the picture he would have made a pass at Julie for sure, probably Glenda too, and Jen and probably several passes at Annie. He wasn't proving very good at it so far, at least where Willow was concerned. It might even be a welcome break once things cooled off between them. Before things got out of hand Brandon put a little distance between them.

He groaned forlornly and rolled over to the side. Begrudingly he put his shirt back on and lay back on the bed with his arms out stretched.

"I don't wanna go. Can't we just leave everything for tomorrow?" he complained in jocular petulance with a half joking pout.

Of course they did say they were going discuss everything and he did promise he was going to teach some of the others some self defense basics. Something about this Cory situation just made him want to hide his head. That was never his way of handling things though, even if he did dread that it was going to turn into another argument. He looked over at Willow and just wished this was all over so they could finally be together properly.
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Is that so?
Willow hastily slipped back into her shirt and sweater -- she had gotten so caught up in the moment that she kind of forgot about the fact Eli wanted to have a meeting with everyone. She never would have pegged herself as someone who got caught up in passion as much as this, but she also wasn't complaining with it. It made her Game Boy look boring by comparison. Thankfully, Brandon had enough sense about him to remember that they had places to be right now. The downside was that she was horny and they couldn't really solve the problem anymore. All she could do was lean down and plant one last affectionate kiss on him before reaching into her pocket and pulling out an orange tube of pills.

"Eli's not very good at waiting, either." She reminded him as she popped a painkiller into her mouth and swallowed. "Don't worry, babe. The bedroom will still be here when we are done."

* * * * *

It had taken her a minute or two, but she did manage to get Brandon off the bed and out of the bedroom. He seemed reluctant and she couldn't really blame him for it. All this business with Cory and bandits was a lot to take in. Willow wasn't too glad about it either, but she wanted it out of the way more than anything else. She knew the look in Eli's eyes. He was thinking about something she really wished he wouldn't think about. The sooner she could get his word that they weren't going to play with that particular hornet's nest, the better off she would feel.

"Yo, Eli." Willow awkwardly greeted Eli as they met on the stairs with Brandon in tow; she had a pretty good feeling she knew why he was coming upstairs. "We aren't late, are we?"

Yeah, it was pretty obvious he was coming up there to check on them. It was a really good idea they stopped themselves from going all the way just now. Otherwise, things would have gotten really awkward for everyone involved.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli gave her a deadpan look. He was pretty sure Willow knew the answer to her question. “Everyone’s waiting, come on,” he said.

* * *

Everyone was assembled now, including Willow and Brandon. Eli was standing by the desk, his brow knitted, presumably in conflict. Annie took a seat in one of the lobby’s many chairs and watched him. Before, he said they had ‘stuff to talk about.’ Annie dreaded hearing what it was.

“We’ve rarely been in this position,” Eli announced finally. “Usually, bad shit happens all of a sudden and we gotta react. Some of us remember our first border crossing. Most of us remember the attack on Flint. Then there’s what happened on the bridge in Chicago, what happened in that lab at Argonne… the list is long. It’s too fuckin’ long.”

Annie couldn’t help but frown – and not even at the swearing in front of Connor and Kelsey. Both kids had heard far too much of it, and had far too many other worries, for it to faze them. The truth of Eli’s words was far more upsetting.

“One time, we knew what was coming,” Eli continued. “At that second border crossing. We knew what we were walking into and we made a decision.”

His gaze drifted sadly to Emmett at that. So did Annie’s. She didn’t know the story, but clearly it was painful for the big man especially.

“It was a noble decision,” Eli said. “It was a good decision. But it wasn’t the right decision.”

What he was talking about suddenly clicked. Annie remembered hearing about their actions on the way to Flint – they had distracted the guards at the border and slipped by without killing anyone. Those guards later showed up at Flint, and when their assault failed, they tried to burn the community to the ground.

Perhaps Emmett was the one who advocated for peace back then, Annie considered. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t when it came to Wendy and her crew. If that was the case, it didn’t make his actions then any more acceptable – just more understandable.

“We can’t afford to make the wrong decision again,” Eli said, picking up after a heavy beat of silence.

Oh no, Annie thought. She realized where this was going.

“Once again, we know what’s coming,” Eli added. “It’s Cory. He took over a community, like he tried to do at Flint, like some other bad seeds did at Fort Erie. This is the guy that ambushed people at the Michigan crossing, stripped ‘em down, sent ‘em to die. The guy that commanded murderers and rapists. The guy that put a gun in Maxwell’s hand!

Eli’s eyes lit up with fire at that last part. The intensity of them took Annie aback.

“And now he’s got an army,” Eli said, and then gave that a moment to sink in. “I know not everyone agrees with what happened the other day. That’s fine. You don’t have to agree. You just gotta accept that I wasn’t letting Wendy back on the streets. An’…”

He trailed off. He was clearly angry, but struggling with it.

“Eli, bud, are you…” Jimmy tried to cut in.

“An’ I’m sure as shit not letting Cory go! Not again!” Eli yelled suddenly and passionately.

The fire in his eyes crackled. Annie got the sense that he made the decision – really made the decision – just then, right in that moment.

“We tried that before,” he said, a little calmer but just as intense. “We knew where he was and we let him go. It ain’t going down that way again.”

Annie let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding in. She wasn’t even sure what to say. She disapproved, obviously – but this was different than Wendy. That was a cold-blooded execution. The way Brandon justified it; it was to prevent future crimes she may not have even committed if given the chance. She may have been redeemable. Because of Eli, Brandon and Emmett, no one would ever know.

But this guy… This Cory guy… His crimes were unforgivable. Wendy stole their van. Cory was at Flint. He was part of the band of savages that killed Spencer, Candice, Geraldine and so many others. The stories of what he did at that border crossing were sickening. And they had firsthand knowledge from Pablo that his atrocities were ongoing on an ever larger scale.

He deserved to die. Annie couldn’t deny that.

But why are we the ones that have to kill him? Annie asked herself. This mission was supposed to be about delivering a cure. It was supposed to be about saving people.

She was about to interrupt the silence to raise that point to Eli. He interrupted it first.

“So I’m going to Green River, and I’m going to put an end to this piece of shit once and for all,” he said, with a burning in his eyes that made Annie believe he meant it. “But the cure comes first. An’ this group comes first. An’ that’s why I’m leaving it here, an’ why I’m goin’ alone.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
They had made the right choice at the crossing. Willow was dying, they couldn't afford to get drawn into a fire fight. They couldn't have waited around for those guys to return so they could shoot them down. The most they could have achieved was driving through maybe killing a handful of bad guys and potentially getting some of their own killed in the process. Ultimately all that happened was Emmett spared two bad people, Max would have left that note regardless. Two less people wouldn't have made a difference at Flint.

When they went after Wendy it was a matter of survival. Wendy had their supplies. Getting new ones was just as dangerous if not more so, and they couldn't let her profit from their injuries. As for killing Wendy that was a simple matter of means and opportunity. If Wendy hadn't taken their stuff, Brandon never would have pursued her but he did to regain their supplies and that put him inva position to deal with Wendy's people permanently. Her murder was just pragmatism, as disturbing as the idea was. Going after Cory though? That was reckless on a whole new level. And going alone? Brandon scoffed at the suggestion.

"Eli..." Brandon began with a bitter laugh.

"That's bullshit." Emily cut him off.

"'The cure comes first' 'the group comes first'. If that's true why are you so eager to get yourself killed, and they will kill you, and leave us with one less able bodied fighter? That's selfish. Maybe I needed to be there, but even from what I've heard I totally get wanting him dead. He deserves to be tied up and left for living creep bait. But if the cure and the group is what matters then do the hard thing; let this go. Stay with us and the cure. Help us get where we're going." Emily elaborated leaving little left for Brandon to say.

"What she said, and if you go, you know I'm gonna go with you. I wouldn't be able to come along by myself either." Brandon added, looking over at Willow and then Emily.

"You don't get to make this kind of decision just for yourself anymore." he pointed out.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli was breathing heavier by the time he finished talking. For just a moment there, he had let his growing anger take hold of him. It had taken a concentrated effort to regain control and keep presenting his case as rationally and plainly as he could.

The problem, he figured, was that was not comfortable giving speeches. He remembered that Randall was uncomfortable with them too. He had to wonder if Randall would approve of that one – of the delivery, and of the content especially.

Judging by Brandon and Emily’s reaction, they certainly didn’t approve. Eli had expected pushback, though. And what Brandon said was wrong – this was his decision to make.

“Everything is the hard thing,” he shot back. “This is the hard thing I choose.”

He looked to Brandon next, and addressed his counter. In particular, the part about not letting him go alone.

“An’ absolutely not. No way. None whatsoever. You’re needed here. I got no plans on dying – the chiquita’s confidence not withstanding – but if it goes the other way, you gotta be here to help take the wheel.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"If even just a quarter of their people are armed and able bodied that means at least fifty people who are willing to kill you. Do you have a plan? I'd be a lot of more confident in your chances if I knew what it was or if you even had one, but that wouldn't help much because what you're suggesting is nuts. Genuinely unnerving. Can somebody help me out here?" Brandon pleaded.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow had expected Eli to support doing something stupid. But she could not have foreseen this kind of intensity from him. This was on a whole new level to anything he had displayed before. He was getting worked up. It looked like he actually believed that he could make this work. She hated to say it, but Eli had officially jumped off the deep end if that was the case.

"You're being stupid, Eli." Willow added in bluntly. "Brandon and Emily are right. We only know three things about this place; there are a lot of people, they have a lot of guns, and they are being led by a violent psychopath. How far do you actually think you will be able to make it on your own? And what the fuck do you expect to get out of all this!? If you actually believed that the cure came first, you wouldn't even be considering this!"

Willow's voice had unconsciously started raising as she got further along. It was hard not to get heated, especially when they were considering something that was absolutely insane.

"You had a case with Wendy. She stole our van and she stole our stuff. Finding more would have been just as dangerous as getting it back. I may not like it, but I understand it and see why it had to happen. But this? I don't even understand."

"Willow, don't." Antonio interrupted her tirade.

Her stern gaze never left Eli.

"Well if that's believes, then we should just let him go. The cure and this entire operation would be better off without him at the helm if this is what he wants."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli rubbed the palm of his hand over his eyebrow, trying to massage away the stress and annoyance. This backlash was a little more than he expected. Brandon was understandable, to a point. Emily too. Willow had kind of pissed him, however.

“You don’t understand?” he returned her gaze and shot back, harsh. “Did you listen to a word I just said? And have you listened to a word that’s been said of this guy? He dies, or he keeps it up. Keeps killing. Keeps raping. For fun. What don’t you understand about that?

He took a sharp breath. He tried reining it in a little bit.

“What do I expect? I expect to stop it,” he said. “Not let it go. Not accept it.”

At that, he gave Willow a scorching glare. Her bratty argument deserved no less.

“An’ not come back later – later might never come, and he could do a lot of damage between now and later.”

That part was directed to Brandon.

“An’ come on, Jesus Christ, you guys are acting like I never done this before,” he said. “Like sneaking into a guarded spot and killing someone is some unheard of fairy tale beyond your comprehension. Where have you been?”

That did rein him in a bit. It made him look sadly towards Emmett.

“So no, I don’t got a plan right now. The plan is to make a plan. To get a look at the place, assess its strengths and vulnerabilities, and find a way in. Then I do the job and get out. Jus’ like any score. An’ that’s what I do. I take scores. Remember? The fact that there’s a lot of people just makes it easier for one more to go unnoticed. An’ I don’t gotta kill all of them. I just gotta get the one.”
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Is that so?
Jen frowned at the display. Willow was usually more of a peacemaker and more light-hearted from what she had seen of her. That last outburst was uncharacteristically aggressive. It was kind of jarring. Extreme mood swings were pretty common with a lot of addictive or dependency behaviors though -- it made her just as worried for Willow as she was for Eli right now. Neither of them were in good places right now, Eli was just drawing more attention toward it. She glanced at Annie and hoped she was paying attention to this. Of course, she was probably far more caught up in what they were arguing about than she was with watching Willow.

As soon as Jen saw Willow move her lips to retort, Jen quickly cut her off before she started another round of arguing; "It's pretty clear that we can't talk Eli out of this. We're his friends, not his handlers. If he wants to go, we can't stop him."

"So we just let him march off?" Willow glared at Jen. "I hate Cory as much as any of you, but if the cure doesn't get delivered then nothing will ever change. Even if Eli manages to get in there and kill the man, then another one will just take over. There will always be another Cory! There will always be another Maxwell! There will always be another Wendy! We can't stop it all and we should-"

Willow was only stopped mid-speech as she doubled over, clutched her chest, and fell into a pretty bad coughing fit. She had clearly gotten too excited. Jen thought it was for the best though; something about this whole topic had gotten Willow wound up like a spring. And Jen should have known that more than anyone; Willow and Glenda had been real close. Even if Willow wasn't drugged up, this would still be a rough topic for her.

"There is no point in trying to stop him." Antonio took Jen's side. "He had already decided what he is going to do and none of us can stop him from doing it. And none of us should stop him. Willow is right, if his priority is not the cure, then he shouldn't be leading this group in the first place."

"I don't think that's fair, Antonio." Nolan spoke for the first time. "He just wants to do what he can while he's here. That doesn't mean he isn't putting priority on the cure."

"The cure is the only thing that will stop all of this. You need to stop evil at the root, otherwise it will just keep growing back."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli wished he felt more sympathy for Willow’s coughing fit right now. He felt some, but she wasn’t making it easy for him right now. He focused on Antonio instead. The priest had taken his side, sort of – but in a passive aggressive and shaming way. Eli’s own emotions were red hot right now, and he wasn’t about to take that.

“Okay, padre, so evil’s a weed?” he challenged him. “So what, fuck this garden? An’ all the other flowers in it? Just so long as it doesn’t spread to the next one? Is that what you’re saying?”
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Is that so?
Antonio exhaled slowly. He wasn't going to lose his top like a lot of the others were. He was going to stay more grounded than that. At least that is what he was telling himself.

"What I am saying is that Willow has a decent point, despite her terrible way of saying it. Let's approach this hypothetically. Say you successfully infiltrate this camp, kill Cory, and somehow survive. Then what? Are you going to stay in the camp and make sure some other psychopath doesn't take over in the confusion?"

He crossed his arms and shook his head.

"I believe that evil is like a weed. If you just try to fight it at ground level, it will keep sprouting up. You can kill it today, but there will be more tomorrow and you will be sucked into a never ending war. You can attest to this better than anyone. Old Fort Erie? Flint? Wendy? Maxwell? The National Guard? How about the lab in Chicago?"

Willow had told him all about their past adventures. He had originally asked to get a better idea of the people that he was spending time with, but it helped him come to a few new conclusions about the world as a whole.

"The common factor in all of it is this disease. But if we take the walking, hell-spawned corpses out of the equation, then maybe, just maybe, we can stop all of this. Every day we waste in getting this cure delivered is another day that bandits across the entire world will continue killing innocent people."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Antonio’s steady demeanour and rationale made Eli slowly exhale himself. He calmed down to the priest’s level. It helped that he couldn’t deny the truth of his words.

“Look,” Eli said. “Everything you just said is right. But here’s the thing – some weeds are worse than others. An’ if you knew anything about Cory, you’d know he’s one of the real bad ones. It’s true, maybe I yank him out, root and stem, and someone just as bad takes his place. But maybe someone better does. I’m willing to take that chance.”

As long as Cory’s dead, he thought, but didn’t say. As long as that motherfucker bleeds.

“We’re gonna get that cure delivered, one way or another,” he added. “But I’m not going to do nothing just ‘cause I can’t do everything at once. An’ you shouldn’t want me to.”

He hoped that got through to Antonio. It sounded persuasive in his head. And even if killing Cory might not mean a lot in the grand scheme, it would probably mean something to the people that were suffering under his thumb right now – not to mention the people who would suffer, if his reign continued.

Shit, maybe I should say that, Eli thought. But no – I’ve talked too long as it is. The discussion’s over.

“You’re right about something else, too – there’s no point trying to stop me,” he said. “I’m leavin’ tonight, before daybreak. I want you guys to wait for me. But if I’m not back by…”

He trailed off. He didn’t actually have a number in mind, which struck even him as a bad sign. How much time is enough time to sneak into Green River, kill Cory, and get back here? How much time could they afford to waste sitting here? 24 hours? 48 hours?

“…by the morning after next,” he decided. “If I’m not back by then, keep moving. I know where you’re headed. I’ll catch up.”
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