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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,060 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow tilted her head around and eyed Mac, a newly lit joint in her mouth.

"Oh, hey Mac. What's up?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
"Not, uh, not much," Mac said, and his hands dug into the pocket of his jeans.

Jeff physically swung his legs around the truck to face him, and Mac knew he was coming across as awkward. He tried to correct that.

"I just wanted to talk a bit, you know, while we had the chance," he said, glancing around at nothing in particular, which was the point. "While things were quiet, relatively."

"Ooohkay," Jeff said, also cocking his head a little bit. He was clearly suspicious. Mac decided to address him first.

"Don't worry, man, it's nothing bad," he said. "In fact, I realized I never did apologize for the way I, uh, subdued you back at the lodge, I guess. I get a little carried away sometimes."

He looked at the bruises still on Jeff's face. They had faded a bit in the two nights since he'd caused them, but they were still visible. Combined with the unkempt beard, they still made him look like kind of a mess.

"Well, hey," Jeff replied. "I can't really hold that against you after you saved my ass -- which, by the way, thanks for that."

It was a relief to hear that, but something still nagged at Mac. He scratched the back of his neck and frowned a little.

"You're welcome, but... I never asked before, and I'm curious. Why'd you steal that stuff in the first place? Where did you even wanna go?"

Jeff sighed in response, and was silent for a moment. "I just wanted out of there, man. You saw what was going on, all those sick people. Felt like it was a matter of time until I was one of them. I'm not saying the stealing part wasn't stupid, but there you go."

Mac considered that for a second, then nodded his acceptance. Intellectually, he got it. He couldn't imagine doing it himself -- but he got it. While he still had the courage worked up, though, he wanted to say the rest of what he came here for.

"So we're good?" he said.

"Yeah man, we're good," Jeff replied.

"Cool," Mac replied, then glanced at Willow, who'd been watching the apologies get exchanged in silence. "Do you think can give me a minute, then?"

Jeff cocked his head again. "A minute? With...?"

The scrawnier man looked over at Willow and understanding seemed to fall over his face. He secured the cigarette in his mouth then hopped off the truck.

"Sure, okay," Jeff said. "I guess I'll, um, do the rounds. I'll be back in a bit."

He grabbed the carbine from where he left it on the hood of the truck, then walked off, leaving Mac and Willow alone. Mac took another deep breath, then looked Willow in the eyes.

"Hey, Willow," he said. "I just wanted to say... what you did back there, at the rec center. Volunteering for Jose. That was brave."
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Oh, that?" Willow's lips curled into a lop-sided grin. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

She pulled the joint out of her mouth and let out a sigh, a small puff of smoking escaping her mouth as she did. She broke eye contact with Mac and looked out at the horizon.

"It didn't feel very brave though. I'm not a brave person and that isn't much of a secret. I think I might have been more scared than Jose was at the time."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
"I think that's what bravery is -- doing something even though you're scared," Mac said. He briefly glanced at the forest-laden horizon, where she was looking, but then turned back to her. "I think my dad told me something like that once."

He was silent a second. He didn't mean to bring up his family, and the thought of his father gave him pause. His eyes drifted from Willow to the red F-150 nearby.

"That's, uh, his truck, you know," Mac said. "Was his truck, I mean. He gave it to me before all this."
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Is that so?
Willow's eyes unconsciously moved over to the truck. The red F-150 that Glenda and Mac had driven over here. Come to think of it, she never really had known where it came from. Just that it existed.

"I guess that's why you drove it over here, huh?" Willow frowned and pivoted her body to face Mac directly. "I feel like a heel for asking but... is your dad... do you know?"

She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly.

"You don't need to answer that." She quickly added, raising her hands into the air slightly. "I don't want to intrude."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
"No, no, it's fine, really," Mac replied quickly. He didn't want her to feel bad. "That's the kind of thing you just have to get used to talking about, I think. After all that's happened, you can't let it weigh you down. You can't forget, but you can't let it weigh you down. That's also the kind of thing my dad would say."

He paused for a second and stared at the unlit headlights some more. When he looked back at Willow, he tried to look stoic.

"I was at school when things got bad," he said. "I went to Lincoln Tech, I don't know if you know that. I told some people at the lodge, but, I don't... Doesn't matter. I was in the HVAC program, learning about solar thermal systems or something when the news started coming in. My family lived in Mount Kisco, and I couldn't get a hold of anyone over the phone, so I drove up. When I got back, the house was empty. It was intact, nothing was missing, but it was empty. I don't know if my parents are dead, but... well, I mean, I can guess."

He sighed. He did his best to follow to his own advice, and not let his own story depress him.

"How about you?" he asked. "I don't want to intrude either, though, so if you don't want to say anything I'll understand."
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Is that so?
"I..."

She trailed off before she had even started. She hadn't been ready to really discuss her past. So far, nobody had really asked and she was okay with that. Glenda knew some, as the two of them would stay up some nights and talk, but nobody else.

"I don't know." She finally admitted with a shrug. "My parents and I... never really saw eye to eye, you know? I don't think they hated me, but I was definitely not the daughter they wanted; never had been. When the news reports started, I thought it was just a phase. Just some weird infection that would pass in a few days and I refused to leave the house when they wanted to evacuate. Half because I thought it was being overblown and half because I just wanted to disagree with them. I was stubborn. They ultimately decided to go without me. They left their daughter behind..."

Willow slowly shook her head and tried her best not to look depressed.

"I still blame myself for being so stubborn. Despite all the fights we had, I still loved them. I guess it just takes the end of the world before you realize how important some people are to you. Wherever they are, I hope they're okay."

She brushed aside a few strands of pink hair that the wind had blown into her face and tucked them behind her ear.

"Sorry, that came out a lot more depressing than I intended. Heh." She quickly tried to lighten the mood a little. "I don't think you came out here to talk about my folks though. Is everything okay? You've been acting a little off."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Mac frowned in sympathy at her story. But then the way she brushed aside that pink hair -- it made him feel something else. Ever since they had both gotten to the country club, he had watched her from afar and admired her. It wasn't just her looks, or the way that they were closer in age than most of the camp. It was the way she didn't let her surroundings get her down. While everyone else was fraying and buckling under the responsibility and the stress, she was herself, and she may have never known it or seen it but that helped people. Maybe her normalcy and lightness annoyed some people, but it helped more. People needed to be reminded that it wasn't over. That life was gonna go on.

Mac needed that, at least, and he wanted to tell her. He opened his mouth. He tried to find the words.

"Yeah, I know, I..." he trailed off. Fuck, he cursed himself. Fuck, fuck, fuck. "I'm sorry about that. Just a weird day."

There was a long pause that tipped into being uncomfortable. Fuck, Mac cursed himself again.

"Just wanted you to know... you should keep being yourself," he said, finally. "And if you're scared, that's okay too. I should, uh, get some sleep. Be safe out here."

He turned around to leave, and cringed as hard as he could when she couldn't see his face. Then he saw Jeff appear at the corner of the old house, having apparently finished his 'rounds.' He let out a long silent breath and started walking away.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
As Mac stumbled over his words and eventually took off, Willow couldn't help but furl her brow in puzzlement. Mac was a good guy all around, but he was usually a little more well spoken, reliable, and controlled than that.

That was weird, she found herself thinking; but she mustered a "Sleep well," in his direction as he disappeared inside.

But she couldn't really blame him. It had been a long and weird day that had followed some tragic events. Not only were they out in a strange new world, but the events of the lodge still hung over them all like a miasma, even though nobody talked about it. Nobody who walked out of the lodge that night came out the same, herself included. Even the ever-dependable Randall had been different as of late.

She gently placed the blunt back between her lips and took a good puff, then turned back and looked out across the horizon again (or as much of it as she could see between the gaps in the trees). She lifted a hand in greeting to Jeff as he returned, but her thoughts were too centered on her parents again to really muster much more of a greeting.

*****

It had been a while since Glenda had been in a real kitchen, but she swiftly made herself at home while everyone else took some well needed rest and relaxation. For her, being idle was not relaxing, she needed to be doing something; and historically cooking was how she relaxed. So preparing the food was something Glenda was all too eager to get into. Unfortunately, their food variety was limited to mostly canned foods, but that did not mean she had no ideas. On the contrary, she saw it as sort of a challenge.

"Hey Kelsey!" She called the young girl over.

The little girl came running over. She looked bored trying to mess with the TV, so Glenda decided to give her something to do. "Yes?"

"Can you do me a favor?" Glenda smiled at the young girl and knelt down. "Can you go outside and pick up some dry sticks and make a little pile of them for me? Then surround it in rocks? I want you to make me a nice little fire pit."

"Sure." Kelsey answered with a shy smile.

"Just make sure to stay in sight of everyone, okay? And don't get too close to the woods."

She decided on a dish of beans and ham, it was something they had plenty of and she didn't want to use the less common foods early on so everyone would be stuck eating beans day after day. It was important to keep enough variety for everyone to stay in good spirits. A quick scan of the kitchen, while revealing little food, did reveal a few useful cooking supplies (including a cast iron pot) and a small variety of spices. She mixed the beans, ham, a few spices, and a little bit of leftover bacon she found in the freezer into the pot, which she then took outside and started to heat over a small fire in the makeshift fire pit that Kelsey had managed to put together.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
As Glenda set about cooking dinner, Brandon approached Kelsey who was watching her light the campfire. The light was fading and dinner wasn't far away, just enough time to show her the basics and get a few shots in. Brandon got Randall's attention and beckoned him over.

"Hey, Kelsey, your dad said it was okay for me to show you a few things about... this." he said, unslinging the yputh rifle and presenting it, unloaded, to the girl.

"Come on around front, I saw a stump we could use and found some cans in the trash for you to shoot." he explained leading the father and daughter around the house.

The day had been particularly rough for Brandon. Finding his parents dead wasn't shocking, but itddidn't mean it wasn't upsetting. The last he had seen of the was over the heads of a mob of rotters. His mother screamed and his father cried out to her, before disappearing from sight. Brandon reconstructed how the scene must have played out.

...

His dad got to his mom, she'd been bitten that's why she screamed. The exits were cut off. They made for the stairs, his mother going up first. Dad climbed up backwards, firing at them. The rotters closer to the top were shot with buckshot, so his dad must have reached the top and reloaded while his mom held them off with her Mossberg. There were too many, even in a choke point they just couldn't keep them all back, and they were nearly out of ammo.

For the bedroom then. Close and lock the door, deadbolt and latch. It wouldn't hold them back. They tipped over the heavy armoire, pushed it up flush with the door. Now what? Out the window?No. Still too many outside. They were trapped. They sat down. They sat there for a long time, talking, holding each other. Mom died, dad put a bullet in her head, and then faced his own death without fear. They died together. They died with dignity. That thought gave Brandon some peace.

Brandon didn't have to imagine what happened to Kyle. They fled out the back, Kyle had his Remmington 870. He lead Brandon on, sometimes pushed him on. Brandon kept looking back in complete shock as he watched the muzzle flashes through the upstairs windows from a distance. Kyle spun him around and looked him straight in the eye. Brandon couldn't remember his words, he didn't really hear them in the first place, he just stared straight through him. Moment caught his attention, behind Kyle. It was already too late, the rotter was right on his. It bit his neck. Kyle pulled away and shot it. He put a hand to his neck, the bite was deep, he was bleeding badly.

"Come on!" Kyle urged.

The two of them ran. How Brandon remembered where they ended up he didn't know, but there Kyle collapsed. Brandon sat him up against a tree. He apologized over and over. Kyle just waved it away.

"It's okay, Brandon. It's okay. It's not your fault. Listen to me, you need to get to New York. They said the army was there, they won't let one of the most important cities in the world go. Take the Remmington, don't use it unless you have to." Kyle instructed.

Brandon grasped for words of protest. Kyle cut him off before he could find them.

"Stop. Don't think. Just do. Keep moving." he managed before finally losing consciousness.

Brandon stayed with him. It wasn't long before he died. Kyle had been maintaining some of their dad's amateur handiwork when the rotters attacked, he had a screwdriver in his back pocket. Sobbing Brandon took it out, with trembling hands he pushed it into Kyle's head. He sat there crying, his head resting on Kyle's shoulder. His brother was dead because he froze up. His whole family was lost. When he was done, he took up Kyle's gun, screwdriver and bag and looked for a place to hide until light.

...

His family's remains were safe now. There would be time for a proper burial later, but Brandon had healed a little of his hurt with that simple act. For now, he'd do everything he could to make sure nobody had to face that pain, and right now that meant teaching a girl how to shoot.

He placed the cans on the stump, it was slightly down the hill from the house toward the road. He withdrew a magazine for the rifle from his pocket as he walked over to Kelsey.

"Okay. You remember which ones these are? We'll start what the different parts of the gun are and what they do. This is the bolt. This is a bolt action, it's how you load a round into this, which is called the chamber..." he explained

Once he'd gone through the different parts and some basics safety practises he gave the magazine to Kelsey.

"Okay, now pop that magazine in and chamber a round." he instructed.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Although she didn't say it, Kelsey was glad she was finally learning how to shoot. She knew more about what was going on outside than her father had told her, and both parties knew that. With her mom out somewhere, she knew it was her job to help dad now and look out for him like mom would have done. Of course, that conviction didn't make wrapping her head around the mechanics of this thing any easier. It was complicated and a lot of the specifics were lost in translation somewhere; but she felt better when she noticed that even her dad was learning a few things. Nevertheless, she got the general gist of it.

"Okay..." Kelsey felt the weapon in her arms for a moment as she visualized the steps in her head. "I think I just..."

Holding the rifle in her right hand, she picked up a magazine and felt her way through putting it in the weapon. Once she heard the click of it being locked into place, she grabbed the bolt action lever and slowly loaded a round into the chamber (she was thankful the lever could only go along a set path, it made that part really easy to figure out).

"Is that it?" She looked up and asked Brandon.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"That's it." Brandon confirmed.

"Now let's take some shots. I'll teach you about form later, but for now see of you can hit those cans. If you're having trouble keeping it steady you can sit like this, and rest your left elbow on your leg so it's easier." he said demonstrating with a pantomime rifle.
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Is that so?
Back at the lodge, she had seen Glenda teaching Willow how to use a rifle. She remembered the posture for firing. Kind of. She lifted the weapon up and tried to look down the barrel like everyone else did, but like Brandon had said, she couldn't hold it still. She could feel herself and the gun wavering back and forth slightly, so she tried kneeling over, resting her left elbow on her knee. Sure enough, she could hold the rifle still now!

"I'm gonna shoot the middle one!" She announced.

Kelsey looked down the barrel like she had seen everyone else do in the past. Although she couldn't tell if she had it lined up or not, she finally just pulled the trigger and hoped for a hit.

The gun was not as loud as some of the others she had heard, but the kick was surprising. When the adults did it, they always seemed so stable, so she wasn't expect to be knocked off balance by one shot. When she recovered, the first thing she did was look at the stump and noticed that the middle can was still standing; but the can to the left of it had been shot right off! She wasn't quite sure if that meant she succeeded or not.
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Strompy
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She was doing better than his first shoot. He got mad after a few misses, the madder he got the worse his groupings, and the worse his groupings the madder he got. Brandon didn't think a temper tantrum was likely from Kelsey, she was older than he was and far more even tempered.

"Okay then. Well that helps, it gives us an idea of what might be going wrong. Here, place the butt more towards your chest, if you rest it on your shoulder joint with some of the bigger rounds the recoil could cause an injury. This way you have more resistance behind the rifle and the recoil is closer to your centre of mass so it won't throw you around. This time, try to squeeeeeze the trigger, just like this. Sometimes when people pull the trigger they throw off their alignment. See if that helps." he tutored the girl, complete with pantomime.

He had seated himself next to so he could watch what she was doing. He looked at Randall to see him nodding along with what he was saying, Brandon kept forgetting that a lot of the people here were never properly instructed, they'd learned from experience out of necessity.
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Is that so?
"That's a lot to remember..." Kelsey said out loud.

Again, she just tried to focus on WHAT she was doing rather than WHY. There were a few terms she didn't understand completely, but maybe if she just did what he said, it would make more sense. It took her moment to find the right positioning, but she eventually figured out the best way to drive the butt of the weapon into her shoulder joint. Again, she knelt down and looked down the sights of the gun.

BANG!

Holding the weapon felt a little more awkward than it had before, but after she slowly squeezed the trigger, she found her body wasn't thrown around quite as much. She still felt the push back, but she had an easier time keeping her balance through it. Again, the bullet missed its mark; she hadn't hit anything.

"Did you see that?" She grinned. "I didn't fall over!"
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