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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,889 Views) | |
| Strompy | Sep 15 2015, 08:38 PM Post #2806 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon and Willow would have some alone time again. He looked forward to it, but not for the same reason he normally did. There was so much he wanted to talk to her about. As they walked to their cabin Brandon looked over at Jen's grave. They had to bury her in a hurry and didn't get much time at all to process her loss. There was so little time for things these days. He opened to door for Willow and closed it gently behind them. It was a shame, if they hadn't just lost their friend, hadn't covered this cabin in gore and weren't about to be surrounded by cannibalistic dead people this would be a very romantic spot. "When I woke up this morning, I thought I was dreaming. Or dead." Brandon said as he placed his cane by the door. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 15 2015, 09:44 PM Post #2807 |
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Is that so?
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Willow curled her lips into the best smile she could manage through the exhaustion and emotion. Jen was dead. Willow was crushed. But she found enough strength to keep on living regardless. Death had become such a commonality these days that it was starting to affect her less and less. This group wouldn't be the same without her uplifting attitude though. She should have stayed in Flint. "Which would you have preferred?" She reached into her coat and pulled out her orange pill bottle; then Willow popped it open and placed a few of the generic looking pills into her mouth and swallowed. "I can't lie to you. Sometimes I wake up and think being dead would be easier than going through another day. Maybe Jen is the lucky one out of all of this." The bed looked terribly uncomfortable and woefully insufficient in warding off cold from an autumn night. She sat down on the edge of it regardless and looked up at Brandon. |
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| Strompy | Sep 15 2015, 11:27 PM Post #2808 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon hid the worry from his face. The pills were a little concerning but what she said was far more so. He rolled it around in his head, it was only natural to think about this sort of thing, especially at a time like this. Instead of succumbing to panic and demanding she never entertain the idea Brandon calmly sat down next to her and genuinely considered her question. Which would he prefer? He couldn't deny being dead would be a lot less to worry about. If he somehow ended up somewhere nice he could see his family again. He'd never have to know pain again. Or loss. It would be so easy. "I started thinking like that. In Green River. He kept hurting me and hurting me, I thought I was going to die anyway so I thought maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Then I thought about this place. I saw this place. Not this place exactly but somewhere just like it. That's why I got confused when I woke up. I saw mountains and big open fields, wild flowers, a big sky. I saw a house. I saw you, and I saw a family." he began as he took her foot and propped her leg over his. He started undoing the laces on her boot as he spoke, taking her boot off and then taking her other foot to do the same. He didn't speak for a few moments. "I became immune to pain. The dream saved my life. It's what got me out of there. I had to come back to you. I don't know if what I saw is what you want, but my point is our lives can be anything. We have something only a handful of people have. We have a cure. We have hope. So I will always prefer the dream, because you're here when I wake up." he told her looking her hard in her beautiful eyes. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 16 2015, 07:53 PM Post #2809 |
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Is that so?
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Nolan sighed heavily. Everyone was outside in the other room saying their goodbyes and getting ready for a night of hunkering down and praying in a few cabins -- though if all went well, the rotters would never get inside the gate surrounding this ranch. Overall, he wasn't too worried; as long as everyone was quiet and nothing bizarre happened, he was sure that they would get through the night without any problems. His mind still lingered on Jen, but the pain from that was already starting to fade. It wasn't like losing Monica again. Their relationship hadn't had anywhere near the time to develop to that point where it was like losing a close partner. It felt more like losing a friend without having the chance to apologize for wronging them. It sucked and it hurt, but the pain had faded into a dull ache. The pain of loss had become a universal constant by this point and it was starting to get to the point where it all just blended together. Antonio is right though. It is better for her this way -- no more of this constant struggling and living in fear of everyone and everything. She can finally rest and be with her family. And besides, if she had to die... I would have rather it been now than later. Right? Though it sounds pretty terrible when I phrase it like that, doesn't it? "Hey." The voice of his little sister interrupted his train of thought. He had been lying on the bed of their shared bedroom while Kelsey had found her way over to the chair opposite him. With everything going on, the two of them hadn't had much of a chance to talk or anything. He had, admittedly, been a little negligent. From what he heard before, dad had kept Kels near him at all times. And yet she and Nolan had barely exchanged many words at all in the past 48 hours. "Hey, Kels." He pulled himself upright and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. "What's up?" She looked at him pensively for a few lingering moments. Nolan recognized the look almost immediately -- it is the look any child gets on their face when they want to ask a question, but they are debating whether or not they should. He inhaled and did his best to curl his lips into a smile. "What's on your mind?" He asked her again. * * * * * "You flatterer." Willow smirked despite herself and looked back into his eyes. "Though what can I say? My response is pretty much the same. The dream is always better because you're there at the end of it." When both her feet were free, she took Brandon's leg and started to undo his boots in the same way. Even just looking at his face, it was pretty clear that he'd had a rough day. What she would find underneath his clothes was a scary thought. How bad would the damage be over the rest of his body? "Why were you out there anyway? Nolan said you went into a jewelry store. Was it because...?" Her question trailed off as she lifted her gaze from his boot back to his eyes. |
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| Strompy | Sep 16 2015, 09:28 PM Post #2810 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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It didn't take a genius to make the connection between his proposal and the jewelry store. Brandon hoped he wouldn't have to revisit his mistake, but Willow deserved an apology from him for that. "Yeah. Yeah I was. I wanted to surprise you. I'm sorry. It was stupid. I nearly got Nolan killed, almost got myself killed and dragged everyone out to Green River. Jen should still be here." he admitted, looking at the ground. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 16 2015, 11:31 PM Post #2811 |
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Is that so?
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"What do you think of Eli?" Kelsey finally asked. That was... a complicated question. And considering the fact that Eli was sharing a roof with them right now, it might not be in his best interest to go sharing his honest feelings on the matter -- they were conflicting and not at all flattering. "I'll... tell you later." He assured Kelsey with a wry smile. "I don't really feel like talking about Eli right now is all." "Oh, okay." Kelsey seemed a little taken aback. She looked a little disappointed. It was making him feel bad. It looked like this was something she really wanted to get off her mind. He mentally groaned at the awkward situation that it put him in. "Well, what are your thoughts on him then?" Nolan asked her and lowered his voice accordingly. "I can tell you mine after if you still want." * * * * * "It's not your fault. We never should have even been there in the first place." Willow's words were confident as she recalled back to their little council meeting before Eli left. "Eli made such a BFD out of going down to Green River to kill Cory himself. The entire thing was stupid. If we hadn't been up there, then Eli would probably be dead right now. And we'd be back at the hotel waiting for him, potentially with that group of creepers still watching us and waiting. If you hadn't gotten caught out there, they might have tried something even riskier while we were all asleep. More people could have died in that case." She sighed deeply as she finished removing Brandon's second boot and tossed it onto the wooden floor by the bed. The part that bothered her most was that this was completely avoidable. If Eli had decided to stay behind, their manpower might have been enough to deter those guys that attacked Brandon. And they could have left in the morning without ever stirring up Green River. "It doesn't matter though. The second Eli decided that he needed to get his revenge was the second he decided we all weren't walking out of this." She said bitterly. "I told him it was a stupid idea... I'm just... I'm just glad it wasn't you. And that sounds terrible, I know." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Sep 16 2015, 11:41 PM Post #2812 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Once everyone was gone, Eli closed and locked the door. With the windows boarded up, the action also served to eliminate almost all of the natural light. He turned around and headed back into the living room, observing the rest of the room’s occupants in the slivers of sunlight that could still poke through. There was Hank, his sister Riley, and Emily. He wasn’t particularly close with any of them – but then, he wasn’t about to let his guard down no matter who he was with. “We should get some candles going,” he said, barely supressing a sigh. “We might be in for a long night.” * * * Noah rolled his shoulders as he considered the single room that he and five others were about to share for who knows how long. Andy used a match to light a lantern that was already in the room, granting the place a warm glow. Emmett – this other group’s version of Andy, it seemed – also contributed by placing a pack of cards on the stand nearby. “If you get bored,” he said in his gruff voice. Noah nodded his thanks, then looked around. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m already bored.” He looked to the priest. “Tony, right? You up for a game of Hearts? Crazy Eights? Go Fish?” * * * As the soothing sounds of Marvin Gaye played in his headphones, Jimmy observed the road through the scope of his sniper rifle. The first rotter horde – or deadhead horde, as he preferred – was on the move below him, wandering shoulder to shoulder down the road. He was about to witness a moment of truth. The rotters were approaching the turn-off towards Swett Ranch, and they’d either take it or simply keep going and avoid it altogether. There was a chance this first threat might not be a threat at all. Jimmy was crossing his fingers. Then the first deadhead turned – Jimmy didn’t know why, couldn’t even begin to guess. Did it recognize the footprints? That seemed hard to believe. Did it smell something, somehow? A little easier to swallow, but still tough. A second deadhead craned its neck, then changed course to follow along. More deadheads followed, until the entire procession was fanning out and heading towards the ranch. Just bad luck, Jimmy had to conclude. It didn’t matter – the group was prepared for this. Boarded up windows, rotter guts on the wall. It was a good plan, should work. Even after these rotters bulldozed over the fences, they’d have no idea what they were looking for or even that there was anything to find. “Any minute now,” Jimmy whispered into the radio. |
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| Strompy | Sep 17 2015, 12:45 AM Post #2813 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"So am I." Brandon said quietly. He knew it should have been him that paid for his mistake but selfishly he was glad it wasn't. He couldn't ignore or deny his role. He could maybe forgive himself eventually but he couldn't deny that he had a hand in it. There was another part to it that had to be addressed too. Eli. His favorite topic. "There's a lot of maybes there. Too many to lay this on Eli, even if he's making himself a very easy target right now. He wad wrong, but it isn't his fault either." he said. Maybe it was just his instinct to stand up for people when they couldn't defend themselves, but he couldn't let the blame rest on him. It was probably because he was his friend. Even when they wereon the opposite side of things. There was guilt there too. As justified as he felt talking with Annie about Eli it still felt disloyal to him. "And about Eli. You can't call him boss or anything like that anymore, even jokingly. I think this is all getting to him. Whether he's getting too comfortable with it or exactly the opposite, he's making some questionable decisions." Brandon said. Questionable was putting it mildly. ... "Probably some emergency candles in the kitchen. I'll go take a look." Emily volunteered. As she made her way to the kitchen she passed Ruby and CJs room. Those kids must be pretty shaken up, especially the little one. They hadn't had any contact with them as far as she knew. They were all just strangers with guns to them. Maybe she could help put them at ease, put a face to the group, lef them know they were people too. She rapped lightly on the door. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 17 2015, 01:55 AM Post #2814 |
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Is that so?
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Antonio took a few moments to take in the cabin he was sharing with Emmett and four strangers. It was hard to get a good feel for it in the dark, but it was quaint. With the same bare wood making the walls, floors, ceiling, and furniture the only relief were the old roughly woven carpets and sheets. It certainly was not much to look at it. "I'm in." Antonio nodded. "Just try not to cheer too loudly when I lose." It was going to be a long night. Playing cards was a good way of building up camaraderie and warding off the inevitable threat of boredom. For a brief moment, Antonio wished they had something to bet, but suppressed the urge almost as soon as it appeared. Not as though we even have anything to bet. "Anyone else in?" * * * * * "He's scary." Kelsey whispered. "Ever since... ever since dad died... he's been different. I don't like it." She glanced at the closed door briefly before returning her gaze to her brother. "He came up to me the night dad died. He said that he would never let anything bad happen to me. But he was all covered in blood and looked like those crazy guys mom said never to talk to or look at." She explained tentatively. "It was scary. And then earlier with the rotters..." "Yeah, I heard about that." Nolan cut her off. Frankly, he had mixed feelings on that too. He was mad at Eli for sure. But he also couldn't say that Eli had really been wrong so far. It was pretty harsh training, but it was also the closest thing to a real simulation that anyone had at their disposal. If anything, the experience that she and Connor had earned fighting off real rotters was invaluable. In a way, he was thankful to him for the idea, despite how scary it had been for them at the time. And even thinking back on Cory, there were too many variables in play. Nolan was mad at Eli, but he also understood why he wanted to kill the guy. And he understood that a lot of lives might be better for it too. "Eli is a bit crazy at times, but he has all our best interests at heart." Nolan explained to her as best as he could. "He is scary. He is intense. He can be violent. But I think I can safely say he is doing it for you and everyone else here. He's just... I think it's too much for him sometimes is all. He shoulders it all himself. It would be a heavy burden for anyone. I think I know that better than anyone after just leading people around the other night. And that wasn't even a fraction of what he's gone through." Kelsey tilted her head curiously, but didn't respond. "I guess what I am trying to say... is that he drives me up the wall sometimes, but I understand why he does what he does." * * * * * "It feels weird talking about him like that behind his back." Willow admitted to Brandon; he was one of her oldest friends now. Despite their disagreements, he knew that she had his back. Wendy may have worked out okay, but she wasn't so sure about the Green River incident yet. And with these new people around, everything felt like a ticking time bomb in her gut. "And I know you and him are pretty close. I... I am mad at him right now. But I haven't really had time to organize my thoughts yet, you know?" |
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| Strompy | Sep 17 2015, 02:08 AM Post #2815 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"I feel the same way, but he did something inexcusable today. You can't tell anyone this, especially not Annie. Connor wanted to join us when we were in that fight. Eli said okay." he explained. Even that Darren guy he killed didn't give him half as much concern as that incident, and Darren concerned him plenty. The last time Eli acted that impulsively he killed Emmett's kid brother. Emmett tracked them down and took them apart. He could have killed several of them and he Brandon couldn't hold it against him if he decided to kill Eli. He didn't though. He chose a higher path and Eli learned nothing from the experience. Who would come after them next? Darren had a sister. What were the odds she'd be so merciful if she came after them. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 17 2015, 03:28 AM Post #2816 |
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Is that so?
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"So... he doesn't mean to be scary?" Kelsey finally asked Nolan after a few moments of silence. "No, I don't think so." Nolan assured her. "He likes you, actually. He just... isn't very good at showing it." Kelsey's mouth curled into a small smile. If nothing else, she looked a little relieved. Though nothing he said was anything particularly deep or insightful. And Kelsey was smarter than she let on, she probably knew all that. Nolan just figured she wanted someone to confirm for her what she was already thinking. Not that he could blame her there either. He returned her smile, got up from the bed, walked over to her, and ruffled her hair a little. "It's gonna be alright." He told her sincerely. "I promise." * * * * * Willow pursed her lips pensively and looked down at the ground. Of course, Willow had seen Connor outside -- but now she knew why he was outside with them. She just kind of assumed he got caught up in the moment, but the idea that Eli willingly permitted it was concerning. "I won't tell her." She said simply in response. "And speaking of that, I think you did the right thing earlier. Accepting the surrender, I mean. I was angry and upset and jilted. I was not myself." Willow ran a hand across her face in subtle frustration at herself. "Some days I feel like the girl back at Mount Kisco that believed we could always turn over a new leaf and talk problems out. But recently, I find myself wanting to shoot first and ask questions later on the other days. Earlier today, I was definitely feeling the latter. And if you and Antonio hadn't stepped up and taken charge just then, I'd probably really be regretting everything right now." |
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| Strompy | Sep 17 2015, 04:05 AM Post #2817 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"I love that girl. Hold onto her." he informed her taking her hand in his and pressing it to his lips. "When we killed Wendy and her people I felt that way exactly. I was so tired of people like them. Eli and I, we're both murderers now. We had our reasons. Wendy and her people probably felt they had theirs. What has to be different about us is that we give people a chance. It might be dangerous, but imagine if we killed one of those kids today. People have to be worth the risk or we're no different from Wendy or even Cory." Brandon mused out loud. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 18 2015, 05:41 PM Post #2818 |
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Is that so?
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Willow smirked regardless at his show of affection. "It's not just you and Eli that are murderers now. I am too. I've killed... shit... I can't even remember how many people I've killed anymore." Now that was concerning. The first people she killed back in New York had left an impression on her. She had a difficult time pulling the trigger at another human being in cold blood. In fact, pulling the trigger on Mo, Wendy's sniper, was the first time she had ever ended a life in cold blood. And the worst part was... after the initial shock wore of it wore off, she didn't care. "I think I stopped counting around Flint." She added. |
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| Strompy | Sep 19 2015, 12:36 AM Post #2819 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"I never bothered to keep track. It's not something I want to know." Brandon said wearily as he leaned back and stretched himself out on the bed. It had been just over a fortnight since he arrived at Mount Kisco. So much had happened since then. He'd made and lost friends. He'd fallen in love, and asked that woman to marry him. Maybe that was insane but he hardly had room to second guess himself with all the other reasons he had to do so. He committed murder. It wasn't a fight. It wasn't to save somebody h cared about. He did it because he could and because he felt justified in doing it. Somehow admitting to his guilt to Annie before, instead of trying to defend what he did, gave him a greater sense of peace about it than before. He was wrong, and he could live with it. How many days had it been exactly? With a bitter chuckle he remembered something. "I just remembered today's my birthday. I'm twenty-three." he said looking up at the ceiling. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Sep 19 2015, 03:22 AM Post #2820 |
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Is that so?
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"It is?" Willow declared with a hint of surprise. More than the fact that it was his birthday, she was surprised he even remembered what day it was today. She had lost track back at Mount Kisco where the days and weeks started blending together -- though the fact she was almost perpetually high back then did little to help her register the passing of time. She did know that they had been out on the road for about two weeks now, though she didn't know the exact number of days there either. It was kind of impressive. "A shame you're so beat up, we should celebrate." She gently caressed his beaten face as she told him that. The only way she could think to celebrate right now was a way that Brandon was in no way prepared for. Between all the injuries he had sustained, it felt like the roles were reversed from when they were back at Flint. Wait a second. "Or maybe we can. I just remembered a little trick you showed me back in Flint for times like this." Willow assured him with a sly grin while she reached down and started to undo his belt buckle. "Lay down and just let me take care of you for a while. And try to stay quiet so the rotters don't catch on to us." |
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7:28 PM Jul 10