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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,058 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | Feb 20 2015, 05:29 PM Post #271 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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"I guess," Eli said, and his frown deepened. "But none of us know the area. So much shit could go wrong." He looked again at the rotters that had been gathered at the worksite, and were slowly making their way towards them. As the closest one took a forward step in the long grass, it lost its balance and collapsed backwards, rolling several times down the hill. The others paid it no attention and kept walking. "What's the alternative?" Jeff asked, still in the car. It was a good question, Eli had to admit. He didn't have an answer. Anxiously, he approached the flipped motor home to get a better. He leaned over to look in the front windows -- and jumped back immediately. The sound of glass breaking startled him, and he lost his balance, landing on his ass. The skeletal arm of a rotter poked through the broken window. It must have been energized by the sight of living flesh, which tended to happen. Another arm poked through a moment later, and a groan sounded from the front seat. Slowly but surely, the face of a rotter appeared as it dragged itself out -- it looked old, and had thick black eyebrows and gray hair. Its yellow eyes fixed on the group. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 20 2015, 05:48 PM Post #272 |
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Is that so?
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Randall jumped forward at the sight of the rotter crawling out of the mobile home; spending so much time outside the lodge back in Mount Kisco had made him quick to react to this sort of thing. It wasn't able to really defend itself at all as Randall came at it from the side, stamped his heel hard onto its back, and then stabbed it in the back of the head twice for good measure. He cautiously wiped the blade off on the rotter's shirt before backing away from the fallen vehicle. "I am so fucking tired of these things." He grunted, offering a hand to Eli to help him back up. "I don't want to go through the city on my opinion alone. You got any other ideas?" |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 20 2015, 06:23 PM Post #273 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli accepted Randall's hand, a little shaken. When he was on his feet, he looked over Randall's shoulder and his eyes lit up. The old man wasn't the only one in the car. There was a littler one -- a seriously littler one, maybe 10 years old. The man's son, probably. It appeared as soon as Randall had turned his back, crawling through the wrecked window with much more ease than the one before him. By the time Eli noticed it was there, the kid rotter was on its knees. By the time Eli could react, it had made it to its feet, and was going for Randall's leg. Eli drew his Supergrade as fast as he could, and aimed past Randall's waist. He instantly clicked the safety off and pulled the trigger. BLAM! The shot obliterated the kid's right eye, sending its neck snapping back and its body falling backwards. It didn't get up. Eli grimaced, and resisted the urge to curse again. He just let his own neck fall back and he stared up at the sky in frustration. Every rotter in five miles would have heard that over the quiet. He glanced at the rotters coming from the construction site. It might have just been his imagination, but they even seemed energized by the noise. It looked like they were getting faster as they got farther up the hill. "Lovely," Jeff deadpanned from the car, which made Eli a little mad. "Sorry about that," Eli said to Randall, his frustration evident. "Let's just go." "Wait," Mac said. Eli looked to him as he holstered the Supergrade. "I can get it out of the way." "How you gonna do that?" Eli asked, raising an eyebrow. "My truck is," Mac replied. "Just need to pick up a little speed, then run into it. Between my dad and I, we've killed, like, four deers with this thing. If she can survive that, she'll survive this." Eli wasn't convinced. He gestured to the fallen motorhome. "That thing is like twice the size of your truck, never mind a deer. And we need your truck running." "It's not twice the size," Mac replied, sincere. "1.5 times the size. Maybe." Eli felt he was missing the point. "You're carrying a lot of supplies, 'mano, and we're all outta room in the SUV. If you fuck that thing up, we're in trouble." The moaning of the nearby rotters was getting louder. "You wanted an alternative," Mac said, and looked to Randall now. "This is an alternative." Eli sighed. This wasn't his decision to make, he realized. And the man had a point. He raised his hands to get himself out of it, and hopped back in the SUV, then shuffled his way back to his seat. What's gonna happen is gonna happen, he told himself. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 20 2015, 07:30 PM Post #274 |
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Is that so?
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Randall's heart skipped more than a few beats at the close call he had; he hadn't expected there to be a kid in there. He thought he was being cautious, but he had gotten far too comfortable around these things. He didn't let the thought dwell though, there was a more immediate situation at hand that needed his attention. "I don't think we can afford to risk it." Randall told Mac. Even if Mac was right and he could knock this thing out of the way, there was no guarantee they wouldn't hit the same problem further in the city. With all of the supplies in the truck, it would be a devastating blow to their trip if they lost it doing something as reckless and trying to ram into a tipped over mobile home. "Deers are one thing, this is another one entirely. We need your truck in working shape. We'll find another way, don't worry. Just follow me and we will see what we can do." With those words, Randall got back into the driver's seat of the truck. The gunshot would attract more than just the construction site rotters; that was all the invitation he needed to get out of the area. The sooner they could find another way around, the better. He figured, at the very least, they could head to one of the offramps a little ways back and see what it was they were dealing with. |
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| Strompy | Feb 20 2015, 07:55 PM Post #275 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Wait!" Brandon said as an idea came to him. He was watching the approaching rotters and kept an eye on the work site nearby for more. When Mac suggested ramming the RV an alternative came to mind. "There're probably some cables at that work site, between our two cars we can easily pull that thing from one end. Some of us on foot can then push on the other so that it'll swing to one side." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 20 2015, 08:10 PM Post #276 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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"That was the right call," Eli said to Randall when he got back in. "And Brandon's idea might work. It still puts us at risk, but at least we're not braving a busy part of town." Again, he was talking more to comfort himself than to genuinely instruct Randall. He looked out the window and tried to memorize some landmarks. Then when Randall started backing up, he saw Mac's face through the front window of his truck -- which was also backing up. He was wearing his seatbelt, his eyes were narrowed, and his expression was one of determination. Beside him, Glenda looked alarmed. Suddenly, Eli's expression mirrored hers. CRASH! The red truck slammed into the motor home at a moderate speed. Glass and pieces of plastic went flying off. Eli gasped involuntarily. But the motor-home spun a little on its side, just like Mac would have hoped. It created some room. Eli stared at the crash-site, and prayed to no God in particular that the truck would move again. It did. A moment later, it started rolling backwards a little bit. Eli got another good glimpse of Mac through his window, his expression still determined. CRASH! There was another loud noise as the truck hit the wreck again, spinning it just a little bit more and creating enough of a window for the truck to keep going through. Eli watched, stunned, as it did. It came to a stop when it was all the way in the clear. Mac hopped out the front seat a moment later. Eli scrambled over Jeff again, heading for the side door of the SUV. He was eager to see the aftermath of the stunt Mac had just pulled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mac repeated, holding his hands out. He was smiling a little, but his rapid apologies also sounded sincere. "I didn't mean to go against you, I just knew I could handle it. And I could. Look, look, look." He gestured to the opening he had formed. Eli didn't bother responding for Randall. He just ran forward, through the gap Mac had created in the road. He circled around to the front of the truck to check the damages -- and there were indeed damages. The front bumper was mangled. The license was unsightly dented. One headlight was totally destroyed, the other hung on its side by a wire. If Eli had to guess, though, he would bet nothing under the hood had been damaged too bad. He wasn't an expert, but it seemed mostly cosmetic, excepting the lights. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 20 2015, 08:29 PM Post #277 |
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Is that so?
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"Good thinking, Brandon." Randall commented with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Too bad Mac isn't very good at listening to instructions though." Randall got out of the SUV once again and approached the apologizing Mac. "What the hell, Mac!?" Randall shouted, pointing at the RV. "What if there had been cars behind that thing? What if it was wedged in tighter than we thought? Then we'd be trying to figure out how we were going to move all of our people and food in an already crowded SUV! God dammit, Mac, use your head every once in a while; I didn't think I needed to spell out everything wrong with that idea!" Randall took another deep breath and ran a hand across his face. He then dropped his hands to his hips, looked to the ground, then back to the RV and the opening that had been created. He shook his head slowly and fixed his gaze back on Mac. "I'm not saying I'm always right, but as a team, we gotta think about the bigger picture sometimes. This is more than just creative problem solving, it's risk versus reward and resource management. Recklessness doesn't always solve the problem." Randall bit the tip of his tongue, then reached forward and put a hand on Mac's shoulder. "But sometimes it does. And completely off the record for a second here, good job. But try not to make a habit out of that, okay?" He decided not to tell Mac about Brandon's idea. He would just give Mac his scolding and his victory for the time being. "How's it look, Eli?" Randall asked. |
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| Strompy | Feb 20 2015, 08:34 PM Post #278 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"You should exchange details. You're a beast, dude." Julie commented surveying the damage. Brandon walked over, smiling, amazed it worked and relieved Mac was okay. "I'm riding with you from here on. We may need a rifle at the ready. That was awesome by the way." he said climbing into the back of the pickup, saying the last part quietly incase it earned him Randall's disapproval. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 20 2015, 08:41 PM Post #279 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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"I'm not a mechanic," Eli answered. "But I don't think it got fucked up too bad. At least I don't see any smoke." "She still runs," Mac said to Eli, then turned to Randall. "And I won't, I promise." Eli looked over to him. He seemed calm, despite the scolding Randall had just given him. Eli noticed him look up into the SUV before circling back around to join Eli at the front of the truck. He seemed nonplussed by the damages. "She's been through worse," he explained without prompting. Then he smiled back at Brandon as he moved cars. He had a big friendly smile, and this was the first Eli had seen him deploy it so genuinely. He grabbed the headlight that hung on by just a wire and shoved it back into place. It was far from a professional fix, but at least now it wouldn't get in the way. He also brushed some broken glass away with his sleeve, and made a few other minor adjustments. Eli watched him, still kind of stunned. When he was done, Mac looked up at Glenda, still in the passengers seat with her belt on. "Sorry about that. You okay, Glenda?" In the meantime, Eli just shook his head in disbelief, and started heading back. He stopped at the back of the pickup, where Brandon had made some room amid some of the boxed-up supplies. "That'll create some room in the back of the SUV, at least," he commented. "I was getting tired of Jeff basically sitting on my lap. Just take care not to fall out, alright?" |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 20 2015, 08:48 PM Post #280 |
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Is that so?
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"Don't worry about me, I'm not that old." Glenda reassured Mac with a smile. "Besides, that was fun." Outside, Randall was able to breathe a little easier. It looked like everything was okay; so no harm done. He just hoped that this didn't come back to bite him in the ass later with some hidden problem that nobody was aware of yet. But whatever happened now happened. Worst case scenario, Randall assured himself they could find another car somewhere in the city. "Let's keep moving guys." Randall clapped to get everyone's attention. The rotters on the hill were slowly, but surely approaching them. |
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| Strompy | Feb 20 2015, 11:36 PM Post #281 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Let's roll." Brandon said happily, rapping the roof letting Mac know he was settled securely. The relief of not having to stick around and risk themselves loooking for cables was immense. This whole area was oppressive. He imagined biters in every car and around every corner. A feeling of vulnerability exacerbated his paranoia, sitting there exposed he could feel like there were eyes everywhere. Julie felt much the same, her concern was that it wasn't just deadites out there. They had guns, food, water and women. That made a tempting target. She admitted to herself that her paranoia was unjustified. She'd found these people hadn't she? They hadn't given up on their hope or humanity, there were probably lots of people like them out there too. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 21 2015, 02:11 AM Post #282 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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"That went surprisingly well," Jeff said when the SUV started moving again, falling in line behind Mac's truck -- which was now taking the lead. "Am I the only one surprised by how well that went?" "No," Eli answered, allowing himself to stretch out a little bit now that Jeff was no longer directly beside him. "No you're not." In no time, their little convoy was back on the four-lane thruway, and had plenty of room to maneuver between the cars and trucks that had been left behind in the traffic. They were also elevated above the city, and the rotters that infested it. Now it was just a case of going straight through to the bridge. Then they'd be in Canada, and Eli would have to say his goodbyes. He found that he wasn't looking forward to that. He still had no desire to be responsible for the fate of the world -- or even the fate of the group -- but he couldn't deny he had achieved a certain sense of belonging in his time with them. After their trial at the lodge, then their teamwork back at Patterson, he maybe felt more at home with them than any crew he had ever run with back in the day. He decided to put off thinking about that until he he had to, a mental strategy that had proven pretty helpful in recent days. "God damn," Jeff said after a while. His voice was quiet, and had a sense of awe. Eli snapped out of his train of thought and followed Jeff's gaze. "God damn," Eli agreed. The mass of lumbering bodies astounded him. It was like a sea of dead flesh. The din of groaning and moaning could be heard through the SUV's closed windows. Hundreds -- hell, maybe even thousands -- of rotters were packed tight in a huge parking lot that must have serviced multiple buildings. They were climbing all over each other and the cars left behind. They were all trying to go south, towards a round stadium that dwarfed all other nearby buildings. Luckily, that was the opposite direction that the crew was going. "Maybe they saw people down there," Jeff said. His jaw hung open. "Or maybe they just think they did," Eli replied. He was just as shocked, but did a slightly better job hiding it. "Glad we didn't have to go through the city," Jeff said. "Yeah 'mano," Eli said. "Me too." Jeff turned away, looking back towards the front of the car. "Hey boss, not to be that guy -- but shit, I guess I am that guy. How much longer 'till we're out of town?" |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 21 2015, 03:13 AM Post #283 |
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Is that so?
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"Holy shit..." Willow murmured from the back seat, but didn't contribute much beyond that. "Not long, actually." Randall sounded happy just being able to say that out loud; he pointed out the window to the left, between the trees and houses there were glimpses of blue water to be seen sparkling in the near distance. "That should be Lake Erie and Niagara River over there. In a few miles here, we should see an exit that will take is right over the Peace Bridge and into Canada." Randall swerved the car slightly to dodge a few abandoned cars in the road. "Not to say we'll be out of the fire over there; but we'll be able to slide by the bigger population centers on the other side and stick to more suburban areas." |
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| Strompy | Feb 21 2015, 04:54 AM Post #284 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Sweet Jesus." Brandon said with a hint of amusement at the horde of rotters. The sight caused a shock that he couldn't really process, so he just tittered nervously. Julie just placed her face in her palm as if not acknowledging the horde would somehow protect her, she kept a hand on her pistol all the same. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 21 2015, 06:23 PM Post #285 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Farther up the road, the thruway sank to ground level, which was a bit unnerving. If he looked over Jeff’s shoulder and out the window, Eli could see a trail of rotters lumbering down the railroad, towards the mass of their kind assembling to the south. A few of them saw the car moving and changed direction, but the convoy was out of reach soon enough, and they’d get distracted again by the rumbling of the horde below. Eli breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the ‘Exit 9’ sign further up the road. It read ‘Peace Bridge Ft Erie Can,’ and while it didn’t mean they were out of the woods yet, it did mean they were close. Once again, the exit was only two lanes, but the gaps between the railings were wide, and they weren’t faced with another blockade. Randall followed Mac’s truck as it navigated the long turn leading up to the U.S. Customs station and the duty free shop. Soon enough they were at an expansive intersection, and while it was littered with abandoned vehicles – including a row of commercial trucks – there was plenty of space. As they moved through it, Eli looked around as far as he could. He could make out only a couple moving rotters struggling to navigate the maze of cars. A lot more were dead. There were even a couple piles of ravaged-looking bodies. Eli could only assume this had been the sight of a battle. Their convoy got on the road to the bridge, which went directly past the duty free store – where the door was blocked by the biggest pile of bodies yet. It was an eerie sight. Eli decided not to comment on it out loud. They drove past the bodies. In no time, they were on the bridge. There were three lanes plus sidewalks, and it looked like they had a clear path across. The mood in the car noticeably lightened a little. “Anybody got anything to declare?” Jeff joked, looking out at the water. Eli looked out at the water too. Unlike the urban desolation they had just passed through, it seemed unaffected by the last month or so. That was nice to see. About halfway over the bridge, Mac’s truck slowed as it drove onto the sidewalk to avoid an abandoned car that straddled two lanes. Randall’s SUV did the same. Their progress remained slow afterwards, as they had to make a careful turn to the other side of the bridge to avoid another vehicle in the way. Eli looked away from the river and started paying attention. There was something unusual about the way the cars were left behind, he realized. He couldn’t put his finger on it exactly. It just didn’t seem random. The way through was getting purposely circuitous, almost. Or maybe he was just getting paranoid. He didn’t say anything, and the convoy kept going. They switched lanes several more times before they arrived on the other end. They were greeted by three flags – Canada’s, the United States’, and the United Nations’ – and the road opened up leading into the Fort Erie customs checkpoint. The lane for commercial vehicles was blocked by the body of a tipped over truck, so they had to go forward. The many other lanes were crowded by a graveyard of abandoned cars, but Mac’s truck found an opening and the SUV followed. Eli felt uneasy, but also a little victorious. “Hey Jeff?” he said, looking over. Jeff looked back at him, expectant. “We’re out of town,” Eli said. * * * As Mac inched the truck forward through the maze of cars, he grinned widely. He directed that smile at Glenda, and then tapped the back window. When he got Brandon’s attention, he leaned his head out the side and looked back. “Hey Brandon,” he said, his enthusiasm obvious. “Welcome to Canada!” |
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7:31 PM Jul 10