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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,883 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Hank let out a short chuckle as he cut up the pancakes on his own plate. Beside him, Riley gave him a dirty look, clearly not as amused.

“We’ll keep the windows rolled down,” he promised her quietly.

She didn’t have a response. He knew her objections were about more than that. After they had finished with the RV, she took a moment to confront him with them. She reminded him about the end of last night, when CJ set off that alarm accidentally and Eli yelled at Ruby. Hank didn’t like that either, and that’s what he told Riley – but like he had said earlier, they had worked it out alright, and that was the end of it.

“We can keep working it out for one more day,” he had said.

She didn’t have a response for him then, either.

When he was finished with his meal, he thanked Brandon again, and went off with Andy to scavenge what they could from the remains of his truck. His sleeping bag, for example, and a few foldable lawn chairs he kept in the trunk.

“Let us know when you’re ready to go,” he said to Eli as he left.

* * *

Breakfast was coming to a close. Hank and Andy were already gone, and it looked like the other Kelly’s were dusting off their plates as well.

“Yeah, thanks B,” Jimmy said, patting himself on his belly as he rose from his seat. “Could use some help – Nolan, how about it, since you’re going to be my passenger and all?”

“Connor, give them a hand,” Annie said.

As Connor got up, he summoned a half-frown – which was kind of his resting expression these last couple days. It was a result of being “bored,” he said last night, while waiting out the rotter horde. It wasn’t really a complaint she had expected going into all this.

He left with them, though, and Riley escorted Hank’s kids out only a minute later. Annie looked around and decided it was now or never.

“Brandon,” Annie said, giving him a meaningful look. “You were going to show me something outside before we left.”

She looked to Antonio next.

“Antonio, you wanted to see it too.”

She stood up, cringing a little on the inside. It wasn’t exactly subtle, what she just said, but she wasn’t exactly a spy. Medical school didn’t train her for this kind of work.

As she headed for the door, she tapped Emmett on the shoulder. She gave Eli a covert glance as she crossed the threshold. He didn’t seem to be paying attention – he was chewing silently, staring forward.

* * *

The room was almost all cleared out now. The trio of Noah, Lowell and Alma had left to check out Jimmy’s truck, and Emily filed out as well, Eli wasn’t sure towards where. That left Eli almost alone in the big kitchen.

Almost.

Kelsey started to leave as well. Eli’s gaze – fixed on the wall for so long until now, as he let his thoughts wander – suddenly locked on her.

“Wait,” he said. “Sit down. We need to talk about yesterday.”

* * *

Annie nervously dug her hands into the pockets of her hot pink winter jacket. She, Brandon and Antonio had gathered near the tree line. The smell of rotters was thick around here, but it was out of sight from the main house.

“Sorry to be so cloak and dagger about this,” she said. “I know, Antonio, you must be confused. But we need to talk about something. About Eli.”

That’s when Emmett appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Annie didn’t even hear him approach, but she knew he was coming, so she wasn’t surprised.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio stuffed his hands into the pockets into his decidedly unfashionable overalls, subconsciously emulating Annie. He nodded his head slightly at the statement, suddenly understanding what was going on here. It seemed that he and Annie were not the only ones that had had enough of Eli's dictatorial law.

"Well, I am not nearly as confused now as I was five seconds ago." Antonio stated in the silence that followed.

He almost kept going, but decided to stop there. It might be best if he waited and saw what Annie and the others had to say first. Was she just upset about Eli and looking to talk it out? Or did she have something more drastic in mind? Drastic didn't really seem like Annie's style, but the world today had a way of changing people -- like it had for Eli. Nevertheless, she now had his full attention.

* * * * *

Kelsey tensed up slightly as Eli called back to her. She had almost gotten out of the house, too. But now she was being called back in. To talk about the fiasco that was yesterday's training practice, of all things. But she couldn't really slip away from it now, so she hesitantly turned around and wandered back into the other room and took a seat a reasonable distance from Eli.

"What happened yesterday happened." Kelsey shrugged almost apathetically.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli shook his head, while his gaze remained fixed on her.

“I want to talk about what didn’t happen,” he said. “You know what happens when people die, right?”

He was pretty confident she did, but he needed to hear her say it.

* * *

“It’s okay,” Annie turned to Brandon after Emmett’s arrival.

He hadn’t said anything to indicate it wasn’t okay, but she would have understood if Emmett put him on edge.

“We talked earlier,” she explained. “He understands.”

She turned back to Antonio, and responded to him, finally.

“I think you do too, right? We don’t need to tell you why we’re concerned?”
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Is that so?
"What does that have to do with yesterday?"

Kelsey didn't mean to sound annoyed; but she was. Not only was Eli asking her a question that was condescending, but he was asking a question about the one thing Kelsey didn't want to talk about right now; dead people. That meant talking, and thinking, about Jen, Glenda, Julie, and dad. And while she could tolerate it, Eli was kind of the last person she wanted to talk to about it now. Nolan had defended him a little last night, but it wasn't enough to really change her perception of him.

* * * * *

If Antonio were a more prideful man, this would be the time to say I told you so. And a part of him still wanted them to acknowledge that. Eli had been a bit of a loose cannon for the entirety of the short time Antonio had known him. But maybe it was because they were friends with him before that they were more dismissive of it at first. Well, save for Annie, who had shared his concern for as long as he was here.

"I know." He answered simply. "The question I see is what can we do about it?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“What we can’t do is let it go on the way it has,” Annie said. “Eli can’t keep calling the shots, can’t keep deciding who lives and who dies. We have to step in. As a group.”

She bit her lip as she considered Darren again, and recalled the sudden horror she felt when Eli drew his gun, and fired it before anyone could object.

“But it’s not that simple,” she added. “He has the cure.”

* * *

Eli gave Kelsey a disapproving look.

“The answer is, they come back,” he pushed on. “But they come back as something else. They’re not themselves. Not anymore. Because they’re dead. It doesn’t matter what they look like, or who they like. It’s not them. You get that, right?”

Eli remembered how Randall kept Kelsey’s mom from her as she died. He also remembered how Randall went out, and how there was probably nothing left of his body. Until recently, Kelsey had been spared seeing a loved one reanimated. But that had changed. And if it happened again...
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Is that so?
Antonio curled his lips into a frown. Stealing the cure and running without him was something Antonio had considered before, but not approaching Eli as a group. But, maybe, that was because it felt like only he and Annie were on the same page with Eli's behavior. Everyone else... just kind of went along with it. But having four people... that was something sizable. If they could convince Willow or Nolan, that would bring in a majority of their group. He could work with that.

"I agree completely that the way it is now needs to stop. But even if we had the cure, convincing him will be no easy task." Antonio cautioned. "Nor will it necessarily be a safe one."

* * * * *

Kelsey's senses felt like they were on high alert as she was sitting down talking to Eli. The young girl could feel the pounding of her heart inside her chest accompanied by a growing tightness that made her nothing if not uncomfortable. More uncomfortable than she already was, at least.

"Of course I get it, I'm not stupid!" She defensively retorted to Eli's questioning. "They come back as rotters and try to bite you!"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli was calm as he stared down Kelsey, ignoring the rising pitch of her voice.

“Okay, you’re not stupid,” he said. “I didn’t think you were. One more question – what happens if they succeed? What happens if you get bit?”
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Is that so?
"Th-this is dumb." Kelsey muttered.

She jumped off her chair and made her way toward the front door. She wanted to go outside.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli didn’t get up. He sat right where he was. But his tone was as serious as it has ever been.

“We’re almost done,” he said, then somehow it got even more serious. “Sit down.
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Is that so?
Kelsey stopped.

"Why?" She rose her voice and was on the edge of screaming, but managed to keep herself somewhat composed. "So you can keep reminding me that Jen is dead!?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“That’s right!” Eli said, raising his voice only slightly, before levelling it out again. “She’s dead. An’ that thing out there yesterday, that wasn’t her. An’ if she was alive, she’d be the first to tell you that you can’t hesitate. It doesn’t matter what the rotter looks like, it doesn’t matter who they used to be. They’re dead, an’ it’s up to you end their suffering. If you don’t, chances are you’re next.”

He paused, letting that hang in the air for a few heavy seconds.

“If it happens again, don’t hesitate,” he said
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Kelsey opened her mouth to retort -- no, yell -- at Eli. She wanted to call him everything her parents said not to say to people. Call him an 'asshole' and a 'fucker'. She wanted to scream and vent every single one of her grievances, not just with him but the whole world, directly into his face. But no words came out of her mouth. All that happened were her eyes welled up and reddened as her chest constricted even further.

Then she turned and left the house. Eli didn't call her back this time.

Though even if he had, she wouldn't have listened.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon shifted uncomfortably as they spoke. He knew they were right to be concerned and he also felt relieved he and Annie weren't alone in that concern. They were also just talking. Even so it felt clandestine, like they were plotting a coup or something. Brandon wanted to deal with this situation for everyone's sake, including Eli's.

He'd been looking worse and worse everyday, and it wasn't just the general wear and tear of the road either. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week, his eyes were bloodshot and they had heavy bags under them. Everyone looked bad, some far more than others, but Eli was the one who looked half-dead. Brandon could only put it down to stress.

Eli was a private guy. Brandon had been with him since Mount Kisco but he still didn't have much better of an idea about Eli than anyone else. Whatever was going on in his head he kept it locked up tight. Even though he thought all of this there was still an urge to defend Eli and it was fighting with what he knew to be true. They couldn't trust Eli with the cure or with the decisions right now.

When Antonio spoke though Brandon had to speak. Not safe? How?

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely unsure.
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Antonio locked eyes with Brandon.

"All I am saying is that we also don't really know how he will react if he feels threatened enough. His behavior has been increasingly spontaneous and unpredictable, even during the short time I have been here."

He explained curtly and honestly to Brandon. Though his words felt like they were pretty condemning, so he quickly made sure to clarify;

"I think Eli is a good man at his core and I sincerely doubt he would turn violent; at least against us. But we have to at least acknowledge the possibility. His mind isn't in a good place right now. Even if we go into this trying to help him, he will probably not see it that way."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie nodded along with Antonio’s words. Her thoughts seemed to be in step with his. Eli was ultimately well meaning, and in his own way, she knew he cared about the group more than anything. But his own way had become toxic and erratic and there was no telling how he’d react if he even knew about this meeting. Most likely, he would see it as a betrayal.

“It’s a crass term, perhaps, but I think what we need is something like an intervention,” Annie suggested. “Right now, he doesn’t understand there’s a problem. He needs to see that there is one, and that we’re sincerely trying to help, not hurt him.”

She sighed. She was a bit steadier than Brandon was – she hadn’t known Eli as long, had been through slightly less alongside him – but she was for from 100 per cent. This whole situation still made her uneasy.

“I don’t have much experience with this kind of thing,” she admitted. “Actually, Antonio, this is why I wanted to consult with you before anyone else. Have you ever…?”
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