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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,868 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Noah glanced up at Nolan, and then stopped pacing after a few more steps. He didn’t know the guy very well at all, but they were about the same age, and he seemed nice enough – so he decided to go for it. Why stop being honest now?

“Not, uh, not really,” he admitted. “Alma and I, we just broke up.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Oh crap, I'm sorry."

Aaaaaand I never should have gotten involved in this.

Nolan ran a hand through his overgrown hair and broke eye contact with Noah for a second. He remembered the conversation that he and Alma had in the truck. She wanted to go south into Mexico while Noah had said that there was nowhere left to go. He doubted it was the whole picture, but he felt like he had a part of the picture now.

"Was it because of this place?" He instinctively asked before regretting it. "Ah, you don't have to answer that, actually. I just... went through something similar recently, so I know how rotten it feels. If you want some space right now, I totally understand."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Noah looked around, and resumed pacing, but width-wise, not length-wise now. Just from one wall to the other.

“No, it’s, uh, it’s okay,” he said, gathering his thoughts. “And yeah – it’s this place, sort of. I think I’m staying.”

He reconsidered Nolan’s offer for space. He wasn’t sure if he did want that. He was sure that he wanted to stay, but he just learned a lesson that sometimes getting what you wanted didn’t feel good.

“Have you seen Hank?” he asked.

* * *

Lowell killed a third bottle – that time it was vodka. He sucked it down his throat like it was water, and then he moved on.

It was Ruby – he knew it, he just fuckin' knew it.

He’s gonna stay here and be with her and with his new fuckin’ family, he thought. He’s gonna get everything he ever wanted.

But what about me? he asked himself. What about fuckin’ me?

When do I get what I want?

He ripped the top off another bottle.

* * *

Hank let out a long and calming breath once his family emerged from the depot, back into the sunlight. He had been feeling uneasy since he concluded his interview, and that feeling remained as he sat through Andy and especially Ruby’s sessions. Fortunately, theirs were shorter than his, and when they were done the family was invited to get some air.

“I’ll come get you soon once I’ve made a decision,” Leonora promised them as she showed them out. “I need to discuss it with the brothers, send a letter to the Bishop… But it’s all formalities. You’re the kind of people we want in our community.”

“I’ll talk to you soon,” Gregory echoed, shaking his hand yet again.

So now, he supposed, they waited. They started making their way back to the Homewood Suites. As they walked, Hank felt the watchful eyes of the men on them, in a way he hadn’t on the way there.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he asked Ruby, putting his arm around her as they walked.

She shrugged. “I’m fine, dad,” she said. “She just asked me questions.”

“About what?" he asked.

“You know – where we came from, how we all know each other, that kind of thing. Didn’t they ask you the same things?”

“What about the others? Did she ask you about them?”

“A little,” Ruby shrugged once again. “But, like, I don’t know anything about them. I’ve barely spoken with them.”

She looked up at him and arched an eyebrow.

“Are you okay, dad? Is everything all right?”

He looked around, and ended up making eye contact with one of the local young men patrolling the camp. The man gave him a courteous nod back and kept going.

Hank had to ask himself – what am I worried about? He couldn’t come up with an answer.

“Yeah,” he said. “Everything’s good.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
He probably wants to talk about something else. And I kinda do too, I'm not good with breakup therapy, Nolan shifted uncomfortably in place. Plus he just broke up with his girlfriend for this place. Not sure I would go that far for a bunch of religious freaks.

"Not since he and his family left for the interviews an hour or two ago." Nolan looked down the hallway toward the staircase they had left on. "They're probably pretty picky with their applicants here. I mean, who wouldn't be these days, right? They shouldn't be gone much longer."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Noah scratched at his sideburns – not because they were itchy, but because he was nervous, and he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

“A’ight, cool,” he said. “I guess I’ll, uh, I’ll wait. Thanks for…”

He trailed off. He didn’t know for what.

“You know, thanks,” he said.

* * *

Riley was carrying CJ back to the hotel in her arms. From the air, he extended his arm and pointer finger.

Andy just nodded forward. “Look who it is,” he said.

Hank looked, and was surprised to see it was Antonio and Brandon. They were in the midst of a conversation and heading in their direction.

Hank nodded at them himself once they got closer. “Brandon, Father,” he greeted. “Did you guys change your mind? Are you interviewing after all?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon nodded his head and smiled to hear Antonio's answer. His thanks went unspoken but they were evident in his face. There was no law to bind them, and Brandon at least wasn't even Catholic but even so having an actual priest marry them was pretty special.

"Ah, there they are. Looks like they haven't had their hearts cut out at least." Brandon remarked quietly to Antonio as he spotted the Kelly's and Co down the street from them.

"Hey. We just wanted to make sure you hadn't been sacrificed to Dagon or something." Brandon greeted them warmly as they approached.

He kept his best poker face on as he stole fleeting glances at guards in the area. He didn't need to see them to recognize their scrutinizing gazes, he and Antonio were plainly armed and in their position he'd want an armed guest to know they were being watched.

"We're also still leaving. I was hoping I could speak to guys privately, maybe shed some light on some things." he said softly.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
I didn't really do anything...

"Yeah, no problem, man." Nolan did his best to sound sure of himself. "I hope this place works out for you."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Hank saw Ruby smirking a little at Brandon’s joke, but he couldn’t bring himself to join her. Then, once he had asked to have a word, Hank pursed his lips. Speak privately, shed light – those were foreboding terms. He looked around at the watchful eyes nearby.

“Oh – yeah, okay,” he said.

“I’ll take the kids back,” Riley said, very likely sensing his discomfort.

“Thanks,” he gave her a nod, then turned to his best friend. “Andy, could you…”

“I’ll go with them,” Andy agreed before he could finish his sentence.

He didn’t know why he thought they needed an escort. Maybe the others' paranoia was wearing off on him. Maybe he was still a little off balance from that interview.

Once his family had left, he turned back to Brandon and Antonio. They were standing in the courtyard by the Mexican café you either had to circle around or pass through to get to the street with the hotel. Hank pointed at its doors.

“We can talk in there,” he said.

* * *

“Yeah, me too,” Noah said.

He awkwardly stepped aside to let some of the others from Nolan’s group pass. They all seemed to be heading back to their rooms. He would have done the same, but he didn’t have a room. Alma did. And going back there… wasn’t really an option.

“I’m going to take a walk,” he decided out loud.

* * *

Lowell opened and closed his eyes, struggling to see straight. He had cleaned out five bottles of liquor in almost as many minutes and now either the room was shaking or he was.

If his goal was to feel better, however, then he had failed. He had fucked it up. Just like Noah had, with his decision to abandon him and Alma.

He stumbled backwards into the door. This wasn’t working, he realized. This wasn’t what he wanted.

He turned around and exited into the hallway. He knew where she was sleeping – he had watched her go there last night. It was the same room the redhead had claimed. He would have been jealous, if he hadn’t also seen the redhead leave and never come back.

He fortified his resolve more with every unsteady step he took down the hall. By the time he arrived, he was more determined than he ever had been before.

He knocked on her door. Loudly. Then he knocked again. And again.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon took his seat at one of the tables inside, keeping his back to the corner and facing the door. He couldn't deny he was acting paranoid, but since he'd seen a lot of weird stuff there, and heard very little explanation for it he'd keep it up. These people were an unknown, they could very well be the kind of people who like the world the way it is, or perhaps just a few in the right positions here felt that way. What he was about to say was for Hank's ears only.

"We have the cure." he said bluntly in a quiet tone.

...

Emily slung her bag over her shoulder, she'd be glad to see the back of this place as soon as possible. There was a loud knocking at her door. Quietly she drew her pistol and approached. She looked through the peep hole and saw Lowell leaning on her door with an inscrutable look on his face. What the hell did he want? She opened the door a little and poked her head out.

"Yeah?" she asked.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Lowell’s expression didn’t change. It was locked in place.

“Can I…”

He closed his eyes and concentrated. He didn’t want to sound drunk.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He grabbed the board between his fingers and opened it suddenly. He stepped forward, towards her, and dragged it shut behind him.

* * *

Hank hesitantly took a seat oppose Brandon. He looked him from him to Antonio and back and furrowed his eyebrows.

“The cure to… what?” he asked.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"All this. The rotters. We have it, and we're taking it to a lab in California where they'll do whatever it is they do with it." Brandon explained.

...

"What the fuck!?" Emily demanded angrily.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“I just…”

Lowell closed his eyes again. This time because the room was spinning a little, and he needed it to stop. He remained rooted in place.

“I just wanna talk.”

* * *

“All this,” Hank repeated, sounding incredulous.

His eyebrows were still furrowed. He knew rotters meant biters but he was having trouble absorbing the idea that were was an end to them. He had seen the horde that passed by the ranch. He had resigned himself to the sad fact that this was what life was now.

“I don’t even know where to start,” he said. “Where did you get it, maybe – and how do you know its real? And why California? And…”

He leaned back in his chair.

“Guys, is this some sort of weird joke?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon shook his head gently.

"Eli found it on a dead soldier in New York, it had a map with instructions to deliver it to Argonne National Lab attached. When we got to the lab it'd been sabotaged but we managed to find a journal of one of the scientists detailing their last days, which confirmed we were carrying the cure to whatever it is that keeps rotters going even though they're dead. It also mentioned that the survivors were evacuated to another lab in California. So that's why we've come all this way. We never heard of any safe zone out there. We're delivering the cure to them." Brandon explained briefly.

...

Emily scratched her head. This was an unwelcome intrusion but whatever was going on with him and his friends upset him and for some reason he decided to reach out to her. It'd be a little callous to tell him to fuck off even though she'd be well within her rights to. On top of that, he was drunk. He reeked of it, and he was sober not long ago.

"How much have you had to drink? You should go to the bathroom and puke some of that up before you get any worse." she advised gesturing toward the bathroom.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Lowell’s only half heard what Emily was saying over the volume of his own insistent thoughts. His vision was blurry, but he followed her gesture to the bathroom door, and then back to her face.

“I…”

He leaned towards her, going for a kiss.

* * *

“That’s…” Hank didn’t know what to say. “That’s something.”

A cure? It seemed impossible. He hoped it wasn’t. A world without biters was a dream he would love nothing more than to see come true.

“Father?” he asked, turning to Antonio, who had remained silent throughout this exchange. “You believe in this?”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio closed his eyes. Whether or not Hank believed him was irrelevant. He had come here with Brandon to make sure that he was okay.

"I... believe it." He finally admitted. "I admit, it sounded like a stretch at first -- especially since I did not meet up with them until after Chicago, but... from what I've seen, I think it is true."
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