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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,850 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Focus yourself.

Antonio, still shaking from the action of taking another life, rose to his feet. He held his shotgun listlessly in his grip as he approached the others, the conflict apparent on his face and body no matter how much he tried to hide it. The mask he had been able to wear before didn't feel like it belonged to him anymore.

"We... I agree with Andy. Leonora is not important. She can't... we just need to find the others and get out of here... let's get out of here."

* * * * *

Kelsey's face scrunched up in something that resembled confusion and annoyance -- her eyes narrowed and her lips pouted, her free arm pointed in the direction of the truck as it sped away.

"They shot Nolan!" Kelsey said incredulously. "What was I supposed to do!? Let them get away!?"
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"If we catch the train what then? We sneak onboard a moving train? A moving gunfight? After a victory like this I'm feeling pretty unstoppable but they have our families. All they have to do is threaten them. Catching the train isn't important, we know where it's going, what's important is staying in control. Leonora isn't a problem, she's a solution." Brandon said opening the car door.

"Every minute we waste is more time for them to prepare for us. They don't know we don't have Leonora and they won't know until it's too late. If they get to Mountain Home they'll find out she's been taken but she's probably going to die out there so they'll believe we have her. Let's use that, before they rally." Emily said, throwing her support behind Andy.

"And Emmett might not have that long." she added quietly as she leaned in.

I'll think of something. his own words echoed.

Like what?

"Okay. Let's go." he said quietly defeated.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s smile faded. The excitement was enough to make him forget the tragedy of Nolan’s death, but Kelsey’s reminder brought him back down to earth.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” he said. “But he wouldn’t have wanted you to throw your life away after his. Neither would your dad. You’re real lucky it didn’t come to that.”

He took the opportunity to eject the magazine from his rifle, and confirm visually what he already knew in his head – it was empty. He didn’t take a spare from the bodies back in Salt Lake City, so the whole thing might as well have been decorative now.

He looked around for his pistol – the one he dropped when he wiped out.

“Lowell’s gone,” he said, distracted. “I want him dead too, but that’s off the table. Unless you got a car parked ‘round here that I don’t know about. ‘Cause even if it still works, I’m not getting back on that bike.”

His eyes finally found the pistol near the side of the road. He turned his back to Kelsey and walked over to retrieve it.

“We’re gonna have to walk back to civilization an’ find some new wheels,” he said. “Then we’re goin’ to Nevada. The others are gonna be waiting for us.”

* * *

“Thank you,” Andy said to Emily with a nod.

Hank also nodded when Brandon agreed to get moving. He felt bad for his screw-up – Leonora had disappeared on his watch, after all – but he was just as anxious as Andy to get to his family.

“I need help with Emmett,” he said. “He’s not doing so great.”

“I got it,” Andy said.

Hank nodded again, and led him back into the house.

* * *

Connor regarded the burning wreckage of the RV, and all the bodies it lit up in the growing darkness, with a blank face. He was disturbed – how could he not be? – but he didn’t let it show. He needed to stay strong. For his mom. And for Brandon. Connor didn’t want him doubting his decision to let him help.

As Hank and Andy emerged from the house with Emmett, Connor looked away from the carnage and wandered to Brandon’s side.

“I told you,” he said quietly. “I told you I could help.”

* * *

Gregory’s face was white as a sheet. If he was a different man, with a much sicker sense of humour, he would have thought he was as pale as a…

He physically shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories from his brain. He marched back into the car with Luis and Willow, making red-brown footprints with every step, which was now the colour of his pants below his knees. He’d probably have to throw this pair out. The women back at the farm would be unable to get them clean ever again.

Luis frowned when he saw him coming.

“What happened?”

“Ghosts,” Gregory said darkly.

He left it at that. From the equally dark look Luis immediately adopted, it was all he needed to hear.

“So we’re not going anywhere?” Luis asked.

“The Bishop will be sending help, I’m sure of it,” Gregory said. “We wait.”

Luis nodded, clearly uneasy with the idea. Much like Gregory was.

“But we need to be ready, in case they return,” Gregory said. “Take her back to her cell.”

Luis nodded again, and happily grabbed Willow and hauled her to her feet. Gregory frowned at the rough treatment but said nothing. He just grabbed her bottle of water and followed Luis as he dragged her back down the aisle.

When they reached the door, Gregory held out the bottle for her to accept. His mind was already on other matters – serious, life-or-death matters – but he gave her a parting sentiment.

“I tried to help you,” he said.
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Is that so?
Whatever the issue with the train was, they hadn't arrived at their destination. Unfortunately, Willow wasn't really sure what was up. Why did they need help? And what the hell were ghosts? She had a feeling that her definition and Gregory's were pretty different. Of course, she didn't comment on any of it. She barely had enough energy to go along for the ride.

It wasn't until they had pulled her back to where the others were that Willow rolled her eyes for one last jab at Gregory.

"Well, you know how it is. Common sense and religion have never been good friends."

But she still took the water bottle anyway.

* * * * *

Kelsey couldn't help but find herself disgusted at Eli right now. After all of his talk and all of his posturing, this is how he was trying to act now?

"You killed Wendy's group for stealing something stupid like food. Actually, you kill people for stupid reasons all the time -- like Darren and Cory too. You showed me that we had to kill people to stand up for ourselves! And now you're gonna run away from the people that killed my brother?"

She shook her head solemnly and turned her back on Eli, walking down the road in the direction that the truck had gone with nothing but the clothes on her back and the rifle that was way too big for her little body.

"I knew you were crazy."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"That's not very gracious. I know you can help, I just didn't want you to. I still don't want you to. Like I said, these are special circumstances. I'd rather you were safe and useless than helpful and dead." Brandon explained.

He almost left it at that but it may have sounded like he was disappointed in him. He wasn't. Connor did everything he said. He stayed calm. He didn't take any unnecessary risks. Brandon was the opposite of disappointed, he was just worried. Did Connor even understand that's all it was?

"You did well. You shot straight. You listened and you didn't do anything reckless. I'm really proud of you. You don't have anything to prove to me, if that's even a little part of why you did it. I just want you to be safe. If we got your mom back and something happened to you... there just wouldn't be a point. I'm going to catch hell from her when she finds out what happened here. I mean she's really going to fucking hate me and I'm going to deserve it. Promise me you won't let this go to your head." he said putting an arm aroind his shoulder.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Brandon’s short speech put Connor’s feelings through a rollercoaster – he was scolded, then praised, then cautioned, then comforted. It was a lot.

“Okay… I won’t,” Connor said when he was finished. “But you’re wrong about my mom. She’s not going to hate you. She’ll understand.”

Behind them, Andy and Hank had finished loading Emmett into the back of the sedan.

“Time to go!” Andy prompted.

* * *

Eli was surprised by Kelsey’s attitude, but maybe he shouldn’t have been. She had seen her brother gunned down before her eyes, after all. Eli could barely process that himself, and Nolan wasn’t his last surviving family member.

“That’s one way of thanking me for saving your life,” he said. “An’ I told you, I want him dead too. But I always put the group first. That’s the difference.”

He ejected the magazine from the pistol and examined its contents. He discovered that one solitary round remained. He found himself missing his Supergrade, and his bag full of ammo that went with it.

“An’ it’s not running away,” he added, as he put the magazine right back where it was. “I told you, they’re gone. They’ve got…”

He looked up from his work and saw that he was talking to the back of Kelsey’s head. He frowned and sprinted after her, catching up in just a few short strides. He put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said. “That’s the wrong direction, niñita.

* * *

Little CJ was crying. He had been since Gregory had locked the doors again, Riley couldn’t get him to calm down, and Annie had started to tune it out. She just sat against the walls, her arms around her knees, trying to stay calm and think.

The train had stopped – she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It didn’t seem like they had been in transit long enough to reach their destination. Or had they? It was hard to keep track of time in the dark, and she had no idea where they were going, anyway. And even if the sudden stop did signal a change of plans, those plans could have just as likely changed for the worse.

She found herself thinking along the same lines Eli must have, after he was thrown into that cell back in the city. She had to wonder if her captors had decided against taking prisoners after all. Maybe they were on their way to kill them. Maybe they already killed Willow.

No. She dispelled the thought. She told herself there was no chance this was it. This was not how her journey ended, she insisted in her own mind. She would see her son again, they would deliver the cure to California, and this world would have a future. She just couldn’t allow herself to think otherwise.

Then the door opened again, and Willow was shoved in. By the time Annie looked to see what was happening, the door was on its way closed. She had the instinct to put something in between to keep it from locking, but she didn’t have the time to execute that plan.

Next time, she resolved. But first…

She crawled over to Willow. She was equal parts concerned and inquisitve.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “And what’s going on out there? Why did the train stop?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"The end of the world. Nobody around. Everything up for grabs and we always seem to end up driving vans or trucks. Why can't we always drive shit like this?" Emily asked with a broad grin as she eagerly gripped the wheel of one of the convertibles.

It wasn't long before the new convoy left the light of the burning RV far behind. Brandon didn't like that they had to have their lights turned on. In the pitch black it made them stand out, giving the guards on the train ample warning of their approach, but if they drove blind they'd have to drive slow, and they couldn't do that either.

His plan, if it could have ever been called that, was shot to hell. There was a nagging urge in him to go back and look for Leonora, or to wait for daylight. This charging in without any kind of contingency plan went against everything he was raised around. It was always bugout plans, supply caches, emergency drills. There was always a plan.

How would they stop the train? If they got ahead, could they do it unseen? Maybe they could block the tracks. How could they do that without the chance of derailing it and klling their loved ones? There were too many variables, he could't think. Their strongest play was Leonora but they didn't actually have Leonora, it was going to be a bluff, a huge fucking bluff. Brandon didn't know if he'd have the balls to pull it off when the time came or if he'd wilt and give it away. So many people who needed him right now. His brain hurt from stress, his ears were ringing from gunfire, his body and head ached from the beating he took days ago, his shoulder was screaming in pain, his leg was demanding he stop using it, he was drained from blood loss and exertion, fatigued emotionally and physically, everything about the situation called for him to just stop what he was doing but he couldn't. His head was a mess of worries. About Willow, Annie and the Kellys, about Eli and Kelsey, about Emmett, about Connor, even about himself when he thought about it. But he kept looking straight ahead because he had no choice. Was this what Eli had been living with this whole time?
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow groaned and plopped herself down on the ground and leaned her back against the nearest wall. Every movement just reminded her of how much she felt like shit right about now. She was craving her painkillers in a way that she never had before. For the first time, she considered the possibility that maybe she had become more dependent on them than she had originally thought.

But I haven't even been taking them for that long. She reminded herself. It can't be this bad already.

It wasn't until Annie arrived and started questioning her that she snapped back to reality again. Her doctor was worried. And rightfully so.

"Yeah, yeah, I-I'm fine, Doc." Willow wasn't even sure why she was blatantly lying about that. "We stopped because... of something, I dunno. Gregory said it was 'ghosts'? And they were gonna wait for backup? I-I didn't catch all of it."

* * * * *

Kelsey didn't stop walking.

"No, it's the right way. I know where they're going."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“It’s already dark, soon you’re not gonna know where you’re going,” Eli insisted. “An’ how did you think you were going to catch up to them on foot, anyway?”

His hand went from her shoulder to her arm. A gentle suggestion to stop became a firm grip.

“Seriously, niñita, it’s not happening,” he said. “You’re coming with me to Nevada.”

* * *

Annie had to wonder if Willow was even lucid right now. They were stopped because of ghosts? And they needed to wait for back-up? She didn’t know what to think. She just knew to be worried.

“That’s okay,” she told Willow. “You should just… get some rest.”

From the sounds of it, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Hank was silent, but his head was loud, as he sped north through the darkness. He and Antonio were in the sedan. They occupied the front seats while a barely-conscious Emmett occupied the back. They were trailing Brandon, who headed up the convoy in one of the convertibles.

As he drove, Hank repeatedly glanced over to his passenger. Antonio had been uncharacteristically reserved since they had left the city. Hank was starting to get worried.

“Father,” he said, when he caught Antonio staring into space. “Are you with us?”

* * *

“So this is really goddamn crazy, huh?”

Andy was in the passenger’s seat of one of the convertibles. Emily had claimed the driver’s, and his rhetorical question was directed to her. He wanted a distraction from all the nagging worries in his head.

“Is this what it’s always like with you guys?” he asked.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Since I met up with these guys? Yeah." Emily said simply.

There'd been barely a dull moment since. Seemed if they weren't driving somewhere they were fighting. Sometimes they did both. They'd had to fight and fight and fight with what seemed like less reprieve every time. Something about them just seemed to draw all the wrong attention. Emily wasn't a believer but all of this gave her pause to wonder if maybe the cure was cursing them somehow.

"Saving the world can't ever be easy I guess." she mused.
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Is that so?
Antonio's eyes never moved away from the front windshield. It was like being in a confessional almost; sometimes it was easier not to look at the person you were talking to. Especially at a time like this. Even if you weren't actually doing the 'confessing' part.

"I'll be fine." He answered Hank's question. "It's just... a lot to take in right now."

* * * * *

Somehow, Willow noticed the hesitation on Annie's face. She could hear it in her voice. And frankly, she couldn't blame Annie either. She wouldn't have much faith in herself right now either.

"No, I know what they said! He said 'ghosts'. It's probably just... just... a code word for something. I dunno what." Willow retorted, her voice wavering and escalating more and more as she continued to speak. "He... his pants were covered in blood when he came back too. A-a lot of blood. Something isn't right. I-I dunno what it is, but something is not right!"

* * * * *

Kelsey tried to tear her arm out from Eli's grip, but he was a lot stronger than she was -- and bigger.

"So is this the part where you threaten me again? Cause it won't work this time. I'm not afraid of you anymore."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli narrowed his eyes – not in anger, but in confusion. He didn’t know what she was talking about. He worried she had snapped, so to speak. Not that he could blame her, after what she saw. Still, he didn’t release his grip.

“When did I…?” he started to ask, but shook his head. “Forget it, doesn’t matter. I’m not threatening you, I’m tellin’ you how it is. An’ if you’re not afraid of me, great, but you should be afraid of walking alone in the dark. Unless you’re crazy. Are you crazy?”

He pointed to a crossroads behind them. He didn’t intend to go back to the city proper, but they did need to return to the wider metropolitan area to find a car.

“Come on,” he said. “We’re gettin’ off this road, we’re finding some wheels, maybe some shelter. Then we gotta go. Brandon and Willow are probably missin’ you already.”

He left out the fact that Willow had apparently been taken, Brandon had been beat up pretty bad, and Eli had no clue about the state of the rescue mission.

One fire at a time, he figured.

“I’ll drag you if I have to,” he added.

* * *

Annie hesitated some more, but she pushed past it. They had to be stopped for some reason, after all. Willow may have been misremembering or exaggerating the details in her state, but the fact that something wasn’t right was beyond dispute.

She wiped some of the sweat from Willow’s forehead with her sleeve.

Hey – I believe you,” she said. “But I promise you, there’s nothing we can do about it from here. It’s going to be okay. Brandon and the others are coming. We both know that.”

Annie, personally, didn’t know that. She hoped that. But she had no idea what had went down in Salt Lake City after she had been taken. The fact that the train had left without the rest of them didn’t seem to her to be a good sign.

“It’s going to be okay,” she repeated.

* * *

Andy nodded, considering that. Hank had relayed the news of the cure to him after the fracas with Lowell attacking Emily. He still didn’t know what to think of it. He focused on something else.

“You’re still here,” he said, with a note of hopefulness.

* * *

Hank glanced at the priest again, observing his expression. He ended up mirroring it.

“I don’t like it either,” he said. “I’ve never killed before. Don’t want to again.”

He looked to the road, then back to Antonio.

“But I will. If it’s them or my family. I’ll do it again. What about you?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Yep. I'm pretty awesome." Emily concurred jokingly with a grin.

Emily looked out over the inky darkness they found themselves in now. Yet another good thing to come out of all this was that without people and their bright lights, you could see the whole galaxy overhead. Really really see it. She didn't know stars could look like that. That there could be so many that they don't look like stars anymore, they look like dust in the sky. She needed to appreciate things like that to survive.

"Joining up with these guys it gets hard staying sane sometimes, but it beats the alternatives. Even after losing Jen, and now Nolan, I'm finding it easier than when I was by myself. I really liked them too. Nolan was a stand up guy. Jen was really easy going. Cute too. She had a really really nice ass and she was so fit. Like the chicks on my track team in highschool. In the locker room, feeling experimental... Mmph. Anyway it's nice to have people to miss. I never really had many of them." she confessed more soberly.
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Is that so?
"I'm not Willow's problem. I'm not Brandon's problem. And I'm not your problem."

Kelsey tried again to pull away from Eli, but to no avail. He was just too much bigger than she was.

"So you can stop acting like I am and let go. Because I am going to do this. I need to do this."

* * * * *

Antonio seemed to sink further forward in the passenger seat.

"Of course I am. I already have blood on my hands now; there is no going back from that. Not this time." The priest said to Hank and let the silence linger in the air for a few seconds before continuing. "There is more to it than that though. I regret not being more forceful with my fears of that place. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I had been. And I know that I could debate that with myself until the sun comes up, but... a lot is different now."

Antonio sighed.

"The world is different now. Maybe I've been looking at it all the wrong way."

* * * * *

Willow appreciated Annie's attempts to placate her, but she knew better than that by now. They were on a train, somewhere far from Salt Lake City. Everyone she knew outside of this train car could be miles away, if they were even alive. The best shot any of them had of surviving this was to find a way out of here.

But her body was not really cooperating. She could barely stand and had already taken a handful of painful falls.

"Gregory threw out my medicine..." She told Annie with a groan. "I'm sorry... I'm useless... I'm useless. This is why... I couldn't stop earlier..."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“You’re wrong,” Eli said. “About all of it. You think you need to, but you don’t. And you’re wrong about not being my problem. When you’re dad died, I made a promise.”

He started making good on his threat. Physically, he tugged her back, causing her to back up a few steps. Then he started walking.

“An’ you don’t have a choice,” he said. “We’re going this way.”

* * *

Andy didn’t know how to react to Emily’s lurid description of her dead friend. He mostly just squirmed a little. But when she got somber, so did he.

“Yeah, well – most of the people I’d miss are on that train,” he said.
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