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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,053 Views) | |
| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 27 2015, 08:21 PM Post #346 |
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Is that so?
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"I'm not much of an expert on this sort of thing." Randall admitted. "But how many people do you think would be ideal, Eli?" |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 27 2015, 08:29 PM Post #347 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli squirmed, uncomfortable with the question. He should be doing this himself, he argued in his head. He owed it to them. The more practical argument won out, however, and he gave his honest answer. "If this were any other score, I'd need to get a better look at the location before saying," he qualified. "But we don't have time for that. Based on what I've heard, I'd say this is a three person job." Normally, he'd say it was a three man job. The fact that he said person instead was not an accident. A quick scan of the room revealed his only option. Glenda had to stay behind and protect the others. Julie and Brandon were injured. Kelsey was just a kid. Jeff might have worked, but he was only a couple steps away from catatonic, and he hadn't exactly proven a knack for handling himself so far. That really only left one candidate. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 27 2015, 08:56 PM Post #348 |
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Is that so?
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The uncomfortable stares in the room didn't leave much room for debate. Willow knew what everyone was thinking; with so many people injured there was only one real candidate. But, strangely enough, she wasn't terrified like she normally would be. Sure, she was scared of the prospect and still emotionally rattled from earlier, but... not terrified. Her hands were not shaking, her heart wasn't jumping out of her throat, her body wasn't being sent into a cold sweat at the very thought. She felt, deep down, that after everything she had been through, she could handle it. She gingerly pressed a hand against the wound on her side; it stung, but it was hardly crippling. Not like a direct gunshot wound or a broken arm would be. All things considered, she was doing okay physically. "Okay." Willow conceded with a nod of her head. "I'll do it." |
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| Strompy | Feb 27 2015, 09:23 PM Post #349 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon smiled at Willow. He had been a little dismissive of her when they met, thinking she was nice but not really someone who had the stuff to prove reliable. He'd thought that about himself too. They'd both proven him completely wrong very quickly. She'd been kicking all kinds of ass and he never thought he'd survive a single day on his own. "If you guys find Mac's weapons, bring them back if it's safe to. Those are ours. Those bastards shouldn't take anything away from this but regret." he said, his outrage still seething. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 27 2015, 11:50 PM Post #350 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded at Willow, silently impressed at her stepping up without being asked to. “We’ll leave soon,” he said. “When it starts getting dark. That’s when we’ll want to make our move.” * * * Before heading off, Eli, Randall and Willow packed lightly, just bringing with them their weapons and extra ammo in case it came to that. As he stocked up, Eli was worried to find that the stash was relatively low. Most of their rounds turned out to have been in the SUV, and Eli’s personal stash was in his old backpack – which was also lost in the crash. He had to return to the truck to replace it with Mac’s, and he felt sick about it. It looked like the kind of pack he would have had since school. Between that on his back and Roland’s police belt around his waist, he was starting to feel like a vulture. In the old days, he would have insisted on dressing the part before going on a mission like this one. That would have meant wearing an all-black outfit and a mask on his face, in case a bystander saw them or a security camera got a glimpse. Going to prison was no longer a worry, though, and there just wasn’t time besides. The only meaningful aesthetic change he could suggest was a rubber band for Willow’s hair. Tied back, the pink was less visible and potentially less attention-grabbing in the dark. When the three of them set off, Eli’s heart was still heavy. It probably would be for a while, if he even made it through this. “This place is by the water,” Eli told the others as they passed the highway. Above, the sun was obligingly making its descent. “It shouldn’t take long.” After the highway, they passed by a barren residential street, then through the parking lot of a major shopping complex. They found a few rotters there, but Eli held up an arm before Willow or Randall could make a move. “Just keep moving,” he said. “It could be helpful to lure a few this way.” He followed his own advice, and they continued past a long line of houses. Eli led them through their backyards, where he hoped they had less risk of being seen or ambushed. After moving at a brisk pace for roughly 20 minutes, they arrived at the end of the row, and had to move back onto the road. Eli led them down a path identified as Joseph St, which was lined with middle class houses, all seemingly abandoned. When they get close to the end, Eli could see a grouping of trees up ahead. Through it, he could make out only grass. He figured they must be getting close. They arrived at the cluster of trees by Dominion Road, and Eli came to a stop. He took cover behind one of the thicker trunks, and looked around. He could finally make out some of the fort, which was in the middle of the park, protected by old stone walls. Eli realized that it was a pretty smart place to hole up. A lot of people could probably fit inside, and there was no way rotters could get past those defences. It wouldn’t even matter if one of those hordes he had seen on the road made it here, they’d have no way of breaching the walls. The defenders would be safe until they could figure out a way to deal with them. Thoughts like those reignited Eli’s anger. These people had it much easier than the camp back at Mount Kisco, and they resorted to banditry anyway. They were scumbags. At least when he was stealing professionally, it was from corporations, not people who were suffering. The familiar sound of a car running distracted Eli from his silent outrage, and he looked down the street. Two cars were approaching from the north – an old black 4-door sedan led the way for a larger moving van. They headed into the parking lot of the visitor centre, which Eli assumed fed into the fort. He couldn’t get a good look at what was happening from this far away. He turned to Willow. “Can you see what’s going on through the scope?” he whispered. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 28 2015, 12:13 AM Post #351 |
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Is that so?
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Willow was already a step ahead of Eli, peering through the scope of the Ruger at the scene as it unfolded in the distance. Although it was not very comfortable, the rubber band in her hair did make this part of the job a lot easier. "The moving van and the car are stopping... there are people coming out of the visitor center." She explained what she was seeing as it happened; cutting out her exaggerated valley girl speak (something she had been doing a lot of lately). "All of them armed. Hard to get a count, but at least six of them, I think. It looks like this is some sort of checkpoint." "Even with their own guys, they aren't sparing any expense in security." Randall's concerned voice rang in her ear. "They probably have more guards than that too. Are you sure we aren't biting off more than we can chew here?" Willow frowned; she couldn't help but agree with Randall. From what she could see, this place was buckled down tight. Even if Eli was a thief, this would be something even a good thief would have a hard time breaking into. Or so she thought. Maybe it just seemed that way to the eyes of a girl who had no experience with this sort of thing. "They're starting to unload things from the moving van. Boxes, I think." Willow gave everyone another update. "Their most recent shipment of goods. I think I know exactly where they got them from, too." Those last words were uttered more sharply than was normal for her. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 28 2015, 12:18 AM Post #352 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded thoughtfully, and considered his options. Randall’s hesitation was certainly founded. Eli was getting the sense that there was a lot of people beyond those walls. “I don’t know yet,” he answered honestly. At the very least, now they were sure their supplies were at the fort. All they needed to do now was figure out how to break in, find where they took them, and come up with a way to steal them back – all without getting caught and murdered. In his previous life, those were details he would have insisted on hammering out days and weeks before the job. Now he’d just have to improvise. “I have a hunch,” he said after a short pause. “Look along the walls – the walls we can see, at least – for scouts or guys with guns, or anything like that. Tell me what you see.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 28 2015, 12:21 AM Post #353 |
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Is that so?
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Willow shifted her position so that she could see the walls. It took her a few moments to scan the entire length of the wall, and the results of her scan left her visibly, but cautiously, surprised. "Only one." Willow finally answered. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 28 2015, 12:38 AM Post #354 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli’s hunch was right. These arrogant bastards were standing on guard against rotters, not other people. Since rotters couldn’t climb walls, they must have thought their only weakness was the front door. They must have thought they were the apex predators out here, that they were the only survivors with guns and a willingness to do harm. They hadn’t been tested yet. “They’re secure against rotters, not against us,” Eli mused out loud. “If they were expecting us to hit them back, they’d have a man on every 10 feet of those walls. The guy who told me where to find this place can’t have reported back yet. Or if he has, maybe he didn’t want to admit what he gave up.” With his plain sight, Eli studied the walls he could see from his vantage point and considered a way past them. Climbing was possible – he might be able to get his fingers and feet in the cracks in the stone, but it wasn’t likely, and even if he could do it he’d probably need multiple tries. He wished he’d brought a grappling hook with him. Those worked sometimes, but they were hard to find. The only one he’d ever owned he’d found online. Fortunately, it didn’t take him long to make out a particular hill of grass that met a particular section of the wall. His brain fixed on that as their way in. It was still too tall a distance to clear alone, but he or Randall were probably tall enough to lift Willow. Grrgh. The low rumble of a rotter sounded out nearby, interrupting his chain of thought. Instinctively, he pinned his back to the trunk of the tree he was hiding behind, and looked around. He spotted the rotter quickly. It was roaming down Joseph Street, where they had come from. It was heading in their direction, but didn’t look like he was making a bee-line. It probably spotted them on the way over, but might not have realized exactly where they went. “Shhh…” Eli whispered to the others. “And keep out of sight.” Over his shoulder, Eli could make out another rotter shambling down the street also. A lightbulb went off in his head, and his fingers dug through the dirt beside him. They clutched a decent sized rock. It wasn’t big enough to use as an effective projectile, but it was big enough to make a sound. Taking care to stay hidden, he threw the rock down Dominion Road, in the direction of the visitor centre. Then he pinned his back to the trunk again and peeked around. He saw both rotters turn their heads towards where the rock had bounced along the street. They stumbled forward another step, then turned on their heels. His gambit had worked perfectly. He allowed himself a small smile at his success. “Hold on a minute,” he whispered. “Don’t move.” Once again, followed his own order and stared forward, counting the seconds in his head. Exactly 50 had passed when he heard a BANG! He turned to see the rotter fall over. A bullet went through its shoulder, fired by one of the guards overseeing the shipment arrival. When the rotter got up, another shot rang out, this time piercing the rotter’s neck. He heard another groan in the distance. The shot had alerted another rotter Eli hadn’t even been aware of – which was perfect. He allowed himself another small satisfied smile. These individual rotters wouldn’t be enough to pose a threat to the guards, but they were an excellent distraction. “Okay, move,” Eli whispered urgently. “Follow me.” He stayed low to the ground as he hustled forward, towards that mound of grass. He flinched as another shot rang out, and he heard another rotter’s body hit the ground. They were safely in the shadow of the fort as they ran, and with the guard's attention on the nearby zombies, they made it to the wall without attracting fire. Eli stopped close to it, and his small smile faded. If there was a fun part in all of this, that was it. Things wouldn't get any easier from here. "Okay," he said, catching his breath. He shrugged off Mac's former backpack, and unzipped it. He reached inside for some of the rope he had brought with him. Mac had actually scavenged it himself, Eli didn't know from where. He unfurled it then zipped up the pack again. "Willow, we're gonna lift you up and over," Eli said, making it sound matter-of-fact in an effort not to unduly scare her. "Once you're up, you need to wrap this rope around something and then throw it down. Got it?" |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 28 2015, 01:14 AM Post #355 |
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Is that so?
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"Okay." Willow hesitantly nodded, accepting the rope and throwing it over her shoulders. She placed the Ruger on the ground, since it didn't have a strap it would need to come up after her. She was worried about what would happen if the one guard saw her, hopefully the encoroaching rotters would keep his attention for another 60 seconds or so. They just needed to be quick. She needed to be quick. They wasted no time; Eli grabbed one foot, Randall the other. After a quick and quiet countdown, they both lifted and Willow felt her skinny frame practically fly upward. She grabbed the edge of the wall as it came close and quickly rolled up and over. As she did, a quick stabbing pain shot through her abdomen; she suppressed the grunt of pain and clutched her side. That was a lot of movement for such a fresh wound. Thankfully, the pain faded into a gentle stinging after only a few moments. Staying low to the ground, she risked a glance back towards the guard on the wall. His attention was still diverted towards the rotters. The gunshots must have drawn most rotters in the general area near here. They really did think themselves invincible if they were this willing to draw attention to themselves. Still, she was not about to question their overconfidence; she kept telling herself she wasn't going to die here and was willing to accept all the help they were willing to give in that regard. She lifted the rope from around her neck and found, thankfully, that Eli had taken the time to tie a loop in it at some point. All she needed now was a place to put it. It didn't take long before she found a small outcropping on the edge of the wall that she could use; she threw the loop around it and gave it a quick tug to make sure it held. When she was sure it did, she threw the remainder of the rope over the wall down towards Eli and Randall. "Nice." Randall commented. Their unofficial leader grabbed her Ruger and handed it up to her before grabbing the rope and climbing up it. |
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| Strompy | Feb 28 2015, 01:28 AM Post #356 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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If it weren't for overwhelming physical exhaustion Brandon wouldn't be able to rest. Even in sleep he didn't find much peace. Like most of his dreams lately he found himself somewhere familiar, warped and dark. It was strange that in a dream you could know exactly where you were but see that place so differently. Streets and roads he knew became longer, seemed to blend together or lead to places they shouldn't. Things seemed bigger, or maybe he seemed smaller. There were sometimes more hills between him and where he was going or they were steeper than in the real world. Darkness prevailed in those places, the sun either gone or hidden, and warmth with it. A sense of urgency was in everything that happened; perhaps he was being chased or was running out of time. So alone, so lost, so afraid, and always something had to be done. Brandon woke. Not from a shock but simple dehydration. The dryness of his throat caused him to start coughing. The convulsions disturbed his wound and the pain brought him quickly away from what he was dreaming and back to reality. He took a bottle of water from the desk next to the table and took a drink. "How long was I out?" he asked groggily. "Not long. The others left, not even an hour ago yet I don't think." Julie responded, roused a little from her half sleep. There was a blanket over him that hadn't been there when he had suddenly succumbed to sleep. Glenda had most likely done that. She was really good like that. Sleep clawed at Brandon again and he drifted back. Julie got to her feet and left the room, letting the others know she heading up stairs to an area they'd already searched to keep an eye out for the others to come back. Things were feeling a little cramped and she needed some personal space. She found a decent room almost exactly above the examination room below. She settled into a chair and abandoned all pretense at lookout duty as she leaned back. Just as she was begining ti get herself settled and felt sleep creeping up on her she noticed a flicker of light on the ceiling. She got up with a start and looked out the window. There was nothing to see. For a moment she thought she'd imagined it, but realised with cold dread what it was a momdnt later. A jeep reversed into view on the road out the front, the red afternoon last rays of direct sunlight reflect off its windscreen. In the back of the jeep stood two people, one of them gesturing excitedly at Mac's truck. The jeep took off again after the two in the back disembarked, she assumed to keep watch while the others went back to inform the rest of their army. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed under her breath before running back downstairs. "They found us!" she informed the others in a panic. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 28 2015, 03:48 AM Post #357 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli climbed up the rope last. Once he was on the wall, he immediately took the initiative of hauling the rope back up, not wanting to risk any of the guard’s potentially noticing it and realizing they had been infiltrated. There was a break in the gunfire, meanwhile. Eli thought it might be over, before one more BANG popped off, sounding like it came from the guard on the wall. It sounded a little too close for comfort, so Eli urged the others to keep moving. He led the way by lowering himself over the other end of the wall, and then dropping safely into the grassy courtyard. He turned around to help Willow and Randall down after him. “Stick to the walls,” he whispered when they were on the ground. Then he looked to the path leading towards the main buildings. No one was on it, currently, so the men bringing the supplies in must have been taking the back pathway. Eli still didn’t really know where he was going – and only barely knew what he was doing – but his plan was to wing it while staying hidden as much as possible. That would have to do. He took the lead, staying close to the walls as he headed towards the main building. The ground looked level, but when he made it halfway there it suddenly dropped out on him. He tripped and fell forward, painlessly, except for the shame and frustration. He started to get up, when he saw a light come on. It was coming from the direction of one of the buildings. “Kevin, that you?” a female voice cried out a second later from the same direction. It was close enough to hear. “Stay down…” Eli said, and flattened himself out in the ditch. It seemed futile in his head, but he didn’t know of another option. If they were discovered now, he didn’t like their chances of getting out of here alive. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 28 2015, 03:56 AM Post #358 |
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Is that so?
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Randall's heart skipped a beat when the woman called out for Kevin, but without even thinking he and Willow both jumped into the ditch. Shit! He cursed silently. What the hell do we do now!? All he could do, he decided, was stay silent and follow Eli's lead. He had seen things like this all the time in movies. Oldest trope in the book. Wait till they get near, incapacitate them without making any noise, and then move on. Of course, Randall had the sneaking suspicion that this sort of thing worked better in the movies than it did in real life. And he found himself praying to a God he thought he no longer believed in that they would get out of this. ********** Glenda, who had been standing outside the door, narrowed her eyes and frowned. She didn't need Julie to say who 'they' were. There were only two threats in this city; the rotters and the people from the bridge. And she had a feeling Julie wasn't getting riled up because of the rotters. "I need a head count." Glenda swiftly took charge of the situation. "Who can fight?" |
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| DoctorYerishi | Feb 28 2015, 04:17 AM Post #359 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli could feel his heart beating in his ears as the light continued to shine in their direction. He held his breath, as if that could help somehow. “Kevin!?” the woman asked again. “If that’s you, you better–” “I’m right here!” a male voice interrupted. “What’s going on? What are you doing, wasting the battery on that thing?” “Where the hell did you get off to? I heard something,” the woman responded. She wasn’t yelling anymore, so Eli could only barely make out her words. “They’re popping off roamers out there, is all,” the man assured her. “That’s what you heard. Now come on, the day shift got back. There’s bad news.” The flashlight switched off, and Eli could finally exhale. He remained prone for a while as he listened carefully. He thought he heard movement in the distance, like the source of those two voices leaving their room. It could have been his imagination, though. After a bit, he finally got up, and briefly brushed himself down. “Let’s go,” he said, but the confidence in his voice had slipped a little. He hoped Randall and Willow didn’t notice. As he walked along the wall, more carefully this time, he scanned their approach with his eyes. There was another, thinner wall, separating the grounds from the main building. The nearby path looked like it led into a sally port, but Eli ruled that out immediately. Getting trapped in such a confined space would be the death of them. So it looked like they were going over another wall. Fortunately, the ground rose up to meet it, so it was simply a matter of walking over. Walking over without getting seen, that is. When Eli made it up enough of the way, he lay flat on his stomach and looked over. He could see into the courtyard where the sally port led. There were only two people there, and Eli only caught a glance of their back as they headed through the gate. Further away, though, Eli could hear more voices. Many of them. They talked over each other in aggravated and worried tones, and they were getting closer. They needed a better look, Eli concluded, and maybe one of these buildings could give it to them. He crawled onto his feet and headed right, towards one of the two main buildings – excepting the visitor’s centre, which looked pretty big in its own right – that made up the forts interior. He quickly circled around it, then ushered for Randall and Willow to follow. He found a staircase leading up to the side entrance, and pursued it. The mass of voices was nearer now, but no longer getting closer. Eli tried to make out what they were saying as he carefully opened the door and peeked inside. The Officers’ Quarters, Eli deduced. It was a nice room, but out-dated by centuries for obvious reasons. There was a desk with a chair, an unlit fireplace, a table for eating, and a bed in the corner. And on the bed was a man, slightly overweight, with a gray beard and thick eyebrows. He was sleeping. Judging from the snoring, he was really sleeping. Eli stepped aside to let Randall and Willow through. Then he stopped, frozen. Like Kevin and whoever that lady was, most of the fort’s inhabitants must have headed to meet up with the raiding party – the ‘day shift,’ the Kevin voice called it – to learn of the bad news. This man, though, was fast asleep. His mouth was open and one of his legs hung limply over the side of the bed. As he stared at him, one of Eli’s hands palmed the grip of his knife, but he didn’t draw it. Like with Nate back at that pool, he just couldn’t bring himself to deliver the justice he thought and knew these people deserved. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Feb 28 2015, 04:33 AM Post #360 |
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Is that so?
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Randall placed a hand on Eli's shoulder. When Eli glanced back at him, Randall simply shook his head back and forth in response. All too well, he knew the debate raging in Eli's mind. Kill the man or not to kill the man. Admittedly, Randall thought the same thing upon seeing him. It would be an easy thing to do; he was out like a light and wouldn't be waking up any time soon. Which was exactly why Randall didn't want to kill him. He posed no threat; killing him might even pose a larger one as it could endanger their whole operation were he to be discovered before they could get out. But it went beyond that for Randall. Killing someone in cold blood like that felt wrong. Had this happened earlier today, he would have killed him in an instant. For Mac. But as his blood had time to cool through the day, Randall didn't want to just indiscriminately kill for that revenge. Maybe it was a leftover remnant of himself from the days before this all happened, but he wanted to feel like he was better than that. "Let's keep moving." Randall whispered to Eli so it was just audible above the snores of the man; he wasn't sure where Eli was leading them, but they had gotten this far by following him, so he intended to keep doing it. |
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7:31 PM Jul 10