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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,805 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Kelsey frowned as Daisy prepared to leave.

"Fine."

* * * * *

After packing everything up and taking off, another twenty minutes had passed and the town of Battle Mountain was just ahead.

BOOM!

Thunder cracked overhead and a frigid, almost violent, wind kicked up for a few moments as the gray clouds above them continued to churn. A winter storm was brewing. And although Willow hadn't realized it before, the temperature was really starting to drop. It was low enough now that she could see her breath every time she exhaled. To top it all off, the sun, which now hovered just over the horizon, would soon be disappearing over the horizon.

"We need to find somewhere warm." She stated the obvious to Emily and Emmett.

She had given Brandon a quick kiss before they got in their separate cars again. She was worried about him, he looked terrible. Which, all things considered, was understandable. But he was the weakest right now, if they were unable to find somewhere they could stay warm for the night, he was the most at risk.

It was then that Battle Mountain came into view on the right hand side of the highway. It was, for lack of any better words... a dump. And not just the kind of dump that had fallen into disrepair recently, no... this place had likely always been a dump. It just looked worse now after being abandoned for a few months. The houses were small and dilapidated and the yards were barren of much plant life. Though the high school, she had to admit, didn't look half bad. It was a small white building with a red roof; she might not have known it was a school had it not been for the abandoned school buses lined up outside of it.

Then, on the other side of an overpass, was an exit ramp that led right into the city. And right off the road.

"We got an inn up here." Willow spoke into the radio. "A Super 8."

Just like the one they stayed at the night they were attacked by the people from Green River.

"Ignore it." Antonio answered over the radio. "Too close to the freeway. We'll go deeper into the city and find somewhere safer to hole up."

Willow hummed. She knew he was right. Better to be safe than sorry, they didn't want to accidentally reveal themselves to anyone that just happened to be casually driving down the freeway. Safer to be deeper in the city. Emily took the exit into Battle Mountain.

The inside of the town was honestly nothing short of depressing. Willow could never see herself living somewhere like this; the landscape was bleak and barren. The brown landscape blended with the gray asphalt and multiple gas stations to successfully emulate what one might expect in an impoverished town in middle America. She could only imagine how many cockroaches lived here.

But one thing was conspicuously absent from the streets. Rotters. She would see one here and there, but they were overall absent from the city in any large numbers. Presumably, they had the local community or Saxon's group to thank for that.

BOOM!

The roar of thunder echoed overhead, just as another sharp breeze bit into Willow's bare skin.

A few streets into the city, Willow noticed a sign pointing to the left that said "Hospital."

"Hey, a hospital." Willow spoke into the radio "A place to rest that might have some medical supplies left over."

"It's worth checking out." Antonio replied. "But only if it looks safe."

Emily hooked the left and the rest of the cars followed them. They slowly and tentatively approached the hospital.

It was painted a fading yellow color with nondescript white roofing. It was a single story complex with a modest parking lot; there was a flagpole with an American flag waving in the strong breeze with what was presumably a Nevadan flag waving below it. There were a few run down cars sitting in the parking lot, but none of them looked like they had been moved in a long time. Additionally, the windows and doors of the hospital looked like they were still intact, which seemed like a rarity these days. The interior was pitch black as well. It was intimidating, but maybe worth a shot.

The cars came to a stop in the parking lot outside of the emergency entrance. As everyone started to step out of their cars to get a better look, a streak of lightning stretched across the width of the sky.

BO-O-O-O-O-O-O-OM!

Not only did Willow's insides rattle from the shock, but the windows on the cars did as well. And Willow could have sworn she saw a fleck of snow drift by her face.

"Shit!" A puff of condensation escaped from Willow's mouth as she cursed. "This storm is getting worse. We gotta decide if we're staying here now."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie winced at the thunder as she exited her car. Once again, she was coming off a 20 minute nap – which wasn’t much rest, but she had to take what she could get. This time, though, the weather made it easy to be alert.

And of course the weather would be a problem, she thought. They hadn’t experienced anything too bad on that front since Chicago, so they were due. Why should it matter that they were in sunny Arizona? If it wasn’t a thunderstorm, it would probably be something even worse, she figured. It was the kind of cynicism that was easy to indulge in when she was tired.

“This place looks relatively untouched,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"It's as good a place as any." Emily said.

Hospitals always gave her the creeps, now there was a very good reason to avoid them, they're usually ground zero in an outbreak. Town was quiet though, maybe they had the locals to thank for that, or it could just be a podunk with nobody living there to begin with.

"The able-bodied can do a sweep and then we'll move the cars into the ambulance bay." she suggested.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Although Willow was suggesting staying in a hospital, Antonio was not the biggest fan of the idea. The priest made a quick visual sweep of the surrounding town; visibility was starting to become obscured in a misty fog, but the houses he could see didn't look like they were in good shape; a few of them even appeared to sport broken windows and charred exteriors, suggesting some sort of fire. He didn't want to admit it, but the hospital might be the most secure building.

But on the other hand, if it was safe it would give everyone room to spread out a little. And with the storm sweeping in, it wasn't as if they had time to look for many alternatives. Perhaps most importantly, it gave them the best chance of stocking up on medicine they could use to help the badly wounded Brandon. Antonio couldn't contest that obvious advantage. Maybe they could even find a cheap vending machine with some food left.

"Alright, fine." Antonio begrudgingly agreed as another blast of thunder echoed through the sky. "Whoever is sweeping the hospital with me, grab a flashlight."

He tilted his head towards the double glass doors that made up the hospital emergency entrance a short twenty feet away; they could see that the interior was dark.

"Maybe we don't need to use flashlights." Willow suggested, holding her arms close of her body in an attempt to stay warm.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't hospitals usually have, like, backup generators nearby?" The pink-haired woman elaborated. "What do you think the odds are it still works? It's only been a couple of months."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
It’s only been a couple months? Annie – in the cynical headspace she was in – almost wanted to laugh. While Willow’s words were technically true, it certainly didn’t feel that way.

Instead of laughing, though, Annie nodded. Before all this, she worked full time in a private practice out of an office in a strip mall, and not a hospital, but she had done a residency in one. She also had some experience on the other side of the coin thanks to Chase’s medical problems.

“The odds are good,” she said. “That there’s a back-up generator, I mean, and that it works. Whether it’s fuelled-up or not might be a different story.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"We'll prioritize the generator, if it won't start we'll do things the slow way, room-by-room. It won't need much fuel since we should only keep it on while we sweep the place and get situated. Once the sun goes down the light is going to draw trouble." Emily while she limbered up.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio hummed, though he doubted anyone could hear him over the blustering wind..

Willow's words were certainly true; as were Emily's and Annie's. Hospitals were actually required by law to have backup generators in the event of a power failure. There was no guarantee it would still be working, but it was something they should keep in mind. Having a little bit of electricity would be nice in this cold weather.

"Lights might draw unwanted attention." The priest consoled, raising his voice to contend with the wind. "But... if we are careful, we should be able to account for that."

As he spoke, he reached into the back of the car and withdrew a flashlight with his left hand; his sword was already in his right hand.

"We'll keep an eye open for generator controls while we're in there. No guarantee it'll work, but it's worth a shot."

"Alright." Willow nodded. "I'll stay out here with Brandon to make sure everything is okay. I'll keep my radio close."

"Understood."

Antonio didn't argue. In fact, he was glad Willow had made the decision to stay out here on her own. She was definitely looking better now than she had been this morning -- he suspected Brandon's brush with death cleared her head a little -- but she was still weak. She had to be careful not to overexert herself for at least another day or two while her body recovered. Staying out here and keeping watch was the best way she could do that.

He looked to everyone else that had been gathering around; "Looks like Emily is volunteering to help clear the hospital out. Anyone else?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“I’m coming,” Annie volunteered.

“Me too,” Emmett said.

“You shouldn’t be on your feet either,” Annie objected.

“I’ll be okay.”

“You’ll be more okay tomorrow,” Annie said. “Connor’s asleep, I don’t want to wake him – so I need you to stay here and help keep him safe.”

“You need more men,” Emmett insisted.

There was a sigh nearby. It belonged to Hank. “I’ll come,” the shaggy-haired man cut in, and then immediately turned to his sister. “The faster it’s done, the faster we’re inside and safe. I’ll be careful.”

Riley frowned, but didn’t say anything. Her objection had been successfully headed off.

Annie turned to Antonio. “We’ll make it work,” she said.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Okay then. We all know the drill by now, nobody does anything or goes anywhere alone." Emily reminded them as she approached the entrance to the hospital.

She suppressed a shudder as she contemplated every horror movie hospital scene. It was strange that real life was more terrifying now than any fiction was but the idea of ghost haunting the halls still gave her the heebie-jeebies. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a loud whistle just inside the door and waited for a response from any rotters that might be lurking inside.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio took up position behind Emily, waiting for any rotters to appear. Or even the sounds of rotters.

But there was nothing. No shambling, no groaning, only the muffled sound of wind answered her call. If only that was all it took to put his mind at ease. When it was clear that nothing was coming, Antonio took point and stepped into the hospital.

His flashlight illuminated a small lobby with a desk at the far end and a handful of chairs lined up along the walls. There were a few end tables with magazines on them and a basket in the corner filled with children's toys. Some of the white walls were tainted with long dried blood stains, but there was no sign of the corpses they came from; walking or otherwise. In fact, Antonio could not help but notice that the lobby was remarkably tidy. It felt as if this room had been preserved perfectly since the outbreak. Minus the aforementioned bloodstains, of course.

The reception desk was similarly clean. A computer, papers, office supplies, all organized as if the receptionist herself had only been here moments ago. Even the layer of dust didn't seem that thin. This place looked as if it had been meticulously cared for, which was jarring when looked at in contrast to what he had seen outside.

"This is kinda creepy." Antonio mused to nobody in particular.

Alongside the desk in the back of the room were a pair of double doors. This time, he took the lead; he poked his head through. It was a hallway; and without and windows it was pitch black. The flashlight cut through the darkness and revealed corridors leading to the left and right. But, again, no sign of any rotters. Even after another whistle, there wasn't a peep. No bodies back here either. It was eerily abandoned.

Except for a single light shining out from under a door on the far end of the left hallway.

"There's a light source on the other end of a door at the end of the hall." Antonio reported.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Hank was already thoroughly disturbed by the dark, empty hospital. Then Antonio pointed out a light source, and somehow he was more disturbed. He didn’t know what to make of any of it. Is somebody here? That would explain why the place was so clean and so free of rotters. But if so, why hadn’t they revealed themselves yet? Surely they must have heard the convoy pull up, or the doors open, or at least Antonio’s whistles.

“I don’t like this at all,” he whispered.

He was holding a flashlight in one hand, his Beretta M9 in the other. He squeezed the grip of the gun tighter, but it didn’t give him much comfort.

Beside him, Annie raised her Glock and looked unsure.

“What do we do?” the doctor whispered.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow had always liked storms. When she was younger, windstorms, thunderstorms, snowstorms; they were all exhilarating to her. She loved to go outside during them and, in a way, bask in the power of nature. Normally, a storm like this would be no different. With the increasingly powerful gusts of wind and the cracking of thunder overhead, a part of her felt that thrill of an oncoming storm all over again.

But this time, she didn't have a home to retreat into when things got crazy. She didn't have a heated room to curl inside of when the storm got dangerous. Now she needed to contest with the weather; she needed to survive the freezing temperatures overnight. And, more importantly, she needed to make sure Brandon could survive them too. She was worried about him. It was hard not to be, given his current state of health.

She glanced over at him, sitting beside her in the car. He looked terrible. And he probably felt terrible too; she couldn't imagine how it felt to lose a hand. A part of you gone, forever. If she were him, she would want something to take her mind off it.

"So, uhh..." Willow broke the awkward silence. "When are... when are we getting married anyway?"

* * * * *

Possibilities raced through Antonio's mind. If there was a light, it had to mean people. It didn't matter if it was a candle, a flashlight, or anything else; there was a human being responsible for it. It would also explain why everything was so neat and there were no rotters around. So... who was it?

"Whoever it is has probably been here a while." Antonio quietly answered. "Long enough to clean the place out. It could be someone from the community Saxon told us about."

But it also might not be. There was no guarantee of that.

So was the best plan to barge in there and assess whether or not they were a threat? If it was a small group or only one person, with the element of surprise it would be an easy fight to win. At the very least, it would get them some information. In fact, if the person was friendly or associated with the community like Saxon hoped, it might even prove to be a boon to make contact; they might be able to lend them supplies and give them a safe place to rest. Alternatively, maybe the better plan was to back off; but if they did that, he worried it might come back to bite them later. They would need to find a new place to stay, likely with less supplies while possibly leaving a hostile force unchecked in the area. But if it they moved forward assuming it was a hostile force in there, was the best choice to nip the problem in the bud and take care of it while they had the element of surprise or avoid it and hope it didn't come back to bite them later?

Suddenly, every bad choice that Eli and Brandon had made felt a little more understandable.

Dammit, we don't have enough information! Antonio mentally wailed. What's the right call here?
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Whoever was in there had to know they were here. There was only one reason that came to mind for why somebody would stay put and give away their own position without making contact. It was a trap. Maybe the light was just a lure. Maybe they were being flanked right now.

"I can go attempt contact while you guys hang back here. Did Elko give us a name we can use?" Emily suggested.

...

Brandon had been practicing his one-handed reload with Supergrade while the others did their sweep. He stared into the horizon with only one thought in his head.

Donnie.

With every repetition of the action that named popped in there.

Donnie.

He imagined what he'd take from him if he ever found him. Maybe his hand, or should he kill him? Or he could leave Donnie alone in a tiny room surrounded by rotters like he did. Brandon felt a pang of guilt as his mind resisted her question, he wanted to keep thinking about his revenge, he wanted to stay mad. He had to force himself to leave it alone. He put the gun down and ran his hand through his hair.

"Good question. Doesn't seem like we can catch a break. We might not be able to afford to wait for one." he mused.

He wondered why they'd even waited this long. Either one of them could have been killed so many times by now, how much longer was their luck going to last? In a perfect world they'd make an event of it, plan for months, invite family and friends. The world was the furthest thing from perfect that it had ever been. They couldn't count on anything but the present.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Antonio opened his mouth to protest; something about sending Emily in to check felt wrong. He felt that, as a man, he should be the one to investigate. Sending a woman in his stead didn't feel right.

But he didn't protest.

Emily was a cop. She was tough as nails. And if the person or people in there weren't hostile, a woman would have a better chance of talking them down. And if things did go poorly, there was nobody better trained for that situation.

"Billy Church." Antonio said.

* * * * *

Willow smiled and raised her eyebrow. He was obviously going through a lot, but it was good that he was willing to put it behind him to talk with her.

"Was there something we were waiting for in the first place?"
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Emily exhaled sharply and began her approach. She walked slowly, her gun lowered but ready. As she came within feet of the door she put her back to the wall and sidled up to the door. Tentatively she reached sideways before rapping on the door.

"Hello?" she spoke clearly.

...

"The right moment I guess." Brandon laughed.

It was ridiculous. They could die at any moment, and what could possibly constitute the right moment? There was always something happening, somebody hurt or dead or in trouble. Always some danger. Safety was a luxury.
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