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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,803 Views) | |
| Strompy | Oct 23 2017, 07:56 PM Post #4096 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Well let's get these light on for starters." Emily said as she flipped the light switch. She smirked slightly in amusement as the lights in the hallway came on. It was a sad state of affairs when the simple act of flipping a light switch amused you. It was a novelty. It made her curious what else this place had. Water would be nice, everyone could use a shower. That was a bit much to hope for. ... It looked like they'd caught a break. The place had power and almost nobody was home. Brandon didn't get to feel any relief in that though. A quiet moment came with a resonsibility to prepare themselves. It had been days since they'd had an opportunity to train. There were still so many things he could teach to the others, things that could give them an edge out there. His resent brush with death just made that seem more pressing. "Hank, I'm gonna round up the others for a training session later. It's useful information, I just want you to know that you and your family are welcome to join. If you don't want to, believe me I get it, but it's stuff that might save your life." Brandon informed the man before he went back inside to help the others finish their sweep. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 23 2017, 09:08 PM Post #4097 |
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Is that so?
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Winona watched the woman start flipping on lights with an almost reckless abandon. Sure, she understood the novelty of doing so, especially after not seeing electricity for so long. Regardless, she followed her out into the hallway. "Just, uhh, just be careful! Lights can draw attention from the dead and the living." Winona warned. "The town is only mostly empty... and just because nobody usually shows up doesn't mean they never do. And it's been overcast the past few days, I don't know how much sunlight the panels are getting." She felt kind of like a killjoy -- or maybe like a parent that tells their kids to never leave the lights on. Only instead of worrying about electrical bills, she had to worry about how much juice the generator was running on. She didn't really want a group of people running around the hospital turning on all the lights. For multiple reasons, all of which were perfectly legitimate in her mind. * * * * * "Whoa, a training session?" Willow asked somewhat incredulously as she fell in line with Brandon. "Isn't that a little much, babe? After everything you've been through, you should be resting. It hasn't even been a day since..." She stopped talking as her eyes dropped down to where his left hand used to be. She wished she could say the rest of him looked good; but ever since Green River, he had taken hit after hit after hit. She wasn't even sure how he was still standing after the revolving door of punishment he had been experiencing. "I just think you would benefit from some rest." She finally said. * * * * * Whatever was going on didn't seem to involve them too much. Emily seemed be handling whatever the situation was with the young woman they found. Antonio didn't want to wander too far, just in case, but he and did lead Annie through a few nearby rooms to begin their sweep. Most of them were either nondescript check-up rooms; presumably where doctors would take the emergency room patients to find out what was wrong with them. They were devoid of anything too useful though. They were also devoid of anything dangerous, which was a welcome change of pace from the norm. But one that Antonio couldn't really adapt to quite so easily. After a few rooms, however, the two of them stumbled into what could only be described as a pharmacy. A switch of the light revealed rows of medical supplies and medication, set up and meticulously organized. Though there was a fair deal of empty space on the shelves, there still appeared to be more than enough for a group like theirs. "So... anything in here you can use?" Antonio asked the good doctor wryly. |
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| Strompy | Oct 24 2017, 04:47 AM Post #4098 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"We're only leaving them on for a moment while we do a sweep, couple of minutes tops.' Emily explained. ... "It's nothing demanding, just going to go over some one-handed reloading and shooting techniques in case you lose the function of one hand. Knowing a technique that's safe and works can make all the difference in an emergency. Seems pertinent. I can literally talk you guys through it." Brandon clarified. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 24 2017, 12:39 PM Post #4099 |
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Is that so?
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Winona smiled nervously. "Yeah, okay, sure." As she did, she could hear other people coming in. She wasn't sure quite how big this group was. She didn't even know anybody's name. She had been too startled to even ask. But whoever they were, they were probably quite capable. If they wanted to look around the place, there wouldn't be much she could to do to stop them, even if she had wanted to. So instead, she turned around, went back into her "sanctuary" and flopped lazily into her chair with a loud sigh. She figured she might as well wait here until they finished their sweep and were satisfied that she was telling the truth. "Tonight is gonna be a long night." She murmured to herself. * * * * * Willow frowned; she didn't like the idea of Brandon holding a training session already. Even one where he wasn't doing that much. But she let it slide. She didn't want to try to talk him out of it; maybe he needed to do it to take his mind off everything. She could hardly blame him for that. "Okay." She finally gave him her blessing as the two of them entered the hospital lobby and escaped from the wind and worsening weather. Seeing the lights in the front lobby was an experience; Willow hadn't seen working electricity since Flint. Hopefully this place worked out better than Flint did. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Oct 25 2017, 04:51 AM Post #4100 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Hank did as Antonio instructed and headed back into the bad weather to collect the others. After he had relayed the message, Brandon made his offer – a training session later today. Hank didn’t have to ask Riley to know she would think. But even if Brandon was flawed, he was still a fount of knowledge, the kind that his family was going to need to keep surviving out here, with or without him. So Hank suppressed his own complicated feelings and gave Brandon a nod. “My daughter and I will be there,” he said. After that, he moved over to his family’s car and relayed to them what they had found inside. As they collected their things, he headed back inside to help with the sweep. * * * Annie browsed through the pharmacy’s shelves with a small smile. Her cynicism had faded – the bad weather had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since it led them here. “A few things,” she responded to Antonio’s question, even though she was pretty sure it was rhetorical. “The antibiotics are going to be a lifesaver. Probably literally. The condition our group is in, we can really never have enough.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 25 2017, 08:21 PM Post #4101 |
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Is that so?
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Antonio plucked a bottle of pills off one of the shelves and looked them over. His official opinion after looking at the label was that he had no idea what this was. His best guess was some sort of heart medication. Or maybe it was for cholesterol. At times like this, he was even more glad that Annie was here. She could identify these medicines better than anyone else. "This is completely different from the other places we've been." Antonio pondered out loud. "With all these supplies sitting around, it's almost like the people here just got up and left. It's like our prayers have been answered." He wasn't sure how they were going to survive initially. But in less than a day they had restocked on ammunition and now medical supplies. It was more than he could have asked for. God was clearly looking out for them. "Will you be fine in here on your own?" The priest said after a few moments. "I can go grab Emily or Willow and finish looking around if you wanted to take an inventory." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Oct 26 2017, 07:59 AM Post #4102 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Annie took another look around the room before answering. The lights were on – for no, at least – and there wasn’t any sign of anybody else, person or rotter. “I’ll be okay,” she confirmed. “You make sure the rest of this place is as safe as it looks, I’ll get started.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 27 2017, 03:25 AM Post #4103 |
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Is that so?
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"Understood." Antonio nodded. "If you need anything, we won't be far." He left the good doctor to her work. There were enough supplies in there to keep her busy for some time. He would rather use this time to make sure the rest of the hospital was safe as well. Though at this point, he was beginning to feel like it may very well be. He returned to the emergency room lobby. There he found Willow, Brandon, Emmett, and some members of the Kelly family. They were still getting themselves situated and adjusting to their new surroundings. "Willow." Antonio called out. The pink-haired woman perked up. "What's up?" "We found some medicine. Annie's checking it out. We could use another pair of hands to finish looking around." Willow was the logical choice. She was still weak, but she wasn't injured. And it did seem like she had been regaining her strength through the day. Emmett would have been his other choice. Though he knew the big guy was more than capable of handling himself, he had taken almost as many hits as Brandon recently. Antonio deemed that it would be best if Emmett avoided exerting himself. That wasn't founded on any direct medical knowledge, but rather on common sense. "Yeah, sure." She agreed. She leaned over and whispered something to Brandon before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Then she unholstered her FNP and jogged over to join him. "Okay." She said. "Let's do this." She was still a little pale, but there was a fire in her hazel eyes. She was clearly ready and rearing to prove herself. Definitely a good sign and an improvement from the other day where she was almost lifeless. It had been a few days since the worst of it, but he was glad to see Willow starting to really bounce back from her detox. "One more visit first." Antonio told her. He led her back into the now illuminated hallways and toward the room where they had first seen light. Emily was still nearby and quickly fell into line with them. The priest poked his head inside the room. It was composed of a large single desk in the corner; there were some chairs along the side walls and a few bland hospital pictures but no windows. Beside the desk was a dog, a spotted Australian Shepherd with blue eyes. No doubt the source of the earlier barking. The dog eyed the newcomers warily, but didn't bark this time. Behind the desk, he spotted a young native woman who looked to be no older than Willow and dressed in a way that Antonio could only describe as looking like a hobo in a leather jacket. She was leaning back in a spinning chair. "Hello." Antonio entered the room and extended his hand over the desk to her. "I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet. My name is Antonio Mendez." The woman raised an eyebrow and cautiously reached her hand out to accept his. Maybe it was only because of the setting, but Antonio felt like he was meeting a doctor for the first time. "Winona Kendall." She said. "It's good to meet you, Winona. You've already met Emily." He motioned to her. "And the other woman here is Willow." "Yo." Willow lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Hey." Well, that wasn't an awkward introduction at all. Antonio mentally mused at the introduction from the two women. "Regardless, we're going to-" "Oh shit, is that a working computer?" Willow suddenly cut him off and stepped around him to get a better look. Her eyes were fixated on the active laptop on the desk. "Yeah, it is. I was playing XCOM before you guys showed up." Winona explained. "XCOM? That's the one where you fight the aliens, right? Won all those game of the year awards?" "Yeah, that's the one." For the first time since he had seen her, Winona cracked a smile. "Love that game." "Man, I'd kill for the chance to play games again." Willow rolled her head back. "You got it so good here. Like, how do you even maintain the power here?" "They installed solar panels to power the hospital a year or two before the outbreak started. They got them all laid out behind the building." Winona pointed over her shoulder towards, presumably, the back of the building. "I've been maintaining them in my spare time." "Dang. You know, you must be pretty good with technology." The pink-haired slacker mused. "Well, I was an engineer before all this." Antonio changed his mind. The introduction was awkward, but the second they found common ground, the two of them started chatting it up like old friends. Personally, Antonio didn't understand much about technology at all. If this continued any longer, it was likely he might lose track of what they were talking about. "Sorry to interrupt, but we were hoping you would join us on our sweep." Antonio cut into the conversation. Winona pursed her lips, but eventually closed her laptop. "Yeah, sure. I got nothing to hide around here." "Excellent." Antonio said. "But you're showing me games on the laptop later, right?" Willow made the caveat. "Sure." Winona agreed fairly quickly. "Come on, Cadence. We're going for a walk." * * * * * The sweep of the hospital was mostly uneventful. The hospital itself was only one story and relatively small. Winona guided them through the buildings that she had made into her own. Most of the rooms were empty and abandoned. Lots of old medical tech, including an MRI machine, lay dormant and collecting dust; a lot of the equipment was too big to be moved. Even if it had been easier to move, there didn't seem like much of a point in doing so. There was far more room here than any one person could possibly occupy. The most important bit of knowledge they learned was that this place also had running water. At one point they found a small public shower -- the only one in the building -- and Willow turned the nozzle to a stream of ice-cold water. Winona explained that she had set up a few water tanks here in the early days to collect the runoff from the roof and incorporate it into the building's plumbing system. Frankly, Antonio was impressed with this woman's technical skills. However, she did warn them that the water was probably not safe to drink and that the supply was extremely limited, due to rainfall being relatively scarce in deserts. But just the fact that she had carved out a meager existence in this hospital was impressive enough to him on its own. The entire sweep took less than ten minutes to complete. Antonio, Willow, and Emily -- with Winona and Cadence in tow -- returned to the lobby with the good news. "Looks like this place is clear of rotters and people." Antonio announced. "And they have water!" Willow added. "Cold water. That you can't drink. And only as much as the tanks can collect in a desert." Winona corrected her. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Oct 29 2017, 02:15 PM Post #4104 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Hank and his family were waiting in the lobby by the time Antonio, Willow and Emily returned with the status report. Riley was standing nearby with an armful of supplies. Ruby had a mild frown on her face – her standard expression since the events of Salt Lake City – and an arm wrapped around her younger brother, who stood there looking confused and afraid. The working lights, the new face, the dog, even – it was a lot to process. Hank patted his son on the shoulder. As soon as they were settled, he’d have to sit down with him and calmly try catching him up. He had no idea what he was supposed to say, but he had to figure something out. He couldn’t imagine how traumatizing the last few days were for him. Emmett and Connor were also inside. Connor had been awaken from sleep only moments before and was also clearly struggling to make sense of their new situation. He had only just stopped rubbing his eyeballs when the others arrived. Connor was now staring at Cadence. After Winona clarified the deal with the water, he spoke up. “What’s your dog’s name?” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 29 2017, 07:56 PM Post #4105 |
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Is that so?
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"Cadence." Winona answered the young man's inquiry. Antonio had noticed that the dog was aggressive and hesitant to approach anyone at first. That was the only explanation for the barking and growling from before. But it looked like she had accepted that these people were not here to hurt her or her master. She was already sniffing around some of their group and getting tidbits of affection: a scratch behind the ears or a playful pat on the side. And Cadence seemed to be enjoying the attention, as the Australian Shepherd's tail was now wagging back and forth. Almost as if on cue, the dog walked up to Connor and looked up at him. At the same time, another strong wind whipped up. The doors to the hospital rattled violently and the echo of thunder following shortly thereafter. A thickening fog outside had reduced visibility extensively; something that concerned Antonio. He couldn't see anything outside... but the lights might be visible from further out. "Maybe we should move further inside." Antonio suggested. "Would we be able to stay in one of the recovery rooms? They should have enough beds there for all of us." "Yeah, of course." Winona turned and responded. "I stockpiled some blankets in the pharmacy too, in case you guys need some. We don't have enough power to spare for heating." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Oct 29 2017, 08:17 PM Post #4106 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Connor had always liked dogs. His friend Owen had a bull terrier with red and white fur, named Izzy, and Connor was over at his house all the time. He even took Izzy to the park a few times. He wanted one of his own, but his dad was allergic. After his dad moved out, he and his mom started talking about it again, but she said she was too busy and couldn’t take care of it. Connor promised that he would do all the hard work, though, and he felt like she was gradually coming around. If they had made it to Christmas, he probably could have gotten one. But then the world came crashing down, and he hadn’t thought much more about it. He was about to ask permission to pet Cadence, but then Cadence approached him and he felt like he didn’t need it. When he knelt down, though, the wind picked up and the doors rattled and Cadence bolted away. Connor frowned and stood up. “That’s gracious of you,” Hank said, responding to Winona. “Thank you.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 30 2017, 03:31 AM Post #4107 |
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Is that so?
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Willow watched the events unfold while sitting beside Brandon. Cadence ended up scampering back to Winona's heels and taking refuge there. She gently patted her dog on the head. "No problem." Winona answered Hank. "So, uhh... if there's nothing else... I'll be in my office if you need me for anything." She turned around and started to leave, but Antonio stopped her. "Before you go... something has been bothering me." His voice was slow and deliberate. "You have shelter, power, and even limited water here. Why are Mr. Church and the rest of your tribe not here with you?" Willow nodded; that was actually a really good question. Her mind had been everywhere else and she hadn't even thought about that. Apparently Winona thought so too since she paused. The young woman slowly turned back around. She wore an expression on her face that Willow could only identify as uncomfortable. She didn't know what that meant though. The Amerindian woman bit her lower lip for a few moments, scanning the eyes of the room upon her. Then she sighed heavily. "That's kind of a long story. And all this excitement has me tired." She admitted. "Remind me to tell you tomorrow before we go see Billy." Antonio frowned, but nodded. "Very well." Winona returned the nod and quietly left the room. |
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| Strompy | Oct 30 2017, 04:07 AM Post #4108 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Your dad's been hearing some chatter about an outbreak, something very different. We think you two should come home." his mom said. Brandon shoveled down another mouthful of his dinner as he stood in an unoccupied corner of the kitchen out of the way of the kitchen staff. He had both hands full with his dinner and he had his phone awkwardly between his head and his shoulder making getting the food in his mouth that much more of a challenge. This was the closest thing he was going to get to a break that night since Tiff been attacked by some psycho earlier and had to take the night off. When he got to his phone he found a bunch of missed calls from his mom and he knew she wouldn't stop until he returned one. "M-you shed the shame thing... about swine-flu and bird-flu, the world didn't end." Brandon said as he chewed. "This different, sweetheart, this isn't far away. Apparently it's popping up in lots of different places, making people crazy and violent. They don't even have proper name for it but people are calling it the Vampire Virus because people start biting when they get it." she explained. Brandon laughed. "I know it's not vampires, Brandon, but it's still scary. We want you to come home." she continued. "If it's popping up everywhere it could just as easily hit Patterson. What difference would it make?" he asked. "We're here. This is why we do what we do. It pays to be prepared." she answered simply. Brandon sighed. He loved his parents but he'd come to realize they were sorely deluded. "No prepper has ever seen any pay-off. Ever. All those people who built fallout shelters wasted their money. You and Dad have spent a fortune on that basement and keeping it stocked. Not to mention you've been breaking the law." Brandon countered. "Brandon please I don't want to have this conversation again." his mom implored. "Dad's not ever going to be able to retire. He's going to have a heart attack and die working because he's always got some project going that's never going to be any use." Brandon continued. "Brandon. Humor me, please. Just come home for the weekend at least." she begged. Brandon chewed his food in silent contemplation for a few moments. This happened everytime his dad got a whiff of something which was frequent since he got a lot of his information from other preppers, the kind that listen to Alex Jones. He knew it was just his mom's excuse to get them to visit, something he and Kyle had been a little negligent in doing of their own prompting. He had planned on going to Rick's 23rd since he was hoping to hook up with his sister, but he wasn't tpo fond of Rick himself so it wasn't too much of a sacrifice. "Fine. I'll call Kyle. This better actually be the end of the world or I'm gonna be pissed." That was Thursday. By Sunday he was convinced. ... Brandon was happy they'd found a friendly face here, two in fact. After the tumultuous few days they'd had he wished everyone could just unwind a little, even for just a moment. Something bad usually happened when they did though. The depressing rule to live by was constant vigilance. "We should use the light while we still have it. Let's get some training in." Brandon said. He had to remind himself he wasn't calling the shots anymore, he waived that right. "If you don't need us for anything else that is." he continued, addressing Antonio. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Oct 30 2017, 04:47 AM Post #4109 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Connor was still frowning as Winona exited, but the bad feeling was a general one, not because of anything specific. Definitely not the suggestion of training. While he wasn’texcited by the prospect of training – he was still so tired – but he didn’t dread it like he might have a couple weeks ago. A lot of the things Brandon had taught him so far had already come into play. The lessons had probably saved both his life and Brandon’s. He could stay awake a couple more hours if Brandon could. Besides, training would give him something to think about besides what happened in that Wal-Mart. When he let his mind idle too long, it would go back there and he didn’t like that. Emmett had something else on his mind, though. The big man spoke up before Antonio could give Brandon his blessing. “Someone should watch her,” Emmett said. “She seems nice, but… What if she has a radio we don’t know about? What if she tries to leave?” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Oct 30 2017, 02:59 PM Post #4110 |
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Is that so?
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"Go ahead, Brandon." Antonio gave his blessing to the injured young man. "There isn't much else we can do until morning." Morale was, understandably, a little low. Despite their successes over the past 12 hours, a lot of people were badly injured. Brandon had almost died. Between brutal leaders, malicious cults, and untrustworthy strangers, there hadn't been a whole lot that had gone well for them over the past few days. They were in absolutely no condition to deal with another hostile group and everyone knew it. If Brandon wanted to have a training session, he wasn't about to stop him. Not only might the information save some lives, but it could help keep their minds busy. Two things they needed right now. "As for Winona..." Antonio turned to Emmett. "I agree. We should definitely keep an eye on her, just to be safe. But we do not want to make her feel intimidated by us either." "I could watch her." Willow volunteered herself. "She seems pretty cool. I could probably do it without arousing too much suspicion from her. I did kinda want to try her computer out anyway." Antonio hummed and nodded. That could work. Winona did seem a little on edge; sending a woman was probably the wiser choice. And the two of them had gotten along fairly well based off their limited interactions earlier. She would be a fairly logical choice. "I would be fine with that." Antonio said. "But I know you've been itching to do something, Emmett. If you wanted to watch them too, I do not think anybody would complain. Better safe than sorry after all, right?" |
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7:27 PM Jul 10