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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,801 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
CJ was sleeping. Ruby was at least laying down – whether she had drifted off or not, Hank wasn’t sure, but he still took the opportunity to meet Riley outside their room.

“We could have had a home, if it wasn’t for Brandon and Emily,” Riley was saying.

It had hardly taken any prompting to get her to unload. Her frustration was just waiting to be vented.

“Emily didn’t have to sneak into the casino and get caught,” Riley continued. “Brandon didn’t have to do that, and he didn’t have to escalate things by taking hostages. He blew it. For everybody.”

Hank sighed and scratched the scruff of his beard as he listened.

“What?” Riley prompted him. “Do you disagree?”

“We didn’t know what kind of people they were,” he said.

“We could have found out,” Riley said. “If we didn’t get kicked out of town, we could have gotten to know them. But thanks to Brandon and these people, we’ll never get that chance.

“Without Brandon, we never would have gotten out of Salt Lake City,” Hank reminded her. “The New Dawn would have done whatever they wanted with us.”

Riley scoffed. “They owe you and Andy just as much as we owe them,” she said. “It was our RV you all escaped in, and Andy’s life that got sacrificed. And for no good reason, too – except Brandon’s junkie girlfriend was in trouble and he couldn’t keep his shit together.”

Hank frowned. “That’s not fair.”

“No it’s not,” Riley said. “And neither was what happened to Andy.”

“They lost people too,” Hank said, frowning deeper.

Riley shook her head again. “You mean Nolan? I tried to warn you about Lowell. And Noah. You know he broke Ruby’s heart, right? Tell me you realize that.”

Hank stared at the floor for a second. He loved his sister, he understood her pain, he wanted to be patient with her – but he didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

“What do you want from me? We can’t do this alone! Tell me that you realize that!”

He raised his voice a little louder than he meant to. He could tell Riley was taken aback. He sighed again.

“I do,” Riley said in a whisper. “I realize that.”

“Good,” Hank said, lowering his voice in turn. “Thank you. And I’m sorry if…”

Riley didn’t let him finish. Her expression turned serious. “I want a change in leadership,” she said. “That’s what I want from you.”

It was Hank’s turn to be taken aback. “What are you saying?”

“You should be running things. Not Brandon.”

“He’s not anymore,” Hank said. “Father Antonio is.”

Riley scoffed again. “Antonio will be in charge right up until things get hard, then Brandon or Emily or Willow will step in and do something stupid. Antonio’s not a leader. You are.”

“I’m… I’m not,” Hank said – he was still taken aback, struggling to even process what his sister was suggesting.

“Antonio’s a youth counsellor,” Riley said. “Brandon and Emily are basically teenagers. Willow’s a drug addict. Annie doesn’t want the responsibility. But you…”

“I don’t want the responsibility either,” Hank interrupted.

Riley leaned in, undeterred. “You ran a company. You led a group of men.”

“I led a group of electricians,” Hank argued. “I installed lighting in parking lots.”

“You were responsible for their livelihoods,” Riley said. “You never pissed a payment. You were always on schedule and you were never over-budget. You were a leader. That’s more than you can say about anybody else here.”

Hank leaned away. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said. “I should get some sleep. And so should you.”

Riley’s face was as serious as ever. Hank felt a pang of worry as he laid a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye.

“I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” he said.

Riley didn’t respond out loud. She just frowned, gave him a subtle nod, and watched him walk away.

Hank longed for the days she called him Charlie.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon wearily got up from his chair and made his way through the halls and outside the hospital. He walked a long way but eventually he made it back home. He gratefully made his way into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. He felt something digging into his back and turned to see Donnie holding a gun on him.

Donnie didn't have to say anything, Brandon knew what he wanted him to do. He had to go in the room or Donnie was going to shoot him. He knew what was waiting for him there, and it would have been better to die but he went anyway. Donnie smiled at him as he closed the door behind him. Cory was coming to hurt him, he could hear his footsteps getting closer. He wanted to fight, but every time he tried to make a fist his arms just went limp and he was as defenseless as a baby. So when Cory walked up to him with a knife in hand all he could do was scream as he starting to cut his arm off.

...

Brandon woke up without a start. He didn't twitch or make a sound. He just came to with a passive acceptance that it wouldn't be the last time Cory, or Donnie or somebody else hurt him when he closed his eyes. Maybe next time it'd be somebody else being hurt. Maybe the past would just replay itself for him, or he'd make up some new horror altogether.

He thought about how far away he was from home. If he turned into one of those things, would he somehow wander back there? Would he be buried somewhere strange? Would he even be buried at all? He thought about walking back home again, and fell asleep.

...

Emily smacked the glass once more with the chair and it shattered. She reached into the vending machine and took some chocolate then swept the glass under the machine with a broom she found in the hallway before returning to the others. She whistled slightly to get their attention and tossed everyone who was paying attention a chocolate bar. Brandon was where she left him. He'd shifted slightly. She couldn't imagine it was comfortable spot for somebody who was recently missing an arm among other injuries. She made a mental note to ask Antonio to help move him. As she sat down nearby she unwrapped her candy and took a big indulgent bite out of it, and only briefly troubled herself with whether Winona would take exception to Emily pilfering shit from her chosen hideout.

She noticed Brandon's forehead had a thick sheen of sweat building up, even though it was actually pretty cool inside with night approaching. It sure wasn't hot enough to be sweating that much. There was a cloth nearby which she used to dab away the sweat, and placed her hand on his head. He was really warm. Hot actually. They'd need to keep an eye on that.

"Brandon's temp is getting back up." she informed nobody in particular as she ran the same cloth under the relatively cool water they had available.

Don't get any ideas, man. We can still use you.
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Is that so?
* * * * *

Hours passed and evening became night. Over those few hours, people ate what food they had before drifting off to sleep; though some slept better than others. A couple of hours had passed since the last person fell asleep and Antonio officially started his watch. The priest was sitting outside of the recovery room in the hallway, where he could read his Bible in the light without disturbing anyone. He flipped through the pages of Scripture and did his best to apply the lessons contained within to heart. Which was easier said than done. However, it was getting late. He wasn't sure what the exact hour was, but he guessed it was probably around 12 to 1 in the morning by this point. Which meant that his time on watch was already over and he could get some sleep. He closed the good book and tucked it away in his pocket before rising to his feet.

He slipped into the recovery room as quietly as he could -- taking a moment for his eyes to acclimate to the darkness -- before he found Willow. She was sitting in a chair besides Brandon, slumped over with her head resting on the edge of his bed. Brandon... he was not looking so well. Even in the darkness, it was clear that he was sweating badly; he noticed that Willow was still clutching a damp rag in her hand from before she had fallen asleep. He reached down to wake her, but stopped at the last second. He had not randomly chosen her to take over. She had offered to keep watch after him. But he had to use the restroom, so he figured he could give her a few extra minutes of rest. She needed it.

He left her in the darkness and stepped back into the hallway. He remembered Winona's request to conserve water; so using the toilet was out of the question. Even if he did have permission, he wasn't actually sure how the sewage system worked around here. He didn't know if the toilets flushed or even went anywhere. Did the sewers still work without the processing plants and electricity? Antonio didn't know and decided it wasn't worth thinking about. He could step outside for a few moments to take care of business.

He made his way to the emergency entrance they had used earlier and stepped out into the blizzard. Yes, it had turned into a blizzard. Snow was falling from the sky, accompanied by blustering winds and the occasional flash of thunder from above. A churning, foggy haze blanketed the land as well, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet. But, more importantly, the cold was biting him through his sweater. He quickly stepped over to the grass, which had withered and turned brown a long time ago, unzipped his pants, and opened the flood gates.

"Ahh." He threw his head back and exhaled in relief.

For a brief moment, there was euphoria. Then the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He shifted his gaze straight ahead of him and he saw two figures standing on the edge of the fog's vision. He couldn't see them well; they were almost like shadows, draped in flowing black garments that obscured any distinguishing features beyond their height. Even their faces were hidden behind masks of some sort. He couldn't tell.

"Oh, no..." Antonio muttered in terror.

He made a move for the hospital door, but a red hot pain tore through his thigh. The leg gave out from under him and he collapsed onto the dead grass.

Dammit! He cursed mentally. Was I just shot!? I didn't even hear anything!

Antonio grasped at the ground and tried to crawl his way to the hospital, but the attackers reached him first. The bigger of the two planted his foot into his back and pinned him to the ground under his weight.

"That was easy. Should we get another one?" A feminine voice asked.

"No." A calm, masculine voice answered. "They have numbers and a defensible location. This one will feed us until another opportunity comes. Take care of him and let's get out of here."

Feed us? Antonio's mind processed in horror. God, please don't tell me that-

Antonio felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and then everything faded into darkness.

* * * * *

Willow yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stepped out of the recovery room and into the lit hallway. She wasn't used to having electricity again; she hadn't seen any since Flint. Regardless, she was still tired. She still wanted to sleep. But she knew that she couldn't. It was time for her to step up and take some damn responsibility in the group. They needed her to be sober and alert, now more than ever.

She had woken up on her own. After gently wiping the sweat from Brandon's face. She thought it strange that Antonio hadn't woken her up himself, but maybe she had only been asleep for an hour. It was hard to tell the time when one couldn't see the sky and had no clocks that could be relied on. But Antonio wasn't out in the hallway.

Weird. Willow thought to herself. Where could he be?

With her knife in her hand, she went through the hospital. She checked the bathrooms, she checked the random hospital rooms. She looked in the showers. It wasn't until after looking at everything that she noticed the light was on in the emergency waiting room and the door leading outside was unlocked. Willow's jaw dropped when she noticed that the blizzard was dissipating and the first light of a new day was starting to creep over the horizon, illuminating the thin, white sheet of snow on the ground. It was morning!

Something's not right here. Willow's heart was beating a lot faster now. Antonio wouldn't just up and leave us. Would he?

Looking through the hospital had taken time; it had probably been another 30 minutes since she woke up. But maybe they had missed each other somewhere; maybe he was back in the recovery room, sleeping like everyone else.

A quick return to the recovery room disproved that theory. He wasn't there. To make matters more confusing, his bag was still there; including the cure tucked safely inside. Something wasn't right. Willow turned on the light in the recovery room.

"Guys, I don't know where Antonio is." She wasted no time in announcing. "Did he wake someone else up for a shift on watch?"
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Strompy
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"He must have pulled an all-nighter. He might be answering the call. Did you check outside?" Emily asked when nobody else answered Willow.

She didn't want to jump to conclusions but her instincts told her to look into it anyway, and history told her not to take anything for granted. They also had a stranger for a roommate.

"I'll go do a perimeter check. Somebody should go wake up the Kelly's, we want to be staged to move on straight away if this Church guy decides he'd rather not have guests. Somebody should check on our roomie too." she said as she stretched.

Emily made her way outside and answered the call herself. It was on her way back to the door that she noticed a discolored patch of snow. With her shoe she pushed some of the top layer aside. Yellow. Antonio had been out here, maybe a few hours ago though judging by the amount of snow she had to move aside to see where he'd been. Emily chewed her lip briefly. It didn't mean anything. the blood did though. As she stepped back she noticed it in the print she left behind in the snow.

She drew her knife and scraped aside the top layer of snow. There was more blood. Not the kind that meant a dead body but even a little meant something bad. Her eyes darted around in every direction, looking for something, anything that signaled human activity but there was nothing but white. Emily's brow furrowed and she drew her pistol. They weren't going to find any rest here.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie awoke when Willow turned on the light. For the first time in a long while, she felt at least a little rested. It must have been morning. She had finally had a night’s sleep. It didn’t seem like she was going to get to prolong it, however. Willow’s troubling announcement would preclude that.

She chose not to panic, however. Not yet. Like Emily said, Antonio might just be relieving himself. Or maybe Willow might have just missed him. They were in a relatively large building, after all.

“I’ll check on Winona,” she volunteered after a yawn.

She got up and moved to another bed, where Connor was sleeping. She gently shook him by the shoulder. Just in case something serious was happening, he should probably be ready.

“Wake up, honey,” she said.

His eyes fluttered open. “What’s going on?”

“We’re not sure,” she answered. “Hopefully nothing.”

She told him she needed to be right back, and to get ready to move if it came to that. She hoped it wouldn’t.

She ran into Emmett on the way to Winona’s room. He was sitting in a chair outside it, his arms folded and his eyes shut. When she got close, his eyes opened.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Willow can’t find Antonio,” Annie answered. “Has Winona…?”

“She hasn’t left this room,” Emmett replied before she could finish the question.

He sounded tired but confident. Annie knew better than to ask him if he was sure. If he wasn’t sure, he would have said so.

“That’s a relief,” she said. “I’m here to check on her.”

She moved past him to knock on the door. Emmett rose from his seat to tower behind her.

* * *

Eli’s Supergrade was trained on Darren’s face. He squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

He stood over Darren’s lifeless body and aimed the Supergrade again.

BANG!

This wasn’t right. He knew that. Darren didn’t need to die. He frowned. And yet…

BANG!

He frowned harder, and narrowed his eyes. What was he doing? Darren was dead. He didn’t need to shoot him once, let alone three times.

BANG!

Why wasn’t he stopping? This wasn’t how it happened. He dropped the gun and looked around frantically. He expected to see the faces of his friends, the people he survived that highway battle with. But theirs weren’t the faces starring back at him. Instead he saw Evan. He saw Wendy. He saw Cory and Maxwell. He stared back at them with confusion and terror. He couldn’t move.

BANG!

Eli sat up and found himself in a trailer somewhere in Arizona. The gunshots weren’t gunshots at all – they were knocks on the door, which was now opening, and Daisy was stepping inside.

“Good morning,” she said. “How was your sleep?”

Eli sighed and wiped at his forehead, finding it slippery with sweat.

“Terrible,” he answered honestly.

He was too rattled to even be sardonic about it.

“At least you slept,” she said. “That’s progress.”

She turned her gaze to Kelsey. Eli’s gaze followed.

“How about you?”
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Is that so?
Willow frowned.

Hopefully Emily was right. Hopefully he was just lingering somewhere that she hadn't checked. But she was certain she looked the place over. And he was supposed to wake her for watch during the night and never did. She didn't want to suspect foul play, but something in the back of her mind was worried that foul play was exactly what they were dealing with here. And if that was true, then the list of suspects was pretty short.

Willow pursed her lips and shook her head as she tried to push those thoughts aside. She had to keep her mind in the game. And while Emily was looking around, there was someone else who needed help too.

Willow slipped over to Brandon's bed and knelt down.

"Hey, babe." She whispered. "How are you feeling?"

* * * * *

At first, Annie and Emmett were greeted only by silence. It wasn't until 20 or 30 seconds later that the door to Winona's room cracked open. A pair of tired-looking eyes peered through the crack and looked at the two guests knocking on her door. Then a loud sigh was heard and she opened the door wider. She was still wearing the same attire from the previous night, though she looked like she had just rolled out of bed herself, despite there being no bed in the room.

"Is it morning already?" She asked while rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, time gets weird with no windows."

* * * * *

Kelsey was sitting upright; she had been half asleep when Daisy entered the trailer. She was awake again now though. And while she looked disheveled after a long night, she looked better than Eli did. Which, admittedly, was a very low bar.

"Yeah." She answered flatly as she broke eye contact with Daisy and Eli. "A little."

Her rest had been sporadic. Truthfully, Kelsey wasn't sure how long she had slept that night. Rather than sleep, it was like a dream. She knew that she had faded in and out of sleep throughout the night, but she was never sure how long she was awake or how long she was asleep.
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Half-dead would be an understatement. Brandon had woken up briefly half a dozen times. He had no sense of time so it he couldn't tell if it was morning yet or still night. Maybe he'd slept right through the day and it was afternoon already. It wouldn't be the first time he'd woken up to a sunset.

He mustered a smile despite all that. He was alive and Willow was with him, that was more than enough reason.

"I've had hangovers that were worse. Not by much." he said.

...

Emily closed the front door behind her, leaving a smudged fingerprint on the glass with the blood she had to conclude was Antonio's. What did all this tell her. Antonio was missing, there were signs of violence. That meant kidnapping. Who did it?

Suspects. New Dawn, it's their thing. Locals, what motive would they have? Why just take Antonio if they had the drop on us? Ransom? Should we wait around for a message?

Emily pondered as she power walked back inside. She stopped as she saw Annie and Emmett at the door to Winona's room. Now that was a person of interest. She had a computer in there. What if she had a radio? She could have tipped somebody off to them being there. Emily approached with her pistol still drawn and gestured to get Emmett's attention.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie looked Winona up and down, studying her carefully. Either she had just woken up, or she was a very good actress.

“Yes, it’s morning,” she answered. “When’s the last time you saw Antonio?”

Then she heard footsteps, and she looked behind her. Emily was approaching her with a pistol drawn. Annie’s face fell.

* * *

“I am glad to hear that,” Daisy said. “If it was up to me, I’d let you sleep in, but Boulet insisted on waking you up first thing in the morning.”

Morning. Eli cursed himself – he hadn’t meant to sleep that long.

“He was right to,” Eli responded. “While we were sleeping, Lowell was probably getting away.”

He kicked the covers from his cot and stretched his arms out wide. Then he rolled his shoulders, trying to literally shake off the lethargy.

Mmhm, that was Boulet’s thinking as well,” Daisy said. “Here – I brought you both a change of clothes. Forgive me if they’re too large, I had to guess your sizes. And the selection was limited.”

In her arms was a pile of clothing items – among them, a pink tee and flower-patterned fleece pullover for Kelsey, and a flannel button-down for Eli. She placed them on the ground.

“One of you can get changed in the bathroom,” Daisy said. “We’ll be waiting for you outside.”
Edited by DoctorYerishi, Jul 1 2018, 01:36 AM.
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Emily's demeanor changed as she approached the door. It was a practiced one. Polite, amiable but professional. She holstered her piece before Winona could see it, but kept it unfastened in case she needed to clear it fast, and her hand never strayed far from it.

"Couldn't find him outside." Emily said leaning against the wall.

With her left hand she left a very clear smear of blood with her index finger to let the others know Winona was officially a suspect and that something had happened to Antonio.

"This isn't like him. You didn't hear him puttering around the halls last night did you? Bunch of strangers a few rooms over I can't imagine you got much sleep." she asked Winona.
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Is that so?
Willow forced a smile at Brandon's attitude. He looked pretty bad, even if he was trying to brush it off; even if he had avoided getting infected by the bite, that didn't mean he was clear of other infections. But at times like this, Willow had to remember what the others would do. What Kelsey would do. And what Brandon was trying to do. And that was the simple act of smiling.

"Let me get you some water." She told him.

She remember Winona saying the water from the faucets wasn't safe to drink. Something about, despite being rainwater, being held in a water tank for an unknown amount of time. She wasn't going to risk giving her boyfriend a cup full of still water. Instead, she grabbed one of the bottles out of the gift box that Saxon's group had prepared. She unscrewed the top as she approached him.

"Here." She knelt down beside him and gently placed the water in his hand while using her hands to held him hold it. "Drink a little."

* * * *

Winona seemed taken aback at Emily's cold demeanor. The sudden appearance of everyone at her door was startling enough already; but the tiredness in her eyes had all but disappeared by now.

"W-well... the last time I saw him was when he came to talk to me." Winona said as she fidgeted in place. "He wanted to know about the medicine and I said you guys could take what you wanted. Then he left. That's the last time I heard or saw anything, I swear."

* * * * *

Wordlessly, Kelsey scooped up the clothes that were clearly meant for her and walked to the bathroom.

Now she knew how Eli or some of the others felt. It wasn't that she couldn't talk... it was just that she didn't want to. Her brain was stuck in a mode where it couldn't muster the energy or the will to force a smile or a laugh. The wall of denial that she had been building around herself ever since leaving New York... it was finally breaking down. All she wanted to do was just sit in a room and do nothing. She kept herself moving simply because she thought that maybe, just maybe, finding Lowell and making him answer for what he did would make her feel less empty.

Still, despite her forlorn demeanor, it was nice to get out of the clothes she had been wearing. They were bloodied and dirtied after her experiences over the past few days. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she felt a little better after putting something clean on. The pullover in particular was warmer than it looked.

After she had finished changing, she walked out of the bathroom, leaving her old clothes in a pile on the floor.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie looked from Emily and her blood-smeared hand to Winona. Her worry was on the rise. There was no denying it, now – something had happened, and something bad.

When was that?” she asked, her tone insistent. “And would your tribe have taken him for any reason? Or is there anyone else in this town besides them? We need the truth.”

* * *

By the time Kelsey emerged in her new, relatively clean state, Eli had gotten changed himself. He felt slightly better in his brand new outfit, which seemed to have been laundered relatively recently. It had been nice of Daisy to do that for them.

For the most part, though, his mind remained troubled. And he figured it was going to remain that way for a while yet. They had a big decision coming up.

“You look… better,” Boulet said, once Eli and Kelsey emerged from the trailer and their eyes adjusted to the sun. “Dunno if I’d go so far as good, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I will too,” Eli said.

Boulet smirked. He dug into his pocket and produced a handful of granola bars. Five in all. “I got more for ya,” he offered. “For the road.”

Gracias,” Eli said.

He was grateful for the nourishment, and he was also thankful they seemed to be on the same page. There was no time to sit down and eat. They had to be on their way.

He pocketed three of the bars for himself and passed two to Kelsey. He felt a little bad about the imbalance, but it seemed only practical, considering their difference in bodyweights. If they truly were going to face Lowell soon, he thought some practicality was in order.

“Your chariot awaits,” Boulet said. “Follow me.”

They did. As when they arrived, Eli felt more eyes on him then there were people around. He took their secrecy in stride and focused on the task ahead: first Noah, then Lowell. Then back to Nevada. He’d figure out what came after that once they got that far.

They left the confines of the trailer park and arrived roadside once again. Alan from earlier was waiting there. He was leaning on a gray Chevy Silverado pick-up truck. There were a few bumps and dents in the hood – it had cleared away a few rotters, it seemed – but otherwise seemed in good shape. Their chariot, Eli assumed.

Noah was there too. He was blind-folded and handcuffed behind the back, wearing an expression of silent resignation and remaining silent. Next to him, standing guard, was a younger man with glasses and a scruffy beard. Boulet addressed the man with glasses.

“Parker – put him in the back, would ya?” he ordered. “And get his feet, too. Don’t want him to get up to any shenanigans.”

Parker nodded his assent, then went about shoving Noah into the backseat. Noah didn’t resist. The way he was acting, shenanigans seemed unlikely.

As Parker did that, Eli looked from Noah back to Kelsey. He looked for a clue to her thoughts on Noah, and if they might have evolved overnight.
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Is that so?
As Annie asked about the tribe, Winona's face lit up.

"The tribe would never do anything like that!" Winona lashed out. "All we're doing is just trying to get by. I'm tired of-"

Then, as soon as the anger appeared, is was quelled. She stopped and bit her lower lip. She then dropped her gaze, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly.

"Sorry." She apologized awkwardly while scratching the back of her neck. "I, uhh... I didn't mean to... I know you didn't mean anything by that."

She fell silent against for a few seconds as she attempted to recompose herself.

"But, uhh... to answer your questions, I-I saw him around the time things were winding down last night. I didn't have my computer on anymore, so I don't know the exact time. And we're the only ones living here, but we do get people passing through every so often. I-I'm sorry, but that's all I know, I swear."

* * * * *

Kelsey grimaced as she watched Noah get loaded into the truck.

The sight of him -- even blindfolded and helpless as he was -- filled her with disgust. She knew to expect this, but she had no desire to even look at him anymore.

Maybe I can convince Eli to throw him out of the truck once we're away from here. She thought to herself. While we're driving.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie cringed and looked away. Winona’s frustration seemed innocent and sincere to her, but it didn’t get them any closer to figuring out what the hell had happened. She felt her rising worry getting the best of her.

“Fuck,” she cursed under her breath.

It wasn’t really in her character to swear or lash out, but things were looking so promising last night. Meds. A friendly stranger. Working water. All it took was a single night to wipe all that good will away.

She truly didn’t know what to do. She looked at Emily with a pleading expression, hoping somehow that she did.

* * *

Eli’s grimace mirrored Kelsey’s. He turned back to the Chevy and watched as Parker went about tying Noah’s feet together.

“It’s gassed up and ready to go,” Boulet said, patting him on the shoulder. “There’s a jug of water under the passenger’s seat. And we salvaged everything we could find it your wreck – it’s all in the glove compartment. There wasn’t a lot.”

Eli nodded. Boulet was right about that. There was a chef’s knife, a map, some clothes, a book that Kelsey had picked up way back when for Willow – that was pretty much it. Except for…

“What about the guns?” Eli asked.

“The Glock’s there too,” Boulet said. “Even reloaded it for ya – and yeah, your welcome. The AR’s in the back. The magazine’s full again, but we only got so much to spare. No extras. So make your shots count.”

Eli took a breath. “I’ll try.”

“To hell with try,” Boulet said. “Get it done. I’m countin’ on you. Speakin’ of, can I have a word?”

“All set,” Parker interrupted.

Parker stepped out of the truck and closed the door. Noah was officially locked inside.

“Thank you mightily,” Boulet said. “You can head on back. Eli…”

Boulet put a hand on his shoulder again, and guided him a few feet away from the scrum that had formed by the truck.

“So listen, I was wonderin’,” he started up. “I get that Lowell killed the girl’s brother. I get why she wants to go to the ends of the earth and back. But you – what’s your stake in all this?”

“Like I said, I knew her father,” Eli responded. “I made him a promise.”

Boulet gave him a smile back. It seemed like a pretty genuine one to Eli. “That’s a good answer,” he said. “Promises gotta mean something, especially now. All a man’s worth in these times is his word.”

Eli cringed a little, and felt a pang in his gut. He thought about the words he said to Wendy and Darren, and how much those turned out to be worth. Some of the images from his dream cycled through his head.

If Boulet noticed his reaction, he didn’t acknowledge it. “One more thing,” he said. “I got a little favour to ask you. My revolver, the one Lowell stole – it’s a .357 Magnum, you’ll know it when you see it. It has sentimental value. If you find it and bring it back, it would mean a lot to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Eli said. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me an’ Kels, but I can’t promise we’ll be back. There are people waiting for us.”

He knew he could have just agreed. It wouldn’t have cost him anything to just say ’Of course’. But that damn line about the worth of his word was sticking in his head. Anything but the honest truth just seemed wrong.

Boulet didn't seem thrilled with the answer, but he shrugged anyway. “Thought I’d ask, just in case,” he said. “Now come on, you better get goin’.”

* * *

While Boulet was taking Eli aside, Daisy seized the opportunity to talk to Kelsey. Surreptitiously, out of sight of Alan and Parker, she slid the small handbag off her shoulder and onto Kelsey’s.

There had been a long conversation last night about just what they could spare to help Eli and Kelsey got on their way. The consensus was that they were giving too much already. They wouldn’t have cleared Daisy to offer any of her medical supplies. She decided not to let that stop her.

She crouched so she was talking to Kelsey face-to-face.

“Here are some things you may need if you get hurt,” she said. “Including a needle and stitches, for if you break yours, or need some more. Don’t let anyone see until you’re gone, okay?”

She started to stand up, but stopped. She realized this could be the last time she saw Kelsey. It made her think about the last time she saw Shelby. She felt the beginning of a tear start to well up, but she blinked it away and took a breath, and she was okay again. She crouched again and looked at Kelsey with clear eyes.

“And remember what we talked about last night. This world takes a lot from you. It doesn’t have to take everything.”
Edited by DoctorYerishi, Jul 1 2018, 01:40 AM.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Hell of a coincidence, you have to admit. We arrive in town and the next day we can't find our friend. They're the only people we know of in the area. Maybe your people don't want other people around. Maybe your people have been burned by strangers before. We have. Makes you paranoid; gets you thinking everyone's got something to hide. You try to think a few steps ahead of them. Like maybe taking a hostage is a good way to make a point." Emily pondered letting the shadow of a threat hang there.

"Then there's you. Last person to see him. Maybe you didn't actually do anything but as far we could tell you're the only person who knew we were here. You've got a computer, wouldn't be weird to have a radio to communicate with your people. Do you have a radio?" she asked.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Winona frowned at the not-so-subtle accusation and gave Emily a stern look.

"Okay, look. I get that you're worried. But if I was secretly working with my tribe to kidnap your people, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to just sit here and wait for you to lynch me in the morning?"

She crossed her arms defiantly and stared at her accusers.

"Bzzzt... Winona?" A static-y female voice whispered from inside the room. "Are you there?"

Winona's frown deepened and her entire body visibly tensed at the sound of it.
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