Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Wcrp. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,027 Views)
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli was surprised but grateful when Kelsey hugged him. He didn’t think she liked him that much – he wasn’t great with kids, and so far had been clumsy about trying to warm up to her. Maybe the sight of a familiar face had overcome that.

He returned Kelsey’s hug very gently, and then looked back up at Julie. He walked a few steps to meet her, and then gave her a hug as well. It was kind of uncharacteristic of him, but it was an uncharacteristic time.

“I’m sorry ‘bout all this,” he said softly as he broke the embrace, and gave her a warm smile. He really was happy to see her.

Then he looked at the kidnapper. He was now holding his weapon at his side with one hand, and aiming it at nobody in particular. With his other hand, he picked up a shopping bag on the ground nearby. He tossed it at Brandon’s feet. Eli glanced over and recognised it as being full of guns – the ones he took from Maxwell, Jeff and Randall.

“They’re not loaded,” the kidnapper explained – or more likely warned – without prompting.

Eli looked up at Brandon, and found him looking back. His expression asked what next?

What’s next is we part ways, Eli thought, but didn’t say. If this encounter went in an unfortunate direction, he didn’t want his last words to him to be mournful. He did want to be sure Julie and Kelsey made it out of this safely, though.

“Bring ‘em back safe,” he said. “I’ll be right with you.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Strompy
Member Avatar
More posts, more Busey.
Julie was confused by the situation to say the least. What was Eli sorry for? Why did this man want him. She lead Kelsey to the car while Brandon hesitated. He just stood there a few moments staring at the big guy.

...

There was no plan.

Brandon admitted, fully embracing the truth. Eli planned to just give himself over. Several scenarios played out in his head. He had those scissors in his boot. They were ambidextrous, thin and pointed. They'd make a serviceable punch-knife. All it'd take was a jab to the throat, or maybe a few shots to the ribs and kidneys. Brandon didn't fancy his chances against the guy, who was easily as big as Kyle, even if he weren't already wounded. But how would he get close enough without taking several to the chest? He wanted to fight this, but the girls came first.

Uneasily he picked up the bag and made his way to the car. He looked at Eli with a sense that he wouldn't see him again after this. He didn't look away until he was back on the road and starting to drive away.

"So you know, some strings would have been okay!" Julie called out.

Brandon hit the gas, and the three of them were away.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli watched as the SUV sped away with Kelsey and Julie inside and safe. He watched it through the gaps in the trees as it headed east, back towards the bar, towards and family. He watched it until it faded from view.

When he finally stopped watching and turned around, the bearded man with the long hair and sad eyes had his gun raised to him.

Eli’s heart skipped a beat in his chest and his breath caught in his throat. He expected this. He thought he was prepared for this. But maybe you could never be prepared – maybe not truly.

His body tensed up, waiting for the sudden and terrible impact he thought was imminent. When it didn’t come, he concentrated on relaxing, and got a little of the way there.

The sound of the SUV was no more. Now all Eli could hear was the chirping of some distant birds, and the sound of his own breath and the stranger’s.

“You got me at a disadvantage,” Eli said finally, breaking the silence. “You know my name, but I, well, you know…”

“Emmett,” he said simply.

“Emmett, okay,” Eli said with a nod. “Pretty nice day out, isn’t it?”

Emmett stared back at him. His brown eyes were still and watery, and his body was shaking a little – almost imperceptibly, but Eli knew to look for it. Eli knew what he was going through. His body language was frighteningly and painfully familiar.

“It’s sunny, relatively warm for the fall,” Eli said. “An’ here I thought Canada was gonna be some kinda wintery wonderland.”

Emmett kept trembling. Eli could see the hurt and the anger fighting in his eyes and in the twitch of his lips. He might as well have been looking at himself back at Old Fort Erie, when he marched into Evan’s room instead of leaving with Randall and Willow when he had the chance.

“I never left the States ‘fore all this went to shit, so –”

“Randall tell you why you’re here?” Emmett asked suddenly, cutting off his small talk.

Eli nodded back. “He did.”

“You killed my brother.”

“I know.”

Emmett shoved the MAC-10 forward in his hands. His eyes narrowed suddenly. His lips curled. His anger had clearly won a skirmish against his other emotions. He looked ready to pull the trigger.

At that moment, Eli wished he could hate him, but he didn’t. He was scared to death, and he wished he had someone else to blame but himself. But he didn’t.

“Why!?” Emmett roared. The question came out loud and hoarse.

Eli’s voice stayed low. “He killed my friend. He shot –”

“Liar!”

Eli was undaunted. He kept talking, remaining calm and steady, even as he prepared for the end. “He shot him in the head ‘fore any of us even knew he was there. He didn’t mean to. He saw a gun, he panicked, and he pulled the trigger without thinking. But he did it. He killed him.”

No bullets came. Emmett just kept the MAC-10 raised, and kept staring piercing daggers across the short distance between them.

“I found somethin’ in New York,” Eli said. He figured he might as well get the whole story out there, let Emmett have the full picture before he did whatever he was going to do. “Somethin’ game changing, maybe. Me an’ my group have to get it to Chicago. We thought we’d go through Ontario. Or they thought they would, at least. Used to be I wanted to keep going north. That changed.”

Still no bullets. Eli kept going.

“After we crossed the border, we came across your brother and some others. After Mac went down – Mac was that friend, you know the one – after he bit it, your group tried to rob us. We wouldn’t be robbed. Things escalated.”

“That shouldn’t have happened,” Emmett said suddenly.

Eli nodded back, surprised. “No, it shouldn’t have. You know, I don’t recognize you from back then.”

“I wasn’t there.”

Emmett’s lips turned from a scowl to a frown. On his face, pain seemed to get the edge on anger. Now Eli felt like he understood him more than ever.

“I guess that makes it harder,” Eli said. “What happened, I mean.”

“Shut up,” Emmett replied, sounding sadder than he sounded angry.

Eli shook his head. He couldn’t accept that order. He had a story to tell.

“That thing I mentioned, the game-changer, it ended up back at the fort,” he continued. “I went there to get it back. I saw your brother, and then I saw Mac. Over and over again.”

“Shut up,” Emmett repeated, a little more forceful now.

“Can’t say what I did was right. It wasn’t. It was wrong. At the time, it didn’t matter it was wrong. All that mattered was Mac. I didn’t even know him that long, but he was my friend, and seeing him die…”

Eli shook his head again, this time to himself. He realized his story was pretty much over.

“I know it’s not worth shit to you right now, but it didn’t make me feel better. It just –”

“SHUT UP!” Emmett cried, and he raised his weapon. Eli recoiled and closed his eyes.

It really was a nice day out.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Make-7-Up-Yours
Member Avatar
Is that so?
Everyone present in the bar listened in silence as he recalled all of the events that led to where they were now; from Eli's murder of the kid at Old Fort Erie, to the fact that the kidnapper was his brother. He didn't want to feel like he was doing Eli an injustice and mince words, so he told everyone in the room the truth of the matter as plainly as he could. Even as his voice was strained under the stress of it all and he felt like he was giving another eulogy, he kept marching on.

"That's... damn..." Willow was the first to speak and break the silence that hung in the air after he finished. "Shit... Eli..."

She was as surprised as anyone else despite being at Fort Erie with them.

"Eli did what he felt he needed to." Glenda retorted. "Nobody could have stopped him from doing it."

"How can you be so cold about all of that?" Willow shook her head in disbelief. "I... I don't want more people to die..."

"It's the world we live in now, we-"

"Glenda."

For once, Randall was the one cutting her off. He turned his gaze to Willow and put up another wall of confidence. Deep down, he felt like he was being torn apart by worry and grief, but he needed to act strong for the sake of everyone else. He needed to be the anchor. Glenda was strong, but she was distant. Just as he needed her to keep him grounded, she needed him because people looked up to him in a way they didn't with her.

"We knew not everyone was going to make it through this. We all willingly signed up for this with that knowledge. Glenda is right in that it is a truth of this world now. But it doesn't have to be. Just because losses are expected, doesn't mean we have to accept them. In my pack there is a cure for all of this. And I promise you that we will make it to Chicago no matter what. And no matter what happens between here and there, we need to remember and honor the memories of those that didn't make it there."

Randall paused as he let the implications of that sink in.

"That means Roland. It means Jerry. It means Aaron, Colin, Dr. Tu, Elaine, it means your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your lovers. It means Mac. And if he doesn't come back, and I hope to God in heaven that he does, it means Eli too."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jeff didn’t know what to say. Willow had expressed his sentiment pretty succinctly. He almost couldn't believe that Eli might not come back. And the reminders of the people at the lodge, and of Mac, sent a wave of grief through his sobering mind. All he could do was nod along to Randall’s explanation and then his speech, and tried to ignore the encroaching headache.

“We’ll remember,” he said finally. “We’ll… we’ll remember.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Strompy
Member Avatar
More posts, more Busey.
The SUV rolled up outside the bar quietly. Brandon gave them two beeps to let them know they were coming. After he pulled the parking brake he wordlessly made his way inside and picked up his rifle.

"I'm going back for Eli. I may need some help." he said solemnly.

One way or another, he'd bring Eli back.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Make-7-Up-Yours
Member Avatar
Is that so?
"Dad!" Kelsey screamed when she saw her father at the bar.

Willow saw Randall's terse face soften at the sound of his daughter's voice; and for the first time since this ordeal started, he broke down in tears. Tears over Eli not returning or tears over his daughter's return, she couldn't say. It was possible that it was both. He got down off the stool as his daughter jumped into his arms in a reunion that felt overdue.

"Julie! Thank God!"

Willow rushed over to give Julie a hug when she entered last. Not only did Willow consider her a friend at this point, but Julie was the only girl here around her age; that alone was enough of a reason to want her back. Although she'd never said anything about it, she was glad Julie was here.

"S-sorry." Willow awkwardly broke the hug. "I got a little caught up in the moment there. I'm just... I'm just glad you and Kelsey are both safe."

**********

"No." Glenda flatly told Brandon while everyone else was distracted.

Her gaze was not one of sternness or anger, but one of absolute sympathy. She knew how he felt right now.

"This was Eli's last request to us. I don't like it any more than you do, but he made this decision himself because it wasn't ours to make for him, which is what you are trying to do now. I can't stop you from going back there, but I want you to at least think about that before you go blindly running back there guns blazing."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Strompy
Member Avatar
More posts, more Busey.
Julie smiled as Willow gave her a welcome hug. Hugs were good. Being out in the light of day after so much uncertainty had a way of putting you in an affectionate mood. Julie one-upped Willow by planting a big smacking kiss on her cheek. After which she stood looking at her with a cheesy grin.

"I'm glad you're okay too. Kelsey said she saw you get bit. Where's Randall's hand?" Julie remarked, looking at Randall with an expression of sympathy.

...

"I don't expect a fight. This isn't a rescue. I'm just bringing him back." Brandon admitted to Glenda.

Whatever this stranger had planned for Eli he had had enough time now to go through with it. Brandon still didn't know what this was about, and he didn't care, but it was plain to him that the stranger meant to kill him. Eli was one of theirs. He wasn't about to let him rot somewhere. They had a chance here for that much respect at least, a chance they didn't have with Mac.

"Is anyone going to help me? I'm not supposed to strain myself." he asked again, hoping they understood his meaning.

He just didn't want to say the words "I'm going for his body".
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Make-7-Up-Yours
Member Avatar
Is that so?
"Yeah, I'll come help." Willow told Brandon. "Just gimme a second."

She turned her attention back to Julie.

"Technically I did get bit, right in the ankle, but it couldn't get through the boots I wear. I was a little careless but my boots saved my life this time. Or at least my leg." She became a little more somber as she broached the topic of Randall. "As for Randall, well... he wasn't quite so lucky when we got swarmed. One of them got him on the wrist and Brandon chopped it off to save him."

**********

"I missed you so much, pumpkin... I'm sorry this happened to you..." Randall whispered to Kelsey as they hugged.

She noticed his missing hand; the implications of it were obvious to her, but she didn't draw attention to it right now. She knew what it meant. She was just glad her dad was okay. Besides, there was something else on her mind.

"Dad, why didn't Eli come back with us? We should help Brandon bring him back in case he gets lost on the way back."

"No, that's okay, Kels." Randall's eyes teared up again. "Brandon knows what he's doing."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
The thunder of the truck’s heavy engine sounded out as Willow and Brandon made their way outside. It rolled over the horizon from the west, revealing the yellow paint on its trailer as it came into view. It came to a slow rumbling stop behind the red pick-up still stranded in the middle of the road.

The driver opened the door and emerged with his hands up, proving he was no threat.

And when he got a good look at his friends again, Eli smiled.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

Eli opened his eyes slowly, afraid of what he might find when he did.

He found nothing. He stared down at his hands, then his chest and feet. He was still in one piece. He exhaled deeply when he realized he had been holding his breath.

He risked looking up at Emmett. The bearded, pained-looking man was aiming his gun at the sky. He was still holding the trigger tight, though was now only being rewarded with empty clicks. He wouldn’t meet Eli’s gaze.

But Eli didn’t look away from him. He kept staring as his senses returned to normal and his heart slowed to its regular pace. His skin started to tingle. Seconds ago, he was sure he was dead. It was a weird feeling to realize he wasn’t. And probably wouldn’t be, at least not any time soon.

Emmett hung his head, and his eyes fixed dully on the ground. “Go,” he said, sounding utterly empty.

Eli didn’t move. More than a little part of him wanted to turn and run as fast he could, but his body wouldn’t comply with that instinct. It stayed rooted in place.

“What are you going to do now?” Eli asked.

“I don’t know,” Emmett answered.

Emmett looked and sounded depleted. Eli felt the opposite. The numbness was wearing off. He no longer wanted to cut and run and the weight he had taken on at Mount Kisco, then added to tenfold at Old Fort Erie – it no longer felt like it was going to crush him.

For once, the right thing to do seemed obvious and easy. He opened his mouth.

"Hey."

Slowly, Emmett finally looked up at him.

“You want to save the world?”


Eli’s feet hit the pavement and his lips curled upwards for once. He was smiling and it wasn't even a bittersweet one.

“Hey guys,” he said.

Then he glanced across the hood of the truck and watched Emmett emerge from the passenger’s seat.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Make-7-Up-Yours
Member Avatar
Is that so?
Willow blinked once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Yes, that was clearly Eli. And whoever the hell the other guy was. Probably the big guy Randall explained had broken in and kidnapped everyone and all that. Except for the fact that he wasn't trying to kill Eli. In fact, it seemed quite the contrary. She turned her head to Brandon.

"Wait, so was everything Randall said just overly dramatic? Because it looks like Eli's not dead."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Strompy
Member Avatar
More posts, more Busey.
Brandon stood dumbfounded as Eli and Emmett emerged from the truck. As they had approached Brandon kept his rifle trained on them. He had thought it was the stranger until they got close enough to see. He slung his rifle and leaned against the SUV as they pulled up.

He would have been more glad Eli was alive, but he was confused. He would have been furious at Emmett's presense, but he was confused.

"What the fuck!?" came Julie's angry demand for an explanation as she came out of the bar with her pistol raised at Emmett.

"Yeah. Eli, what the fuck is going on? Who is this guy? What the hell was all of this?" Brandon seconded, still completely in the dark about everything.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli wasn’t surprised by Willow or Brandon’s confusion. He especially wasn’t surprised by Julie’s reaction.

Neither was Emmett, by the look of him. He didn’t recoil or flinch, though, or betray any fear or alarm at all. He just looked shamefully towards the ground, clearly not wanting to meet her eyes.

Eli circled around the cab of the truck, stepping in Julie’s way. His smile turned to an apologetic expression.

“I know, I know, this is a lot,” he said quickly. “An' I’ll explain it all. Every part of it. Can we just – can we go inside?”

He quickly turned back to flash an open palm at Emmett, indicating he stay put for the time being. Then he turned back to Julie, then to Brandon and Willow – then back to Julie again.

“This is Emmett, by the way,” he said, pointing with his thumb.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Strompy
Member Avatar
More posts, more Busey.
Julie put her pistol away with an exasperated sigh. She decided that it would just be easier not to question this. Eli was alive, that was really all that mattered. This guy wasn't hostile now apparently, it didn't really matter what the particulars of the situation were. She was just going to roll with it.

"You know what? On second thought I don't wanna know. I gotta go answer a call." Julie said striding off to find some privacy.

"By the way, welcome back, Sexy-Pants." she called out over her shoulder.

Brandon wasn't quite so quick to let it go. He wasn't mad, just very very confused. He pushed the flurry of questions in his head to the side and allowed himself to just be glad Eli was back. He walked over and shook his hand and brought the man into a brief hug.

"I thought you were dead." he said with a heavy sigh.

Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DoctorYerishi
Member Avatar
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s smile returned as Julie walked away. He never thought he would be glad to hear that kind of nickname, but his relief at having her back apparently overcame any discomfort or annoyance.

A moment later, Eli accepted Brandon’s hug. “For a minute there, so did I,” he admitted.

When Brandon pulled away, Eli looked to the door of the bar behind him.

“I got some justifying to do, come on,” he said.

He maintained his smile as he followed Brandon inside. It widened when he got a good look at Randall with Kelsey. He was also grateful to see Glenda and Jeff– he wasn’t lying when he said that there was a brief moment back there where he thought might never happen again. Hell, he was even glad to see Maxwell’s familiar face.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create your own social network with a free forum.
Learn More · Sign-up Now
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Roleplaying · Next Topic »
Add Reply