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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,026 Views) | |
| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 12:55 PM Post #751 |
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Is that so?
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Randall thought he was dreaming for a moment when Eli entered the bar. Alive. His mouth started moving before he even knew what was going on. "Well, see." Randall announced with a cheeky grin. "I told you that it would all work out. You all should have just believed me." Glenda smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "Don't lie. You were crying." "H-hey now..." Randall defended himself. "That was uncalled for..." He turned his attention back to Eli. "Don't get me wrong, I am glad to see you; if I could walk I'd give you a hug. But seriously, Eli... what the hell happened? I thought that... you know..." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Mar 28 2015, 03:38 PM Post #752 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli kept smiling at the display, and nodded understandingly at Randall’s confusion. “I do know – and it’s good to see you all too,” he said, dodging the question a little. He figured this next thing he had to say would do enough to address it. He thought briefly about asking to see Randall alone to explain the next part, but immediately decided against it. This would have to be a group decision. It would have to be unanimous, or it wouldn’t happen. After everything Emmett put them through, Eli couldn’t mince words or back channel. He had to come at this honestly. “Thing is, I’m not alone,” he said, as his smile dampened a little, and he looked serious. “His name’s Emmett. He’s waiting outside.” In lieu of speaking to him privately, Eli looked at Randall squarely. His level of approval was probably going to make or break Emmett’s case. Eli was hopeful, though. Randall was likely angry with Emmett, and he had more than every right to be. But like Eli, maybe he understood Emmett too. After shooting down those thieves in Mount Kisco, he knew what it was like to feel like you had no choice but to step over the line. And who else but him could empathize with having one last familial connection in this world, and then have that connection snipped away? With Randall, at least, that severed connection was only temporary. “I offered him a spot on the roster,” he continued. “He wants to help. Make up for everything that happened here. I want to let him.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 04:25 PM Post #753 |
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Is that so?
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Randall sighed deeply. Had this been Eli's intention all along? No, it couldn't have been. Still, it was a weighty decision to have thrown on him so quickly. His initial thoughts were still conflicted. "I... don't think I am the best person to make that decision." Randall admitted after adopting a terse expression. "He took my daughter and friend, yes. While that is something I have a hard time overlooking, I understand why he did it. Hell, if I were in his shoes, I can't say for sure that I wouldn't do the same thing. And on top of that, he didn't actually hurt anyone. Except Maxwell, but he probably deserved it." Maxwell slammed his hands on the table loudly and pointed at Randall. "Objection!" "Overruled." Glenda backed up Randall without a moment of hesitation, causing Maxwell to shrink back into his seat. "I'm too invested in everything that happened. I think I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter." Randall concluded. "Eli is with us. He is one of us. I trust him." Glenda nodded her support to Eli. "If he wants to give him a chance, then I say we let him." "Yeah, me too." Willow chipped in from the doorway. "We all make mistakes, you know? And it all turned out okay at the end of the day. Gotta turn over a new leaf and all that." "Well, I think this is a mistake." Maxwell voiced his opinion. "That neanderthal broke in here and restrained me. I still have marks on my wrists from that!" "He could have killed you." Glenda reminded him. "Not to mention we decided to keep you around." "Well that is because I possess basic medical skills apparently! And you guys can't help but get shot on an almost daily basis." Maxwell defended himself. "I don't think Emmett has any qualities quite like that!" "I think you're just mad because he beat you and Jeff up at the same time." Glenda smirked. "Jeff was drunk, that hardly counts!" "Kelsey, what do you think of Emmett?" Randall spoke loud enough to interrupt their squabble and turn all the attention to Kelsey. Kelsey pursed her lips and concentrated for a moment, thinking back. "Well, I thought he was scary at first. But all he did was put us in a trailer. He gave us food and let us out to go to the bathroom though." She recalled. "I tried to be big and tough, but he always looked so sad." "Sad, huh?" Randall patted his daughter on the head with his hand. "Brandon? What do you think? Jeff too, if he's conscious." |
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| Strompy | Mar 28 2015, 05:38 PM Post #754 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"I don't like it, but I think we should remember what we're doing here. This guy can fight, and he's smart. Our chances of getting the cure to Chicago are better with his help. It's not really important how any of us feel about it, the cure is bigger than that. Also, if you guys can look past what happened there's no reason I shouldn't." Brandon said pulling up a chair by the window. He looked out at the man and felt a strange kind of pity. There was a visible sadness in him. He looked broken somehow, like he wasn't present in his own body. He'd lost something. It wasn't hard to guess that that something was actually someone. Everyone had lost someone in all this and the cure was a chance for that loss to have some meaning, for there to be a chance for everyone to live on and remember the dead. A life and death remembered had meaning. Emmett could be trusted to do what it took deliver the cure least. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 05:44 PM Post #755 |
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Is that so?
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"I can't say that I trust him." Glenda reminded Brandon. "But I trust Eli." |
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| Strompy | Mar 28 2015, 06:07 PM Post #756 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Well that much goes without saying." Brandon added with a smile. By this point they'd all been through some of the most harrowing experiences imaginable, it had cemented Brandon's trust in them. Even Max had earned it, even if the others didn't seem to feel the same. This also meant Max wasn't the new guy anymore. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Mar 28 2015, 06:47 PM Post #757 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“I ‘preciate that,” Eli said, smiling back. He turned to the only person who hadn’t said his piece. “Jeff?” “I’m awake, just very, very tired,” Jeff said from his seat. “Also, there’s a marching band warming up in my head.” Jeff paused, and then he sighed. Eli raised an eyebrow at him, still waiting for his answer. A beat later, Jeff looked up from the table, holding both palms to his head. “And Grizzly Adams wants this?” “I asked him, he said he would consider it,” Eli said. “Now it’s up to us.” Jeff seemed reticent, but not hostile towards the idea like Maxwell was. Eli remembered that after Mac, Emmett wouldn’t even be the first travelling companion that had beaten Jeff up. Maybe he was getting used to it. “What do we even know about this dude?” Jeff asked. “Not a lot,” Eli admitted. “But what did you know about me or Brandon? Or Julie? Or Maxwell?” Jeff bit his lip slightly. Eli took that as a concession. “What we know is he’s capable, like Brandon said,” Eli continued. “Look at the job he did on you and Maxwell. Look at the game he ran on all of us. He tracked us from the hospital, seized his moment, and has us chasing our tails ‘till he could get to me.” “Yeah, he did,” Jeff interrupted. “And he took a little girl hostage. For me, that’s not a reason to trust him.” “What he did – it’s not defensible,” Eli granted. “I get why did it, though.” He turned to Brandon. He had gotten the sense that somehow the others in the room got why he did it too. Randall may have filled them in when Brandon and Eli were on the road. “I killed his brother,” Eli confessed. “His name was Evan. He’s the one pulled the first trigger back at the border checkpoint. We ran into him at the Fort. I got the sense he didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t leave it like that. Emmett tracked us down wanting to do the same to me.” He turned back to Jeff, who was hanging his head again. Like Eli suspected, it seemed like he already knew this story. “I can’t judge him,” Eli said. “Maybe you can, but I can’t. And maybe this is more for me than him. But now it’s up to you. What do you say?” Jeff sighed once more. He also winced, probably in response to his building hangover. “Okay,” he said. Eli’s smile returned. Now he turned back to the only person in the room yet to sign off. He was serious about wanting this to be unanimous. “Professor?” he asked, expectantly. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 07:00 PM Post #758 |
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Is that so?
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"Alright, alright." Maxwell raised his hands in defeat. "I concede. Democracy has spoken." |
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| DoctorYerishi | Mar 28 2015, 07:17 PM Post #759 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded his appreciation. “I guess it has,” he agreed. He moved back to the door of the bar and leaned out. Emmett was still standing by the passenger’s side of the tractor, his arms folded, his head hung. When he heard the door open, he looked up at Eli. Eli gave him a nod of his own. “You can come in,” he said. Emmett unfolded his arms but didn’t move his legs immediately. It seemed like he had his own conflict about this decision playing out. Finally, though, one side emerged the victor and he took a few long strides forward. Eli stepped out of the way, letting him through. When he followed him in, Emmett seemed exposed and awkward as hell. He visibly scanned the room, pausing briefly at each new face and the longest on Randall’s. “You know Randall and his daughter Kelsey,” Eli said, taking the initiative and pointing to the owner of each name as he said it. “And you, uh, met Jeff and Maxwell. Then there’s Glenda, Willow, and Brandon. Julie’s outside.” A short silence followed, as Emmett seemed to struggle to force his expression from ashamed to neutral. “Hello,” he said finally. |
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| Strompy | Mar 28 2015, 07:36 PM Post #760 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon was still slightly reeling from the revelation when Emmett entered. Everything made sense with that piece f the puzzle. The idea that Eli killed somebody in cold blood was disturbing and shocking but it paled in comparison to the fact that Emmett chose not to kill Eli, and furthermore was willing to forget that grievance to save the world. Any lingering animosity toward the man was completely gone, replaced instantly by a powerful sympathy and respect for his strength of character. Eli had killed his brother, and Brandon didn't really care. He would have killed Emmett to protect him. A man who was out to avenge a loved one. It struck Brandon that there was no moral high ground in any of it. Maybe Brandon wasn't the good guy he thought he was. He certainly couldn't have done what Emmett did. Brandon didn't say anything. Silently he got to his feet, walked over to Emmett and extended his hand. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Mar 28 2015, 07:48 PM Post #761 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli was silent as Brandon extended his hand. He watched, waiting for Emmett to make a move, maybe as nervous about it as he was. For a beat – maybe a beat too long – Emmett just looked down and stared at the outstretched hand. Slowly, though, he extended his own and shook. He looked up at Brandon and his expression seemed to soften just a little. So that’s progress, Eli thought as he breathed a silent sigh of relief. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 07:49 PM Post #762 |
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Is that so?
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This was remarkably more awkward than Randall had anticipated. Now that he was face to face with the guy, Emmett, again, he didn't know what to say. Sorry for your loss? Hey, how's it going? What does someone say to somebody in this situation? Saying that he didn't know how to react was a bit of an understatement. And everyone else here was in the same boat. Eli had welcomed him in, but it was up to Randall to face this man in the eyes and accept him; if Randall could do it then everyone else could too. Maybe that would help distill the tension in the air. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully, which was not something he really had down yet. But with some food and alcohol in his stomach and Kelsey and Eli back here safely, his mind felt more focused than it had all day. And he felt his strength returning too. Randall scooted off of the bar stool and landed on his feet. Glenda visibly tensed, but Randall held out a hand and gave her a sympathetic smile to help assure her; "It's okay. I'm feeling better." All eyes were focused silently on him as he walked across the bar. Brandon moved aside and Randall found he stood face to face with Emmett. Randall looked at the bigger man in the eyes; but it looked like he had a hard time returning the gaze. Shame and regret were were glaringly obvious on his features despite his attempts to hide them. He knew what he wanted to say now. "I know this is a little late, but I'm sorry about everything that happened." He finally told Emmett. "Nobody, myself included, really know what the right thing to do is anymore. You could have killed us. You could have killed Kelsey and Julie. You could have killed Eli. But you didn't. You did the right thing and showed mercy, even after we had been wrong. You showed mercy when by all means you had no reason to. Thank you." Out of instinct, he extended his right arm. Randall froze briefly as he realized his error replaced it with his left. "Let's try to put all of this behind us." Randall said as he offered the handshake. "My name is Randall Phillips. Welcome." Not his best welcome speech, but he was pretty proud of it given the circumstances. |
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| DoctorYerishi | Mar 28 2015, 07:58 PM Post #763 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Even more progress, Eli figured happily. This introduction was going just as well as he could hoped, especially given the extremely messed up series of events that led everyone here. “Emmett Mitchell,” Emmett introduced himself in his usual soft speaking voice. He accepted the second handshake a bit quicker than the first. When it broke off, he spoke again. “Can I see it?” Eli cocked his head for just the briefest moments in confusion, before quickly realizing what he meant. The cure, of course. The ray of hope that had gotten him here. “Randall, your backpack, the canister,” Eli cut in to clarify, then turned again to Emmett. “Fair warning, it ain’t much to look at.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | Mar 28 2015, 08:13 PM Post #764 |
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Is that so?
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"Sounds like Eli told you everything already." Randall mused. He looked to Glenda and gave her a nod. His pack was still upstairs and while he was walking, that trip was a bit much for him right now. At least with such an active audience. Glenda getting it was much easier. She returned the nod and headed for the stairs. "Well, I'm glad we are all friends now - oh, and I am Willow by the way - I think my adrenaline fueled sobriety is disappearing." Willow explained to everyone. "So, I am going to go upstairs and try to get as much sleep in a bed as I can before we leave. Peace!" Willow threw a fist into the air as she said that last word and disappeared up the stairs. Randall looked at Maxwell. "Did she really drink that much?" "Not as much as Jeff." Maxwell admitted. "But she's also smaller than Jeff. Probably comes out to about the same. Give or take." All eyes fell back on Glenda as came back down the stairs, holding the canister in her hands with the note and map along with it. Wordlessly, she approached Emmet and handed the entire bundle to him to look at. "That's it." Randall explained. "Did Eli tell you the story behind it?" |
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| Strompy | Mar 29 2015, 01:38 AM Post #765 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Sleep. Willow said the magic word that caused over twenty-four hours of consciousness to catch up to him. As the others discussed the cure Brandon quietly slipped away upstairs. Leaving the others to grab some rest for himself may have been selfish but at that point he was too tired to care. He and Willow had an agreement. Laboriously he climbed the stairs and found the room Willow had chosen. She was already lying down, as if she'd just collapsed backwards onto the bed with her arms splayed out. He chuckled softly at the sight of her as he leaned against the door frame. She was a picture of bliss in that simple comfort, part of him wanted to simply leave her that way, but she was already aware of his presence. He didn't speak, but his lingering at the threshold did all the asking for him. Was he welcome? Would she let him be near her now? ... Downstairs Julie made her re-entrance as Brandon slipped upstairs. Like him she was quiet as she slipped behind the bar and helped herself to a bottle of vodka. With surprising adroitness she opened it and poured herself a glass. This was what the end of the world was missing. She always thought she would have been one of the ones to meet that end with a glass in hand, but instead she fought it, like everyone else there. She owed that to Kevin. There was a pang of guilt in that memory. She' be dead if it weren't for him, if anyone deserved to be here with them it was him. She downed her shot and swallowed her guilt; his name was another to add to the list of people this was for. Julie scoffed at her own thoughts. She had to remind herself for a moment that she didn't believe any of this. The cure wasn't real, or if it was real, it wasn't going to help. This place they were going too might not even be standing when they got there. Still, there was an allure to that belief that was hard to fight. |
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