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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,010 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow was suddenly glad that she had passed out when she did. The description that the doctor gave sounded nothing short of extremely painful. Even as she was describing what had happened to her, Willow couldn't hide the uncomfortable cringe. Removed bullets, stitching, lobectomies, infections... and those were just the things that she'd experienced already. A million questions ran through her mind, but there wasn't enough time to ask a million questions. More than anything, she was just overwhelmed. The weight of her situation hadn't really dawned on her. She hadn't really known just how close to dying she'd come. Hearing all of this now was more than just a little shocking.

I almost died.

The thought hit her pretty hard. But a thoughtful look from Glenda and a comforting hand over her own got her past the dark thoughts. She had almost died. But she didn't.

"I got a couple of questions..." Willow finally said, somewhat uneasily. "Define 'adequate lung function'... just how much lung did you have to remove?"

The medical stuff she was going to be tackling quickly. Any questions she had on that would be answered soon enough. Her real questions now were about her long-term recovery goals. She wanted to know how much she'd lost.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“You were shot twice in your left lung,” Annie explained in simple terms. “Your left lung has two lobes. We removed the lower one. It sounds scary, but it could have been a lot worse.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Wait, you mean like half my lung?" Willow seemed incredulous, absently lifted a hand up to her left chest.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Almost,” Annie said. “Like I said, it could have been worse. And people can live normal lives even after losing a whole one. To be frank, I’m more concerned with the possibility of infection and the amount of blood you lost. It must go without saying, but you’ll have to take it easy for a while. Plus, we’ll want to keep an eye on your sputum.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon kissed Willow's shoulder. He wanted to smother her in kisses. She was alive and she loved him. He hadn't been so unadulteratedly happy since... ever. Nobody had ever told him they loved him aside from his family, and he'd never said it to anyone else.

Eat shit, David Scott, she's mine!

"You're going to be completely fine." he said with absolute conviction.

"I should probably go and have a shower now, give everyone else a chance to see you." he said, with a hint of of reluctance in his voice.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"We can't visit long. Geraldine is going to be meeting us in about 15 minutes." Randall explained to Brandon. "So don't take too long in the shower. We got one hell of a story for her though. Maybe she can help us get to Chicago."

Randall smiled at Brandon sympathetically. Now that everyone else was clean, how much he looked like crap was that much more obvious. He needed that shower. Willow tried to return his affection, but was a little too tired to muster up much more than a wave of her hand and an affectionate smile.

"I'll be fine." She whispered to him. "Don't worry."

"You scared us half to death with that stunt though." Glenda scolded her. "Don't do it again."

"No promises." Willow returned.

"You're so hopeless."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie stepped aside when it seemed like the first wave of questions had ended, though she was sure more were likely to come as the healing process went on.

In silence, she watched as the group exchanged some comforting words. These people seemed tight-knit. They also seemed tough. She could tell how much they had already endured, and was impressed by how undaunted they seemed. With the world outside the walls what it was, she figured she could use some of that grit. So could Connor.

She would have done everything she could to save Willow no matter what. Her Hippocratic Oath demanded it. But maybe it didn’t have to be a totally selfless act. Maybe she could get something in return.

“Brandon,” she called out before he could leave. “When you come back, make sure Ajay or I take a look at your injuries. You seem like you could use a check-up.”

As devoted as he seemed to be, Annie assumed that ‘when’ would be ‘shortly.’ She looked to Randall next, then thought about the girl in the waiting room, who was even a little younger than Connor. Annie had met her last night, when she pled for her to save Willow’s life. The resemblance was striking enough that she felt assuming she was his daughter.

“You too,” she said to him, and nodded at his stump. “When you’re done with Geraldine, I should take a look at that. We can do it at my house. Someone will let you know where it is.”

Then she nodded to the waiting room.

“You can bring your daughter,” she added. “I have a son of my own around the same age.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Will do." Brandon confirmed.

He felt he was probably starting to annoy everyone with his clinginess. Brandon stood up and made his way outside feeling completely free of worry, so light he could have been bouncing around on the ceiling. He grinned from ear to ear all the way, performing a little celebratory dance as soon as he was out the door. He began walking towards the house he'd taken the blanket from and after a short distance broke into a run, full of a newfound energy.

Brandon picked up his bag from the SUV and made made his way inside. Practically barging the door down he strode in and found the bathroom. His dirty clothes stuck to him stubbornly and he discarded them gladly. He paused to look at himself in the mirror. His face had a few small cuts from when that fruitloop drove a fucking truck at them, his left arm had a big purple bruise from when that rotter tried to bite through his jacket, an angry looking bullet wound and a gash on the back of his head that he could only feel, and cuts on his right hand which he'd put there himself.

Idiot.

Still look pretty goddamn good though, he had to admit. He gave himself a thumbs up and climbed in the shower.

It was blissful, and painful. Washing his hair was an ordeal as he washed away what little scabbing had formed. The water hit his stitches and hurt like a bitch, and the soap stung his cuts. This was clean though, and clean was... divine. Like everyone else he'd had the wisdom to pick up a tooth brush from the supermarket yesterday, his teeth had accumulated an impressive layer of gunk. He hadn't brushed in days.

Can't believe Willow let me kiss her with this mouth.

He decided that he'd hold onto that few days growth he had going. They had hot water and soap so he could keep his face clean even with that filth trapping face fuzz beginning to sprout. Apparently the ten day growth was very appealing to women, his brother always seemed to have a lot of luck with it. He wondered if it was one of Willow's turn-ons.

He kept a towel to his head to soak up any new bleeding from his gash, he only just cleaned his hair he didn't need it getting bloody and matted. He found some facial cleansing pads in one of the draws and place a few to the gash, then used his discarded bandaging to affix them in place. He looked ridiculous, but at least he wouldn't be covered in blood. He got himself dressed and in a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, with an open flannel button down over that.

With a spring in his step he made his way back towards the clinic.

...

Julie came into the room as another of Willow's visitors exited after giving their regards. She took Willow's free hand and turned to look at Glenda.

"See, I told you she'd be fine." she said.

Again her lip quivered and a little sob escaped her as her eyes began welling up. She covered her face a little.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really glad you're okay." she confessed.

Even Willow's mere presence in the group was a reassurance. She didn't have anything against any of the others of course but there was just something strengthening about the presence of other women. Willow had done so much for them too, she was one of the doers, it'd be like losing an arm to lose her.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"H-hey... don't cry... I'm already not used to this support..." Willow begged Julie, her eyes getting a little watered up at the sight. "You'll get me started too."

The relief was evident on everyone's faces. Willow was alive. She looked like shit, but she was alive. Most of them had prepared for the worst, but to see her not only alive, but awake and talking (albeit quietly and with some difficulty) was more than they could have asked for. The cloud of gloom that had hovered over everyone was starting to lift.

When Annie offered to help him with his stump, he was fine slipping away from the small talk everyone else was making.

"I admit, I wanted to ask you to look at it." Randall told Annie with a dry smile. "But after everything you've done for Willow, I... well, we owe you a lot already. It didn't feel right asking for more of you so quickly. Thank you."

He looked to Kelsey, who was currently distracted saying hi to Willow, and then back to Annie.

"We haven't run into many kids her age. I'll bring her over too, the interaction may be good for her."

**********

Three pickup trucks, each one similar in size to their remaining F-150, pulled up alongside the custom's center at the Blue Water Bridge. Each one was packed with 5 or 6 people, all of them armed to the teeth. Cory, with two of his men from the skeleton crew, sat outside. They had been ready for their arrival, Garret caught a glimpse of them on their way over. Garret had been far more perceptive since that little incident.

"What did you guys find?" Cory's voice was terse as they filed out.

"We didn't find shit." The leader of the scouting party and Cory's right hand, a stout man named Jason, informed him. "This whole part of the country has nothing in it."

"Then how about a change of plans." Cory crossed his arms and gave Jason a devilish smile.

"What the hell is this about?"

"Remember those killings on Highway 4? The Butcher of London they called him on the news casts."

"What, didn't he kill 17 people or something?" Jason furled his brow in confusion. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"19, actually. Probably more though. The cops never caught the guy, he was fucking good at blending in with crowds and covering his tracks. A true psychopath." Cory held out the piece of paper. "We got tricked by a group of people the other day, didn't lose anybody but they got past our checkpoint. Embarrassed us. According to Garret, one of them popped into the booth and slipped this piece of paper into his jacket as they left. It claims to be from the butcher himself. Says those guys that slipped past us have a cure to this disease and they are heading to Flint to check out a settlement there."

Jason shook his head incredulously. "Bullshit. You're off your rocker if you think any of that shit is real. Why would he even tell you something like that?"

"Use your brain and think." Cory glared at him. "If they have a cure, this disease goes away. The world recovers. People like us get locked away for good as world order is reestablished. I ain't goin' back to jail. The world is ours now, but a cure... a cure would threaten that. The butcher knows that. I believe the note. There ain't any reason to lie here. Besides, we sure as fuck can't stay here. You didn't find any shit on your supply run and not enough people are coming down this bridge anymore to feed all of us. If this community is real... we can secure our way of life, a new base of operations, and enough food to keep us happy for a long while. Even your dumb ass can understand that."

Jason's eyes met Cory's for a few seconds.

"Fine." He finally said. "You ain't wrong about our supply problems, so I'll cooperate."

"Good." Cory grinned. "Load the trucks back up. We're going on a field trip."

**********

At 9 o'clock, everyone that had decided to attend the meeting was attending.

Since no official forum existed for large meetings like this, Geraldine had invited herself and her two advisers into the house on the corner that Randall had slept in that night. The living room had a couple of couches and was connected to the kitchen which had additional seating. Not everyone from the group had attended; for starters the young woman that was hospitalized and the big guy were both missing. But she recognized the important faces, Randall and Eli. They seemed to be the ones in charge of the group last night, so they were the ones she was really interested in talking too.

"I suppose I should introduce my advisers with me today." She started after everyone else had introduced themselves properly and she knew their names.

"This is Spencer Adams." She motioned to a young man in a police uniform. "He was promoted to chief of security here after the old police chief was lost in the early days. He is responsible for keeping threats outside the walls and peace inside. Anything related to guard duty, security, safety, firearms, he is the man that you will want to talk to. As our community grows, so do his responsibilities."

Spencer nodded to the newcomers, but didn't add anything more.

"And this is Ethan Thompson. He is the chief architect and one of my key advisers. Currently he is overseeing the construction of our walls and resources. This also extends to maintenance and upgrades. His long term plans here are to expand our boundaries and to implement renewable energy sources that we can benefit from."

Geraldine motioned to the man himself, still wearing the 3-piece suit from earlier today. He nodded at his introduction; "Solar power is actually my endgame. It is by far the most sustainable option for our growing community. Of course, I only inform you of this to let you know that we do have plans. This community is growing and it is going to be the future of mankind. From what I have heard of you, you have a lot of skills that would be valuable to us. I look forward to your involvement in this community."

"Now there, Ethan." Geraldine stopped him and leaned forward from her position on the couch. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I think they should tell us a little about themselves first."

"Well, for starters... I'm sorry, but we can't stay here for long." Randall reached into his bag which he had kept with himself for this very purpose.

He pulled out the black canister. The cure. He walked over and he handed it to Geraldine, who gingerly accepted it and looked it over curiously.

"What... I'm sorry, but I don't understand..."

"This is a cure." He said.

The entire room fell into silence. It was Geraldine who broke the silence.

"Are you serious?" Her expression was one of disbelief. "You can't be serious... can you?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli winced a little as Randall released the canister. Sure, they owed these people a lot for saving Willow. He was still flying a little high off that, but not so high that this development didn't niggle at him. The way he saw it, the ones they really owed were Annie and her assistant Ajay. Marcus and Candice too, probably. But even after the extraordinary assistance, he still had a suspicious streak. He didn’t like the whole community knowing about the cure and their mission.

The cat was out of the bag now, though. So he spoke up.

“We’re serious,” he answered for the group. “An’ we’re pretty sure it’s legit.”

He stood up from his seat and reached out for the canister, attempting to take it back. He wanted it to stay in their group. They had lost it once already, he didn’t want to invite any potential of losing it again.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Glenda pursed her lips. It wasn't that she didn't trust these people, per se, but revealing the cure right off the bat like that was a bold move. And furthermore, there was no reason to believe that they would actually believe that it was a cure they had. Admittedly, even Glenda didn't know if she believed it was actually a cure. Despite Glenda's reservations about the situation, Geraldine willingly gave the canister to Eli as he reached for it.

"So if you truly believe this is a cure, I suppose there is no way I would actually be able to convince you to stay and lend us your assistance."

"Unfortunately not." Randall shook his head. "Marcus offered to take us here after we saved him on the road. Since we had injured, we took the chance on it. And now I am taking another chance by telling you about the cure. If you guys were really out for yourselves, you wouldn't have helped us like you did and we'd probably already be dead. We'll work in the meantime to help pay our keep, but we can't stick around, despite how amazing this place is."

"Well, I never imagined someone would want to leave this place after coming here." Geraldine seemed more amused than anything. "Unfortunately, we cannot offer you anything more than the bare minimum of aid in getting this thing to... wherever it goes."

Now it was Randall's turn to be taken aback.

"What? You can't be serious? This is a cure!"

Spencer tensed up slightly. Glenda could tell Randall was getting a little frustrated. He had revealed his trump card in the cure right off the bat and the gambit was not paying off like he had wanted it too. Geraldine had shot the idea down before Randall could even get his case off the ground.

"No, that is a canister that might be a cure. It could also be a fluke." Geraldine explained casually. "While you helped Marcus and I acknowledge that, this could also be a ploy to obtain an inordinate amount of supplies from us. I find it highly unlikely that a group of civilians would just come driving through here with a magical cure to end this... this wasteland. Even if you could verify the truth of this claim, we simply don't have the supplies to spare."

"But... but you guys have more than anyplace else we have ever seen..." Randall tried to keep his frustration in check, but it only looked like he was begging now. "It's hell out there."

"We know that. And we have crews working day in and out to keep our food reserves strong. We don't know when a food shortage or population boom will strike us so we need to be prepared. That is how we lasted out here as long as we have; by being prepared." Geraldine sank back into the couch while Randall appeared to do the same. "I will let you stay here for as long as you are willing to contribute to the community, just like everyone else. But beyond that, I can do no more."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s eyes went from Geraldine to Spencer to Ethan, then back to Randall. He seemed exasperated, but Eli wasn’t. He was actually relieved to run into some resistance this. Any more selflessness on Geraldine’s part would have triggered alarm bells.

Besides, Eli didn’t even think they could reasonably expect more. It would be nice to hit the road again with enough supplies to stifle any worry, but the truth was they were already making off pretty well. Willow had been saved, they were going to be safe for a couple of days, they got a good night’s sleep for once – this camp had already done right by them.

“That’s fine,” Eli spoke up. He didn’t like contradicting Randall – it made him deeply uncomfortable – but he didn’t want Randall pushing the point either. “That’s all we need. But how do you see us contributing?"
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Is that so?
Randall took a few breaths and focused himself. He had been caught off guard by the sudden resistance; maybe he had gotten too hyped up on the idea that the cure would get them enough supplies to make it to Chicago. After the initial shock wore off, he was fine again. Her points were actually fairly spot on.

Geraldine clasped her hands together and brought them up to her chin at Eli's question.

"I would be happy to go into detail on that... but..." Her eyes scanned everyone in the room. "There were ten of you last night. But I only see seven of you now. Your pink-haired friend is recovering in the clinic with that blonde boy, but what about the big guy?"

"Emmett?" Randall asked.

"Yes. Him. Where is he?" She cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"He's... well, I don't know where he is." Randall answered bluntly.

"You don't... know?" It was hard to tell if Geraldine was shocked or disturbed by that.

Randall had never been a good liar. He tried it before but he was simply too honest to keep big secrets. Even when he tried keeping them, everyone could tell when he was lying. After a while, he had stopped trying to lie and just let that transparency be one of his strengths. He wasn't sure if that made him a good leader or a bad leader for this group. But he was the one they had now.

"Honestly, he isn't a big talker. He just kind of... does his own thing a lot. He's harmless though, I promise. Probably sitting down somewhere and enjoying the scenery. We will tell him everything you say and he will cooperate fully."

"Well that sounds fairly suspicious." Ethan frowned. "Spencer, do you want to see if you can find him and bring him over here?"

"That won't be necessary." Geraldine stopped him. "Jerome was like that too. Not everyone has an aggressive Type A personality like yourself, Ethan."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Geraldine ignored the comment and turned back to face Eli, looking fairly relaxed as she started explaining: "Now, for your question. Our jobs are divided into five primary categories: scavenging, construction, enforcement, administration, and other. Other is, of course, our blanket term for anything that doesn't fit into the other four. Annie and her clinic, Millie and her babysitting, so forth and so on. As for where you guys fit into it... I was hoping to find that out. You know your strengths better than I do, so the options are available to you."

She paused.

"Oh, and of course, your pink-haired friend-"

"Willow." Glenda curtly interrupted her this time.

"Willow... will be exempt during her recovery. And your daughter, Mr. Phillips, will be well taken care of by Millie during the day."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s eyes fixed on Ethan this time. He was getting the inkling that he was kind of an asshole. He’d have to keep an eye out for that.

“I call administration!” Jeff spoke up first. “Whatever that is. As long as it doesn’t mean killing more rotters – or whatever you want to call him, we call them rotters, but I know heard deadheads at the gate. Point is, as long as they aren’t involved, I’m in.”

Eli considered the options for himself. Enforcement seemed off the table for newbies, and scavenging didn’t sound very enticing. Even though he’d spent his adult life avoiding doing boring manual labour jobs, the choice now seemed obvious enough.

“I’ll do construction,” Eli volunteered, biting back a sigh. “Until Willow recovers.”

It occurred to him that they maybe didn’t have to wait that long. Chicago was pretty close now. Maybe just a couple of them could continue on and come back.

Of course, given their track record, pretty close didn’t mean a whole lot. And who would be willing to leave Willow behind?

He wasn’t done considering it, but for now, construction would have to do.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Two of of us aren't going to be much help." Julie piped up, gesturing to her fractured wrist and Randall's missing hand.

Between them they had a working pair though, they could probably be the most help scavenging, even if it was just bearing supplies and keeping a gun on hand. Really though, somebody who just underwent an amputation should be resting. It hadn't been an option on the road but now they were safe inside it seemed a little fucked up that they'd expect him to lend his only hand. Guy's body was probably running on emergency reserves frantically healing. He'd be totally wasted away in no time if he kept this up.
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