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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (71,004 Views)
Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
It took Maxwell a moment for everything to register. That was clearly Jeff's voice, but that was not his face. The drastic change was a little jarring. Jeff had more chin underneath that scruff than he'd thought.

"That... actually looks quite good." Maxwell admitted with an approving nod. "Give me a Men's Warehouse and I think we could turn you into quite the lady killer."

He paused and stroked his own chin.

"Or, any other quality men's clothing store, I suppose."

He found the coffee maker on the counter and poured himself a mug. After having it a few times, he had realized it was actually pretty cheap coffee. Still, he found he didn't care at all. It was the only coffee he'd had since this started. That made it great coffee by default. Odd that it took the zombie apocalypse for him to appreciate a cup of coffee.

* * * * *

While Glenda did not exactly agree with the choice of bringing a Harley along, she didn't say anything about it. Harleys were known for being loud. Very loud. And this one was no exception. People and rotters both would be able to hear that thing thundering down the road like a beacon. But she had seen what Emmett could do; he was capable. And so was everyone else here. She felt like she was basically on the A-Team right now.

She sat in the back seat of the truck with Brandon. As they took off, she turned her head in his direction. He looked troubled, for lack of a better word. His mind looked like it was elsewhere and he was fidgeting.

"You alright, B?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Yeah?” Jeff cracked a smile as he stood up from his seat. “Thanks Jules, tall guy. And here I was expecting mockery.”

He scratched at his other cheek.

“Kinda feel like my face is naked, but I’ll get used to it,” he added. “Was time for a change, anyway.”

Jeff was ready to go, but he walked around and leaned against a counter while the others had their morning coffee He chuckled internally at how it took all of one day to get back into the daily swing of wanting one.

“So today sounds like it’s going to be boring,” he said. “I dunno ‘bout you guys, but that sounds good to me. I could use some boring.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Ohhh yeah." Julie agreed heartily.

She'd had enough excitement for a while, and then some. It made her miss her boring stressful job. She took her cup of coffee and took a tentative sip savouring it. It was terrible, just like her morning coffee used to be. She broke out in a warm satisfied smile as she held her mug close.

"Mmm. This coffee is really shit." she said in an approving tone.

...

"Yeah I'm fine, I just ahhh... yeah I don't know." Brandon said uncertainly.

As they took off and left over half their people behind his thoughts naturally turned to worry.

How strong were the walls? How many rotters were they strong enough to hold back? Did they have enough eyes on watch? Did they have enough guns? He noticed very few people carrying guns inside. Everybody capable of wielding a gun should have had one, he didn't like how safe the walls made people feel. Even he was guilty of that.

What if one of those giant herds hit them like back at the college? Were the walls strong enough everywhere or might they get lucky and attack just the right spot? What about the people inside? Could they all be trusted? Brandon rubbed his eyes and shook himself out of his paranoid obbsessing. They had enough eyes and enough guns. These people had been dealing with rotters at their gates just fine. It was a small community, everyone knew eachother, so nobody could try anything without somebody finding out. Randall woukd never let anything happen to Kelsey, Willow was being looked after and had a gun to boot, and Jeff, Max and Julie wouldn't stillbe here if they were stupid.

He had something to do. So he focused on that instead.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"The best and shittiest coffee I've had in my entire life." Maxwell agreed as he downed the rest of the mug.

He squinted and rubbed his forehead. He didn't feel terribly well; not physically but mentally. He felt like he was beginning to lose himself through all of this. He didn't know why, but the past few days had been... especially taxing. He didn't even know who he was anymore. He knew who he was before all of this, but who was he now? He had come in here cold and removed, but he almost felt like he was starting to enjoy himself. Even his personality felt like it had stopped being consistent.

God dammit...

Maxwell bit his lip. After a few moments, the hesitation passed.

"S-sorry about that." He apologized to Julie and Jeff. "Got a bit light headed for a second there. Maybe we should go find Geraldine now?"

* * * * *

"... and if Millie lets you go early, and dad is still at work, you should say hi to Willow."

It hadn't taken long for Randall to find Millie's place.

It was a small house that the elderly woman shared with her husband. From what Annie had told him about this, Millie watched over the kids, helped feed them, took them outside for walks and play, and even helped tutor them a little bit. It was almost like an unofficial school for the 8 or so kids in the community; somewhere the adults could take them while they worked. Randall wasn't terribly keen on the idea himself. Schooling was still good, but he thought the kids would do better to learn how to defend themselves. How to work and help the community. There were people here who could teach them skills that would always be useful. But he understood why they didn't. It felt more like before this way. It felt more normal for them. As Maxwell might have said, they weren't fully adapting. And this time, Randall wouldn't have disagreed with him either. Of course, if this cure was real, then maybe they wouldn't need to adapt.

He patted Kelsey on the head and gave his daughter a hug.

"Don't worry, she will be safe here." Millie assured Randall from the door.

"I know. It's just... it's nothing." Randall smiled. "Be good for Millie, honey."

"Okay Dad."

Her response sounded a little... lackluster. He couldn't blame her, this must feel like going to school all over again. And not only that, but she was separated from not only her dad, but everyone she had bonded with since this ordeal started.

* * * * *

Glenda cocked an eyebrow at the young man and smiled. She got the idea he was being a lot more transparent than he was intending to be. She didn't need to be good at reading people to know what was on his mind. She gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow and leaned in close.

"Do you really think Willow can't handle anything that gets thrown at her while we are gone?" She assured him. "You know how tough she is. How tough all of them are. You should worry about yourself. You aren't allowed to break her heart now by letting something happen to you."

She backed away and turned her attention up the Jimmy and Eli in the front; "So, what's the plan?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
"The plan?" Jimmy asked, leaning over his shoulder. "The plan is follow my lead. Here we go."

The truck was eastbound in no time, with Emmett and his new Harley trailing behind them. Jimmy explained their destination – the city centre of a town to the east called Lapeer. Eli and the others actually passed over it on their way to Flint.

As he listened to the rumble of the engine and the rhythmic thumping of the motorcycle behind them, Eli thought about how crazy it was that he was driving away from Chicago. He had gone through hell to get this far west and now he was moving in the opposite direction. He understood why and for what, but the line of thinking couldn’t help but make his priorities click into perspective.

I’ll go tomorrow morning, he decided. He’d gather up whoever was up for it and just make the final leg of the trip. Even if it was just him and Emmett, because everybody else wanted to stick around or wait for Willow, he would have to go for it.

Eli looked around as Jimmy drove. To his right, a couple blocks down, he knew there was a highway – the 69, as Jimmy had identified it with a smirk. That’s the road he and the others took to get to Flint. Jimmy explained they weren’t on it now because Alex wouldn’t have taken it.

“You never know what kind of useful stuff you might pass or run into on the city streets,” he explained. “And I think we’re better off retracing his steps.”

Jimmy hadn’t really stopped talking since. It wasn’t a constant nervous stream of words, like Jeff could fall into sometimes. He was more confident and relaxed. He sounded like he was just making conversation.

“Your biker pal has the right idea with that outfit, by the way,” he was saying as they approached the edge of the city, moving east on Davison Rd. “It’s smart. Deadheads can’t bite him through it. That’s the same reason I wear these driving gloves and this stylish collared jacket – which has saved my ass once. Look at this.”

He took one hand off the wheel to pull away the collar on his jacket, revealing a bruise mark on his neck.

“Deadhead gave me that,” Jimmy explained. “Pretty cool hickey, right?”

He rotated, showing off the mark to Eli in the passengers seat and Glenda and Brandon in the back.
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Is that so?
Glenda tilted her head as she looked at Jimmy's 'hickey'. It did actually look like a hickey. Except it was a lot bigger and probably not as fun as a real hickey.

"Didn't strike me as the ladies' man." Glenda teased him a little. "Just can't keep the rotter girls away from you, can we?"
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Yeah, good leather is pretty essential. Thick boots too. Protect your ankles." Brandon added conversationally, recalling the close call he had in the warehouse and the one Willoe had at yhe college.

This guy seemed to know what he was doing but even so, something about his manner was a little too easy. Was he even taking this seriously? He seemed to take a lot of pride in his exploits and Brandon had to wonder if ego was going to be a problem for him eventually. He chastized himself though, there was no reason to suspect that a laid back manner with people was followedby a reckless attitude towards rotters. Julie was pretty easy going herself and he never held that against her. Maybe this was just his anxiety making him a judgemental asshole.

"So the spear. You mostly use that keep rotters out of arms reach, or can you actually be accurate and powerful enough with it to pierce their skulls?" he asked about the unusual weapon choice.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jimmy grinned at Glenda’s joke. “I am pretty irresistible,” he said.

He nodded back at Brandon to acknowledge his question, then turned his eyes back to the road. He was still driving after all.

“Oh, you’re in for a surprise,” he said. “And rotters, I heard you guys called those things something different. I like it.”

He glanced over at Eli, who was staring out his window, seemingly lost in thought. He tapped him on the shoulder.

Eh, hoy estás muy callado,” he remarked.

Eli broke his gaze from the window, raising an eyebrow. He probably wanted to ask about the Spanish-speaking, but refrained for some reason.

“Uh huh,” he replied. “Didn’t think this was a party, is all. Aren’t we out here to find some of your lost people?”

“That’s right,” Jimmy nodded. “Does that mean we have to morose? Is that going to bring them home faster?”

Eli didn’t have another reply. He just stared into Jimmy’s aviators. Probably wondering what to make of him, if Jimmy’s experience could be counted on. He got that look a lot.

“So you got any battle scars to talk about?” Jimmy asked, like he was making conversations. “I showed you mine, after all.”

He kept his face looking forward at the road. From under his sunglasses, though, he eyed Eli for his reaction. It was a silent one, unsurprisingly. He just squinted for a moment, then slightly shook his head.

“I been lucky,” Eli admitted. “Too lucky.”

It was Jimmy’s turn to slightly shake his head. “No way, amigo, there’s no such thing. You can never have too much luck.”
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Is that so?
Eli seemed distracted too. Unfortunately, he was nowhere near as easy to read as Brandon. Something must have happened that Glenda didn't know about. She wished she knew, but this was hardly the time to bring that up now. And even if it was, she was hardly counselor material. She could give you a pat on the back and some reassurance, but that was all she had.

She glanced out the window and looked across the abandoned remnants of humanity passing by.

"Shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, Eli." She considered out loud. "We've gotten lucky so far. That's more than most people."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli didn’t have a response for Glenda. He let his silence be his response. The truth was, he didn’t think the collective they had been lucky. Julie had busted up her wrist, Kelsey had been kidnapped, Willow had been shot four times, Brandon had the shit kicked out of him, Randall lost a hand, Emmett lost a brother, Mac died.

No, he had been lucky. Even as pain and anguish rained down on everyone around him – some of it of his own creation – he had gotten off relatively unscathed, except for the damage he was determined to inflict on himself in his own mind.

He didn’t want to think about it anymore right now, though. He reminded himself that had more reasons to be happy than melancholy. He shouldn’t allow recent events – or feelings, or whatever they were – to let him forget that.

* * *

It was a slow trip, relatively, and not for the usual reasons – there weren’t a lot of cars in the road to dodge or debris to maneuver through. The road was pretty clear. Jimmy and the other had been to Lapeer a couple times before, and had taken care of the major obstructions already.

It was slow because Jimmy wanted to be attentive. If there was a clue, he didn’t want to miss it. If tracks from Alex’s truck were visible driving off the road and into the forest, he didn’t want to pass them by.

There weren’t, though. No clues. Just boredom – boredom alleviated only by the sound of his own voice and the voices of his passenger. Mostly his own voice, though.

His smile had faded naturally by the time they cleared the short distance between Flint and Lapeer, and reached the suburban outskirts of the latter. It returned when they made it a bit further down the road.

On one side of the street was the parking lot and gated entrance of a local 9-hole golf club. On the other was a square building with a sign marketing it as the “Polar Palace” ice skating rink. As Jimmy’s truck passed a wall of trees, he saw the flash of a black and green logo that had become familiar to him in recent months.

The logo faded from view in just a second and a half as the truck continued down the road. If Alex came this way, he probably would have missed it. He was never as on top of things as Jimmy.

“Well, well, well,” Jimmy said as his smile returned. He pulled his hulking vehicle into the parking lot. He came to a stop a good distance from a group of deadheads – or rotters, as his new companions would call them. He counted about seven.

“Why are we stopping?” Eli asked, frowning. Jimmy wasn’t sure why, but he found that frown amusing. “Did you see something?”

“I sure did,” Jimmy smiled back, putting the car in park, then swinging the door open before another question could be posed.

He hopped out, then slid his spear out after him. He climbed up its length until he reached the sheathed blade at the top. He undid the leather strap and then slid it off, revealing the cold steel knife that was taped and screwed to the pole.

“Watch this,” Jimmy’s eyes twinkled as he looked to Brandon, then to Glenda and Eli. Emmett pulled up on his Harley a few metres away, and Jimmy looked to him too before marching towards their enemy.

The deadheads were marching right back. The truck and the bike had made more than enough noise to get their attention, and the sight of his juicy flesh must have had them salivating. Too bad for them.

When he was close enough – and it wasn’t even that close – he struck. With skill he had honed over the past couple weeks, he slashed diagonally with his spear. He hit the nearest deadhead just left of the center of its skull, the knife tearing through it, hitting brain, and continuing down its face, a ribbon of red following in its wake.

When Jimmy pulled back, a chunk of his target’s head swung as if on a hinge, right before its whole body collapsed in a heap.

Jimmy grunted as he pulled the spear back. He pivoted back and then swung again. This time, the blade travelled horizontally along a deadhead’s face, right above the bridge of its nose. Blood spilled from the line and over the creature’s yellow eyes before it went down like the first one.

He grunted again, and pulled the spear back so it was resting on his shoulder. His fingers again climbed the length as far as he felt comfortable before he jabbed out with the wooden end. He slammed a deadhead in the eye and felt the eye explode under the impact. The miserable abomination fell backwards – probably not dead, but out of the way for now – as Jimmy turned his hips and swung the long end of the stick into the head of another approaching one its kind, knocking it over just the same.

He was showing off as much as anything. But he was also alert. He took no small amount of pride in his ability to juggle those two things.

Jimmy ducked, then spun the spear around behind him. He grabbed it again when he looked up, then brought the whole thing down – spear side out now – into the temple of the deadhead he just felled.

The three other dead things were converging now, and the one he had simply stunned was rising to its unsteady feet. Jimmy figured he had shown off enough.

“You guys gonna let me have all the fun?” he called out, backing away from the rotters and returning his grip on his spear to normal. “Come on.”
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Is that so?
Glenda couldn't help but sigh in slight annoyance. He was definitely a showboat. It was weird, but she got the idea he didn't just stop to show off his moves on some rotters. Despite his flaws, she felt like he actually did have a reason behind everything he did.

It wasn't until Jimmy asked for a hand that Glenda jumped out of the back of the truck and unsheathed her knife. She had waited until then to help; it was his suggestion that they watch after all. Before she could even reach him, another rotter stumbled out from one of the nearby buildings. Thanks to a day of rest and refreshment, she felt strong. Really strong. She walked up to the middle-aged man in a blood stained dress shirt as he hobbled towards her. She swung her hips and thrust her foot into the rotter's gut. It stumbled backwards and fell over. Like a predator, Glenda was on top of the rotter instantly, thrusting her blade through its left eye as it tried to get back up. It fell limp.

One hundred fifty-five.

Without bothering to wipe the blood off the blade, she made her way over to Jimmy. Since they were all so distracted by the crazy man with a spear, all Glenda had to do was approach from the side of the one farthest to Jimmy's left, grab it by the shoulder, and pierce the brain stem from behind.

One hundred fifty-six.

She took a step back as one of the remaining rotters turned its yellow eyes to face her. She didn't have Jimmy's range; she had to calculate her strikes well to minimize risk.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jimmy brought his spear down on the skull another rotter by the time Eli entered the fray. He kept a wide berth as he drew his knife, taking on the right-most rotter with a quick stab. The impact made it go limp.

Another of the surviving rotters noticed, turned from Jimmy to Eli, and lunged. Eli caught it by the neck with his left hand. It gnashed away at the air above his arm, just as long as it took Eli to pull the ka-bar out of the other rotter and bring it down upon that one.

Beside him, Jimmy pulled his spear out of the rotter he just got, and thrust it again – this time into the back of a skull of the rotter menacing Glenda.

Eli took a breath, watching as Jimmy took a step on that last rotter, and then hauled his spear out. He produced a grimy cloth from his jacket pocket and went about cleaning the blade.

“How’s that for accurate and powerful enough?” Jimmy said when he turned back to Brandon.

“What are we doing here?” Eli cut in, not giving Brandon the chance to answer the question – which sounded pretty rhetorical anyway. “Don’t tell me we stopped just so you could show off?”

“Of course not,” Jimmy said. “I don’t need to look for opportunities to show off. They come about naturally.”

Eli tilted his head. “So?”

So,” Jimmy said. “Look over here.”

He started walking, and Eli followed. They rounded the corner of the building to the loading bay on the side, which was sealed off by a tall fence. Through the fence, though, they could see through to the windowed bay door. Through the window was a semi-truck.

“It’s a truck,” Eli said, not impressed.

“Yes it is,” Jimmy was unfazed. “And look at the logo.”

Eli did. It was an oval shape with black and green colors, and a name Eli didn’t recognise. “I’m looking.”

“It’s food,” Jimmy explained. “Locked inside a loading bay. I bet it’s full of food.”

Eli looked away from the gate and to Jimmy. “We’re looking for your people, not food.”

“We’re always looking for food,” Jimmy said. “And we can do more than one thing.”

“Fine,” Eli relented. “We’ll swing by later, on the way back.”

“Who says it’ll be here later? Who says a million deadheads won’t be? This’ll only take 10 minutes. We’re wasting time even talking about it. Let’s go.”

He was being oddly not flippant, Eli observed. The semi-seriousness took him aback. Maybe this is what people meant when they said he was a good scavenger.

“Go where?” Eli asked. Jimmy started walking again and Eli started following.

“Inside,” Jimmy declared. “We go in through the front door, find the loading bay, open it up, and then we’re on our way once more. Big guy – you stand guard, give us a vroom if you see something coming. Everyone else, on me. You asked me earlier what the plan was, this is the plan.”

He moved for the entrance. Eli stopped and looked to Glenda and Brandon.
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Is that so?
Glenda finished wiping the blood of her blade off on one of the fallen rotter's shirts. She intended to keep this dagger as rust free as she could for a long time. When she finished, she met Eli's gaze.

"They do have a lot of mouths to feed."

She doubted anyone was even around to steal a food truck anymore; but he wasn't wrong. The food truck was right there. Feeding that many people was a tall order. Not being afraid to secure a prize like that was how you did it. There was no guarantee they would be able to find Alex's group. At least this way, they would ensure they got something out of the deal. Jimmy was shrewd when he had to be. In fact, Glenda had so far agreed with every decision he made; he approached situations very similarly to her. Simply said, he was pragmatic. Ruling our the obnoxious showboating and bragging, of course.

"We have to take an opportunity if it shows itself." She assured him. "Right now, that involves securing some food."

She wanted to add something about Alex's group. If they were a full day late, something had happened. Whatever it was, it was too late to stop it. But she didn't think Eli would agree with that message right now, so she kept it to herself.

Glenda didn't sheath her dagger as she followed after Jimmy. She would probably need it again inside.
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Strompy
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Yeah, Brandon really wasn't sure what to make of this guy now. The spear was cool and he knew how to use it, but something about the way he was acting rubbed him the wrong way. He just... enjoyed this too much. Could he hold that against him though?

Brandon really wondered if Jimmy was the kind that got the concept of team play. He wondered that about Emmett too since he was always running off on his own. People like that were valuable though. Emmett's solo work had proven hugely valuable twice now.

"Well if it's not going to take long then let's do it." Brandon acknowledged.

It wasn't like it was their friends that were missing.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“You got smart friends, Eli,” Jimmy said from the front door. “Thank you, Brandon, Glenda. Now – on my mark.”

Eli caught up to him as he slung his spear back over his shoulder. He studied the doors for a moment before taking a step back – and then forward, kicking them in. When they swung open, he took another step back, grabbing the holster of his gun. A moan sounded back, but a distant one. He visibly relaxed, then turned to flash a smile at Eli.

Nearby, Emmett waited silently in the open air. If he had any objections to Jimmy’s plan, he didn’t air them.

“Here we go,” he said.

He got his spear ready again as he stepped inside and Eli followed. Inside, meanwhile, the lobby was dark. The sun was up, but only a little of it made it through the windows. Eli was reminded of the rec center in Patterson.

Jimmy tapped the receptionists desk with the wood of his spear. Softly at first, then louder, then louder some more. His version of Randall’s door knock, Eli supposed.

Moans – plural now – answered, but still from far away. Jimmy stopped.

“Okay kids, stay frosty,” he said. “Be careful about your corners. Hold on.”

He circled around the receptionist desk. The door to the office behind it was half open. He poked it all the way open with his spear. It made a groaning sound as he did. Thirty seconds later, a rotter had to pop up, so he carefully entered.

“Clear,” he said when he was in the frame.

Eli got close enough to see him reach his arm out for a light switch. He heard a click noise and nothing happened.

“Should have seen that coming,” Jimmy said.

“For once, I was thinkin’ the same thing ’mano,” Eli remarked.

Jimmy chuckled as he turned back around. “I’m your hermano now? That’s great news. We’ll celebrate later.” He stood behind the desk and addressed the whole mini-group. “So, not to worry, but the plan’s changed.”

“Why has the plan changed?” Eli was preparing to sigh.

“We’re not like to get that bay open with our hands, as strong as they may be,” Jimmy said. “Blame our modern overreliance on technology, I know I do. But like I said – not to worry. This place surely has a generator somewhere around here. We just need to find it and turn it on, and we’ll be good as gold.”

Eli let loose with the sigh. “You said 10 minutes.”

“And now it’ll be 15,” Jimmy smiled his argument. “Do you always give up at the first hiccup?” He turned his attention to the others. “How about you two go left, me and Mr. Positive here go right? Meet up at the loading bay when the lights turn on.”

He was phrasing it like a question, but he sounded pretty decided.
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