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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,990 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | May 1 2015, 03:47 AM Post #1291 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli looked back to the highway, which curved slightly but otherwise stretched on uninterrupted for miles. He visibly and mentally shrugged. Her answer was rambling and self-effacing enough that it seemed genuine. Then again, Maxwell had been the same way, a little bit. And he was anything but genuine. Eli frowned at the memory that thought evoked. He imagined he’d be frowning a lot in the coming days. “Ain’t a lot these days that makes sense,” Eli said. “Don’t worry about it.” Beside him, he saw Annie look back behind the seat to Jennifer. She gave her a smile – for support, probably. Overhead, the early morning sun had been dampened by grey clouds hanging low in the sky. The SUV had also gotten a little cold since taking off – the feeling had crept up on Eli over the short drive, and he was only noticing it now. He hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come. * * * Emmett was glad to be out of Flint and back into the wild. He knew it was weird and maybe even wrong, but he also knew it was the truth. He would rather the threat was out there waiting around every corner. To him, that was better than thinking he was safe and being proven wrong. But that was him. And then there were the people, of course. He wasn’t great around them before. He was useless now, and might always be. Maxwell had affirmed that even the people close to you weren’t always what they seemed. It was a painful lesson that Emmett had already learned, and never wanted to learn again. He had actually avoided thinking about that, for most of the drive out of town so far. He had taken some solace in the quiet. Willow’s question had broken that silence, and unnerved him on top of that. He was a private person. He didn’t like to dive into his past. Willow was good, though. She was young, innocent, and in love. She was one of the few people Emmett had decided he could trust – and he had to trust somebody, even despite his attitude. He didn’t want to shut her down. “I worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources,” he admitted. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 1 2015, 04:08 AM Post #1292 |
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Is that so?
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Jennifer leaned back in her seat. She had never been great at talking to strangers, but she appreciated the silent vote of confidence from Annie. She didn't know what else to say. Or what she could say. Maybe someone else would talk to her, or maybe they would talk among themselves while she sat there awkwardly. Or maybe they would just sit in silence. "Hey, Connor." Kelsey's voice broke the silence. Jen glanced over her shoulder to see Kelsey reach between the seats to pull out a black carrying case with the word 'Game Boy' inscribed on the side. "Willow let me borrow this, do you want to play it? I don't really feel like playing it right now." She held the package over to him. "It's kind of old. Willow told me this is what she played when she was a kid. But it's still kind of fun." Jen used to have one of those when she was younger too. They were a lot of fun, but technology really had evolved a lot since then. She was glad to see the apocalypse at least encouraged kids to play old games, if only because they actually ran on batteries. This was her chance to bond with people. She shyly looked towards Julie and took a deep breath to psych herself up before asking. "Did you ever play anything like that?" Jennifer asked her as casually as she could. * * * * * Willow tilted her head to the side curiously. That was actually much more of an answer than she had expected out of him. In fact, it could well be the most words she had ever heard him say at once. She wondered if she should leave it at that or keep pushing. If it fell silent again, her mind would wander back to depressing topics though. She didn't have much choice. "Never pegged you as a government worker." Willow admitted with a hint of amusement. "No offense or anything." She cleared her throat. "So, what did you do for them?" |
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| Strompy | May 1 2015, 09:54 AM Post #1293 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Brandon checked over his new weapon. With more than a little reluctance he had parted with his FAL. It was a good weapon, well taken care of and reliable. It also carried sentimental value for him, being his dad's favorite gun. However it had a few short comings he couldn't overlook when compared with his new gun. He now had a Colt Canada C8 carbine, one of the many prizes taken from the bastards who attacked them last night. It's advantages over the FAL were numerous. The FAL was New York compliant, meaning it was incapable of selective fire, semi-automatic only. The C8 used by the cops in Ontario, meaning it was exempt from typical restrictions on full auto, so it had semi-automatic and full automatic fire modes. It also took STANAG mags, many of which held far more rounds than the standard FAL magazines he had. The downsides were that this specific variant was for CQB whereas the FAL was a battle rifle. This gun was not designed for long ranged exchanges like his FAL was. He found this to be a minor gripe considering the lack of any magnifying sight on the FAL and the fact that all of their exchanges had been at a short to mid range so far, and for greater ranges they had both the Winchester and Willow with her Ruger. Dispassionately he left the FAL behind in Flint for the people there to use while he claimed the C8 for himself. He knew this gun inside and out by now, having spent some time with it to inspect it, and having dedicated plenty of thought to it. He just wanted to look like he wasn't actually completely focused on what Emmett and Willow were saying. He didn't want to spook the man by too obviously paying attention. He'd been as curious as anyone else about him and now that Eli wasn't in the cab with them quite a lot of the awkwardness that prevented conversation was gone. Brandon checked his magazine pointlessly and slid it back in place. ... "Nah never had a Gameboy. When I was a kid we had a Super Nintendo. It was the most lavish indulgent thing our parents could afford for us. The library of games for that system is unreal so naturally it has some of the best and worst games ever. And I'm all about the best and worst of things." Julie admitted. As she got older she had less interest in video games but her interest in music and movies kept growing. Of course she also took up archery and that became a pretty consuming interest in her tween and teenage years. Guys didn't become an interest she pursued until college and then she just kind of went nuts with that. The Super Nintendo though, pretty much the best console ever made in her modest opinion. She wasn't thinking about Glenda, or her baby. Or Eli. The last one was particularly tricky given present company. It was surprisingly easy when somebody had her attention. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 1 2015, 12:04 PM Post #1294 |
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Is that so?
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Jennifer smiled; this wasn't so bad. Julie seemed pretty easy to talk to. "Seriously? That was the other system I had, a Super Nintendo. Between those two that's all my folks could afford for me and my sisters. I think they stopped 'cause we would want them to buy us a new game every other day." Jennifer reminisced ruefully about her family and past. "We outgrew 'em pretty quick though, but they'll always have a special place in my heart. I went pretty hardcore into sports and movies around middle school, which my parents loved because it was cheaper than buying new games for us all the time." |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 1 2015, 01:47 PM Post #1295 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Emmett glanced to Willow, and then to Brandon. The latter seemed preoccupied with his new gun, which suited Emmett just fine. The former had more questions, though. Emmett realized that there was really no avoiding it. He’d have to have a conversation. “I monitored forests to assess pest infections,” he said, then forced himself to elaborate. “Among other things. Basically, I looked for disturbances affecting forest health, determined the impact of the disturbances, and then contributed to an annual report on forest health conditions.” He had opened up just a little, and came to the curious realization that it hadn’t been as uncomfortable as he thought. Only a little uncomfortable. He kept his eyes forward and tried to anticipate her next question. “I enjoyed it, mostly,” he said. “There was some paperwork, and some of the people above me were… unreasonable, but I got to spend a lot of my time outdoors.” He turned to her after he answered. He was sure a lot of people were asking her this question, and he was hesitant to pile on – and the hesitation was obvious from his tone – but he went ahead anyway. “How are you feeling, by the way?” * * * Connor regarded the Gameboy with some scepticism before reaching out and accepting it. As he figured out how to turn it on, his mom’s voice rang out from the front seat. “Connor,” she said, sounding a little annoyed. “You know better than that. What do you say?” Connor mentally rolled his eyes – not physically, because his mom might pick up on that and chastise him again – and looked over at Kelsey. “Thank you,” he said. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 1 2015, 02:22 PM Post #1296 |
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Is that so?
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Okay, now it was official. Willow had heard Emmett talk more in the last 2 minutes than she had ever heard him speak before. It was weird, but kind of exciting. He was such an enigma that even getting him to open up a little felt like a big deal. "Trust me, I know how unreasonable people can be." Willow commented. Willow paused when she realized she might have just shoved her foot in her mouth. After the past few days, they all knew how unreasonable people could be. It almost seemed like reasonable people were the exception more so than the rule. Thankfully, there existed an option to change the topic. "But I'm feeling okay. The doc has me doing breathing exercises to keep my lungs in good shape while they heal, but other than that I just need to be careful not to overexert myself or turn my body the wrong way." The pink-haired woman mused as she leaned forward and placed her elbows on her legs. "I honestly don't remember much after getting shot -- I wasn't all there and it was all just kind of a haze. But Brandon told me about what happened at the Blue Water Bridge. You were not the hero we deserved, but you were the hero we needed. I might even owe you my life. So... thank you. Really, thank you." Always wanted to quote The Dark Knight like that. * * * * * "You're welcome!" Kelsey replied. "Just don't break it, Willow would kill me." Randall didn't say anything, but this Connor kid seemed like kind of an ingrate. Of course, he had been raised inside the 'safety' of Flint, he hadn't really been forced to adapt like Kelsey. Nolan had been kind of like that too when he was younger. It was because he had been a handful that he learned and raised Kelsey a little differently. And now he was reminded of how much Kelsey had spoiled him in return. Sure, she wasn't very open with her feelings -- at least to him -- but she was still a good kid. He knew he could trust her when it came down to it. Well, mostly trust her. Randall was more than aware of her mischievous streak. And soon he would have a hormone-driven, sex obsessed, mischievous teenage daughter. The thought sent a cold wave of fear down Randall's spine. Fuck the rotters, soon he would be dealing with a second apocalypse. Puberty. |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 1 2015, 04:16 PM Post #1297 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Emmett shook his head, uncomfortable with the gratitude. The topic of the Blue Water Bridge was not easy on his mood. He was no longer sure he had done the right thing. In fact, he was almost sure he hadn’t. “I don’t deserve your thanks,” he said. “Those people followed us to Flint. We should have killed as many as we could while we had the chance.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 1 2015, 04:50 PM Post #1298 |
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Is that so?
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"Listen... Emmett..." This topic was just as sore to her as anyone else, but she felt like it needed to be said. Brandon had told her what had happened while she was out; right now she remembered the part where Marcus and Candice mentioned the fact that the bandits had a much larger group not even at the bridge. "Maxwell -- may he rot in hell -- would have tipped those guys off no matter what you did. And the guys not at the bridge would still have come at the settlement. You can't blame yourself for Maxwell's actions. That's more than that pile of shit deserves." She made no attempt to conceal the underlying anger in her voice as she spoke of Maxwell. She took a moment to let out a tired sigh before continuing. "And for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. Killing people, no matter how bad or misunderstood... you can't go back from it. I've done it before and would do it again to protect my friends, but it still bothers me." |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 1 2015, 05:02 PM Post #1299 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Emmett remained still. He respected Willow’s view, even shared it until very recently. And he didn’t blame himself for Maxwell’s actions, necessarily. As painful as it was to hover over Glenda’s dead body and confirm her demise, he didn’t think that was his fault. The actions of the invaders were a different story. He could have killed at least two of them back at the border, and if he hadn’t talked the group out of ambushing them, they might have killed more. It wouldn’t have stopped Maxwell – the traitor might have even still found a way of tipping them off somehow, like Willow suggested – but it would have made a difference. Not for the first time, he considered how many others had paid the price for his mercy. Never again. “It bothers me too,” he said. “I used to think that was a good enough reason.” |
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| Strompy | May 1 2015, 10:36 PM Post #1300 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Doesn't bother me. Brandon reflected bitterly. He had a hard time figuring out whether the fact it didn't bother him bothered him. Killing people shouldn't be easy to do but Brandon was completely t peace with it. The people who attacked them last night were easy. Like rotters, they were just a threat that needed to be put down. The fact they were evil made it satisfying even, it was justice. Hirsch and his crew were exactly the same and their deaths meant nothing either. Just more monsters removed. Even the people at the the Peace Bridge. They weren't much different from Brandon and his group really. Just more survivors who put their own needs ahead of others. It wasn't a big step, and chillingly it was one that Brandon could see himself taking. He looked a man in the eyes, shot him through the head and felt nothing. That man probably had people who cared about him. Where did the part of him that was supposed to feel remorse about that go? How could he not have it? Was it because of his parents? He had what he thought was a pretty normal upbringing, aside from the combat and survivalism training. Maybe they'd somehow mentally prepared him for this stuff without him realizing it. "Good. It should bother you." Brandon commented, turning to Emmett and Willow. "No matter what those assholes decided to do with the chance you gave them, you weren't wrong to give them that. They had a chance to do the right thing, the smart thing, and they didn't. That's not on you. If that weren't the kind of person you are, Eli would be dead. Then I probably would have come after you, and one of us would might be dead. You're better than that. We need you to keep being better for the sake of our souls." he said with intense sincerity. Emmett was a good person. Probably the best one still alive in Brandon's opinion. What he had done to that guy last night was difficult to watch, not just because of how brutal it was, but more so because it was Emmett doing it. He wanted, selfishly for Emmett to stay the same. To always seek out a peaceful resolution, to spare people. The idea he might feel like giving up on that because he blamed himself, it was like another death in the group. |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 2 2015, 02:04 AM Post #1301 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Emmett considered Brandon’s words, but didn’t have a response for him right now. He recognised that the Eli point was a good one. Now he had to decide if it was good enough. * * * The hours marched on as Eli led the convoy down the interstate. By the time it turned and wrapped around Lansing’s border, like Annie said it would, the clouds were a little grayer and a little lower in the sky. Soon after, when the city was in their rear view, they were back in the midst of Michigan forests and farmlands. Over the last week, Eli had grown contemptuously familiar with the sight of them. “Coming up,” Annie said during the journey, pointing at a sign advertising an upcoming exit ramp. “Got it,” Eli confirmed. A little while later he was driving down a ramp that merged onto the I-94 going west. Fortunately, there were no abandoned or crashed cars blocking their way. Not long after, the farmland scenery was broken up by a casino-hotel combo with a façade that was probably impressive when lit up at night, but not-so-much during the cold light of day. Before and after passing that, Eli noted exits that led to Battle Creek, the next big Michigan town Annie had a warning about. Apparently Flint welcomed a few survivors from there as well, and their reports were also grim. Fortunately, the interstate led them south of it. Eli imagined that reports from all big cities were likely similar. From what he could tell, the virus broke out suddenly and swiftly in all of them. People either fled, died, or founded small pockets of resistance in places like the Mount Kisco County Club, Old Fort Erie, or a suburb in Flint. Around New York, Eli remembered there was some early but mostly unsuccessful effort to rally survivors to the quarantine zone in Manhattan. But even that fell. From what Eli had seen firsthand, he felt like he wasn’t out of line to assume the same things must have happened all over the country. Or the continent, even. Canada had proven to be just as devastated, after all. Kalamazoo, Michigan was next. The interstate did not cut through that town, but Eli was able to bob and weave through the traffic and make it to the other side without incident. He only spared passing glances at the emptiness of the town as they passed it. Annie clearly paid it more attention, however. She had been quiet on the trip through, but when they were on the other side of the urban sprawl, she spoke quietly. “I suppose the whole world looks like that now,” she said. “I guess I knew the whole world was probably just like most of Flint… But now I know.” Eli glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “You wish you didn’t?” He saw her shake her head, and felt like he could see the determination in her dark eyes. “No,” she said. “It’s why I came.” He left it at that, and so did she. A little while later, though, her son spoke up. “Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom,” he piped up from the backseat. Not an entirely unreasonable request, Eli had to concede. Over the course of their trip to Flint, others in the group had made it on a regular basis. But they had been driving for only around three hours. They were making good time and distance. Eli wanted to keep it up. He had hoped to clear state lines before thinking about stopping. “Didn’t you do that at home?” Eli asked, letting his frustration slip a bit. “Yes,” Connor answered slowly. “Now I need to go again.” Eli didn’t know for sure, but he could have sworn the kid was being condescending. The feeling made him tighten his grip on the steering wheel, but he held his tongue. “We’ll stop in Indiana,” Eli said. “But I need to go now,” Connor shot back. Eli looked in the rear view mirror to see him put down his game. Then Eli looked to Annie, who was glancing from Connor to him and looking conflicted. “It’ll just take a minute,” she said finally, settling on Eli. She sounded a little embarrassed, which dampened Eli’s annoyance. “There’s an exit coming up. If we get off now, we can get right back on.” She was right about the exit. It was to Paw Paw, a small village. Annie had run down the places they were going to pass in the first hour of the trip when she was talking Eli through the route he should take. She had mentioned it in there. “Fine,” Eli said. He wanted his reluctance to be known, even if he didn’t have a good enough reason to refuse the detour outright. “One minute.” He put on his blinker for Emmett’s benefit, and took the one-lane exit. There was a single car in the way near the bottom, but no railings to prevent the SUV from simply going around. After turning left into town, the first stop was a gas station across the street from a restaurant. Eli pulled into the gas station and unbuckled his seat belt. A minute later, Emmett pulled in behind him. Eli was the first one out of the car. He glanced around rapidly, looking for any sign of movement and listening for groans. As far as he could tell, they were safe. “Quick bathroom break,” he said, looking over the SUV to Emmett and anticipating his question. Next, he leaned back into the SUV and looked to Annie. “Hold on one minute,” he told her. “We’re going to clear the interior, make sure it’s safe. Then we can get this over with.” He looked past her into the rest of the car. “Any volunteers?” |
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| Strompy | May 2 2015, 02:30 AM Post #1302 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Yo." Julie offered, eager to use the bathroom herself. She opened the door eagerly and drew her kukri. Brandon climbed out of the truck and took up position with his C8 keeping an eye out for movement. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 2 2015, 02:50 AM Post #1303 |
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Is that so?
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"I'm down." Jen filed out after Julie. She didn't have to go, but welcomed the chance to stretch her legs a little. Long car rides were always the bane of someone as restless as her. She let the Uzi hang at her side and instead opted for the baseball bat, which she spun around in her left hand as if she were warming up to bat. "I guess I'll hold down the fort here." Randall offered from the back. "I'm not too good at the whole left-handed thing yet anyway. Just don't get careless in there." |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 2 2015, 03:37 AM Post #1304 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded at the two ladies – one with an injured wrist, and one with an injured leg. And Julie had that other thing that made him extremely wary of putting her in harm’s way. Now that Glenda was dead, though, Eli realized that the majority of their group were grappling with non-trivial injuries or conditions. When it came to their fighters, it was really only him and Emmett that were still in one piece. Brandon might have been the runner up, and even he had stitches keeping a gunshot wound and a brick-related head wound from spilling open. “Never,” Eli said to Randall. His fingers reached for the holster to his ka-bar as he turned to the girls in the middle seats. “Come on, let’s do this.” He headed over to the store entrance. He looked through the glass door before opening it. Half of the shelves o Randall to have been picked clean. The other half stored old magazines. He also saw some windshield cleaning fluid and some motor oil. And if he wasn’t mistaken, a few packs of gum had survived the looting. Satisfied, he opened the door. A bell above it rang, and he instinctively cringed at the sound. A low moan followed the bell. Eli cringed even more as he brandished his knife, zeroing in on its source. A rotter had stirred from behind the counter. When its dead eyes fixed on Eli and his two companions, it started ambling around and towards them. When Eli got a clearer view, he could see the rotter had an injury on its upper chest – there a round red circle, looked like it might have been the result of a shotgun blast. Eli wondered how that happened. “Jen,” he said. He kept his knife ready but they had some time to spare, and he wanted to see this new girl in action. “You wanna take care of this?” * * * Emmett waited outside with Brandon, surveying the area alongside him like a hawk. He also took the chance to look up at the sky. He had a much clearer view of the low clouds from out here. “Looks like it’s going to rain,” he observed simply. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 2 2015, 03:52 AM Post #1305 |
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Is that so?
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"Alright." Jen stepped forward. She angled her body sideways towards the approaching deadhead -- or rotter as this group called them -- with her right foot forward and lifted her bat to take a lefty batting stance. This was more out of habit than practicality. Rotters were not baseballs or softballs, but she had swung a bat countless times from this stance. It just felt the most natural. The rotter stumbled forward towards her with its predictable movements. It reached its arms for her, but before it could get close enough to grab her, she spun her body and swung the bat. KLONK! In one fluid movement, the head of the already fragile rotter was smashed and torn off by the force of the impact. Its head was sent rolling and bouncing off to her left while the rotter's body flopped motionlessly to the side. "That would have been an out." Jen frowned as she wiped a few specks of fresh gore off her face with the sleeve of her jacket. "Of course, they're always outs. Can't hit 'em like a baseball, that's for sure." |
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