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| Dead Men Walking | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,989 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | May 2 2015, 04:24 AM Post #1306 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli nodded, impressed and assured. It was good to know Jen was capable of defending herself like that, even with the injury. “It looks like you been practicing,” he said. “Bathrooms now, come on. Men’s first, then…” He cut himself off when he heard a pounding on a nearby door, and a faint groaning from behind it. He quickly identified it as the woman’s room. It seemed like the action here had spurred another rotter to action. With the door closed, though, there wasn’t a lot of actions it could do. Eli readied his knife, then pointed to Julie, then the door. He walked up to it himself, ready for Julie to open it and reveal the rotter inside. |
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| Strompy | May 2 2015, 05:59 AM Post #1307 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"How far off do you think it is?" Brandon asked shouldering his carbine and walking back to the truck, still keeping an eye open. He extended his hands to Willow to help her down if she wanted to stretch her legs or use the bathroom. It'd hurt to move around like that and they'd be leaving soon anyway but three hours of driving had its own pains. ... Julie sheathed her kukri again. The bathroom door inward. She exhaled and turned the doorknob. A sharp breath and then she barged the door with her good shoulder, slamming into the deadite on the other said sending it staggering backwards. She quickly leapt back out of the way to let Eli through. |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 2 2015, 07:20 AM Post #1308 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Don’t know,” Emmett replied, just as simply. After a moment’s consideration, though, he decided he didn’t want to be curt. They were all making an effort with him. He could try a little harder himself. “Might not come at all,” he elaborated. “But the clouds look low in the sky, and I think the wind has changed direction. We’ll… have to see what happens.” * * * Eli raised his knife and prepared to capitalize on Julie’s momentum. When he lunged forward, however, he was taken for surprise. The rotter was big. Bigger than him by a significant margin. It was a lady in its former life, but a broad shouldered one with a huge gut. As Eli brought the knife down, the huge rotter rebounded off the toilet seat and chomped at him. He missed his strike – the rotter got lucky and leaned right as it tried to bite him – and ended up swiping at the air. He started to wind back for another strike as the rotter collided with him. “Oh faaaaaa,” he blurted out an incoherent curse as he gave way under the rotter’s superior weight. His knife slid into the fat on its shoulder as he and it collapsed backwards out of the bathroom door. With the rotter on top of him, he had to struggle for breath. More importantly, he had to struggle with his left arm to keep its face away from his. He slammed his palm into its forehead before it could bite down, and he managed to keep it there as it writhed and gnashed, its stubby arms thrashing wildly at its sides. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep it up, though. Please don’t let this be how I die, was his most pressing. Please, anything but this. |
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| Strompy | May 2 2015, 07:43 AM Post #1309 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Yeeaagh!" Julie roared as she brought her kukri down in a big overhead swing. She had jumped beside the rotter as it fell on Eli and her swing planted the blade firmly in the back of it's head. It went limp, it's now even deader weight falling on Eli. Another moan from her right caught her attention as another rotter appeared, crawling along the ground, it's midsection completely eaten through save for its spine. Julie slammed the door closed on it and caught its head and arm between it and the doorframe. She began stomping on its head repeatedly until there was an audible crack, and then gave it several more stomps for good measure. She grumbled as she rolled her shoulder. The bulk of the fat rotter had been more than she was expecting and she'd done some damage to herself barging the door. She leaned against the wall a moment to catch her breath. She really wished she had use of her left hand so she could rub her shoulder. "Ow." she objected, kicking the large rotter in the leg. ... Emmett was talking. Nice change. Seemed a waste not to try and compitalize on it. "So where'd you learn to shoot? You're pretty handy with a MAC-10, can't imagine that was part of your job." he asked. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 2 2015, 01:22 PM Post #1310 |
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Is that so?
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As Julie was catching her breath, Jen leaned down and helped roll the recently re-deceased and morbidly obese rotter off of Eli. It took a little bit of effort as it was by far one of the heaviest rotters she had ever seen. She had found most of them lost weight after dying and standing around for a month; Jen found herself scared at what it must have looked like before dying. With a big push, and a little help from Eli, they rolled the rotund rotter off of him and into the nearby wall. "Okay, that was seriously wrong on multiple levels." Jennifer looked at the huge rotter as she extended a fingerless-gloved hand to help Eli up. He was no doubt capable on his own, but she wanted to make as good an impression as she could. Not to mention being trapped underneath a rotter like that would be traumatizing for even the most experienced survivor. * * * * * With Brandon's help, Willow gingerly stepped outside the truck. She winced slightly as she had to move her leg, which hurt more than ever after all the use it got this morning, but she reminded herself that she was a big girl and could handle it. Just so long as she didn't make it any worse. Nevertheless, she appreciated the chance to stretch her legs and get a breath of 'fresh' air -- although the definition of fresh air was definitely relative with so many corpses around, it wasn't half bad here. She leaned her back against the truck and tried to relax while Emmett and Brandon had their conversation. But her eyes were always scanning the surroundings for a threat; rotter or human both. * * * * * "What do you think so far?" Randall broke the silence in the SUV. He had seen Annie craning her head and looking at the surroundings as they drove. It was the first time she had seen the world outside of Flint, he imagined. He had just gotten used to it; all the supply running he had done at Mount Kisco and this past week on the road. It was depressing in its own way, but in a way he had seen and learned to expect. This is what she had wanted to see; but what could it be like for someone who had barely been outside the walls of Flint? |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 2 2015, 04:04 PM Post #1311 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Eli accepted Jennifer’s hand and hauled himself to his feet, wheezing as the air returned to him. When the rotter fell limp on him, almost all of his senses had been flooded with disgust. Getting away from it felt like waking up from a terrible daydream. “Seriously wrong,” Eli agreed. As he was catching his breath, he looked down and frowned. There was some heavy duty drool on his shirt. Wonderful, he thought sarcastically. I bet that’ll wash right off. He looked over to Julie next, finding her leaning against the wall, a look of slight pain on her face. Eli was hit by a severe pang of guilt as he remembered her condition. He shouldn’t have given her that task. He thought it would be simple and routine – opening a door usually was, after all – but he should know by now that nothing in this world was simple. He’d have to be more careful with her in the future. He didn’t want to bring that up in front of Jen, though. Instead, he nodded to the second rotter that Julie had taken out with the door and her foot. “Nice work,” he said. His words sounded genuine, but the look he gave her read as concerned. He looked down at the obese rotter by her feet and shuddered. The very recent and very upsetting memory of being trapped under that weight overtook him, and also reminded him of the job they came to do. “Men’s room now,” he said, leaning over and cringing as he pulled his knife out of the rotter’s fat. “Let’s hope it’s not as interesting. I got the door this time.” He stood close to it and listened for a second first. There were no moans this time, so with relative confidence, he kicked it in. It was empty, like he thought. “Lucky us,” he said, taking another long breath. * * * “It wasn’t,” Emmett answered. “It was just a hobby. Not with the MAC-10, though. That was a… recent acquirement.” He caught himself again, and wondered if that was too terse. He didn’t have a good sense of these things. “You also seem to know what you’re doing,” Emmett said. “Your family, right?” * * * Annie looked back at Randall, who was sitting in the backseat with Connor and Kelsey. In that company, he couldn’t be quite as honest as she wanted. “It’s… grim,” she said, settling on that. “But that’s what I expected.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eli emerge from the gas station with a disturbed expression. She turned back around and looked to him expectantly. “It’s clear,” he said. “Julie’s in there now, Connor can go in after.” “Aren’t there two bathrooms?” Annie asked. “Trust me, one of ‘ems out of commission,” Eli answered, finding a spot at the pumps to lean against. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 2 2015, 04:54 PM Post #1312 |
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Is that so?
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Jennifer didn't want to wander too far from Julie since once can never predict what will happen these days. But she still didn't want to wait by the bathroom door for her to finish. It seemed kind of weird. So instead, she meandered around the interior of the gas station while Julie took care of her business and Eli went to inform Connor what was going on. With only one working bathroom and no running water though, that place was going to stink worse than the rotters pretty quick. She was glad she didn't have to go. The place had been pretty well cleared out. A few boring magazines and some packs of gum. She grabbed one of the packs of gum and pocketed that before she moved to the candy section. To her disappointment, it had been looted pretty thoroughly. Not surprising. Still, she had time to burn and was persistent; she moved aside the empty boxes and trash. Behind it all, she found two untouched candies; a bag of M&Ms and a Snickers Bar. Score. She unwrapped the Snickers Bar and went to work on that, but decided to hang onto the M&Ms for the kids. * * * * * When Eli came out, Randall took the excuse to dismiss himself from the SUV. "I'm gonna stretch my legs then." "I'll come too!" Kelsey was quick to follow her father. Sitting with two kids was a pretty tall order and it might be another couple of hours before Chicago. He might as well get a reprieve while he could. Could be worse though; he could be stuck between Jeff and Maxwell again. Fuck Maxwell. |
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| Strompy | May 2 2015, 09:42 PM Post #1313 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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Julie finished her business as quickly as possible and exited the bathroom. It wasn't the nicest place even before the world went to hell, a month of neglect didn't improve it. At least there was toilet paper. She retrieved her blade from the rotter with a bit of effort, planting her foot on its neck and jimmying it free. "Bathroom's free." she informed the others from the front door. ... "Yep. Whole family of shooters. Parents, brother, uncles and cousins. Several generations back ofavid shooters and collectors. Lots of military men and women in the extended family too. Family connections was how dad managed to get his hands on and conceal a lot of illegal firearms and accessories." Brandon explained. There was a small pause. Brandon wanted to ask Emmett about his family but realized that was probably a terrible idea. Best to keep things safe. Just talk about guns. "What's the most memorable thing you've ever fired? I got to fire a Lee-Enfield Jungle Carbine. One that had actually seen use in Korea. Had twelve notches cut into it and everything. The dude who owned had the bayonet for it too. Guy let me put five rounds through it. Which was big of him since I was only sixteen at the time." Brandon recounted fondly. |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 3 2015, 02:27 AM Post #1314 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Nothing as interesting as that,” Emmett responded. “I knew someone who owned an M60 and managed a range in Niagara. I…” He was distracted by a hint of movement in the distance. He stopped talking and focused. Sure enough, his eyes narrowed in on a lone roamer, shambling towards them from the restaurant across the street. “I got it,” he said, interrupting the conversation and pointing at the incoming threat. With that, he drew his knife and headed off. For once, he wasn’t even particularly eager to exit his current company or escape the conversation. It was just his instinct to want to handle the situation. He considered that as he crossed the street. * * * Connor was outside by the time that Asian girl – Jewel, or something – exited the bathroom. He headed inside. As best he could, he repressed his annoyance at having to wait. His mother had told him repeatedly to behave and to obey the instructions of the people in their new group. That wasn’t the only feeling he had to repress, though. The fact that they had a new group at all bugged him enormously. They were safe in Flint. They had power and water and video games. His mom had an important job. Why were they trading all that in for a road trip in a crowded SUV? He just couldn’t comprehend it. No matter how much his mother talked about how they both had to toughen up and accept the new world, it didn’t make sense to him. When he entered the gas station interior, he gagged. It was totally involuntary. He could feel bile rising in his throat, but he swallowed before it could come out. The heat of it made him gag again. On the floor near the counter was a dead person. Like, one of those seriously dead people. Deadheads. That’s what the runners called them. The body was missing a head, and a few feet away a head was missing its body. A trail of gore bridged the two. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. He almost went to the bathroom right there. He was extremely grateful he held it in, even if just barely. He was also grateful when he recovered enough of his wit to look away. That was gross. Maybe the grossest thing he had ever seen. He had experienced more upsetting things – he saw his father many times after he fell asleep, and couldn’t get him to wake up, and had been told to say goodbye to him the morning before his mom unplugged his machines – but nothing so viscerally disgusting. He turned and headed towards the bathroom. He still had to go and even if he hadn’t he couldn’t leave without explaining why. He realized that maybe this was what his mom was talking about when she said he needed to be tougher. He didn’t want to prove her right. He did his best to think about anything else as he walked towards the bathroom. He noted the door to the men’s room was open, and the door to the women’s was closed. Connor wondered why Jewel or whatever wouldn’t use the girls room? She was a girl, right? He opened the door to the girl’s room without thinking about it. There was another dead body on the floor. That time, he wasn’t able to hold the vomit back. * * * Annie watched Connor disappear into the building with a worried frown. She wanted to follow him in there, make sure he was okay. It was taking a lot of willpower to keep herself from doing just that. She reminded herself that Connor wouldn’t like the hovering, and she also needed to wean him off of it. He needed to stand alone. Instead of heading inside, she headed over to Brandon, who had recently been left keeping guard by himself when Emmett – the biggest stranger to her of the group – had walked off. “Brandon, hi,” she broke the ice straightforwardly. She was slightly uncomfortable with a couple members of the group – Eli and Emmett, mainly – but she felt at ease around Brandon. She had seen him at a low point, when he was sleeping outside the clinic. She had also been touched by his devotion to Willow. In her view, at least, he was too decent to be scary. “I heard you’re the firearms instructor of the group,” she said. “I was hoping to talk to you about that as soon as I could.” |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 3 2015, 03:29 AM Post #1315 |
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Is that so?
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Jennifer finished the last bite of the Snickers Bar with a content grin on her face. Candy was hard to find these days and her sweet tooth was just as strong now as it had been when she was a kid. It was a welcome treat. Afterwards, she snagged a pack of gum as well and helped herself to the first piece. Supposedly these things helped keep your teeth clean and the last thing she wanted or needed was a cavity. As she scavenged about behind the counter, Julie went out and Connor came in. She didn't pay much heed to either, she was looking around. She had never been behind the counter of a gas station before. It didn't feel like anything special though. But when a retching sounded from the bathroom rather suddenly, she dropped everything she was doing and vaulted over the counter. FUCK MY LEG! THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING STUPID! She screamed at herself mentally after landing and nearly collapsing into a heap as a bolt of pain seared through her left calf. She bit her tongue and bore through it. It didn't take long to trace the source; Connor standing over a pile of his own vomit in the ladies' room. Right by the enormous deadhead they had killed. Jen hadn't thought as much of it, she had grown accustomed to this sort of violence serving on the front lines of Flint's defense. In a way, it made her forget there were people inside Flint that hadn't seen this sort of thing before. She had puked fairly gloriously during her first encounter too. And she was 18. Connor was only 13. After it looked like Connor was finally done, Jennifer gently guided him out of the women's room and away from the sight of either corpse. "Sorry Connor, I shoulda warned you about that." She knelt down to eye level and tried to assure him. Don't worry, you get used to it, she had wanted to say. But that hardly seemed like the right thing to go with right now. "It's pretty gross, I know." She tried to go with the sympathizing route and gave him a small smile. "Take all the time you need in the men's room. I'll be in earshot if you need anything; otherwise I'll make sure it's safe out here when you're done, okay?" She couldn't imagine what he must be going through right now. Taken from the 'safety' of Flint and thrust into something like this. Admittedly, Jen questioned Annie's decision to leave with her son. But she tried her best not to dwell on it. * * * * * Randall slowly approached Eli with Kelsey on his heels. Now that Annie and Connor were gone, he had a moment alone with him. Well, relatively alone. Kelsey didn't count; both of them knew how tough she was for someone her age. But that was just the problem; they both also knew Connor was not tough. "Real talk for a second here, Eli." Randall began. "Did I make the right choice with Annie and Connor? Do you think she's doing the right thing?" If Glenda was here, she would slap him back into shape. She would tell him; "It doesn't matter, you already made the choice. Now you gotta make it work." Glenda was right; he had kept her around for her bluntness and decisiveness. It kept him in check whenever he second guessed himself. She seldom made decisions, but she could keep him on the road when they drove. Now he found himself without that influence. When his resolve wavered, Glenda was never going to be there to set him straight. Just the thought sent a stab of pain through his chest. * * * * * Willow felt silly doing the breathing exercises now. But it would be less awkward doing them while everyone was at the gas station than while she was trapped in a car with Emmett and her boyfriend. She'd had to do them in front of Brandon the other night, but a private bedroom still felt a lot different than a public van. Especially since she had to make awkward breathing and coughing sounds for them. As she was doing the second exercise, where she had to breathe in and hold her chest out and cough, she saw Annie approach Brandon nearby and strike up a conversation with him. She paused briefly as she wondered what Annie wanted from him, but eventually decided it was probably nothing important and continued with her exercises. She steeled herself for the last six. |
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| Strompy | May 3 2015, 03:45 AM Post #1316 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"Way ahead of you, doc. I've been meaning to ask you about the same thing. You want lessons for you and Connor, right? Already have a piece in mind for him." he responded eagerly. He'd been waiting for a chance to repay Annie for saving Willow. Teaching her and her son how todefend themselves seemed like a great way to do so. He'd brought along Julie's old Browning specifically for Connor, since Julie had seemingly taken a liking to her new Sig. He kept it in his bag along with a couple changes of clothes, his sketchpad and some pencils, a whetstone and Glenda's Bowie knife which he intended to do something special with. "In my bag is a pistol. It's not loaded. My bag is the kind of puke-green duffle bag. Connor seems big enough to handle it and it's a very small caliber." he explained. |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 3 2015, 04:32 AM Post #1317 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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Annie smiled at that reaction. She thought there was a slim chance she would run into some resistance when it came to getting her son acquainted with weapons. She should have known better. "Thank you," she said. "Sincerely. I'd like to get started as soon as possible, if you're free. Randall tells me you don't travel at night if you can avoid it. Maybe then, or in the morning." * * * It took Connor a few seconds to fight through the embarrassment before he gave Jen a simple nod. At least it was a familiar face that saw him like this. He would have hated it to be one of the oyhers. Especially Kelsey. She was younger than him. And a girl. He was supposed to be made of tougher stuff. "I'll.. be right back," he mumbled, his face turning from green to red. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he walked quickly into the bathroom to clean up. And do the other thing he came to do. * * * Eli sighed a little. "Real talk?" he repeated , speaking low so Annie couldn't hear. "The doctor will be useful. Glad she's here, for Willow's sake alone. Her son -- I dunno, man. This isn't a good spot for kids. Not kids that don't know what they're doing, at least. But hell, Annie saved Willow's life. In your shoes, I'da had a hard time sayin' no." He said real talk but it wasn't, really. The real truth was it would have been hard, but he'd like to think he would have turned her down. After everything they went through to get here, he didn't think they could afford to take on liabilities. But it was a tough call. And hey, Annie might have talked him into it too, if she had the chance. "Might not matter in the long run," he added. "We're close now, carnal. This trip could be finished by tomorrow morning. Heh, you believe that?" |
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| Strompy | May 3 2015, 08:05 AM Post #1318 |
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More posts, more Busey.
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"I think both if we can. I filched some extra ammo from the armory before we left so we've got plenty to practice with." Brandon said with slightly guilty expression. Flint still had plenty more where that came from and plenty of bigger rounds to boot. A small sacrifice for potentially saving the world. He looked over at Willow briefly as she was doing her breathing exercises. She was still so tender, it was hard to watch her wince with almost every movement and it was also frustratingly restricting to them both. "So, doc, what do you think of Willow's recovery so far? How long do you think it'll be before she's fighting fit?" he asked. How long until we can go at it hard? Maybe the question was transparent but he maintained his poker face. Now wasn't the time to really even think or talk about that sort of thing. Or maybe it was the perfect time. He couldn't tell anymore and even if he could he might not care. He had hoped that having sex earlier would have diffused some of that... wanting, but it had actually made it a little worse. He wanted her again and he didn't want to hold back or her to hold back. He was completely right about it being worth the wait though. Just get a grip, Brandon. A really really firm grip. |
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| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 3 2015, 11:14 AM Post #1319 |
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Is that so?
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This trip could be finished by tomorrow morning. The thought alone was enough to bring a smile to Randall's face. A genuine one, despite all that happened at Flint. He wanted this nightmare to be over already. He wanted to return to a normal life where he could leave his house without worrying for his life. Yet deep down, he foresaw a complication somewhere, though he wanted to believe that it would be as simple as just bringing the cure to Chicago. Assuming the cure was even real. "What are you going to do after all this is over?" Randall asked. "Besides sleep in a warm bed for a week." |
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| DoctorYerishi | May 3 2015, 04:13 PM Post #1320 |
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
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“Considering the timeline, she’s doing extraordinarily well,” Annie said. “But like I explained to her back in Flint, she shouldn’t push herself too hard for a while yet. She won’t be at optimal lung capacity for a while, and we don’t want her ripping her stitches. There’s a lot to worry about.” She glanced over to Willow as well, noting with approval that she was doing the exercises they had gone over together. “To answer your question more directly, normally I would say a couple weeks,” she added. “In Willow’s case, it might be sooner. As I said, she’s doing well.” * * * Eli flinched a little at the question. It was a friendly one, but it was something he was still grappling with. He didn’t really want to go back to Flint. As safe as it was – or may be in the future – it would always make him relive seeing Glenda die and Maxwell brutally executed. Both memories left a sour taste in his throat, even if the latter was justified and maybe even necessary. What was waiting for him there, anyway? A job as a runner? As a labourer on the wall? Neither appealed to him. He had never wanted to work for a living before all this, and he didn’t want to now. Randall and the others were his friends, he’d put up with anything for them, but he might not be able to for the people at Flint. Mount Kisco was another option. But that was a long journey back and Eli didn’t feel any more at home on their grounds, either. What were the alternatives, though? He had no idea. And he didn’t want to think about that now. “Wish I knew,” he admitted. “Right now, I’m just playin’ like I’m in AA, you know? One day at a time.” Soon after, Connor and Jen emerged from the gas station. Connor looked worse for the wear. “Hon…” Annie started to say, but then seemed to catch herself. Her voice betrayed her concern. “Connor, are you okay?” “I’m fine,” Connor said quickly, in a tone that suggested he didn’t want to be asked any more questions. Annie seemed to respect that, though Eli caught her frowning a little. Still, he respected that she didn’t try to mother him any further, at least not in such a public venue. Emmett strolled back into the parking lot a moment later, his knife sheathed. It was good timing. Eli clapped his hands. “Okay, break’s over,” he announced. “Back to work.” * * * From their stop, getting back on the highway was as simple as turning around. The marker labelled ’94 West’ even indicated that it led to Chicago. Eli took that as an encouraging sign. The weather was a less encouraging one. They shouldn’t have lost much light at all over the course of their brief pit stop, but the sun had been darkened by the clouds. By the time the highway curved as it approached Lake Michigan, those clouds had fallen even lower. On the other side of a tiny Michigan community called Fair Plain, Eli saw a drop of rain hit his windshield. More drops came down as the interstate started hugging the lake, putting its blue water and short beaches into view. As they approached state lines, the drops started coming more frequently, but not faster. Eli soon realized it wasn’t rain at all. It was goddamn snow. “What the fuck…” Eli muttered, too flustered to contain himself. |
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7:30 PM Jul 10