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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,985 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie absorbed Randall’s first question without comment. His words too, until he trailed off. She immediately saw where he was going. She wished she could follow him there.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry,” she admitted sadly. “I don’t know what’s in that canister. I don’t even know what the ‘cure’ is. It could be what you’re suggesting. If it’s actually a cure, though – a cure that’s going to save this world – then it will probably just cure the infection we already have.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Cure the infection we already have?"

Randall furled his brow at the statement Annie had just offhandedly made. Did she know something about the nature of the plague? People that died, even if the cause wasn't a rotter bite, still came back to life unless the brain was destroyed. They had seen it. The dots had all been there, but he hadn't connected them. Her statement forced him to draw the lines in his head.

"What, exactly, do you mean? Are you telling me that we're all already infected with it?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie looked at him a little curiously. She was surprised he hadn’t come to that conclusion already, but tried to avoid judgment – especially at a time like this.

“You’ve seen what happens,” she said, nodding. “When people die, they turn, bite or not. Whatever makes that happen – it’s already in us.”

As she picked up a box and started stacking it near the windows, she thought more about the topic herself. She pointed warily to a rotter outside, thrashing futilely at them as if the glass wasn’t there.

“The things out there are terrifying, but they can be killed,” she explained. “Eventually, they could all be killed. The real problem is they keep coming. If you can stop that from happening, you’d be cutting off the proverbial head of the snake. That’s how you save the world.”

She grabbed another box, and grunted it as she piled it on the first one, blocking out a little bit more of the window.

“What’s happening to Julie is horrible,” she said. “I can’t even tell you how sorry I am. But I don’t think we can stop it.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Well... shit."

Randall's hope was shot down in a second; he tried to forget about it by stacking another box in front of one of the windows.

"I guess I knew that already, but... I hoped it was something else."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Hours went by. With every other minute, Eli’s despair increased. With the windows covered, it had also gotten dark inside, and that didn’t help.

When he was finally done hugging Julie, Eli helped explore the warehouse with the light on his empty rifle. At first, he found untold rows of boxes. Curiosity made him rip one open with his knife, only to find nothing but women’s designer shoes inside. Great, he thought bitterly when he found them. Real goddamn useful.

At the other end of the warehouse, however, he did find a door that opened into a small office with a bathroom. It had a desk, a shelf of books, and a ratty couch. Eli claimed the couch for Julie. He had helped her lay there as the fever started to take her.

With that task done, helplessness had consumed him again. He had waited out the remainder by her side, sad at the situation and equally angry at the world and himself. Occasionally, he checked the radio, pressing it down and asking for Emmett and hearing nothing in return.

At some point, it ran out of batteries. He stepped out of the room briefly to find Connor.

“Hey bud,” he said, adopting a term he sometimes heard used with kids. “You know that game you were playing earlier in the car? I need to borrow it. You remember where it is?”

The kid was staring at the floor, nonresponsive. He opened his mouth, presumably to say something, but no words came out.

“Connor, honey, your pocket,” Annie said, stepping in.

The boy blinked, then slowly removed the handheld system from the big sweater pocket in front of him. He held it up for Eli to take, still without words. Eli took it, and then turned. Annie gave him another sympathetic look, but he had enough of those. He didn’t bother with any more words of his own as replaced the batteries on the radio with the batteries for the game.

Then it was back to Julie’s side. Waiting for the inevitable moment that he knew was coming, but would have given up anything to avoid. The same rhetorical questions echoed through his head that had been echoing since it happened.

Why did this have to happen? Why her? How could I have let it?

Selfishly, he remembered why he turned to Jimmy back in Flint. He was worried he might be developing real feelings for this girl and he was afraid of that. What a stupid thing to be afraid of. I should have been more afraid of this.

And her baby – goddamn, her baby. No one else knew. It added another cruel layer of pain to this whole ignoble situation. It made it much harder for him, but more importantly, for her. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through.

He squeezed her hand. He wished he had something to say to make any of this better. He never had anything to say.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"... I got lucky though and my aimless wandering let me to the walls of Geraldine's little encampment project. She must have taken pity on the ragged looking woman that came walking up to her gates, because she took me in."

Jennifer recalled the end of her tale of survival. At least everything until she got up to Flint. Randall had been curious and asked her about it. She had endured as much as any of them had in the early days. Her story would have made a good movie if everyone alive today hadn't gone through something similar.

"Interesting. I know it isn't worth much, but I'm sorry you had to go through that." Randall put his good hand on her shoulder.

"It's..." She trailed off. "I think you got it worse than I do. I just had to deal with deadheads or rotters. You've had to deal with people this whole time. It's a good thing I never tried to get into Canada. Everyone else must have thought of that plan already cause it sounds like everyone thought it would be a good place to rob people. It's sounds pretty fucked up."

"It's all fucked up." Randall sighed heavily. "Hey, we can talk more later. I'm gonna go see how Julie is doing."

"Yeah, go ahead." Jen acknowledged him.

Randall got off the box they had been sitting on and slipped over to the small office that Julie was resting in. Eli was in there too; he had barely left her side since it happened. It made Randall think something must have happened between those two. His behavior had become reminiscent of Brandon watching over Willow while she was injured.

Where were they anyway?

He lingered by the door, unsure if now was a good time to come in or not. Ultimately, he decided he didn't want Julie to slip away before he had a chance to say anything to her and stepped into the office.

"Hey guys." He announced himself meekly.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
How long had it been? It felt like a long time. The tears had stopped. The infection was fast, she marveled in some distant part of her brain. It wasn't long after the bite that her head started getting fuzzy, and she started to feel faint. Eli brought her to the couch to lie down. To lie down and wait to die.

In that time it had gotten a little worse. It was strange how sudden the change was. Her joints had started to ache a little, and her head was starting to feel hot. She'd started to sweat a little. It was like being fine one minute and then having the flu the next. Dimly she was aware that this was only the beginning, that she had far more pain ahead of her before the end. She didn't know why she didn't just end it and save herself that pain, but living things fought that final reprieve if it meant they could have only a few more moments of agonizing life.

So she just lay there and waited. The real pain, the sense of despair and failure, that came in waves. At the moment she was numb inside. Staring up at the ceiling she reflected on everything that had happened that last week. She met the others and they took her in. They lost Mac the next day, and picked up Max. She had Eli the next day, she remembered fondly. They almost died at the police college, and then she and Kelsey spent an uncertain night after Emmett kidnapped them. Eli gave himself up to save them, and ultimately their kidnapper became an ally. They made new friends in St Thomas when they took down a group of monsters, and almost lost Willow in the process.

They drove through the night to get to Flint and then felt safe for the first time in a long time. She had Eli again, an even fonder recollection. The next day she found out she was pregnant and the day after that she'd made up her mind to keep it. It was funny how quickly she'd come to want that. She was terrified to have a child, and terrified of losing it at the same time. Now they were both lost. Just like Glenda earlier that very same day. She wondered if she would even last until tomorrow. Always that animal part of her was desperate for more time.

Another wave hit her. She gripped Eli's hand. He'd been with her practically the whole time. Having him there was another strange thing. If she had to make up her mind about what she wanted from him, she'd choose more time. She just wanted more time with him for his friendship, or for his love, or sex, or just his company she didn't care. Let it be whatever it was going to be.

"Eli." she croaked quietly as her throat tightened and her eyes threatened more tears.

Randall's voice got her attention. She rubbed her eyes and the tears didn't come.

"Hey Randall." she answered.
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Is that so?
Randall paused as he entered. He wasn't very good at this. With Elaine it had been different. He opened his mouth to say something; but what would he say?

I'm sorry this happened?

No, that seemed... woefully inadequate for a friend.

How are you guys feeling?

He already knew the answer to that. He knew it ten times over.

Don't worry, we'll get the cure to Chicago?

As if there was any way to sound less thoughtful; the cure was the last thing on their minds right now.

God dammit.

He buried his face in his hand, but kept coming inside. Before he could wrap his mind around what to ask, Kelsey filed in after him. Without any of the doubt Randall felt himself displaying, she went straight for Julie's couch and hovered over the dying woman. She reached her little hands out and rested them on her good hand.

"How are you feeling, Julie?" The sadness was clear in her voice despite how much she tried to hide it. "Do you want me to get you anything? Maybe some water or a book or a video game? I can find it whatever it is!"

Well, at least breaking that awkward silence was one problem that was solved.

"Anything from Emmett?" He asked Eli while Kelsey doted over Julie.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"It's not so bad. I'm just a little sore at the moment." Julie said, rising to a sitting position.

Her head spun from the action, it felt heavy, like a bowling ball precariously balanced on the tip of a toothpick. She looked at Kelsey with a warm smile. Kelsey was an awesome kid, if she would have had a daughter she'd want her to be like her.

"I'm okay. I could use a hug though." she admitted.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli’s eyes welled up at the sight of Julie doing the same. He wiped them dry with his arm when Eli and then Kelsey entered. Shamefully, he was grateful for the reprieve. He wasn’t going anywhere if he could help it – he owed her that, and so much more – but he appreciated the extra company.

“Nothin' yet,” he said in answer to Randall. “Soon, I’m hoping.”

He was pretty sure the radio was working, at least. So long without word from those guys was troubling when he thought about it, but he wasn’t really thinking about it. He had the headspace for Julie and that’s it.
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Is that so?
Kelsey wrapped her arms tightly -- but not too tightly -- around Julie's midsection and buried her face in her chest.

"I don't want you to go, too." She mumbled quietly.

Randall frowned at the display of affection. It made everything harder on him. But he steeled himself. He had to worry about the safety of the group now. They had only just left Flint and they were already beaten up again and morale had fallen to a new low with the loss of the SUV and Julie's bite incident.

"They're a tough lot, so I know they're okay. I just hope they can find us soon." Randall reminisced and placed a hand on Eli's shoulder, just like he had with Jen a few minutes ago. "And Eli... if you need to talk about any of this, I just want you to know I got you covered. Alright? You're one of us now, you don't gotta struggle alone."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Julie put both her arms around Kelsey. Her wrist didn't appreciate the pressure as she gave the girl a squeeze. She kissed her forehead and pressed her cheek against her little head. She drew a shuddering breath and gave Kelsey a little extra squeeze.

"You give good hugs. I'm going to miss you when I'm gone." she said quietly.

She could hear Randall and Eli talking. Even at that moment Julie worried about the others out there. If anyone was getting out of that warehouse they would need their help. Julie wanted to stay alive just a while longer, not just out of fear, but so she could say her goodbyes and if she could hold on long enough see the cure delivered. She still didn't believe, but it had brought them here and the idea of fading out without a resolution was intolerable.
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Is that so?
Kelsey didn't respond. She couldn't. For the first time in a long time, she felt her eyes watering up. She had tricked herself into disbelief when mom had died. She had bottled it up when Mac and Glenda died. But Julie too? It was becoming too much for her to handle. The emotions she had been trying to suppress were threatening to break through.

She hugged Julie a little tighter.

* * * * *

Jennifer didn't want to sit alone. With her darker complexion (even by African standards) and black clothes, she felt like she would fade into the long reaching shadows of this place if she stayed still. If she curled into a ball, she could disappear and be invisible to both rotters and humans. It felt fitting for the stress she found herself in. She wanted to be a part of something greater than just survival. She wanted to fight for a future for herself and everyone else. But after less than a day, it had gone to hell and she was questioning her decision to leave Flint.

Talking to Randall had been a nice distraction from everything that she hadn't really appreciated until he was gone. She forced herself up to her feet and milled about until she found Annie nearby, overlooking her son who still looked to be pretty shell shocked from, well... everything. It was a pretty somber scene to be sure, but she dragged herself over to them and sat on a box nearby.

"So... do you regret your decision to come along?" Jennifer inquired as her angular facial features warped into a look of sad curiosity.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie looked up from her son as Jen approached. She gave Connor a squeeze on the shoulder before turning her back to him, leading Jen a little bit away.

“I don’t know,” she said softly, and she thought she was telling the truth. “And I don’t blame you for asking, but I’m already getting a little tired of that question.”

She looked over to the office, where Julie lay on the couch, slowly succumbing to her fever.

“It’s terrible, what happened, and what’s happening,” she added. “I wish I could change it somehow. And that’s why I’m here, and why I’m staying.”

She looked back to Jen.

“How about you?”

Before Jen could answer, she heard a crunch sound, and she froze up. It was like someone had thrown a rock at a window.

* * *

The sudden noise made Eli’s eyes go wide for a second. His head spun around, instinctively looking outside the office for the source. Of course, it would require a bit more investigation than that. He hated to leave Julie’s side, but it seemed too urgent to ignore.

“I’ll be right back,” he assured her, moving out quickly.

He had a good idea where it came from – one of the windows. He made a bee-line, finding them obscured by a pile of boxes Annie had organized in front of it. He made the risky and potentially counter-productive move of shoving one aside.

A number rotters – more, perhaps, than had been there when they arrived – were still outside, pounding their fists against the exterior of the warehouse. Part of the exterior was the window. The window now had a crack in it. The crack spread out a little bit in every direction, making a star pattern.

The rotters kept pounding, even more furiously when they caught a glimpse of Eli’s face. When he looked closely, Eli could see the crack growing longer.

CRUNCH!

He heard the same sound that drove him here, and his eyes bugged out once again. It sounded like it came from further away, but he moved some more boxes around anyway, trying to get a look at the other panels. He didn’t find another crack.

“Over there,” Annie’s voice rang out.

Eli turned to find her pointing to the other side of the warehouse. During their search, they had found another set of windows on the walls, and had tried covering them up just the same. Apparently they were under the same stress currently.

Not good, Eli thought, obviously.

He turned back to the window with the crack. It was growing wider with every pound on it. He moved the box back into place, blocking the light out again. He wasn’t sure what else to do.

He reached for his radio again.

“Emmett?” he asked, after pressing the button. “Where are you, ’mano??”

He waited. No answer. He stepped away from the window, heading back into the office where Randall was. He hated to talk this way in front of Kelsey and Julie, but there was no avoiding the subject.

“Windows are breaking,” he reported. “Turns out, we don’t got forever.”
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Is that so?
Jen turned her head towards the source of the sound. It sounded like a breaking window. Even before Eli returned, she had a pretty good gut feeling what the news was going to be.

"Not enough to run away." Jen answered Annie as she tightened her grip on her Uzi. "Not as if I would have anywhere to run to anyway."

* * * * *

Randall rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He found himself doing that a lot these days.

He processed what they knew so far. They had, perhaps foolishly, locked themselves in a warehouse hoping for Emmett and the others to have a timely arrival. Obviously that timely arrival was not coming any time soon. The place was completely surrounded; there was no clear path out of here. No way to go above them either. It seemed like there was no way to get out without a fight; but with injured and children, fighting seemed like suicide. There was no way they could fight it.

"I hate to suggest it, but our only bet might be to find somewhere high that they can't get to. And pray that Emmett and the others arrive."

He didn't like the plan. There were too many variables that couldn't be accounted for. Emmett and the others might be in some sort of trouble as well. Maybe the van broke down. Even if they arrived in time, how would they get them out? But he couldn't think of anything else that would not be condemning some of them to die.
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