Feeling her fist connect with Aveline's jaw, Evie felt a rush of relief as her punch landed. Still, the moment of elation was just enough for Aveline to throw a counter - something Evie hadn't exactly thought through. Seeing a fist hurtling towards her face, Evie pinched her eyes shut, throwing her hands in front of her face to block. Her wrists took the blow but the strike still pushed her own hands into her face, a squeal of pain bursting from her lips as she stumbled backwards from the shove.
Holding the distance a moment, Evie pushed her fringe aside through the rapid breathing, her eyes scowling on at Aveline. A thousand words rushed towards her lips, a thousand insults, threats and warnings, yet the only thing that emerged was an angered growl as she charged back at Aveline. She threw her fists a couple of times, a flurry followed up by her attempting to grab Aveline's hair.
Aveline growled as she threw each blow, only for the woman to charge at her, causing her to fall back, only able to block few of the punches. Aveline tried using her legs to try to kick the woman off only to have her hair being pulled by the woman. "Get.." she grumbled, pulling red hair with one hand and clawing her nails into the red head's face. "Off!!"
--
ON PERSON:
- Navy blue cardigan
- Jeans
- Dirtied sneakers
- (Removed) Metal bat (weapon)
IN PACK:
- Corey's stuffed animal
- Picture of Aveline and Corey
- 2x Bottle water
- Canned fruit Eaten
- 2x canned beans
- (Recently collected) Small pistol
- (Recently collected) 12x pistol rounds
- Dark green coat
- Small paperback "Survival for the Weak" book
SOMEWHERE (idfk)
- 1x set of gardening tools
- 1x pair of pink gardening gloves
- 2x packets of seeds of Aloe Vera
- 1x packet of seeds of Black Mustard
- 3x packets of seeds of Sweet Mint
- 2x packets of seeds of Succulents
- 1x packet of seeds of Colocynth
- 3x packets of seeds of Tomatoes
- 4x plant pots
- 1x pack of compost
As the fight intensified and became more vicious, Evie found the heightened level of awareness a somewhat familiar feeling. She had never been much of a fighter, but how many times her wellbeing and life had been on the line in this way was a more common occurrence than she'd have liked. Feeling nail digging into flesh upon her face, a howl of pain erupted from her throat. Clutching tightly to Aveline's hair, she attempted to rag the girl sideways, hoping to take her to the floor.
So many thoughts rushed to Aveline, wanting to punch Evie repeatedly, wanting to curse her out with every swear she knew, to yell and scream. As Evie continued to pull her hair, Aveline couldn't help but follow, not letting go of the red hair and pulled Evie down with her. Wincing at the cold ground and prickly grass and sticks that stuck to her skin. 'Are...you.. kidding me?!' she thought to herself, using her other hand to continue to try get a few punches in.
--
ON PERSON:
- Navy blue cardigan
- Jeans
- Dirtied sneakers
- (Removed) Metal bat (weapon)
IN PACK:
- Corey's stuffed animal
- Picture of Aveline and Corey
- 2x Bottle water
- Canned fruit Eaten
- 2x canned beans
- (Recently collected) Small pistol
- (Recently collected) 12x pistol rounds
- Dark green coat
- Small paperback "Survival for the Weak" book
SOMEWHERE (idfk)
- 1x set of gardening tools
- 1x pair of pink gardening gloves
- 2x packets of seeds of Aloe Vera
- 1x packet of seeds of Black Mustard
- 3x packets of seeds of Sweet Mint
- 2x packets of seeds of Succulents
- 1x packet of seeds of Colocynth
- 3x packets of seeds of Tomatoes
- 4x plant pots - 1x pack of compost
Feeling fists and hands desperately slamming into her as the two wrestled on the floor, Evie swung a desperate hand for Aveline's jaw, using the resulting break to wriggle free of the hair-pulling contest in which they had become embroiled. She scarpered back to the arrow which she had let fall into the floor, equipping her bow and hoping to quickly load the arrow. If she was lucky, she'd be able to hold Aveline back at the tip of an arrow and end the situation once and for all.
Aveline's blood rushed, she felt heated in the cold air. Lying for a moment, propping herself with her are, using a hand to hold her aching jaw. She looks up to see the redhead aiming the arrow at her and lets out a groan before falling back onto her back. She sighs before tilting her head back up and standing. "Do it, savage." She takes a step towards her. "Prove yourself, Annie." She scoffed.
--
ON PERSON:
- Navy blue cardigan
- Jeans
- Dirtied sneakers
- (Removed) Metal bat (weapon)
IN PACK:
- Corey's stuffed animal
- Picture of Aveline and Corey
- 2x Bottle water
- Canned fruit Eaten
- 2x canned beans
- (Recently collected) Small pistol
- (Recently collected) 12x pistol rounds
- Dark green coat
- Small paperback "Survival for the Weak" book
SOMEWHERE (idfk)
- 1x set of gardening tools
- 1x pair of pink gardening gloves
- 2x packets of seeds of Aloe Vera
- 1x packet of seeds of Black Mustard
- 3x packets of seeds of Sweet Mint
- 2x packets of seeds of Succulents
- 1x packet of seeds of Colocynth
- 3x packets of seeds of Tomatoes
- 4x plant pots
- 1x pack of compost
Cecilio took the rest of the skittles and slid them aside for after his meal. "I'm sure they're fine, Dex. At worst they come to blows and use their fists. I'm speaking from some experience when I say women fighting is like dogs going at it. The bark is worse than the bite, and at worst I'm thinking we'd see some pulled hair and busted lips." He tried to assure Dex things would be fine. When he noticed the element stopped heating the food he took it out of the bag and opened it. The smell of jambalaya filled the air and he grabbed the plastic fork included with the MRE.
Not at all comforted by the dogfighting analogy, Dex crossed his arms across the tabletop again and rested his chin on his fist, appetite gone though he'd hardly eaten anything all day. It was strange to think how their routine had been so violently skewed.
"Dex, if you need to sleep then sleep. I can handle the watch and believe me I've gone without sleep for quite a while so I can stay up if need be." He said not wanting his friend to bust himself up over this. "Plus I've been thinking of something and I need to discuss it with you." He said mixing the food and looking to Dex.
"No, no. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried. Besides… I was drunk enough to get a few hours last night even after all the bullshit. I don't think Evie slept at all, so she's probably not in a good way right now." With a resolute sigh, he picked himself up off the table. "Can you eat and walk at the same time? They've got a decent head start on us so if we're gonna catch up we should probably go now."
Cecilio nodded and got the packet of food, stashing what he could in his pockets. "Yeah. Let's go. Hopefully they're fine. You wanna carry the shotgun?" He asked Dex, having his hands and holsters full at the moment. He understood the man's concern, knowing that high tension and no sleep didn't exactly make a person in the best mood to deal with anything.
"Yeah, I'm a gun down anyway." Dexter replied. He didn't want to resort to using a gun, period, especially not the Deagle. That thing was too loud and too powerful. But if he needed it he'd rather have it than not. So he took the gun when offered, turning it over in his hands to inspect it as he walked towards the front door. Hero lifted his head from the bottle he'd been noisily chewing, but Dex shook his head at the dog and gave him the command to stay. It was too risky to take him out at night, when he didn't need to go. Especially with the other group around. "Ready?"
Cecilio quickly shoved a fork full of food into his mouth and ate it before he grabbed his revolver out of it's holster. "I'll come back for that when I go out for patrol." He said as he opened the cylinder and closed it again to make sure it was loaded. "So long as we don't have any trouble tonight I think the morning should be fine. Plus it couldn't hurt to have friends around here." He added, knowing it would take some edge off for them. "Maybe I can go fishing tomorrow…" He murmured.
Without replying, Dex shoved the door open and stepped out into the crisp night air. Even being in the south, late September had started to cool the area down. Out in the midday sun, it was still muggy and miserable, but at night, once the sun had gone down, it was comfortable - pleasant, even. "Do you know which direction they were going?"
"Couldn't think of it but we patrol the perimeter and we're bound to run into them. Unless you'd want Ringo to track them, but even then that hound's more than likely to get loused up from smelling infected in the distance." He suggested and warned at the same time. "So, if they are fighting when we get to them, how do you want to handle it?" He asked, knowing finding them in the midst of a brawl was possible.
"I'd like to hope they're both adult enough to avoid an unnecessary altercation."
"So we hope." He added as he kept his eyes focused off in the distance, feeling paranoid when he was out in the open. "I know I should have just asked you to replace Ave…" He said, knowing if Evie and Ave went at it that it was his fault or, rather, it felt like it. "See them?" He asked Dex as his own focus was elsewhere at the moment.
"They could be anywhere." Dexter shrugged. "They might not even be together." He said the last part with more of a hopeful tone than an expectant one. The pair of them continued forward, walking for several minutes in silence broken only by the vast insect life Louisiana harbored. Finally, Dex glanced over at his companion. "You think we'll end up having to kick her out?" He was, of course, speaking about Aveline. "If we can't trust her to be on her own she's more of a liability than anything."
"I was thinking more along the lines of we'd have to kill her." Cecilio spoke being a bit dark about the subject. "She knows where we are. How many we number and our armaments. She gets captured along the line or anything like that, there are heavy chances she'd sing to save her own skin." He said thinking of the worst case scenario. "But that's me bracing myself for it. Won't be the first time I've executed someone and I know it won't be the last."
Dexter grunted in reply, unable to formulate a response that wouldn't sound inadequate. They walked another half mile or so before he held up a hand for Cecilio to stop, kneeling where they'd paused. "Look." There was a very defined footprint sunken into a marshy patch of the trail. Standing, he swept the area with his eyes but still saw nothing. "It looks fresh. If anything, we're getting close. And I don't hear any screaming, so…" He hesitated for a moment before letting his voice carry out into the trees. "Evie?"
Cecilio listened for voices or replies as Dex called out, kneeling as well with his rifle now cradled in his arms. He surveyed the area around them keeping lookout for the moment as Dex made his attempts at contact. It did worry him a little if Evie would have shot Ave knowing if that didn't kill her he'd probably suggest euthanasia given it'd be a heavy drain on medical supplies that they would probably need down the line.
"You know you really are fucking insufferable..." Evie growled, fingers twitching, wanting nothing more than to release the arrow and end the mess once and for all. "And my name isn't fucking ANNIE!" she shouted. Loosing the arrow, the projectile whistled and screamed as it sliced through the air. The shrill sound met a sudden stop with a fleshy thud... the only sound after a body dropping to the floor. Behind Aveline laid the corpse of an infected male, face covered in blood as a snapped arrow protruded from its eye. Evie's chest heaved from the adrenaline. Her eyes fixed with Aveline, ready to load another arrow to find its true mark should she need to.
When a minute or so passed with no reply, he waved Cecilio forward and the two pressed on. "Whoever left that can't be too terribly far ahead." He said. Dex was by no means an expert tracker, and didn't exactly make a habit of inspecting shoes, so he couldn't tell whether it was Evie's or Aveline's footprint, but as long as he had one of them in eyesight, he'd be reassured at least a little bit. After another five minutes of walking, he was ready to call out again when the barest echoes of a female voice rang out. "Did you hear that?" He asked, trying his best to pinpoint the direction from whence it came, or hoping that whoever had spoken would do so again.
Moving forward in a random direction, Dex made sure the shotgun was ready to fire, holding it at the ready as he pushed his way through the foliage. When the wildlife noises suddenly ceased, he knew they were going the right way, and only another moment or so later, the men emerged into a tiny clearing in the trees, the scene before them a confusing one.
Aveline lay sprawled on the ground, a dead infected not far behind her with an arrow the obvious deathbringer. Evie stood a few yards away, visibly upset. "Hey." He said cautiously, gaze sliding from one woman to the other as he let the barrel of the shutgun swing down to point at the ground rather than chest-level as it had been. "Everything okay here..?" With the absence of the infected, this would have been a very different scene, but to him it looked like Evie had saved Aveline. Though both of them looked a little ruffled. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, though, he waited for someone to speak.
INVENTORY (DEXTER) ------------------------- On Person Items: 3
Glock G29 (15 in clip) [left with Riley's group]
Hunting Knife, with Sheath [on right hip]
.50 Cal Desert Eagle (15 in clip) [on left hip]
Cecilio's Shotgun [holding]
Backpack Items: 6
Box of 35 rounds for Deagle
Box of 50 rounds for G29
Minor First Aid Kit
Small LED Flashlight
Dogtags
Letter from his Father
Cecilio was quick to follow after Dex his rifle raised as support to his shotgun though when he saw the scene before him he did take a more immediate concern about the infected. "Neither of you got chomped did you?" He questioned giving the infected a firm kick with his boot to make sure Evie's arrow had done its work. He knew he didn't have to ask given both women were more than able to fend for themselves. He placed his rifles strap over his shoulder and swapped out for his revolver. His eyes scanned the area to make sure the infected was entirely alone though if there were more they'd probably need Evie to take them out. He looked back not sure if Ave and Evie had fought or if an infected disturbed them but either way he felt it'd be best to take over being lookout for the time being either with Dex or by himslf to give Evie and Ave a break.
Evie brought his hand to her lips, wiping a bit of blood from where it had bust slightly against the back of her hand. As the adrenaline started to calm down slightly, the pain from all of the blows started to throb. Her eye felt as if it was ballooning and she was pretty certain that her jaw was ready to fall off. She looked over to Dex, face slightly covered by errant locks of hair which had become dishevelled in the scuffle.
"I'm fine," she said, bluntly. Her chest was still heaving and her words barely intelligible from the shaking.
Aveline closed her eyes, not bothering to block the arrow and only waited for the pain to come. To her surprise, the arrow whistled past her and she heard a thud. Aveline gave an agitated look to the redhead, numerous questions coming to her: why she would spare her life? What is wrong with her? It would've been so easy.
Aveline didn't bother looking away from Evie when Dex and Cecilio made their way to them, not even bothering to answer when asked if they were okay. Her muscles ached, her breathing beginning to steady, she felt so hungry. She finally turned her gaze somewhere else. "Keeping watch." She grumbled.
--
ON PERSON:
- Navy blue cardigan
- Jeans
- Dirtied sneakers
- (Removed) Metal bat (weapon)
IN PACK:
- Corey's stuffed animal
- Picture of Aveline and Corey
- 2x Bottle water
- Canned fruit Eaten
- 2x canned beans
- (Recently collected) Small pistol
- (Recently collected) 12x pistol rounds
- Dark green coat
- Small paperback "Survival for the Weak" book
SOMEWHERE (idfk)
- 1x set of gardening tools
- 1x pair of pink gardening gloves
- 2x packets of seeds of Aloe Vera
- 1x packet of seeds of Black Mustard
- 3x packets of seeds of Sweet Mint
- 2x packets of seeds of Succulents
- 1x packet of seeds of Colocynth
- 3x packets of seeds of Tomatoes
- 4x plant pots
- 1x pack of compost
"You don't look fine." He replied, though his eyes were hard on Aveline, as though somehow trying to pin the blame on her for Evie's condition. Despite the fact that she was lying in the dirt and Evie was standing back, armed, he couldn't get it out of his head that Aveline was responsible. Because she was a stranger. An outsider. An ungrateful, spiteful person that he didn't figure he'd ever be able to trust at his back. And Evie, well... Evie was his shelter in the storm.
"Let's get back to base." He said quietly, moving to Evie's side and putting a hand at the small of her back. "I think we could all use some..." He took a breath, struggling for the right word for a moment before letting it out. "Decompression."
It was risky not to have a patrol out on tonight of all nights... but it would be even riskier for them to go into the meeting tomorrow morning stressed and exhausted out of their minds. He met Cecilio's gaze, inclining his head at Aveline who had yet to pick herself up off the ground.
INVENTORY (DEXTER) ------------------------- On Person Items: 3
Glock G29 (15 in clip) [left with Riley's group]
Hunting Knife, with Sheath [on right hip]
.50 Cal Desert Eagle (15 in clip) [on left hip]
Cecilio's Shotgun [holding]
Backpack Items: 6
Box of 35 rounds for Deagle
Box of 50 rounds for G29
Minor First Aid Kit
Small LED Flashlight
Dogtags
Letter from his Father
Cecilio was silent as he thought for a moment before he looked to Dex "I'm taking patrol out here. By myself." He emphasized not caring if it was risky or not. From what he saw is that Evie and Ave could not be left alone together otherwise they'd start fighting. "Get them back to the house and use my bag. For Evie get peroxide, ibuprofen, and cold compress and for Ave...I'm not sure, the same if she's just as bad. At the risk of sounding like an asshole could everyone get back to the house please?" He said just deciding a lone patrol would be much easier at this point and it wasn't like he hadn't done this before. He holstered his revolver and offered Ave his hand to help her up given she still sat on the ground. It'd also give him a brief chance to assess her and correct what he told Dex she needed.
Evie felt the warmth of Dex's hand against her back, her whole body flinching at the sensation as a sharp gasp escaped her lips. Her eyes wandered over to his momentarily, a look of regret and apology in them. However, the look didn't last long before she scowled back at Aveline. "You should probably say thank you at some point," she spat, before turning away, heading back to HQ.
Aveline stood, straightened herself and any dirt or twigs that stuck to her. She felt they gave her no choice but to go back to the main camp, even though she was practically exhausted and hungry she still wanted to continue to be on patrol. She enjoyed being isolated, but she knew better than to go against her body's wishes and have another episode of passing out.
Aveline's eyes rolled at Evie. She could've said "thank you." She COULD'VE, but she wasn't and began back to the camp. For the remainder of the night: she kept silent, found a blanket (she didn't know who's) and used it to keep the cold off her as she either wandered false shadows or slept for a couple hours only wake up every once in awhile.
ON PERSON: - Navy blue cardigan
- Jeans
- Dirtied sneakers
- (Removed) Metal bat (weapon)
IN PACK:
- Corey's stuffed animal
- Picture of Aveline and Corey
- 2x Bottle water
- Canned fruit Eaten
- 2x canned beans
- (Recently collected) Small pistol
- (Recently collected) 12x pistol rounds
- Dark green coat
- Small paperback "Survival for the Weak" book
SOMEWHERE (idfk)
- 1x set of gardening tools
- 1x pair of pink gardening gloves
- 2x packets of seeds of Aloe Vera
- 1x packet of seeds of Black Mustard
- 3x packets of seeds of Sweet Mint
- 2x packets of seeds of Succulents
- 1x packet of seeds of Colocynth
- 3x packets of seeds of Tomatoes
- 4x plant pots
- 1x pack of compost
[fieldbox="Dexter | Ballamory HQ | 19 September 2026 - Early Morning, darkorange, solid"]
Giving Cecilio a look of utter helplessness, Dex turned and followed the two women, though in all honesty, he'd rather have been out on patrol as well than in the middle of... whatever this was. But someone needed to keep an eye on it, and he was up to the task, albeit reluctantly. The three of them made their way back to Ballamory without incident, and once inside, he sank into the couch with the shotgun beside him, staring at the front door.
For the rest of the night, he flickered in and out of sleep, waking every ten or fifteen minutes while Aveline walked the shadowy house wrapped in a blanket like some sort of vengeful specter. Hero was curled nearby, watching her pace with expressive brown eyes. Even though it wasn't nearly as good as an actual full night's rest, or even a couple hours uninterrupted, he was used to it enough that by the time the sky started streaking with pinks and golds, his mind was clear and alert, and he was ready for the meeting, along with whatever else the day threw at him.
INVENTORY (DEXTER) ------------------------- On Person Items: 3
Glock G29 (15 in clip) [left with Riley's group]
Hunting Knife, with Sheath [on right hip]
.50 Cal Desert Eagle (15 in clip) [on left hip]
Cecilio's Shotgun [holding]
Backpack Items: 6
Box of 35 rounds for Deagle
Box of 50 rounds for G29
Minor First Aid Kit
Small LED Flashlight
Dogtags
Letter from his Father
[fieldbox="Wesley | North of Ballamory | 19 September 2026 - Early Morning, lawngreen, solid"]
Even despite the day's events and tomorrow's not-so-promising plans, Wes had no problem falling asleep as soon as they got back to camp. When he woke up for his watch a few hours before dawn, he rolled his sleeping bag back up and leaned against a tree, fiddling with his gun as he mentally steeled himself for the day to come. The conversation with Ryan last night had emboldened him even if just a little... he had a purpose now, something to strive towards, and he wasn't going to let his group down. If it came down to a firefight - and he hoped it didn't - he'd be ready.
Checking his watch, Wes stood, stretching, and walked around camp, nudging everyone gently awake. "Nearly sunrise, guys!" He called, perhaps a bit more cheery than he really should have been. "Time to get up."
INVENTORY (WESLEY) ------------------------- On Person Items: 6
Beretta Model 92 (17 in clip, 32 boxed)
Bowie Knife, with Sheath
Small Swiss Army Knife
Battery Operated MP3 Player & Earbuds
Backpack Items: 4 Sleeping Bag
Veterinary Procedures & Emergency Treatment (book)
Pack of 12 AA Batteries
Complete Field Surgical & Suture Kit
Otto Williams
Interaction: none
Mention: Dex and Hero
- Otto had woken a few hours before the sun had began to rise in the east, he had laid in his room and tried to fall asleep again but it proved to be no use. He had turned his mind inwards to thoughts of the past but that had brought only sadness so he made his way into the hallways of the home, he was in the kitchen in a blur as to how he got from the upstairs to there in such a short time and without getting Dex's attention. Hero looked at him and wagged his tail a bit before going back to sleep. Otto found one of the MREs and worked on fixing food for himself, luckily there was both a coffee and hot chocolate drink packs inside which would let him make some army mocha by mixing the two together. He didn't have a heat source so it would have to be room temperature but this was fine with him as he mixed the two in his canteen.
-
He sat and slowly sipped the beverage until the sun started to provide enough light to let him see the room around him in finer detail which allowed him to go up and grab his rifle from his room along with his pistol and the cleaning kit he carried around in his pack. He sat at the table and slowly took the weapons apart to check each piece while also giving them a spray of oil because he knew that today might be another day where he needed to turn his weapons on fellow living people and while he would rather avoid conflict he wouldn't allow a dirty gun to stop him if and when the rubber meets the road.
Cecilio wasn't surprised at all when Ave helped herself up and brushed him off like nothing before heading back. He looked to Dex apologetically not wanting to wish such a responsibility onto him but there wasn't much else he could do as he wanted the man to get some rest. He quickly took over the patrol checking the surrounding area for any unwelcome guests or infected. For the most part the patrol was uneventful as Cecilio roamed the usual path and just looked for anything of interest. When the darkness began to replace the light he pulled back moving closer to the HQ knowing better to be far out and alone at night with everyone resting. He holstered his pistol for now knowing there wasn't going to be any trouble at least for tonight.
He couldn't exactly guess the time but he figured it was rather late and he just bided his time to take the stimulant he had in his pocket knowing it'd keep him awake for a long period of time. If he had a complaint it was probably the cold even with warm clothes under the riot suit it was still quite a nippy chill in the air. He shoved his hands in his pockets and felt something cold and a small box before removing them and seeing his old lighter a small packet of cigarettes. He opened the small box with a sighed as he eyed the three cigarettes before taking one and holding it in a cupped hand gently gripping the butt to protect it as he lit it.
He thought back to the last time he even smoked and recalled it wasn't to long after he got 'conscripted' into the military nearly a year ago. They had some luxuries and given it was stressful he figured to buy some thinking they'd be worth something. He chuckled feeling stupid about that before he put the cigarette butt between his lips and took a small drag letting out a puff of smoke and coughing lightly needing to get familiar with smoking again feeling the slight burning sensation in his lungs. He noted the taste was quite harsh from the last time he had one but he figured that was from the amount of time that passed from when he even bothered to have one which was right after his sister died. He managed to get halfway before he snuffed out the cigarette and put it back in the box knowing he'd have to make it last.
When the sky began to turn from twilight to dawn he got his canteen and downed the pill with water deciding it'd be best if he stayed awake for as long as he could for the meeting. He made a mental note to get another pill and take it as well when this one wore off. He stared off into the distance still scanning from time to time just waiting for their 'guests' to arrive. He felt he wouldn't need his guns though he knew it was better to be safe than sorry as he got his rifle and cradled it pointing the barrel at the ground the bayonet also ready just in case things got too close for comfort.
