The Banished: Mutations

[QUEENIE]

ADIA LYNN

​

A scream pierced the cool September air. The night had fallen on the small town and survivors were sleeping soundly in their beds, as if the scream did not affect them. Guards along the town's limits turned on all four watch tower lights and searched the surrounding woods for the girl the scream originated from. There was little to no sign of her. Where had the noise come from? All of the town's people knew not to venture into the woods without proper supervision and special training. Why would someone venture out at night? Sure the mutant crisis was over, but one could never be too safe in a world like this.
Guards crunched tiny twigs and forest floor debris under their boot with each step they took, hands held large swords and few guns that were left after the battle with the colossus. Mist rolled along the forest floor, the light of the moon illuminated the forest causing it to appear more eerie than normal. A guard by the name of Eddie was south of the town with a tall girl called Adia. She was the girl who lived in the wild for her whole life, whose brother died in battle, whose father tried to kill her so she killed him, she was the girl who gained everything and then lost it all within a year. She was strong, but she was broken.
Adia walked with much grace as she walked through the woods, pushing low hang branches and bushes aside from the her path. Her double glaive weapon were in their carriers on her back. The glaive split into two when needed, yet stayed strong together. Having gained this weapon from a dear friend and who she thought was her real father, Beady, she cherished it with her whole being. Those glaives were what kept her grounded, that and the few friends she seemed to have made in the last two years. Long through the mist, Adia could hear Eddie talking to her about going hiking with him sometime.
"Sorry Eddie, I've got a busy schedule." She said, politely turning him down. It was true, she was busy, but Eddie just wasn't someone she found interesting. He was basic. A solider who woke up, readied himself, did patrol, ate breakfast, back on patrol, checked security barriers, patrol, etc. then he would repeat the next day. He was too predictable. Their life styles would have clashed.
Eddie was about to make an excuse of why she could still go with him, but Adia covered his mouth with her hand. She needed the silence to hear whatever was coming their way. Being deaf in one ear wasn't favorable when in danger, especially being paired with a chatter box like Eddie. Eddie's eyes widened as he looked at her.
"Quite." She murmured, as she let go of him. Looking around, Adia had this sense that they were in serious danger. Focusing as best she could, Adia looked off into the distance north of her. The moonlight proved just enough illumination as the fog cleared to spot a figure in the distance. He was larger than any human Adia knew. As the fog cleared more, Adia saw him for what he truly was. A mutant. He was looking at her, but not. Was he blind? Maybe.
Adia was about to turn and tell Eddie to stay still, but it was too late he stepped back causing a twig to snap loudly. Adia's fist balled and looked back at the mutant all at once. He saw them for sure now. Roaring and beginning to charge, Adia turned to Eddie.
"Run!" She exclaimed as she took off towards south, further from the town.
Eddie bolted off towards the east.
Taking two daggers from their holders on her pant legs, she started to cling them together making sure to get the mutants attention. She wasn't going to take it on, but she did know of a cliff not too far from here. She'd just have to run as fast as she could.
Tall, dark, and mutated charged through old oaks and tall pines causing them to fall and some to send splinters flying through the air. Whatever this thing was, it knew how to cause destruction.
Adia huffed in air as she picked up her pace a little. She needed to just make it maybe fifty more yards. Noticing a fallen tree blocking the path, she quickly assessed the situation and noticed an opening below it. It was going to be a tight squeeze, but she was going for it. If she didn't, she'd die. Coming up to it at top speed, she slammed her body towards the ground and slid. The ground was moist thanks to the low cloud cover.
Getting up and darting off again, this time with a smaller gap between her and the big guy, Adia could feel the scrapes and cuts along her left arm. She was only thirty yards out. Just a little bit further.
Push yourself, Adia.
Twenty five yards
I can see the cliff.
Twelve yards.
Not much longer.
Six yards.
As she crossed six yards, she slowed greatly, allowing for the beast to almost catch up to her. Dipping to the right, she took off. Big things weren't good at sharp turns. However, it did make the turn, but a second too late. It was at the edge and the inertia, from the fast pace sprint forward to the cliff, sent the beast tumbling over the edge.
Adia could hear the thing plunge down the cliff's edging and smack at the bottom. Standing still for a small moment, Adia breathed heavily trying to catch her breathe. She could feel her lungs begin to burn from the cool air.
Her break didn't last long, because she soon heard the faint rumple and loud sound of buildings breaking…

​

Adia shot up from her nightmare of a memory. She lad in a sleeping bag on the dirt, inside a shitty tent that leaked on occasions. But who was she to complain? She has slept outside in rain storms before, so this was a step up from roughing it in the trees.
Looking around the damp tent, she saw a small ray of morning light peaking in. It was still early, but she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again. Once she was awake there was no going back to sleep until her body gave out again.
Adia hadn't told anyone what was going on with her, she didn't feel like someone doubting her ability to perform her duties or fight against a mutant. She had resented people for less, and in a predicament like this she couldn't be making enemies.
Crawling out of the tent, Adia stood up and looked around her. Noticing the fire was out, but yet still gave off heat, she walked towards the pile of ash. Bending down next to it, she hoovered her hand over the shoot. It was still warm. Someone hadn't gone to bed that long ago. But who? Probably one of the night guards, Adia figured.
Standing she brushed the sides of her hands off on her pants. Sure there was no ash on them, but it was force of habit.
Returning to her tent, Adia reached in and took out her satchel. It was separate from her bag, and she had it much longer. It was small, but carried what she needed for small scavenges or hunts. Putting the strap over her shoulder, and head, Adia grabbed her glaive and headed off westward from the camp.
She didn't remember who said it, but someone didn't want anyone wandering off from the group. Good thing she wasn't.
Going to a tree about twenty seven yards out, Adia looked up through the branches. It was sturdy. Grabbing hold of the branch, she began to climb until she reached the top. Adia sat on the thickest branch there was and looked out. Taking the water bottle from her satchel, she starred out at the sun rise.
This world, this forest, was beyond beautiful, but so tainted with mutations from Earth's mistakes. Adia chuckled a little bit and shook her head. It was funny how the universe went full circle. The earth began covered in forestation and ended in forestation.
The circle of life was real.
Watching as the sun rose in the east, Adia looked at the oranges, yellows, and faint blues filling the sky. She looked down. Pulling the dog tags out from beneath her shirt, she starred at the name.
Jocelyn McBeth - S.S.
The S.S stood for senior scavenger.
Jocelyn was Adia's first friend, and best friend. Key word, was. Jocelyn died in the fight against the Colossus almost ten months before today. Adia was there by her side. If only they were able to take down the king of mutants two minutes sooner, and Jocelyn would have still been alive. Maybe.
Jocelyn was impaled through her abdomen by debris that escaped from the Colossus as a last defense maneuver. She bled out minutes later.
A warm tear rolled down Adia's cheek as she stared at the dog tags. It had been hard without Jocelyn. The unit was family, but Adia never talked to them like she talked with Jocelyn.
She missed her.
Removing a granola bar from her bag, she opened it and pulled off a small square. Popping it in her mouth, she began to chew as she shifted and started back down the tree.
Once her feet hit the ground, Adia heard the forest floor be crunched under a heavy foot. Her eyes darted as far left as they could. Something moved in the distance.
Turning around, Adia felt the beat of her heart quicken, but soon calmed itself.
It was a deer. One of the few that was left untouched by nature's way of exterminating.
Adia smiled and slowly walked towards it, hands up in order to show she meant no harm.
The deer realized that and allowed Adia to come close to it.
With all the mutants out there in the world, Adia wasn't surprised that the deer saw her as no threat. She wasn't big and bad…or ugly.
Adia chuckled a little as she moved close enough to touch the deer. "All alone out here, huh?" She asked knowing that she lacked the ability to communicate with animals; however, she could just tell that the deer was in fear of the world, and he should be.
A roar came from the south. It was strong, bold, and full of anger. Something big was moving this way. It startled the deer and caused one of his horns to hit Adia's forehead causing her to bleed.
"Shit." She muttered as the deer scurried off into the woods. Holding her hand up to the cut, the tips of her fingers were soaked in blood.
The wound would recurring stitching.
She sighed and looked to the south. Where did that roar come from? What did it come from?
Within the past few months, the old race of mutants died out and new ones arose; more vicious than ever, and they didn't appear like before. They didn't allow groups of surviving humans to know of their individual species existence until they wanted to.
They were smart.
No one person would know what all species of mutant there were. Not even in a span of a month.
Part of Adia wanted to go and investigate the roar, but she knew all too well that if she did, alone, she wasn't going to be coming back whole. So she turned and went back to camp.
They needed to move.

​

Entering camp, Adia began to make a round.
"WAKE UP!" She yelled out. If there was one person who didn't hear the roar in the distance and woke up, they did now.
A boy by the name of Rylie crawled out from his tent. "What's going on, Adia?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes. But before Adia could say anything, the roar of the mutant came again. This time closer.
The group would need to move and move now!
Adia, after looking in the direction of the mutant's menacing roar, she glanced at Rylie and said, "That's what's going on. Everyone up. We are moving out yesterday!" She couldn't stress the importance of leaving sooner than later.
Adia walked to her single tent, and brought it down quickly. There was no time to waste. She put it into her carrier and attached it to her backpack, along with her sleeping bag. Adia never fully unpacked because she knew home wasn't ever going to be found unless mutants weren't roaming the earth.

 

[QUEENIE]

RYLIE GARRISON

​

Blind. That was what Rylie should have been. Since the day of his birth, Rylie Garrison had no vision of what the world looked like and then the Colossus fell. Everything change. First it was an occasional glimpse of colors, then it was shapes, then both. Slowly Rylie received his eyesight. At first, Rylie thought it was because his body final found it time to fix his eyes, but two seconds into that thought and he realized how ridiculous it sounded. Little to his knowledge he would find out soon why he could know see. ​

†​

Rylie was barely awake when the yell of his teammate, Adia, came through the thin thermal styled tent. What was going on? Rylie dug himself out of his sleeping bag and unzipped the doorway to the outside. Standing to his feet, the man in a forest green shirt looked at Adia as he rubbed his eyes. He questioned her, but before he could receive an answer in English he received one in mutant. A thunderous bellow from the south of him.
"What the hell was that?" He mumbled. As Rylie starred off into the direction of the mutant's yells, Rylie's vision began to become fuzzy.
Oh no, not again.
For quite some time if Rylie focused too hard his vision would become a blurry mess and leave him in a daze for minutes at a time; however, this time was different, his eyes kept getting blurry to the point things melded together. Rylie closed his eyes trying to regain a clear picture of the world.
Come on not now. Not at a time like this!
Rylie's fist clenched as he opened his eyes. What Rylie saw next was unbelievable.
The world was in a black and white setting Rylie looked around at the unit. They were colors, but not ordinary skin colors. Their whole bodies were oranges, yellows, and reds. All signs of warmth.
I have thermal vision...cool.
Seeming so absorbed in his own world, Rylie had forgotten about the immediate threat. The mutant. Glancing around him, Rylie came back to the area in which the mutants menacing yell originated from and it sent Rylie into a panic. A large prehistoric looking bat like mutant was stalking through the woods in the unit's direction. Rylie looked at it for a second and realized, most of it's colors were cool. Different color blues and purples. The mutant was cold blooded and lacked a thermal core.
Rylie realized he needed to get this tent and gear packed quickly, but it would give him a headache to do so with thermal vision. So he closed his eyes and focused. Maybe if focusing got him into this mess, focusing could get him out.
Rylie opened his eyes. Nothing. The world was still in black and white and thermal.
He started to have a panic attack.
Oh god, what if I'm stuck like this? I can't be stuck like this. I'm stuck like this aren't I?
There wasn't time to panic and he knew that, but it was just so frightening to think that he was stuck seeing the world like this.
Closing his eyes again, Rylie focused harder this time on seeing clearly. This time when he opened his eyes the world was normal again...well as normal as it ever was going to be.
Rylie scurried to get packed. Breaking down a tent and packing a bag was something that he was use to. Pull this pin, wrap this string, break this down, fold here and there, etc., it was an easy job, but doing it under pressure was a bit tougher. It became, pull this pin frantically, pick pin up, forget the string just stuff it here, slam this apart, take all parts that will break and put them in bag, ball tent up as best as you can, stuff in carrier, etc. Rylie would surely regret that later.
All the time Rylie saved by put his tent away, like an idiot, he now was able to put his sleep bag away properly. Folding it then rolling it, Rylie got it put away under a minute. Just in time really, because most of the other's were ready to go. Adia was already leaving camp with Luka.
Rylie put his gear on and headed out.


​

 

[QUEENIE]

LUKA DEMARCO

Beg me for mercy and I'll slay you. Beg me for death and I'll let you walk free.
Luka wasn't always such a jack ass, in fact he was probably the sweetest guy you would ever meet. His girlfriend never went without knowing she was loved; his family never thought that they were unappreciated; his friends knew they could count on him, and then it all changed.
Luka had one job to complete and that was secure the borders of the village, but even he couldn't preform at such a satisfactory level that would prevent the death of two hundred people. No one could. Among those two hundred were his girlfriend, mother, brother, sister, and three best friends. Luka lost it all, so he left. He wanted a fresh start, but fresh starts don't come easy in this world.
Luka DeMarco was a sweet, caring, innocent loving, chivalrous guy, but losing it all turned him into a dark sarcastic ass hole. With his new found attitude and hardened shell, Luka began to be a friend of death. Doing what other's could not. Killing those who were going to mutate. Even when a girl begged for her life to be spared saying she could fight the disease, Luka did her the favor and cut her off and cut her head off.
Do what you must for the sake of the unit.
He was done making mistakes and letting people off easy, even if he had to play death himself.
For some reason, being a executor made Luka realize those who begged for their lives deserved not to live and those who wished death upon themselves deserved to live more than anyone. So he began to choose based on that observation. Those who did wish for him to slay them with the sharp blade of his sword would not mutant; however, Luka found this out by taking these individuals to a cabin located far out into the woods. Those individuals lived there for quite sometime, until death found its way to them.
Luka wouldn't tell anyone that fact because he needed to keep his barrier up between him and the others.
He had a job and he was going to do it.
He met the group about two months before taking down the Colossus. He liked them, for the most part. Adia was cool in his mind; Jocelyn was an exceptional leader before she died; Joshua was a pain in the ass before his death; Aaron was okay before he went missing; Vann was a pain too, but Luka respected him. Everyone else, he just didn't talk to yet. Luka wasn't one to vocalize himself much until surveying someone and then talking.
It had been almost a year since he met everyone in the unit visually though not verbally. Not everyone could be trusted. ​

⊗​

Luka had already been up for most of the night, he couldn't sleep. He sat as still as a statue in a tree that over looked the camp grounds. He worked patrols better from high ground and this was as high as he could get. As dawn came, scavengers began to wake from their coveted slumbers, each in some sort of panic. Yes, Luka heard the growing yells of a mutant nearing their location, but did he care? No. This was their world, they'd have to adjust sometime.
Mutant's were now the superior species, and humans were a dying breed. The only reason why Luka hadn't committed suicide is because he'd rather die fighting a mutant than hanging from a tree.
Sliding off the branches edge, Luka plummeted to the ground. He grabbed his few belongings and walked to Adia, who was preparing to leave the camp.
"I say we go north towards Shadow Creek. There's a few places we can scavenge for supplies." He mentioned to her.
Adia was a tall woman, with long hair that was as dark as the damp forest floor, her eyes were filled with sadness and lacked color except for those days where that idiot Maverick seemed to make her happy. No one talked about their abilities, but Luka knew that hers had something to do with sight. And he wasn't talking about seeing through things, no Adia could see things that no one else could.
"Good, we'll go there to restock. Stay over night in one of the warehouses. Then move on." She said to him. "Mutant's abuse inhabited towns. It's easy prey for them." She added as she continued her walk out of camp.
Luka followed by her side and then Rylie came. It wasn't that Luka hated Rylie, but Luka hated Rylie. He saw too much of his old self in the boy. Too willing to do good, that he neglects that sometimes you have to do something bad for the sake of others. Though Luka did admire that the kid had guts.
Shifting the straps of his backpack, Luka continued to walked in silence.



​

 

[Princess Rose]

Bellatrix Wells
Trix grew up outside of any human habitation compounds with her family group, well for her there really is no better description for her family. She was never really known for her kindness persay but more for her ability to get others moving when there was danger. Her family was slaughtered by a group of clappers, that really had been fun getting that scar trying to pull one of them to safety. When Trix was young she was a sweet loving girl but something changed within her once puberty had finally set in she understood the mortality she faced. It seemed almost a year ago when she gained her ability to breath under the water but in reality it was months ago. Her and the spikes were on somewhat of a truce.
Trix knew if she turned mutant that was what she would be. She was alert well before most of the others were. She had her sleeping bag already rolled up and in her pack with a fresh fill of water in it. She was sucking some of it when Aida yelled to everyone to get up, She slipped the straps of her back pack on and hopped out of the tree. "I know Shadow Creek like the back of my hand. I know where to go and what spots to avoid. I had some stashes there a couple years ago that we can pick up." She looked towards Luca and Rylie before starting again, "It would defiantly be a fabulous idea to get going soon, because that sound is way to close for comfort." She was starting to feel her skin itch so she took in some water from her camel back, that was her nervous habit drinking water because her skin would start to dry if she felt to anxious. She looked towards where she knew the water would be.​

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Ryan Mach

Ryan learned early on from his Grandfather Ken the value of a good night's sleep. "It's Nature's reward of telling you that you earned the right to enjoy the rest of the just. You made a difference and lived to see another day through. Can't ask for much more than that my boy." In this case not only did it provide Ryan with the opportunity to rest, but it was during these times that Ryan felt the presence of his Grandfather Ken. It was almost like he was right there with him and they would have conversations. Although lately it felt like that presence was becoming more distant from Ryan.

As Ryan slept he "saw" his Grandfather Ken and usually he was wearing brown jacket, navy blue shirt, and brown jeans. This time though he wore a backpack like Ryan wore and a pair of combat fatigues. What was most striking was Ken wasn't wearing the dark glasses that he always wore. Ryan saw that he had eyes just like his Grandfather. This was the first time he ever saw his Grandfather's eyes.

Ryan sat next to him by a stream and asked, "What's going on Granddad?"

Ken replied, "It's time for me to move on kid. This will be the last time you see me."

Ryan started to speak, "But I still have..."

Ken interrupted and said sternly, "You need to let me go Ryan! Time for you to make your own mark as one of the leaders in this group, and that ain't gonna happen with you reaching out and pining after me all the time!"

Ryan knew he was right and with pain in his voice he asked, "Will I ever see you again?"

Ken looked at him and smiled. He said, "I hope not too soon. I've taught you everything I can Ryan and you're putting it to good use. I know at times I was a real son of a bitch to you, and I wish I could say that it was to make you tougher and all that crap. Truth is, I wasn't ready to raise another child and I was still bitter about the way I was cast out." Ken put his hand on Ryan's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry about that Ryan. You're a good soldier, and an even better person. I know for a fact that your parents are very proud of you, because I am"

Ryan was trying very hard not to cry as Ken embraced him. Ken said, "I love you Ryan. Don't ever doubt that."

Ryan felt a tear roll down his cheek as he said, "I love you too Granddad."

The two broke their embrace and Ken started to walk away while being slowly enveloped by a gathering fog.

Ryan was feeling a sense of peace, but that peace was quickly broken with Adia screaming that they had to go. Ryan made sure that he wasn't showing any signs of emotional distress having said "Goodbye" for what felt like the last time to his Grandfather as he sat up in his sleeping bag.

Ryan quickly folded up his sleeping bag and looked over to see everyone else getting ready. Ryan had practiced getting ready at a moment's so many times he could do it with his eyes shut.

Ryan stood up with his back pack on his back and his melee weapon already out. He looked over in the direction of Gail to make sure she was moving too. Ryan knew she was but he just needed to see her. She was the one thing in this world that made him still believe in God. Ryan was convinced that God was the only one who could've made Gail for him.

Ryan caught up with the group that was already moving forward. He said, "Say the word and I'll scout up ahead."

Ryan's enhanced speed had proven to be useful on more than one occasion, and surprisingly it didn't affect his diabetes. Although each time he used it there was that twinge of guilt. When he wasn't fast enough to save the others. Ryan vowed that would never happen again.​

​

Interaction: @Gorgeous♠Chaos
Mention: @Ritual Lobotomy​

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Vann Carson & Maverick Colt

After a solid hundred, more or less, Maverick finally lost count of how many times had Vann repeated the careful but swift slide of the sharpening rock over the blade of his old faithful machete. However, for a change, the repetitive sound didn't bother him, even though he was deep in his thoughts only for a brief moment in between the movements. Simply sitting there by the camp fire with Vann, on a quiet and breezy night like that, was a vacation for Maverick Colt. Yes, Vann Carson and Maverick Colt failed to fully agree in just about everything possible, but they were somehow functioning just fine a bit more than two full years now. Whether it was triggered or forced by their old teammate or by the circumstances they found themselves in, it worked out just fine...eventually and...sometimes. Vann rarely had much to say which would both leave Maverick enough room to yap it away or enjoy the silence and the absence of pointless and shallow conversations. Right after the great loss their group suffered and a bunch of new people occupying the empty places, they were less prone to waste their precious time on a small talk. Thankfully, those days, things looked up and they coped with it. It was their way of life and at that point, their old lives were just a bit more than a distant memory. All of them, more or less, grew to accept what they've got. Maverick would be able to say that Vann finally became something more than a grumpy old grandpa that gave him no break whatsoever. The presence of the experience Scavenger was to be appreciated, even by such rebel as Maverick. If one would wonder about the Vann's side of the story, he would most likely say the same. Maverick Colt was more or less out of his tight pants and more willing to compromise. Whether he should've thanked a certain someone for that fact was still uncertain. Young Colt hardly ever gave any sign of will to discuss his feelings. Only when he would rant and yell, which was still often enough, would all of them realize his emotions were over the top and even then, there was no telling what emotion would trigger the effect. Vann couldn't help but think that Colt was just a bit too mysterious and unpredictable, but it was not his place to be or decide on how someone should behave and he for sure wasn't the saint. Funny enough, he enjoyed arguing with the young fellow at his worst. It was always interesting to attend such event and adding their recently gained abilities in the equation made for quite of a show for people.

Vann swiped the rock over the blade once more and put it on the ground beside himself, examining the blade's edge. He looked at his teammate over the blade and smirked at him "writing" a certain set of numbers on the ground in front of him and moving his mouth lightly and soundlessly. He wasn't able to tell what was it about. Maverick's beard kept it a well preserved secret. Maverick stopped in the middle of the fifth row of numbers and signs, and Vann used the opportunity.

"Problem?"

"Huh?", Maverick replied, his mind partially absent, still staring at the row and tapping the place where his brain stopped working.
"Seems to me it was going so well.", Vann proceeded and Maverick looked up, narrowing his eyes at him, before he cracked an uncertain smirk. "Yes, well. Was. I am nowhere near done. Might as well be useless but," He stuck his hand in his backpack and took out a highly chipped notebook and a pencil that was still functional...enough, "it keeps my mind busy with useful shit for a change." He chuckled. Vann nodded. He knew him well enough to know something was bothering him so much he turned to the only sanctuary he would have left in that case. Equations. However, assuming what it might be, he had decided to drop it. "May I ask what your geniusness came up with now?"
Shooting him a skeptical glare, Maverick shook his head. "Hardly geniusness. It if as simple as it gets". And even though Vann never asked for a throughout explanation, Colt knew no better while talking about such an important thing like physics. "I simply incorporated the equation for the angle of the Sun, along with few small calculations I did while I was bored out of my pants to make sure I keep in mind all the changes throughout the year..." Once his fingers hurried up over the rows of numbers in the dust, Vann coughed lightly and Maverick stopped. "Colt, you literally lost me at your first word." And as usual, what was simple for Maverick, was nowhere simple enough for many others. He chuckled and sighed. "Speaking in noob, I am making sure we do not lose the track of time." Vann put his machete back in it's cover. "You are making a calendar?" Well maybe Maverick was on point this time, for a change. Maybe it was indeed simple.

"A watch, actually."

"Well, there goes the easy part", Vann laughed lightly. He just then realized how little time meant ti them in these couple of years, but was it really for the best? Getting a hint on his confusion, Maverick cleared it up. "It might not matter now, but I am pretty sure you will hardly ran onto a functional watch or an up-to-date calendar. I believe it could be useful". Vann agreed. "Besides", Maverick concluded. "You never know whether some or all of those...things are orienting towards the movement of the sun or the moon. For example, it would be much easier to keep the track of the spikes and lower the number of accidental encounters if we are simply able to follow the movement of the water". And for the first time since the beginning of the conversation, he was able to understand. "The tides. You are calculating the distance from one lunar cycle to the other". Maverick nodded, slightly impressed that he was following any of it. "Aye. Among other things." He wrote down the last piece in the notebook and slid his boot over the writing in the sand, partially erasing it. "Though it might take time to perfect."

"Nevertheless. Impressive."

Maverick replied with a simple chuckle as he attended to the bandage around his forearm and Vann laughed. "If only you were that good at calculating how foolish that was". He was referring to his teammate's injury. "I think the pain from it was just about enough to remind me of it, thank you very much". He rubbed the spot. He wasn't too proud of it, but when people would ask how painful it was, he would have to reply: "On a scale from one to ten, I am fairly sure it revolves around 'holly shit and all of it's children'." He wasn't as skillful with the melee weapon as he was with his guns he was never using now days for the sake of everyone. If there was a single reason why he was even more pissed at all of the mutants and gladly removing them from the face of the earth, it was because they deprived him of a juicy sound of bullets and splatters of the insides that followed right after. His acquired abilities did a perfect job, but playing the Lady Luck because of it, was not as smart as it sounded like. Training your abilities with the katana sword and getting distracted in the process, could have ended up much worse than a single cut. He never complained about it and barely anyone knew what had happened anyway. Vann smirked and looked up. It was breaking dawn. Another night without a single hour of sleep was nothing new for him and it seemed that young Colt slept less and less every night. It was a nice thing to have a company to make him forget about the insomnia that bothered him for years. "Think it is time to wake Skylar up. She had promises she will aid me in a hunt and I told her we are leaving at the break of dawn so we can get back on time for breakfast."

Maverick smirked deviously. "Oh, I can help you with that." He was waiting long enough for a chance to make her life a living hell. So to say. He stood up, off the ground, and grabbed his katana sword and Vann followed. Maverick straightened his back and threw out his, at this point and after all the physical activity, well developed chest, slamming the sword's handle against the ground in a certain rhythm, rising a bit of dust as he started marching and sang.

"We are scavenging platoon
and we like to party
party hardy
party hardy all night long"

Vann laughed full-heartedly and joined in. He learned that cadences can be used in more ways than one, and he was impressed that Maverick would memorize any of them. They marched side by side through the campsite, towards the hammock on one of the trees.

"Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down
Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down"

Before they gave out any warning, Maverick walked under the hammock, spun the sword once around his hand and slammed the handle at the edge of the hammock.

"Now drop, and beat your face
scavenging platoon's gonna rock this place
Boom, check it out, check it out
Boom, check it out, check it out"

The hammock turned over and the girl fell out with a surprised shout, straight into Vann's arms as he continued singing along and tossing her up and down. With his strength, she seemed no heavier than a sack of wool or feathers.

"My rifle, my rucksack, my bayonet, now get on down
My rifle, my rucksack, my bayonet, now get on down
Say one, twwwoooo,
three, four,
Eleven Bravo, hey!
Eleven Bravo, hey!"

He threw her once more, high up, and laughed after she landed back down. Needless to say she was more than pissed off by the waking up routine, delivering several hits against Vann's chest and several juicy swears.

"Morning sunshine!" Maverick greeted her.

***

As the sun rose up a bit more, they began preparing the gear. Skylar was still mumbling angrily, but she did as she was told by her older brother. Even though she wanted to sleep after a rough day, she wanted to aid the hunt even more. She was not pleased at all once Maverick put down his backpack along with his obligations and walked to one of the watchmen that were looking out for a sign of danger through the night. "She isn't back yet?" Vann overheard him asking once he approached the male and saw the male shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. Maverick replied with a brief nod and turned around, frowned. He could assume with a great level of accuracy that young Colt was asking whether Adia returned from the woods yet. He was somewhat precisely on time. She supposed to return by now. But she was not as late either. Vann and the others saw no need in worrying about it just yet, but for a while now, Vann was aware, that things like those felt a lot heavier and more worrisome to Maverick Colt than anyone else, even though he avoided having any conversation related to it, Vann was daring enough to say that his teammate wasn't himself when it came to that girl. Not necessarily in a bad way. At least he hoped not. Maverick was still unpredictable enough to never be too sure. As Maverick walked back to them, Vann simply asked, trying to sound as less interested in it as possible. "Everything fine, Colt?" Frowned, Maverick grabbed the things and walked ahead. "Let's just go."

However, before Skylar and Vann followed, there was a loud and chilling order, coming from the front side of the campsite. "WAKE UP!", the familiar female voice ordered and everyone turned towards it. Adia Lynn ran into the campsite, alarming the group that started waking up, rather unwillingly. Maverick dropped the backpack down and ran towards the center of the campsite where the group members started gathering around Adia. He stopped on his track when the loud roar reached his ears. "You have got to be kidding me..." He mumbled and gulped. It sounded big. Really big. "What's going on, Adia?" he heard Rylie Garrison ask as he approached. Adia replied hastily as the rumble repeated itself. "That's what's going on. Everyone up. We are moving out yesterday!" They discussed Luka Demarco's suggestion where to move next and he silently agreed but he had another thing in his mind that bothered him more. "Hey." He frowned and reached towards her face, stopping ridiculously in mid air, realizing it would be a high disrespect for her personal space if he would touch her. He quickly made a questioning gesture with his hand and pointed at her forehead, masking his previous intention. "What the hell happened?" It came out a bit more harsh than he expected, but it was too late to do anything about it. "Are you alright?" He asked a bit lighter. It was a stupid question and he was aware of it, but it was already there. He decided to fix his mistake with an insecure "Fixing this will be our first priority once we move from here. Seems pretty deep", before he finally decided he better shut up before he would make a bigger fool of himself, even though it may just be in his head. And just as if Vann saw his struggle, he approached. "Hey, Colt! You forgot something you might need!" He threw him the backpack and Maverick nodded. "Thank you." Vann nodded back and headed out to gather the rest of the things. It wasn't as hard to get ready to set off quickly. He approached Adia and smirked. "On your mark."

@Gorgeous♠Chaos​

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Skylar Finlay Carson

After she laid her head in the hammock, so generously swapped for her sleeping bag by Gail, she had a feeling that was her first decent sleep in the entire two years of hell on earth. Most of the time, she was the kind of person that needed only around four decent hours of sleep to function normally and, well, not getting herself killed. Even though she was still adapting to her relatively new surroundings, she felt welcome, and she was more than please by the group she got. They were all highly skilled scavengers that made her feel safe and able to lean on them at any given time, regardless the fact that she was fairly new and yet unwilling to create any new deeper connections that would any further than few exchanged sentences, always on topic and always straight forward. It is how it was with Vann's little sister. She was the one that was always hard to impress and always the one to tell you off when she felt the need to, but the last one to apologize, even for things that was entirely her fault. Skylar Finlay Carson was a tough nut, to say at least. Tough and as stubborn as a mule, which would usually go slightly against her tactical intelligence and perception. Her brother shared the same trait; they were both lead heart first, brains second.

Even so, the group accepted her fair and square, and she tried her best to make up for it. Not like anyone else needed to know how hard she was trying, though. Only her brother being there offered her a promise that she would do just fine. Everyone else she had no clue about who they were, and the only two other person she knew were Aaron and Maverick. Having two of your exes together in the same place, working together, was awkward enough and having the older brother in the middle was even worse. As far as she knew, both of them could have held numerous grudges after being an important part of her scavenging life. She was silently as grateful as she could have been for it. Both of the times, there was hardly anyone to blame but herself. They have matured and moved on. Even so, Aaron's death came to her like a low blow that she wasn't prepared for. It was never the topic of the conversation, no matter how eager one would be to know more. And what the hell would she say anyway? That she spent the sleepless night, crying the first time after so many years because of it? Skylar Finlay Carson would never allow something like that to happen. Showing weakness was never an option. After a while, as it usually is, it got much better. The group life seemed as pleasant as it could be in the middle of nowhere surrounded by all kinds of creepers of all shapes and a "fucking huge" size and the only grudge she managed to get from Maverick was a healthy mock which she needed to feel that he is not being replaced by a damn robot that simply decided to ignore the sassy jerk he was dating some time ago, before it all went down. It added to the feeling that she belonged there.

Her sleeping session up in the hammock exceeded more than 6 hours now, and she showed no signs of wanting to get out of the comfortable and gently swaying bed. But not like a couple of assholes ever cared anyway. Through her slumber, she had heard a highly familiar military cadence, so familiar that she was convince it was a part of a really messy but, at the same time, pleasant dream. "Shut up Vann..." She mumbled, half asleep as the voice turned up louder and somehow closer. It sounded like a masculine soldier duet, but not being able to figure out the other voice, she simple repeated in a more demanding tone, flipping to the other side. "Shut UP, Vinny!" Just as the slumber caught up again, she heard a devious chuckle that was way too familiar to simply ignore. Her eyes opened up in horror and she opened her mouth to shout "WAIT...", but before she even finished the shout, Maverick hit the side part of the hammock with the sword's handle, and knowing how precise he always was, she was aware of how low her chances of walking out gracefully from that situation were even before the hammock flipped over perfectly, tossing her out and towards Vann that caught her like she was hardly anything to bother with, weight-wise. As they continued their cadence, Vann tossed her up in the air and she growled along the way. "I. Will. KILL. YOU. For. THIS!" As she got back into her brother's arms, she smacked her fists against his chest angrily and wiggled her legs frantically to get him to put her down from such humiliating position. "What the fuck?! You assholes!" It only made two males burst into a laughter. Vann pressed her closely, disabling any resistance she could think of. Using her ability to make him drop her to the ground like a hot potato would be even worse and taking that out of the equation, she had less than nothing to do about it. She sighed defeated and mumbled. "Fine. Really funny you guys. Now do put me down nicely so I..." Vann parted his hands for a split second, so she dropped lower towards the ground with a yelp. "I sad NICELY!" Vann chuckled. "Be nice." She offered him a sour grin and he laughed, letting her straight up on her feet.

As she came to her senses, she looked at the two males as if she was highly disappointed and betrayed. "But...why?" She asked and Maverick replied. "Because you are a lazy piece of ass. That is why...mostly." He offered her a mischievous smirk. "Besides, I've been waiting to do something like that for a while now." Skylar frowned and rolled up her sleeves, marching towards Maverick. "Why you LITTLE...". Grabbing her waist, Vann picked her up like a bag and tossed her over his shoulder, walking towards a pile of items that needed packing. "Save that enthusiasm for the forest."

***

"All set?"

Sklyar nodded and yawned. "Aye. I would say so." She looked at Maverick as he put down his unfinished business and walked away. "And where do you think you are going, Buttercup?" When he didn't reply, she rolled her eyes and got back to her backpack. "Whatever the hell is wrong with that guy these days..." Vann smirked. "I guess he is tired." Skylar cocked her eyebrow. "Vann. Really?" It was the stupidest excuse ever once you've paired 'tired' and 'Maverick' together. "I am your sister. You can't bullshit me. It is my duty to be immune on your bullshit." Maverick came back and grabbed his backpack, visibly upset, before Vann managed to answer her.

And just as if the day couldn't start any suckier, just as they finally headed out, Adia stormed in, yelling at everyone to wake up and head out. As others started peeking out of their tents, sleeping bags and hammocks and started gathering around Adia Lynn, she simply dropped her backpack and sat on it, waiting for everyone to finally make a decision and head out. It was not her place to be, she was more or less a newbie in the group after all. The less crap the better. Getting only a location was enough. She quickly stood up on her feet when Vann adressed her. "Packing. Now." Boy, did he love him for that. Plain and simple and she was on the go, quickly gathering things arranged just as they agreed in the first place to save the time on repacking even in normal circumstances. Thinking they would stay there forever was more than ridiculous.​

@Gorgeous♠Chaos​

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Gail Nolan

Winning her very first card game was, if you ask Gail, something to be celebrated. Usually, she was convinced that she sucks in the card games more than anyone lese of the entire planed. And she might as well be right about it, partially because her card skills were equal to those of a flat fish (go fish! Am I right? ;V) and partially because of the fact there was probably not as much sane people left that would find it important to prove that theory. And so, Gail Nolan became the self-proclaimed card failure. Now, winning with the trait like that one, was more than impressive to her. But Gail was far away from bitter because of it. She fully agreed with saying that those that have no luck in cards find their luck in love and affections, mostly because, whoever said it, had her in mind. Who needed a gambling fortune anyway, when all of her life, she was more than rich with love and the people she cared about and that cared about her. It was more than once that she realized, as soon as you start believing you stand any chance in gambling, you get punished. Hard.

Being raised in a family like hers, meant being connected to it on a social and mental level, a valuable lesson she was going with even when there was no one else to lean onto, after she lost her family. Or so she thought. It was evident that her family was far bigger in number than she had expected. Her long term partner in crime, at that time freshly met former police officer, the entire previous group, the group now... One couldn't simply ignore it even if they tried. However, knowing so many people came with price on it's own. Some of them, sooner or later, are destined to leave you alone for whatever the reason it might be behind in. In Gail's story, it was a bunch of foul smelling and wobbly looking creatures of hell. What a nice way to go indeed. However, Gail was one of those that believed everything happens for a reason that should stay as hidden as it was. She had learned to cherish what she'd got, while it was there. Even so, she, as many others probably did, closed up slightly after the great loss of people she looked up to in her life time. Talking about it was one thing. Living it through the loss was something entirely different. Almost unbearable. But there was a single thing that turned out better than expected in all that mess and she was certain, she wouldn't trade it for anything, as she looked at the sleeping bag next to hers.

The dawn barely broke out yet and it was hard to tell a sleeping person from a pile of stones, but she didn't even have to look. He was right there and he never really left her side. Not when she was upset, not when she was sad, and he was there even when she was clueless about how much she meant to him and it suddenly occurred to her that she certainly had said something at a certain point to hurt him through all that time she had no idea, and he never mentioned it. Whether she really deserved or not, she was grateful for it.

Gail was drifting somewhere between the sleep and awake as the sun was rising up slowly. She didn't have to look around to see who was awake and for how long. It was already all too predictable. Instead, she closed her eyes and listened to the birds singing in the tree above the camp site as if they have not a single worry in the world. Only the hustle that Maverick, Skylar and Vann made, managed to make her yawn, stretch and sit up in her sleeping bag, realizing that trying to sleep for any longer was an utter waste of time. She was yet to come to her senses, when Adia hurried back into the campsite from her morning scouting routine and shouted "WAKE UP!" It was not the nicest way to wake people up, but knowing Adia, she had a darn good reason for doing so and Gail was convinced that her decisions should never be questioned, not because any imaginary privilege, but because of a respect towards the girl's undeniable abilities that even the most stubborn people in the group ended up acknowledging. She darted her eyes back to the neighbour sleeping bag and only then noticed that Ryan was already up and functioning in a matter of seconds. She admired him greatly for that ability. He wasn't only fast on the run; he was fast on starting off as well. One of these days, she would for sure ask him what was the secret. For sure, but at this point, he seemed to have a different thing in mind. His face was stiff and cold and it was something she didn't like. If something was wrong, she was aware that he wouldn't tell and put the evacuation emergency in the second plan. Gail sighed lightly and decided to leave it aside for a while. Whatever it was, she was sincerely hoping she would help him as much as he helped her, many times before.

Seeing others quickly gathering their belongings, including the troublesome three, Gail wasted no time in jumping swiftly out of her sleeping bag and grabbing the backpack to pack it in. She chuckled lightly as Ryan looked at her and she smiled at him. "Oh boy, what a wonderful morning!" Catching up with the group, she overheard the plan they agreed on. Few years ago it would have been a piece of cake compared to what they were up against now. Luckily, that small amount of luck was on their side, giving them the opportunity to fight back with the enhanced abilities. She swiftly moved forward, but suddenly stopped as she hear Ryan saying "Say the word and I'll scout up ahead." She gulped lightly and hurried back, grabbing Ryan's arm to get his attention. "Oh hell to the no!" Was the first thing she was thinking off, but instead of such selfish presentation of her insecurity, she cleared her throat and spoke firmly. "You have no idea what is ahead and there is no way, even with Rylie's and Luka's abilities, that they will be able to spot the danger soon enough if you are too far away, nor would any of us be able to help you." Realizing she was blabbering and wasting the time, she simply concluded. "Bottom line. If you go, I am going with you." She let go of him and folded her arms in a somewhat defensive manner. "No discussion about it. You can't stop me." She smirked as if she was proposing a challenge. "Besides, if we were racing, I would leave you in a dust any day." She chuckled.

@Gorgeous♠Chaos​

@MST3K 4ever​

 

[QUEENIE]

ADIA LYNN

​

Don't you understand, it's dangerous out there? You can be hurt!

Adia frantically began placing a small tin can on the ground, she flipped the lid open. Inside was many vials of herbs, each labeled with a unique marking in order to separate them from another. Grabbing hold of a single vial with medical tape wrapped around it, she looked at the symbol on the pasty white tape. A snake like picture was drawn on to it. It was a mixture of rosemary and the crushed scales of a rattle snake. To Adia it was something important in keeping her mind in check, but if someone else was to get a hold of the mixture it could cause hallucinations and further the doubt some had in her. Slipping the tip of her finger into the vial a slim coating of the mixture stuck to her finger, she then brought her finger out and tasted the mixture. Not instantly, but soon her head began to rid of the pain and her mind was clearer now as she packed the bag again. Throwing the backpack and satchel over her shoulder, she turned and walked back to center camp. Glancing around at her unit, she noticed that few were moving slower than others. Damn. She was near to saying something when she noticed the sound of boots closing the distance. She turned. There was Maverick Colt making his way to her. She smiled.

"Hey." His voice was clear and direct, but yet she sensed something was bothering him. His hand began to close in on her head, causing Adia's heart began to skip beats, but he soon changed his hand gesture and her heart calmed itself. "What the hell happened?" His tone became sharp and harsh as he covered the reason his hand neared her wound.

Reaching up, Adia touched the blood. "Nothing serious, just a frightened deer." She informed him as she looked down at her hand.

"Are you alright?" He again questioned her. The short time between questions allowed for him to calm down some.

Adia chuckled a bit and nodded before speaking, "Yeah, I'll be fine…promise." Turning a little, she noticed Rylie was just staring into the distance towards the mutant. What was with him? Was he okay? Hearing something about first priority, Adia glanced back at Maverick. "Yeah, sure." She mumbled before leaving him alone in the middle of camp.

Reaching Rylie, she put a hand on his shoulder as he frantically packed. "Calm down." She told him as she bent down and handed him a pin from his tent. "Time is something we may not have, but you leave something here and that could really be life or death." She then stood and walked away towards the woods.

As she reached the edge of camp she heard Ryan speak to her. Though before she could say anything to him, Gail cut the conversation extremely short. Sure Adia would want Ryan to go ahead, it was best for the group. Watching for a split second how Gail acted around Ryan made Adia realize that relationships in this world would never work out. It made individuals weaker in a way. They no longer saw the safety of a group as number one, but the safety of each other was more important.

"Do as you see fit, Ryan." She called to him as she began backing away from the couple.

She sighed and walked away towards the woods. She was ready to leave and she wasn't ready to admit her feelings for him.

Mentioned/ Possible Interactions: Maverick, Gail @Ritual Lobotomy, Ryan @MST3K 4ever
Location: Leaving camp, going NorthWest towards Shadow Creek
Condition/Mood: Calm, Determined, Grossed-out...

​

 

[QUEENIE]

LUKA DEMARCO RYLIE GARRISON

​

Luka, walking alongside Rylie and Trix, grinned as he heard the beast roar again. It had changed course for now, but he knew that that thing was coming back. Luka was amazing at keeping secrets and the one he was currently thinking of was the Jabber-bat. An extremely large bat that had stone like patches of skin located on both sides of the head. It was the first mutant Luka had seen that could fly and when that thing did it was freaky to say in the least. Since the beginning of the second wave, Luka had seen this beast many times in fact it had drove him deep into the woods about a month ago. He had been hit in the head by someone and knocked out on the cold wet forest floor. When he awoke, he saw it. The Jabber-bat stood above him, looking him in the eyes. It was a strange occurrence and Luka's heart beat fast. Despite Luka knowing he was going to die, he didn't. The Jabber-bat walked over him, but his back leg crushed Luka's arm which caused it to be amputated. The next morning, he had grown a new arm, surprisingly, and had forgotten much about the bat like creature. He thought it was a dream for many weeks, but this roar was too familiar for him not to realize it wasn't a dream. The Jabber-bat was real. And Luka felt like it was hunting him, and his group for sport.

Looking over to Trix, he spoke softly. "I'll go with you." He rubbed his hand through his hair as the trio walked down the path. "Adia won't let you go off alone, and the human starfish is always a great companion." He joked with her as he glanced over to Rylie for a second. The boy looked spooked. Very spooked. "What? You saw a ghost or something?" He asked the younger boy as his own face was full of curiosity.

​

Luka's words shocked Rylie out of his own thoughts. Glancing at the tall blonde guy, Rylie shook his head. "No. Just thinking, that's all." Rylie's tone was clear, but full of fright. He wouldn't right out admit that he was seeing things in thermal style, but he wanted to know if it was going to be useful for the group. Choosing to stay silent, he walked along the trail with the other two.

A second later, Rylie picked up the pace and walked ahead of the duo. The less chance of interaction between people right now the better. Why was he gifted sight after all these years? Sure the virus allowed for it to happen, but he truly believed that he should have been dead by now. Being blind where mutants roam wasn't something that went well. He was what others called easy prey, but each encounter with a mutant left him walking out with barely a scratch or bruise. It was like God was with him, but not really. Now he just figured that he just wasn't supposed to die yet.

Silently walking along the path, Rylie felt the soft touch of a rain droplet collide against his skin. Great. A storm was coming and it wasn't going to be an easy travel to Shadow Creek. Stopping along the path, he let his bag down and opened it. Grabbing out his jacket he stuck it on. If he walked without a jacket or coat he'd surely catch a cold. Being sick was not a good thing either. After picking his bag back up, he continued on his path down the trail. They were about five miles out from Shadow Creek, but it was all up hill and then down for a mile. Shadow Creek laid in the Shadow of a mountain. And Rylie figured it was grand central station for mutant kind. Cold and full of gear for scavengers…which is why they were going there.


Mentioned: Trix @Princess Poisoned Rose

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Ryan Mach

​

​

Ryan knew that being in a relationship with Gail there were certain expected givens. One Gail was never going to be the "damsel in distress" she knew how to take care of herself. Two if things ever got bad with them it could tear the group right down the middle, and that more than likely it would mean that either one or both of them would have to leave the group. They had discussed and accepted that, but they weren't sure Aida was on completely on-board with that. Lastly when Gail dug her heels in on something, and added in the crossing of the arms, it would be easier for a human to try and nurse a mutant than to get her to change her mind.

Ryan remembered when he was a kid his Grandfather telling him the story of the Trojan War and how it happened over a woman. While Ryan appreciated the story from a military point of view he never understood how people would go to war over a woman. Then he met Gail and suddenly that aspect of the story made sense to him. Ryan knew that she was concerned about him, but also Ryan knew Gail would be an asset in terms of helping to scout. Her enhanced ability what he called her "Spider-Woman Thing", which usually resulted in a pop-upside the head, would be very useful in this case. He shook his head slowly and said, "You leave me in the dust? Not happening..." Ryan smirked and said, "Probably." He motioned to the front of the group and said, "Let's go."

Ryan caught up to Aida and said, "All right then looks like we're moving on ahead. If anything happens we'll let you know. Otherwise see you all up the road"

Ryan looked at Gail and said, "Let's get going." With that Ryan began to jog along without using his enhanced speed. Even without it he was still the fastest one in the group, but he wanted to make sure that Gail was with him. One because if there were Mutants out there they might attack her because she was in between the Ryan and the group. Secondly it wasn't too often Ryan had some to run with.

They were just on the outskirts of Shadow Creek when there was an outpost. Ryan looked around and said, "Doesn't look like there's anything or anyone in here." He looked at the sizable metal gate and the ground around it. Ryan said, "Ground's undisturbed meaning no mutants here for a while, or any people maybe. Although the lack of rust on the hinges tells me that people have been here recently or might be. Only one way to find out." He looked at Gail and said, "Idea, you climb over open up the gate and we take a look around inside." Ryan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Unless you got a better idea."

Interactions: @Gorgeous♠Chaos
@Ritual Lobotomy




​

 

[Princess Rose]

Bellatrix Wells
Trix laughed at Luka's comment of calling her the human starfish, which was true to some extent. Her and the spikes had an understanding to some extent of she avoided them and they avoided her the best that they could. She could traverse the water ways pretty quickly and could tell where the freshest water was and if there was any spikes in it based on feel alone. Her skin was more in-tune with water than the rest of the group she broke off headed towards some of her caches knowing that Luka was backing her made her feel a bit more safe. She drew closer to the group of trees she had hidden things. "We will take two of the 5 bags I have up here. Give me a toss will ya?" She said looking back at him, because the lowest branch was out of her reach by a good three feet even when she jumped.
Once she was propelled up a decent enough distance she swung herself up the tree like a monkey would. She found one of her bags rather quickly and cut it down slinging it over her shoulder and climbed down to the last branch and dropped the bag into Luka's waiting arms and scrambled back up and hoped over to the next three climbing six more feet up before cutting the last military bag free. The ones she chose were definitely the more bulky and stocked than the others she had stashed. She swung down with a grace, Trix landed silently next to Luka and nodded her head as if to say they should head back now. She found the others rather quickly. "I inherited the water breathing of a starfish but you got the regen." She said in a whisper to Luka, she was just about the only one who knew about his ability.​

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Gail Nolan



Location: Shadow Creek

Even though her acquired ability was useful most of the time, it wasted her stamina pretty fast if abused and at that point, she was somewhat grateful that Ryan didn't take her seriously on the "leaving him in the dust" part. She saw him run and there was no way in million years her jumps would be good enough to outrun him. Leaving all the danger aside, it was a comfortable jog to the Shadow Creek. It was already morning, and the fresh air made it even more enjoyable and almost effortless. Sooner than she had expected, they've reached the outskirts and Ryan stopped in from of the gates that separated them from the Shadow Creek. "Doesn't look like there's anyone or anything here". Gail chuckled and turned around to briefly scout through the quiet environment, hearing only the sound of leaves in a cool morning breeze and an insecure bird chirp here and there, most likely a redbreast or a tit. "Indeed. Doesn't it always...", she mumbled to herself. After getting into the mutant ambush a couple of years ago, there was not a single moment where she would accept that there is nothing going on in her surroundings. She followed as Ryan examined the grounds. "Ground's undisturbed meaning no mutants here for a while, or any people maybe." She had to agree. "I find it hard to believe", she said and scratched her head. "Might be that mutants got them long ago. Or that they avoided this area in the first place...", she suggested and reached for the gates.

"Although the lack of rust on the hinges tells me that people have been here recently or might be. Only one way to find out." Gail gave another look towards the gates and nodded towards Ryan. "Idea, you climb over open up the gate and we take a look around inside." She sighed. "I don't know...". She looked around some more. "Unless you got a better idea." Then, it occurred to her. She took no chances on what might or might not be the status quo on their situation. She smiled. "Maybe not better, but more fun for sure." She quickly dropped her backpack and took out the sturdy rope. "If there IS someone or...something around here, old iron gate isn't really the most convenient way of making a nice amount of noise. If there is any rust, we might as well invite them to "all you can eat" buffet with opening them". She straightened up after putting the backpack on her back and the rope on her shoulder. She quickly pecked Ryan's cheek and walked a few steps backwards, away from the gate. "Brace yourself, you will be traveling my way since I was traveling your way before", she chuckled. "Though yes, I will be aiding you with my trustworthy rope over the gate. Once we are there and make sure we are clear, we will be opening the gate for the group."

"Or die trying", she thought, but said nothing. "See you on the other side."

With that, she aimed for the side of the gate that was connected to the way and ran towards it, jumping few feet away from it and grabbing onto the wall with ease and pulling up towards the top of the gate. So far so good, the area seemed clear for entrance. She dropped one side of the rope downwards and tied the other side around her waist, descending the gate as a weight that would give a decent base for Ryan to climb over. "Hurry up now", she spoke loud enough not to be too loud, but for Ryan to hear her. "I really do not want to be alone in this position if shit hits the fan." She chuckled nervously. She really did nothing the easy way.

Interaction: @MST3K 4ever > Ryan Mach

​

 

[Ritual Lobotomy]

Vann Carson, Maverick Colt, Skylar Finlay Carson



Location: Trail towards Shadow Creek

(OOC: Vann and Skylar are opened for interaction if needed)

Taking up the right side of the group, the trio moved close to others, a bit up front, covering for the new group members that still might not figure how the pack tactics worked. Maverick moved a bit ahead, with Vann and Skylar following in a deep but more or less unimportant conversation. It was slow but steady move and Skylar was bored out of her mind. "Can this thing move aaany slower?" She partially shouted and Maverick turned to hiss at her. "And can you be any more annoying?". Skylar stuck her tongue out towards him and switched backpack from one shoulder to the other. "Pretty boy here has issues. What did you do to him?", she narrowed her eyes towards Vann and he frowned lightly. "Me? What makes you think it is me to blame?" Skylar chuckled. "Aren't you supposed to be a role model or something?". Sighing, Maverick turned around and cocked his eyebrow. "I can still hear you and if you remotely know your brother, then you would realize he actually did the great job." He smirked. "He is the most boring person I've ever met."

Looking up at her brother Skylar nodded. "Huh. Macy has a point, actually." Maverick replied with nothing but an eye roll before he turned forward. "Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chuckled Vann and messed up his sister's hair. Skylar shrugged and pulled on his arm. "It is a fucking truth, dude. Deal with it." As he climbed him back, he chuckled. She sat in his shoulder and stretched throwing a piece of metal towards Maverick up front. "Onward!"

But even before the piece left her hand properly, Maverick turned around just on time to catch it. "Really?", he mumbled. "You can do better than that." Before she replied, Maverick hissed and dropped the piece that after a moment turned out to be a true hot potato. Skylar grinned. "We all have our advantages, Macy." Maverick opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed that it had been one of the rare occasions that he bit his tongue before he would insult someone. Really rare ones. He waved his hand in a "nevermind" manner and moved faster forward, distancing himself from the Carson siblings. He was in no mood for the crap Skylar was giving him and deep inside, he was more or less sick and tired of being her toy. Certainly, it was fun from time to time, maybe the same thing that got them together in the first place, but Maverick had his limit and obviously, it was way shorter than Skylar's, and even after there was no strings left attached, she'd failed to see it.

More or less, he felt at ease after he made a suitable distance, and found himself next to a girl that was not as uncomfortable to walk with. Truth be told, as much he refused to admit it, she was his favorite. He hurried up and smirked as he caught up with Adia. "Room for one more? Those two over there are unbearable." He chuckled lightly and turned his glare straight forward, falling silent. The funny thing was, she didn't even have to reply as far as he was concerned. The silence was still never awkward.

Interactions: @Gorgeous♠Chaos > Adia Lynn​

 

[MST3K 4ever]

Ryan Mach

Things with Ryan and Gail were rarely easy. Once again they were doing something that wasn't exactly a cake walk. Sneaking into an outpost wasn't something to be proud of, but each member of the group knew how to do it. Ryan and Gail's unique abilities though made them the ideal candidates to sneak in. Not to mention, for the first couple of weeks when they began their relationship it felt like Vann and Maverick were judging Ryan, and Adia wasn't exactly overjoyed with their relationship either. To a point Ryan could understand it all and logic would tell him that none of this was worth it, but there were times that Ryan would look logic in the eye and say, "Piss off!" His feelings for Gail were on the top of the list in telling logic to get lost. Ryan and Gail though both knew there was a time and a place for them to enjoy being a couple, being on the run wasn't one of those time. Neither was sneaking into an outpost but one of the pluses of them doing this by themselves was that the rest of the group was nowhere around. It was little moments like that which made Ryan realize that Gail was worth it all.
Ryan managed to get to the other side and once he was next to Gail he took a quick look around. He smirked and said, "Oh my we're all alone at last." Ryan chuckled a bit more and said, "I told you one day I'd take you away from it all." He gave her a quick wink and said, "I'm there for you." He looked around again and said, "From what I can tell this place hasn't been in…" Ryan pointed discreetly to the ground behind them hoping Gail would pick up his hint to look. There were two sets of foot prints heading away from the gate. Ryan continued, "use for some but I'll bet we can find some pretty decent rations around here."
Ryan turned back to said to Gail, out of the corner of his mouth, "I got a feeling we're being watched. The building over my right shoulder is open we're gonna head over there I'll wait on the floor if you will please check out the ceiling as it were and hopefully us being in there will draw them out. You being up in the rafters should give us the element of surprise. If you got a better plan I'm willing to go along with it, or do you think I'm seeing things that aren't there?"
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Mention: @Gorgeous♠Chaos
Interaction: @Ritual Lobotomy​