The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined [March to Death]

[Atomyk]

Jon - On The Road - Hank/Floyd/Jess/Heather/Aubrey/Imogen/Joe/Matt/Enrique/Andrew

The stocky man spilled out of the backside of the van, a pale and dead Alison cradled in his arms. He crashed to the ground on his knees, the rough pavement cutting through to his skin. He loomed over the redhead, his black sweater covered in blood and making him look like he was starring in some horror film. Jon tried to blink away his tears, his eyes too glossy to see clearly. He held a knife in his shaking hand, muttering curses under his breath as he tried to come to terms with the events that had just transpired. From the other side of the van came the sound of fighting, but that might as well have been on another continent for all it mattered in this moment. Christ, Jon needed a time machine.

Inching forward, Jon leaned over more to hold the knife to the side of Alison's head. The sick feeling of bile stung at his throat, but Jon swallowed it down and managed to hold himself together as best he could. He felt like a coward for hesitating as long as he was, but to finish off Alison now would be the end of it all. With Becca, KK, and the children holed up in that fucked up school, there was no one left that Jon held a connection to. Alison was the end of Tremblay, the end of what Jon had come to think of as his second life. A wife, a child, friends, none of them persisted.

It was done. Jon barely realized he had done it, only breathing once he had pulled the knife back out, ensured that Alison would not come back. His hand slipped then, the knife dropping to the pavement and his forehead coming to rest against Alison's neck. They hadn't been the best of friends, but that didn't really matter-- she was someone who he had survived with, and that kind of bond was everything these days. He wanted to turn around and scream at Joe for ruining everything, but he knew it was way more complicated than that. Blame for Alison's demise didn't just fall on Joe, or that community, or even Jon himself; the beginning of the end began with one man, and Jon was tired of dancing around the issue.

Lifting his head, Jon stared at Alison one last moment, telling her how sorry he was inside his head. He saw Floyd move past him without a word and felt as if there was something implied in that. Not that Jon had any desire to speak with Floyd or any of Hank's friends anyway. He got to his feet with a labored grunt before moving around the van to catch sight of aftermath. He watched in stony silence as Hank addressed Joe and Abram, telling them that he was no longer going to listen to be a reasonable person, if he even was to begin with. Well, that's how Jon was choosing to interpret it, anyway. His eyes looked down upon the battered man, spotting the gunshot wound embedded in the Joe's arms. That was like kicking a man when he was down. It was always violence with these people.

Joe didn't seem to care for his personal well-being as he started going on about another place they could go. Aubrey reacted about as well as Jon expected and watched her lash out. He didn't move to stop her, but he called out her name, which thankfully made her stop. While she had been in Baton Rouge the same time he had, he knew her to have worked for Magnus, and Magnus was not someone Jon had shared a shred of respect for. His feelings toward the old man extended to the girl, though he had managed to not let on to his feelings.

Turning his attention back to Hank, Jon decided to seize the moment of silence. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Jon asked out loud, his words echoing across the street. No one was leaving, but that didn't mean Jon didn't have cause to argue. He stepped forward and quickly closed the distance between himself and Hank. He felt in control of himself, even though he knew he was coursing with anger. Blood beat heavily against his ears, his eyes still looking red and puffy from crying over Alison. Perhaps Hank wasn't about to take him seriously looking like he was, but he needed to say what he wanted to say.

"Do you see that man?" he asked, hand gesturing to Joe. "Do you not see the wounds? He was shot at just like the rest of us-- they didn't give a shit about him, and your hostage plan wouldn't have gone any fucking better. We lost two people, and you're going to stand there use their deaths as your own personal vindication? You fucking--" Jon cut himself off with a sharp outtake of breath. Bloodied hands curled into fists as he tried to steel himself for what he wanted to say. "This started because of you. You know that, right? Treis would have roasted your ass just like he roasted your friends, but no, Tremblay had to be the savior. The white fuckin' savior taking you into the fold and you repaid him with what you know best, Hank. You killed him. I know you killed him. It has never been more clear to me than now."

Jon lifted a hand toward the truck to point at Imogen then, nodding his head. "Now here we are, you and your friends still alive. Tremblay could have stopped the fighting if he hadn't been killed. My community would have lived and I wouldn't fucking be here! None of us would! I'm placing blame on your feet, and I don't give a shit who says otherwise." Jon then moved that same hand to point at Hank rather aggressively. He took one step forward, but didn't attempt to touch Hank otherwise. "You're violent. You're unreliable. I'm not leaving, but I'm not going to take orders from you. You're not my leader, and no one else have to listen to you either."

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @Rithas @HellHoundWoof @Josh M @Damo028 @StrictlyChaos

---​

Tyler - Morgantown Gymnasium - Scarlett/Katie/Liam/Aiden/Kerry/John

Tyler listened to the others speak for a moment. He didn't answer Katie right away, instead taking a moment to run a calloused hand through his messy brown hair. He watched Caleb arch an eyebrow at him, probably intrigued that Tyler had not mentioned either Sam or Jess. He looked away from Caleb to look down on Katie, almost amazed how often she seemed to do this. "... I don't know, honey. We can only hope they're fine and that they were just scared off." Not that Tyler cared much for holding out hope for any of them.

Caleb nodded, looking to Aiden. "I think the fact that we have to wonder if they would even let us leave to be a problem." He echoed Scarlett's worry, even if he didn't realize it. "Thing is, it's unlikely we'll all get away, and they have the kids in another part of the school still. We'd be leaving them behind."

"There's no way," said Noah, worry evident on his face. "I'm not leaving Anthony. Never." Becca looked like she agreed with this, as did Jace and George.

"It's just not something we can do," Caleb continued. "If we stay, we can be useful to them and perhaps keep ourselves safe. We don't know what they want to do with us, guys. We need to look out for our own. Everyone standing here right now, no matter what's gone on in the past."

Noah looked like he was going to be sick. Tyler could have laughed. "One problem," he said, his hold on Katie's hand tightening slightly. These people needed to know this, no matter what they thought of him. Caleb was right that those who stayed would need to look out for each other. "Nathan told me he won't keep all of us. He said they would keep the children and their parents, but that's it."

Noah blinked, seemingly surprised by this, but the rest of the group suddenly looked solemn. Tyler heard Jace curse under his breath, while Adam went ahead and cursed out loud. Caleb didn't look surprised, but Tyler could tell he was angry in the way he crossed his arms. "Then whatever you told them," Caleb said, looking to both Tyler and Scarlett. "-- You need to tell them that it's all or none for them. If they are insistent on keeping the children out of that world, we all have to make a demand. Either they throw us all out, or they keep every one of us. Do you all understand that?"

Tyler had never seen Caleb be so adamant, He liked this side of him, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the plan. Caleb and the others had nothing to lose, but Tyler wasn't about to risk Katie's safety for anyone else's. Tyler exchanged a small glance with Scarlett before nodding.

"Sure. That's what we'll do."

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @ResistingTheEnlightened @Rithas​

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

Jon - On The Road - Hank/Floyd/Jess/Heather/Aubrey/Imogen/Joe/Matt/Enrique/Andrew

The stocky man spilled out of the backside of the van, a pale and dead Alison cradled in his arms. He crashed to the ground on his knees, the rough pavement cutting through to his skin. He loomed over the redhead, his black sweater covered in blood and making him look like he was tarring in some horror film. Jon tried to blink away his tears, his eyes too glossy to see clearly. He held a knife in his shaking hand, muttering curses under his breath as he tried to come to terms with the events that had just transpired. From the other side of the van came the sound of fighting, but that might as well have been on another continent for all it mattered in this moment. Christ, Jon needed a time machine.

Inching forward, Jon leaned over more to hold the knife to the side of Alison's head. The sick feeling of bile stung at his throat, but Jon swallowed it down and managed to hold himself together as best he could. He felt like a coward for hesitating as long as he was, but to finish off Alison now would be the end of it all. With Becca, KK, and the children holed up in that fucked up school, there was no one left that Jon held a connection to. Alison was the end of Tremblay, the end of what Jon had come to think of as his second life. A wife, a child, friends, none of them persisted.

It was done. Jon barely realized he had done it, only breathing once he had pulled the knife back out, ensured that Alison would not come back. His hand slipped then, the knife dropping to the pavement and his forehead coming to rest against Alison's neck. They hadn't been the best of friends, but that didn't really matter-- she was someone who he had survived with, and that kind of bond was everything these days. He wanted to turn around and scream at Joe for ruining everything, but he knew it was way more complicated than that. Blame for Alison's demise didn't just fall on Joe, or that community, or even Jon himself; the beginning of the end began with one man, and Jon was tired of dancing around the issue.

Lifting his head, Jon stared at Alison one last moment, telling her how sorry he was inside his head. He saw Floyd move past him without a word and felt as if there was something implied in that. Not that Jon had any desire to speak with Floyd or any of Hank's friends anyway. He got to his feet with a labored grunt before moving around the van to catch sight of aftermath. He watched in stony silence as Hank addressed Joe and Abram, telling them that he was no longer going to listen to be a reasonable person, if he even was to begin with. Well, that's how Jon was choosing to interpret it, anyway. His eyes looked down upon the battered man, spotting the gunshot wound embedded in the Joe's arms. That was like kicking a man when he was down. It was always violence with these people.

Joe didn't seem to care for his personal well-being as he started going on about another place they could go. Aubrey reacted about as well as Jon expected and watched her lash out. He didn't move to stop her, but he called out her name, which thankfully made her stop. While she had been in Baton Rouge the same time he had, he knew her to have worked for Magnus, and Magnus was not someone Jon had shared a shred of respect for. His feelings toward the old man extended to the girl, though he had managed to not let on to his feelings.

Turning his attention back to Hank, Jon decided to seize the moment of silence. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Jon asked out loud, his words echoing across the street. No one was leaving, but that didn't mean Jon didn't have cause to argue. He stepped forward and quickly closed the distance between himself and Hank. He felt in control of himself, even though he knew he was coursing with anger. Blood beat heavily against his ears, his eyes still looking red and puffy from crying over Alison. Perhaps Hank wasn't about to take him seriously looking like he was, but he needed to say what he wanted to say.

"Do you see that man?" he asked, hand gesturing to Joe. "Do you not see the wounds? He was shot at just like the rest of us-- they didn't give a shit about him, and your hostage plan wouldn't have gone any fucking better. We lost two people, and you're going to stand there use their deaths as your own personal vindication? You fucking--" Jon cut himself off with a sharp outtake of breath. Bloodied hands curled into fists as he tried to steel himself for what he wanted to say. "This started because of you. You know that, right? Treis would have roasted your ass just like he roasted your friends, but no, Tremblay had to be the savior. The white fuckin' savior taking you into the fold and you repaid him with what you know best, Hank. You killed him. I know you killed him. It has never been more clear to me than now."

Jon lifted a hand toward the truck to point at Imogen then, nodding his head. "Now here we are, you and your friends still alive. Tremblay could have stopped the fighting if he hadn't been killed. My community would have lived and I wouldn't fucking be here! None of us would! I'm placing blame on your feet, and I don't give a shit who says otherwise." Jon then moved that same hand to point at Hank rather aggressively. He took one step forward, but didn't attempt to touch Hank otherwise. "You're violent. You're unreliable. I'm not leaving, but I'm not going to take orders from you. You're not my leader, and no one else have to listen to you either."

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @Rithas @HellHoundWoof @Josh M @Damo028 @StrictlyChaos

---​

Tyler - Morgantown Gymnasium - Scarlett/Katie/Liam/Aiden/Kerry/John

Tyler listened to the others speak for a moment. He didn't answer Katie right away, instead taking a moment to run a calloused hand through his messy brown hair. He watched Caleb arch an eyebrow at him, probably intrigued that Tyler had not mentioned either Sam or Jess. He looked away from Caleb to look down on Katie, almost amazed how often she seemed to do this. "... I don't know, honey. We can only hope they're fine and that they were just scared off." Not that Tyler cared much for holding out hope for any of them.

Caleb nodded, looking to Aiden. "I think the fact that we have to wonder if they would even let us leave to be a problem." He echoed Scarlett's worry, even if he didn't realize it. "Thing is, it's unlikely we'll all get away, and they have the kids in another part of the school still. We'd be leaving them behind."

"There's no way," said Noah, worry evident on his face. "I'm not leaving Anthony. Never." Becca looked like she agreed with this, as did Jace and George.

"It's just not something we can do," Caleb continued. "If we stay, we can be useful to them and perhaps keep ourselves safe. We don't know what they want to do with us, guys. We need to look out for our own. Everyone standing here right now, no matter what's gone on in the past."

Noah looked like he was going to be sick. Tyler could have laughed. "One problem," he said, his hold on Katie's hand tightening slightly. These people needed to know this, no matter what they thought of him. Caleb was right that those who stayed would need to look out for each other. "Nathan told me he won't keep all of us. He said they would keep the children and their parents, but that's it."

Noah blinked, seemingly surprised by this, but the rest of the group suddenly looked solemn. Tyler heard Jace curse under his breath, while Adam went ahead and cursed out loud. Caleb didn't look surprised, but Tyler could tell he was angry in the way he crossed his arms. "Then whatever you told them," Caleb said, looking to both Tyler and Scarlett. "-- You need to tell them that it's all or none for them. If they are insistent on keeping the children out of that world, we all have to make a demand. Either they throw us all out, or they keep every one of us. Do you all understand that?"

Tyler had never seen Caleb be so adamant, He liked this side of him, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the plan. Caleb and the others had nothing to lose, but Tyler wasn't about to risk Katie's safety for anyone else's. Tyler exchanged a small glance with Scarlett before nodding.

"Sure. That's what we'll do."

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @ResistingTheEnlightened @Rithas​

John - Morgantown Gym - Morgantown Gym Prisoners

John looked around at the group, nodding at Tyler as he listened in. "Bon, capitan, I for one find something strange... The man... That smoker. He's a leader, but he doesn't give control to his subordinates... That other man, Nathan was it? He seems to be one of the leaders here as well yet very..." He stayed silent for a moment, as he looked down, stuck in a train of thought. Immediately afterwards, he looked up. "Undermined. Power, but very little... The smoker. He's the head power." He looked around at everyone. "We may be safe here, but at what cost? Every single one of you heard those gunshots! Did any of you for once hear an exchange of bullets?" He stared at every single one of them, tilting his head. "No. What was heard was a multitude of weapons firing, but not a single bullet sent back.. Not even the snarl of one of Les Revenants... Whatever it was, I don't support it... I'm with Tyler. We should leave." He crossed his arms, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. He then grabbed the beret, and began playing with the beret flash.

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @Rithas @Atomyk​

 

[Josh M]

Fan - Natchez - Rob, Elliot, Reese

Shit, he was totally deaf, it seem. The Doctor lowered her gun. Slowly walking in front of him, Fan would smile. She was trying to get on the right foot.


"We don't have much time to talk, go stop your friend, I'll take care of the man on ground. I know a safe place, we could all go."


Fan would look at Reese. After she was done with Elliot.


"Are you hurt? I can help. I'm a doctor. Yo u just need to shut up, please.

 

[Atomyk]

Elliot - Natchez - Rob/Reese/Fan

He stood in surprise for a moment, wide eyes staring at Fan with a look of incredulity. It seemed she not only knew sign language, but she wasn't even here to hurt them. She couldn't know the situation if she wasn't with the scouts, so why was she telling them this at all? Was she that trusting? Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Elliot nodded quickly before picking up his gun and turning back around toward Rob. He held out the gun to the fighting pair and yelled for them to stop, hoping that the woman would see reason. God, he didn't want to hurt anyone here.

@Rithas @Josh M @C.T.​

 

[C.T.]

Fan - Natchez - Rob, Elliot, Reese

Shit, he was totally deaf, it seem. The Doctor lowered her gun. Slowly walking in front of him, Fan would smile. She was trying to get on the right foot.


"We don't have much time to talk, go stop your friend, I'll take care of the man on ground. I know a safe place, we could all go."


Fan would look at Reese. After she was done with Elliot.


"Are you hurt? I can help. I'm a doctor. Yo u just need to shut up, please.

Reese - Natchez - Fan/Rob/Elliot

"Uh-uh no." He eventually stammered out, finally finding his voice again. It felt like it had been lodged in his throat. He hadn't done good at all with horror games...this, this was at least ten times worse. "It's just a scratch and a few bruises. I mean, I think my bike is in worse condition and here look, see..." He held his arm up, coughing and averting his eyes at the sight of his own blood. After that accident, he didn't want to further tatter whatever first impression he had made with gagging and vomit. "I'll just...get up. Yeah." He pushed himself up before he froze, standing petrified. "Oh! Oh sorry please don't shoot me or nothing, you said to shut up and I didn't do that and I mean...agh!" He cut himself off, clenching his teeth tightly together, arms so crossed that he might as well have been hugging himself.

@Atomyk @Josh M @Rithas​

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia - Fallout Shelter - Hank, Floyd Jon, Enrique, Aubrey, Imogen, Jess, Abrham and Others

For the longest time, Lia relaxed with her knees tucked against her chest and her head resting atop her knees. Her eyelids grew heavy, but just as she had begun to fall asleep she could feel her companion nudge her on the leg with his nose. The blonde simply groaned in response, attempting to ignore it the best she could. When she ignored the nudge, however, Renegade only persisted. He nudged Lia once again, pushing her so hard that she fell over.

Upon falling over, Lia gasped and quickly sat up again. "H-Hey, Renegade! Ugh, what gives?" she grumbled. She tucked a lock of hair behind one of her ears and adjusted her ball cap before watching Renegade run over to the door of the shelter. Lia quieted for a moment, realizing that yelling could be heard coming from outside the door...

"What the-- Ugh, no, whoever is out there is just going to have to stay out there. There's no way I'm dealing with any stranger--" The girl cut herself off, realizing she recognized one of the voices. "Wait, no, is that-- Joe?"

Eyes widening, she made her way to the exit of the shelter. She opened the door, hiding a gun behind her back in case a dangerous situation was going on that she needed to intervene in. "Stay here Renegade," she commanded, stepping outside to see what was going on. She could see Joe with a group. They were yelling, and Joe looked... injured pretty bad. That was an understatement.

"Joe? Okay, what the hell is going on here?" she called out to the group, her expression hardening.

@Josh M @The Group Outside The Fallout Shelter​

 

[Rithas]

Matt - On the road - Jon/Aubrey/Hank/Floyd/Joe/Jess and such others

Watching with a morbid curiosity, Matt leaned against the truck as Floyd beat Joe to a pulp. Wondering how exactly far he would go in this rage fuelled state. It was amusing to watch. Joe just letting his happen, was he over whelmed with guilt? Full of sorrow that he had almost led them all to their deaths? Matt didn't care much, he just wanted to see if they would let him be killed.

Eventually Abram got him to stop. Matt's eyes flickered between the group. Angry and in grief. He turned around behind him to see Jon leaning into the fresh corpse of Allison. A small frown crossed his face. Shame

Even after being beaten, Joe still tried to say that they go to a new location that he knew of. A smirked crack through his 'apparent' sombre mood. What an idiot, Matt thought. Which was only reflected when Aubrey saw it fit to hit him with the bow. Poor man, who doesn't want to kill him at this point.

"Does it matter?" He found himself responding back to Aubrey's comment. "I'd say he needs all the advice"

Hearing Hanks apparent claim at complete leadership, Matt waited for someone to speak up. Which did happen in the form of Jon, who Matt could say was verging if not completely breaking down in tears. Matt felt a tiny bit of pity for him.

"Jon don't be ridiculous, there's no way it could of been Hank." Matt spoke, trying not to laugh at Jon's puffy face. At their faces. "But still, I won't leave Hank. But we can't just have you be the leader of everyone. That's how everyone dies. If you haven't noticed, any group no matter the size should never have A leader" Matt glanced at Jon for a second. "This needs to be together, but the right together. You can't go back to how everyone tries for it to be, because it never works!" Matt spoke out, seemingly determined.

Before he could say anything else though, A new stranger came upon the scene. Apparently knowing Joe. A bad time for that, Matt thought. His eyes darting between the rest of the group. He realised she had a dog as well. Seeming confused, Matt let a sick grin flash on his face.

"More importantly, who the hell are you!?" He responded, let the others kill her if they wish. Matt would wait and see.

______________________________________________

Kerry - Morgantown - Tyler/Scarlett/Liam/Katie/John/Aiden/ Such others

Watching the scenes unfold once again, Kerry only watched in pedantic silence. The frown become impossibly deeper ingrained onto his face. "Fine, say that. Like they'll what we have to say anyway" Kerry commented before crossing his arms and waiting for whatever was next. Not that it mattered much, like some others. He still had that sick churning feeling in his stomach telling him something was off. He wanted to leave no matter the result, find Audrey. Anywhere but here.

_____________________________________________

Rob - Natchez - Elliot/Fan/Reese/Stranger

It felt like a lifetime till eventually Elliot seemed to be safe and was helping him. Or, maybe just pointing a gun at both of them. "Elliot...Trying to..." With one final grunt, Rob rolled the woman out against the floor, leaping up to land a knee on her stomach. She, once again continued to scream, with a little bit of pain mixed in. But Rob muffled her once again, and this time she was pinned.

"Now listen to me very closely." Rob looked at his hand, a bloody chunk missing out of it. In his head he realised how easy it would of been to cut her throat right now. Perhaps he would of if Elliot had not been here, or maybe just the fact that he a gun pointed at him.

He shuffled a small bit so that Elliot could read his lips. "My friend here has his gun pointed right at your body. I'm going to let go of you now, if you run. He will kill you. If you scream, he will kill you. If you move in a way that seems like you're doing something suspicious. He will kill you. Got that?" The woman nodded. With a sigh of relief, Rob jumped her. She scrambled to the wall. Shaking uncontrollably out of fear. Which was also the thing keeping her in place.

Rob, bloodied up. With scratches on his face, his hand missing a tiny chunk. And just in general looking a lot worse, and maybe just more intimidating.

He gently guided Elliot to a wall. Facing him so he could read his lips, he spoke in the smallest of whispers. Knowing it made no change for Elliot.

"Okay then-" He shot a glance at the other two out of the alleyway. "The fuck do we do now?"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia - Fallout Shelter - Hank, Matt Floyd Jon, Enrique, Aubrey, Imogen, Jess, Abrham and Others

Lia narrowed her green eyes upon seeing one of the strangers look at her. Okay, this seemed to be a very bad situation. She almost regretted just not staying put, but after what happened to Becky... the very sliver of the conscious she had left nudged her into going outside to at least see what was happening to Joe.

The blonde clicked her tongue, causing Renegade's ears to perk up. She had given him a subtle command to be on high alert in case these individuals were hostile. And, by the look of things, it wouldn't have been a poor assumption.

"Did I stutter? I'm just someone wondering what the hell is going on out here," she replied, leaning her shoulder against the doorway of the shelter. She sighed a moment afterwards. Okay, calm down, Lia. Snapping at them isn't exactly going to help the situation. It'll only leave me for dead or... worse.

"Look, I don't mean any harm, Joe is just an acquaintance of mine and I'm wondering what's going on," she told him. They already had heard her say Joe's name, so it was pointless to hide the fact that she knew him... even if knowing him made her guilty by association in a crime she knew nothing about. By the look of things, the group probably had a beef with him...

@Josh M @Rithas​

 

[SheriffLlama]

Emma - Nathchez - Outside Danny's House

Before the dead came back to life, teenage girls worried about things like their hair, their clothes, cute guys, and plenty of other things that made their world seem to go round. However, there was Emma: dirty, slightly sunburned, and couldn't even care what time of day it was as she trekked down the paved road. She felt a chill descend her spine as a breeze wafted over her. The girl reached up and tucked a strand of her dark red hair behind her ear, breathing a sigh as she stopped for a moment, slid her backpack from her shoulders, and set it on the ground.

She lowered to her knees and sat back against the heels of her brown boots and unzipped her backpack, rummaged through and pulled out one of her two water bottles. She unscrewed the cap and took a sparing, but refreshing, drink of the water. She replaced the bottle and zipped the big, bracing her hands on her jeans as she breathed a deep sigh. She then stood and shouldered her backpack, fixing her red and black baseball tee to sit comfortably against her stomach.

She admittedly had no idea where she was, or how long she'd been on her own. If she had to guess, she would said it'd been about two months since she'd gotten separated from Monica; though it felt like it'd been years. In that whole span of time, she'd seen one other person: a guy that had tried to handcuff her to a radiator and take all of her stuff. Long story short - he'd failed, tried to shoot her but missed; Emma had shot back... and not missed. She'd been rather depressed after that, since the guy had been a chance at positive human interaction. She'd contemplated giving up a couple time, too. She'd been through so much that she often thought that it wasn't worth fighting any more.

She'd lost everyone - Her mother before the outbreak; her Dad in the wake of it; her brother at the hand of Tyler Salem; the People of Haywood by the same. Even when Enrique had got her to join his gang of misfits, they were ambushed and Emma barely escaped - she'd lost Trey and Enrique. She'd lost Monica after they'd been separated by a herd of walkers.

Her pity-party was cut short when she heard a distant snarl, turning to see a walker about thirty yards back. She shrugged her shoulders to fix the straps of her rucksack and briskly walked forward, not in the mood to take down the undead.

About five minutes later, she slowed to a halt, about fifteen feet from a silver sedan. She looked behind her and saw the walker was nowhere to be found. Slightly relieved, she walked cautiously towards the car, weary of possible. threats. She approached the window, but was slightly disappointed when she saw that the glass was too dirty to look through. She raised her palm to her lips and spit on her hand, using the saliva to wipe away the dirty. She almost smiled when she saw what was inside

In the passenger seat was a box of cans, all foods. She pulled on the door and saw that it was locked. She reached to her belt and removed her long knife from it's pouch, siding between the door and the top of the glass window. She wiggled it roughly, but the window only moved slightly. She wedged the knife harder, finally creating enough of a gap for her arm to fit through. She reached through, her small limbs struggling to reach the lock on the inside of the car door. She gripped it with her middle finger and thumb, then pulled up.

She swore as the car whined loud, the alarm sounding like a dinner bell. She quickly opened the door, found the hood release and pulled it, and ran to the front of the car. She lifted the hood, looking at the battery. She found the most important-looking cable and sawed at it with her knife. She sighed as the cable was severed and the blaring stopped.

She allowed her shoulders to sag after she shut the hood, leaning against it. The scare suddenly gave her a moment to calm down, allowing her to realize the exhaustion in her limbs. She slowly slid to the pavement and rested with her arms at her side. She looked over and saw a small house. She briefly wondered if anyone was inside to hear her moron-moment. She didn't care right now, rather she laid her head against the hood of the car and breathed steadily.

 

[-QT-]

Abram - On the Run - Jon, Joe, Jess, Aubrey and Others.

Forcing his feet to walk forward, Abram stood between everyone and Joe yet again - finding himself at odds with Hank, Floyd and Aubrey. It wasn't his desire to save Joe that forced his movement, but the involuntary need to protect life in general. Abram was still unaware why he felt this way now, maybe Samantha's death had this domino effect which triggered something in the soldier. It could be his initial desire to protect those in need - after all, he was a serviceman and a damn good one no doubt.

"Keep quiet," he begged Joe as he pushed him back towards the van. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and kept him pressed onto the vehicle's side. Looking down at the ground he started to second guess himself, wondering if going against those he trusted more was worth the man's life. He was angry, pissed off at the fact that he was protecting the person that he deemed Sam's killer. It wasn't complete blame, but enough blame that his current actions confused even himself.
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Claiborne Bonder - Morgantown - Alannah

Already his bruises grew to become full pledged wounds. The coloration of his face remained the same though, but bumps did appear where Nathan managed to strike. His shoulder also provided a slight pinch when moved, but Claiborne showed absolutely no sense of discomfort. Instead, he just let Alannah care for these minor injuries and contusions as he reached over for a pen and paper. She asked him questions he was not ready to respond for he was focused on what he wrote.

On the paper he managed to write descriptions of the people he saw out there. Color of the skin, clothing, every detail he could remember was engraved on the college rule sheet. It took him a couple of minutes to get down everything he wanted. The list was not bulletined, it looked more like an essay on that paper, but Alannah didn't seem to care what he was up to. Instead, she wanted to know what had occurred out there where bullets rang.

"Everything is fine now, no need to worry. They fired at us, so we returned fire to protect everyone. There was a minor altercation between Nathan and I, but it is nothing we did not handle. Like you said, my face is fine, everything is fine. I am certain now we must worry about the noise that initiated and protect our falls from the dead who heard it. Nathan is okay and I am certain will talk to you shortly. You must understand that what happened out there was in our best interest. I had to protect everyone and ordered our guards to open fire on those who shot at us. My actions were justified. If you are told otherwise, or if you do not believe me, that is up to you. But as you know, I have never lied to you and never will."
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Hank - On the Run - Jon, Aubrey, Joe, Lia and Others.

The sudden exertion in his voice forced Hank's hand to reach for the edge of his weapon. It was an uneasy feeling to be confronted with such outrage of thought. He kept the pistol in it's holster, but held the grip tightly and his finger near the trigger. His eyes grew colorless as they glared at Jon's body get closer and closer with every step. The man's face was drowning in its own depression, fighting the good fight, but loosing. He could see defeat in his appearance, but his body language gave off a fighting ego. Jon had faced Hank before and it was prevalent he wasn't going to stop. Hank knew what he wanted to do. It'd be simple, easy.

Then Jon's posy member jumped in to add to his defense, making him a target as much as Jon had become. Their refusal to confide with Hank's orders was not sitting well with him. He already concluded they'd become a problem and just wanted all this nonsense over with. They spoke of Tremblay, spoke of his role in the community in Baton Rogue - blaming him for the death of their fearsome leader. They forgot the part that he was going to cut off the head of one of his captives. They forgot to include the fact that he was starting a war with the supremacist that killed Hank's brother and friends. These people lived in their own reality and couldn't face the truth - there was absolutely no trust.

"Everyone that's died has died because of group decisions! Not me!" Hank jumped, pointing his finger at Matt. He returned to Jon to continue his compelling argument.

"You blame me for Samantha's death? Who's idea was it to go to that school? Yours! You want to put blame on someone, blame yourself. You're blind. You don't see it. These people tell you there's hope and you get on your knees and beg for their help, that's what you do. You don't act. You people are weak. Afraid of doing what you have to do to survive, that's what they did. They shot at us to survive. You think my ways are cruel? That I go too far? Well I don't care what you think. Y'all just don't get it. But y'all will. If you chose to go with us, you will get it."
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Floyd//Hank - On the Run - Jess, Enrique, Lia and Others.

Floyd felt her forehead softly press against his back. He didn't want to speak right now, just let the silence around consume him. Floyd hadn't felt this way in a while - the distraught, the grief of feeling alone even though he wasn't. Like Abram who was confused as to why he helped Joe, Floyd felt the same kind of confusion in regards to why he was so beaten. They've lost people before, but this seemed different. He didn't know Sam for more than a day, but his emotions sprouted in yearly intervals. Little memories of her popped in his head every time he thought about her solemn inanimate body.

His eyes watered, burning as he squinted for them to stop. He wiped away the streaming tears with his gruff-filled sleeve. Hearing Jon go off on Hank behind him forced him to switch into a different character. It was as though all of a sudden, all the sorrow had escaped him. His eyes opened and were focused on the situation at hand. He didn't even look at Jess because he shamed the emotional investment to Sam. He wanted to keep his distance and remain objective. He knew Jess had feelings for him, but did not want to address them at the moment - he felt as thought it wasn't the right time.

Noticing Hank's hand on his weapon, Floyd slowly took his knife out with no one noticing. All of a sudden, the sound of crushing leaves came from the woods which caused Floyd to become wary. He turned to his left and saw a girl come out of the dark paradise. Floyd quickly jolted to get everyone's attention and pointed at the girl as he called out....

"Over there!" At the warning, Hank quickly uncovered his weapon and pointed it forward in the direction of the girl. What was strange was that his initial target seemed to be Jon, rather than the newcomer who - at the heat of the moment - was more prevalent to attack them. But swiftly, he shifted his weight after taking a step right to get a better look at the dangerous face of a young woman. She called out for Joe and asked various questions.

Hank looked at Jon for a second before turning back to the girl and fired his gun at her feet - though he wanted to aim for her head. To him, it was obvious she was one of Morgantown's group members and was not taking any chances. As he forced her to run off, he pulled out another weapon from his back pocket and tossed it to Floyd.

"GO! Can't let her get back to her group and tell them where we are! You, go with Floyd," he ordered Enrique - still not knowing the man's name. All Hank could think about was that they were planning to hunt them down and kill them. They had become targets and were going to be found and killed if this girl managed to escape - it was the only logical explanation Hank could conclude.

"Abram, get everyone in the van and get back on the road. Me and........" he paused, looking at Jon then turning to Aubrey.

"..........Aubrey will catch up on foot. Wait for Floyd."

Hank then turned back to Jon and Matt.

"You two should go with Abram. We'll handle this."

 

[Akashi]

Nathan - Morgantown Community - Claiborne, Melanie, Riley, Alannah, NPCs.
​

Not for one second did be believe the old snarly man, nor did he care what the guards behind him said. He was angry, because he knew that there were other solutions for what just happened right infront of the gates. Surely by now, the people inside must be worried sick, wondering if its even safe to stay in the community. If anything, if they were to find out what really happened, it may cause some rift between people and destroy their "safe" haven from the inside out. Another glance over at the dead body gave him a clear reminder.

Holding his radio pretty tight, he knew that the woman who was now, nothing but a damn corpse was probably related to the group back in the gymnasium. Carlos and Philip were too afraid of the man. Claiborne had already stepped back inside the community, but Nathan was not done talking. Walking up to the guards - Carlos and Philip - He spoke up. "You guys just put this entire place at risk." He gave another glance at the corpse on the other side of the gates before continuing. "Take care of that corpse.."

Nathan was in a tight position, more in other words, Claiborne made sure he was. In the end, he also loved his community, even if he would've gone through with his decisions in a more civil manner. A deep sigh escaped his lips. Despite the situation between him and the old man, he had to see what he was thinking next. Yes, Nathan knew that there will be retaliation. The sound of guns blazing from just earlier were bound to attract the undead.

"Do it quick.. Because.. The walkers are probably on their way." That's when a care pulled up before the gates, and Nathan noticed Melanie and Riley. Philip and Carlos - the guards - had pulled up their gun, aiming at the car for a second before withdrawing them due to th familiar faces before them.

Obvious questions were asked, but Nathan was not in the mood to lie, not to her, not to anyone actually. He was quiet, albeit pissed, but turned around, and walked back inside the community. The guards responded to Melanie instead, as they started to walk towards the corpse. "Yeah Mel.. These.. Savages started to shoot at us all of a sudden.. We were able to take one of them down... But fortunately, we're fine. Mr. Bonder is fine." Carlos added to his lies, looking over at Philip before opening up the gates slightly.

"They were able to get away though.. So be on the lookout.. We'll make sure to take care of any of these.. Biters.. They are bound to come sooner rather than later." Philip obviously joined in. The guards were not ready to face the wrath of Claiborne.

Nathan was not done with Claiborne. He walked quite furiously towards his office, not even knocking before he opened it up, noticing Alannah there, to his surprise. Standing there for a few seconds, she would have noticed the bruises on his hands, on his knuckles. Approaching the both of them, he continued. "Alannah, I need you to check on the people at the gymnasium." Not even looking at her, his eyes were almost glaring straight at the old man. He wanted her somewhere else. The man wanted to talk to Claiborne alone.

@TheSpringwoodSlasher @-QT- @Wolverbells @C.T.

 

[Wolverbells]

Alannah - Morgantown Community- Claiborne/Nathan

After she had asked for an explanation, Anna had cleaned up Claiborne as much as possible. He looked fine, to be honest. Looked as if he had fallen. "There," she muttered as he spoke. The little bit that he did with the pen and piece of paper mattered to her very little. He knew what he was doing and to this day she had never questioned him

"I believe you, Clay." She had barely stepped away from him before the sound of the door opening interrupted the silence that had followed after the explanation.

"Nathan!" At first, relief was the main emotion she felt. His face and body language quickly changed her mood though. She wanted to offer to take a look at his hands but for once, she was actually intimidated by him. That was until she was told to leave the room. "No," she spat out without thinking. She had already been told what to do by too many people since she woke up. "I.. I want to know what's going on. I want to know why you hit him!" Alannah looked from one man to the other, not in anger, but in frustration. "The moment I step foot inside that gym, I'll be bombarded with questions."


Aubrey - On the road - Hank/Enrique/Floyd/ Lia

"Here we go again." Aubrey sighed, turning around to face Hank. Why her? Hank was the last person she wanted to be with. He was just so damn angry all the time. Maybe if she wasn't around so much anger, she'd feel better. Have a better outlook.

"Wait, don't make them go! Hank she could be armed or have people with her armed as well!" When she saw that her talking was of no use, the teenager groaned and followed suit, arrow in one hand and bow in other. This wasn't going to end well. None of this was. 'I need to get away from this damned group'

 

[C.T.]

Obvious questions were asked, but Nathan was not in the mood to lie, not to her, not to anyone actually. He was quiet, albeit pissed, but turned around, and walked back inside the community. The guards responded to Melanie instead, as they started to walk towards the corpse. "Yeah Mel.. These.. Savages started to shoot at us all of a sudden.. We were able to take one of them down... But fortunately, we're fine. Mr. Bonder is fine." Carlos added to his lies, looking over at Philip before opening up the gates slightly.

"They were able to get away though.. So be on the lookout.. We'll make sure to take care of any of these.. Biters.. They are bound to come sooner rather than later." Philip obviously joined in. The guards were not ready to face the wrath of Claiborne.

Mel - Morgantown- Riley/Joselina/Claiborne/Guards

"...Is that right? I bet it is." She retorted, sarcasm seeping through her voice with every word. She stepped forward with them as they went over to get the corpse, staring hard at their faces and body language before leaning back and laughing, running a hand through her hair as she looked up into the sky. "That's funny. I ever tell you guys this? You're funny guys. See, before all this walker/biter/whatever stuff? I grew up on the streets. Not many times with a roof over my head, lemme tell ya. Food was scarcer than not, but it did have it's advantages." She lowered her gaze back to them, glaring. "And one of them is knowing bullshit when I see it." She smirked, but it was not in the least bit a comforting smirk.

"You're a bad liar, Carlos. Phil, you're better but still, not fooling me. 19 years on the fucking street, right here! Drug deals, hustling, the works." She thumped her right hand against her left shoulder. "If ya think I can't recognize a weak-ass bluff when I see one, you're dead wrong."

"...savages, you said. Right? Ha. Ha. Ha. Yeah, okay. Suuuuuuuuuure. Look, I get it. People can become unhinged or worse in this environment. Shit happens. But between the fact that I can tell you're lying, AND that you got a case against you for all this? Makes me more than a little skeptical." She lit a cigarette, taking a whiff. "See, I brought one of those types in. More than a little twisted inside. Still, ya know what? The most she's done is scream! Imagine that. No gunfire, no unnecessary violence. She's not too far gone. That said? I don't think you two are either. Lying just cuz? Nah, not your style. And since Nate just left here in a hell of a rage for him, well...who do ya got left?" She turned, striding back towards the car. "Stay on guard for any stray rotters." She reminded.

"Riley! Car, now." Mel ordered bluntly, scooping up her radio off the dash and thumbing it on. "Testing, testing. 1 2 3, Mister Southern Hick, I'm calling for you, oh buddy o'mine. Hope I'm interrupting whatever you're doing. Ya want to tell me what really happened?"

@TheSpringwoodSlasher @Akashi @Krieg @-QT-​

 

[Akashi]

Nathan - Morgantown Community - Alannah, Claiborne.
​

Slightly surprised by the words uttered by Alannah, Nathan almost looked at her in a confused expression. He did not want her involved in the dispute between Claiborne and himself. He knew quite well that the woman he loved was also quite close with the man before him. A sigh escaped his lips, as his annoyed expression did not falter. "You told her!?" He asked, taking a few more steps closer to the desk.

They could clearly see the state Nathan was in. Diverting his attention over at Alannah, and her refusal to leave the room only made it much more difficult. A question popped up in his mind. Would she choose Claiborne over him? If it ever came to that? "Why don't you ask Clay. I'm sure he has a good explanation.." If anyone, he wanted to see what the man would say, or if he would flat out lie to her, one who he considers as his daughter.

 

[Josh M]

Joe- on the road- Hank, Lia Floyd, Jon, Matt, Audrey.


Everything had gone to hell. Audrey 's smack didn't phase him, however, Jon's outburst? Yeah, that did. It just confrimed what Joe feared, Hank was too far gone. However, before Joe could call out Hank, Lia appeared. Fuck. She had to show up. He knew Hank was going to assume to worst.

"Lia! Book it! Get to your shelter, now! "

As Hank and his thugs went after her, Joe wo uld shove Abram away. He looked at the man. Abram was trying to his best, but Joe need to help Lia. The baseball player would then look at Jon. He, besides the ladies Heather and Jess, had been nice to Joe. Hell, Jon defended him, even after he got his friend killed. He want to ask Jon for help stopping them, but he knew this wasn't Jon's battle. So he didn't, he just gave him a look. This might be the last time they saw each other.before running off, Joe would say two words to Jon.


"Thank you."

@Atomyk @HellHoundWoof @Wolverbells @Lady Myst
@Damo028 @Klutzy Ninja Kitty

 

[Josh M]

Fan- Natchez - Rob, Elliot, Reese


Don't worry. I'm not going to b hurt you Just relax.

The Doctor would dust Reese off. Her voice and mannerism seemed so sincere, different than the woman seemed at first. Signing to Elliot to come, she would ask Rob a question when he got near. In doing so, her plan would come clear to the three.

"Are you hurt badly? Do I need to treat it now? Or can you make it to my safehouse?


@Rithas @Atomyk @C.T.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia - Fallout Shelter - Joe, Hank, Matt, Floyd, Jon, Enrique, Aubrey, Imogen, Jess, Abrham and Others

Lia's green eyes stormed in anger when some of the men from that group looked at her like she was some sort of problem. What the hell had she even done? Either she was guilty by association for knowing Joe or they just wanted to get her for no reason. Regardless, she obeyed Joe.

Since she was standing right in front of the entrance of the shelter, Lia jumped back into it and quickly slammed the door in front of her. She then began to lock it up quickly. If the shelter could keep walkers out, surely it could keep people out too... she hoped.

"Sorry, Joe," she mumbled, wishing she could help him in some way. Lia knew she was outnumbered though. If they were really a threat, as they sounded to be, the blonde doubted she could take them all on by herself.

@Josh M @Everyone in this group o.o​

 

[Atomyk]

Damian - Natchez - Rob/Reese/Fan/Elliot

He came running up the street like a bullet, but stopped in his tracks upon seeing all of the people gathered at the mouth of the alleyway. He saw Elliot and Rob and realized they hadn't moved at all from when he'd left them. Who were all these people? "Whoever the most of you are, we have a problem," he said grimly, holding out Penelope as if she was a shield and not a sword. Gesturing with his head, he brought everyone's attention down the street, where a group of the undead were making their way toward them. "Don't know what brought them. I was just circling back around when they caught my scent."

He spoke calmly and clearly, as if he was talking about the weather. "I suggest we get going, unless you..." Eyes flinching, Damian trailed off when he saw a few more undead stragglers at the other end of the street. Something had to be going down in Natchez to bring them out so suddenly. Knuckles going white as he gripped Penelope, Damian moved forward and pointed down the alleyway. "Come on, through there! I'll block the entrance for a moment." As Damian waited for them to go, he saw that Elliot seemed hesitant to move, his eyes down on the woman sitting in the alleyway.

Shaking his head, Damian turned back to oncoming walkers. "Just grab her and move!" he yelled, before swinging Penelope into the head of the closest undead. Blood splattered against the wall of the building, Damian smirking at what he felt was a display of art. As the walker fell, two more came upon him, but Damian met them easily. Blood and brain matter flew as Penelope sliced through the air, the blade acting as a symbiotic extension of Damian. He felt he could have continued slicing through the undead masses if not for a sudden tug on the back of his shirt, prompting him to spin around and almost stick his blade right into Elliot's stomach. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, the smell of the dead beginning to overwhelm his senses.

Elliot looked concerned and was gesturing for him to follow the others, but Damian shook his head. He tried to pull away roughly, but Elliot held on. "I can kill more! Penelope needs it, okay?" A grunt to his right turned Damian's head. A knife was pulled from the head of a walker, the creature crumpling to the ground before a woman's feet. Blood stained the glasses on her face, though her long brown hair seemed immaculately clean. Elliot let go of Damian as he stared at the woman, seemingly in awe. The woman only gave him a cold look in response.

"You will die if you don't run now," she urged, moving forward and placing a hand on Elliot's arm. "Come on." Elliot obediently allowed himself to be led into the alleyway, but Damian stubbornly stood in place for a moment. He turned his head to find that the horde had grown even large. The woman was right. Penelope would have to feed another day.

"We have to go back for Holly and Danny," Damian said to the group as he caught up with them.

Elliot, still staring at the newcomer, nodded his head. "What are we waiting for?" she asked.

@Josh M @C.T. @Rithas

---​

Jon - On The Road - Hank/Floyd/Jess/Heather/Aubrey/Imogen/Joe/Matt/Enrique/Andrew/Lia

"And why not?!" Jon spat, looking toward Matt. He lowered his hand back to his side, flexing it in an attempt to control his flaring emotions. "Why not him? Are you volunteering to be up for suspicion? Hmm? You know, you're the one who told him about Tyler and got him all-all-- Ah, fuck it. Whatever."

He cut off, turning back to Hank. His eyes fluttered downward, watching as Hank moved his hand to his holster. Jon stiffened at the sight, but he did not move to retaliate. He was scared of what this man could do, but it helped that Jon wasn't sure if he had anything to live for at this point. "You can't just shoot your problems away, Hank. If our group decisions are ruining everything, then why the fuck would you even want to lead us? You know what, those people at the school, they just made enemies. You're making enemies. Make too many enemies and you will fall eventually. Tremblay knew there was a balance between charity and cruelty, but you just... Fuck. Forget it. If I'm blind, you're deaf." Jon turned to move away, cursing under his breath as he did so, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Floyd in the distance watching something beyond him.

Turning sharply toward that direction, Jon spotted the newcomer in the distance. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hank pull his weapon not on the girl, but on him. His mouth dropped open dumbly, Jon finding himself unable to say a word at the sudden move. Though, as if the moment hadn't occurred at all, Hank shifted himself to face the girl calling out to them. It had happened so quickly that Jon almost felt like he'd imagined it. Letting out a shaky breath, Jon eyed the girl as if she was about to pull a weapon on them. It wouldn't have been that surprising from anyone at this point. Whether she was being bold or just naive, she then called out Joe's name, which meant he knew her, or at least it meant she was with the community that shot at them.

Then, Hank took a shot, and Jon was convinced he was about to watch this young girl die in front of them. The bullet only slammed into the ground at the girl's feet, prompting her to run. Hank began issuing orders to follow her, but notably asked Jon and Matt to stay behind. Following Hank's direction was not high on his priority list, but Jon couldn't be entirely sure that trying to join them in chasing down the girl wasn't going to get him killed.

The blood on his hands had dried now, and Jon ran them through his hair as he moved join the others by the van. Through his fingertips, he watched Joe look toward him, the man looking so small with all the wounds he'd sustained. As he thanked Jon and ran off, he could only watch the unfortunate man go. Jon's hands fell to his sides, believing entirely that Joe was a dead man running. "Oh, goddammit, dude..."

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @Rithas @HellHoundWoof @Josh M @Damo028 @StrictlyChaos @Klutzy Ninja Kitty

---
​

Danny - Natchez - Emma

Grunting like an annoyed animal, Danny opened one eye to spy on Holly as she moved about the room. If it was up to him, he'd lay in his cocoon for the rest of his goddamn miserable life, but it seemed Holly just wasn't a fan of that. Opening up blinds to light up the room he was sleeping in, cooking food just outside the room so he would smell it, fucking humming as if she was pretending he couldn't hear a thing.-- these were some of the ways Holly tried to keep him on his feet. He knew very well that Elliot didn't like him sleeping in so late and making everyone wait on him, but Danny couldn't exactly care less. There was no school to get up for, no goddamn job to prepare for... Damian was practically a savant at gathering supplies, so it wasn't like they needed Danny at his best anyway.

"You look grumpy again," Holly said when she saw he was staring at her, her face affixed in into an exaggerated frown. "What did they used to call you again? Rudy?" Rolling his eyes, Danny turned over to stare at the wall. Holly continued to talk, but Danny tried to turn her out. He closed his eyes and heard something about the others heading out for supplies. So what, great for them, huh? "Come on, you're wasting your life away, dude."

"It's already wasted," Danny muttered. He winced at how fucking teenage angst he sounded. "Just let me be, Holly. What does it goddamn matter?" Danny then waited for her inevitable response, but none came. He waited for her to at least leave the room, but she didn't do that either. With a groan, Danny sat up and turned to the girl to find her just staring out the open window. He blinked drearily at the sight, lifting a hand to scratch at his chest hair.

Holly then smiled, leaning to rest her head on the her chair's headrest. "It just matters. We're alive, so it matters." Her eyes then moved to him. "Your hair's a mess."

"Good for me." Reaching to the foot of his sleeping bag, Danny grabbed the shirt he'd thrown haphazardly to the ground. "Where's my jacket?" he asked as he shrugged it on.

"I don't know. You're the one who leaves your stuff all over the place." Seemingly content that Danny had awoken, Holly stood out of the chair and stretched her arms up toward the cieling. "I made up those beans we had with the portable stove. If you want them, you gotta get out of your sleeping bag." She said it teasingly, an amused smile on her face as she moved toward the door. Before Danny could grumble at her, a piercing alarm began to emit from outside, causing Holly to practically jump out of her skin. Danny and her locked eyes for just a moment, before he decided to jump out of his sleeping bag. Grabbing his sidearm, a pistol, up off the floor, Danny moved to rush outside.

Moving through the living room, Danny hopped over Holly's portable stove like an Olympic runner and practically fell down the stairs to reach the landing below. He ran out he front door and lifted his gun toward the sedan across the street. He didn't hear the alarm anymore, figuring it must have shut off during his trip down the stairs. Favoring speed over caution, Danny rushed the vehicle, slamming against the side of it to get a look inside. When a scan of the interior revealed no one lurking, Danny began to move around the front of the vehicle. He didn't notice the girl tucked in front of the vehicle until he was almost right beside her, his hands arms snapping downward to aim his weapon at her.

When their eyes met, Danny felt like he couldn't breathe. "Holy fucking shit," he mumbled, arms falling limply to his sides. Danny, dressed in nothing but black boxers and a black undershirt, was staring at a girl he though he'd never see again. He heard a sudden sharp cry of fear from behind him and turned to see Holly staring at the girl with a look of fear. He held out a hand to Holly to indicate to her it was okay, before turning back to Emma.

"How the hell did you end up here?"
​

@SheriffLlama​

​

---​

Tyler - Morgantown Gymnasium - Scarlett/Katie/Liam/Aiden/Kerry/John

Tyler shrugged his shoulders at John agreeing with him. "Doesn't matter now," he said. "Looks like we're staying. We're all going to have to be careful, okay?" He turned around to find Stacey still standing by the exit of the gymnasium, looking still rather lost. "Make friends if you can. The more people on your-- our side, the more sway we'll have around here. Do not do anything stupid, or that will reflect badly on all of us. Hell, I'll tell them myself you should go if you end up fucking up. You got that?"

No one responded in affirmation, but Tyler knew they all heard. Adam muttered under his breathe, but Tyler ignored him. Adam was likely going to be a liability. Tyler was going to have to deal with him, one way or another.
​

@Wolverbells @Lady Myst @ResistingTheEnlightened @Rithas​

 

[Hell Hound Woof]

Enrique-On the Road Again-The Fleeing

​

Enrique had been driving for some time then the vehicle began to smoke, the lack of a windshield made it even more frustrating. The vehicle slowed and Hank told Enrique to pull over. He happily obliged and climbed out of the vehicle grabbing the rifle, he opened the hood and watched the smoke billow out. As he was looking over the engine he noticed the blond redneck exit the truck and move toward the van, his steps were angry as he neared the driver side door. Enrique watched as Joe was ripped from the driver's side and beaten by Floyd. It was quite the spectacle. Enrique moved around so that he was on the passenger side, he leaned on the truck and watched. The man had made a simple mistake, and it would have been easy for Enrique to stop what was going on but he knew that in order for this to work out this had to happen. Enrique watched the man in the van, he definitely did not think what was going on was right. Enrique knew his rifle was ready, if some shit went down he wasnt gonna go with it. Enrique watched as Abram got out of the van and moved to push Floyd off of Joe.

"Here we go," Enrique mumbled as the man stood between Floyd and Joe. Nothing happened though. Abram pleaded from the humane standpoint but no one mentioned that keeping him alive was a tactical advantage. He knew the layout of that place. If they ever wanted to sneak in he could probably tell them how. Enrique watched Hank diffuse the situation as best he could. He sent the baby lady after Floyd, Enrique watched her talk to him and recognize the relationship. That was definitely his baby.

Enrique looked to Hank, the man was effectively the leader. He made a short speech and Enrique made no visible change in his body language or facial expression. Joe said something, his tone wasnt that of a suggestion. But ironically it was indeed that. The man said there was some kind of fallout shelter nearby. One that was safe and had food. It sounded good, good enough to be fake. Just enough to keep him alive. Aubrey rounded the corner of the van and slapped Joe lightly with her bow, then she full out drew on him. Enrique felt a little nervous before Jon shouted at her and she lowered her bow. Jon brought up some good points, Joe had also been wounded. He wasnt a part of that plan but that didnt negate the fact that he lead these people there. Jon spoke of another community, Enrique wondered what he was talking about. Then Matt started talking, Enrique felt his blood boil slightly. That man spoke of leadership, he had been a leader once. A leader Enrique had helped to put into power. He couldnt help but think back to Tyler, the bastard who Enrique had served faithfully. Enrique stared at Matt as he spoke, every word that came out of his mouth fed Enrique's angry memories. Then Hank spoke. It was so eruptive that it almost startled Enrique. The man told them the harsh truth of the world and Enrique knew this the dog he would put his money on.


He heard a womans voice, before he turned he saw the slightest smile on Matt's face. The man wanted the group to react to her, or he saw someone he could use. Enrique stared at Matt intensely for a moment before he turned and aimed his rifle at the woman. She had a hand behind her back, that wasnt a good sign. The girl was young, blonde, and not physically threatening. She clicked her tongue and a dog came to her side, Enrique hated killing dogs.

'Did I stutter?'

Enrique almost shot her right there, these men had an advantage of men and firepower on her. Enrique could've shot her on the principle of walking up on them. She said she knew Joe, that made Enrique uncomfortable. What if she was with the people that had attacked them. What if she had already reported seeing them, she could just be talking to stall. Then a gunshot came from behind and a bullet landed at the woman's feet. Enrique whipped his head around and saw Hank had drawn his pistol and was aiming it at the girl. The girl began running and Enrique heard the order for him and Floyd to chase after her. Enrique looked to Hank and nodded before he sprinted off after Floyd and the girl. Enrique was happy for the chance to do something. Then he watched the girl move into her shelter, he grimaced and slowed down then threw his shoulder into the door. The sound was metallic and didnt feel too good on his shoulder.

"Well fuck," Enrique shouted, he looked at Floyd and thought he should mention Hank. He chose not to, he knew he couldnt say anything. He'd been where Hank was. He'd been the same man once, it was a place you could only kill from.

"God damnit," Enrique said raising his rifle and hitting the door with the butt of it, "If she has a radio in there she could be talking to those fuckers back at the school. She could be telling them we're here right now. It didnt take us long to get out here man."

Floyd continue struggling to open the door, any way he could. Enrique heard the sounds of corpses and started to get uneasy. He noticed one getting a bit too close and aimed his rifle at it, he fired. He knew it would draw more but this wasnt where he was gonna be staying. The walker dropped.

"Floyd!" Enrique said putting his hand on the mans shoulder, "As much as I wanna get her out here we cant. That lady and that baby up there are gonna be in danger if we stay here. Lets fucking go man! The walker's are gonna take care of this chick."

Floyd rotated his arm and brushed Enrique hand off before stopping. Enrique saw Joe run up on them and raised his rifle slightly before the man moved past them and began banging on the door telling the woman to open up. Enrique watched as a pair of corpses came closer, it looked like he was staying. He laid his rifle against the shelter door and unfastened his axe's tie from his belt. He walked up and put a boot in the first ones stomach, he then swung his axe into the first ones skull. It did not pass through easily and he had to pry it out with a sickening suction sound. He watched as the other attempted to get up and quickly swung his axe down into its skull. He watched as other walkers came closer and looked back at Joe. The dude had been beat on, shot, and insulted. But he was still helping these people. It was weirdly heroic.​

 

[Lady Myst]

Jessalyn - Road - Group

Her heart sank. Floyd brushed her aside without a word, not even a glance.
You'd think a broken heart could not feel more pain, but it can. Jess felt the familiar sharp pain strike, making her wince at it's sting. She swallowed back a sob. What was the point anymore?

Turning back to the group she saw Heather look at her with a look almost resembling a smirk. That hurt too. It seemed that Jessalyn and pain were to be constant companions for the rest of her life.

Taking Ben back, she focused on him to distract herself. He was starting to fuss. Going back to the van, Jess climbed into the very back and covered herself with a blanket before beginning to nurse him. She kept her eyes on her baby, not acknowledging when anyone spoke to her, not even when Heather leaned in the door to say "I warned you."