Ryder and Shan - Haywood - Eric and O'Connor

Shan sighed, leaning her head back against the seat as she closed her eyes and attempted to just enjoy the ride back. Soon, she wouldn't have to worry as much about oxygen, and could maybe sleep, without hearing growling and moaning in the background. One could only hope. She slowly began to drift off to sleep, as Ryder talked to Eric.

"I'm um…I'm Ryder. That's Shan…", Ryder explained, still not exactly in the trusting mood. He placed his hand gently against Shan's wrist as they continued moving along. Once at Haywood, Ryder followed the men's hurried motions, reaching in slowly to scoop Shan into his arms, her head laying gently against his shoulder as he carried her sleepy form into the infirmary, and sat her down on her feet.

He reluctantly stood back, and crossed his arms, watching the man work on her, "You're alright…", he muttered, as she started to force oxygen into her lungs through a bag. He reached forward and placed his hand over hers, as her eyes fluttered closed again, the new safety lulling her to sleep.

"Hey…no sleeping yet…", he snapped, shoving her shoulder gently as she took a quick and deep breath, "Here…look…"

As the doctor started to place her tube back in, Ryder smiled, watching her take her first relaxed breath through the tube. He gave a deep sigh of relief, cupping her jaw with his hand for a second, and then he placed a soft kiss against her forehead, "I'll be here, alright?"

She gave a small and sleepy nod, leaning her head back against her shoulders as she breathed deeply. Ryder joined Eric once more, his hand coming up to run through his dirty hair, "I don't know how to thank you…I mean…we…"

Rudy - Near The Pub - Enrique

"Your name is Sam for all I give a fuck right now." Rudy was still looking out the window, spying on the men outside. Some of them were heading to the back of the hotel now and the ones left in front were still speaking amongst each other. When Enrique asked for the radio, Rudy shook his head. "Yeah, no, that's not happening. Do you think this is a joke or-" But then Enrique grabbed the radio anyway and it took everything in Rudy not to deck the guy in response. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he asked, side-eyeing Simon. Rudy would have him to back him up, but he didn't want to start a fight, especially not right now. Reggie would probably explode if he found out.

"Bex, listen up," Enrique said into the radio. "You've got nine guys heading into that hotel with you, some have what look to be automatic rifles, they are well groomed- possibly ex military- either be quiet or get ready for some real hell to come your way, brother."

Fuck this guy. Rudy couldn't help but feel annoyed that Enrique sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Rudy sighed in annoyance when he finally had the radio back. "We could do that," Rudy said. "But-"

"Reggie speaking. Is something wrong on your end, Rudy?"

Rudy gave Enrique a withering look. "... No. Enrique suggested we attack first and have Luke's team overlap us."

"That may be best. Luke needs a moment to get to the roof."

Rudy nodded and gestured to Ben. "Don't get reckless out there, Ben. Stay in cover if you don't think you can do this." Ben nodded, fear and worry apparent on his face. Rudy felt for the poor kid. He was still new, and this was only supposed to be a routine scout, after all. "And Enrique, do you want to give us orders now? If you're not going to listen to me, the least we can fucking do is listen to you."

---

Reggie - New Orleans - Sylar/Meghan

After speaking with Rudy, it wasn't long before Sylar of all people came over the frequency. As Reggie listened, he noticed his team had gathered around him. His eyes met Phon's, and he knew exactly what the other man was thinking. They were relatively far from the hotel, so they would have to start moving quickly. They would not- no, could not- leave their comrades to fend for themselves.

"My group isn't in the hotel, Sylar, but we're on our way. Rudy's group is preparing to strike first, so don't do a damn thing until they go ahead." Sylar wasn't a member of the scouts, but Reggie's voice was just as direct with him as it was with his own men. "And no matter what, don't you dare let yourself or Meghan get hurt. We're all coming out of this unscathed."

Abram - The House - Jess

Abram had just finished re-assembling his rifle when Jess came up to him. He gave the bolt a hard slide, sending a loud crack into the air, and letting it slide back with an equally loud snap. He looked up as she spoke and gave nods at necessary intervals. "Mhm..." He muttered from time to time. The older man gave the girl a slight smile.

"Lemme tell you a little something; don't be sorry for lyin' to me. It was a good ruse to protect yourself. I did, however, see through your little veneer. You got nothing to worry about." He lay the rifle against the coffee table and folded his hands into a steaple. "I'll be honest with you; I know a little more of this type of situation than you might'a thought."
He clicked his tongue. "See- uh.. I'm 43 years old and my daughter would've been 21 a few weeks ago, but unfortunately she didn't make it through to be with me now. Her name was Tamara, and see, she had a man who started out as this boy that I didn't care for one bit... but she held on to like bush seed on cotton clothes." He chuckled softly. "When I wasn't deployed or at the base, I came home and played daddy bear, I started treating like a little girl even though she was about your age. However, overtime, she grew that defiant spirit and began to prove to me that she was a grown woman just to say "Screw you, I did it!" See, she gained my respect as time moved on and thats what you've got to do with Floyd."

He nodded lightly. "My friend once told me; you can put a rock in a stream but the water still flows. You and Floyd may have bumps, but in the end you'll be fine..."

Sylar - New Orleans - Reggie

"We've not got much firepower, so all we can give you is rifle fire and distractions. We were on our monthly hunting trip and didn't exactly prepare for a firefight." Meghan took her rifle back, and shouldered it as Sylar spoke into the radio. Meghan also took the radio, despite Sylars objections. She spoke into it with no lack of confidence; she'd been in tough situations before.

"Hiya, Reggie, how ya doin? Okay could you find a street sign and tell me what street you're at? If you can get to our roof or too a building close by, we can make a distraction. Just an idea, but if we can get the vantage point, we can take these jerks down in one fell swoop."

Myriah - Outpost/Counsellor Cottage - Matt

Myriah had once had a cottage all to herself once, back when Outpost was smaller and she was the sole leader of the community. She had never liked it much as it had always felt like a very lonely place. It wasn't fun being on top of so many people. The people of Outpost liked her she knew, but there was always that air of deference that she had come to despise. She could command these people around if she wanted to and that very idea sickened her. She had never wanted to be the leader of anything, simply only having wanted everyone to get along. Of course, as she began to make friends and be the mediator to so many people, they all began to look up to her. Without any effort on her part, she had become their leader.

When the mutiny occurred, Myriah hadn't been surprised. A leader that was friends with everyone wasn't necessarily a good leader, she knew that. It was just unfortunate it took until that moment before anyone else realized that. After the event had passed and the tears had stopped, Myriah was quick to step down from her position. She had always felt a council would work best for Outpost and was happy when the community agreed as well. She had given her cottage to Reggie, Outpost's new hero, and had opted to live inside what was once a counsellor's cottage with a few others of the community.

Thankfully for Matt, it was Myriah that answered the door. She smiled at him and took a moment to adjust her glasses. "Hello, Matt. What brings you by?" She moved aside to let him inside. "Are you interested in learning another language?" She was hopeful that he was interested, as so few others had stopped by to talk to her about it. At this rate, Elliot would still have no one to talk to.

---

Reggie - New Orleans - Sylar/Meghan

"Lead the way," Thomas said, giving Reggie a respectable nod. Reggie hoped the man's obedience would stay intact for what was to come. He told the men that they were to head East. They had to be quick, but they had to stay silent in case there were more armed men in the area. When Meghan came over the radio, Reggie glanced up at the street corner.

"We're turning on to Cleveland Avenue," he said, gesturing for his men to follow. "We will be five minutes at the most. Will that be enough time, Rudy?"

Rudy's voice came over the radio. "Too long. This is happening in the next minute."

Reggie swore to himself. "Meghan, if you or Sylar have any reservations about this, then I suggest you stand down. I can't have anyone going in half-cocked. If you're sure about this, you'll have to explain to me what you plan to do exactly within the next ten seconds."

Anthony - Haywood - Daniel

After Daniel was allowed into his apartment room, Anthony felt threatened by the man's physical approach. He pushed Anthony backwards and ordered him to reveal the location of the cells. Anthony felt disrespected since he had just finished helping the man, though he never wanted anybody knowing he was the one helping in the first place. But as of now, he had become involved and would most likely get even deeper into the situation.

"Look man, you don't get to just come into my room like this! Who are you to tell me what to do huh? Coming in here with a gun strapped to your side and shit, what's your problem?" Anthony started, walking passed Daniel and closing the door to the room. He then returned his gaze to his 'mayor'. "Look here, I'm not helping you because I like you. I'm helping you because I don't want Audrey to get hurt because you're unable to do anything about Robert. What did you expect by coming here huh? You expect me to just tell you where the cells are so that you can go kill Robert in cold blood? Is that what you want to do?" he question, pausing a little but not waiting for an answer.

"That wont work. If you go down there and kill him, then what? You think everything will go back to normal? Look here man, if you do that, then what's everybody gonna think? Nobody even knows he left. You think his disappearance isn't going to have everybody questioning what happened? And to answer those questions, they'll turn to you. And you will fall to the pressure because that's the kind of person you are Daniel. You're growing weak man, hesitant, and you're not making the right decisions anymore."

Anthony walked across Daniel and got a water bottle to drink. After gulping down some of it, he returned to continue speaking. "It's simple. The right choice is the one that keeps us alive. You wanna beat Robert, than kill him in his own turf, not out there where everyone will start questioning. You wont be able to save that raider, so forget it. He was scum anyway, he shouldn't matter to you. Right now you have to worry about your people, not one of those pirates. You have this enact man, you worry about all these people, but not the ones you should be worrying about. Who do you think you've got on your side huh? You could start naming all these people, but you wouldn't be at all accurate. How do you think that Robert is always a step ahead of you huh? See, I ask you all these questions, yet you can't answer any of them because you're stunned. So don't worry about it, just listen. If you really want to expose Robert, than get everybody in Haywood that's on your side and meet him at the gates when he returns. That's when you'll inform everyone of what he's done. Believe me, these tenants are eavesdroppers, they'll show up like a crowd at a concert. But you'll have to watch out because he wont face you alone, like you, he has his own supporters and his own information on you. If you fail to get the people on your side, then after the firefight - one that will occur - then it will have all been pointless."

"No go. Get all your people and arm them to the necks. If you really want to get rid of him, it'll have to happen at the Haywood gates. Just make sure that before the battle, the people are on your side, not his. If you let him live by the end of today, not only you, but your people will end up dead. Don't let Audrey or anybody get hurt."

Katie - Haywood - Emma

Katie studied the man thoughtfully. He seemed nice, and she really did want to take flowers to Emma...
"Okay," she finally said, taking his hand in her small one and walking with him.

It was about fifteen minutes later when they arrived at the house. Katie skipped along, flowers in her hand.
"Emma!" she cried out in a little girl sing-song voice. "Emma! I got something for you!" she called, holding out the flowers with one hand and pulling Rob along with the other.
She skidded to a stop in front of Emma. "I picked these for you. So you can be happy now, okay?" she said, offering the small bundle of flowers to her new friend.

---

Jessalyn - House - Abram

Jess listened while Abram spoke of his daughter.
"I wish I'd had a Dad like you," she said and sighed. "I wish I could believe that, but I just don't know anymore. I seem to offend him all the time. I don't mean to, but I do. I just wish... I wish I could tell him that..."
Jess covered her face with her hands. "I try to get close and he pushes me away. I'm falling in love with him, but he just... I can't tell what he feels half the time. I'm scared to be in love like this, because if he doesn't feel the same, then I am just setting myself up to be hurt again. I wish I knew for sure."

She placed her hands on her stomach. "If I say something, if I confess my feelings, and he doesn't feel the same way, my heart will be broken and things will never be the same between us. I know I'm probably being selfish. I should be content with just having him here with me. But I'm not. Not anymore. I want to be more then just someone he is taking care of out of pity. I want to be with him. I want him to be the father to my baby, because I want my child to be raised with the kind of fatherly love that I never had. Floyd doesn't think so, but I know he'll be a great father."

Daniel - Haywood - Peeps of Peepyness

An hour after his conversation with Anthony, Daniel had spread the word to every soldier still loyal to him. Now he stood on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the apartment complex, facing the entirety of Haywood. He took one large swallow, clearing his throat. "My friends, tenants of Haywood... you gave me the honor of serving you as your acclaimed 'leader'.... and as your leader it has become my task to deliver a difficult news to you all. Robert Dalton, ladies and gentleman, plan to, and probably already has, kill the man we brought here a few days ago because he was accused of being a raider." Murmurs broke out among the crowd. "Please, listen..." He nodded as the silence returned. He glanced down at Eric, who stood loyally beside the truck.

"As you are all aware, we have an increasing supply shortage, and its not gotten any better. Mr. Dalton suggested that we kill off unnecessary members off Haywood, seniors and sick being the main ideal." At this the crowd exploded into shouts. "I'm afraid I still have to tell the full; Robert plans to kill the woman that came with the raider and that is now under Doctor O'Conner's care. Mr. Dalton also sent his men to wipe out a farmer family that we've considered reaching out to so we could provide surplus food for the community and possibly using the farm to expand our growing community. However, thanks to Mr. Dalton's men, a group who has been found out and are currently with him, the farm was burned down and our means of expansion were eliminated."

"It is my regret to inform you that a fight between us and Robert Dalton and his men is inevitable; a fight that will be quite gruesome. Soldiers of Haywood are armed and trained to fight." Daniel sighed, regretting the fact that he was about to come clean. "Ladies and gentlemen, I also need to confess that Robert Dalton is not the only man who's been dishonest. Upon returning from the catacombs, you were informed that Tyler died in the raid. While we do not know if Tyler is alive, my team did not end his life. I did not get the honor of doing so. We assumed Tyler was killed in the repercussions and gave you false hope on a leap of faith."

The crowd exploded into chaos, ignoring Daniel's request of silence. It was then that Eric stepped into the truck bed, racked the pump action on his shotgun and fired one loud blast into the air. Within milliseconds, the crowd went dead quiet. Eric looked at the people of Haywood. "Get ahold of yourselves, people!" He barked. "Look at this man!" No one disobeyed Eric's deadly voice of command and all eyes went to Daniel. "He might not be who you thought he was, but I'll tell you what he is! He's a good man! He's a better man than I'll ever be! Now if you want to try and take him down," Eric shook the pump to his shotgun and chambered a shell, sending the used shell flying into the air. "Go ahead and try!" He breathed for a moment. "This man is about to fight for you and he's ready to die for you people and you better be on your knees thanking him! I don't know about you, but me and my team will fight with this man!"

Eric stepped down and re-assumed his former position beside the truck. "Eric's right. You may not want me to lead you anymore, but at least let me fight for you." Daniel nodded and stepped down from his truck, picking up his assault rifle from the bed. He walked back towards his house and one of the soldiers, Alex, started up the truck, driving it to the gates and parking it dead in front of the entrance. Order were given to take everyone to the building farthest from the gates,

Daniel flipped his AR-15 on its side and pulled the slid back, confirming that a the chamber was full. He shouldered his weapon and opened the door to the house, aware of Eric behind him. "Ever shot an Steyr AUG?" Eric gave a pleased chuckle. "Thank you, man... really." In about fifteen, minutes, the entire Haywood guard was armed to the teeth with weapons. They were ready to give their lives... They were ready for Robert Dalton.

Riley O'Conner - Haywood - Lauren/Eric/Ryder/Shanellet

As Lauren came to, O'Conner snapped to attention and went to her bedside. "Careful, lass, don't want to rupture the wound again." He spoke in his thick accent. He went through a few tests to check her senses and nodded. "You're looking fine. You've been out for a day or two due to the loss of blood that you experienced." He reached to the foot of the bed and pulled the wheelchair forward. "Unfortunately, this chair'll be your best friend for about the next two weeks."

"Where's bull? Where's- where's Katie?"

"Katie is safe with Emma Crowe, the mayor's sister. She tells me you've met her already." Riley offered his hand to Lauren and lifted her into the wheelchair. "You've caught us in a very bad time. We've got a threat and everyone that isn't a soldier is going to be hiding in the farthest building from the gates. That's where we must go." It took a few minutes to get needed medicines in small box and get Lauren to the apartment building. He turned to the guard called Rob. "Bring the wheelchair upstairs." He reached down and picked lauren up again, carrying her to the farthest room in the hallway. He ignored the stairs of judgmental tenants who disliked Bull and Lauren and made sure his patient was attended to.

O'Connor then made sure Lauren had help if she needed by asking Roger Chaney to watch over her. He hurried to the stairs through the crowd of people trying to get into the apartments. Eric stood by the door, ushering people in. "Eric, I'm going to go find Shanelle and Ryder and send them here. When they get here, take them to the 204 and make sure Shanelle is alright. I'm going to get her another tank in case she needs it." Eric nodded.

"Are you not staying with them?" Eric asked. O'Connor shook his head.

"No, heavens, no. If we're going to have a battle on our hands, I'm not sitting in that room. Besides, we're going to have casualties; its a given." Riley hurried off. He found Shan and Ryder close by and hurried to them. "Oi, you two follow the crowd. Eric will meet you at the door, I'm going to bring another tank just in case." When they had gone, O'Connor ran to the infirmary, retrieving one the second to last tank of Oxygen. He hoped they wouldn't need it, but in all honesty, they had no idea how long the fight would last. In five minutes, he had given the tank to Shanelle and was now walking towards Daniel.

"Riley, you should stay with everyone else." Daniel said. He held a long, tan colored AR 15 in his hands, he was ready for war.

"No, Daniel I can shoot straight." He held his revolver in his hand. "I'm going to fight with you."

Robert - Let the War begin!

"They're all armed right now Mr. Dalton, they all have guns!"

"Stay calm brother, all your troubles will soon fade. Hold yourself together and return radio to rightful owner" Robert commanded, speaking into his walkie-talkie. He had just exited the cell building and was standing before one of the three trucks, his men surrounding him.....listening. He didn't understand what exactly was happening, but had a pretty good idea. The walkie then buzzed before Jeff - one of Robert's men - returned to it. "Yes sir?" the soldier answered. He was still stationed in Haywood this entire time, following Daniel's orders as though he was a part of his union.

"Report! What is the cause of all this? How did Jenkins take charge of your radio?" Robert questioned his soldier. He then proceeded by hand gesturing the soldiers surrounding him to enter their vehicles. Everyone did as they were told, then Robert himself entered the passenger seat of one of the trucks. The men who shared the truck with Robert were as silent as the environment they were in. There was a still silence in the air as though something had already happened. There was no breeze, there was no chirping animals, even the dead were asleep at this moment, or so it would seem. Then it was all interrupted by the buzz of Robert's radio. "Daniel spilled everything sir. He told them about the raider being held captive. He told them about your plan to kill the woman and about Tyler being alive. He told them everything sir" Jeff informed his boss.

At this news, Robert became irritated and slammed his fist against the top of the glove compartment in the truck. He then slammed the vehicles roof, his hand becoming red from the contact. The radio buzzed again. "I don't know who told him this stuff, but he-" Jeff was cut off by Robert turning the volume to his radio completely mute. He sat there staring at his feet for a couple seconds before turning to his driver - also one of his soldiers.

"Are we well armed?" he asked the driver. The response was 'yes' which caused Robert nod in pleasure. "As you men can see, the time has finally come for us to reclaim our home. It seems our 'leader' quakes at my name and his army of brothers" he joked - his men chuckling at this, though deep down they feared what was about to come. But Robert had the rare ability to entice one to do things that may seem impossible. "Apologies for making you all enter your vehicles, but I ask for you to exit them right now..." he said into the radio allowing all his men in the three cars to hear. They all again exited their vehicles and stared at Robert as he stood before them all.

Robert turned towards the road that lead to Haywood, turning his back to his men. Robert could see Haywood in his eyes, though it was statistically miles away. Since the man basically created the community with his fellow men, all he had to do was imagine it to see it. And suddenly, Robert started to laugh.

"Hahahahahaha......" he chuckled, turning around and once again facing his men. ".....Haywood......at last lies within our grasp!" he started, his men nodding their heads in agreement, with smiles and anticipation. "One last legion, led by the fool Daniel!" he joked while his men laughed it up. He was forcing confidence into his men like he was taught to do so as a general. "Is all that stands between us........and a victory...that shall become legend!!" he called out, his men cheering as they raised their rifles into the still blue sky. "A lifetime ago, when I yet stood beneath the roof of the heart of Afghanistan.........my abductor, Ahmad-Sah, demanded answer of those prisoners who sought survival upon the sands of purgatory. WHAT LIES BENEATH YOUR FEET?!" Robert yelled out to his men. All who now stood silent holding their weapons on their sides. Then one of the men stepped forth. "Sacred ground, watered with the tears of blood!" the soldier cried out. Robert stared at the man and nodded. "And this day.....it shall be Daniel who sheds them!!" Robert howled as his men went insane with confidence and anxiousness. But once it got quiet, Robert continued. "Shall we begin" he said calmly as his men cheered. "Shall we begin!" he yelled out this time. "SHALL WE BEGIN!!!!"

The thunderous yells were most likely attracting walkers, but it would be too late for them to arrive because Robert and his men had already mounted the trucks. They raced down the road towards Haywood, all of their mindsets prepared to take down Daniel and his men. The tenants would go unharmed for Robert didn't know which of them were on his side and which were not. Their priority was to kill every soldier that shot at them, they were not going to show mercy.

If Daniel wanted bloodshed, then Robert would supply his demand. The war for Haywood had initiated.

Daniel - Haywood - "The Day the War Began"
~Fifteen Minutes before Robert's Arrival~

Daniel looked out the window as everyone dispersed and went towards the designated building where everyone would hide. What would he do? What would happen if he died in this firefight? Emma would be- no, no, no. That wasn't going to happen. Presently, Daniel lowered himself to his knees and reached under his bed, feeling the heavy cardboard box. It wasn't very large, but the contents were important. He pulled the box out and pulled the interlocked flaps apart. He inspected what was inside; he took out the sharp, wood handled bowie knife that bore the engraving "Emma Jane Crowe" on the grip; a folded picture of him and his sister last summer on her birthday; and finally; a few things that would help them in the coming conflict. He picked up a round explosive grenade, "Baseball Grenades" as his friends in the service had called them. Next he drew from the box, two Flash Grenades..."White Wizards". He'd found the equipment in a SWAT van on the first scouting trip after the raid on Tyler's headquarters.

The last thing in the box was a Taurus .22 Magnum with a single extra box of 30 rounds. He laid the gun on his bed and walked to his gun cabinet. The three guns laid where he'd left them; a .22 hunting rifle, an M16 assault rifle, and a Steyr AUG. A voice resounded behind Daniel.

"...'I fear that all we have done is to wake a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve." Eric's voice was clear as he spoke Daniel turned to face the man. "Admiral Isoroku Yamamato, of the Japanese Imperial Navy."

"You can't guilt me now, Eric. I've made up my mind." He turned back to the cabinet, pulling out the AUG and handing it to Eric.

~Present(At the Gates)~

"Daniel! We've spotted Robert!" Amelia said from on top of the truck, she jumped down into the bed from the cab and squatted at the edge where Daniel stood. "About a hundred and twenty meters out- err- about 100 yards or so."

"Alright, give the signal that we're ready." Daniel said. Amelia climbed to the ground and opened the driver's side door, holding down the horn for four seconds, the agreed warning that Robert was in sight. The guard went dead still as the trucks came closer. From where Eric stood, he aimed his assault rifle through a whole in the walls. Everyone jumped when a shot banged from Eric's gun. "Eric what happened?!" Daniel snapped. Eric didn't even look up, but just smirked.

"Nothing happened, I missed." He said. Everyone tense to see if Robert would return fire.

Rudy - The Pub - Sylar/Meghan/Nicolas/Hazel/Enrique

It was now or never. They had no more time to wait on Reggie and Enrique looked about ready to jump out there on his own. Rudy pulled the radio to his mouth and said, "It's time. Meghan, cover us as best you can, we're going to be four against seven for a minute." When the girl gave her confirmation, Rudy raced to the front door and put one hand on it. A sudden crippling moment of fear overtook him and Rudy angrily swore to himself. He took a second to calm himself and take a few deep breaths, managing to steel his resolve as Simon stepped up beside him. "We're going for the parked vehicle out front," he said, eyeing Simon. "Enrique and Ben, you two wait a moment for them to turn their attention on us before you head in the opposite direction. You need to get behind the truck further down the road." When the pair nodded, it was go time.

Rudy shoved through the front door and raced toward the parked car. He heard his heart pumping, his feet hitting the pavement, Simon's heavy breathing. Rudy felt like they were being incredibly loud, but somehow the men never heard them. Their attention was likely only on the hotel. Without a word to Rudy, Simon stood up from behind the trunk of the car and fired on the men. As the shouting began, Rudy consciously checked if his safety was on. He had tried to fire many times with it on and now he habitually checked it more often than he probably should. He then poked his body up from behind the car and was greeted with a sight of chaos. One of the men had fallen to the ground and the others were scrambling to retaliate on this ambush. Rudy felt the sting of something miss him at an incredible speed and he gritted his teeth. He managed to fire at a car in the hotel's parking lot, keeping one of the men pinned behind it. As another shot grazed the car Rudy was taking cover behind, he dropped back to the ground.

He looked down the road to see Enrique and Ben already behind cover as well. Strangely, Enrique had the truck's side door open and was milling about inside the front seat. This brought Rudy to a pause as he wondered what the other man was doing. Crash! Glass shattered and rained down upon Rudy. He grunted and pulled his attention away from Enrique to lay down more fire.

"You keep one of those men alive!" Reggie's voice erupted from the radio.

As if to answer, Simon suddenly cried out, "Shit!" and dropped behind the car. Rudy dropped down next to him, worried.

"Did you get hit?"

Simon nodded. "Just my arm. Don't stop on my account!"

Rudy nodded, but his attention was again pulled toward Enrique, who was out of the truck now. With Ben's help, the pair were pushing the truck from its position and further toward the armed men. Rudy stepped over Simon and leaned toward the pair. "What are you doing?!" he yelled. Enrique didn't answer with words, instead letting Ben do all the pushing while he leaned out from behind the truck to fire his gun. Rudy shook his head at the display and took a look back over at the men. The four remaining had the attention on the truck, leaving Rudy a good opportunity to shoot. He guessed he would have to thank Enrique later.

As more shots were exchanged, Ben suddenly lost control of the truck and it moved forward without him. Enrique managed to stay behind the vehicle, but Ben was left without cover. The boy stood helplessly in the middle of the road, like a deer caught in headlights. "Get down, Ben!" Rudy yelled, prompting the boy to do little more than turn toward him. As Rudy repeated himself, a bullet punctured Ben's side and sent him sprawling to the ground. Rudy's eyes went wide in shock, and all he could do was stare.

"Someone...!" the boy yelled weakly, but the sound of the truck slamming into the parked car across the road drowned out his voice. Enrique rushed out from behind the truck and managed to gun the man behind the car down as he was still reeling from the impact. A stray bullet from either Sylar or Meghan caught the last man in the head and all was suddenly silent.

It felt like an eternity before Luke's voice came on the radio. "Luke speaking. We got the guys trying to come in from behind. One of them only has a bullet in the leg, so he's still alive."

Rudy slowly stood to his feet, his eyes still on Ben. The boy was speaking quietly, mumbling. Enrique looked across the street and caught Rudy's eye. There they stood for a moment, before Rudy spoke into the radio. "Rudy speaking. Simon was shot in the arm. Ben is down."

"Reggie speaking. Is Ben okay? Does he need treatment?"

"Ben, uh..." Rudy paused, licking his lips. "I don't think so. You need to get here now, Reggie. We'll need you too, Luke."

Beside him, Simon groaned. "Fucking shit."

~~~

They stood around Ben. Rudy, Bex, and Enrique. Jerry had the boy's head in his lap. Ben had died seconds earlier.

I'm sorry, Ben had said. His last words. Rudy had shook his head. There was nothing for Ben to be sorry about. If anything, it was Rudy's fault, for not taking care of the kid. He shouldn't have even been allowed to leave the store. The boy was too green, too unsuited to this environment. Hell, Rudy himself was barely suited to this environment. No wonder Ben died under his care.

"Let me see him," said a voice. Rudy looked up to find Reggie and his group standing off to the side. Bex quietly stepped aside to allow Reggie to see. The men behind him shook their heads at the sight of Ben, his body laying in a pool of blood. Phon took off his cap and held it against his chest. Reggie kneeled down beside the boy, his eyes examining Ben's limp body. "I don't blame any of you," said Reggie. "This was not supposed to happen, and Ben was the newest of us. He was the most inexperienced." Despite his words, the pain behind them was apparent. Reggie cared deeply for his scouts. Taking a deep breath, Reggie placed a hand on Jerry's shoulder. "I'd like to take him back to Outpost, but we can't carry him through the city. I need you to find a proper burial place for him. Somewhere nearby." As Reggie stood, Rudy noticed him looking off to the side. Reggie couldn't stand to look at Ben any longer.

"Where are the others?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Inside," Rudy responded. "Luke's tending to Simon with the people from the hotel. The guy we got alive is inside too."

"Phon, Thomas, and Rudy, you three come with me. The rest of you take care of these bodies. We can't leave them lying dead in the middle of the road." Reggie looked around, his eyes on the end of the street. "Biters might stop by as well. Sylar and Meghan are making some noise to draw them away, but we never assume they aren't lurking."

They fell in line behind Reggie- Thomas, Phon, and Rudy- as he headed into the hotel. Luke met them at the door to the kitchen. "Simon will be fine," he said. "The guy's in the room down the hall." Luke passed Reggie a key. "The girl asked that you avoid making a mess."

They stepped into Room 106 to find a man tied up on the ground at the foot of a bed. His leg was bandaged, but his thighs were tied together and his hands were clasped behind him with duct tape. He stared them down as they entered the room. Reggie closed the door behind them and an uncomfortable silence followed. As the room's windows were boarded up, only a few tiny slits of light entered the room, allowing Rudy to only see the expressions of the men beside him. Phon held a stony face of grim determination, but Thomas looked almost depressed, his face downcast. Reggie sat in a wooden chair in the corner of the room and moved it to face the captured man.

"Who are you?" Reggie asked. Silence. The man looked away from Reggie, his gaze settled on the bathroom door. "Where do you come from?" Once again he was met with silence. Reggie let this continue for a moment before he stood up and dug his foot into the man's hurt leg. He cried out, but still didn't answer. Reggie then brought the chair closer and sat back down, his arm beginning to rest on his rifle.

"Is your name Tyler?" the man suddenly asked.

Reggie furrowed his brow in confusion. "I'd like answers before I give out answers."

The man sneered. "A group of armed men like yourselves... maybe you're Haywood? No..." He squirmed against his binds. "Haywood's not a threat. Not to us. They managed to take out that shit gang leader and made things a whole lot easier for us. If you guys operated in the city, we'd know who you are."

Reggie leaned forward, looking interested. "That's all you are, then. A gang. Your rivals are gone, so you believe you run the show now, is that right?" When he was met with silence, Reggie continued. "Clearly that's untrue, as you are the ones who lost today. Still, you've established yourselves as a threat, so we can't very well ignore you now. If you give us some info to lead us to your friends, you may yet live."

The man squirmed again. "...You serious?"

"I always keep my word."

Another stretch of silence followed. In the dim light, Rudy could see that the man was considering the proposal. "... The art museum. There's about thirty of us, not including the people who died today. We-" BANG!

Thomas stood before the man, a pistol pointing at his head. He had shot him dead. Rudy hadn't even seen him step forward. "What the fuck did you just do?" Reggie exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Phon stepped forward, pulling out his own gun, but Thomas calmly holstered his gun and turned toward Reggie. He was facing away from the windows, so Rudy couldn't see the expression on his face.

"You were going to let this man live?" Thomas asked. "A man who tried to kill your men?"

Reggie's hands balled into fists. "He was going to tell us about his group!"

"The New Orleans Museum of Art. If he meant anything else, he would have been more specific."

"He didn't have to die! I gave this man my word-"

Thomas stepped forward, not allowing Reggie to intimidate him. "That man was evil. Nothing more than some despicable raider." He looked over, giving both Rudy and Phon a pointed look. "Raiders took my daughter from me. Katie." Thomas paused, but eventually a sob escaped him. "Raiders took the most important thing in this world from me. They're evil, Reggie, and I can't allow a single one to live." The man broke down further and sat down on the bed. He began to sob, his hand rubbing at his eyes. The three other men in the room could only stare.

Enrique had watched as the boy died, he felt a pang in his heart but ignored it. He pushed on as his companions had what would pass for a wake over the boy. He gripped his axe head and tightened his coat around him as he and the others made there way to the hostages room. He pulled a pack of cigarets from his pocket and lit one .

Hearing shots Enrique sprinted into the room his pistol drawn. He saw Thomas standing there with his pistol smoking then he set it back into its holster, the prisoner lay dead. He saw it as far too easy. Enrique would have cut the mans fingers off. He would have executed justice, as he did with that bastard that shot the kid. Enrique remembered slamming his boot heel down on the mans temple even after he had out two shots into his chest, Enrique remembered wanting more. That the mans life wasn't enough but that he shouldn't even be allowed honor in death either, the blood still sat dried on his boots.

Enrique glanced for a second toward Thomas then he saw movement. When he saw Phon aim at Thomas he raised the rifle he had snagged off of the dead man and aimed directly at Phon's face. Enrique looked down the sites with no emotion in his eyes, if Phon's finger so much as twitched he would squeeze his own. Enrique let Reggie and Thomas discuss this before he did anything, Enrique agreed with Thomas's point. He heard Thomas let out a sob, then he saw his friend sink to the bed and cry. He grimaced and lowered his rifle.

"Thomas," Enrique said, "It's okay man, your allowed your feelings man but right now we should figure out about these new pains in our collective asses."

Sylar - New Orleans - Meghan/People

Sylar barely knew what happened as soon as they touched the ground in the alley. One loud step and the shot of a pistol, followed by a scream from Meghan. Without even thinking, he turned, ninety degrees and released the bolt from his crossbow, downing the man that had fire the shot. Meghan let out another cry of pain, and Sylar saw blood flowing from her right under shoulder. He threw his crossbow over his shoulder, rushing to her side. His blooded pumped rapidly as he heard her wincing in pain: good she was alive. "Hey, hey, I know it hurts, it's gonna be okay."

Heart racing, he slid his hands under her back and under her knees, lifting her up. He practically ran down the street, holding her close to him. He felt all to familiar with this situation; he'd carried her before, but why was this time so hard to do it now? Fear is what he decided it was... He feared for her life. Sylar turned his back to the hotel entrance door and nearly threw it off of it's hinges. He found himself in the presence of one startled girl and a college-aged kid. His breath heaved as he took a moments. "Seasons greetings." He said, over-curtly and dashed into the hallway. "Reggie! Luke!" He shouted.

He turned the corner, looking for his friends. "Luke!" He shouted again. When he found the men, stepped into the room, drawing every eye. His breath caught when he saw ben on the bed, lifeless and motionless. "Oh go- Reggie, th-there was one more. He came out of no where! I need your help, I don't know what to do." He turned, not knowing if anyone was following. He threw his foot into the door of the room across from where everyone was, and he carried Meghan to the bed lay, her down. He looked out to the men in the hallway. "Please, don't let her die..."

Abram - The house - Jess
((Note beforehand: I was told that I was supposed to do this the same day as the war with Haywood, if I read correctly, so apologies beforehand for any confusion))

Abram sat in the kitchen, his rifle lay on the table and he had just finished polishing it. He always made sure that the weapon was in good shape. He picked up the gun and shouldered it. He turned briefly to the window and- Abram froze in his tracks... At the end of the yard, a herd of at least fifteen walkers shuffled toward the house. "Oh sh- Jess!" He yelled up the stairs.

In seconds, he was bolting up the stairs. "Jess!" He went to the door and busted in to find her on the bed. "Jess, we've got to move now. There's a herd coming down the drive way; we have to go through the back and get in the car and find Floyd, but we've got to move now!"

Rob-Haywood-Katie,Emma,Etc

Rob walked along Katie as she headed towards Emma, Rob gave a small smirk as she gave the flowers to Emma, she seemed happy enough. Rob smiled, He made the please gesture with his hands as she offered them. But then Rob saw something in the glimmer of his eyes. a whisper of something. Someone came up to him and whispered in his ear. Rob looked around and sighed. "Ah....Katie, I'm going to have to go...You, will go with Emma and wait for a bit. You know how it is..." Rob smiled at her before gently nudging Emma. He whispered in her ear, "Look, You know what's happening, Hide Katie as much as you can. Robert will be looking for her" Rob then turned around and started to head towards where all of them were meeting.

Rob was there when Daniel told everyone what was going on, quietly watching everyone's reaction to his comments. So as Rob saw the vehicles, he made a small groan. He gave an annoyed look towards Eric as he shot.

Matt-Outpost-Myriah

Matt chuckled as Myriah ask if he wanted to learn sign language, "Why, yes I am interested in that. While I already know a small bit of sign language and stuff- but that's not what I'm here for. Even if we can talk about that later on" Matt took a step forward. "You know, I tend to hear a lot of things. Many things in fact, so many things. Some of them are interesting, some of them are funny, and some of them worry me. Now...The council was created because there couldn't me one leader in outpost. One leader has too much power. This was a great idea, however it seems there are flaws within this system. Like for one instance, it seems that it is unnaturally easy to gain the favor of more then half. And then no matter what, your really the leader..." Matt sighed as he looked at Myriah

"I presume you know who I'm talking about...Now, While I am in no way trying to discredit the service this person has done for us, I can't help but feel like outpost is going in the wrong direction"

Robert - Haywood

As the bullet pierced through the front window of Robert's vehicle, the driver slammed the brakes. Fortunately for them, the bullet went straight between them and exited the back window missing everybody. Suddenly the tires screeched and slid quite a bit on the driveway, coming to a halt a couple meters outside of Haywood.

The other trucks following Robert stopped in a formation where the soldiers could take cover behind the vehicles. That one bullet, that one shot that echoed through the entire colony was taken as the first act of war. They fired the first shot and would regret doing so because they now woke something inside Robert. The person they thought he was, the 'bad' or 'evil' person they thought they knew had flourished into something new. His eyes widened and his veins popped as though he had just been possessed by a demon.

Every soldier exited their vehicles and hid behind them as they prepared their weapons. Robert walked out calmly and did the same, hiding behind the center truck placed right before the gates of Haywood. As all his men took cover, he was the only one standing in place, looking straight towards the gates. He raised his hand alongside his pistol and pointed. Suddenly, the firing began as he started to unload his round into the steel gates, each bullet going straight through the defenses. They forget that he was one of the founders of Haywood, he knew all the entrances and exits, all the strength and weaknesses - he basically knew everything he needed to in order to come out victorious in this war.

"FIRE!" he cried out as his men adjusted their weapons and began to fire. Bullet shells clashed with the cold ground as the weather around them seemed to adjust to the same temperature. There was not a single soldier skipping on the action at hand, they all seemed to agree with Robert's decision to take down Daniel, just as Daniel's men agreed to take down Robert. That's the only thing the two leaders of Haywood had in common, they wanted to kill one another - they were both monsters.

Suddenly Robert's pistol ran out of bullets, so he turned to the truck and pulled out a rather large weapon. At first it seemed like a regular assault rifle, but when taking another look at it, one could see the FN Mk3 laying on the truck hood and prepared to fire. Then the bullets pierced the gates at even quicker speeds and more intensity and aggravation. And as the bullets returned, not only did he see death in the enemy lines, but death on his own side of the battlefield. One of his men was shot somewhere in the face, falling back straight into death. Robert attempted to make of who it was, was it Billy? Or had it been Harold? Thing was, the man's face had been completely torn off by the bullets that hit him. Robert wouldn't be able to ever know who it was, nobody had identification these days because it wasn't worth anything. So now he had a dead soldier he wouldn't be able to mourn, which pissed him off!

With that, he returned to fire his light machine gun even more aggressively. The bullets were tearing everything in its way into bits. One would wonder where he got such a weapon, well, allow this to be the answer:

About a week before this battle began, Robert and a scouting group met with some people outside of Louisiana. These people came out to be very good benefactors in trade. Since Robert knew that Tyler still lived and that the chances of him returning were high, he decided to trade away some of Haywood's food and medicine in order to fill their armory. Those questionable men said they came from the east and were heading west because of the walker population from where they came from. Robert didn't really care about their back story, all he was interested in were the weapons.

The food and medicine shortage started right after Robert and his men returned from that scouting trip. Robert was partially to blame for what happened, but since Daniel continued to allow people into Haywood, he used that to hide his own faults, taking that opportunity to blame Daniel. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't know about that and wasn't able to inform Daniel.

So now, Robert had his small team armed with the most deadliest weapons. He had the upper-hand, or so it would seem when on paper. But the war wouldn't end until the last man lay dead on these wicked grounds, Robert would make sure of it. And he was going to make sure it was Daniel who stood last to see his people drowned in blood.

Daniel - Haywood

The moment that Daniel heard the tires screech, he closed his eyes, steaying his breathing. Breath... he told himself that one word several times. He grew completely calm, and he didn't even flinch when bullets began to tear through the fence like it was little more than paper. The wooden reinforcments and metal base did little to protect them from the bullets. Daniel kept his eyes closed, even when he felt a bullet whizz past his ear. The was a six second pocket when the firing ceased. Go! Daniel sprung from his hiding spot, inserting the barrel of his rifle into a hole in the fence. He lined his sights with a man near Robert, and fired presicely into the man's head.

Daniel saw Robert approach a gun propped on the hood of his truck. Daniel swore as he sighted the markings on the weapon through his scope. "Watch out!" He bellowed. He looked over to see that Amy still stood in the bed of his truck; completely exposed to head fire. "Amy!" He shouted towards her. She turned and met eyes with him, but Daniel was already moving. He reached up, grabbed ahold of her tactical belt and pulled her from the truck bed, possibly too hard. When they were on the ground, Daniel but his body over her to cover her. He rolled towards the truck, sliding himself under the car. He reached into his vest and found the round grenade, pulling it ready. He breathed steadily and then pulled the pin. 5 seconds 'till detonation. Robert's truck was an easy roll. He counted off, 1.... 2... 3! He threw the grenade under the gate as hard as he could towards Robert.

The air shattered with a monstrous, BOOM!

Katie - Haywood - Emma

Katie watched as Rob walked away. Something was wrong. She didn't like it.
"Emma?" she asked worriedly. "What's-?"
A shot made the little girl scream and drop to her knees, covering her ears. More shots came. Men were yelling.

"Emma!" she screamed, starting to cry. It was like the underground all over again. More shooting, more people dying.
"Daddy!" she screamed, wanting him there with her more then anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessalyn - House - Abram

After talking to Abram, and still worrying about things, Jess had decided to go upstairs. She was very tired all of the sudden. It was hard to believe that she was now six months pregnant. Three more months to go. Three more months to welcome her child into this world. She hoped that by then she would know whether or not Floyd would become more then a friend to her. She wondered if by then the baby would be calling him 'Uncle' or 'Daddy'.

She hadn't been laying down long when large footfalls came bounding up the stairs. She had just barely sat up when Abram burst into the room.
Walkers? Coming? To their haven?
Fear, cold and raw, shot down her spine like ice. Leave? But Floyd wasn't there.
Jess hurried after Abram down the stairs. "But we can't just leave. We're not prepared," she said. "And what about all of our supplies?"
But even as she protested she knew he was right. But still there was one thing she would not budge on.
"I'm not leaving without Floyd," she said, her voice deadly serious. "He would never leave me behind."
She looked out the window at the horde coming their way. "They follow sound. They'll follow the car. They'll follow you."
She patted Abram on the arm and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine here inside the house. If they don't have a reason to come inside they'll just move on. Lead them away from here. Try to find Floyd. Then, come back for me. That will give me time to pack some supplies. We can't afford to leave everything behind."

Amelia grunted as she hit the ground after throwing out her arm to reduce the shock from the fall. She quickly rolled, using the explosion from the grenade to cover her movements as she sprinted into the cover of a low wall. Her chest hammered as adrenaline coursed through her veins, her mind focused from beyond the tinted glasses as she frantically looked between targets, making plans and strategies in accordance to the training she'd been given before the world had fallen apart. She scoped in over her cover, firing off a few shots here and there before moving back in again as bullets pinged off the other side of the wall. She looked over to Daniel, thinking before taking out something she'd been saving for a while which might allow her to close some distance. "Daniel!" she called, waiting to have his attention before throwing a Nine Bang flash grenade over to him. It was risky and could very easily backfire, but it was worth a shot considering the fire fight and high risk of someone being fatally wounded. "Make it count!" she yelled before she fired a few more shots, breaking from cover to find herself a better position.

Robert - Haywood

As bullets burst in every angle, Robert had his pupils locked onto Daniel. He was following the man's every move in attempt to shoot him down before his men could. He wanted the soldier's blood on his hands in order to show he was stronger. The entire battle - apologies, the entire war - began because of Robert's urge to be on top. He wanted the leadership position not only because he believed he deserved it, but because he had the desire to be in charge. He wanted the power to rule over others because he feared being weak. In his mind, weakness was the cause of death, the cause of loss, the cause of every agonizing punishment one could endure. But if one was strong, if one had the utmost desire to lead, to guide others away from that loss, away from the death, then that would be the answer. So that's what Robert wanted - he wanted to be the leader in order to provide answer to all his people. He wanted to be on top in order to guide them to better health, to safety and prosperity - like any other leader would.

But his vision turned away from his nemesis as he witnessed a small metallic sphere clanking his way. It bounced on the ground then started to roll in his general direction, towards the truck. Robert quickly let go of his weapon and ran backwards away from the truck. He knew that what was about to happen couldn't be avoided by everyone, but he would call out so that the few that could get away would. "GRENADE!!!" he yelled from the top of his lungs as he quickly sprinted away from the vehicle. But within seconds, the grenade burst loudly and created such an explosion that would forever be written in the books.

Robert's truck suddenly burst into the sky like a leaping frog, going against all logic. But within the blink of an eyes, it clashed against the cold-hearted concrete once again. Because of the blast radius, Robert fell instantly to the ground, skinning one of his elbows. But the pain did not cause him to fluster. He watched as his truck burned in the aura of flames that reached into the heavens. For a moment, everything had paused to reflect on the fire created by the blast. It was silent and beautiful, like a shining star crossing the galaxy. Then that phase faded when he realized that two men were caught by the thunderous explosion. Two men lay dead on the ground, burned from head to toe, not a single part of their body unharmed. They were completely black, just like the ash that floated above them. It was a horrible sight that angered everyone and drove them to fight harder. He didn't know how many more men had to die in order to succeed, but they all came to battle prepared to give their lives for a unifying purpose. Everyone was prepared to be killed in action if success was the effect - which it would be.

So with that, Robert got to his feet in a hurry and sprinted towards another vehicle to take cover. One of his men tossed him a pistol and Robert began to empty the magazine as he fired into the gates. Nobody knew how many more men they had to kill, but it was obvious that - like their own forces - the enemies' were diminishing. But the war was about to take an unexpected twist.

With nothing but forest surrounding them, sound traveled and echoed quickly. In addition to the sound of excessive firing, the explosion caused those who roamed the night to awaken. Out of all that green, out of all those bushes and trees, the dead awakened.

The soldier next to him tapped Robert on the shoulder and pointed away from the gates and to the woods. Robert turned to find walker after walker coming out of the forest swamps. The man cursed in his head as his eye twitched from the aggravation. Now, not only did they have to worry about Daniel and his troops, but they had an incoming wave of starving monstrosities. Without hesitation, Robert pulled the door to the truck he hid behind wide open. He pulled the soldier beside him and pushed him into the driver's seat. "Ram the gate" he ordered the soldier.

The man sat in the seat covering his head as bullets grazed in all direction. "What?!" he man asked though he heard the instructions. "RAM THE DAMN GATES!!" Robert returned as he shut the truck's door and pulled away. He then ran to the next soldier and told him the same thing - the man did as ordered and started up the truck. The engines roared as the two man started towards the gates as quickly as they could. Gunfire piercing their front window as they drove up. The first man attempted to evade the bullets aimed at him, but failed. His entire torso was hammered with bullets along with the truck. His hands fell of the wheel as his last breathes became faint. The truck swerved towards the left and crashed against the gate, failing to pierce the lock and open them. But as the first truck turned, the second one came in like a torpedo. Before everyone knew it, the truck plunged straight through the gates and crashing into the center statue of Haywood, causing it to shatter into pieces. The driver flew through the front window and died instantly as his neck cracked from the impact against the ground.

With the enemy distracted by the truck, Robert and his men were able to infiltrate Haywood. The four remaining men entered and started shooting instantly, taking cover behind the crashed truck. They killed two men on their way in. Then another one of Robert's soldiers fell dead. Robert looked side to side as bullets continued to come at him from all direction. He felt trapped at this point and had to get away, he had to regroup, but with whom? With two men remaining by his side, he was about to lose the war. He looked in all direction for an escape route, and luckily, he found one.

He turned to his men and watched from behind as they fought till their last breath. He watched them shoot, take cover, reload, then return to shooting. All this was for him, so that he could become leader and later give them reason and possibility to continue. Both soldiers had one magazine left at that moment. They were now taking cover behind the truck, staring at Robert as they reloaded. One man tossed Robert his weapon and nodded. The other nodded and refrained from cover to shoot one more of Daniel's men. At that time, Robert understood that the two remaining man also understood. The one unarmed soldier suddenly made a run for it towards the left apartments, getting all the attention from his enemies. Robert took that opportunity and ran towards the right apartment complex, slamming through the front door of a room and exiting through the back window with a jump. As he had ran, he also heard grunts from his remaining men as they fell to their deaths to protect him. He fell to his knees as he took in deep breathes and planned his next move. He was now inside the gates of Haywood and knew there would be no way out of this one, so he had to prepare to take down every single enemy on his own.

But as he stood in the backside of the apartments, he found a man pointing his weapon at him.

"........I will not die with an enemy bullet in my back..." he started, throwing his rifle to the ground. "........Let us fight like gladiators upon the sands, stripped of weaponry and handicap. Let us battle with fist my dear old friend......Henry....."

Haywood - Showdown

Henry stood stalwart as he held his .22 pistol level to Robert's chest. He was ready to pull the trigger. "I'm an old man, Robert. My police days were years ago, but I sure can shoot straight." The man said in his raspy voice and southern tongue. Before Henry could squeeze the trigger, a shot resounded from behind Robert and blue sprouted from Henry's shirt. The old man fell to his knees, holding himself up with only one arm.

It was at that moment that Audrey ran into the entrance to the Alley and Eric walked past Robert. He didn't even look at him, but walked toward Henry, lifting a long revolver, formerly belonging to Riley O'Connor. In one quick, thoughtless motion, he pulled the hammer and put a shot into Henry's head. Audrey's eyes widened and time seemed to slow as Henry's body fell to the ground. She let out one startled, shrill scream, her eyes beginning to stream with tears. The pistol in her hand shook as she tried to aim as Eric approached her. When Eric was almost two yards away from Audrey, he rose his pistol, preparing to fire. It was then that Daniel tore through the front of the the alley, throwing all of his weight into Eric, the two tumbling to the ground.

Daniel threw a strong fist into Eric's jaw. Eric brought his right leg up and shoved Daniel away. Daniel quickly jumped for Eric's gun, wrapping his fingers around around the hilt. Eric stopped, mid lunge. "Why, Eric?!"

"Becuase, Daniel. You're a little punk who thinks he can rule the world!" His last words fell from his tongue as Daniel fired the last round from the gun into Eric's chest. He then walked behind the building, turning to face Robert. He threw the gun away and spread his arms. "Come on, Robert."

Bex - The Pub - Sylar/Meghan

Bex sat in the bed next to Ben's, his arms crossed and his eyes examining the deceased boy. Luke had been the one to make sure he wouldn't turn. Ben had been young-- about as young as the girls that had been delivered by Haywood. Bex couldn't fathom what kind of future awaited them when it felt like the younger generation was the one dying out first. Perhaps no future awaited them at all and that all they were doing was biding their time until the entire human race was extinct. In a twisted way, that had been what Tyler wanted to avoid, but even Tyler's hopes for the future were dashed the day Haywood attacked.

Bex wasn't sure what was up with Haywood, anyway. Clearly the people found out what their leader was doing and retaliated, but Haywood had been drunk on revenge, the attack having been little more than a slaughter. Very few of the captured women had been saved. They and the children they carried were reduced to little more than walker food. It seemed to Bex that if Tyler was evil, then so was Haywood, no matter who had taken over as leader. He could only hope that the girl, Emma, had found herself a better place than that.

A gunshot from down the hall snapped Bex to attention. He looked over at Luke, who gave him a side-eye look in return. They both knew the obvious had happened. Bex was about to ask if they should check it out when-- SLAM! --a man burst into the room carrying a younger girl. "Sylar-" Luke began, but he was interrupted as the man suddenly spilled forth panicked words.

"I need your help," the man, Sylar, said. "I don't know what to do." Then he turned and brought the girl into another room, Luke and Bex deciding to follow after him. "Please, don't let her die..."

Luke stepped into the room and gave the girl a quick look over. "You know we don't have a doctor. We'll try our best for Meghan, but..."

Bex crossed his arms. "No doctor? But what if any of you got hurt? Look what happened today."

Luke looked frustrated as he rubbed at his forehead. "We had a guy, but he died recently. I just... I'll tell Reggie what's happened." With that, Luke left to head down the hall.

---

Rudy - The Pub - Enrique/Sylar/Meghan

Thomas wiped at his eyes. "I'm sorry for getting emotional. It's just been so hard since I lost her. I've done my best keeping it to myself, however..." Thomas stood up and let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry for stepping on your toes, Reggie. However you want to handle this gang, it's up to you." Rudy turned to look at Reggie, who had his eyes closed for whatever reason. Perhaps he hadn't liked the sight of Thomas crying.

"These men should be dealt with, but not out of revenge. They present a threat for future scouting missions and we can not tolerate that. Besides, they may find out what we've done and where we come from. Then they become a threat to Outpost." Reggie opened his eyes and looked around the room, his eyes eventually focusing on Enrique. "What we'll do is head back to Outpost tomorrow and come up with a plan of action. We need to gather our new recruits and train them. I'd like to have you three as well, as you have proved to me today you are competent men."

Thomas smiled at this and held out his hand. "Thank you, Reggie. I'd love to join and I'm sure my boys would as well. Isn't that right, Enrique?" Reggie shook Thomas' hand in return. Great. Rudy wasn't sure he liked the idea of Enrique joining. The guy was an asshole, Rudy just knew it.

Luke stepped into the room then, paying little attention to the dead man on the floor. "Reggie, we have another issue." He pulled Reggie outside and the other men followed after them, no one wanting to stand around the dead body. Rudy watched Luke whisper into Reggie's ear, but the sight of Sylar at the end of the hall caught his attention... He was distraught, to say the least.

"Phon, come with me," Reggie said, turning away from Luke. Without a word to anyone else, Reggie brought Phon to the room at the end of the hall. After a moment, Reggie stepped out and, upon seeing the look on Sylar's face, closed the door behind him. "Phon's the best we got for now. If he needs anything, he'll come tell us." Reggie then waved everyone into the kitchen. "Come on and sit down, everyone. We need to wait for Jerry and the others."

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Myriah - Outpost/Counsellor Cottage - Matt

Myriah's smile wavered slightly, but she managed to keep it up nonetheless. When Matt was finished, she gestured for him to step into the next room. "Come sit down. I'm the only one in at the moment." The room was a recreation room of sorts, though clearly focused on more relaxed activities. Myriah sat down at a table with multiple chess boards left largely in disarray. To their left was a pair of bookcases, containing books from when the cottage was still a place for camp counsellors.

"I believe the system is working as intended," Myriah said evenly. "The council is intended so multiple people can give their personal perspectives, but we can't give everyone what they want. We can only do one thing at a time, Matt. The council needs to come to a majority occasionally so Outpost can keep running." Myriah placed her hands on the table and laced them together. Her smile broadened. "If one man happens to have a charming way with words, then that's how it is. Just be happy that he isn't our sole leader and that we even have a council at all."

Myriah didn't necessarily disagree with Matt, but she was largely content with how Outpost was run. Even if Reggie had ideas that clashed with her own, there was nothing that could be done if others happened to agree with him. She couldn't interfere with the system just to satisfy the desires of the few. That, to her, was ultimately wrong. Maybe it was a poor choice, but Myriah had always been content with her choices. "Maybe we should talk about the language lessons," she said. "Do you have a second language?"