Ash Holloway
Location: Hordebuster, Sprayberry Road (G15) -> Intersection of Sprayberry and Jackson St. (E8)
Skills: Engineering, Mechanic
The Hordebuster had made its way up and around the bend without much in the way of incident. The qualifier "much" was really code, indicating that were they outside of a large moving vehicle, things would be worse. Oh sure, there were indeed the Dead along the road and in the middle of it, but the most interaction the survivors in the truck had with them was the occasional
bump as the great wedge on the front of the Hordebuster shuffled another one off and flung it to the side. Luckily, there weren't a whole lot of them that were squishy enough to warrant an involuntary gag of Ash's behalf. In this day and age, it really did take a lot to get most people to gag, but the almost cartoony way that The Hordebuster could make walking corpses explode? That could still get some of the more hardened survivors a-horkin'. When it wasn't gut-busting hilarious, anyway.
As the Hordebuster swept the street clear of Dead guys, Ash found his mind wandering back to his youth, revving up his father's riding lawnmower and tearing across what open grass was available in semi-rural Virginia. The machine ran smooth; many of the people in his family were mechanically inclined. But various knocks and thudding coming from the bottom of the mower were rocks, tree limbs, and the occasional unwary gopher (as you couldn't
wear them back then, apparently), whereas the things rebounding from the 'Buster used to be people. Had Kid Ash he known what adventures were waiting for him adult, he very likely would have traded places with the gopher. Coin toss at best. But he was alive now, and so were at least two others for which he felt responsible.
Now the Hordebuster sat at the corner of Sprayberry and Jackson, between the abandoned gas station and the Barbecue joint. Yeah, he couldn't think of James right then, no matter how much he wanted to. Shit had to be held together, and whatnot. Still, he had lost his best friend. It felt like a selfish thought; everyone who was still alive just lost family, or people close enough that they might as well be. Newnan. The Newnan People. It didn't matter what came after this, they would always be Newnan to him. It was the same sort of sentiment that got Jack and Tatiana to change their surnames to match the city. Ash really hoped that those two made it. They represented Hope.
It suddenly occurred to Ash that Riley had asked him a question. He shook the cobwebs out of his head, and addressed the younger lady.
"Huh? Sorry. Ah, not sure. This is a "play by ear" situation, Riley. We're moving faster than a lot of the others are, and not all of them are going to Arnco Mills. We have a general fallback point. Unless the situation is hostile, it's there we're spending most of our time waiting. A day to regroup, probably. Then we have to look to getting our emergency supplies." Ash had his own agenda, outside of his responsibility to his people. But even though Newnan was a crater, he was still their Captain. Someone had to be, or they wouldn't be "a people" anymore. And they needed to stick together now more than ever. His own agenda would have to wait, but just barely.
The road ahead of them was more heavily populated by The Dead, a thing that would make life hazardous for anyone coming through on foot. Even in the 'Buster, Ash didn't like it. If anyone were equipped to clear a path, though, it would be a post-apocalyptic Army Engineering Officer sitting at the helm of a piece of homemade siege equipment. Ash shifted back into gear and set himself to pushing forward.
Thalia Carmichael
Location: Eden, Headed toward Tennis Courts -> Corner of Tennis Courts
Skills: Stealth, Survival, Sharp Weapons
Thalia wasn't 100% happy with their situation. Running point on the sneak attack was a logical decision to make, seeing as she was the only one specifically trained in both stealth and survival techniques. But most of her decisions wee based on a one-person operation. She wasn't a Field Commander. Not even when she worked for her uncle's company. She had authority, true, but there was a difference between having a rank for the purposes of doing a job, and being a strategic leader. At the very least, she could scout out the best path and try to clear a couple human obstacles. Or formerly human obstacles. Even back Before, it was her bread-and-butter.
Of course, that was the problem. Facing in the direction she was, toward the tennis courts, Thalia could point out two people moving toward the noise of the TANK on her left flank. The cover there was slight at best; any movement that made their peripheral vision focus on a human silhouette would give them all away immediately. That was an inconvenience, though. Hang out quietly and they would pass. The problem was that there was a third Edenite in the thicker cover ahead of her. If this guy had noticed them yet, he would have indicated
something, used a radio, or just opened fire. But he had not. Again, her kingdom for a silencer. But this guy was right on her 12, and an approach was difficult until the other two yahoos had passed by or were killed. Quietly.
While she was not thoroughly satisfied with her current predicament, she was pretty damned sure that her bestie back in the big, steel beast was having a blast. It just seemed like her. In the back of her mind, Thalia thought,
"Yeah, two dollahs says that Kiwi's already prioritizing killing fuckahs, eating a sandwich, playing a few holes of golf and then... new hairstyle? Something like that..." She'd just have to remember to ask. Well, if she could get past this one guy ahead. Thalia had failed to fully sneak up on the first Edenite in her path, a thing which, in all honesty, she probably got lucky that she didn't blow the whole thing in that second. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to be lucky again.
Ok, the two bastards out in the open had taken three good steps toward the general area of the tank, taking Thalia out of their peripherals. The second she could, she darted across the paved path and into the copse of trees near to the tennis court. She kept low. Upon doing so, she noticed two things: 1) The front side of the building was near the bottom of a sloping hill. It would make an assault easier, but stealth on a direct approach very difficult. 2) The man in the bushes still hadn't seen her. Yet. Maybe he was taking a piss. A really long one. With his back turned.
Thalia approached from the north, sidling up just inside of the treeline. Irony working for her in this instance, the huge open space behind her was clear and allowed for an unseen approach, so long as no one else appeared in the clearing. Not ideal, but the bushes around and the old mulch on the ground around trees that were once ornamental sufficed nicely to muffle the approaching steps of her hiking boots. Her first good look at the man finally let her know why she was so successful thusfar: The man was crouching, holding a working radio to his head, a finger plugging up his other ear while he was looking at the ground, trying to concentrate on what was being reported. Was he scared and hiding? Or just totally unaware that this whole TANK thing was possibly a distraction? This was too much. Dropping any pretense of direct stealth, Thalia stepped right up to the poor guy, humming to herself,
"Mmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm, Mmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm... The joy of Chola..." The man's eyes widened and he whipped his head around just in time to see a blade descend. He was able to blink three times before the light left his eyes entirely, the last imprint upon him being the expressionless face of a dark haired young lady, painted like a skull with ash and char.
Thalia returned to the edge of the treeline and waved Thana over. The area looked clear, they had cover, and a couple points of egress under cover of the terrain, if necessary.
