[IC] The Walking Dead - Last Life

[Espatier]

True Self said

"You asked." She said to him, before checking his pockets for the truck keys, but they were already in the ignition. She ran over to hop in the driver's seat, but right at that moment was pulled from behind by an eyeball-less walker. "DAMN!" She yelled, and looked to Josef and Chloe, but they were cuffed and locked in the back. The brain eater's teeth were grazing her ear and was going to bite it off.

Bam

A single shot was fired close to "J's face near the ear... but at least the undead thing fell. " Your pretty fast young lady but I did catch up" The doctor was a little out of breath but able to see that the two struggling were the people that he was helping to find. " Your brother and his girlfriend, yes?. Nevermind, move over the bench seat and I'll drive somewhere out of here".

The doctor got up into the cab, released the handbrake and switched the lights to "blackout" for now.
The engine started up and was placed into gear and began to move. " Hang on, J" The doctor said as he looked over his shoulder then back back to face the same direction as the vehicle was traveling" you're skinny enough to crawl through the window, then cut them loose, Please".

[True Self]

Josef was on the edge of his seat ready to choke the large, soldier man with his cuffs, but he was caught off guard by the sound of someone trying at the door handle up front. He could tell instantly who it was when the door opened, even under the army uniform that Joan now wore. She could've easily been mistaken as a male underneath her new hat by anyone else, but Josef was too familiar with her face. He smiled with relief and was at the same time highly curious as to how she came by her new look. When he heard the meat head soldier speak suspiciously toward her, he was going to make his move until the man sat sideways in order to watch him and Chloe. Josef decided it was wiser to stay still and see if Joan had any tricks up her sleeve. When Joan saw his face, he watched as she turned the gun on the soldier and Josef just shook his head in disapproval. She made the wrong move he felt. Her urgency had gotten the best of her and he could see that.

Whenever the man disrespected Joan and called her a bitch Josef squeezed both of his fists tightly and felt like beating his face in, but he remained as calm as possible with the man's gun pointed toward him and Chloe. He couldn't act out of anger or else he could jeopardize not only his life, but Chloe or Joan's as well. He saw the larger soldier adjust his position in a manner as if he was going to spring toward Joan while he attempted to vex her, and Josef got ready to lunge for him if he would try. Instead, Joan did something that shocked even him - she filled his legs up with lead and pulled him out of the car. Josef was impressed and pleased to see that she let him live. It was proof even more that she wasn't murderous at heart. He watched as she went around the driver's side and was going to hop in until a walker with no eyes yanked her from behind and was going to have her ear for lunch. "HEY!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and then followed suit with Chloe's strategy for distraction by making beating noises. He slammed his cuffed fists upon the sides of the truck and even stood up to slam the cuffs from side to side through the window. A gun shot made his heart jump, but it was just in time to stop the walker from taking a bite out of Joan's ear. When the man revealed himself from behind Joan he wasn't sure what to think, but then he remembered the whole reason why they were here. It was the doctor, and his action of saving Joan's life was evidence enough that he had been wrong about him.

---

"I thought I was through." Joan sighed and felt a little light headed from the surprise. Her ears rang from the gun shot, but she couldn't have been happier seeing someone she had only known for less than 10 minutes. "Thanks Doc, appreciate it." She said with a relieved smile toward the doctor. On the inside Joan forgave him for earlier and then some. After hearing what the doctor said about driving, she hopped into the truck and practically dove through the window to help Josef and Chloe out. Any other time she would have objected and drove herself, but now was a serious matter and she had a job to do. When she got into the backseat she realized that she didn't exactly have anything to cut their cuffs in-two with.

She searched in the back of the seats and underneath their seats, but there was nothing. Joan was going to give up until she moved her feet and felt that the floor board was hollow. She lifted the matt underneath her and discovered a hidden compartment that held equipment. She opened it up to find a heavy duty flash light, jumper cables, and a wrench, but nothing sharp. Joan cursed, but then thought of checking the other one. "Just what we need." She said with a lucky grin, after searching the other compartment and pulling out a flat plastic container that contained an electric hand saw inside that was battery operated.

Joan switched on the saw and started at Chloe's cuffs to set her free. When it was time to cut Josef's cuffs she looked at him like she knew that he must've been disappointed and angry with her that she had got them in this mess. When the cuffs fell apart he snatched her shoulders and planted a kiss on the top of her head that nearly made her hat fall off with a proud smile. She backed away to wipe his kiss off of her head and sulked, "Really? Well shit, I thought you hated me." She glanced at Chloe and then back at Josef. "I apologize for putting your lives at risk... it was stupid, I know. I just felt like we needed him." Joan placed the saw back where it belonged and her face remained apologetic.

"You were right." Josef said with a forgiving smile.

[Vgirl]

Chloe was glad when Josef started thrashing with her, it made her feel like less of a fool when someone saved Joan and looked into the window. As soon as she figured Joan was safe she stopped and sunk down slightly in her seat. She still felt slightly embarrassed to have been seen like that, especially since it had accomplished nothing. At least they were safe for now, though she didn’t feel comfortable staying in one place for too long, it was too dangerous considering both those things and more soldiers were right around the corner, waiting for them.

She watched the girl as she sawed through her handcuffs and when they finally fell apart she rubbed her wrists. “Much better.” She said to herself before smiling at the girl, “Thanks.” She stood up and stretched out her back, though she hadn’t been captured for long, it had been long enough for her. She looked over at the man now in the front seat and smiled at him, she was glad that he was on their side and not one of the people or things that wanted them dead. She thought about saying something to him but stopped. This was no time to make small chat.

Finally the metal cuffs around Josef’s wrists fell to the ground with a rattle and clank, causing Chloe to look over. Almost instantaneously he had grabbed Joan and placed a kiss on her forehead, causing Chloe to smile. She still wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but it was nice to see that much care shared between two people. For a moment it made her a little sad, now that she thought everyone she cared about was dead, there was no one to care for her, to hug her and talk to her when she was scared.

Quickly she shook her head. No, she couldn’t get caught up in thought, they were still in a dangerous area. Using a loud voice so that everyone could hear her, she interrupted the moment. “Sorry, to interrupt this reunion but I'd feel much better if we saved it until we are out in the clear. This whole thing will be useless if we get stopped.”

[True Self]

Joan nodded her head in agreement with Chloe and climbed back through the window to sit beside the doc. Josef leaned up to get close to the window and spoke up, "Doctor Johnson, right?" He looked to the doctor with a friendly smile."First off, thank you for saving my sister's life. You've gained my sincerest respect and I appreciate you for it." He said with a pleased voice. He leaned in closer, to tell him directions and he said, "Now, we have a somewhat safe place near the mountains in Evergreen that J and I stay at with a generous family of four. Our brother-n-law stays with us as well and you and Chloe are more than welcome to live with us." Josef turned to look at Chloe and he gave her a welcoming smile. "There might not be much room with all of us under one roof, but we can make it work somehow." He imagined nine people inside the not so large lake house and cringed a little. We can make it work. He tried to reassure himself.

"Everyone's cool at the house. Nathan might seem like a dick at first, but he's tolerable." Joan said, looking out the window as they began to drive away from the Pepsi center. Most of the soldier's were preoccupied with the hoard, but some were looking off in their direction with confused expressions. From the looks of it, the soldier's were becoming over powered by the numbers of the brain eaters and they were forced to use their guns. Hope they all get eaten. Joan thought, thinking back on what the doctor said about the "dead games" and it made her mad. She thought of all the innocent lives that were being tormented inside the stadium and it made her want to save them all.

"You know how to get to Morrison from here? That's where we left our cadi." Josef said to the doctor before continuing, "You'll have to crash through the fences on the west side of the city. The bastards are barricading Us-40." He said and shook his head irritably. He sat back and waited for the doctor's reply and then they were off to escape Denver.

It was a twenty minute drive to Morrison, and they were lucky enough to speed passed a tank and a few army trucks on the way. Not to mention running over a few walkers... Just before they reached the fences, an army jeep spotted them and began speeding after them. They got dangerously close, but they weren't going to stop anyone without even firing their weapons. They were too cautious about attracting walker's than they were worried about a suspicious speeding army truck. Besides the "chase" seemed more like an act of curiosity from the pursuers whom actually seemed to be more interested that something exciting was happening that they were missing out on. The army truck was an exceptional disguise and seeing the doctor and Joan's new uniforms was just an added bonus. Josef then suggested that they cooperate in order to get passed the barricade instead and to pretend that the doc and Joan were going out of town to do an important task in which the doc would make up something clever to say. He decided it wouldn't be smart to make a scene and crash through the fences although it would be fun and a good way in saying "fuck you" to the troops while they left them in the dust. However, creating in suspicion could potentially cause the soldiers to follow them and their safe sanctuary could be discovered.. and innocent and unaware lives could be at risk.

"Where are you going Soldier?" An african american officer in his late fourties asked the doctor in the driver's seat, after stopping them, when they reached the barricade. His eyes narrowed and he appeared to be growing suspicious quickly.

[Espatier]

"Where are you going Soldier?" An african american officer in his late fourties asked the doctor in the driver's seat, after stopping them, when they reached the barricade. His eyes narrowed and he appeared to be growing suspicious quickly.

Opening the truck door a ink pen falls from the truck

“ Were coming back from that PMS (Preventive Medical Service) with an element that has diarrhea from eating food found in the homes of the civilians, cept it was pretty bad. The troops started to bleed from their eyes, mouth and anus, while enduring gas pains before some of them were dying”.

The black officer just looked at him for a second but before he could say anything. " Shit..."

“ Oh, mind handing me that pen back, then make sure you wash your hands for a full two minutes befo--”

“You can get it your damn self” the black officer retorted. " what the hell do I look like to you".

The Doctor jumped out of the cab and shut off the engine to pick up the pen.

“ I’m Doctor John--”

“ Go on.. hurry up and get out heck out of my fuckin AO (Area of Operations)” The black officer said “ No need in you funking up my area that that shit around and get one of my men sick--”

“ Hey, open up the back on this unit and I’ll show up guys so really fucked up --” Doctor Johnson interrupted and he began to walk to the back to open where the two others where hidden.

"Who, Whoa, Whoa, get back into the truck with that crap" the officer said. “ Open the gate!” The black officer yelled out “ No need Doctor just leave”.

Doc Johnson opened the back and the other officer closed it without looking. " Doctor... I told you that you can leave, now" a stern look was given. " Fine, if you don't want to see shit, ok then. Doc Johnson picked up his pen as he walked back to the front of the vehicle and offered his thanks with a handshake.

“ You gotta be kidding me, get the fuck out of here” The black officer laughed “ Go on “ then turned around to step over by his parked vehicle.

“ Last chance” Doctor Johnson laughed as he climbed back into the vehicle and started it up.

The Black officer motioned his to go " Fuckin Medics"

Doctor Johnson, throttled the engine and released the brakes and took off again.

Looking to his companion on the bench seat and said “ wanna hold my pen?” with a smirk on his face.

[Vgirl]

When Josef smiled at Chloe, she gave a quick smile back to him before she looked back down at the ground. The idea of staying with a bunch of other people in a remote place far away from the city seemed like a good idea, but she still had her doubts. What if there wasn’t enough food for all of them, how long would the group last before they fought and decided to split. Where would she go then? She pulled her knees up to her chest as her stomach began to hurt. She couldn’t lie though; she was looking forward to meeting more friendly people.

As they got farther away from the city, she held her knees tighter. All of her weapons were still just sitting on the ground back at the Pepsi center. In fact at this point, the military had probably picked it up already. As a plan began to be spoken of Chloe’s eyes widened. What if they looked in the back and saw her and Josef? After a moment she moved back to the seat that she had been place in when they had been captured before, putting her hands behind her back. There wasn’t much that she could do about the actual plan, but if someone tried to look in the back, the least she could do was play the part of a prisoner.

They came to a stop, and Chloe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She really hoped that they would get by without a hassle but considering how things had turned out for them today that seemed unlikely. Things seemed to be going on all right until the doctor began to tell his lie. Her eyes widened but she kept quiet. He suggested that they look in the back and Chloe clenched her fists tightly. She didn’t like this at all. He pushed so much that she wondered if he really was on their side or was just playing a part.

Even after they had made it past the fences Chloe stayed quiet just glaring at the ground. Could she trust these people? The doctor had just put them in a lot of danger, though she had to give it to him, they had made it past the soldiers. Not to mention Joan who had been reckless enough to go into a heavy militarized area alone. She wondered why she hadn’t just left when she had the chance but there was something about these people that made her want to stay and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

Finally when they were out of danger, Chloe stood up. She wanted to hit the doctor for doing something so reckless but held herself back. “Next stop is this safe house I hope.” She said. It was getting hard to handle all of this anxiety that would calm and then be brought back up suddenly right when she thought she was in the clear.

[True Self]

After the doctor offered his 'contagious pen', Joan just grinned while shaking her head. She was impressed that the doctor came up with an alibi so quickly and delivered it so flawlessly. "Nice one, Doc." She said, and looked out the window to witness the highway. Josef just smiled with relief when the soldier let them pass and he noticed that Chloe seemed to be stressed from all the anxiety. He put his hand on her shoulder to try and relax her, but he seemed to hesitate a little in case she didn't want him touching her. Josef didn't say anything, he just gave her an understanding look and then leaned back to let his eyes fall shut.

"In a bit, you'll wanna get off on Wadsworth Boulevard - We'll stay on there for a little over six miles. Then you'll take a right onto Morrison road." Josef said aloud to the doctor with his eyes still closed. He forgot that his hand was still on Chloe's shoulder and he awkwardly pulled it away. He stayed silent for a good minute before continuing, "J knows where the cadi is, so I'll let her take over from here." Josef said, putting both hands in his pockets and stayed leaned back to rest.

As she looked out the window, Joan could see several tow trucks dragging abandoned vehicles away from the road which made it a lot easier for the doctor to drive the truck where they needed to go. A line of army vehicles were stopped along the highway and were dealing with the brain eater's that were walking in sight from behind the high shrubs. One of the soldiers used a pick axe to puncture a sagging faced walker in the side of it's neck and used his boot to pull the axe back out. When the truck got onto Morrison road, a fairly large herd of brain eaters were blocking the road and there were no soldier's around to deal with them. "Run em over." Joan said to the doctor.

After squashing passed the brain eaters, Joan told the doc to take the first right and she unbuckled her seat belt to ready herself to jump out. "Alright, Josef." She said and he awoke out of his short sleep and unbuckled himself once he recognized where they were. Joan unlocked the back doors after telling the doctor to stop, and she hopped out while the truck was slowing down. She looked back at the doctor before closing the doors and said, "We'll get the cadi, and you can follow us out of here." Joan ran toward a small warehouse and sprinted to the right toward a group of trees and tall bushes. Josef jumped out of the truck after her and tried to keep up, but she was already too far ahead.

"Slow it down!" Josef called after her, trying to catch up. He couldn't cover her if she was just rushing into things. Just then, Joan looked back when he shouted and a walker from behind the bushes walked out and knocked her down by surprise. The walker was about to topple on top of her until Josef sprinted as fast as he could and tackled the walker onto the ground, away from her. Joan caved the walker's head in after a few whacks from the bottom of her automatic's handle when Josef rolled away and she thanked him after he got up from the ground.

Right when she looked up another walker with a crooked neck came up from behind Josef and she tried to warn him! "JOSEF!" She yelled and he jumped back and put his arm up to guard his face from the walker's gaping mouth. The walker's broken teeth tore into Josef's forearm and he knocked it back enough for Joan to shoot it Thack Thack Thack!

"Dammit." Josef cussed aloud and looked to Joan with a lost expression. Blood was leaking down his arm to the top of his left hand from where he had been bitten. Joan felt a sharp pain in the center of her chest and she couldn't think of what to say or do. She ran back toward the army truck and opened the passenger door to get help. Josef made it to the cadi and sat against one of the tires in shock. He reached inside his pocket to find the keys, but he just stared at them in his hand.

[Espatier]

Doctor Johnson came running with his medical kit and instructed everyone else to make the scene safe by watching out for walkers.

" Joesf, let me look at you " Asked the Doctor as he began to take vital signed of his patient. After the doctor stabilized his wounds, used saline and a pressure bandage with a knot on top he looked at josef and said " Pretty nice Cadillac you got, wanna take it for a spin and I'll follow you?".

turning to the others

" We should get moving and find a place to rest for a bit ".

[True Self]

Josef let the doctor examine him without objection and just kept staring at the keys in his hand the whole time. When the doctor finished and told them they had to go, he just looked to him and stood. His face was blank, but his eyes gave the doctor an appreciative look.

Joan stood in a protective stance in front of the doc and her brother and looked around too see if any other brain eaters were coming. The gun shots she had fired would surely bring a whole bunch their way. She turned her head to the side with her back facing them and started to say with a guilty tone, "Josef, I-" She couldn't finish her apology right now or else she would've choked up and he was already on his feet now. All that she felt at the moment was a feeling of guilt and fear. She remembered him telling her to slow down and she WAS going too fast. Joan wasn't afraid of much, but when it came to being responsible for something as serious as this... it was her worst fear. She was already responsible for Laina... Joan stopped thinking or else she would've lost it in front of everyone. She watched as Josef unlocked the cadi and got inside, and she quickly ran to the passenger side. When she got inside, she sat down in complete silence and kept her eyes down at the floor board. Josef kept silent and he just stared out the windshield as he backed out and made it back onto the road. It was only a few minutes on the road and Joan could tell that Josef was snapping back to his senses a little by the way he moved his arm uncomfortably. "I gotta say I'm-"

The car started to slow down and Josef winced, "You gotta drive Joan, my arm's starting to burn." He said with a serious and panicked tone. He opened the driver's door and the two of them both switched sides. When Josef got in the passenger side Josef spoke again, "It has to come off." He said, as he held his arm. "It NEEDS to come off NOW." Josef said as he started to wince again. His arm felt like acid had been injected inside of it and it felt like someone shot a hole in his arm just below the pressure bandage from where it closed off his veins. All of the burning pain in his forearm was throbbing as if the venomous virus was enraged that it couldn't reach the rest of his body. "I can feel my arm starting to rot on the inside. I don't want that to happen to the rest of me." He said to her and looked out the window for a place to stop. Joan immediately stopped the cadi and pulled off onto the side of the road where a rest area was. It was as if it was conveniently placed for the horror that would come next. Joan opened the door for Josef and he walked over to rest on the closest bench, holding his arm and wincing again and again as his arm felt like it was now on fire. Then suddenly, it all stopped. There was no more intense pain, but a slight numbness on the surface of his arm but he could also feel an itchy, burn discomfort within the flesh and bone - almost like when a fire ant burn starts to die down. "Get the doctor." Josef said and Joan ran over to wave the army truck down, so that the doctor could stop.

"He... He wants you to cut it off." Joan said as she swallowed hard and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Right now."

[Espatier]

Doctor Johnson pulled over the truck and grabbed his kit as well. Joan told the doctor "He... He wants you to cut it off." The doctor had a bit of shock "Right now?". He asked.
"Right now." Joan said. "This place isn't sterile enough -- " The doctor start to explain but the looks that he sad weighted heavier than the risk of infection of a simpler kind.

"I'll help Joesf, you lock up the cadi" The doctor spoke as he reached to help joesf to the truck while placing a restrictive band around the forearm. " Joesf, you need to make water, void or whatever you want to call it now before I start because we are going to lock ourselves inside for at least 6 hours....maybe longer". The doctor looked up at the sky to gauge the time of day.

The two walked to the vehicle then into the back


The doctor suggested to void by the middle section of the vehicle and to say well within sight. Turning to the two ladies and tell them " we are going to be locked up in the cougar for a very long time and but the time that I get done we can't risk opening up till morning. Go to the bathroom...together and get anything that you need out of the Cadillac".

As everyone got things together the doctor made a field expedient bed to operate from and opened up boxes and started to lay things out. " I'm going to use the rest room now and will be back". The doctor leaves for a bit then returns to the vehicle.

"I need you two ladies to get settled in and then I'll need alot of help" the doctor explained " One is going to assist and other will watch over his respiration " The doctor asked the door in the back to be kept open so that he could wash his hands out the back.

" Joesf, I need you to lay down and relax, I'm going to do my best, ok?" The doctor waited for him to get settled in before his sedation. The Doctor make a I.V. insertion point, flushed the line and got a bag of D5W ready to hang. " I want you to count to 10, backward while I'm pushing this drug and relax ".

Joesf start to count out loud

"100, 99, 98, 97 --"

Using a 14 gauge needle the doctor administered his medication into the bag.

"Both of you ladies need to clean you hands really good for two minutes at least then stuck and lock the door, please" The Doctor asked.
As the ladies washed their hands his pt "Joesf" slipping into unconscious state. By the time that the two got back the doctor was intubating joesf and wanted to show how he wanted the ladies to assist during the surgery. The doctor wasn't kind during surgery and it wasn't pretty as joesf had coded twice during the procedure as the amputation was on going.

when it was all said and done Joesf was going to sleep a long time as well as everyone else in the hot box that sat to the side of the road. The doctor choose to sleep in the driver's seat and had the assistance of both women to strap in Joesf with three sets of straps in the supine potion. Blood was everywhere but joan also had a I.V. piggy back into her arm as she volunteered to give blood if need.

The doctor thought that she was very brave for this.

[Vgirl]

For a moment, Chloe flinched when a hand touched her shoulder. Quickly she looked over and although her immediate reaction was to swat it away, she didn’t and relaxed into his touch. She smiled softly back at him and let herself relax a bit. Her breathing slowed and it felt like she was able to relax for the first time in a long time. She wasn’t sure why, but his firm yet gentle grip made her feel safe, not to mention she was now no longer alone. They were a bit strange, each and every one of them in their own way, but they hadn’t tried to kill her so that was worth something.

Finally, along with Josef, she found herself able to close her eyes, comforted by the hand on her shoulder and all too soon the hand left, leaving her shoulder feeling cold but she continued to relax. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed as they drove and although she felt herself wanting to slouch so that her head could rest on something, she kept her back straight so that she wouldn’t inconvenience anyone. Even so she managed to pass out, if only for a second during the drive, a nap that was very much needed.

It must have been more than the second that she had thought because she woke up with a start when she heard a loud and desperate yell. She looked around quickly and found that it was only her and the doctor left in the truck. Where had the other two-? The next thing she registered was Joan running back with a very panicked look on her face, she didn’t even register what the girl had said but stayed in the truck, mostly in shock. What had happened? Well, whatever it was, it was bad.

She just stared out of the truck in shock until the back closed and it started up again. She looked quickly over at the drivers seat where the doctor sat, eyes concentrated on the road but looking troubled. She wanted to ask what had happened but couldn’t find her words, instead looking down at the ground once again. Her chest ached from the panic and she bit her lip softly. Everything just kept going from bad to worse and she couldn’t help but think that it was because of her. Was she just unlucky or something?

The truck stopped once again and Joan ran over to the doctor. Her eyes widened when she heard her and she ran over to the window connecting the back of the truck to the front. “Cut it off? Cut what off?” She was still very confused but it seemed like her questions wouldn’t be answered until she saw Josef. A hand went over her mouth in shock and she just stared at him. He was bitten, just like Jake had been. “Oh god.” She mumbled, feeling like she was going to throw up. “No…this can’t…” She continued into her hand.

When the doctor spoke to her and Joan she nodded weakly before turning to the girl. She wanted to say something reassuring but instead said nothing and just walked with her to the bathroom. She waited for Joan to finish as well before they both walked back to the truck. Chloe immediately went and sat in the back of the truck, simply looking solemn. Could he really survive? Was it possible for someone to recover from a bite?

When the doctor spoke to them once again, Chloe looked back over at Joan and finally spoke to her. “I can help the doctor, unless you want to.” Joan was the closest person to Josef, so she wanted to keep thing open to her. She wasn’t sure if the girl would be able to handle everything that was to come, but then again she seemed like she was a strong more hands on kind of person so she couldn’t say for sure what the girl would choose. Whatever she chose, Chloe would make no objections.

They went back to wash their hands. She stayed silent as she washed her hands thoroughly, perhaps a bit too thoroughly as with her drifting mind she forgot how long she had been scrubbing. When she came back she quickly pulled her hands back and made sure they were safely dry before she made her way back with Joan. “Are you okay?” She finally asked. She was silent for a moment before she shook her head. “I’m sorry that was a stupid question to ask.” She said before looking back at the ground. After making sure the other car was locked up tight, they went to the truck and shut it so that they wouldn’t be disturbed while they were trying to do their work.

Whatever task she was given she worked hard at it. Seeing another person die was the last thing she wanted to happen and although she usually only did average on most anything else, she felt compelled to work extra hard this time around, not just for Josef, but for Joan too.

[True Self]

After locking the cadi doors, Joan walked ahead of Chloe to the bathrooms. She looked back to see the doc tying something around Josef's arm and saw them walk toward the backside of the truck. She continued to walk in silent disbelief and she just kept her eyes down in guilt. Why didn't the thought of his arm coming off cross her mind before? It wasn't something that seemed real to her, but then she couldn't think of any other way that he could possibly survive without the surgery. Joan stopped at the entrance to the ladies restroom and looked to Chloe, "I can't go with you inside." She said to Chloe and then thought over how what she said sounded. "It's not you. I can't go when I know others are around." She meant other girls more specifically. Joan turned to the men's restroom and looked back to her. "I'm fine going in here." She said and walked inside carefully. When she got inside she walked to the mirror and placed both hands on the sides of the sink. She only walked with Chloe to the bathrooms, so that she could get away from the source of her guilt. She looked up at herself in the mirror and her eyebrows furrowed. Joan balled her hand up and smashed her fist into the mirror with full force causing it to crack down the middle. The split mirror reflected back a disappointed, angry face and Joan then looked down at the damage done to her hand. The skin over her knuckles had been broken and there was a shard of glass that was stabbed deep between the joints of her middle and ring finger. Blood tricked down her hand, but not a single tear came to her. The throbbing pain in her hand felt like someone had run over it slowly with a dumpster truck. Her face began to show a painful expression and she used her other hand to grasp the glass that stuck out of her other hand with her fingers. She tensed her lips and accidentally bit her tongue hard from the pain as she proceeded to pull the bloody, broken shard from the top of her hand.

Joan ripped a piece of the bottom of her shirt underneath her army clothes and wrapped her knuckles. She kept her hand in her pocket when she walked out to find Chloe who was waiting for her outside. She dragged behind Chloe, and dreaded walking inside that truck. The problematic day had escaped them and it was already in the late evening with the sun going down. When they drew near the army truck, Joan saw Josef walking from the side of the truck from where he must've taken a leak. Their eyes didn't meet and Josef got inside before she and Chloe got there. When they did, Joan just listened to the doctor's instructions quietly. " One is going to assist and other will watch over his respiration " She heard the doc say and she felt a little uneasy, but only because she was worried. Seeing blood and disgusting things was nothing to Joan and it didn't bother her in the least. It was the thought of Josef without an arm and herself feeling like she was the reason for it was what bothered her the most. Joan followed after Chloe to wash her hands, but was hesitant to pull her injured hand out to be seen. She used Chloe's question to her advantage to distract her with her own responses as she cautiously washed her hands while keeping both of her eyes on Chloe's. Her answers to Chloe, however, were genuine and painful. "I think so." She replied when Chloe asked if she was ok. "It's not..." She said referring to her "stupid question" and then continued, "I'M fucking stupid." She said and grimaced a little from the wound on her hand when it made contact with the soap.

When they returned, Joan chose to watch over the respiration apparently, because she didn't realize that she was focusing too hard on the wiggly lines before she realized that the surgery was soon to start. " I want you to count to 100*, backward while I'm pushing this drug and relax ". She heard the doctor say to Josef. "O-one hundred, ninety nine, ninety-eight,..." Josef began his counting and his face looked as if it had lost all it's color. When he got in the sixties he clearly started to feel the affects of the amnesia. "Sixty-eight, Sixty six-" He shook his head a little with a tired expression and realized he made a mistake, "S-sixty eight, Sixty-seven, Six...Sixty six." He attempted to keep going as hard as he could, but he couldn't and he looked over at Chloe with sleepy eyes. Her face looked like it was glowing like an angel and he tried to finish counting before he let his eyes slip closed. Joan put her hand up to the center of her eyebrows and tried to banish the thoughts of worry from her mind. She never looked away when the doctor started the cutting. It was a long tormenting surgery and her heart hammered several times from the scare of Josef dying and being brought back by the doc TWICE. When it was nearly over, she watched as the bone disconnected from Josef's body and the doc cut away the remaining flesh that was still in tact. She witnessed her brother's familiar forearm being pulled away from the rest of his upper arm and the doctor stored it away for disposal. When it was completely over with, she helped Chloe strap Josef down securely and then sat back down beside him with the back-up iv inside her own arm - just in case Josef needed blood. She didn't even remember agreeing to do this, but she must've agreed to do it whenever she was caught up in the intensity of the surgery and she didn't mind. While the others got prepared to sleep, she just kept her tired eyes opened. She had no intentions of going to sleep, because she was in protective mode times a hundred. Her brother nearly died on her account, and if he would've she could never live with herself. Joan looked to see if Chloe or the doc were watching and, when she decided they weren't, she looked at Josef who looked so vulnerable in his sleep.

"I can never lose you." She said giving Josef's good hand a squeeze.

[Vgirl]

As Josef counted down, for a second Chloe went to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder like he had done for her but she quickly pulled back and instead simply looked down at him, “Everything is going to be alright.” She whispered, mostly to herself to calm herself down. Even in sleep he looked like he was in pain and Chloe didn’t like it. Quickly she turned her head away and instead looked down at the hand. It was better to concentrate on the work; Joan could worry about how he was doing. It would do no one any good if she was worrying too much.

She didn’t let all the blood get to her as they cut through the arm. It was necessary if they were going to keep him from turning. She followed the doctor’s order as best she could, occasionally pausing when he asked for things that she didn’t understand, but she did her best to try to understand and not waste a second. During the entire procedure, she realized that she could never be a doctor, the stress was too great for her and she probably wouldn’t have been able to handle everything as well as the doc did.

Finally they finished and after washing up as much as she could, Chloe finally felt like she could breathe again. She leaned back in her seat and looked at Josef with a rather blank expression. What if he didn’t survive? Sure they had successfully taken off the arm, but what about blood loss and what if he still turned. Quickly she shook her head to stop herself from thinking about such things and did her best to close her eyes and try to sleep. She was exhausted but the past few days had taught her to be a light sleeper.

It was a troubled sleep full of nightmares, but she managed to rest for the most part. A growl quickly jolted her out of it and she looked around for a moment in panic. Again she heard a growl and she swallowed hard, trying to get that growing lump out of her throat. She thought about waking up the others but feared that if they woke up too abruptly they would attack her. As the growling began to get louder she quickly ditched that thought and made her way over to the doctor, lightly shaking him to rouse him from sleep.

She paused for a moment, making sure he was actually conscious before she spoke. “Hey, we need to go. Now.” It occurred to her that it had been the second time she had said that. “Those ‘things’ are outside.” She wasn’t sure if he had heard them too but figured that she needed to give some sort of warning. Slowly she moved over to Joan. “Joan.” She whispered softly, softly putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Joan.” She repeated once again. “We’re leaving. Those things are outside.” She was very careful with her, the girl had been through a lot today.

Her eyes wandered down to the torn t-shirt around her hand, with dried blood on it and she winced. How had she not noticed that before? Had she not been paying attention? She looked back up a Joan, a slightly troubled expression on her face before she shook her head. Although she was worried about her, it really wasn’t her place to say anything. She didn’t know what the girl had gone through up till now and almost losing Josef was probably hard as well. Still, self-harm wasn’t the best answer.

Quickly she made her way back to her seat. If anyone had the right to talk to her about it, Josef was the guy, but at the moment he was out cold so she decided to keep quiet. If there was a time, perhaps she would talk with him about it.

[Espatier]

“We’re leaving. Those things are outside.” Words that were spoken to him as the doctor woke up and pressed the button to start the truck. " Close the ports after we get moving, I'll stop, start a few times just in case one of those things happens to hang on somehow".

The vehicle lurched a few times back and forth.

The vehicle had a very high wheel base so that running over anything wasn't a problem as they drove away. " Ok which way and if need be we can double back for the other car later". The doctor explained as he drove " He'll need to rest and not get moved around alot after I'll give him some heavy antibiotics".

[True Self]

"I hear them." Joan whispered back with her face down between her thighs. She was sitting with her legs pulled into her body and her forehead rested on her arms on top of her knees. She had heard Chloe whisper her name twice, but she was too tired to answer her at first. She never went to sleep, and the growls of the flesh hungry brain eater outside just motivated her to stay awake even longer. Joan was unaware that her injured hand was visible to Chloe, but she was too exhausted to notice. After checking and seeing that Josef was still breathing, Joan pulled the IV out of her arm and quickly hopped into the passenger seat beside the doc. She explained a short cut to him and the doctor drove off into the early morning darkness. "Forget about the Cadi. We can come back for it another day." She said to Doctor Johnson, and she made sure the keys were still in her short's pocket. The Cadi was partially the reason Josef got bit and it was also too dark right now to see much - which made it far more dangerous with those mindless shits walking around. She almost felt guilty for abandoning the Cadi, because it was really Gabrielle and Thiago's old car... but she had enough guilt to deal with as it was, so she just let it go. After a few minutes of gazing out the window to clear her mind, Joan looked over at the doctor with a sincere, yet sad look and thanked him, "Doc... Thanks a lot for keeping Josef alive." There wasn't enough thanks in the world to repay him, but she intended to honor the debt by keeping him from harm at all costs. As Doctor Johnson drove, Joan stayed up front to tell him when to take each turn and in case he got lost. Half of her consciousness was assisting the doc and the other half worried about Josef. What family would she have left if he were to die? Nathan? They hardly got along and she use to hate being around him back when the world was normal. She only forced herself to give Nathan the time of day, because of what happened with Laina. He wasn't even married to Laina, so that didn't really count as family to Joan.. they were soon to be married and that's the only reason Josef calls Nathan their "brother-n-law". Joan decided she needed Josef, because he was the only one left she genuinely cared for as family. Even though she wouldn't let him know it.. He was the only thing stopping her from giving up completely. All she knew is that she was glad that Josef was still alive.

---

Last Life - Chapter 2: Nowhere Safe

With the short-cut Joan provided, it was only a 15 minute drive to Evergreen before she instructed the doc to turn onto a secluded dirt road. Once they had left the city, the military was practically non-existent. There weren't very many walkers either, but they were surely around. As the army truck made it's way down the road, several other dirt roads became visible that branched off on the sides of the main road and they led to who knows where. About six or seven roads down, there was a particular road with fallen trees blocking it's path and Joan told the doc to slow down. She asked him to go off-road and they did so for a few minutes before they started to approach a mass of water that appeared to be never ending in the darkness. The early morning sun was starting to peek over the tops of the trees as the army truck drew near a cozy looking lake house with the front porch light on, as if someone inside was expecting them.

When the truck pulled up, all of the lights inside the house were in the process of shutting off one by one very fast. Joan suspected it was Nathan freaking out and she was the first to step out of the vehicle. The morning air felt extra chilly and she would feel the morning dew as the grass brushed passed her ankles. She made it to the little porch and walked up the steps to rap a familiar knock on the door. The door opened and Nathan stepped out in his boxers and a white tee. The tattoos running all the way down his arms were clearly visible in his short sleeve when the porch light came back on. He was holding a police gun, but Joan knew it was only for intimidation, because she remembered they were out off clips for it. "Where the HELL have you been?" He demanded in an irritable manner. He looked out across the yard and he had to look twice before he realized that instead of the expected Cadillac, there was a huge military truck in it's place. "What the-How the fuck did you come by that?" He said in a somewhat shocked, somewhat impressed tone.

"Never mind that- Josef was bitten and we need to get him inside on the bed, so he can better recover from the surgery." Joan half-way snapped at him. She turned back around to lead his clueless ass back to help.

"Wait-WHAT..." Nathan said, stepping off the porch and walking out to follow Joan.

Isabella poked her head out through the front door and looked around the corner before being spooked back inside by a moth's shadow that appeared bigger as it drew near the porch light. She peeked her head back out and chose to ease her way cautiously onto the porch when she saw no danger. "Nethan?" She called, pronouncing his name slightly wrong with her strong accent. Isabella's hair was down instead of in her usual ponytail with the bow and she was in her butterfly decorated pajamas. Her hair was so long that it hung passed her waste in messy dark brown curls. Her face is childlike, but the short latina was really in her late twenties. "Nethan?..." She called again, and then saw him walking toward an army vehicle with Joan. She was unsure to step off of the porch or to go and follow. She chose to stay put and wait to see what was going on.

When Nathan stepped inside, he saw Doctor Johnson in the front seat who looked to be one of the shit bag soldiers. "Who the fuck-" That's when he also turned his head straight to see Chloe who was in the back as he entered. "You've got a shit ton of explaining to do." He said to Joan. His cursing seemed to be in league with Joan's if not worse. Nathan followed Joan to where Josef was laying asleep and he nearly puked from the smell of blood. "Holy damn." He said nauseously when he caught sight of all the blood. He stepped out of the truck and lost the contents of his stomach into the grass. He cursed in a pissed off manner and kept his hands on his knees.

Joan just shook her head and explained to Chloe and the doc, "He can't see blood or else he trips out." Shaking her head again, she realized now that he wouldn't be much help. She might've remembered that if she didn't feel like passing out right at this very second. Her eyes felt heavy and when she looked down at the peaceful sleeping Josef, she almost wanted to knock him off and sleep there instead. She realized it was a horrible and desperate thought, and was just more of her mind's way of making some sick joke to possibly lighten her up. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at the doc to see how he wanted to go about moving Josef. "There's...a bed." She said with an unwilling yawn. "It's in the upstairs room." Joan informed both the doc and Chloe.

[Espatier]

"Who the fuck-"

Doctor didn’t saying anything to the tattooed guy that was in his briefs with a wife beater, holding a gun.
But just watched “J’s” lack of interaction and loss of verbiage while in his presence.

"You've got a shit ton of explaining to do."

He said to Joan. His cursing seemed to be in league with Joan's if not worse. Nathan followed Joan to where Josef was laying asleep and he nearly puked from the smell of blood.

"Holy damn."

He said nauseously when he caught sight of all the blood. He stepped out of the truck and lost the contents of his stomach into the grass. He cursed in a pissed off manner and kept his hands on his knees.

“ Friends of yours as well I take it?” The doctor asked Chole as he got up and out of the seat. “ I take it that he does well with authority figures like police, right?” he spoke as he headed to the back to watch him vomit near the driver’s side rear wheel well.

"He can't see blood or else he trips out." Joan said as the doctor turned around again to face both women. Taking a couple of steps towards them and asking in a low voice. “ What were you thinking?. The guy outside is carrying a loaded gun, upset that you and I both of wearing fatigues. OH this was a great idea. No wait” The doctor put up his hands “ You don’t wait to plan anything right, now I remember”. Maybe the comments were harsh but not for the doctor to hear and see the attitude of the welcoming party to his door.


Joan rubbed her eyes and looked over at the doc to see how he wanted to go about moving Josef. "There's...a bed." She said with an unwilling yawn. "It's in the upstairs room." Joan informed both the doc and Chloe.

“ I’m wearing blood soaked fatigues” The doctor looks himself up and down “ Go ask your boyfriend to help you carry Joesf in. It was clear that the doctor didn’t feel welcome and was going to give himself some space from this other guy.

turning to Chloe “ Remember to check his wounds only once per day” The doctor reached for several items and laid them out of her. “ antibiotics are in these big fluid bags that you’re going to hang, for the next few days”. The doctor then begins to make a small bag with instructions for her. “ Brown pills 4 X per day, the yellow and whites go PRN, that means as needed for pain, ok?” The doctor didn’t wait for a reply and continued “ Don’t worry, I’ve written everything on the bags”.

Maybe it was about now that the tattooed man and joan were able to get josef up with the two of them supports josef under his arms and carried out into the house.

“ If you need to help them, I’ll leave these here on the seat. I’m going to grab a bucket from the vehicle tool locker to wash out all the blood and rinse my ACU blouse top as well. You go on, get some rest upstairs with josef, I’ll be fine sleeping inside the truck”.

[Vgirl]

When the doctor asked if they were her friends she shook her head, “Nope. I met Joan and Josef just before you did. I have never met these people.” She was hesitant to leave the back of the truck considering the welcoming party they had received. Before she left the truck she put her jacket over Josef to shield him from the cold morning air. She jumped out and glanced over at the swearing man who was now vomiting because of the blood. Considering the world they were now living in, he wouldn’t be much help at all.

Letting out a sigh she walked beside Joan. Her eyes widened when the doctor began to yell at Joan and she took a step forward. “Hey, step off! If it wasn’t for her, you would still be in that truck surrounded by the dead.” She let out a sigh and put her hand on her head, “I’m sorry for yelling. I just don’t think that this is the time to be getting angry at each other. We have bigger things to worry about.” She didn’t like yelling at people, but it didn’t feel right that the doctor was blaming the man’s reaction to their appearance on Joan.

She followed the doctor to listen to his instructions on how to treat Josef. She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this, considering Joan was closer to him but she let it pass. Her eyes wandered over all of the drugs and antibiotics that he was laying out. She could hardly differentiate between them, aside from the color and the names that were on the exact same type of bottle; names that she probably would be unable to pronounce. Fortunately the doctor explained everything to her in very simple terms, mostly regarding the color of the drugs or the outward appearance of what she needed.

She nodded and watched as he placed the bags on the seat for her to take. “I’ll go help them first, but I’ll come back for these as soon as we get Josef in bed.” She began walking towards the group before she stopped, “Oh and doc. If you ever want to sleep in the house, I’ll swap with you.” She gave him a smile before running over to the group. It was the least she could offer to him and although he didn’t trust them yet, maybe that would change. She just hoped that he would stick around. He was more useful than she could ever be.

She headed over to the tattooed man and softly spoke. “I can help carry him upstairs if you’re not up for it.” Josef was covered in blood after all and considering his initial reaction, it was probably really hard for him to be near him. If he took her offer she would take his place in carrying Josef up to the bedroom, but even if he didn’t, she would follow very close after them, making sure that they made it up to the room without a problem.

As soon as they got him up and onto the bed, Chloe ran back downstairs and scooped up all of the antibiotics, running right back up to the bedroom. There was a moment of confusion when she wondered how she was going to hang the bag but an idea quickly came to her. She ran around the house before she found a tall floor lamp and unplugged it, bringing it up to the room. Grabbing a metal coat hanger she bent and twisted it until she could hang it from the lamp with the bag hanging on the hook. She managed to put it into his good arm and got it to start dripping.

When all was said and done she sat down in a chair and read over the instructions the doctor had given her. After she was done reading she sat there and watched over the sleeping Josef. She knew that she had to share the instructions with Joan as well but she felt unwilling to leave the beside, just in case something happened. “Wake up soon…” She mumbled, though she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. He would be in a lot of pain if he woke up too soon after the amputation.

[True Self]

Joan was half-awake when the doctor said what he said and it stung a little, because she was in a vulnerable state from tiredness and she felt it was unexpected - any other time she would've reacted differently, but she just took it for now. When Chloe stepped in she stated,"He's right though... I never plan for anything." There was a hint of hurt in her voice as her mind traced back to the thought of how Josef was trying to keep up with her before he got bitten. She could understand why Doc woulda responded the way he did, because of his distrust toward Nathan, a stranger to him.. and she was going to introduce everyone properly until Nathan went to puke his brains out. Joan was so use to ignoring Nathan's bullshit commentary that it may have seemed careless of her to not say anything to defend her new friends when he so rudely came in contact with them. They couldn't say she didn't warn them about him though. Maybe they misunderstood his surprised reaction and thought he didn't approve of them. His habitual cussing was often taken the wrong way and the fact was Nathan sucked at making a good first impression. Doc and Chloe had the rest of the day ahead of them to decide if he really was an asshole or if he isn't that bad after all. "That's Nathan the Dick." Joan corrected the doc, when he said that he was her boyfriend. She figured by her saying that, it would ring a bell to the Doc, but he seemed too offended by Nathan's inconsiderate behavior to probably even care.

"I'll get him if you take off his shirt." Nathan replied to the new asian girl and his face looked to still be nauseous. Most of the blood was on the left side of Josef's shirt where the arm had been amputated and Nathan could just ignore any other small blood stains if the majority of it disappeared out of his sight. He wasn't sure if it was Joan or either Chloe who removed the shirt, but it was off and Josef's southern tanned, toned chest and abs were slightly visible from the distant porch light. Joan lifted Josef carefully on the side of his missing forearm and Nathan assisted by carrying him on the side of his good arm. Isabella met them halfway and immediately ran inside to go prepare the bed in the upstairs room. When they entered, a lamp was on in the living area which was a reminder that the electricity must've come from a generator of some sort. As they finally made it upstairs, Isabella was pulling the sheets and comforter down and removing the stitched pillow covers. Joan and Nathan laid Josef on the bed and Isabella tucked the covers over him. Joan followed Chloe downstairs, but then stopped to sit on the couch for a break. She almost nodded off as she sat there and then Nathan walked over to her to ruin it. "So who are they?"

"Friends." She said as if she knew them forever. It was strange how quickly strangers bonded when working together to survive life threatening situations. "We all saved each other."

Chloe came back upstairs and Isabella looked to her when she entered the room. "Do you like juice?" She asked her and just blinked. "I have apple-juice if you like to drink juice and I am Isabella." She introduced herself with a pleasant smile. Isabella thought Chloe was the only one who came back with Joan, because no one else came in the house with her.

"Who gave you those clothes?" Nathan asked curiously and Joan just knew he had a thousand more questions that would follow.

"Doc did. I don't think he likes you very much. You could've been a little nicer." Joan said in annoyance and sank into the couch. She figured Doc was on his way in, because she was off with Nathan when he told Chloe that he was sleeping in the truck.

"What the hell was I suppose to say when I find two random unknowns sitting inside an unfamiliar army truck? I thought you and Josef stole it on your own. Seeing two new faces shocked the fuck outta me." Nathan replied.

Nathan looked as if he was going to shoot another load of questions Joan's way, so she stopped him before he started, "Look, I know you have lots of questions to ask, but I'm about to K.O. so please shut up and save them for later." She put it as nicely as possible.

[Vgirl]

(With Joan and the tattooed man, Nathan holding Josef up, Chloe carefully took off his shirt, to desperate to help to admire the magnificent body before her. She had folded it over her arm, the arm closest to Joan and followed after them. As she ran around the house, she had flung the shirt over her shoulder in order to give her arms freedom of movement. Momentarily she wondered where her jacket was but figured it was just in the back of the truck. Well, at least it wasn’t in the middle of town like her axe and Josef’s bat and guns.)

---

Chloe smiled back at Isabella and nodded, “My name is Chloe.” She responded, “And I would love some juice." she added, an obvious tone of relief in her voice. She was glad that this girl was much friendlier. Finally she took the bloody shirt off of her shoulder and folded it up, placing it on the bedside table. Hadn’t the doctor said he was going to wash his stuff? Perhaps she could ask him to wash Josef’s shirt along with it? She shook her head; perhaps that would be too much to ask of him. Again, when she had the chance she would ask.

[Espatier]

Letting out a sigh she walked beside Joan. Her eyes widened when the doctor began to yell at Joan and she took a step forward. “Hey, step off! If it wasn’t for her, you would still be in that truck surrounded by the dead.”

" Yeah... your right, made you have left me and the vehicle then, but we can change that still. Part ways right now " he replied.

---

“I’ll go help them first, but I’ll come back for these as soon as we get Josef in bed.” Chloe began walking towards the group before she stopped, “Oh and doc. If you ever want to sleep in the house, I’ll swap with you.” She gave him a smile before running over to the group.

"Thank you" He replied but didn't mean it.

Yes it was true that he liked joan alot as an individual but disliked her reckless way that cost a man his arm... maybe more.

Old Doc began to get the bucket to draw some water to wash out the vehicle so that he could make a dry spot to sleep in the evening and recovered a hidden M4 in the vehicle tool locker. That is strange he thought to himself.

Doc went to the lake to draw the water and began to rise his clothing. Seeing that to remove the dark stains that he was going to have to remove his clothing and wash up. This was going to be a problem.