[IC] The Walking Dead : Among the Ruined - Season 2

[QT]

Anthony - Haywood

Carrying three full propane tanks was a difficult task for Anthony, but the man was managing. He ran as quickly as he could, because this was the only chance they had. Sweat ran down his face, going into his eyes and making them burn. On his way out of the storage he made sure he had matches to light the fire. His arms grew tired as he was almost half way to the building, causing him to drop a propane tank. He cursed and had to go back and pick it up once again, wasting time.

As he grew closer to the building, Daniel and his people were heading the opposite direction. Anthony wasn't even acknowledged at the time, nor did he acknowledge anybody. He was as focused as the rest of them, trying to survive. Quickly he jogged it up to the side of the building where the windows were accessible. There were walkers trying to get out, but with so many crowding the bottom floor, they weren't giving each other enough space to depart.

At this time, Anthony got on a knee and opened up one of the propane tanks. He lit the match and started the flame on the little stick. He turned to the walkers in the window as he lit the propane tank, causing a flame to ignite from the gas. He opened up the propane tank a little more - the flame growing as more gas escaped the encasing of the tank. "Burn in hell motherf*ckers!!" Anthony called out as he threw the ignited tank into the building. He then opened up the other two tanks and threw them through the window as well. Soon enough, as he started to run away, a giant flame burst through all the windows of the first floor. The sound of the explosion was incredible, mesmerizing. Within the next ten minutes or so, the flames would enhance throughout the entire building and bring it to ashes, along with the dead.

Anthony just stood there, watching the entire building burn. He couldn't help but smile at the sight, knowing their fight was over. But as the smile arose, it once again faded. "Crap, we gotta plug up that gate dammit!" he cursed yet again, running towards the gate itself. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him, looking at the three wholes on the gate. Once there, he peeked out to see a couple walkers heading their way. He looked side to side to see what he could use to prevent them from coming in, but found nothing. He then backed away a little, pulled out the kitchen knife he still had, and waited.

He was gonna stay there until the walkers tried to get in, and while they attempted to do so, he'd stab them one by one. That was the only plan he could come up with at the moment. Since they didn't have time to go back to the supply room, he had to stay on guard. He hoped that Daniel was watching this and would get something to plug up the holes. Maybe they would be able to use the remainder of the building once it collapses. Maybe some bricks - something.

[Myst]

Katie - Haywood

Katie could only stay quiet. She was too scared to make noise. It was all coming back. The screaming, the snarls of the monsters, the sounds of people dying...
Her shoulder hurt so badly.
Everyone was scared. Everyone was yelling. Katie had never known grown-ups could be scared.

Laying on the couch she tried to stop crying as people ran around and yelled at each other. Shouldn't they be quiet? Noise made the monsters come.
"Emma?" she asked weakly, reaching a small hand out towards the girl, but she didn't seem to hear her.

Where was the guy? The one who had gotten her the flowers for Emma?
"Rob?" she asked in a small voice. "Rob?"

~~~~~~~~~

Jessalyn - Car - Abram

Jess appreciated his promises, but the fact was that Floyd was out there. She knew he could take care of himself, but when someone you loved was not by your side you worried. It scared her to think that she might not see him again.

"Abram?" she said, placing a hand on his arm. "I love him."
She didn't say any more. She didn't need to say anymore. Those three words said it all, how important it was to her, how vital, that he be brought back to her.
She had never told him.
Why had she never told him?

Jess prayed she would have another chance to tell him. Even if he didn't feel the same, she at least needed to get her feelings out. Her heart hurt to be apart from him.

[Rithas]

Rob-Haywood-Katie,Daniel,emma...Basically A lot of people

Rob was a bit weary as the building that two minutes ago he was in, was on fire.Rob went to the conclusion Haywood had it's ass kicked in. More people died from the aftermath then the actual battle. Rob felt bitter, why did he survive when all the civilians died? In the unbelievably tense air, it seemed that they were safe for now. A small voice made Rob turn his head. "Katie...Look, right now...As you can probably see, everything is...Well, I'll be honest everything is not okay...But it will be, soon enough everything will be okay. Well, mostly, but right now I need you to stay close to me. Were fixing the very bad situation as we speak, but you never know what could happen so soon. So just, stay close okay? We'll find Emma as well, soon enough" Rob smiled as he looked around. everyone around him was trustworthy. Well, he was pretty sure.

[Atomyk]

Outpost

The scouts returned to Outpost with little fanfare. Although the community was grateful for the supplies, this exchange had been in place long enough that Outpost had come to see the scouts less a a luxury and more of a common way of life. Thomas and his friends were introduced to the council, but their introduction was muted by the news that Ben had been lost. Still, this didn't seem to sway the people eager to join the scouts in order to protect their home. Reggie had decided to keep it a secret from them and the council that their plans had changed toward eliminating the gang at the art museum.

Of both the old and new recruits, only Thomas and Rudy were interested in the language classes, though Rudy was only interested in sign language for Elliot's sake. Bex and Enrique would have followed Thomas, but the man had told them it was better they concentrate their time on the scouts. Reggie had promoted Enrique to help train them, after all.

Rumors began to spread about Matt and his dissatisfaction with Outpost's council. The guy was a charmer and relatively well-liked, so the rumors never turned malicious. While the community looked up to Reggie, many of them were scared of the man. Many were dissatisfied with his ideas, but no one wanted to say anything. How could they possibly question the man that saved them? Like Myriah, many in the community simply believed that everything would work out. Of course, not everyone was so willing to sit quietly...

---

Rudy - Outpost/Classroom - Matt

Richard had called for a break. He had looked upon his class of diminishing students and realised that this was a bad idea. Rudy could see it plainly on his face. While Sarah's class had maintained a steady number of students for the past three days, Richard's class had lost more than they gained. Myriah had been hoping this would open the door to starting a school of sorts in Outpost, but these classes were throwing wrenches into her plans. With a heavy sigh, Rudy stood up to talk his friend, Elliot. He was about to sign to the boy when Elliot glared at him, which was the equivalent of being told to fuck off if Elliot talked. He had been in a bad mood for days and he was taking it out on Rudy and Richard. It wouldn't be long before Elliot stopped showing up to these classes as well.

Forced to give Elliot space, Rudy instead made his way for Matt, who was also sort of Rudy's friend? The guy spoke with him, so that was fucking good enough for Rudy. He sat down next to Matt and rolled his eyes. "What a joke this turned out to be," Rudy said. "Outpost is fucking all over the place. Reggie's changing his plans on the fly and Myriah is too focused on what's immediately important to her. No wonder people are talking."

It was then that Thomas decided to pull a chair up and sit across from Matt. "People are talking, aren't they?" he said with a bit of a smirk. Rudy frowned at him. Thomas didn't seem to be a very interesting guy. He was nice, dutiful, and quiet most of the time. He hadn't spoken of his daughter since three days ago. Rudy had no idea what to really think of the guy.

"It doesn't really concern us," Rudy interjected. "No matter what people think of Reggie, we're still his scouts."

Thomas stared for a moment, but eventually shrugged. "I suppose. But... Matt, right? I'm still new around here, so I thought you might be able to give me a good idea of the state of things. You seem to know exactly what's going on."

---

Reggie - Outpost - Sylar

Only three days in, and the scouts had doubled in number. Reggie was overjoyed at this, even if he wasn't sure about some of the new recruits being women. Could they really muster up the strength he needed out in the field? He decided it would be best to give those few to Enrique; The man was thankfully as tough as he said he was.

The veteran members of the group didn't exactly need the extra training. A few of them did, but Reggie realized he was wasting time keeping all of the scouts in Outpost. It was for that reason he eventually approached Sylar with a proposal. "I trust you," Reggie started off with. "And I know you care about Meghan, so I have an idea." Reggie placed a hand on Sylar's shoulder and moved him away from where the other scouts were running drills. "Myriah's probably asked you about assisting with her classes, but I need you to forget about that. We need someone to check out the art museum and get a good idea of the state of things. How many people they have exactly, their schedule, their formations. I don't expect you to find out everything, but right now we're blind."

Reggied turned away, his eyes on the group of scouts. "I'll let you lead and I'll give you a handful of my veterans. You can use The Pub as a base of operations so you can even check up on Meghan. She can assist you if she's up for it, but I'm sure I don't have to tell you not to push her."

[OutlawedPanda]

Daniel and Emma - Haywood

When the two siblings had gotten past the barricaded doors, they were horrified at what they saw. At one end, the building that had been a haven was burning to the ground, and down at the gates, Anthony was fending off a barrage of walkers. Daniel looked sympathetically to his distraught sister. "Emma, tell Riley I need his help, Rob, Shannon, and Lauren can take care of themselves for a few minutes!" The young girl nodded and raced up the stairs, returning with the Doctor moments later. "We have to help Anthony block the gates."

"Move yer' truck in front of the gates!" Riley suggested. Daniel nodded; it was a good idea. Though it was riddle with bullets, the truck's gears should be functional enough for them to switch it from Park to Neutral. The trio tore down the hill and raced to the truck. Riley and Daniel went around the bed and Emma jumped into the driver's side and yanked the gear switch into Neutral, gripping the wheel. She had to stand a little because the seat was adjusted to Daniel's body and Emma, being nowhere over 5'2, was not him.

"Move, Anthony!" Daniel yelled, and they began to pushed the truck adjacent to the gate. Emma steered the vehicle as close as she could without hitting the actual fence, and climbed out of the cab of the truck. It took a moment, but her adrenaline began to simmer down. They had temporary safety, and that was good... but then the wave of grief washed over Emma like a tidal wave as she watched the building burn. There had been about 60 to 70 people in Haywood... there were maybe a dozen, now... They were walkers now, and if they hadn't been burnt to a crisp or eaten before they turned, the falling rubble would kill them all. Daniel came to her side and looked at the gates momentarily. As tears began to leak from her eyes. She put her arms around her brother's waist and cried into his chest. After a moment, Daniel had to pull away.

"Anthony, Riley, we have to kill them before they can get past the truck." Daniel said. "We're completely out of ammunition, but we can check Robert's trucks"

[Rithas]

Matt-Outpost-Rudy/"Thomas"

Matt sat there quietly thinking to himself, minding his own business of how he should interfere with other people's business when Rudy sat down next to him. Matt made a disappointed face when Rudy brought up the fact the fact that outpost was all over the place. Matt was of course...planning to fix that, or worsen it. He wasn't exactly sure yet. "Being able to stop mutiny apparently doesn't add up to also being to be actually smart. Tsk," Matt arched his head back in annoyance.

Suddenly, Thomas slid his chair into the conversation and started to talk...about how people are talking. Matt actually hadn't had too much conversation with Thomas since he joined the outpost shortly ago. On the outside he seemed normal enough. But Matt knew there was something was wrong...he felt like there was something hidden, whether that would be good or bad for Matt was yet to fold out. Matt frowned slightly when Rudy mention the fact that they were his scouts. "Pff, please, when does that moral code ever stand up?"

Matt turned his head to Thomas as he asked Matt was going on. "Well, uh....Thomas. You possible joined on the worst possible time..." Or the best, If Thomas was that sort of man. "Hmm, Many things are going on here Thomas. Whether you want to know what's really going on. That's up for you, and whether....You want to add to what what's going on. That's up to you too" Matt smirked as he turned his head to Rudy.

"That counts for you too, but I'm sure you already know a bit" Matt chuckled as he lowered his head to the table. "Seriously though, things will be changing soon, You can't have two figure heads with rather misguided views. Even if both of them have a good idea, and one of them I approve of..." Matt glanced at Elliot. He did seem pissed. Matt knew sign language, but he never really talked with Elliot. Mainly because he didn't want people to know he knew sign language. Also he didn't have much to talk about.

But the fact that the sign language class was diminishing was unfortunate. But hopefully it also helped push Richard and such further into Matt's cause. "Let's just hope, lucky things happen"

[QT]

Alone

There wasn't time to go back, no! Not now! It was getting too dark and they were way too close. Right and left, mark the trees, right and left. Remember where you came from, don't forget your path. These were thoughts that ran his mind as he sprinted through the incoming darkness. The escalating heartbeat didn't help. It was almost as if it echoed through the damn swamps. The water seemed to ricochet the noise like sunlight. The noise pinpointed his location, giving the monster a direct gps-like route towards him. It was getting hard to breathe, especially in the weather surrounding him. Who said it didn't get cold in the south? The damn humidity and dampness of the bloody swamps made it seem like it was twenty degrees. With only a tank top and a jacket on his torso, the man feared hypothermia. Unfortunately, he didn't have the leisure time to start a fire. If he stopped running, the death would soon catch up to him.

His boots broke the small branches beneath his feet. The grass also shattered along with the wood, like the man's hope. He understood that soon enough, he'd get tired of running, that he would end up the prey for the creatures of the night. And then it happened, the sun finally reached its limit and clocked out. There was no more lighting, no more shine to guide the way. Now, it was pure darkness, not even the moon could illuminate the way. The trees above prevented that from happening due to their giant statures.

Moaning echoed through the silence, it created a sense of fear on all surroundings. They were getting close.

About twenty minutes ago this wasn't the situation - or at least it didn't seem that way...................

"Where the hell did y'all go?" Floyd asked himself walking around the house slowly, noticing a couple walkers roaming the yard. He crouched and came up behind a walker, jamming his blade into its thick skeletor brain. Instantly the unprepared walker fell to the ground, thudding loudly. Another yard-walker noticed and started towards Floyd. "Don't joke with me asshole" Floyd commented, using his blade like a throwing knife. Right in the skull and the walker fell backwards. Quickly, Floyd acted and ran to retrieve his knife, staying hidden from the third yard-walker.

Soon enough, he found himself at the doorsteps of the home. He noticed the door had been forced opened, the frame was nearly shattered to bits. "How many?" he wondered, not knowing how many walkers had overrun the house. With caution, he entered the home, looking right then left. The kitchen was empty. The living room also. Then a loud bang came from the second floor of the home. Floyd turned quickly to the stairs and started to walk them.

Once on the second floor, he took a defensive position as he slightly bent down walking down the hall towards the noise. It was the room Jess had initially claimed her own. Floyd noticed the door was wide open as he continued down the hall. There had been nothing in the previous room, just what was there in the first place. As he approached the room, Floyd peeked in and noticed a walker struggling to get out of the closet. It had trapped itself on the hangers and clothing, unable to get out. Floyd then walked normally towards the thing. In aggravation, the walker growled and moaned at him, hungry for his flesh. "You're one ugly son of a b*tch ain'tya?" Floyd stated. The walker attempted to reach out for Floyd. "Sorry, I don't role that way" Floyd joked as he forced the blade through the walkers jugular and into its rotten cerebrum. The zombie dropped, but was caught by the hangers and clothing before it reached the ground - looked like a puppet.

Anyhow, as Floyd was making his way back downstairs, he heard a noise form the backdoor. Again, he went to check it out. Once he got there, he noticed that the door was attempted of being breached. That last-yard walker was trying to get in. Floyd went ahead and opened the door, backing away quickly and watched the walker fall to the ground. "Idiot."

But as the walker stood, Floyd didn't want to believe his eyes. The thing, the walker he was facing stood and became the resembling image of her. He knew it wasn't, but his mind couldn't help but see her in that walker. The deceased pregnant woman started walking towards him with her arms held outward. Her near-claws attempted to snatch a piece of his flesh as her hoofs thumped through the wooden floor. Floyd backpedaled as he continued to see Jess in the walker. Since she was nowhere to be found - nor Abram - and the prints showed the vehicle had made it out in one piece, Floyd knew the walker before him wasn't her, but there was something that prevented him from acting.

At that time, these..........thoughts.........started to roam his mind. He wondered if they would come back - if they even wanted to return for him. Floyd wasn't stupid to believe they wouldn't figure out he'd return to the house, Abram nor Jess was that dumb. He had the idea that after a while, they would come back to the house looking for him, but right now, he was second guessing himself. The last thing he remembers was the argument he had with Jess, having her reach her last straw and fighting back for the first time. He remembers her not being happy at all, her finger digging into the sole of his chest. He still felt that clonk - and it wasn't comfortable, nor physically nor emotionally.

His trance of thought was interrupted when the pregnant walker took hold of his jacket. Floyd reacted by pushing the walker to its back as he pulled away. As it started to get up, Floyd quickly dashed forward and jumped on it, stabbing it quickly and directly as he put it out of its misery. But apparently, that little blade-action wasn't enough as he started to impulsively jam the knife into the walker brain over and over. He'd done it so many times that he had become exhausted and just laid atop the walker for a second before falling to the side. His face was crunched up as he shed tears of regret, damping the wood below him. He just sat there for minutes, urging himself to snap out of it.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled from the top of his lungs as he stood to stab the wall behind him. He was so damn irritated with the decisions he had made that he had to take it out on something. They weren't coming back for him and he understood why. Floyd then hurried to get whatever supplies Jess and Abram had left behind. It was apparent they didn't have much time to pack anything as things were still in the same place. Floyd returned upstairs and got the donations Abram had provided. Ammunition, food, and medical supplies all went into his bag. Once that was done, it was time to leave.

But everything changed on the way out as out of the woods came the hoards. "What the-" Floyd started but was unable to finish as he quickly started to jog away from the incoming walkers. His scream seemed to call back the walkers that had stormed the house earlier. It is to believe they were merely lingering around, awaiting another target to drop by - and they got one.

And that's where we are now. Twenty minutes later, Floyd runs for his life attempting to get enough separation between him and the lingering walkers. But every time he seems to be in the clear, another walker seems to appear from the pits of nowhere. In addition to that already-terrible-situation, the darkness had overwhelmed the light. And it was cold..............very cold.

So therefore, Floyd continued to jog as efficiently as he could, but getting extremely exhausted. All of a sudden, a ridge! "FUCK!!" Floyd cursed as he rolled down slanted surface. Rocks and all sorts of rough terrain scraped his entire body. It seemed like an endless journey to the underworld until suddenly it ended with at hard knock to the back to the head. Floyd had finally made it to the bottom but at the cost of unconsciousness. And with that, the darkness became complete................for now.

[SheriffLlama]

Abram - The Road - Jess

As the soldier drove, he kept glancing in his mirrors, checking each one for any sign of the herd. When he was confident, he used his free hand to ramble through the cd's in the console between the seats. He smiled as he spotted one, entitled The Best of the Century[b] Good, maybe there was some songs he knew. He opened the case and slid the CD into the slot, but made sure the volume of the radio wasn't very loud. He couldn't help but grin more when the first song played... [i]American-Pie, by Don McLean. The man hummed softly, bobbing his head lightly to the tune. Now and then his lips formed the words and he sang ever so softly, which was fortunate for Jess because he was an awful singer. "So bye, bye Mrs. American pie..." The next line was a line he couldn't recall, but he picked up as soon as he found the words in his mind.

Bye, Bye, Mrs. American pie. Drove me Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
Them good ol' boys, they're drinkin' whiskey and rye,
Sayin' this'll be the day that I die.... This'll be the day that I die.

Abram smiled at the irony of the song. He didn't exchange words with Jess, only sat in the silence and listened to the music. "The day... the music.... died."

[HellHoundWoof]

Enrique stood behind a group of five men firing at a set target about 50 yards away, he saw three shooters who were actually hitting the target the other two were hitting either too high or to much to the right. He walked over to the man on the end who was missing using a Winchester Model 70, his shots were landing just to the left of the metal drum Enrique had set at the end of the field. He tore the rifle out of the man's hands and brought it to his chest and cleared the chamber, the man looked up at Enrique and Enrique spat at the dirt next to him.

"You're a waste of ammo, space, and oxygen" Enrique said coldly, "You either learn to shoot right or you can leave, I dont give a damn what other people think if you cant kill a fuckin barrel you're no good to anyone."

The man stood up and puffed his chest out a bit, he looked angry and got somewhat closet to Enrique.

"And who are you to determine that?" The man said, "You're not the counsel, you've only just got here and you're gonna give me orders? How about I kick your ass right here and prove who's the waste of space?"

At this point a woman walked over to the pair, she was short with red hair, well filled out and with nice green eyes. Enrique stared as she walked over and put herself between the two pushing them apart, she looked at both of them and grabbed the rifle out of Enrique's hands. She put it in the mans hands with force and the man took a breath and got back to shooting.

"Dont toy with Arthur," She said quietly, "He's got a temper, and he's not someone to mess with. I'm Amanda, and we know who you are. You're the big bad Mexicano who's training up the scouts now, right?"

"I'm Puerto Rican," Enrique said with a smile looking down at her, "But I'm big and bad nonetheless. I'm only here to make sure Outpost is protected in the event of an attack, if your troops cant hit a fucking barrel with a hunting rifle then you should look into making them walker bait."

Her smile faded and she patted his shoulder and walked away, he grimaced realizing he had given off the cold vibe again. Shit, gotta work on that , he went back to the firing line and walked over to the second bad shooter. This one was a teenager, he couldnt have been over 16. He was using Marlin 336 hunting rifle, it was a fairly good rifle and shouldnt have been a problem. Enrique knelt down next to the kid and motioned for him to get up, the kid pushed himself up onto his knees and held the rifle across his legs.

"Tuck your rifle into your shoulder, then tense your arms, exhale then squeeze the trigger." Enrique said calmly, "Dont waste ammo, just remember it only takes one shot to kill if your aim is true."

"Thanks," The kid said with a nod and resumed the prone position. Enrique stood and walked back to a chair he had set up, he was still wearing his coat and reached inside of it pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a BIC lighter. He placed one in his mouth and lit it, he took a fairly sized drag and let the smoke slowly fall out of his mouth. He let out a small cough, he wasnt an avid smoker and sometimes it got tough.

[QT]

Anthony - Haywood

It was completely empty. Nothing but trash and dried up blood over the seats. The truck was ruined too, just like everyone amongst him. It wouldn't budge from its position, nor was it useful at this point. "It's empty!!" Anthony called out to the others. It would seem Robert and his men used every weapon in their arsenal during the fight.

Quickly, Anthony ran back to the gates to join the two men. Surge then joined the men at the gates, all in attempt to help. Anthony began to walk up and down, staring at the walkers who were making their way towards them. "Me and Surge will try and......and get their attention away from us. Were gonna run out there and make those things follow us" he said, taking initiative. "You and Doctor here need to get to the supply room and get whatever you can to plug up these damn holes."

Anthony motioned Surge to follow him, he who had a knife in his hand. "You ready?" He asked the man, opening up the whole in the gate a little to get some space to get through. "Always" answered Surge as the two men exited Haywood.

At a steady pace, the two men started their jog to the left, heading into the woods. "Hey!! Over here you damn things!" Anthony yelled as the walkers turned towards both him and Surge. With that done, the two men fulfilled their mission to catch the attention of most walkers. They started to lead them back into the woods. Unfortunately, three walkers stayed back and had the urge to still attack the gates. Haywood was one step closer to being in the clear.

[Captain Shelton]

Cody - Near The Pub

A cold wind slithered in between the decaying buildings of New Orleans and kicked up little flurries of snow all around, its mournful howl punctuated with the occasional moan of the undead. A lone soldier, ducking into yet another alleyway, pulled his shemagh tighter around his face, the cold biting at his cheeks. The weight and coverage of his uniform, equipment and armor kept the rest of his body warm enough to be unfazed by the cold and for once he found it was surprisingly comfortable. He remembered unpleasantly all the weeks he'd spent in the desert, training and sweating buckets under all of his gear and desperately wishing for shade from the sun's violent rays. This weather was a refreshing change and just about the only positive thing he'd experienced in the last several weeks.

The soldier was one Corporal Cody Heiler, a Combat Medic in the United States Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. At 6'2, he was an imposing figure even with his rather slim build, thanks to the bulk of his armor. His black hair had been recently shaved into a short buzz, a decision he would've regretted if not for his helmet keeping his head warm. Dark green eyes swept his surroundings warily, waiting to catch a glimpse of movement from some window or door that would signal an impending fight. The young soldier had been in a near constant state of alarm and awareness for the past several days, constantly waiting to be attacked and for good reason. In a matter of weeks the young man's life had gone from bad to worse to dire and morbid. The refugee camp the 3rd Cavalry had maintained, just outside of their home base of Fort Hood, had been wracked by disease, shortages and infighting between the residents and shortages of troopers due to ever mounting casualties in the war on the undead. They had thought their situation was bad then, but when a solid mass of Walkers close to a thousand strong lumbered their way, the unsuspecting populace of the camp realized that starvation and overcrowding were the least of their worries. Despite the best efforts of the perimeter guards, the walking dead smashed through the gates and overwhelmed the guard posts, flowing over them like ocean waves. The population had retreated further into the camp, trying to escape, but their panicked efforts were in vain. Only a handful of people got out the back gates before the horde surrounded the camp and flowed in from both directions. It was pure luck that saw Cody leave the camp alive.

Before long, he found himself in Louisiana, headed for another camp just outside New Orleans. But upon his arrival, he and his two comrades discovered the camp in ruin, its populace having joined the shambling, flesh eating hordes days ago. Once again, Cody narrowly escaped with his life, though one of his fellow troopers wasn't so fortunate. A short time later, his second companion had committed suicide with his sidearm, leaving Cody to face the apocalypse alone. His vehicle out of commission and everyone in his life dead and gone, Cody had wandered off into New Orleans, searching for a place to stay and something to do.

Now he was here, creeping through abandoned apartments and stores like a stray cat, fearful of discovery. Cody let out a long, tired sigh as he rounded yet another street corner, his will to continue slowly fading. Looking upwards however, his expression changed to one of surprise and disbelief as he saw lights coming from a little hotel across the street. He could see people inside, moving about and talking to each other. The place seemed warm and inviting and Cody wondered if it was a sanctuary or a trap. He decided quickly though, that there was only one way to really find out. He slowly walked across the street to the hotel, his carbine hanging from its sling in front of him, non threateningly.
When he reached the door, he stood slightly to the side of it and raised a gloved fist to knock three times.
"Hello?"
he called.
"Can I come in? I'm not looking for trouble."

[SheriffLlama]

Meghan & Hazel - The Pub - Cody

Meghan and Hazel sat in the parlor of the motel, playing a game of Phase 10 from a collection of games that had once belonged to the motel owners. The girls had resorted to this game after two games of uno, a game of scrabble, and an awful attempt on Hazel's part to teach Meghan to play Rummy. Meghan found it hard to play with one hand, because of Phon's crude sling. She dropped her head backwards as Hazel victoriously declared, "Boom! Phase-freakin'-Ten!" The girl threw her deck on the table. "I am the master." Meghan stiffled a laugh and grinned briefly. She set her cards down in a far less flamboyant manner than Hazel, and stood from her chair, stepping from the table. Hazel shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"Its getting late, lets eat." Meghan proposed. Hazel nodded, and started towards the Motel's kitchen area. Before they reached the back of the kitchen, a knock resounded at the alley door. Hazel instantly pulled her gun out, prepared to take on anyone who rushed in. Meghan's right hand(thankfully her uninjured arm) pulled the pistol from its holster, and she held it like Hazel, but with one hand. The voice that called sounded like a man, and that worried Meghan... It wasn't Reggie, Rudy, or Sylar... so a new person...

Hazel cautiously approached the door and kicked the latch with her boot, holding her pistol outward. She found, however, that a headshot would have done her no good. Outside stood a man clad in Army SBD, and his helmet would have deflected the the unintimidating round from her gun. He was tall, about 6 feet, maybe an inch or two taller, but he wasn't extremely built... but that didn't affect the girl's attitude's towards the stranger. "Hi... Welcome to the Pub..." Hazel said. "We were just about to have dinner."

[Myst]

Jessalyn - Car - Abram

As the music played Jess stared out the window. She tried not to get too upset. Of course she was upset already, but she was trying very hard not to take things out on Abram. It was just... she was worrying so much about Floyd, whether he was alive, whether he would come after her, whether he would believe that she had willingly left him behind...
Such thoughts ate away are her mind and heart, making her cry silently. And the man in the seat beside her acted as though he didn't even care. He didn't even seem to be watching for Floyd as they sped along the road.
She wanted to scream at him to turn the damn music off. She wanted to hit him until he agreed to turn around and go back for Floyd. She wanted to run and scream and cry and hit something repeatedly all at the same time.

But she didn't. She kept silent and still. Tears flowed from her eyes like gentle rain as she kept her head turned away from Abram.
Floyd... she thought. Please know that I didn't want to leave you... please come back to me... come for me....

She brushed her hair out of her face and the action caused her gaze to turn upward. Her eyes widened.
"Abram," she said, her voice a little hoarse from crying so she cleared her throat before speaking again. "Abram," she repeated, clearer this time. "Look. There's smoke coming from somewhere. It's too much to be a campfire, isn't it?" she asked, pointing. "Maybe it's Floyd," she exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe he's trying to signal us!"

[SheriffLlama]

Sylar – Outpost – Reggie

Sylar was not exactly fond of the people of Outpost. The scouts were great, and Myriah was fine… but the residents made a habit of ticking him off. Not on purpose, maybe, but each time Reggie and his scouts would return with certain supplies and not others, the people had the audacity to complain about it.

As Reggie brought about his proposal, Sylar was almost jumping to accept it. He would be able to be close to Meghan, and still make runs around the city. He nodded, decisively. “I’d be honored, Reggie.” It was then that he saw one of the new guys – Thomas Zucchini or whatever his name was – walking around. He’d heard him talking to Matt earlier, but he was certain, neither of them had seen him… Something about this guy gave Sylar a very uneasy feeling.

“Hey, sorry if I’m jumping over the lines, but… I want that Thomas guy…” To Reggie’s confused expression, Sylar elaborated. “He… I don’t know why, but he feels like trouble. He doesn’t look like a random survivor. Enrique and Bex look up to him like he’s their general. If he’s gonna stay, maybe he should be away from the main community…” He said. “Could you just… offer the position to him?”

Abram – New Orleans/The Vicinity of Haywood – Jess

He looked at the tall tower of smoke that rose above the tree line as Jess pointed it out. “Could be…” He said, but inwardly knew it was a ludicrous idea. Floyd was smart, too smart to light a smoke flare. That would broadcast his position and put him in danger. However, he decided not to trouble Jess and he turned down the next road, trying to track the smoke.

By nightfall, Abram found that the smoke was gone, and he now drove down a long straight road. He slowly pulled the car to a halt… he could just make out a tall building in the distance. He stepped out of the car and made sure that there was no threat around. Opened the back door and pulled his rifle from the seat. He steadied the weapon on the doorframe and peered down the road. At the end of the road, lay an apartment complex, closed off by a patchwork, wooden gate.

[Atomyk]

Rudy - Outpost - Matt/Thomas

Rudy wasn't sure he liked the hints Matt was dropping, especially toward someone so new as Thomas. Outpost needed to be put back on track, not have yet another person deciding they knew what was best for everyone. "I'm all for change," Rudy said, leaning in closer to Matt. "But if change compromises the safety of Outpost, I don't think..." He trailed off his, his brow furrowing in thought. "Just don't do anything... fucking..." He searched for the right word to use, his hand circling the air. "... Crazy."

"Maybe I do want to know what's going on," Thomas said. "I'm a part of all this now, aren't I?"

Rudy looked toward Matt before sighing. "Fuck, whatever. Reggie's a popular guy around here, okay? But he's all about Outpost being strong at the cost of our stability. I respect the guy and I'm a part of his team, but I love our community too much to watch it crack itself in two... Do you understand?"

Thomas leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. He nodded after a moment and smiled. "I get it. Everyone's got their own agenda. I've seen this happen before, with another group. In fact, I-"

Thomas trailed off as Richard entered the room. He didn't look much happier than before. "Everyone's still here," he said, signing along with his words. "Good on you guys." A few of the people in the room awkwardly chuckled. They were well aware how fast they were diminishing.

"This is a good thing, because a smaller class will be easier to teach. You guys are going to become very skilled, I promise you."

If only Richard sounded confident.

***

With the class over, Richard was quick to leave, almost as if he was embarrassed. He told everyone to practice outside of the classroom and that they should try the language whenever they speak, even if no one they were talking to was deaf. Then he was gone, with Elliot slowly following after. The rest of the students were slowly getting up as well, most of them discussing if the class could survive much longer.

Before Elliot could leave, Thomas stopped him. Elliot turned around angrily, but Thomas held out his hand in a stopping gesture rather than speaking. It seemed that was enough to pause Elliot, as he waited for Thomas to turn around and address everyone in the class. "I think we're all concerned about this class sticking around. There's not many of us and it's still early... But I think there's a bigger concern here that affects all of us."

Confused, everyone in the room looked at each other. Hesitantly, Rudy conveyed what Thomas said to Elliot. A girl named Samantha decided to speak up and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I think Matt has a better idea than I do, but..." Thomas turned and gestured toward Elliot. "As far as I've heard, Elliot's been discriminated against, hasn't he? I may not have the whole story, but what efforts have been taken to fix that? If all you've got to show is this dwindling class, then I think there is a problem. You're a diverse group of people, so why is this tolerated? We're all here to learn and I think all of us here can empathize with Elliot." Thomas then raised his hands and attempted sign as he spoke: "I'm very sorry. I would have been your friend, if I had been around before. I wouldn't have tolerated this."

Elliot shook his head and laughed. He looked toward Rudy with a smile on his face. "You wouldn't believe what this guy just said to me," he signed.

"What?" Thomas asked.

"He... says he's grateful," Rudy responded, smiling back. "You probably need to work on your signing, though." But then Rudy felt a stab of... what? Jealousy? Thomas wasn't Elliot's friend, yet he was the one who got the boy to smile. As for the discrimination, Rudy hadn't tolerated it either, but what could he possibly have done? For that matter, what could have Thomas done? Not much fucking else, Rudy thought.

"I think where there's smoke, there's fire," Thomas continued, addressing everyone again. "And in this case, someone isn't leading Outpost to its best ability. Who do you have in charge? A council? I honestly though Reggie was in charge before I arrived."

"Well... I don't know," Samantha said. "I honestly don't know Reggie too well. I arrived around the same time he did, but he's never spoken to me."

"He doesn't like to associate outside of the scouts and the council," Rudy said. "Not since the mutiny attempt. People really only listen to him because he stopped it. He's not friendly... not like Myriah." Rudy looked toward Matt. "And not like other people on the council."

Thomas turned toward Matt as well. "It seems we have a lot to talk about. The floor is yours, Matt."

[OutlawedPanda]

Wanted to rewrite the drinking scene because each time I read it, it sounded worse and worse. Conner will edit his post to respond with Abram and Sylar if I understood him correctly.

Daniel Haywood - Haywood

Daniel nodded to Anthony as he and Isudor took off. Daniel's grip tightened on his axe as he turned to Riley. "Let's move the truck." He said. The older man followed suit and joined him after switching the gears of the large truck into Neutral. Daniel and O'Connor threw all of their weight into pushing and the truck slowly moved from in front of the gate. As he looked out of the holes in the gates, he saw that Anthony and Surge had succeeded in draw the attention of all but three of the walkers. The biters slowly approached the gate and Daniel readied his axe, and gave a determined swing down on its head. Riley wielded a rebar rod and bludgeoned the second walker in the head until the decaying tissue had collapsed. When the third walker decided to come to Daniel, it was dispatched just like the first. Satisfied, Daniel nodded, and turned to his sister, who stood waiting for instruction. "Emma, wait here while the Doctor and I look for something to patch these walls with in the supply room!"

The girl nodded and produced her bowie knife from its side holster. Daniel motioned for Riley to come and they to ran towards the main building. Instead of going up the stairs, the went past, and down the hallway, to two large, metal doors next to the back exit of the building. "The keys..." Daniel muttered, then swore aloud. Riley reared his arm back and struck the handle of the door with his rod. The rebar gave a resonating clang in response. The man repeated the process, but this time the handle fell to the ground. As the rod clattered onto the ground, the two men went into the large room. There were 4 metal shelves, but the walls were lined with sundry things as well. They found what they needed, a large stack of wood, a few 2x4's and other various lengths. "Grab those, I'll find some nails and a hammer." Riley stated. Daniel obeyed, finding it odd to be in the position of obedience rather than authority. He lifted as many as he could onto his shoulder, and slid a few more into the crook of his armpit.

Riley found a large tool crate, and took out the two hammers within. He also picked up a box of silver, thick industrial nails. He spotted several plywood sheets resting against the wall. "C'mon, I'll come back and get those sheets." Daniel hurriedly walked outside, burdened by the weight of the wood. Riley went ahead of him, beating his walk with a hasty jog. Before Daniel reached the gates, the man doubled back and went for the plywood sheets. 30 minutes later, they'd patches 2 of the 3 large holes in the gate, and began working on the smaller gaps. Riley had also picked up a chain and a padlock in an unopened box. When they were done with the patchwork, the men pulled the gates back together and secured the chain and padlock after setting the code on the back of the mechanism.

Haywood - Two Hours Later

When Daniel was sure that he and Riley had done all they could except for wait for Anthony and Surge. And so, thirty minutes and half a bottle of Jack Daniel's later, Daniel sat at the Mess Hall counter, sipping from a glass. He was already growing nostalgic as he felt his mind beginning to calm from the effects of the alcohol in the drink. He'd quit drinking and smoking when his mother had died, a year after he left the Military Police and was drafted into a Delta Force squad, and he'd promised his Dad that he'd stop for good. Old habits die hard, he decided and took another drink. When Riley came into the Mess Hall, Daniel gave him a brief glance and returned to his bottle and cup.

"4 years sober..." He muttered when the man sat on the stool beside him. "You don't have any cigarettes, do you?" He breathed a laugh at his own joke and stuck the glass to his face.

"Sonny, in Edinburgh, some of my mates would look down on ya for goin' so long without a drink." With that, the man took a glass from behind the counter and filled it with liquid. "But, no, I'm afraid you're only going to relapse on one addiction, tonight." Silence fell upon the two as they sipped from their drinks. Daniel huffed a laugh through his nostrils.

"It's all gone, Riley... Haywood, Eric, The Chambers, the Johnson... everyone... Henry's gone..." Daniel spat to the dirty floor. "Sometimes... I just wanna know... Why? Why do we gotta keep going on like this? Why live if we're just prolonging an inevitable, painful demise?" He set his drink down and lay his hands on his knees, bracing himself. "I used to be a counter-terrorist operative... but now-"

"-But now you're a hero, Daniel. You're a hero to me, you're a hero to Rob, to Shannon..." The man nodded to his own declaration. "You're the hero to Emma."

"Riley, I don't even know who that girl is anymore. She may be the same old E.J. on the outside, but... but on the inside, she's someone else... she's something." Daniel shook his head in frustration. "I missed the Majority of her life and only played Big Brother when I wasn't deployed."

"Daniel, she's a beautiful girl and she's compassionate-"

"And she's killed a man." Daniel said, gritting his teeth. "W-when I first left the Military Camp outside of Baton Rogue, I was determined to find her and Dad fast enough so that she wouldn't need to cross the line but I was to late... She'd changed to much by the time I unlocked that cell door." Daniel said. He could feel a fugitive tear coursing down his cheek. "Robert was like another walker to her. I could see it in her eyes..."

"That's not your fault, lad..."

"Isn't it?" Daniel objected. "Mom died 4 years ago, Dad took a bite from a walker, so I'm all that's left. But she won't let me help her." Daniel picked up his cup and emptied it with a swig. O'Connor poured him some more from the bottle. "Heck, she won't even talk to me. I still don't even know what happened to her in the catacombs, but whatever it was took my little sister, my sweet angel little sister and tore her to shreds... she won't talk to anyone except you and Katie, and she wakes up in the middle of the night crying. She comes into my room every night and crawls under my quilt and gets real close, like she's making sure I don't leave her."

"Daniel, I know your sister, and she still looks like just a regular little girl, but she's so much more." Riley said. "I can't even imagine what happened to her in the catacombs, but I trust that she fought back and that means that she's at least got a little lion in her spirit."

Silence fell again and they sat for a few minutes. "C'mon, sonny, lets go an see if we can't get everyone over to the house." Riley said. The two went up the stairs and to the office.

"Everyone, we think its in our best interest to sleep in the house tonight, since its got beds and isn't riddled with bullet holes." The group agreed and everyone began to make their way towards the house.

[Captain Shelton]

Cody - The Pub - Meghan and Hazel

Cody's eyes widened as the door opened to reveal a striking young woman with a handgun leveled at his general direction. Cody glanced down at the pistol, back up at the woman and then smiled awkwardly.
"Uh, hi."
He replied, stepping inside with her.
"I'm Cody. You mind if I join you?"
He took a quick glance around the place and was impressed to say the least. It seemed too good to be true. Some fellow survivors, and not the half-feral, starving and dangerous kind either. Quite the opposite, they both seemed hospitable and in a good state. Not bad looking either. He actually felt comfortable and safe(ish) for once.

[SheriffLlama]

Meghan – The Pub – Cody and Hazel

Meghan saw that the new guy, Cody, was obviously a US Soldier, like that Enrique guy that had come with Luke, Rudy, and Reggie. Hazel stepped back to allow him into the kitchen. “O-of course, yeah…” Hazel said, lowering her gun and sliding it into her waistband. She motioned back to Meghan, “Uh- this is Meghan…”

“Hi…” Meghan said, giving him a small wave and an equally awkward smile after putting away her own weapon. Meghan glanced over him, quickly as not to let him notice. He was tall and looked lean like any soldier, but he wasn’t Enrique or Reggie’s size. He had a cute face, and she could see the tip of his buzz-cut hairline, and his chin and jaw were lightly lined with hair. He wasn’t bad looking…

“Meghan can show you to the rooms and you can pick whichever one you like. I’ll get dinner started.” Hazel said. Meghan led Cody out of the kitchen and down the winding hall. In the first corridor of rooms, Meghan motioned widely with her arms.

“So, where’d you come from?” She asked.

[Captain Shelton]

Cody was further surprised by the quick welcome he received. It seemed this little old hotel was basically still working like one. He removed his helmet and clipped it to some webbing on his armor, glancing over the rooms quickly before deciding on the second one down the hallway.
"Tennessee. Well, Texas actually. Both."
He replied, ducking out of his rifle's sling and setting it in the corner of his room.
"I'm from Tennessee but I was stationed at Fort Hood when everything started. My unit was guarding a Refugee Camp for a while, but a few weeks ago we got overrun. The only other camp nearby was outside New Orleans, so I came here to join up with them."
He shrugged,
"They went down not long after mine, so, here I am."
Cody shucked off his vest and set it next to his rifle, now wearing only his uniform (with the Medic's cross patch visible on his chest) and M9 in a thigh holster.
"What about you and Hazel? And this place?"
He asked curiously, looking around the nicely looked after building.

[SheriffLlama]

Meghan - The Pub - Hazel

Meghan listened as Hazel spoke. "Well.. uh." She began trying to word her sentence right. "I've actually only known Hazel for about three days... I'm from a bigger group on the outskirts of town called Outpost. My -um - friend Sylar and I stumbled upon a group of survivors that were scouting around... we were tracking them for hours before they ended up here." The girl laughed slightly. "Actually, our Scout group were already here and the group of bandits walked right up to the doorstep. We got into a fight with them... and won, thankfully." She indicated the cloth that her hand was in. "I got shot in the process, and went unconscious."

She shrugged lightly. "According to Hazel, while I was under, the guys had to go back to Outpost and I was barely able to stand because of how much blood I'd lost. They're going to come back in a few days though." There were two beds in the room and Meghan sat on the one close to the door, glancing at cody's rifle briefly. "I'm from here, but I came directly from Nashville, where Sylar is from; I was visiting my uncle. Sylar and I came up to New Orleans because there was supposedly a Military safe zone...but I guess you know how that turned out."

"I don't really think I'm at liberty to say anything about Hazel because I've not known her for long, but she's really nice and helpful." Meghan said. After a moment she stood and spread her right hand. "Whelp, just- make yourself comfortable, Hazel will have dinner ready real soon." She smiled and walked out, heading back towards the kitchen. She smelled cheese in the air as she walked in.

"Cheesy rice, anyone?" Hazel announced as she stirred a red pot. It was amazing that the Hotel's power and water were working, and that they could cook whenever they like. "Did 'Soulja Boy' find himself a room?" She asked. Meghan laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, he's settling in."

"So... do you think he's trustworthy?" Hazel asked. Meghan contemplated for a second and then nodded.

"Yeah... he's got to know his way around his gun and he looks pretty strong, so he's gonna be good to have around." Meghan stated. "What do you think Reggie will say about him?"

"I dunno, but, you should be wonderin' what Sylar will be saying about him." Hazel gave a wink and giggled, but Meghan was confused, and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh come on, girl, you know he's cute!" Meghan laughed at the statement. "Dinner's up, I'll go get Cody."