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

[Roran Hawkins]

Alex Clark - Haywood - Jessalyn/Riley/Audrey

In a funny state of mind he watched the lady give birth to a child. It amused him, and made him feel at ease, despite the situation. He leaned against the door that had fallen open, looking inside, slightly delirious by bloodloss. The deep stabbing wound in his shoulder was a bloody mess, in all senses of the phrase, and the shot wound in his side made moving painful as fuck. Luckily the worst of the bleeding had been stopped to a certain degree by the many layers of clothing he wore, amongst which a shirt a few sizes too small that had probably saved his life just now. Then he turned his attention to the crawler moving towards him again. Ah, right, that's why he was leaning against the door, to grab their attention. "C-Crawler..." He spat out together with a bit of blood, only realizing as he saw the drops of blood on the ground that he had bitten his tongue hard enough to make it bleed during the struggle a few moments ago.

Then the crawler was on him, reaching for his throat. Absentmindedly he thanked whoever invented these things that they wanted to bite humans somewhere around their chest. If the crawler had just bitten his foot or something he'd be dead already, but now he could all backwards on the floor, and struggle with his good right arm to keep the growling monster away from him.

[Myst]

Katie - Somewhere - Tyler

Katie could hardly believe it was true. Her daddy was here, holding her. He had come back to her.
He talked about who he missed, the people that had been hurt and those that were gone forever. But all Katie could think of was the last time she had seen him.
"Daddy...?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, her throat hurting from all the crying she had done. "I'm s-sorry," she stammered, her breath hitching a bit as she spoke. "I didn't mean to b-be bad. I'll never be bad again. P-please don't go away again."
She hugged him tightly as she begged. "Don't ever g-go away again. Never ever. Promise."

She had always thought that it was her fault he had gone away for so long. Because she had made him mad and he had yelled at her. She had been naughty, but she would never be naughty again. She would always listen and do what she was told.
"I'll never be bad again," she repeated, shaking and shivering in his arms. "I p-promise. Never go away again. I need you. I love you Daddy."

---

Jessalyn - Haywood - Others

Jess didn't have much time to marvel over her baby. Minutes later they were alerted to the presence of crawlers. The stranger was trying to get away from one that was going after him. Jess felt a wave of guilt wash over her. With all of her screaming during the labor she probably attracted the walkers and crawlers.
"Help him!" she exclaimed to the doctor as Audrey helped her up. Her legs were weak and she felt exhausted, but cuddled her baby close. He started to cry. She pressed his face gently to her neck, trying to muffle the cries.

While the doctor helped the stranger, Audrey helped Jess outside the building. They spotted a bunch of people gathered around outside. The two women were terrified to discover who had been lost in the attack.
"Hey!" Audrey called. "We need help! There are crawlers in here! Jessalyn had her baby!"
Jess tried to smile as people came up to them. Several of the men rushed inside to deal with the crawlers there while others gathered around Jess to see the new life in her arms. He had stopped crying by then and his little eyes had closed. His tiny fists were clenched and up by his face, looking like a tiny boxer about to enter the arena.

"Everyone," she said, her exhaustion showing in her voice as she struggled to stand. "Meet my son... Benjamin..."

---

Heather - Camp - Decision

The man was not comfortable with her it seemed. Well that just seemed typical of her track record didn't it?
When the stranger, who said his name was Floyd, claimed to be fine Heather didn't push the issue. "Okay," she said, backing away to give him space. "If you have any pain just let me or Aaliyah, the camp doctor, know and we can give you something for it."

With that she stood back and listened to what Hank told the man without interrupting. Despite her issues with Hank he was still the unofficial leader of their camp. She didn't disrespect him around newcomers. She was actually very proud of him by the end of it. He was very calm and understanding and kind, offering the man a place with them should he decide he wanted it.
While DeSean was quite unwelcoming, and Heather nudged him in the side and gave him a look for his attitude, the man Floyd seemed to agree that he needed to stay put for the time being. And they could always use more hands in the camp that were strong and could protect from the walkers or any other threats that might appear.

They left Floyd in the tent and went outside to the campfire. It was time to make a group decision. They always talked and agreed on everything that happened. It was part of what made them such a strong and unified group. No one made the final decision. It was equally made by all of them. They all took equal parts in joy and sorrow.
That made them more then a group. It made them a family.
Now they had to decide whether or not to accept a new member to their family.

When he was done talking Hank asked everyone for their thoughts. Heather, having spent the most time with the stranger, spoke first.
"Regardless whether he stays or not, he needs help right now. We wouldn't be the kind of people we think we are if we turned him away now. I vote we let him stay as long as he wants to. We could always use more manpower. We can't ignore that he looks strong and capable. He could help us a lot. He doesn't strike me as a bad person. I may be wrong, but I am going with my gut instinct here. I believe we can trust him."

It felt strange, siding with Hank for once. The others in the group seemed just as surprised as she was.
Maybe... just maybe... they could still have a decent relationship despite everything.

As with all things, time would tell.

[Atomyk]

Tyler

"Bad? Honey, you haven't done anything wrong. I'm the one who messed up." He'd messed up a lot-- Too many times to count. He'd believed in the wrong people, trusted those who gave him nothing in return. He'd pushed Katie away all on his own. He hated Lauren for what she did, but Tyler could not deny his hand in all this. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, it was wrong. I'm sorry for a lot of things." He began to caress her hair. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect mommy."

There it was, the fact that had been gnawing at Tyler for months. A part of him had died that day along with her, and yet another part died along with his son. He had lost so much of himself that he had tried to fill the void with followers and children and hope. It was stupid of him to forget that a part of himself was still alive and that his true hope lied with this little girl in his arms. "I love you too, Katelyn. I'll never go away again."

[Atomyk]

Shannon - Haywood

Emma had been in no position to see to Daniel's burial, so Shannon and Riley were the ones to make sure his and Lauren's bodies were properly tended to. It had been a gruelling and sorrowful process to oversee, but thankfully some of Outpost's scouts had offered to help with the physical labor. They'd declined to bring back their own dead to Outpost for the walk would be too long, so the graveyard received ten new bodies in all. Emma managed to attend when both Daniel and her friend, Bex, were put into the ground. Fresh tears were shed by all, for many had lost people that day.

The scouts wanted to leave that evening, as many were feeling guilty about what had transpired. It was an awkward exchange, but Riley had talked them into resting for the night. Haywood still contained enough resources fit for fifty people, so there were no hard feelings when it came to sharing. Still, there had been tension all into the night between the scouts that supported Tyler the longest and those that turned on him quickly, but thankfully no fights had broken out. Perhaps that was due to the fact that a baby was now amongst their midst, who had a large number of people ready to stare and coo at it. None of them had seen someone so young in almost half a year, after all.

The one scout to receive the most wary looks had been Enrique, the man who everyone knew to have been closest with "Thomas" beforehand. Though he had expressed disgust over what Tyler had done, the scouts believed that time would eventually tell if he meant what he said. This wariness did not extend to James, who asked Shannon if he could meet with the man once he spotted him in the courtyard. It was a small world, Shannon thought. She remembered Enrique as the man who had given James chocolate back in Daniel's auto garage. Though she wasn't there, she'd heard he had also participated in the raid on Tyler's hideout. She begrudgingly allowed James to go see the man, though she had asked Riley to watch over them in her absence. Danny wanted to talk to her that evening and she knew it was a talk that was overdue.

She brought him into Daniel's house (Well, it wasn't his anymore, she was bitterly reminded), where they could talk privately in one of the unattended rooms. A heavy silence stretched between them as Shannon observed Danny's face contorting while he tried to find words to say. She cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder. "So, what now?" she asked "What happens with us?"

Danny looked down and observed his hands in his lap. "I'm not really sure, but... I know we need to stick together. It's been too... too goddamned long. I missed you so much." He paused then, while Shannon thought of something to say. She agreed with him, but she knew what he was about to say next. "But I've been with Outpost for all that time," he continued. "It's my home now, and I love the people there. What I would like to happen is for you to come back with me, to live in Outpost..."

Of course, she hadn't expected him to say anything but that. She truly wished he hadn't said it. "You mean the place that made that evil man a leader? How long did you possibly know him before he had you ready to kill us all?"

That made him wince and shrug off her hand. She knew it hurt him to say that, but she couldn't contain herself. She was so tired of being weak and watching her friends die around her. She was so angry at this stupid hellish world they lived in. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "We're all fucking sorry, Shannon. I'm not excusing our mistake, but you weren't there. You can't possibly understand why we did what we did."

Shannon deflated at his tone. She didn't like being angry with him. "I guess not."

He turned to her, taking hold of her hands. "But things will be different now. Outpost will be better, especially with you there. We can't go our separate ways after all of this. Fuck, Shannon, we need to make up for lost time!"

"Dan..." She stared at him for what felt like ages. She'd made up her mind already, and there was nothing he could say that could convince her. She wanted her best friend back in her life, but she couldn't go with him to Outpost. "... I can't. I'm tired of groups and I'm tired of walls and communities. I've had to... I've had to--" Tears began to sting at her eyes. She thought she had cried everything out already, but clearly that was not the case. She tried to abate her sobbing, but her voice took on a gross choking noise. "I've had to bury way too many people. Every group I've been a part of has just died out around me, and I can not deal with that again, even with you there. Emma and I plan on leaving Haywood tomorrow, Danny. You-You could come with us, but I know you won't budge either."

He shook his head, his eyes closed shut. She knew he was not one to cry. In all the years she'd known him, she had seen Danny Heidecker cry only once in his life. That's why she felt all the more worse when he opened his eyes and she saw that they were watering. "God... Damn it. I fucking..." He suddenly let go of her hands and stood off the bed. "I can't believe we're fucking doing this. We're such dumbasses." With a heavy breath, Danny left the room, leaving Shannon to sit in silence.

[Rithas]

Rob-Haywood Vicinity-Himself

Rob closed his eyes as Tyler and Katie went out of site. He didn't know if he made the right choice, but it was something. His vision blurred again, which was when he realized that he was wounded...still. "Oh..." Rob muttered as he sat down. He didn't know what to do, was it worth going back to the scraps of Haywood...If that was even a thing now, or would he...once again go by himself. Or perhaps he would just die, he didn't know about that. Letting choice slip out of his hands. He was tired, so very tired. When was the last time there had been peace. He just wanted to sleep.

Sleep....

Rob closed his eyes, just for one blissful moment of peace...he didn't know if he wanted to open his eyes ever again....

Matt-Outpost-Victory

Matt frowned as he looked upon the sky, "They've been taking a while, I don't understand why we have to take so long to explain" Matt cursed in his mind as he started to cough once again. In a world with the undead and I of all the people get nasty cough, it could be worse.
Matt sat down on one of the rather uncomfortable chairs for the counsel. He hoped that the expansion would come soon, he didn't think he could handle more of this cramped place. He silently tapped his fingers against his leg. He hadn't slept a lot in the last few days. He tended to stare at the wall for hours. Just thinking, and the few hours of sleep that did come to him were haunted in nightmares. "Hmmm, it shouldn't be long..." Matt repeated to himself as he waited...

Life kept repeating itself, even if seemed different. He was doing something right for himself....something.

Aiden-Camp-People

Sure enough, the question was asked. "We keep him here, not as a prisoner...but as a camp...mate. Or however we say it. Soon enough we'll see....That what I think at least" Aiden sighed. He sure Floyd had his own ambitions, but what exactly was that. But, he felt rather tired right now. Perhaps he didn't get enough sleep. or perhaps it was the fact that he kept Yawning, he didn't know. Hopefully Floyd would bring something good, He could feel it.

Aoife-Haywood

"Oh...Shit" She didn't have any idea where Tyler was at all. And they weren't really in any condition to handle him now anyway. There was a baby at this place, that was Different. New life...She let that be a distraction of all the horrible things. For tonight they rested....And soon a scrap of them would return to Outpost...She didn't know how the fuck they were going to explain anything...If she even went back to Outpost...Well...that was a lie. She had to go back to outpost, to fix things. In remembrance of Reggie

[Myst]

END OF SEASON 2