[IC] 🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

[ONL]

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Alexander Polawski Location: Graveyard -> Bus Skills: N/A

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People were affected by the small ceremony they all had particepated in, however simple and brief it had been so far. All in their different ways, including Alexander himself, they all met death differently. He himself had shed a few tears in silence, some hugged and others did nothing. The stoic stance of Ash made Alexander give him a brief look, imagining what was going through the man's mind, probably the same that had filled his own many years ago in the same situation…

Scenes from many funerals…

…Another humid day in the middle of God knew where, somewhere located in South Vietnam. A military base, an American one to be specific. Rows of soldiers in uniform stood around a single man wearing a cross and the Army's padre uniform, wielding a Bible and sermoning over a casket. Several caskets, strewn with burial banners with the names of the dead, some of which Special Polawski had known personally, some not. All were catholics, now united in death. The priest spoke with a voice that only a mournful, yet comforting father could compare, all the soldiers' eyes and ears paying attention.

Alexander had heard that prayer many times before, both before and then in his military life. He knew one of those guys in the caskets, a guy of Mexican descent and with a temperament that rivalled his own father. But he was friendly to those he cared about, helped Alexander catch up with the squad if falling behind stuck on his vegatation. And just like that, he was gone. The others Alexander didn't care too much about, but he?

"O God, Whose property is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee for the soul of Thy servant Pedro Gonzalvas…"

…With raining pouring down on the funeral procession, the Chicago autumn weather only made the bural attendants all the more somber. The crowd was far from a large one, only amounting to ten-fifteen people at most, a limping young man in a military uniform standing at the front. A single casket was to be put in the ground, the catholic priest wielding a Bible and sermoning over the casket. With the sermon taking its course, Alexander Polawski couldn't take his eyes of the soon-to-be grave of his father. Not a day had passed since he stepped on American soil before he was told his father was dead.

He felt nothing, at least not anything powerful enough to overcome all the other feelings writhing inside him. It was an emptiness that rivalled the body of the man lying in the casket and the prospect of the world having anything resembling meaning. Empty and dark. War or not, it followed Alexander wherever he went.

"O God, Whose property is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee for the soul of Thy servant William Mathis Polawski…"

…The wind blew the usual sea-salted air across the island, though failing to drown out the words spoken around the newly dug grave of their last dead. There were a handful of them, laid to rest in hand-made caskets by someone not trained in the craft, but they would have to do. None of them were of the clergy, so the prayer to the recently deceased should be spoken by the group of survivors most experienced man in this matter. Alexander couldn't do it.

He stood staring at the casket to his wife, now dead and gone with the Florida wind that must be weeping alongside him. How could it not? This was the worst day of his life, and how it could keep on going after he could not fathom. He blocked out those thoughts, all the things penetrating his mind telling him all those terrible things. He couldn't. All he could do was to stand there and weep as their buried his wife and the others taken by the Undead.

"O God, Whose property is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee for the soul of Thy servant Judith Perkins Polawski…"

They were leaving. Atticus told them their time was up and it was time to return to the bus. Alexander blinked the running tears from his eyes, wiping his cheeks and straightening up. Walking up to the bus with the others and lining up like the good grunt on a patrol he'd once been, his eyes drifted back to the gravstones dotting the landscape one last time. Nothing said, nothing done, only a brief look and a deep thought that stuck with him as he handed over the shotgun and satchel of shells to Bass. He didn't know how or when, if it was even possible, but one wish was growing brighter and stronger inside his heart as he entered the bus and sat down.

Could he bury her there, close to him? Would that be his redemption?

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Nigel Cooper Location: Hydroponic Garden (T) -> Streets of CMB (N5) Skills: N/A

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Atlas. Yeah, Nigel could grow accustomed to being called that as well, why not? Though with a saddened smile on her face, Nigel had perhaps helped drawn Thana out of her saddening vision and back to the realm of the living, if that was what she'd been thinking about. Nigel reciprocated the smile, feeling the pat on his own shoulder like a comforting reasurrance, one he hadn't gotten for a long time beside Erica. Giving her a nod, Nigel agreed and followed Thana back outside. "Works for me. Let's go make the Roman annals proud."

Today had been, all things considered, a good day for Nigel. Besides the enjoyable company of Thana the Athenian, he'd gotten into a certain rhythm - one involving waking up in a comfortable bed, getting dressed in clean and non-tattered clothes, eating two meals so far and doing some important work for the new Magna Gracia colony. He was doing something meaningful, something normal. Again his mind wandered back to the interview and the Professor's question of "normalcy". He smiled to himself. This felt normal. Who knew how normal he'd feel if and when he'd get back into a classroom?

Not to mention, as he though, he'd gotten a new friend.

Nigel followed Thana through the sun-baked streets of Camp Mexico, Apollo pearing down at the mortals hurrying through the heat on their own ways. While Thana went on to tell him more about the Bayou-people and a trade of people that didn't go well, Nigel listened casually while noting the groups of children passing by as well. Nigel had still not gotten used to seeing the younglings running about as carefree as before, and perhaps he never would after what happened in at Spartanburg. "Must have been something serious considering how strict they've been with us. Not that I'm complaining, been fair so far." Nigel commented to Thana, following across the street and walking down the main street alongside her. Main street, down towards the Administration Building - the Conciliabulum he would call it. "From the sound of it, you haven't been in dire need of more hands though? At least not when those younglings will grow up and take our place. I hope they'll be prepared for the world out there though…"

[Sigil]

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Ash Holloway Location: CMB Graveyard -> Bus Skills: N/A

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Thoughts lingered on the fallen. Ash knew that they would. It was more than a possibility; it was certainty wrapped with a big red bow. The trick was to prevent those thoughts from stealing awareness of the moment away. Even Ash had to admit that it was more of a redundancy, however. These people looked to be trained and following a protocol with little in the way of verbal discourse, suggesting practice, experience, and familiarity with the procedure. A squad of trained soldiers could scarcely do any better. It brought more attention to the fact that, in a community run by former military, they were pretty much all trained soldiers in one way or another. It made him anxious to get involved with that sort of ethically managed organization again. Even if he wasn't the guy in charge. But his thoughts still went to their friends and allies interred here, at least in a peripheral way, as he held his position and scanned the area.

An eyebrow went up as he thought that he heard something inappropriate come from the mouth of that Gonzalez woman. His head turned just enough to confirm his suspicions, though two questions bugged him: Why this moment for a situationally unanswerable question, and why those two? His eyes narrowed a little, putting this away in memory. At least the woman didn't touch off a screaming match in the middle of uncertain ground.

Continued diligence on his part was necessary for only a second or two more before the Padre made the call to pack it in. He waited until Amelia and Riley had walked past him on the way to the bus before making his move to do the same. It put a body between the two women and whomever else might come up behind them. A hair chauvinist or instinctively protective of his small knot of those close to him, only his psychiatrist might be able to fathom. As he neared the bus, Ash went through the police and military procedures for the return of a firearm. He'd done it hundreds of times in his life, easily. It was centering, in a way. The act showed not only that he was Army, but that he hadn't abandoned the principles. Further, it promoted safety standards for their guards and showed a willingness to follow the rules set forth for them. With this in mind, Ashton stopped upon entering the bus activated the safety on his lent sidearm and racked the slide of his .45, freeing the chambered round. He ejected the magazine into his hand, and handed the three items separately to Bass for verification before returning to his seat.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: CMB Graveyard -> Bus Skills: N/A

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Still in the immediate vicinity of Atticus, Thalia cocked a lightly amused expression as the two Newnan women started back to the bus. It was impossible for her not to have heard the call, given her proximity to the guy. Still, she hung back a little bit, lest there be quiet rumors circulating about aggressive promiscuity on her part. Naturally, the lack of fuck-giving concerning rumors about things of this nature was strong with her, nevertheless this was not the time nor place. The main reason Thalia even broached the topic was to distract away from the harder expression and combative stance that she has adopting involuntarily. And to mess with people. It was an excellent way to reveal character.

As she started back to the bus, two interesting details did come to mind about her tiny piece of sarcasm. First, the redhead didn't say no. Second, the singer chick, Riley, didn't say anything. Contemplative, maybe? Mulling it over, perhaps? Probably not, but the idea amused her enough that she let out a single, quiet growl that could have passed as a laugh. Also a factor, involving one's self physically in a way that couldn't result in pregnancy was ideal. Fluidity of this nature was a recent-ish development for Thalia. Adaptation to the times, or revelation of character on her part was still up for debate.

Nearing the bus, it was painfully apparent that she was going to have to give up her arms. The gun was no big deal, but that shield was her fucking property. And sentimental at that. It hardened her face significantly. Before boarding, Thalia went to one knee and placed the weapon behind her other one, using muscle pressure to hold the slide while she actuated it to eject the chambered round. The magazine came next, and Thalia took the additional second or two to reinsert the single round into the clip, her one natural hand cradling the apparatus as she pressed the bullet home with her thumb. She then replaced the magazine, checked the safety, and entered the bus to hand it over to Bass. The shield went a little less easily. She looked the man in the eye, glanced Joaquin and Daytona for a half second, and turned it over with a grim nod. They were supposed to trust. It just didn't come readily. This was life now. Less open and free, better chance at overall survival.

Thalia took her seat and looked around, hoping to spy her friends from the long road before. Alexander and Manny might not look like people out of Mad Max, but she knew they had history just as valid as hers. Why then was she so angry? ”Let's get back, Mugs. Stuff to do." Process emotion through work.

Then it hit Thalia, she had yet to hear any sort of jaunty nickname for Manny. Something to think about.

[Lady Absinthia]

☠ 𝚃𝚆𝙳: 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝟻 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟺 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Location: Camp Mexico Beach Weather Forecast: Dawn at 5:57 A.M. - Dusk at 7:41 P.M. - High: 87F, Low: 72F - Winds SW at 4mph - Gusting to 10mph - No rain - Cloud Cover: 26% - Visibility: 9miles. Notes: Alright the funeral is over and the group is heading back. I had thought the time line was going to be a bit off but the general way things played out it isn't. All characters are in the same time, no one is head or behind at this point, which is good. No needing to worry about adjusting for that. So keep track of what is going on in other posts so you can gauge how much time is passing between the round. Now, having said that - the Funeral Detail is a tad ahead, when they reach the gate (next round not this round) then they will be perfectly lined up with the rest.

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Hospital/Medical (B): Like the last round Lisa has some cleaning to get done before the day is over. She still has about half an hour worth of work (She won't finish this round) - having said that there is an option - one can roll against her skill and if it passes she trims off half the time, if she fails though the time will go up by half. One doesn't have to roll for it but if you do, call it, once called then you have to roll and accept the results. If you crit fail... Tag me, we're gonna have to have a talk. Now, are you feeling lucky? Well are ya? :)

Inside Jail (AA): Will update next round.

Streets of CMB (N5) -> Administration (A): The streets are as they were the previous round, all good there. Inside of Administration and older woman trying far to hard to look younger than she was is sitting there filing her nails. (It's Rolodex) - the rest of the lobby is empty and the door to the back is closed. There is a pile of papers in the out going box but the in going box is empty. Place is quiet safe the sound of the file scraping across her nails and the A.C. unit blowing cool air from the vent at the top of the wall above her.

General Supply (R): "Well it's about time," Auntie said as she quickly lowered the tea cup and acted like she hadn't been studying the thing intently. The look she had had on her face, dare one say a look of happiness, melted away to her usual scowl. Picking up the clipboard she shoved it towards Nikki. "Get them loaded and done, soon as the new girl gets back you better be out that door delivering them," she snipped before she started to walk off. Stopping she turned around, grabbed the tea cup, and then marched back to the back of the building.

CMB Graveyard (Bus): Bass looked at Amelia and he waited patiently for her to hand over the weapons, taking the bat first and then the axe. She hadn't seemed like one that was going to give them difficulty but one never knew. People were full of surprises. She didn't though, she paused a minute but nothing that was uncommon as far as he was concerned. It was something he had seen a lot over the years. Someone got a weapon in their hand, especially now, it was hard to give it back, to give it up. Weapons were protection and it was easier to trust a weapon in ones hand to do that than someone you barely knew.

He took both and slipped them into one of the bags before doing the same with Riley, then Tatiana and Jack. It was time for the next person to come on the bus. Seemed Alexander was following her and Riley. Taking the gun from Alexander, Bass checked the safety before setting down in the bag on the seat and shuffling the shells into the other bag. Ash was next and Bass gave the man a nod for the way he handed things over. Made it easier for him at least. Things packed away he turned his attention to Thalia. The gun came quickly but he could see her waiting on the shield. Joaquin nodded towards his sister. She needed to hand it over. And she did of course, there wasn't a problem but it was clear she didn't want to, then again who really wanted to be weaponless in this day an age.

"Alright Manny, just you left," Atticus said as he motioned to the man to head over to Bass on the bus to hand over his weapon and shells. Joaquin glanced around the graveyard, his eyes shifting slowly from one point to another as he kept watch. They were nearly done loading everyone up. Once they were and the bus was moving things could relax a bit, not much, but a bit. Each step closer to being back to town was good, but it usually also meant that something was more likely to go wrong or someone would do something.

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Thana Martin Location: Streets of CMB (N5) -> Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Thana nodded. "I would think it had to be but as far as I am concerned this place is far too lax in its security. It isn't as lax as other places I have been but still not enough in my opinion." Thana glanced around a bit as they walked, thinking back to how easy it was for her to come inside the last settlement she had become a part of. She was put in charge of a major department on her second day. Granted there were extenuating circumstances but still. Herself and others after had come right in. The last settlement was friendlier to start than this one but that one did end up having someone murdered in the streets the first morning after she had arrived. Friendly didn't always pay off. Thana would frankly rather be hated and alive than liked. Then again, Thana was the type of woman that was glad her sister was dead and she didn't morn her mother.

Quirking a brow, she glanced over at Nigel and chuckled. "Oh them kids have been better trained than I have I think. Half their day is spent in survival type classes. Boy scout type stuff, plus fighting, weapons, and so forth. Seen that one," she said as she stopped walking and pointed to a boy with black hair that had startling blue eyes and oddly pale skin considering they were on a beach, "put Volts on his ass and three seconds later disarm Gregory. They train'um young here and put them out of the walls regularly." There was a slight shrug before she looked back to Nigel. "Dad had me usin'a gun before I was ten and that was before the world fell apart," she added before she started walking again and heading towards the Administration Building.

Reaching it she opened the door and stepped inside. It was still a shock to the system anytime she felt the air conditioner on her skin. A welcome one but still a shock. It was so quiet as she spotted Sandra doing her nails. Glancing at the clock on the wall it was later than she had thought but still earlier than it would have been if she hadn't had help today. Walking over to the counter with her paper work she tapped the empty in going box. "Did ya already do the other departments or we first in today?"

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Nikola Warren Location: General Supply (R) Skills: N/A

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That was something she wasn't expecting but then again Nikki wasn't very sure of what she had been expecting. It was one thing to see Auntie looking over something intently. It was something Nikki was used to seeing actually. The woman had an eye for detail and more than that an eye for seeing flaws in things that could end up being major problems down the road. Weak spots in metal that could have caused something to break if used. She had probably helped keep many people from getting hurt over the years. Yet that was one thing. Seeing Auntie look at something 'lovingly' was another. Nikki didn't think that woman had even looked at children that way the way she spoke. The woman seemed at most to tolerate the world around her. Yet she had really been looking at the tea cup. Oh there was something going on there and she wanted to know more.

It seemed though that Auntie wasn't having any of that considering the way she had snapped at her and disregarded the cup. The snap was nothing out of place, in fact of Auntie hadn't snapped at her that would have made her wonder. Thinking on it now as she watched the older woman march off, turn around, grab the tea cup, and then march back out the front area of General Supply that was not exactly the bitch session she had been expecting. She had expected a full chew out. Top to bottom for taking longer than needed to be taken. Yet there she was, standing alone, only being half dressed down before being left alone. Nikki wasn't going to complain but she knew she was about to start poking her nose into things she probably shouldn't.

Well not right away, she still had work to do. She could get to snooping around later. That was if she hurried her ass up and got this all done. Looking over at the clock on the wall she noted the time. The funerals didn't usually take that long, as long as nothing went wrong, hopefully Amelia would be back sooner than later. Either way, it wouldn't matter how quickly the woman got back if Nikki didn't have the carts done. Taking a breath she looked down at the clip board and thumbed through it before getting to work on getting the carts in order. The faster she got this done the sooner she could start finding out just why a tea cup was so important to the woman, why that tea cup was important. It wasn't like that was the first tea cup that had come into Camp Mexico Beach.

[Shoe Thief]

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Grave Yard Skills: N/A

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It was time to leave now. Manny still felt like he should say more, but he had nothing to say and all of his words at this point would seem more like saying something to say something then for anything else. No, what he said before was enough. If he wanted to say more he could at a later point in his life. There were a few awkward exchanges between people, a few nods of approval, and a few more goodbyes. Manny was done though. He walked his way down towards the bus, taking note of Bass collecting the weapons. He found himself running late as Atticus pointed out he was the last one left. Manny made sure to unload his shotgun before passing it back over to Bass. "Sorry about earlier, there were better ways to point out my frustration, and that was far from the best. So I'm sorry for that outburst I had before." He handed the gun and the shells over without anything else to say.

Manny made his way on the bus, letting the nice air conditioning cool him down. The heat was brutal outside and Manny was glad to be out of it for now. He took note of Alexander sitting by himself. He worried the days were starting to get to his fellow Baby Boomer. Manny sat himself down next to Alexander and gave him a small smile. "I don't think we'll have too many more of these. Not like this at least." Sure, no matter what people were always going to die. But hopefully the time of old age and challenging sickness would take the bulk of it was coming soon. A time where the threat of walkers and people would be so small that if the weather was nice people could choose to walk out towards and say good bye at their own pace and leisure. A chance that things might feel normal, even if different. If that was even possible anymore.

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Hunter Monroe Location: Cell B Skills:N/A

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Prison was rather boring for the soldier boy. He had little to hold his attention other then the ants, and the remains of the dude they were taking back to the nest. Which he found kind of creepy. He wondered if walkers would be more or less scary if they took bits of people back to a nest of some kind. He decided more, that would imply some kind of hive mind or cooperation and walkers with a strong ability to think and work together was not a fun thought. He liked the idea of being able to sit on top of a stone or brick structure and be able to blast off round after round into the undead's head and the other around gave no shits what happened to the ones who got shot. Granted if they were a hive mind would they care then either? only partially minded cannon fodder probably not. Thinking about these random things were nice. It was a nice distraction until he burnt the idea out in his head. At this point though he needed a new distraction, his mind was starting to wander to less then pleasant memories, less then pleasant thoughts.

He wasn't sure if this was some cruel present from the universe, but he got his distraction from his own thoughts. "Mother Fucker?!" pulled his feet up from the cot the moment he saw the rat. Given a chance to let the shock of the situation pass he fell back into less then pleasant thoughts, but this time not focused on memories. "Of fucking coarse. Fuck you little shit head and fuck this place." He sat back down on the cot, but keeping his feet up. With not much better to do he sat and watched the rat. It was something doing... something. And it was nice to keep an eye on it to make sure it didn't bug him.

[rivaan]

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Amelia Payne Location:CMB Graveyard Skills: N/A

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They all were loading onto the bus, but curiously enough Amelia actually didn’t pay as much heed to the people getting onto the vehicle this time around. She was resting her head on Riley’s shoulder and was deep in thought. Besides she didn’t have a weapon anymore, so she shouldn’t be worried about being on the lookout as much. If worst came to shove, she’d take a blow for Riley instead. Still as they were waiting for people to finish taking their seats on the bus, her eyes slowly opened, eyes drifting over to the outside via the window and looking at the graves lined up there for a bit.

She had finished saying her goodbyes, she didn’t feel as much emotions anymore as in the past when the wounds were all too fresh. Time had dulled it and she now probably moved on. It was time to return to safety and she almost couldn’t wait for the bus to start moving again. How weird was the human mind… just last night she was worried and concerned over the safety of the camp and now she couldn’t wait to be back there in… safety. No matter what the camp was safer than the wilds, but she felt weird about the realization of those thoughts. She just wanted this stability and safety to pan out in the long run, after the joys and conveniences of civilization, she didn’t want to return back to constant danger and walkers on every turn, witnessing deaths of people close to you at unexpected times.

In the end after pushing away even more stray thoughts she started chatting with her lover about their jobs again and curious events that happened. Amelia didn’t forget to mention the rodent encounter and so on.

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical(B) Skills: N/a( Not feeling lucky. I’m scared)

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“...” Lisa was whistling a tune as she was busying herself like a busy bee around the labs. Clearing here, clearing there, clearing everywhere! A good honest work was the best after all, especially while your head was filled with other thoughts to keep your min occupied while your body was doing menial tasks. Time passed fast and there was no boredom for her. Granted that might be partly because of her own general personal preferences rather than something specific in the work.

Working with an almost relaxed and casual flourish in her movements, she suddenly halted for a moment, thinking about something before resuming her task. As the thoughts of the past had passed finally, she thought about the present. Well given the pace of work, she’d get done with a bit of time to spare so that was fine. Though she wondered what to do afterwards. Ideally she wouldn’t spend too much time tonight and get some rest for her new schedule tomorrow, but that also wasn’t the most enjoyable plan.” Maybe I should do something tonight, but not overdo it… cards?” She mused to herself and shook her head.” Mmm… “ There were more than a few possible options, but she wasn’t sure which one to pick. Well in the end she decided to check what Nikki’s planning for the night first and know if she would be home and when. Occasionally chilling at home alone without anyone to be around was nice as well after all.

“it’s probably time to get a whip of some kind...” Lisa mumbled to herself, cleaning a mop. It was a thing that was admittedly always on her to get list. Question was… did they have whips in the camp and if not, what would they want to make one." Well no other way to find out other than asking."

[Sigil]

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Ash Holloway Location: Bus Skills: N/A

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Emotional roller coaster. Not one of the big, showy ones with tunnels, flashing lights, and loops; more like one of the old-fashioned, wooden braced ones that carried you in a jerky but generally safe, predicable direction. Nevertheless, it had a series of ups and downs. It felt good to tell the story about James's arrival to Newnan, especially to relate it to those who knew him well but who came into their fold afterward. Considering the insanely high mortality rate of any and everyone around Ash, he felt much like a man speaking of events across generations, telling the new generation about the exploits of the former. Like a grandfatherly type. At the age of thirty-four, Ash felt old. If he lived to see his hair grey and his skin show the rough passage of time, he would feel just as venerable as he did right then. All the same, Ash was glad to get the words out, or any such monologue over the bones of his fallen friend. Carrying it around for this time was a weight on his shoulders which he eventually had just become accustomed, likely in a way that was unhealthy.

Now, he sat in a bus with functional air conditioning near a retirement/vacation city in Florida. Granted, they weren't there to see the sights. If the world had progressed as it might have, his reasons for being in the Sunshine State would be vastly different. He would be a Major by now, bucking to join up with the 20th Engineer Brigade's leadership. They made plenty of noise back in the day. Ash figured that they weren't making very much noise anymore. And thinking of it, if he was with the 20th proper rather than merely a company provisionally attached, he would probably still have been back in Afghanistan when the whole "dead rising" thing happened. As it was, his unit was called back to the Atlanta area before the really bad stuff happened. One of the last things he heard before communication went dark was the utter mess the Middle East was in, or his slice of it. RIP 20th, Ash supposed. Further contemplation on the issue had him empathizing with the other survivors. What plans did they have? Thana the Naval Officer, Jack the Chicago Cop, Tatiana the Prima Ballerina. A bona fide music superstar in the bus with them, too. The ones living workaday lives probably had their own hopes and dreams; putting a down payment on their first home, maybe, or starting a family. Things that they could work toward with the knowledge that their labor and good sense might eventually pay off.

Would things ever stabilize? One day years from now, might Ash return to his home town in the Virginia hills to rebuild the family business in ancestral land? Was it even worth it now? He had a home here, he loved someone, and he had an extended family brought about by circumstance and trust of the highest magnitude. If he could go back home and make it work now, would he even want to? Maybe, eventually, and only after several specific and highly unlikely things fell into place.

This and many passing thoughts went through Ash's mind as he stared out of the window of the bus. One thing was for certain, as far as Ash was concerned: He was a U.S. Army trained Combat Engineer. Rebuilding out of destruction and maintaining it was his forte. Clearing the way was the credo of his profession. Destroying the opposition of these tasks was his bread and butter. If his path was Florida for the foreseeable, then that's where he'd do his work, and the future would sort itself out.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Bus Skills: N/A

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Adjusting to the humidity outside was bad enough. Now that she had a layer of perspiration and ambient Florida on her, coming back into the air conditioned bus was even worse. The sudden shift in temperature was becoming bothersome to Thalia. She clutched herself together, unwilling for the chill air to touch her any more than it needed to. But this was silly. Stroke inducing temperatures hovered out of doors and she was caught up by central air. The raw absurdity of it was enough to elicit a quiet scoff from her as she brought her knees up to her chest and put her arms around them. Not for the first time, Thalia drew comparison between herself and a stray cat; once domesticated yet now a feral product of its surroundings.

It had been a long time since Thalia had attended a funeral. She didn't care for them much. In her case, she had been to a good number of them. Her father was a priest, after all. It came with the territory. Mostly the somber sort of affair, though every so often members of her family would insist upon the old ways of honoring the dead which were hopelessly mixed with pre-Catholic Mexican tradition, honoring the dead with a lavish sort of celebratory glee. This was not one of those occasions, obviously. And considering that it was done within a very short time of the guest of honor's passing, it might have been inappropriate. Thalia made a mental note to ask the Padre if they did Dia de los Muertos in CMB. It seemed like honoring the dead might be a worthwhile endeavor, possibly more now than it used to be. Still, Thalia did not care for funerals much. Though she was glad this one, such as it was, happened. And was brief.

The bus seemed a very somber place, moreso than the ride out to the cemetery. "Thank you," she was compelled to say aloud, though to whom she was unsure. Her eyes flicked from one of their chaperones to another. The opportunity to bid friends and allies farewell was appreciated. Now all she was left with was her thoughts - about her good friend Lola, the man James (who she knew for a half hour yet still changed her life dramatically), and about Gavin.

[ONL]

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Alexander Polawski Location: CMB Graveyard (Bus) Skills: N/A

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The presence of his dearly beloved Angel with more force grown up inside of her than most people he'd known, with few strong exceptions, went unnoticed by old Mugsy as he looked out the window for a good second or two. Yes he could see her in the edge of his sight and hear her speak to him in her restrained Boston voice, but he didn't respond immediatly. The thoughts that had haunted him during his time in the cemetery, followed him most of his life actually, they had drowned her out.

"Hm?" Alexander mumbled from his absentmindedness , turning around and looking at Thalia sitting in the bus seat and looking as deadpan as she ever did. He didn't judge her though, they all had a lot to process, not the least her. "Yeah, sure thing Angel. Uncle Sam still need us after all." He quiped, stiffling a sigh and straightening himself up in the seat. "Pull yourself together, old man." he'd tell himself, just like Sergaent Jackson would have told him, like so many others in his life told him. Be a man and all that. Judith was the only one who didn't listen to that bullshit, because she listened to him.

As the bus starting up again with everyone seated and accounted for, the thought of therapy crossed Alexander's mind again…maybe it was a good idea after all.

Manny also found his way over to Alexander, sitting beside him and giving the usual optimistic commentary the post-apocalyptic dentist Alexander knew him for. And that smile, that stupid smile of his which somehow helped. Did dentists smile as much as Manny did? Alexander couldn't remember. "I don't know. It is sure a lot better to give them a proper burial. Helps us moving on as they move to God. We can only do our best to, quote; "not fuck up", as my old sergeant Jackson always told us." Alexander said to Manny, taking a deep breath in of fresh air-conditioned air that filled him with new vigour. It was unusal for him to mention someone from his military past, especially by name, but it had happened.

Almost as unusal was for Thalia to thank everyone on the bus the way she did. Alexander turned to look at her again, pulling the side of his lip into a smile and nodding to her compassionatly. "Yeah, thanks everyone, and you…" It was emotional, without any doubt it was for everyone. Losing someone never got easier. Alexander patted Manny on his shoulder and reached the palm of his hand out to Thalia to do as she wished.

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Nigel Cooper Location: Streets of CMB (N5) -> Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Things were far too lax there? Nigel didn't show it in a massive spectacle of disbelief, but he didn't quite understand what Thana was going on about. The neo-Roman had some trouble seeing how much more stricter the security of Camp Mexico Beach, having been through it himself after having spent as much time out in the undead wild as he had. As they kept walking through the streets of CMB, Nigel couldn't help but compare that experience to someone stepping out of the Nubian Desert into the grand cities of the pharaoes for the first time.

Perhaps that was why he didn't see what Thana saw? He had to admit he'd grown softer those past days in quarantine and within the safety of sturdy walls. Perhaps Thana was right, Nigel certainly knew to what lenghts they themselves had gone in order to keep their own settlement safe. Kept people outside, starving and freezing, their lives dictacted by the dead that followed them…Would he need to harden himself again?

Thankfully Thana quiped back more cheerfully about the children and their training. Nigel had to chuckle in surprise alongside her, giving the black haired kid a second look as they passed. Impressive was the least he could say of the thought that a lone kid could disarm Gregory…whoever this Gregory was, which he couldn't recall. Just like Thana it seemed, they were trained from a very young age. "Well about you I'm not surprised, but those younglings? Sounds like they've recieved the best of both Athenian and Spartan education. My pa' mostly taught me how to smith horse shoes, shovelheads and the like. It would be an honour to teach them if I'm placed in Education." Nigel admitted, hoping to teach them proper sword-fighting techniques and warfare of the Ancient world.

Nigel followed Thana closely as they finally reached their destination - the Administration building, again blessed with the modern marvel of air-conditioning and the less modern shade. Of course it was quite the enviromental change to Nigel's body once he stepped inside, but it thanked him sooner rather than later. An older looking lady sat filing her nails like a certain librarian had done at his campus back in the day. Nigel couldn't place that lady either, and let Thana once again do the talking for both of them. She knew what they were doing after all, he was just her slave.

Voluntary slave…no, didn't sound any better.

[Lady Absinthia]

☠ 𝚃𝚆𝙳: 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝟻 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟺 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Location: Camp Mexico Beach Weather Forecast: Dawn at 5:57 A.M. - Dusk at 7:41 P.M. - High: 87F, Low: 72F - Winds SW at 4mph - Gusting to 10mph - No rain - Cloud Cover: 26% - Visibility: 9miles. Notes: Alright, we are moving forward now so this will basically be a filler post from me. Things at the end of this round are lined up across the board and it will be closing in on the 1730 hours mark today in RP. For non-military peeps, that means it's 5:30 P.M (half an hour before dinner starts.) Dinner is a single shift thing that runs from 1800 to 2000 hours, people come in to get food when they can during this time. Like breakfast it isn't a shift meal thing. As dusk is at 1921 (7:21p.m), this means that the sun is starting to get lower in the sky but hasn't set yet and you are still in the hottest part of the day. Note that in the south it doesn't start cooling down until the sun gets below the horizon.

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Hospital/Medical (B): Lisa is set for the this round. She will finish up her cleaning by the end of this posting round and be able to get things put away. Which is great. There are no issues, no spills, no problems. Everything lined up and such so that she was able to shave some time off her cleaning. Maybe she is in a good mood, who knows. Job is done at the end of the round and she can start heading out of the basement. YAY! Manny should be happy when she sees him again.

Inside Jail (AA): Well it seems that Lady Luck likes Hunter this round. That little bugger sneaks forward a little and comes out of the shadows into the light. Turns out it isn't a rat, it isn't even a mouse. It's a fucking hamster. Grey with a black stripe down his back and a little round fluffy butt. It looks at hunter, its little whiskers twitching before turning back around and sneaking back out of the cell behind the leg of the cot where it came in from. Seems like Hunter just lucked out and he can breath again. (This also means his modifier for fear is gone and if something should happen again with his fear he would get a new roll about it.) Other than that things are quiet and calm.

As there is nothing in the cell to denote time and no seeing light outside as their are no windows, knowing time is gonna be hard. Roll against FIT. If he fails (rolls higher than his fit) the roll his stomach will let him know it is probably close to dinner. If he passes (rolls at or lower than fit) his stomach isn't having hunger pains yet so no telling what time it is.

Administration (A): Rolodex looked up and then sighed as she kept filing her nails. From the way things were looking right then, between the air conditioning, the secretary filing her nails, the paper work, it was almost as if the world hadn't fallen apart. "Yer the first, think people are behind because of all the new folks and the funeral detail, usually have the distillery in by now at least," she said checking the time. Looking over at Nigel, she smiled and extended her hand to him. "Well hello there, I'm Rolodex but you can call me Sandra," she said in a full on southern accent that seemed to be slightly forced, either from trying to sound too much like Scarlet or putting into too much sweetness.

General Supply (R): Everything is calm in Supply. Auntie yells from the back every so often for Nikki, "YOU DONE YET?" It repeats over and over and over again but she doesn't come out of the back to actually check. Other than that, things are calm, one can see out the windows of Supply to see people milling about and heading this way and that. It's still hot as hell outside so there aren't too many out and about.

CMB Graveyard (Bus): Bass took the weapon and shells from Manny, nodding slightly. "No worries, sir, emotional day," he said in passing as he checked the weapon and put it away in the bag.

Once Manny was loaded up, the last of those keeping watching outside the bus loaded up. Everyone took their same positions as they had on the way out. Atticus in the front, Bass in the center, Joaquin in the back. Atticus heard Thalia say thank you but it wasn't clean who she was speaking to or just in general. Instead of asking he just gave a simple nod of his head before he started talking. "Alright Daytona, take us home," he said.

"Right," Daytona said as she closed the door to the bus and put it into gear. The bus rolled slowly forward and they started to drive. Bass and Atticus had to hop out at the gate to open it and let the bus out before closing it again and locking it up. After that, and they were back on the bus, they were off.

"When we get back make sure to check in with your supervisors and see if you have any duties left to tend to before you are released for dinner. Dinner will run from 1800 to 2000 hours. Some of you might have work after, don't know your schedules yet. Oh, Tatiana, Riley, you two finished up so you are clear for the evening. Consider yourselves reported in," Atticus said to the group in general.

Tatiana looked from where she was staring out the window over to Atticus and nodded. Jack pulled her a little closer but she pushed away, she wanted her hands free just in case. She was always on edge lately, and it seemed especially outside of the walls. "Anyone know what's fer dinner?" Bass asked as he zipped the bag up and held on as the bus hit a bump.

"No clue, probably more fish considerin' Guy and Medic got back to town," Daytona said as she turned down onto the main road and the wall to CMB could be seen. "Almost home folks," she added. Pulling up to the gate she stopped the bus and radioed in. "Funeral Detail back, all green on our end."

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Thana Martin Location: Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Thana nodded slightly. The kids in this place were getting a hell of an education. She had to give her father and grandfather props for part of that. It was surely a full community effort but knowing her family she was sure they had put a lot in place or at least suggested it. She had met others in town and it was clear that many had different ideas of what was important. It seemed like there wasn't anything left out. Probably was in the easier days when you had to focus on pure immediate survival above anything else. Now they had a wall, they had people, they had a steady food source and shelter. Things were good, so they could start planning more long term.

What would long term be these days? Thana for a time thought long term was a week once the world fell. Then she met Ash years down the road, and long term was whatever the day count was at the time they were apart. One day, then two, then three, then months, then more than a year. Now, long term was two or more years down the road to her mind. It seemed her Grandfather was planning on much longer than that for long term. These children were being brought up in the new normal. You were raised learning your 3 R's (Reading, Righting, 'Rithmetic) and now your 3 S's and it wasn't shit, shower, and shave, it was scavenging, surviving, and slaughtering.

Though had times changed that much or just gone back in time? A little bit of both as far as Thana was concerned. Yet she didn't think on it much longer as she found out they were the first in the day. She was about to say something to defend the slower pace but then Rolodex turned her attention to Nigel and Thana had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She glanced from Rolodex to Nigel and gave the man a look that could only be read as "you poor thing..."

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Nikola Warren Location: General Supply (R) Skills: N/A

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"Working on it!" Nikki yelled back to Auntie. She popped a bubble with her gum as she worked, her eyes kept darting over to the clock on the wall. It was feeling like every minute that ticked by was taking an hour. It was going so slow. It hadn't gone as slow this morning but then again she had Amelia to talk to while they worked. Now she was alone again. She didn't mind working alone but having a new face to talk to did make the time go by faster. Plus it was the end of the day, once these were loaded up they could get them around town and then have dinner, after that they would be done for day. At least she hoped they would. She didn't want to spend extra hours catching up in supply again.

"I have a couple of carts done but not all of them!" Then again, after what had gone down with Bass the night before maybe it would be a good thing if she was stuck in Supply all night. If he tried to turn a one night fun time into something more serious she might end up in a cell next to Hunter. She wondered how the guy was holding up and just what in the hell had happened. She had the dog now and he was taken to the cells. There had to be a story, she'd have to hit up Rolodex to get the fully story. That woman was the worlds worst gossip. Not that she would admit it.

"I'd get done faster if you'd stop asking!!!!" Groaning, Nikki shook her head. Looking back at the clock, she hoped that Amelia would be back soon, she only had a few more carts to get loaded up before she had to start delivering them. It would be a lot faster with an extra person. She had done it alone before but twice the people meant half the time right? Maybe not exactly that but it would be more fun to get it done with two, give her someone to talk to.

[rivaan]

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Amelia Payne Location:CMB Graveyard Skills: N/A

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Finally as the bus started to move again, Amelia found her nerves calming down somewhat. A moving bus was a lot safer than a stationary target. She was still unarmed, but at least they were heading back behind the walls of the camp. She didn’t really want to venture out of the walls again within the near future unless it was absolutely positively needed for some reason.

With them moving, some talks were happening. She heard Atticus speak and mention Tati and Riley. Her eyebrow rose for a moment as she tossed a look at her lover who was done with work for the day. Well Amelia was happy for her and all that, but these talks really reminded her that she still had work to do and that this trip likely left Nikki to do the work for the two of them alone. She didn’t know if Nikki did the work for the two of them prior to their arrival in camp either, but it wasn’t a nice feeling she had. Now the work was given to both of them after all. She was going to have to apologize after she returns to work in a little while.

The talk then moved towards food and the possibility of fish. Fish was generally a great thing! Amelia was all for fish honestly, before arriving in camp, fish was really hard to come by because unless you had the time to go fishing, it was impossible to get any really. Besides real cooking beat the hell out of cans or other preserves. She then smiled as the walls came back into proper view and they were soon by the gates once more. So close to relative safety, she could almost taste it… Suddenly she turned her head back and looked through the window at the direction of the back of the bus, half expecting something to be going wrong very soon. If things were to go wrong, they would go wrong now after all and she couldn’t help, but worry about it.

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical(B) Skills: N/a

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All things considered working hard and focused was a quick way to pass the time. Between some daydreams about her hobbies and the hard work to be done, suddenly Lisa realized the one most important truth for the current time!” … I’m done. Felt like such a brief time, especially today.” She uttered in a mixture of happiness and mild surprise. Putting the mop int the bucket and holding it as a legendary weapon, she took a final stock of the situation. Everything was properly cleaned! Checking the time, she was just in front of the schedule with acceptable spare time left.

Silently she gave herself a mental compliment for a job well done and then looked in the direction of the stairs. It was about time to bail from Medical as fast as possible, but first she had to put the tools, chemicals and everything away at their designated storage areas. As someone who did this on daily basis for many years even prior the whole shambling corpses walking the street business, it was a second nature to her. Making sure to arrange everything at storage as neatly as possible, she was finally ready to leave. So she went ahead and hurried to the stairs.

Lisa practically skipped her way up the stairs to the main floor on her way up. Being in a great mood right now she felt very energetic, especially if it was to leave work! Though to be fair she had well realized long since that leaving work, made pretty much anyone energetic. In all seriousness though, the fact she got a promotion and the chance to do something she really enjoyed, made her day and she was ready to share the jolly attitude with everybody!” Ahhh natural light~” She grinned having stepped out of the basement.

[Shoe Thief]

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Bus Skills: N/A

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The bus ride was nice. The AC kept things cool and comfortable, and with that Manny had another chance to chat with Alexander. "Yeah. You're right there, the chance to give a proper burial was nice." He did chuckled a bit with the quote from Alexander's former sergeants comment. "It sounds like a plan then. Let's "Not Fuck Up"." Sure, it's not like anyone was trying to fuck up. But at least now they had the ability to remove much of the risks and situations that had been present before. Granted that came with it's own set of challenges, but a lot less that lead to someone dying now. He took note of Thalia saying thank you, but he wasn't sure who it was directed towards, so held off giving a reply back. He remembered more then one occasion where he said something or replied to something that didn't need to be spoken about and made the situation seem more awkward. So he let it go for now and Let Thalia thank whoever she wanted to Thank.

The plan now? Go back to camp, check in to see whatever tasks are left and move onto dinner. Where then there might be more work to do. That was honestly a bit of relief to Manny as he didn't want to leave Lisa with all the work. Though if there was still work left now that would probably mean more work for her. If there was still work left he could always ask that she can get sent home and Manny can touch up things himself so that Lisa wont get stuck with everything. Though if it's all already done then it didn't matter too much he guessed. Maybe the next day he could take on more tasks for her to give her an easier day. Or depending on how currency and credit worked here maybe he could buy her a drink for making his first day here a present one. one thing for sure though? Almost dinner time, and like the night before likely another fish meal. They weren't bad, and it was a nice cooked meal.

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Hunter Monroe Location: Cell B Skills:N/A

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To Hunter's surprise, there was no rat. Maybe it was his paranoia or his mind playing tricks on him. Or maybe just a surprise. But it was a damn hamster. He relaxed a bit setting his feet back down on the floor and looking at the little creature. "Hi there. You alone down here too?" He spoke with a soft and calm tone. A ton that in normal situations would feel very non threatening. It didn't help him much as soon after the little critter decided to leave back into it's hole. "yeah. Must be nice huh." This left Hunter to think with a little bit of a more refreshed mindset. What was the plan after this? If he got to stay he would be watched like a criminal no matter how things went. And it was clear that Hunter was not a good mix with the locals here as well. But if he left what then? They would take Izibel from him. Maddoc made that clear enough already. And to add to it, he had no where left to go. If he stayed he wouldn't likely get Izibel back either though. With what he saw for the situation, it was a lose lose. He figured he could maybe go back up north? Go back to his old family home and...

He wasn't sure what would happen after that either. He had spent the majority of the last 5 or 6 years searching for whatever remained of his family with no real progress. What was considered his entire adult life. He knew where they lived, but he was no detective. So what? go home and start over? maybe. But after all this time what trail is left? He could wander around and inspect each walking corpse to see if he missed some, but he figured that wouldn't do much for him either. He wondered about going north from there, he did technically have family that way too, but they haven't been on good terms with his parents since Hunter was a little boy.

He started having trouble focusing again. Though this time for another reason, he was starting to get hungry. He figured that might mean he was getting closer to dinner which would be nice. Though these days it felt like he was always hungry. He was severely under weight, he had many days where he would shut down emotionally and even if he had food wouldn't eat it. And he hadn't been functioning too great since the apocalypse started anyways. He know he almost went into shot once from the weight he had lost since this started so that had helped him get through those worse moments. So now, food seemed nice. He wondered how much longer was left until then.

[Sigil]

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Ash Holloway Location: Bus Skills: N/A

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Ash took to memory the rundown of their expectations as soon as they all got back to CMB. He still had to report back to Mechanics and continue cleaning up whatever horror had been perpetrated upon the ladies' bathroom therein. He recalled the fact that he had started to clean it once and likewise recalled the tiny amount of relief that he felt when he learned that he was being moved over to the men's bathroom. The irony this time being that, unlike what conventional wisdom might have one believe about the less sanitary habits of the Y-chromosome bearing population, that room was near to pristine in comparison. Still, as fit the ethos of his upbringing and training, every job was important. His work ethic had never taken a hit, even if most other qualities about him had taken a bit of reshaping over the past five years.

So he had more to do. This would require him to stay late, which wasn't so much of a big deal except that he was also expected at optional therapy that evening, starting at the same time that the evening meal did. Unless he was bid an enthusiastic farewell from Rivets, or whomever was in charge of his assigned area, with the up-front understanding that he would not be back until the next morning, Ash was going to have himself a late night on his first workday. On the upside, Ash wasn't a huge fan of leaving a job unfinished. On the other hand, he did want to eventually get back to Thana that evening and be in good enough condition to enjoy her company on multiple levels. Taking a mental note of the upcoming few hours, Ash had a half hour to report to Mechanics and receive orders. Then therapy at 1800. Then the uncertainty of work or supper. Unless the issue had been handled in his absence, it was going to take a lot more than a half hour to fix what was wrong with that room.

It was the price of being the new guy, he supposed. And it definitely wouldn't be the first time he'd have to skip a regular meal. Though in truth, the entire line of thought was a mix of maybes and supposition. Lacking anything resembling an official answer, nor even the ability to speak with someone who could give him one, all of this was a jumble of facts that, like a jigsaw puzzle, needed to be moved around and fitted together to make a clear image. Things would be more apparent after he got inside and checked in with his superiors.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Bus Skills: N/A

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Thalia liked to sit and observe. Usually, this preference was from a distance, safely hidden away someplace with a very low probability of detection. The reasons had been many, though mostly it was a question of survival or to determine if people were hostile without walking up and handing them a questionnaire. Mostly she just let people pass on by, those who were going by. Or she might just move along herself without revealing her presence. But here she was, caught in a bus with a bunch of people, half of whom were acquaintances at best doing anything that she could to take her mind off of the weight that pressed down upon it.

Now, what she observed as she sat with her knees to her chest, braced against the unnatural chill of the bus's air conditioning, gave her the slightest amount of pause. Even cracked a little smile despite herself. The people who arrived from the other group, the one with Navy's boyfriend, seemed very much separate from one another. With the exception of the two shaved girls who seemed preternaturally attached, they all appeared to be making an effort to separate from each other. Even the ballerina pulling away from her husband. Maybe it meant something and maybe it didn't, but her observations of these people piqued her interest.

It was then that she noticed that Alexander had reached a hand out to her across the aisle. Whether it was a show of solidarity or a man who needed some form of reassurance, Thalia didn't particularly care. She reached out and took his hand, holding it for a number of seconds before giving it a final squeeze and pulling her arm back to herself. Whatever was going on with the others didn't especially concern her. She had a handful of people she could honestly say she gave a rat's ass about, and they deserved at least a token reminder.

[ONL]

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Alexander Polawski Location: CMB Graveyard (Bus) Skills: N/A

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Besides the chattering between the proper members of CMB and their assigned guards, it would seem their whole group fell into a lull of silence after Manny's comment to Alexander. It felt like a deep silence, one everyone either fell into by accident or one people entered for some peace and quiet. Alexander had been in many a times of utter silence before, but this was different, not enforced by someone else or brought forth by fear. It was…cathartic in a sense.

Alexander felt yet a greater sense of inner peace when he felt a hand placed into his own - Thalia's hand. She had accepted his little gesture. Alexander didn't pertrude the silence, only shot her the briefest of look before returning his gaze out the window. When she gave him a squeeze and pulled her hand back, Alexander squeezed it back and returned his own hand to his lap, glad Thalia had taken it. It felt like the proper thing to do, to show her she was one he cared for. One of many he cared for these days, one of a handful he had in his prayers each night before bed. Judith had shown him that. Don't tell, show it.

Slowly but surely the bus had traversed the distance between the graveyard and the gates of CMB - their new home. A trip of that time and length, however brief, had always sent a sense of dread to old Mugsy before. Back when he was alone or was with his handful of loved ones - Thana, Beatrice, Thalia and Manny- anything could happen, just look at what happened to them time and time again after Eden. The fact that this had been a safe travel back and forth the outside almost didn't sit well with Alexander, like he knew something would happen. It always did, didn't it? Listening to Daytona informing them they were almost home told him otherwise.

If then all went well, Alexander would get some work done with Thalia, eat dinner and then look for the General. He had not forgotten their arrangement from the night before.

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Nigel Cooper Location: Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Nigel kept his distance behind Thana as they now stood in the Administration building, having determined to let his superiour do the talking and making the arrangements for whatever files they had to…well, file. Keeping quiet Nigel took the time to simply gazing around the room and its contents, besides the nail-filing lady and Thana. Now that sweat was rolling less down his face and he could actually see without shielding his eyes, he was paying more attention to the interiour than anything else. Air-condition, the counter and a scene right out of any reception in a typical American small town, Nigel was still wrapping him mind around the normality surrounding him.

It came as a surprise when he was finally spoken to, yet the voice that spoke wasn't Thana's. Suddenly there was a hand extended out to him and a older lady's voice talking to him straight out of Gone With the Wind. Nigel turned around unbalanced and got a good look of Rolodex, catching Thana's look that could only be of pity. Why, he couldn't tell, but having gotten to know her meant his gut was following Thana's look.

Nigel reached out and shook Rolodex's hand, as his ma and pa had taught him, and gave her a friendly, polite smile. "Pleasent to meet you. Nigel Cooper. I've only just arrived, but I assume that was a given." Nigel introduced himself as best he could, unsure of how to proceed thanks to Thana's visual warning. Pulling back his hand and scracthing the back of his neck, Nigel stood sheepisly for a moment, before biting the sling-shot. "So…since I've only just entered this fortified polis, how does the paper work…work?"

[Lady Absinthia]

☠ 𝚃𝚆𝙳: 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝟻 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟺 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Location: Camp Mexico Beach Weather Forecast: Dawn at 5:57 A.M. - Dusk at 7:41 P.M. - High: 87F, Low: 72F - Winds SW at 4mph - Gusting to 10mph - No rain - Cloud Cover: 26% - Visibility: 9miles. Notes: We are done with the funeral and everyone is now back within the walls of Camp Mexico Beach so henceforth unless otherwise noted all characters are in the same moment in time: 5:30 P.M. start of post. Take note of where people are please as we move forward. Remember 5 grid spaces if walking, 10 if running per turn. Be realistic is something happens in one place if your character would know or have knowledge. I recommend if you haven't already keep notes of what your character personally knows and what you know, especially since we all are playing two characters: it is easier to keep things straight. Once we time jump forward a bit I will open the Rp to new people. New characters by existing Rpers will only be open to those who keep a non-pushing counter: 1 'you're on day 7' a month will keep you from this, so if you are interested please make sure to show you can handle your current Rp load. ^_^ Also below are some rolls, if I call for a modifier in your favor you add it to your ability or skill score that round. If I say the modifier is against you, you add the modifier to your actual roll. (Example: roll against dex, 20 modifier in your favor and your dex is normally a 16 - it means this round alone your dex score is 36. If it roll against dex, 20 modifier against you and you roll a 50 the roll total this round is 70) If you have questions ask, ;) (And no, do not place abilities in skill slot in header)

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Bus (CMB Eastern Gate -> Assembly): Alright bus folks, the outer gate opens and what is general procedure starts to happen: outer gate opens, pull in, outer gate closes, inner gate opens, pull through, inner gate closes. Once that is all done Daytona keeps driving and heads back to the Assembly Flag Pole outside of the Administration Building, she gives a honk as a kid runs out into the road chasing a soccer ball. Slamming the breaks she comes to a stop right before hitting the kid. Everyone Roll against your characters Dex: If you rolls your dex or lower you pass and manage to catch yourself before your characters face plows into the seat in front of you. Tatiana manages to catch herself but Jack doesn't, his face hits the seat. Bass's ass hits the seat where he was standing, Atticus's foot misses a step by the door and he barely catches himself, Joaquin just stands there as if nothing happened.

There is cussing, in Spanish, by all four of the group. Mostly a lot of God Damn it's, What the Fucks, Jesus Christs, and one "biting of the thumb" by take a wild guess before Daytona waves the kid by and gets back to driving. Pulling up to the Assembly spot, she puts the bus in park and opens the door. Hot air rushes in as Atticus looks at the group. "Alright, it's 1730 hours, 5:30, dinner starts in 30, report back to your leads. Riley and Tati, you know what to do, we're done. See you all at dinner or later on," he says before stepping off the bus. Joaquin stands at the back of the bus waiting on the others to exit as Bass gathers up the weapons and exits the bus and heads east on the main road.

Nikki is in Supply, Lisa is in Medical, and Thana and Nigel are in Administration. Roll against each characters Perception to see if they notices the sounds of squealing bus tires out in the street. These are pretty loud but things are doing on and you are in buildings. Your roll will come with a 40 modifier in your favor.

Administration (A): Rolo took his hand and held onto it, she wasn't letting go. It wasn't like she had an iron grip on it but it was clear she was trying to hold on as she stepped out from behind the counter, walked closer to Nigel and batted her over mascara'ed eyes up at him. "Why yes, the pleasure will be all yours," she said, more than missing exactly what he had said and directing it to what she wanted him to say, at least in her mind. "And I'll be happy to walk you through each and ever last little detail of that nasty paper work. I can even put in some overtime and long overnight hours if you would like, it's no trouble at all." Her accent seemed to get thicker and thick with each word she uttered a she slipped closer and closer. She didn't even notice the bus tires squealing outside.

Hospital/Medical (B): Things for Lisa seem to be going alright. She is heading back up and out of the basement, everything is cleaned up, her job is done for the day, and she managed to start on her new job. All in all a great day. Which is probably why Lady Luck decided to rear her ugly head. Stairs? Nah, all fine. No slips, spills, or head hits. Yet as soon soon as her foot hits the main floor it seems like everything goes wrong. Doc is rushing by, not looking where he is going. He nearly runs into her but stops and just dodges her. Instead he runs into a fern, the plant tips over and sends potted plant and dirt all towards Lisa. Roll against Dexterity to avoid. Roll Lisa's dexterity or lower and she gets out of the way. If she rolls over it - roll again and refer to the table for results.

And no Doc doesn't hear what is going on outside of the building, neither does anyone else in the area because well they are watching the show unfold. lol

01-60	61-90	91-99	100
Jumping to the left Lisa doesn't dodge the dirt, it hits her and her face but she is standing and keeps herself from falling either down the stairs behind her or over Doc in front of her. Could have been a lot worse.	Instead of jumping back Lisa for some odd reason trips over her own two feet and falls forward, right onto of Doc with her face right in the planter - which now is stuck on her head and pouring out the remaining dirt on and down her shoulders as she tries to get it off. Roll against STR to remove it. ( 20 Modifier in your favor)	Lisa takes a step back and ends up loosing her footing. She falls back down the stairs and onto her ass, sliding backwards to the first landing and sliding back until her head and back hit the all behind her. Roll against FIT to stay conscious.	Might as well yell God Fucking Damn It because as soon as that dirt starts flying Lisa over compensates, takes a running leap backwards and flings herself D O W N the stairs. Hit me up in messages because this is going to be a long set of rolls in hopes of saving your ass.

General Supply (R): Auntie has finally shut up about asking when Nikki would be done. Well, not exactly. She isn't done, she is just done yelling from the back. Apparently whatever she was finding so interesting about that damn tea cup has passed and she is back out front with her usual loving self going on and on about how Nikki needs to finish up. In fact she is on a roll so much that she doesn't even seem to notice the loud tire squealing outside of the building on the main road of town.

Inside Jail (AA): The door opens at the top of the stairs and one can easily hear heavy foot falls coming down the steps. It isn't like whoever it is was trying to hide their presence and the place with its concrete floor and walls does cause every last little thing to echo in the room. Yet even if one couldn't hear the foot steps they could surely as hell hear Cage mumbling loudly, almost like a drunk whisper level, as he walks down the stairs. "I'll get you a fucking person in there to clean it up just hold your horses. Hold my horses? I have dead fucker on my jail floor and he tells me to hold my horses. If I had a horse to hold I would probably make horsechops, asshat... Probably gonna be some new asshat that doesn't know bleach from ammonia like last time..." he is ranting as he comes around the corner and spots Hunter. "Did you eat lunch?" he asks out of no where.

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Thana Martin Location: Administration (A) (Inside-> Outside) Skills: N/A

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It was truly taking every last bit of restraint that Thana had acquired over her nearly forty years of life, multiple war zones, five years on the road thanks to this post apocalyptic wonderland, and so much more to keep from letting out a slew of laughs that would have looked very similar to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins as he was singing I Love To Laugh, complete with Goose like Honk laugh to end it. Her eyes were watering as she pinched her nose and chewed on the inside of her mouth, it was going to be raw at this rate and she really didn't want to have to explain to Doc that Rolo had caused mouth lesions, that would just add to this whole thing. It was one thing when she was hitting on people her age but Nigel was half the womans age probably, young enough to be her son, maybe grandson if she was a teen mom.

Looking down Thana just went back to paper work and tried to drown it out, every so often she had to either bite on the end of ehr pen, her tongue, look helplessly at Nigel or act like she had just hit her shin on the counter to keep letting the giggles that were creeping up edge out. It was like God himself, or herself, finally felt her stomach, which was hurting now from holding it in, had thought she had enough. The sound of squealing tires, those rang clear in Thana's ear and her head snapped around. "Well, shit, I better check on that!" Thana said quickly as she dropped her pen.

"Duty calls!" Thana turned and beelined it, limping but with purpose as she darted towards the door. "Nigel! Come on, could be something people need help with!" Thana added looking back at the man wide eyed and giving him an exit. Thing was Thana was a little worried. Ash had gone on a bus with Daytona and others to the grave yard, they should be getting back now, squealing tires worried her.

Rushing outside she spotted the kid and the bus before the kid ran off and the bus came towards Admin, assembly was right there. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding as the door opened and Atticus stepped off followed by Bass. Biting her bottom lip she stood there, the heat finally getting her attention now that her fear something was wrong started to go away. Swatting away a fly she kept an eye out for Ash.

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Nikola Warren Location: General Supply (R) (Inside -> Outside) Skills: N/A

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Nikki really wanted to tell Auntie to shut the fuck up. She was tired of hearing it. It was all she heard since she got back. She probably would have been done if the old bat had shut her trap for more than twenty seconds. It was driving her nuts. Maybe she should punch the woman, she'd at least get locked up for the evening while they let her cool down. Not that she really needed to calm down she just wanted peace and quiet. Then she remembered that Hunter had been taken off to the jail. Would it still be quiet if she was down there? Would he start in one what he was saying at lunch or go back to not saying a word.

Popping her fingers Nikki was seriously considering throwing a punch, then she heard the tires squealing. "Shit! What was that?!" she snapped before turning around and running towards the door. It wasn't like she was really worried, she had heard plenty of sets of tires squeal to a stop around here. If there wasn't a scream or something crashing along with it, chances were things were okay. Kids had a habit of not looking before they crossed the street these days but one could hardly blame them, it wasn't like there was a lot of traffic.

As the heat hit her face Nikki nearly instantly regretted her decision but there was no turning back. Well there was but she wasn't. She would rather deal with the Florida Summer than Batshits Rants. It seemed like everything was alright. Bus drove to assembly and people started getting off. Atticus first and then Bass. "Frick!" she muttered under her breath. There was no hiding. She was standing right there and he was heading in her direction carrying duffle bags of what she could only assume was the weapons that were issued earlier that day for the detail. Maybe he would just pass on by, and if not, Amelia should be on that bus and she can direct her attention towards her! Yeah, that would work!

[rivaan]

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Amelia Payne Location:CMB Assembly(P) (I5) →General Supply(R) (I6) Skills: N/A

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Ahh back behind the safety of the walls. Amelia was feeling her nerves relax a tad bit as soon as they were inside. Reality however proved to be just as how she always knew it was. The moment you suspect it’s over, it never was. Something would always go wrong, even if it wasn’t a world ending disaster. Out of nowhere the bus came to a screeching halt for some reason. Amelia didn’t have time to react, before she knew what was up, her face hit the seat in front of her and then she snapped backwards when the kinetic energy ended.

“Hell… HURTS!” She cursed, which was a rarity enough for her, but it really hurt. The impact rattled her a little bit and her nose was currently hurting. It didn’t appear to be anything too serious, but damn. She knew something will happen! SHE KNEW IT! It always did! Rubbing carefully her nose, and resting her head back on the seat she took the few moments afterwards to calm herself as they were finally at Assembly.

Once more on edge, Amelia carefully made her way off the bus, noting the info. So they had a bit before dinner. Luckily for her General Supply was very close, just on the other side of the street to the south. She separated from Riley with a bit of reluctance.” See you in a bit later.” She said to her love and against her inner voices of shyness, she gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, feeling now even hotter than the heat outside at the end. With that done, she bailed for the other side of the street, heading to Supply only to find Nikki outside. She nearly tripped from stopping suddenly.” Hey, I’m back.” She managed to say.” Is Auntie still in, I was told I have to report that I’m back to her.” She asked and looked at the girl.” Also thank you very much for the help with the dress. It indeed was quite a bit more comfortable with it.”

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical(B) Skills: N/a

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With a tune Lisa was skipping up the stairs like she had done countless times in the past. Well not really countless, but she stopped counting long ago… or rather never did in the first place. For now she just wanted to leave this place, get home, chill for a little bit then have dinner. After that the plans were kinda hazy as she didn’t really have one, but she will figure something out when she gets to it. All was perfect, or rather that’s how it should have been.

Suddenly with no warning, Doc came hurrying for somewhere into colliding course with her. He startled her, maybe he startled himself also because his attempts to avoid collision ended up hitting into the fern. Lisa who was so very darn rudely pulled from her so far perfect day in an uncoordinated movement of some kind tripped over her own legs, falling forward towards him." Fu..." What transpired next could possibly called a slapstick routine, but it wasn’t really fun to experience. She was covered with dirt… and then even more dirt as her head went right for the fern and ending in the planter… which poured the rest of the dirt down her head and shoulders and now she had a nifty nifty hat… heavy hat with dirt in it even if the majority was now down on her and into her clothing too!

With initial instinct to curse, she found the taste of dirt… so she closed her eyes and mouth, holding out the string of curses, as she brought her hands to her head, struggling to get the planter that was so neatly on her head now. It wasn’t getting off… Made her want to curse more, hoping someone would help get this off her.

[Shoe Thief]

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Bus (Assembly) --> Hospital/Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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Nothing was being said anymore. It was surprisingly peaceful for the former dentist who had a tendency to talk all the time. Manny took note of how Alexander and Thalia interacted with each other. They were protective of each others, and had a connection that seems pretty unique to just them. Manny could appreciate that, and was glad for them. Two of the least social people he knew, finding some protective comfort in one another. Manny took another look around the bus to get an idea of what was happening. They had just passed through the gates, meaning that Manny would get a chance to help Lisa out and finish things up.

Then what seemed out of nowhere the whole bus came to a sudden stop. Manny found himself jerking forward, but had caught himself before he hit his head on the seat in front of him. He was sore for sure, but it was better then a direct hit against the seat. "I think I am getting too old for this..." There was some cussing, some grunts of pain, confusion. But overall things seemed okay. A little shouting as well. "You know... I think I am ready to go back to the days when I walked to get where I needed to go." He said in a still catching his breath tone towards Alexander. The bus eventually made it back to moving towards assembly.

When the bus finally stopped Manny stepped off ready to be back on the safety of his own two feet. On his way back to medical he made sure to give a friendly goodbye wave to Alexander and Thalia. When he finally got to medical things seemed like a mess to say the least. Lisa was on the ground covered in dirt, and some kind of planter container. Manny had only in recent times gotten into plants so he wasn't sure exactly what kind. But he made his way over to Lisa. "Looks like you're in the middle of something. Want me to come back later?" He said with a little bit of a joking tone. Between the heat outside and the excitement from bus Manny mostly needed a moment to catch up to himself. Given a moment to do that and he could help with the pot.

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Hunter Monroe Location: Cell B Skills:N/A

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Hunter sat on his bed looking for anything to pass the time. That came sooner then expected for Hunter though as he heard the heavy footsteps of none other the Cage making his way to the basement. He seemed like he had more then his share to complain about. What through Hunter off was Cage asking him if he had eaten lunch today. Seemed odd as up to this point Hunter's impression of the man was someone who couldn't be bothered to do much unless he had to do it. "I ate yeah. Why? Does it effect when I get to have dinner or is there some other reason?" He wasn't sure what to expect, but he found the question suspicious. Some things to Hunter felt like petty reactions from people here, others seemed more professional. Part of him wondered if it was a question to see if they could afford skipping his dinner because he had already eaten and was being punished. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Hunter soon realized he had been gripping the edge of the bed rather hard. Hard enough that when he let go and looked at his hand he could see the imprint on his fingers from where he held it. He figured it was more of where his mind kept going towards, Cage reminded him a lot of someone from his past that he would rather not think about. He had to keep telling himself that Cage was not that man, as Hunter was there when he had died. That man back then was also the reason for some of Hunter's worst scars. The cup up fingers, the slashes across his back, the gunshot wounds. The big gash across his arm.

Hunter had to remind himself that Cage, was not that same person. For now not an enemy either. An asshole sure. But there was a difference between an enemy and an asshole. At first at least. "Having a rough day huh? Mind if I ask why if it's such a problem you don't do it yourself?" Hunter was pretty set on the man probably felt he couldn't be bothered. But he had nothing else to do so he figured he would ask, pass some time. Get to know the person who held the keys to the outside world. Plus, maybe he wasn't an asshole as much as Hunter thought he was. Or maybe he was and knowing for sure would be nice. Plus if they could work out some kind of positive relationship maybe he would let Hunter have something to do.

[Sigil]

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Assembly (P) -> Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Let no good deed go unpunished. One moment, Thalia was giving a reassuring squeeze to her friend's hand, and the next she was flung forward by the sudden cessation of the bus's forward momentum. She was not so lucky. Maybe if Thalia was sitting with her feet on the floor instead of curled up in a ball on the seat, this could have been avoided. But no, she had to cringe against air conditioning, of all things. She could drag her happy ass over to a hearth and build a fire from nothing after getting her arm cut off a few hours prior, but somehow, air conditioning was too much of a distraction. None of that mattered after a quarter second or so following Daytona slamming the brakes, as Thalia chose this moment to hurtle forward, face slamming the back of the seat directly in front of her.

"¡Chingada gahd damn madre!"

It was strange to hear perfectly inflected northern Mexico Spanish sandwiched around coastal Massachusetts, but somehow it worked for Thalia, representing the two differing halves of her parentage and upbringing. Parting the mists of the passage of time and shifting of eras, cultural linguistics researchers would come across home movies of a young Thalia Angelica Carmichael, seamlessly transitioning between English and Spanish, Monterrey and Boston, all in a confusing attempt to decide if the horrifyingly violent events of her quinceañera warranted another drink or the spilling of blood. More blood, anyway. Though these learned men and women of the future might try to hammer down her exact accent in this moment, it would all come to naught and plague their careers for years to come. Whomever they chose to play her in the movie adaptation would break down in fits of sobbing back in their trailer and ultimately quit, forcing the directors to go with their second choice that, while she might have been a bit young for the role, would go on to Oscar nomination for her performance. Not a win that year, but it's an honor just for the nod.

Back to the present, Thalia had managed to renew the flow of crimson from her cut face, thanks to the sudden blunt force applied to it. She took a little satisfaction from the fact that a few others also selected Spanish as their preferred language of vulgarity. It felt a little more like home. Still, she was pissed. As soon as she was allowed to depart, she did so at a quick pace, eager to get back to whatever the hell she needed to be doing, then to get food.

The blood was still oozing down her cheek as she came up to Thana, the irritated look persisting. She knew that Ash would be walking up behind her any second now, taking up Thana's time. And she had somewhere to be, anyway. "Hey, Navy," she said in passing. "Your boyfriend's a hell of a storytellah. Gaht to run. Dinner?" She guessed not on dinner either, but wasn't going to seriously hold it against her. If she had someone she cared about that quested Galahad-style to find her, Thalia wouldn't have come up for air for a month. She continued past and walked into the Administration building.

Without regard for most of what was going on around, Thalia marched right up to Rolodex and announced plainly, "Need to check in with Gunny." She gave a look back to see if Alexander had caught up with her. Maybe she should have waited. But little distractions like getting a faceful of cheap upholstery in front of a group of people was, well, distracting.

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Ash Holloway Location: Assembly (P) -> Administration (A, exterior) Skills: N/A

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Recently, it wasn't the best thing in the world for Ash to be left to his own thoughts. Despite the guy's default setting to try to be a Boy Scout, things frequently went to a darker part of his psyche. It was like he always planned for the worst case scenario, mentally. Recently, things had changed in that regard, but whether it was a temporary lull in his general brood or a marked change to his personality remained to be seen. The fact was, for an apocalypse, he wasn't too amazingly bad off. Even a funeral was a luxury, and one that gave closure, besides. He was feeling a little more like the soldier he was a long time ago. Maybe not as optimistic and socially ambitious, but a little more like a previous version of himself. Ash glanced around to the people in the bus yet another time, looking at those he called family and those with which he was not overly familiar. Nothing thusfar had given him any hope that this place was the final answer to all of their problems, forever. Like Newnan, or his caravan, or Virginia before that, or even Dobbins Air Force Base before that, everything could fall apart. It was all so fragile. Nowhere was truly, totally safe anymore. But here, in this place with these people, Ash was willing to try as best he could to make it that way.

Such were his thoughts as the bus pulled back into the settlement proper. A moment of drama came and left for Ash as the brakes slammed to the floor. He couldn't see what the matter was from his vantage, but instincts honed from years of riding around in jerky transports prompted him to slip his left foot out in front of him, into the aisle for support. While some of the others were forcefully introduced to the seat in front of theirs, Ash merely rocked forward an inch or two, a bit of tension on his leg telling the tale of a man bracing for a near miss. he gave a look around, wondering what the big deal with everyone else was. Maybe he missed something. Luckily, Ash knew a bit of Spanish and, like most people learning a second language, caught the swearing bits first. It gave a tiny bit of clarification.

Departing the bus, Ash could barely make out the Mechanic/Fabrication building from where the bus was parking in the Assembly area. He figured that he had plenty of time to check in with his boss for the day yet he wanted to get there with time to spare. It wasn't until he actually set foot on the steps that he noticed Thana standing nearby, staring in the direction of the bus. It almost made him not notice the sudden slamming of comparably oppressive heat as he set foot on the blacktop. Thank God for small favors. He glanced back in the direction of his worksite, and figured that he could definitely spare a moment for Thana. "Hey!" he called, giving a wave and quickening his pace to get over to her. Once Ash arrived, he looked very much like he wanted to sweep her up in a big, spinning hug, but restrained himself at the last second. "On duty," he reminded himself. Thana had a position there and he wanted one, no secret there. No making her look unprofessional. No extenuating circumstances, just a funeral detail returning to base. And they were very much out in public. He clapped his hands to his sides, instead saying, "It's damn nice to see you, Thana. I have to check in but I couldn't not say hello to you." His professional demeanor an obvious facade over the affection he wanted to show.

[Lady Absinthia]

☠ 𝚃𝚆𝙳: 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝟻 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟺 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Location: Camp Mexico Beach Weather Forecast: Dawn at 5:57 A.M. - Dusk at 7:41 P.M. - High: 87F, Low: 72F - Winds SW at 4mph - Gusting to 10mph - No rain - Cloud Cover: 26% - Visibility: 9miles. Notes: Nice work on the rolls last round peeps! Everything looks to have gone well without a hitch. Okay, some of the rolls weren't the best but you all worked well with the system, even with the modifiers in place, and that was the biggest concern. Glad to see it worked well and it was able to be handled by each of you individually instead of having to message for roll results each time. Seems the "more complicated" process is working to streamline matters over all. This is good! Means we can start doing more and moving faster since you all can rely on the rolls more often. YAY! Have a cookie! Well actually, mark down a 1 day extension card for each of yourselves. Well done!

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Administration (A): Rolodex looked over as Thana ran out the door and quirked a brow. "Huh?" she muttered to herself before looking back at Nigel and smiling slightly. "Well it looks like I have you all alone now, isn't that wonderful?" she asked in a sultry tone. She started to lean in some but had to pull back quick as Thalia came into the office. She grumbled slightly under her breath. "Yeah, he's in his office, go on in," she said as she walked over to the door and unlocked it for her. Clicking her nails against the frame she held it open for Thalia as she waited for the woman to step through. The woman was messing up her flirting and that just wouldn't do.

Standing by the door of the bus, Atticus was waiting for everyone to get off the bus. Only Alexander was left before Joaquin could exit. Joaquin was just standing there quietly as he waited. "Hey, Daytona, before you put the bus up, give me a lift to the church?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," she said and Atticus nodded, hoping back on and taking a seat in the front row.

Hospital/Medical (B): Thankfully for Lisa things could have turned out a lot worse and they didn't. Okay, they aren't exactly awesome right now either. She has a planter stuck on her head and well, Doc is having his own problems. He got knocked down with Lisa in his lap to start this thing and now he's kind of pinned under her. "Manny, get her off me, or the thing off her, or I don't know," Doc said as he started to wiggle and try to scoot out from under the woman. (Strength Check to Lisa to get it off again, +20 modifier. If she passes, great, it pops off. If not, up to Manny - same roll - Strength. If he goes to get the planter off +20 modifier, if he just goes to get her off Doc, no modifier. Can only do one.)

Assembly (P): Outside of Bus by the assembly pole things are busy but calm. People out in town were stopped and looking because of the whole near miss of the kid running into the road but they were starting to get back to their work or recreational time. Bass spotted Nikki standing there outside of Supply and gave her a small smile before it went away. "Have to check in.." he said reluctantly before double timing it towards the armory supply instead of crossing the street to go talk to her. He glanced over his shoulder more than once before going into the building.

Inside Jail (AA): "No, just asking," Cage said before glancing over at the puddle of blood. At Hunters next question he grumbled. "It's called a job. It ain't mine. It was assigned to Supply, they need to take care of it. If you can't do your fucking job you shouldn't be here. Simple as that. Personal fucking responsibility. We each have our job we do our job, simple as that. Shit keeps working. People don't do their fucking job others pick up the slack, more slack off, less of a persons real job gets done, shit falls apart. Fuck that," he said before heading back to the stairs. "Hold tight, gonna make a call," he added at the top of the stairs yelling down before the door slammed shut.

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Thana Martin Location: Streets of CMB (I4) Skills: N/A

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Standing outside of Administration, Thana took a few steps towards where the bus was. Her eyes darting from one person to the next as they exited. Spotting Amelia and the others exits she gave a slight nod towards them. They weren't who she was looking for though. Neither was Manny but she nodded just the same. Even Thalia wasn't who she was looking for but she smirked a bit. It wasn't a flat out smirk, her brow quirked a bit at the story teller mention. The man hadn't exactly woven any stories around her but then again they really didn't know each other well. Well enough and such but those little details still had a long way to go. "Yeah, dinner," she said to Thalia as she passed by.

When she spotted Ash step off she let out a breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding. Not a bated breath thing but more of she was worried, even though she knew she probably shouldn't be, and was relieved to see him fine with her own two eyes. She half reached out to him but stopped at the mention of on-duty. Technically she was, well until she officially looked at Nigel and told him they were done for the day. They're job was done and they're paperwork was filed. They were off-duty in the grand scheme of things. Yet Ash wasn't and she knew that. An understanding nod came from her as she stood there. "Well then ya better report in," she said with a slight tug at the corner of her lips.

"Speaking of which, we're done for the day so time to go clean up," she added as she wiped some sweat from the back of her neck. A nice cool shower was just what she needed right then. Probably a good thing it was going to be alone because she doubted she would get washed if Ash was off duty as well right then. "We're off-duty Nigel, back on tomorrow morning. Same time," she said as she started walking off. It hadn't dawned on her to turn around and see if he was there. She just started headed towards the officers quarters.

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Nikola Warren Location: Streets of CMB (I5) Skills: N/A

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Nikki wasn't able to see who got off the bus when considering the door of the bus was on the other side of the street from her facing the Administration building, so there she stood watching. She had spotted Bass earlier and as he smiled her stomach knotted. Fucking post apocalypse making her face a one night stand. At least before the world went to shit if she had done this he wouldn't know where she was or be close. She could have just been another face in the crowd. Damn having to get to know people. It wasn't always a bad thing but the morning after wasn't the most fun.

Nikki, like Thana, let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding in but for a whole different reason. She was glad to hear that Bass had to check in weapons and see him going in the other direction. She almost didn't notice Amelia and her eyes widened as the girl nearly tripped stopping. Yet she was glad to see her back. One she liked Amelia so far and two it gave her a buffer between Bass if he came back.

"Yeah, she's inside, she's been bitching up a storm today..." Nikki admitted before turning and looking back at the General Supply Building. "Just check in, she should be in the back, and then we can get these carts out. With your help shouldn't take long," she added looking back with a smile and popping a bubble with her gum. "Glad it helped, the dress looks good on ya." Walking back to the supply building Nikki opened the door and held it open for Amelia.

[ONL]

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Alexander Polawski Location: Assembly (P) -> Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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The coast was clear so to speak, seen as their re-entry into the comforting walls of Camp Mexico Beach went as well as anyone could have hoped for. Ol' Mugsy knew well to enjoy the relative safety of a serious protective barrier between you and the outside world, be it a series of sandbags and fortified foxholes, or the vast ocean surrounding an island. Yes, letting his shoulder slowly down and leaning a little more calm in his seat, Alexander tried to let go the nagging feeling that their luck was soon to run out.

He had been about to turn and say something to Manny in due to the silence that had shrouded them, when the world went to shits. A loud honk of sound blared out front, then the bus stopped entirely. A younger Alexander might have had the ability to react to his instincts and brace for impact, but the impact came in full force. Nose first, Alexander flew into the seat in front, then just as quickly bounced back into his seat. The world was a noisy mess around him with cursing all around and a painful nose plastered on his face. Manny somehow had managed to catch himself, or so he thought, and came with one of his usual quips. "Ouch…you and me both, baby-boomer…didn't these bucket of bolts use to have seatbelts?"

No one appeared to be wounded though, and the bus kept on trucking forwards to the Assembly in due course. Told that dinner would be served in 30 and to report back to their superiors, Alexander shook his senses back and got back out to the scorching steam-heat of the Florida sun. Alexander bid his fellow baby-boomer farewell and "see you at dinner, okay?", and followed after Thalia bee-lining it to first Thana and second Admin.

"I think we're all fine, just a headache. See you at dinner, like she said." Alexander told Thana in passing while she chatted some with Ashton, then made his way into Administration pondering on what the hell had happened with the bus, catching Thalia talking to Rolodex, Sandra, while Nigel the Roman stood still. Too still, stiff, awkward? Alexander gave him a polite wave, before turning to the two ladies. Giving her a smile he took a step beside Thalia. "Good evening, Sandra. Quite the stir out there, isn't it? Gunny's in there?"

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Nigel Cooper Location: Administration (A) (Inside -> Outside) Skills: N/A

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In the coming centures and millenia, perhaps with the proper passage of time and the rediscoveries of the long lost "Camp Mexico Beach Annals: A comedy-tragedy about the life and death of Nigel Sportacus Cooper", then Nigel would have the insight to finally see what had been going on before his very eyes. It was perhaps this reason that he had spent less time socializing with the opposite sex, or he was just thicker than an Egyptian corner stone of a pyramid at the moment. Whatever the cause of this spell was, Nigel didn't register what Rolodex, or Sandra as she called herself, was doing with him.

Nigel, polite yet awkward as he was around most people, was ready to pull back his hand from Rolodex and wait for whatever normal answer she'd given him about the paperwork. The more he attempted to withdraw his hand from her though, the more it felt like a melee more than a greeting. For some reason Rolodex didn't let go of his hand just like that. And what she was telling him about staying late to help him, it took a moment too long for it to clik in his mind. Before he realised the ambush he'd put himself into, Thana had already left him behind after telling him to follow, and he hadn't listened.

Rolodex was wooing him.

Nigel's cheeks suddenly turned a shade of Roman red at this realisation, his eyes shifting between Rolodex standing in front of him and the spot Thana had been just a moment ago. He was trapped. Swallowing hard, Nigel stood perplexed as Rolodex came closer, and closer, and closer to his face, unsure of what to do. "Ehm…I…I don't think this is what paperwork involves…" Nigel said frightened.

Saved by the proverbial bell it would seem, Thalia entered the room and announced her presence just in time. With Rolodex apparently preoccupied by Thalia and her request for the moment, Nigel weighed his options as Alexander the veteran entered. Should he send a warning to the old man, or save his own skin from the shame? He was given a polite nod, to which he slowly returned as Alexander too started talking to Rolodex. That was it, time to make his retreat!

Nigel inched his way back the way he and Thana had come from, hoping to leave the room as unnoticable as possible, using Thalia and Alexander as a ruse. Slowly, surely, Nigel made his way to the door to make his escape, calling out to the trio before leaving quickly. "Seems I must make haste, don't let me keep you occupied! Pax vobiscum!" he bid his farewell, quickly getting back out onto the ever burning streets of CMB, looking as if something big had happened moments earlier. What it had been, Nigel couldn't say, but it was enough for Thana to have left him. He took a deep breath and felt the newly won freedom, much rather having the scorching sun rather than Rolodex's frightening stare. "That…that was not how I expected paperwork to work…"

[rivaan]

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Amelia Payne Location:General Supply(R) (I6) Skills: N/A

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“Ohh.” Amelia replied, hearing what Nikki said about Auntie. So the girl likely was nagged on today. She sighed and gave a bit of an apologetic look, she really needed that final closer and honestly that was enough. She was going to make it up to Nikki at a later date! She nodded, hearing the old woman was in the back of the Supply Building.

“Mmhm, that too. Pretty sure she liked it too...’ Amelia blushed a bit and nodded, mumbling the latter part of the sentence. She got to show herself pretty to Riley so she was happy. She did like to occasionally dress up, but on the road it wasn’t good to do so, too risky. Last time she had ever gotten the chance to do that was the night before Newnan fell, so long ago it felt now. Pushing the sudden dark thoughts that filled her mind away, she smiled.” I will be quick then.” She added and hurried into the building, going through the signing in procedure.

She quickly showed herself to Auntie to see that she had returned.” I’m back, we just arrived. Thank you for the dress, Auntie.” She said to the woman with grateful voice.” I will get changed quickly and start working again to finish the day!” With that, she hurried over to the place where she earlier changed her clothing and now hurriedly changed back in her regular get up, folding the dress and putting the hat on top of the folded dress.” Alright done, where are we bringing the carts to?” Amelia asked, looking around. Nikki said to bring the carts out, but this being her first day here, she had no idea where to. Just out on the street? Or in another room? Or was it to bring them around to the different locations around town? Well she looked forward to the answer!

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical(B) Skills: N/a

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Lisa’s perception of the surroundings right now wasn’t honestly the best. She had a planter on her head and a lot of dirt everywhere. Not the best feeling honestly, but it could be worse than dirt… could be blood or anything else, so take your blessing where you could. That said, it still didn’t mean it was pleasant. She vaguely heard Manny and he seemed to be joking. She wanted to retort rather angrily, but given that even if she tries, her mouth will only fill with dirt, she didn’t. She will get her chance later… once she’s out of the dirt.

Doc wasn’t helping by squirming about and she really couldn’t move anywhere cause she had absolutely no visibility and she didn’t plan to attempt to stand up, wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do so anyways. Didn’t feel like she hit her head, but might as well be careful. What she did however was to attempt to take off the blasted planter off her. She pushed hard at it in attempt to get it off, but it didn’t work out. No matter how much she tried for some reason it didn’t get removed. Was it because she was that stuck or because she couldn’t pick a proper angle to push it, she didn’t know. As such she was still in this stuck state with dirt all across her head. She could feel it in her hair… in her nose even and despite the attempt to keep her mouth shut, she still felt the taste of dirt.

‘Get it off me already dammit!’ Lisa screamed internally as she started pushing it in a more hectic way and knocking on it to get the people to realize to stop standing there and do something helpful! She supposed it would be a fun thing to watch sure, but she didn’t want to spend the day like this.

[Shoe Thief]

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Hospital/Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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The scene was definitely one for a photo book. But as Manny lacked a camera and was the only one on his feet, he was in no position to stand around and make witty jokes. Doc had made a comment about helping, and Lisa probably wasn't laughing at his joke for more reasons other then the pot on her head. "Alright don't worry. I got you." Lisa had made another attempt to remove the pot, but didn't seem to make much progress. Manny gripped the pot with both of his hands and got ready to pull. "Don't worry, in my youth they used to call me, "The Spanish Bear"." Unfortunately there were a few problems with that statement now. The first being, Manny was not a youth anymore. And second, his Spanish only covered basic conversations. As he got into school being the strongest person around meant little to Manny, and mostly cardio was enough to keep him physically active enough to avoid health problems as long as he kept at it and actively.

Manny pulled the pot, and had little luck in trying to wedge it off. With a frustrated grunt he tried again, but no luck. "Well. It appears I have gotten old..." he said with a defeated sigh. He stopped uselessly tugging and tried to figure out what else could be done now to get this fixed. "Okay, what if we both try this at once? Surely between both of us we could get this thing off." Sometimes Manny wished being young and the strongest person around. Though looking back his choice to change his life was still the best he could have made. Even if it did mean most of his post childhood exercise was mostly cardio. Though even that was starting to get challenging for the old dentist. A part of him wondered if it would be better to get doc freed first since he was likely stronger then Manny and three people would be more likely to get the pot off. Or if it would be better to just try to get the pot off and free Lisa asap. "Just... If you want to do this at the same time, just give me a sign and we can work together to get this off." He wondered again about getting doc out, but he worried that he might not be strong enough to do that on his own either without help. He figured at least with getting the pot off that is something him and Lisa could work on together.

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Hunter Monroe Location: Cell B Skills:N/A

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Jail was still boring to Hunter, but he had to admit watching Cage ramble and rant was kind of funny. He wondered if when he had his own breakdowns if other people thought he was funny. Though Hunter was glad he got some kind of answer from cage. Even if it was simple. For hunter it had seemed many times when he asked questions it was either bad timing, vague answers, or threats. Sure, much of that was his own doing, but he still liked getting a strait answer from time to time. Even if simple.

Cage's answer on why he didn't just clean up the mess himself seemed to just be it wasn't in his job description. So he left it. It did make Hunter think what Cage was supposed to be doing as a warden since he didn't do much for the cells it seemed, and he wasn't watching the prisoners, or himself in this case. Hunter didn't bother to think too much past that. He had a feeling if he asked he would probably get met with some kind of comment to backwardly justify it. His rant went on for a bit, hunter paid it some mind but again not a lot.

Eventually his warden left to make some kind of call. Probably to call someone to clean up the mess because... He was either too busy or couldn't be bothered. After he left Hunter chuckled to himself a little. "And the winner of the "Not my Job" Award goes to, Warden Cage!" He did in a quiet voice in the tone of a game show announcer. He took another look at the bloody remains and sighed. "Pretty sure that's a health hazard. But hey, it's just me so who cares right?" He shrugged it off and went back to laying on his bed. The longer he stayed here, the more he thought that maybe this isn't the place to try and sort himself out.