Ash looked down at Ryan, now kneeling on the floor. Then back up to Zoie. Ordinarily, this would be the time that he evaluates new arrivals and explains the ins and outs of their struggling but hopeful community. Newnan needed people. As many people as their supplies could sustain. The more the merrier; it meant safety. It meant industry. More hands to find or produce food meant more food for everyone. Expansion. Taking back their part of the world.
Except for this guy. Hearing the word "Eden", Ash took instant distrust.
The newest new guy spoke directly to Ash, not quite making a demand but not quite asking, either. Rather ballsy approach for a man on his knees, hands bound behind him, with two guns trained on his head. All the same, he knew for a fact that he wasn't going to put a round in Ryan's face right that second. Probably not the next one, either. He had come to say something, and the Captain was going to hear him speak. Simple enough to start.
"Yes. I'm the guy in charge, thanks to you asshairs. But as long as we're trying to be civil, I'm happy to lower my gun." True to his word, Ash took aim about three feet lower on the man, the barrel pointed in the general vicinity of the man's pant zipper. "You came here to warn Zoie. So warn her. Warn me, too."
Ashton glanced back to his new Second for an instant, and addressed her. "Make sure our guest is fed and has an armed escort. Then show him to one of our secure rooms in the Courthouse. I would like to speak with him in greater detail when I'm finished with my work today."
"Victor! Whenever you're ready, let's go make some peach brandy." Ash glanced to the young couple, the cop and the ballerina, "You two, feel free to take the tour. Newnan's not like it used to be, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
Black James!
Location: Newnan, Inner Wall - Smoker
"Now ya see, Miss Doe... Can I callya Jane?" James had an odd habit of talking to things he was cooking, especially if he was by himself. It was a way for him to get ideas articulated, really out in the open. In this way, he could accept or reject an idea based on the merit of how ludicrous or acceptable it sounded when spoken aloud. The fact that he was addressing a smoking carcass notwithstanding, it made sense. To him.
"Now Jane, we don't know each other. An I ain't got nothing against you, neither. Just that you guys taste so friggin' good when you're done up into sausages and stew meat. Get me some carrots an boil down your bones for a few hours.. Mmm hmmm. Yes'm, you are a tasty beast. So I hope you won't take this the wrong way, when I propose to Bossman and Bosslady 'bout getting hunting parties together. I mean, I been learning 'bout more than just hogs lately; buncha muthafuckas need more than corn an' peanuts, keep their strength up."
"Hell you mean, "It's too dangerous"? Well I guess you'd know, wouldn't'cha? One hundred people left in Georgia, you get yo bitch ass hit by a truck. Don't you talk to me about dangerous. I was out there since the beginnin'. Never got hit by no car, set up in a grill, neither."
Bridgette Vinters
Location: Newnan Inner Wall
Bridgette was hoping that she would see her new friend out and about in Newnan, but it was just not the case. The stoic, nigh violent Bryn could take care of herself, no doubt about it, but she did have concerns sometimes. That thought gave her pause, if only for a moment. She genuinely liked someone that wasn't herself or Astrid. The Captain guy, too. They had spent some time together, sparring. And Zoie was alright! Even that guy that called himself a Blackneck - he was a hell of a guy (but that hat). There were others, too. Sally, from the kitchens. Tomory. The Future Mrs. Hook. Bridgette (gasp) liked these people. Well, most of them. And some of them she was really coming to care about.
She sat atop her Cadence as the realization slammed into her. These mismatched asshats and borderline crazy people were fast becoming her mismatched asshats and borderline crazy people. Just as much as any of the villagers from her last settlement. And in a relatively short time, too. It's amazing the difference one month can make. Marveling over her place in this new town, working for with a good group, she hardly noticed the scent of sticky rot until it was obvious and nauseating. Just down the street, painfully upwind from Bridgette, shuffled a figure covered with gore and corruption.
Why in the hell did the guys in charge make her put away her weapons? Her spear might save a life today; maybe her axe. Even her seax would be preferable to having to bash the undead bastard's brains open with the knuckle points on her full length bracers.
"JĂŚvla helvete!" she swore quietly, maneuvering Cadence as quietly as she could around behind the shuffling monster. God, it stank. When she was done killing it, she'd have to bury it twice. Leaning down from her horse, Bridgette snatched up a five foot length of piping leaning against the distillery storage with others of its kind, and kicked Cadence into a gallop.
Bridgette aimed Cadence just to the left of the Biter, intending to make a passing swipe at its head from behind. If successful, she could explode the fucker's head with a stout, well placed swing. And she'd better get it before it took notice of anyone living. Bree had no idea who fell asleep at the switch, but whoever let one of the Dead inside was going to get a full snakeboot colonoscopy courtesy of Miss Vinters.
The enraged Valkyrie did as Shakespeare instructed, and lent her eye a terrible aspect as she bore down upon her target, pipe raised, screaming a single word at the top of her lungs: "VALHALLA!!!"
The thing stopped. Even looked a little confused. It was carrying a bag, a very full bag. Carrying? The Dead don't carry. What was going on here? At the last possible moment, Bridgette pulled up her pipe and blew past. Reigning around, she took a closer look at her "Biter". It was Richard.
"Fucking God fucking damnit, DICK! Why in putrid fuck are you covered in liquid dead people? You damn near made me fix Zoie and Astrid's personal problems, you rank bitchfist! God! No, no... you're not going to the fucking showers yet. You and me are gonna find a garden hose so I can blast the STANK off of you before you set foot inside a door. C'mon. And stay downwind!"
"Why the fuck are you wearing an entire corpse, anyway?"
They didn't get far before the girl ran into her, shocked she stopped and looked down. She was obviously terrified, and Niesha frowned, looking up. Seeing the raccoon, she shook her head, and crouching for a moment she addressed the girl. "Hi sweetheart, can you do me a favor and stay with Sophie? You'll be okay with her" she gave the girl a smile, rising again.
Chances are the raccoon was merely savaging for food, getting its head stuck in the can. It was probably terrified. And hopefully not infected with rabies or something. Still, she would have to be careful. She cursed, and shrugged off the coat she wore. Holding it, she began to chase the raccoon down. She figured it wouldn't be able to see, with the can. When close, she would pounce on it, hopefully catching it with her coat.
She didn't even think to seek help. She was capable of stopping a rampaging raccoon and besides, a child was scared and she could do something about it. And it wasn't like they had animal control anymore. Once she caught the raccoon, she shifted so she was ready to leap up, in case it went bat shit crazy. Not wanting to risk getting bitten or scratched, she wrapped the jacket around it tightly, and she quickly worked the can off, leaping up and darting back she ran backwards watching it.
After a moment, She darted back towards Sophie and the girl, if the girl stayed, grabbing the handles again, she pushed the chair, glancing back, to see if it had gotten out. Most raccoons would, she knew flee, but this wasn't a typical time. It might not be afraid of humans anymore. "slight change of plans. We should probably tell someone there's a raccoon running around" she said hurriedly, pushing Sophie's chair.
After Kristina finished brushing the first horse she went to start brushing the other three horses brushing out the knots and tangles through their mane and then moved towards their coat as she took out the shedding hair and then lifted it off to quickly pull out the animal's fur from the brush and dropped it onto the floor. Kristina leaned up against the stables that they were in watching the four horses grazing there she took another drink from her water and gently patted the horses each on their sides gently and started to head over towards the fields to see what they wanted her to do next.
Sophia Harris
location: Sophia and Niesha's Apartment, the streets of Newnan.
Sophia looked up at Niesha and smiled softly towards her and nodded slightly, it would still be difficult to do everything with one hand and would most likely need an extra set of hands every so often when it comes to doing her work it would be something she would have to live with the rest of her life now. "I know, it will just be difficult to try and do things for awhile but it will be something I will have to deal with. Just happy to be alive still anyway." Sophia bit her bottom lip for a moment when Niesha mentioned she dated another girl awhile back, maybe they could have a chance at some point. "Well i'm sure that she is still alive out there somewhere, and hanging in there as well." Sophia ran a hand through her hair as Niesha got behind her and started to push her out of the apartment and out onto the streets of Newnan once more.
Sophia leaned back slightly in the chair, she still hated being confined to the chair though maybe later today she could try and pull herself out and walk for once. That's when she heard a sudden scream from a little girl, Sophia instinctively tried to reach for a weapon as she tried to search for the danger. It could have been anything from a walker, or someone who somehow managed to climb over the walls without the guard's notice.
When Sophia shifted more in her seat she could see that it was just a coon with its head stuck in a can, and couldn't help but laugh slightly at the animal's expense. "It's just a raccoon." Sophia said as she gently laid her hand on the girl's head and ruffled her hair, she watched as Niesha turned around to deal with the little critter. Though she still felt helpless she wanted to just get up and help out with getting the raccoon. Niesha seemed to have it under control, as Niesha came back towards her. "I think we should get James, since it seems more like his sort of thing." Sophia would gently hold the girl's hand, she didn't want the girl to get to curious with the raccoon. "We will get someone to deal with the coon." Sophia reassured the scared little girl.
Raymond Mendoza
Location: Arnco Mills, Arnco Baptist Church, Sugar Magnolia Deli
Raymond waited for a good minute or two when he didn't hear the telltale sign of a walker Raymond silently opened the door, he drew out his machete you couldn't be to careful these days. As he entered he saw the place had been sacked which was a bad sign so far that the church was a bust. As he took a few more steps into the church, Ray spotted the bushy red white tipped tail of a fox, he watched it swish for a moment and then saw it perking its head up from the pew it was searching. Raymond's mouth watered for a moment finally there was a meal standing right in front of him. He looked over his shoulder and went to slowly close the door to the church so that it wouldn't have a way out of the building.
Ray slowly started walking down the row of benches towards the altar where the pew was located. "Sorry little guy.." Ray said quietly as he approached the fox, watching the critter's ears twitch as it continued to make eye contact with him. When Raymond was in swinging distance to get the fox, it jumped out of the pew knocking it down onto the ground as it darted to the other side of the room. "C'mon little guy I just need to eat." Ray said as he suddenly leaped forward and grabbed the fox by its tail. The fox started wailing and making noise until Ray brought the machete down over it's head silencing it for good. Raymond flopped down on the floor as he removed the bloody machete from the now dead fox's head.
Raymond would remove his backpack and slipped its carcass into it, now he needed a fire to cook it though he didn't have the supplies to make one. And he didn't know what else was in this little town Ray stood up and started to make his way out of the church. With his fresh kill Raymond started walking up 3rd Street, a few feet later Raymond spotted a sign for Sugar Magnolia Deli as he took a few steps closer. Raymond spotted something looking through the window. He thought it was a Walker for a moment and started to reached for his machete when Ray saw the man's hand reaching for the doorknob he knew it wasn't a Walker. "Hey there." Ray would say keeping his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat to him he hadn't seen another breathing person in such a long time.
Wow, I think we just missed a death by the skin of our teeth. Actually I know we did. You see, I did the rolls for LLA and you know what? A 1 came up. Those of you that have been here a while knows what that means. It means a character death just occurred. Thing was... Silly me, when I checked the lists, I had rolled 1 too many times. The last roll was a 1, so that 1 just got shuffled off to no one and is lost in the real of unneeded rolls. No deaths! Holy shit!
@Nallore@Jotunn Draugr - The door is unlocked, it will squeak a little when pushed open. The two of you hear several shot gun shots go off in the distance, from the sound it of it is coming from the north-west but the way things are echoing in the small empty town, you can't be sure for certain. At the window of the deli, from the inside a Walker slams his hands against glass trying to get to you two. He has what looks like an over stuffed rucksack on his back.
@Morose - Oh Eddie is able to stab the thing in the head alright and it goes in, but the rapier gets caught in the skull. How I have no fucking clue, ask LLA. Pulling back on the sword causes that little is holding up the weight of the man to break loose and suddenly it looks as if it is about to be a Eddie Sandwich pressed between a corpse and the porch. Oh where is someone to give him a bath now?
@Caits@Nallore - The little girl sticks with you two and a couple of other Newnan folk start chasing the racoon around the inner walls of the city, trying to catch it but pretty much keeping their distance at this part and hoping to drive it over a wall. Last thing you see is the racoon ducking out towards the east part of the city. At least it is away from the main group of people.
@Sigil@Charnobylisk - That racoon? Yeah, he runs right past you two and under Bridgettes horse, the horse is not happy. Not happy at all! Racoon takes off, dodging any attempts to take it out as more Newnan folks are now running after it. It heads towards the wall, runs right up it and starts making its way along the top.
@Nallore - That racoons last move before running off any further is to jump off the top of the wall and run right for the stables. The four horses of the Apocalypse are spooked to fuck and back, breaking free and are now running around the space between the inner and outer wall. Have fun!
Zoie & Ryan
Location: Mess Hall -> Lock up at the court house
"Sure thang boss, Isa take reals good care of old Irish," Zoie said in a bit too chipper of a voice and Ryan groaned inwardly. With his luck she would end up serving him a salad, complete with ground glass croutons. Hefting him up off the ground she led Ryan over to a seat away from the rest of the people, having Miss Sally bring over a tray and then follow her out of the Mess Hall and into the streets of Newnan. Miss Sally followed with the tray. Zoie wanted to play it safe, it was better to lock hm up before she removed the restraints.
Ryan looked around at the town as they walked, surprised with how well organized things to be. This place was a lot better than Eden, he needed to make sure that he was able to stay. A cell here was better than a cell in Eden any day he figured and he was right. Zoie escorted him into the lock up within the court house and tossed him in. Miss Sally setting down the tray of food before stepping out and heading back to the Mess Hall. Zoie locked the cell tight before she did anything else.
"Now you be putting yer hands through, turn now," she ordered him and Ryan rolled his eyes as he did and Zoie cut the restraints. Rubbing his wrists a bit he grinned at her. "Now, you be spillin' it Ryan, all of it."
Tatiana Korvo
Location:The Mess Hall -> Building F
Tatiana nodded towards Ash and felt a wave of relief wash over her as the man was removed from the Mess Hall with the woman who was known as Zoie. Taking a deep breath her grip loosened a bit from Jack and she went back to picking at her food. She was eating but slowly. They had been on the road only a day to find the place but it wasn't like their food stores had been massive and she didn't want to make herself sick from eating too quickly.
Keeping quiet as she ate, simply looking around slowly and smiling towards Jack from time to time. It was obvious she was still nervous and scared but at least the place seemed clam enough. Even with the little issue, it was handled quickly and no one got hurt. That was a plus in her books. Looking up as she heard someone clear their throat she saw Miss Sally standing there.
"Let's get you two settled in and then you can have a look around, okay?" she said sweetly as she motioned for them to follow her. "Don't worry about your trays, I'll take care of that later," she added as she stepped over to the door and waited for them. Tati looked over towards Jack and smiled a little before grabbing her paper and folding it back up, shoving it in her pocket before waiting on him to take the lead.
Tati kept her fingers laced with his as Miss Sally lead them out of the Mess Hall from the back entrance and across Jefferson towards a little Yellow House right next store to the Distillery Storage. The old woman had a bright smile on her lips as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Pushing it open she stepped inside. The place was a little more set up than the apartments were, it had been an office of sorts before everything had happened so it had pictures on the walls, end tables, couches and such.
"We haven't had a proper couple here in some time, so I think this will do," she said brightly. "There are towels and such in the bathroom. Come on by the Mess Hall later and I will take you down to supply and we can get you some clothing for day to day stuff. For now, will leave you two alone. Stay inside the inner wall, don't go venturing out beyond that. Safer until we get to know each other. Dinner is at 7 sharp, infirmary is in the court house building close to the mess. If you need anything, I will be in the Mess Hall," she said before excusing herself.
Tatiana looked around dumb founded for a moment as she looked around. Swallowing hard, she found herself a bit overwhelmed by everything and a few tear slipped down her cheeks. "Ve really safe no'v?" she asked quietly as she dropped her pack on the hardwood floor.
While Tatiana was picking away at her food, Jack was doing what almost every human male had a natural talent in: stuffing his face. Thankfully, he had the decency to chew with his mouth closed, stuffing the provided food into his mouth as quickly as he could. He hardly left time for himself to breathe, his stomach angrily ordering him to eat as much as he could, and Jack being all too willing to oblige. His cheeks puffed up almost like a squirrel, he grinned goofily at Tatiana.
"Ihon stomach," Jack explained, after swallowing thickly. He poked at his own stomach to accentuate the point. Glancing down at his tray to continue shoveling food into his mouth, Jack sighed a bit, realizing he'd eaten all of it. Perhaps next time, he'd try to savor it a little more...
Holding Tatiana's hand, he walked with Miss Sally and her out of the mess hall, continuing to look around in amazement. He was like a puppy dog almost, excited to see all of the new things, to see people that weren't trying to kill him or bite him. Once Miss Sally took out the keys and unlocked the building, his eyes widened.
"You mean....we live in a....house?" Jack asked, his eyes wide. "Wicked, wicked cool."
Glancing around the former office, a slight tear of happiness trailed down Jack's face. He was genuinely chuffed. Pulling Tatiana into a hug, he changed his mind partially, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms. "Yeah...Yeah, we ahe."
Ădouard Riviere
Location: Flower Importers of Georgia Arnco Mills, Georgia
Ădouard grinned as the rapier went cleanly through the walker, preventing it from taking a bite of his gorgeous face. Turning around as if searching for the studio audience to applaud, Ădouard took a bit of a bow, yanking on his rapier from behind, all designed to add to the dramatic effect. Instead, however, it remained firmly lodged in the skull.
"Donne-moi ma rapière!" Ădouard commanded, crossing his hands at the beast.
Nothing happened, as alas, the walker was dead. Narrowing his eyes at it, Ădouard spat at its feet, and began to tug on his sword. The sword slid out, and a smug grin appeared on his face. "Hourra!" Ădouard cheered, only to hear the rope snap. His eyes widened as the walker fell forward, knocking him onto the porch with it. The stench of death enveloped him, and he flailed like a fish, desperate to get it off of him. Rolling over to his side, he yelped like a little girl, kicking and shouting at the corpse to stay back.
It, of course, remained limp on the porch.
Covered in sweat and some gifts from the walker, Ădouard gave himself a good sniff. "Ăa pue!" Ădouard whined. "Je me sens comme une vache qui est morte...FĂLIIIIIIIIIX! JE VEUX PRENDRE UN BAIN! FĂLIIIIIIIIIIX!" Pounding his fists on the porch, Ădouard wept over his stench, and the lack of his help. Perhaps he shouldn't have left FĂŠlix to die after all.
"Personne ne m'aime...." Ădouard croaked, done with his screaming fit.
Donne-moi ma rapière! = Give me my rapier! Hourra! = Huzzah! Ăa pue! = That stinks! Je me sens comme une vache qui est morte...FĂLIIIIIIIIIX! JE VEUX PRENDRE UN BAIN! FĂLIIIIIIIIIIX! = I smell like a dead cow... FELIIIIIIIIX! I WANT TO TAKE A BATH! FEEEEEEEELIX! Personne ne m'aime.... = Nobody loves me...
Niesha looked to the girl, wincing as she could hear the raccoon running around, rampet now. The girl had probably never seen a raccoon, especially if she had lived in Newman a while. Or perhaps couldn't remember seeing one. "It was just a raccoon sweetie, he must have been hungry. Most times they're more scared of you, and this one was stuck. It won't hurt you" No, she thought, it would just cause havoc that could be drawn back to her freeing it. She wanted to tell the people to stop chasing it, that they were just making the situation worse in all likelihood, but she had no authority and no knowledge on raccoon behaviour in anycase to know if that was true.
"I wonder how it got in. I hope there isn't a hole in the wall. Maybe we should find James first." Even here, she could hear the cries of the horses, and she grimaced. She would go offer to help, but she didn't want to leave Sophie, and she would probably be more of a hinderance. Being small, the horses probably wouldn't notice her efforts to help. "I should have held onto it, but it could have been full of rabies, and I didn't want to risk a bite. I thought it would just slink away..." She gave a sigh. It seemed like everything she did, she did wrong here.
She pondered where James would be, looking to the girl. "Sweetie, why don't you come with us? We can take you back home, if you'd like, after we find James" She didn't want to leave the girl alone, in case there was a hole in the wall, and she didn't want to assume the girls parents had survived. "I'm Niesha, but you can call me Nessie if that's easier, and this is Sophie." She smiled, "Just hold onto the chair, okay? The handle, see? We can push it together" Giving the chair a push, she started it moving. At this point, she would be happy just to find anyone in any sort of authority position. If racoons were getting in, perhaps the walls weren't as secure as they could be. She would prefer James, but anyone would be good right now. She started towards the Mess Hall, figuring somemone might be there. Miss Sally, at the very least.
Just as Kristina was making some distance away from the horses stables, she could hear someone yelling about a raccoon she turned around seeing a brown, black and white furred animal scampering across the fields until it made its way towards the horses stables. She heard the horses starting to become spooked and they all started to scatter out of their stables and started scattering across the outer walls. "Well shit." Kristina said to herself and looked over towards Guy who saw the commotion going on and started after one of the horses, Kris quickly started to do the same as she started running ahead and making her way towards the black horse. It was fast as Kristina tried to keep up with the rampaging horse.
"Shhh, settle down please big guy.." Kristina said in a soothing voice as she still kept her distance as the black horse turned around to face her and backed up slowly from her. "C'mon little guy I just brushed you, its just a coon completely harmless from the dead that are outside the walls." Kristina seemed to calm down the beast somewhat. Kristina watched as the other Newnans started to scatter to try and reign in the other three horses.
Sophia Harris
location: The Streets of Newnan.
"I don't think that there is a hole in the walls, i'm pretty sure they are check constantly every day for any wear and tear. It probably climbed over the wall, or used one of the trees from the outer wall to climb in." Sophia said as she was wheeled, she wanted to get out of the wheel chair and go and help. But she was still recovering and she would just be more of a hindrance for the others to watch over her she would probably try later and do some walking on her feet by herself. Sophia remembered her home growing up had constant visitors from raccoons and as a child growing up she would feed them their cat's food to them.
Sophia turned to look at the little girl who stuck with her and smiled when Niesha introduced each other. "Nice to meet you, whats your name?" Sophia asked the little girl who was behind her helping Niesha pushing the chair around. "I think James could be in the fields, since he runs the whole agriculture thing right?" Sophia asked turning to look up at Niesha.
Location: Arnco Mills - Main Street (near Sign Man Graphics)
The pack she had slung around her felt heavier with each step. She desperately wanted to take a drink of water, but she knew if she put the bottle to her lips she would chug it down in a manner of seconds and it was a precious commodity at this moment. She decided to wait until she could safely sit down for a few seconds.
Tiffany brushed her hair over her shoulder, feeling the dirtiness that always annoyed her whenever her hair was unclean. A shower would be nice, heck any water to clean herself in would be nice. She continued down the street she came across and looked around. It was somewhat quiet, but there were Walkers around she could see, some dead, some clinging on to the last bits of "life" as they knew it.
Walkers. She still cringed at that word. She never could have imagined her life would have turned out like this. She was supposed to be married, with a job she loved, a successful woman in her own right. And here she was, trudging toward the unknown, with a gun in one pocket and a bow slung around her, prepared to use either should the situation arises.
She didn't have time to dwell, she needed to sit down. As she came close to some of the buildings, she started moving more slowly, listening to her surroundings. She heard the low growl of a walker nearby. She crept around the corner to see it, a woman with a light pink dress, stained with earth and blood. She didn't see her. Tiffany took the bow off and knocked an arrow, aiming carefully. Before the woman could look at her, Tiffany shot it and it pierced the skull, killing the woman instantly. A quick mercy. Tiffany put the bow back and walked up, grabbing the arrow, making sure to be careful when pulling it out so it would remain intact and be useful still. She lost many good arrows that way, it was always a learning experience.
Once she put the arrow back, Tiffany looked up at the building. The sign red "Sign Man Graphics". Though she doubted it had much in the way of supplies, she hoped it would at leave have a chair in it where she can sit down and drink and eat a bit before moving onwards.
She walked over to the door and checked if it could be opened.
The colorful Valkyrie and her horse, Cadence, both stared expectantly at the filth-slathered Richard, waiting for an explanation as to his present state; one which, to put it mildly, gave the man an appearance of having been passed through the lower intestine of a beluga whale on the undersea equivalent of All-You-Can-Eat Curry Taco Night before tearfully hitting Binge Eater's Anonymous.
Thanks to the antics of a single wayward, ringtailed mammal, the answer wasn't coming right at that second. From somewhere seemingly at random, a possibly suicidal raccoon bolted underneath Cadence. In response, the much larger animal completely blanked on its training, rearing and opening himself up to Stage One of what promised to be a World-Class Horsey Freakout. An experienced rider might be able to smooth out the problem. Luckily, Bridgette was an experienced rider. Smooth, however: Not her forte.
Cadence was a destrier, originally trained as a jousting mount. It had been a fair piece of time since he had been ridden in the Lists, but horses have long memories. This particular horse has been ridden into actual combat, more than a few times. Smooth be damned, there was a way around this momentary lapse in discipline. Bridgette cradled the length of pipe under her arm and leaned forward on her rearing mount. Tapping the pipe on Cadence's flank, she shouted a single exclamation of, "HYAH!" and dug her knees in. Not smooth, but smart - channeling the direction of the horse's emotions from startled excitement to battle charge.
Cadence was a combat horse. It was time he remembered it.
The noble beast responded by wagging its nose back and forth for a second and planting its hooves back upon solid ground. He felt the weight of his rider lift from his back, supported by stirrups alone, and could even tell that her weight tilted forward. That's the direction to go, then. Cadence snorted, and bore his powerful frame onward at a gallop. Bridgette's face opened to a wide, toothy smile. It was like the Gordian Knot solution: To hell with calm and subtlety - Just break through it.
Ok, the moment that she was done fixing welds, Bridgette was going to take Cadence for a hard ride along the Outer Wall. But for now, more pressing emotions pushed their way to the fore.
"I swear to FUCK I'm going to turn that shitweasel into a hat! C'mon, Cadence... DICK! HOSE! NOW!"
Ashton Holloway
Location: Exterior Mess Hall, Rear
Satisfied that Zoie had her captive under control, Ash walked back around and grabbed the dolly containing his appropriated spoiling fruit. The smell was lightly repulsive; humanity had evolved to understand and avoid rotting fruit. Traditionally, that's when the tiny, squishy creatures moved in to slurp up the sugars therein, also the time when bacteria set up summer homes and made mammalian consumption perilous at best.
However repulsive it might have seemed to the average human on any given day, the trained expert could look upon it with longing and purpose. This would make a fine, potent batch of hooch. No mere utility alcohol here, no. That was the stuff made from acorns and dandelion parts, maybe turning animal feed or whatever was handy and plentiful, unfit for human consumption. This - this was a beautiful (if overly soft) batch of yummy Georgia Peaches. This state was known for them. Rotting or not, the beverage made from it would be grand indeed. Of course, the big question remained: A lot of very young Peach Wine, or a moderate amount of distilled Peach Spirits? He could decide after the mash formed.
Just for now, a more pressing question had to be voiced. Ash looked back to see if the good Doctor was following him, inquiring, "Hey Doc, was that a raccoon, just hauled ass by?"
Raymond watched as Lawrence turned around and instantly got into a combat stance as if to fight him, he couldn't blame him for that it was very rare for anyone to come up to a complete stranger that didn't want to take your supplies or anything of value. Before he could even answer though Raymond heard the gunshots, which he wasn't sure where it had come from, and gunshots were bad which could draw Walkers in. Then Ray heard a banging on the glass and saw a Walker was inside, Raymond turned calmly towards Lawrence once more still trying to be as calm and relaxed as he possibly could he was a stranger as well and anyone would do anything these days just to survive.
"Hey listen man, calm down if I wanted your shit i'd have killed you already. But i'm not that kind of guy. The name is Ray by the way." Raymond said as he looked around before slowly taking off his backpack his eyes still trained on Lawrence. "Found a fox here, if you want we could share ya look hungry." Raymond said as he opened it to reveal the dead fox within his pack. "And those gunshots would probably attract some walkers. Maybe find a place to hold up and make sure things are clear?" Raymond said trying to be as friendly towards him as possible he hadn't been with a group in such a long time.
Having parted ways with Bryn, Richard was in a bit of a stupor as he carried his haul as he made his way towards the showers in the Courthouse. The smell was absolutely horrid but he, sadly enough, was growing kind of used to it? He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He decided not to voice his thought as he knew he'd most likely be locked away and have Froggy poking and prodding at him for answers to numerous questions and he just didn't have time for that shit.
He was so wrapped up in his own shit that he barely even registered the horse that was heading towards him and it wasn't until he heard the almighty scream of valhalla that he spun around in a confused daze and stared at Bridgette as she reigned herself back from knocking his head in like a pinata. Her tiraded continued, Richard knowing all too well that she'd be done when she was done and just continued to watch her in his confused manner until she was finished.
As soon as he had a second to get a word in edge ways his confused face turned into one of a scowl and he glared at the Valkyrie Bitch's sister. "Since yer finally fuckin' done runnin' yer mouth at a thousand miles a fuckin' minute, maybe I can fuckin' answer some of yer shit. First off..." And that was the moment that the ringtailed bandit decided to enter the fray. As Cadence the horse reared up at the wee beast running tail underneath his legs, Richard stepped back and out of range of the flailing hooves that could take him out in a second flat.
"Way t'go little bandit." Richard just chuckled and tightened his grip on his bag as Bridgette started diverting their route towards the outer wall and apparently the little bandit too. Shrugging at the whole situation, Richard continued his walk towards the shower house and only stopped once he heard Bridgette screaming at him to go to the hose.
"Thanks but nah, I'm gettin' me some class A shower time in. Enjoy yer hunt for a poor lil beastie that ain't done shit t'ya." He waved her off and then took off in a jog towards the Courthouse since he didn't fancy anyone tryin' to hose him down.
Dr. Victor Bonheur
Location: Heading to the distillery building
Victor had happily sat in silence as he enjoyed his morning meal, his head bobbing from side to side as he sang a little tune in his mind - one that reminded him of good days but didn't make him sad. He watched the exchanges between the newcomers and the veterans of Newnan and simply smiled and kept quiet. Today was going to be a good day.
When Zoie re-entered the room he gave a jovial wave and grin towards her and continued to listen in to the conversation. The mention of Eden made his face fall and a frown began to form but as soon as he realised his demeanour had changed he did his best to change it back to one of contentment. No use worrying over something he couldn't do anything to help with.
Captain Ash beckoning him to follow pulled him out of his wondering mind and he stood up with a quick start before bidding goodbye to those still within the mess hall. He gave Zoie a quick pat on the shoulder as he walked past and followed their illustrious leader towards the distillery building.
When the racoon ran past them it gave Victor a small moment of being startled and soon he chuckled along at the sight of everyone running around after the poor little thing. It was just trying to survive like everyone within these walls. He smiled softly to himself and gave a light nod as he spoke. "It certainly look that way. 'Ow are they expecting to catch it if they keep chasing it away?" He continued chuckling and walked some more with Captain Ash.
As they walked not even three more steps, Victor felt a sudden pain in his chest and a flash of white light across his vision and he stumbled. A hand rose to his head and another to his heart. He glanced over to Ashton and then felt his legs giving way beneath him. As he crumpled to the ground his vision blurred more, his heart raced and then felt as though it had stopped. He could scarcely breathe and everything was closing in around him. The darkness became heavier and heavier until he was completely enveloped within it.
The good doctor had collapsed and passed out.
Agnes Brynja Johannsson
Location: Infirmary
Having left Richard to do whatever the hell it was he was planning to do, Bryn decided a change of route towards the Courthouse would do her some good. It also gave her a good excuse to get the fuck away from the rank that was known as Dick. Sure they'd both been close friends but after that shit he pulled with Zoie? She wasn't sure what to make of him anymore.
Her route wasn't very scenic but it apparently gave her peace from the commotion that appeared to be running rampant in the streets right now. She couldn't rightly tell what exactly was the cause but quite frankly she didn't care. She just wanted to get to work at this stage, she was already behind schedule and she knew Bridgette was going to beat her ass if she didn't get to it soon, nevermind what Astrid would say.
Not knowing where Bridgette was, Bryn headed for the Infirmary to ask Astrid as she no doubt knew exactly where they were meant to be stationed. They may not talk much but they were still close. Finding her way into the Courthouse and then to the infirmary, Bryn knocked on the door and peered inside. She spotted Astrid studying, as she always was, and gave her a wave.
"Where's Bree?"
Ădlana
Location: Flower Importers of Georgia Arnco Mills, Georgia
It had been a long night, one that Svetlana was glad to be over. She had barely slept and the intermittent banging of Roamers wandering by outside definitely didn't lighten her mood. She'd slept in the boot of her car, as she always did, so her neck was stiff and her mood was ruined for the day. Good job Veeta, be mad at having a bad sleep and a stiff neck. Let us just ignore the fact that the world is a bigger mess than your first boyfriend's asshole after he let you be dom. A laugh erupted from her at the mere thought and she grinned some, that was always one way to brighten her poor mood, crack an entirely inappropriate joke. Fabulous idea really.
She had been driving down Alt 27 when she had spotted a gathering of homes and houses that seemed fairly quiet. So ever the adventurous spirit, she decided to look for anything or anywhere interesting that might make for a good place to hole up for a while so she could salvage and prepare for some more driving. Where she was driving to - she had absolutely no idea - all she knew was she had to keep moving and it was easier to do in small doses than to never, ever stop. She'd travelled constantly for the first year of her life in this new world and it hadn't done her any favours. In fact, it was one of the worst years of her life despite what she might tell people (if she ever encountered any that deserved to know shit about her).
As she drove around she heard some peculiar noises that sounded like a dying cat being strangled by a small child who was throwing a temper tantrum for not getting the exact sweet that they wanted. Aiming towards the noise somewhat, Svetlana frowned as she noticed some Roamers meandering towards the source. Putting her foot down some she kept an eye out for what could have caused such a commotion.
Ădouard lifted his head slightly, glancing around to see if anyone would approach him to soothe his fit. Seeing no one, he grumbled a bit, and slowly pulled himself to his feet. He tried to breathe through his mouth to eliminate the smell, and glancing at his cutlass, he seriously considered cutting off his own nose. It didn't have too many uses, and at the moment, it only made him want to gag.
"OĂš est le rhum quand j'ai hyper soif?!" Ădouard sighed, sniffling a bit. Getting another whiff of himself, a few more tears cascaded down his face. But this shop seemed to have something to do with perfumes-- he saw a bunch of flowers on the sign! Perhaps if he went inside and rubbed himself with roses, he would smell better. It didn't occur to him that the shop wouldn't have any living plants.
After all, the only thing that mattered in the world was himself. Everyone else, as far as Ădouard was concerned, had to keep the world running somehow. Flower shops -- or whatever it was -- included.
It didn't take long for Svetlana to find what she was looking for. Pulling up in front of a building that had something to do with flowers, Svetlana glanced behind her and saw that the Roamers were a good distance away. At least for now. It was a man who sounded like a child, excellent, exactly what Svetlana didn't need. Shaking her head she put her foot on the pedal and decided to just book it away. What did she need with an annoying man-child in her current shitty state of life? No fucking thank you.
Ădouard heard the approaching car, and almost instantly, a huge smile graced his face. His parents had sent him someone! Ecstatic at the prospect of getting to stretch out in the back of a car while someone else did all of the worrying, Ădouard leapt at the chance. He dashed at the car, waving his hands frantically, and began to run after it. Spotting for a moment what he perceived to be une très belle fille, his smile turned into more of a sadistic smirk.
Noticing the guy chasing her down even though she was in a can of fuel and he was on foot she tilted her head in confusion as she watched him in her rear view mirror. What was this man taking exactly and where did he get it?
"Cessez! Cessez!" Ădouard screamed, the maniacal grin still prominent.
Shaking her head slightly, Svetlana heard him screaming - something that she did not understand a bit of - and slammed on the breaks. Was this guy god damn insane?! She could definitely lose him now but she knew there were Roamers heading this way and, despite her untrusting nature, she couldn't handle another death on her conscience, not in this world. She opened the car door and drew her pistol, pulling back the hammer as she aimed at the guys head before speaking.
"Ty psikh! Pokazhite mne vashi ruki! TEPER'!!" The tone was clear, not angry but definitely demanding - something that Ădouard would most definitely recognise as it usually left his own mouth - she kept the man in her sights and scowled through the messy bangs that were beginning to reach her eyes once again.
Ădouard's eyes widened a bit at the pistol. Perhaps the hired help didn't quite understand how things worked. They were supposed to aim at the walkers, not at him! Scowling a bit, Ădouard considered going back to the flower shop -- until, that is, he caught another whiff of himself. Waving his hands in the air to prove life, Ădouard didn't even hesitate to consider the fact that the strange woman likely didn't understand him. "Vous avez besoin d'une nouvelle coupe! Vous ĂŞtes laid comme ça!"
She squinted at the man as he continued to yell. What language was that? This was going to be super fucking fun. Her eyes wandered slightly down to the rapier on his person. Okay, he probably didn't know Russian but she'd slipped into her mother tongue out of sheer habit considering she hadn't spoken to another person in who even remembers how long. Scowling as she spoke, Svetlana raised an eyebrow at the man as she kept aim. "English? You speak English? 'Allo?" Her accent was more prominent than it had been in the last two years, she defaulted to Russian in order to survive knowing most everyone would not understand her and consider her a non-threat.
"Oui, allĂ´!" Ădouard replied, having caught the trail end of her sentence. He wasn't even certain what he was replying to. "Vous ĂŞtes dans mon garde du corps, n'est-ce pas?" He put his hands down and walked over to her, completely and entirely at ease. So far, he was fairly certain the woman was speaking English and Greek to him. It must have been a force of habit, he figured, his parents wouldn't send him someone who didn't speak a lick of French. "Nous allons parler français maintenant. Vous ĂŞtes d'accord?"
Okay it was French! She knew the word oui meant yes but... that was pretty much it. Oh and baguette and croissant. Those used to be staple words in her old life. Her distraction caused her to not notice his change in manner. Taking a half step back, Svetlana used the top of the car to aim the gun better than before and was severely tempted to fire off a warning shot but she knew that would just send the dead straight towards them both. Okay, so this guy didn't speak English and apparently only spoke one language - a language that she didn't know. God damn fabulous, this was exactly what her bad mood needed today. Thinking hard, she realised he would definitely not speak Mandarin because, well... look at him, even through the dirt and grime she was more than aware he wasn't one to know that language. Her next, and only, hope was Spanish.
"Silencioso..." She held a finger from her free hand to her lips and shushed quietly. "Hombres muertos caminando." She pointed out towards the surrounding area and motioned a little like the Roamers did. "Muy mal." She frowned and shook her head. Her gun hardly moved an inch and she wondered if he understood any of it. She did not have the patience for charades, the Roamers were going to be on them soon.
Understanding washed over Ădouard's face. Spanish and French shared the same roots, and often times, their words sounded entirely similar. He comprehended a need to be silent, that there were walkers, and something was bad. Nodding with a bit of exaggeration, Ădouard glanced up at her, with near perfect puppy dog eyes. Slowly, the realization was dawning on him that she hadn't been sent by his parents. He'd have to use his endearing charm and classically good looks in order to communicate with her. His voice hardly a whisper, Ădouard explained, "Je parle français et italien. Et vous?"
Shaking her head at him, Svetlana could only understand two of those words that he had said. At least, she thought she understood two of them. French and Italian. Okay so he said those words but what were they in reference to? Probably languages since she'd just spoken three different ones at him and they weren't getting too far. Although at least he was whispering now that was something more than before. Thinking as quickly as she could, Svetlana looked around and knew that they wouldn't have much more time just yet. Two things made her willing to do what she was going to do next and those were the fact that he shut up when she needed him to and he hadn't pulled a gun on her yet despite her keeping hers trained on him.
Pointing to him and then pointing to herself, Svetlana then pointed to the car and climbed back in before opening the passenger side door and motioned him forward to get inside the car. She hoped she lived long enough to regret this decision. Ădouard happily obliged, climbing inside of the car, and pulling the passenger door shut. Resting his head against the headrest of the seat, he grinned lazily, entirely ecstatic to be back inside of a vehicle. It didn't matter to him, of course, that the woman couldn't understand a word he said.
"Ădouard," he said simply, pointing at himself. He glanced at her, and craned his neck around, looking to see how many walkers were coming. Seeing a few of them coming near, Ădouard looked back at the woman expectantly.
Giving a slight nod towards the man, she was glad he hadn't automatically jumped to attack her, granted she was prepared for that but either way, it was a nice change of pace. She put her foot down and got them out of the area heading back out to drive down Alt 27 to put some distance between them and the Roamers. Once she was happy with the space she'd put between them and the Dead she slowed the car down some and glanced in the direction of this... Ădouard. She pointed to herself before speaking. "Svetlana."
OÚ est le rhum quand j'ai hyper soif? = Where's the rum when I'm super thirsty?! une très belle fille = an extremely pretty girl Cessez! = Stop! Ty psikh! Pokazhite mne vashi ruki! TEPER'!! = You're crazy! Show me your hands! NOW!! Vous avez besoin d'une nouvelle coupe! Vous êtes laid comme ça! = You need a haircut! You're ugly-looking like that! Oui, allô! = Yes, hi! Vous êtes dans mon garde du corps, n'est-ce pas? = Aren't you my bodyguard? Nous allons parler français maintenant. Vous êtes d'accord? = We're going to speak French now. Are you in agreement? Silencioso... = Quiet. Hombres muertos caminando. = Dead men walking. Muy mal. = Very bad. Je parle français et italien. Et vous? = I speak French and Italian. And you?
Life can be fickle, so can LLA as we rack up another death count. Today, we lay to rest.... Yeah, like I was going to give you the roll results right off the bat. Yeah, keep reading.....
Zoie & Ryan
Location: Courthouse Lock Up
Ryan looked over to Zoie and sighed somewhat as he paced around the small cell that was his home for now. He had just gotten out of a cage; well okay not just but within the last month but he figured it was better than being out there with Eden out there. He had spent a good majority of his life in lock up, bars were something he was more than accustomed to. He had spent the last while trying to get Zoie to understand what was going on and the southern belle did understand but it didn't mean that she trusted Ryan any further than she could throw him. She wasn't about to let him wander about her home, not with what she knew about him.
"Come on Zoie, you know me. I never did a thing to hurt you, not once," he said before rubbing his face with both his hands as he sat down on the cot that was in his little cell. Looking down at the ring of hair around his index finger he fiddled with it a bit before sighing deeply.
"Yeah, I be knowin' that Irish but that don't mean I be trustin' ya. You were part of that place, willin'ly," she countered with what had to be the dozenth time. They had been going back and forth for a while and it wasn't getting him anywhere.
"It was that or be out there with them being on the wrong side of my back. What was I going to do?" he asked her as he looked back down at the blonde hair.
"Leave, like I done did," she stated flatly as she crossed her arms over her chest. Shaking her head she turned to leave, a guard posted outside of the door in case Ryan tried anything.
"If I had, they would have been after both of us!" he growled without looking over at her.
Turning Zoie glanced over her shoulder and perked a brow. "And what damn difference would it have made to ya? I just been a damn meat shield."
Ryan looked over to her slowly, his eyes trailing over her as he tried to hold back a bit of a nervous smirk. "Then it have meant nothin' to get ya out," he said before looking away. Zoie tilted her head to the side, a bit taken back by what he was insinuating. Turning she made her way out of the lock up and sighed as the door shut behind her. Meant nothing? What was he getting at? she wondered to herself. It couldn't have meant anything, Ryan only cared about one thing. Him and him alone.
Astrid Hansen
Location: The Infirmary
Astrid had taken a small break from studying and reorganized a few things that the doctor had been complaining about, wanting to stretch her legs a bit. She didn't want her legs to go totally numb sitting there studying all day, especially when she had a class to teach that afternoon in shield fighting. The movement around the infirmary, however small they were, was better than nothing and she was glad to have done it as she sat back down and pulled her chair up to the desk.
Taking a small drink of water she set the glass down on the top of the desk before flipping her book back open. Leaning over and resting her head against the palm of the palm of her hand as she started studying, a pencil in her free hand as she jotted down note after note. It was funny, she had gone to school when she was younger but she had never studied half as hard back then as she did now. Everything now wasn't just to learn, it could mean the difference between life and death at one point. Sure she had the doctor to back her up and make sure that she didn't muck things up but she needed to know these things for herself and she took the job she was given as his second hand more seriously than anything she had ever done in her life.
Hearing the door open to the infirmary she looked up from her studies and smiled a bit, a little crookedness to the smile as she leaned back in her seat. "Out looking for you. The outer wall I think, Zoie said you two had some repairs to do at the meeting this morning," she said nonchalantly as the smile played on her lips.
Tatiana Korvo
Location: Building F
Tatiana couldn't help but giggle as Jack spun her around, her arms lacing over his shoulders as she held herself close to him. It was like a dream. They were safe behind walls, high strong walls. There was food. They had a little home. It had to be one of the best day she could remember since this whole thing had begun. Leaning back some she smiled, something that had once been so rare but was becoming a more common thing since she had met Jack.
"Ve safe," she said, feeling like she needed someone to pinch her to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Needing to hear the words again, even if only from her own lips. Taking a deep breath she coughed a bit. They were in a clean home now, the air was fresh, except for them. Laughing she pushed back and waved her hand in front of her face. "Ve stink!" she said smiling and then pinching her nose playfully and making a gagging face.
Turning she looked around and made her way quickly through their home, the smile on her features brightening as she found the bathroom and her eyes fell on the shower. More than that there was soap, towels, and several sets of scrubs they could change into. "Jack! Clean clothes!" she exclaimed as she poked her head out. "You first, go, go," she said excitedly as she rushed back down the hallway towards him and grabbed her pack before motioning for him to go ahead. He had been the one moving a dead dear around that day anyways, he had more blood on him than she did.
Oh right, that whole death thing.... About that....
@FantasyChic The front door is jammed a bit but the back door if checked is unlocked. Instead there are no walkers or people, just a rotting corpse that stinks... There isn't much as far as supplies go but there is a water cooler and next to it is an unopened 20 gallon container of water. The corpse as a pack next to him by one of the stations, there are a couple of hiking water bags that are empty. They are a bit dirty but if you are careful, with the water present you should be able to clean them and fill them all up. Giving you a decent amount of water to carry around even though it will be heavy.
@Nallore@Jotunn Draugr Walker inside and now there are several coming down the road and have taken note of you two. Might want to do something about that. It is either stay out there and see if even more show up and try to make a break for it; or take your chances inside with the single one.
@Charnobylisk@Morose Maybe should have pulled the car to a full stop. As you are slowing down a tire blows; hard just as Lana is looking away from the road. The car goes out of control, cutting off the main road and onto the shoulder. It catches the tail end of an abandoned vehicle and rolls down into the ditch. Landing on the roof, you both are upside down now. Lana is battered pretty well, a nasty cut on her forehead but Ădouard didn't get out so easy. The front passenger door is caved in and has pinned his leg down, he is bleeding badly from a gash on his arm thanks to broken glass. (Okay, so he isn't dead... but he might be soon if you two don't act quickly.)
Jack lifted his own armpit and took a whiff. Staggering back slightly, he mimed choking on his own stench. In his grace, however, he actually did a bit more than stagger backwards -- he tripped over himself, narrowly catching himself from landing on the floor. Chuckling awkwardly, Jack sheepishly glanced up at Tatiana. "I, uh, I meant to do that."
He watched her go into the bathroom, his stomach clenching with nervousness still. It had been ages since they'd been able to walk into a house that they hadn't cleared themselves, one that was guaranteed to be safe.
"Clean clothes?!" Jack exclaimed, as if they had just won the lottery. Perhaps a bit too eagerly, he rushed over there, his hand still bandaged from the slight accident earlier that day. However, part of him felt a bit guilty. He didn't need to shower, and he knew that Tatiana would relish getting to feel clean. He shook his head, his tongue poking out slightly from his grin.
"Ladies fihst," Jack explained, nodding for her to go inside. "It's only propah." He was a grown man, after all. He'd been through puberty, along with the phase almost each teenage boy went through, when they simply ignored their own stench. He could wait for Tatiana to finish up with the shower, and then, he'd get himself clean. "And aftah, how about we play some Monopoly?"
Ădouard Riviere
Location: Some Road in Arnco Mills, Georgia
"Svetlana..." Ădouard mused, his hands folded behind his head. Shutting his eyes for a moment, Ădouard took advantage of the moment. His new chauffeur wasn't up to his usual standards, that was for sure, but at least he saw his odds of survival as going up. With his cutlass and Svetlana's ugly bangs, the two of them could do anything.
Well, Svetlana could do anything, and Ădouard could relax. He'd finally have his lifestyle back. All he had to do was find some alcohol and everything would be perfect. Of course, after a few drinks, Svetlana wouldn't be as hard on the eyes anymore as well. It had been ages since he had some quality sexe. The bangs would have to go before that could happen, of course.
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!" Ădouard screamed, watching as the car drifted into the shoulder, hitting an abandoned vehicle in front of them. Covering his eyes with his hands, he peeked through them every now and then, his heart pounding as the car tumbled into the ditch. The next thing he knew, he was upside down, immobilized.
"J'ai...la...paralysie..." Ădouard croaked, hot sticky tears flowing. No matter what he did, his leg wouldn't budge, trapped by the door. Attempting to pull himself out, his hand comes away, covered in the vicious red liquid. "Mon sang!" Ădouard cried, attempting to find his cutlass, in order to cut himself out. He'd seen people amputate their own legs before in films, in order to escape from perilous situations. It'd have to work here, no?
"Svetlana...Je suis mort!" Ădouard admonished, still reaching for his cutlass. It was all he could do to not faint, watching his blood drain quickly, and his leg pinned. The adrenaline could only keep him going for so long. His fingers were twitching, but he wasn't making any progress at all. His efforts were likely futile, just like the rest of his life.
"Tu as besoin d'une....d'une nouvelle coupe," Ădouard murmured, his eyelids fluttering a bit. "C'est très grave."
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! = LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! J'ai...la...paralysie... = I am.... paralyzed... Mon sang! = My blood! Svetlana...Je suis mort! = Svetlana....I am dead! Tu as besoin d'une....d'une nouvelle coupe = You need a haircut! C'est très grave = It's very serious.
Bringing up the town in her head, Niesha knew they weren't far from their place, close to the mess hall. The gardens were at the otherside of the town, and James would likely be there, or in his home. it would be a long walk, and Niesha grimaced, wondering what trouble the racoon could get into in that time. It was a relief to know that Sophie was right, that the racoon had probably just found a way up the wall. And the walkers couldn't climb. Well, not well. Certainly not up walls. "You're right, of course. It probably just found a way it could get over, crafty things. We will find James, and who knows, we might run into zoie, or Captain Ash, or someone else who can deal with it"
The racoon had turned her around, and she quickly orientated herself, starting in the direction of the gardens.Even as she walked, pushing the chair, she thought It was a long short that James would be there, he could easily be at the agriculture fields, within the outer wall. But city hall was near the medical gardens, and perhaps someone would be there. Although by now, the damage was done, the racoon was free and running rampant, and eventually would find its way back out the wall, especially with people chasing after it.
And maybe there would be someone that knew where the girl lived. Either way, they couldn't not tell someone about the racoon-about how it had gotten its head stuck. Maybe something could be done so if it came back, or if there were more, they wouldn't be getting their heads stuck in cans. And they didn't need anyone getting bit by one-such a funny notion. To worry about getting bit by something as mundane as racoon-to risk rabies...there wasn't a high survival rate before the outbreak, now, well it was as good a death sentance as a walker bite to a place that couldn't be amputated.
Taking herself out of her inner thoughts, Niesha leaned around the chair, to look at Sophie as she pushed the chair, checking the other womans colour, to make sure she was okay, being outside for so long. Leaning close, there could be a perceived moment where it seemed that Niesha might just close the gap, and kiss Sophie. Instead, she smiled nervously, and stood up straight. What was this...shaking feeling in her stomach? For a brief moment...she had forgotten about everything, and had just wanted...well, Sophie. Clearing her throat, she said "How are you feeling? I should have brought some water or something, I'm sorry"
The pair of Newnan Leads, Ashton and Froggy, bore witness to the interesting sight of Bridgette zooming by on her horse. While they didn't actually view the spooking of the grand riding beast, Cadence, Ash could deduce from the specific profanities spilling recklessly from the violent lady's face what had transpired.
Ash's sense of wonder at the minor chaos a single small, scavenging mammal can cause in otherwise brave, stalwart survivors was brought to a fast and heavy halt as soon as Froggy slumped forward. Ash let go of the dolly he was pushing, causing the weight of its contents to slam it vertical with a flat, metallic crash. He managed an awkward grasp on the older man's shoulder as his form dropped bonelessly; it only served to temporarily slow his descent before Ash's grip gave way.
"Victor? Victor!" started Ash, his earlier sense of morning duty replaced with growing urgency. "C'mon, we have to get you standing. Goddamnit Doc, let's get a move on!"
Ashton knew how to deal with fallen soldiers, he had before. Even before the Outbreak, during his earlier years in the military as a Combat Engineer. He had seen ammunition forcefully inserted into otherwise healthy bodies at high velocity, and witnessed comrades in arms fall both before and after the world collapsed. It had almost become second nature by this point, which is probably why a more mundane medical emergency threw him off. Ash attempted to pull Froggy to a less prone position, simultaneously calling for help, the barest twinge of panic on the edge of his voice. "Hey! Damnit, anybody! Help over here!"
His first instinct was to call for a medic, owing to his history with the Army. He even opened his mouth to do so before he remembered that the medic was the one in need of attention. "Christssake, Froggy. Ok, You're going to be fine. I'll get you out of here..." He didn't know if it was a lie or not. All Ash knew was that he had to do something, and fast.
As it turns out, there were two people within clear shouting distance of their location. Miss Sally opened the rear door of the Mess, hand rising to her slightly agape mouth. And Bridgette, when she was done screaming at Dick (he assumed, though from this angle all he could detect was the faintest hint of rotting liquid pork), rapidly switched from Bitch Mode to Caustically Helpful. She turned her mount around, coming to Ash and Froggy at a gallop.
"DICK! YOU SON-OF-A... Shit. On the way, Boss!" she blurted in the meantime. Cadence's hooves clacked against the blacktop with some amount of urgency as they neared the two men. Bridgette leaned down and extended a hand, eyes bright and face a vision of stolid sincerity. "I got him. Give him to me. Give him to me!" She repeated herself, a hair louder to ensure Ash's rapt attention.
Ash's head snapped up to face Bridgette. Her brazen speech and attitude seemed to have a focusing effect on the Captain, who felt the emotion drain from his face. In the quiet, unimportant back of his mind, Ash noted that while Bridgette wasn't a soldier in the contemporary sense, she was indeed a warrior in every sense of the word. Her clear eyes and outstretched hand beckoned to Ash's sense of duty, and the Soldier in him propelled his actions. He rolled Froggy over his shoulders and pressed the downed man upwards from the ground.
Bridgette grabbed the back of the good Doctor's belt and angled him over Cadence's haunches, behind her saddle. One hand remained to steady him, while the other fluttered the reins. Her heels nudged into the horse's flanks, urging him onward at a canter. Faster than a trot, slower (and more steady) than a gallop, the rate gave a quick trip to the Infirmary while promising that their precious cargo wouldn't be lost along the way. She directed Cadence around the building with skill and haste, promising horrifying things to anyone that stood in her way.
The split second before Ash hauled ass through the Mess on his way to meet Froggy at the Infirmary, he took in the scene unfolding. This was the first equine ambulance with a fuckscreaming siren to which he had ever been witness.
Flying through the doors, he blew past Sally. Her desire to be helpful in every situation possible got the better of her, as she called after him, "Where do you want the fruit, Ashton?". In response, the sprinting Captain called back (though did not slow himself) "DISTILLERY!"
"Right then, I'll have someone on it..." Sally did truly like to be helpful, in any small way she could.
Less than a minute later, Ash and Bridgette were carrying Froggy into his own workspace, laying him out onto a gurney. To anyone and everyone present, Ash blurted, "I think it's his heart! Did he tell anyone what to do about this?" In a quieter, but no less urgent voice, he spoke to the patient directly, "Come on, Victor. Open those eyes, talk to us."
Black James!
Location: Newnan, Inner Wall - Smoker
"..short'nin' bread..."
The slow and steady production of hot smoked venison continued unabated by circumstances, seeing as James was in the empty parking lot around the side of the Courthouse and Medical Garden. This position kept him out of the line of sight of anything dramatic thusfar in the morning, and he could only catch the occasional faint sound echoing from around corners of the buildings of the Inner Wall. Even those were mostly covered over by the drip of liquefying fat striking the bottom of the cooking apparatus and hissing away with pleasing, aromatic optimism.
It wasn't until panicked voices were issued in front of the Courthouse proper that James took some note. He stepped out into the road to catch a glimpse of what was going on, only to see two indistinct figures carrying a third inside. He couldn't be certain with the half-second viewing time he got before the trio disappeared behind walls and doors, but it looked serious.
James was not a medical guy. He would only get in the way in there, no matter if they were performing thoracic surgery or placing a band-aid. All the same, he was concerned. He jogged back to the smoker and spoke into his walkie, "Hey hey, y'all. What's goin' on in the Infirmary? Y'all good, or you need some blackneck assist?"
The door didn't give way to her budging, which was just typical. Instead she made her way towards the back of the building. It took a bit of effort, but she found herself standing at the back entrance. She prayed it wouldn't be jammed as well, or that there were other things, living or dead, inside. She just wanted to sit. She dreamed that inside it would be a fully furnished building, comfortable seats abound. Something had to go right eventually.
The door opened without much struggle and she gave a silent prayer of thanks, even though she was sure God has fully given up on the world. She made her way inside where the smell of death hit her hard. She was used to the smell, but still it was never pleasant. She pursued the smell to the front of the store where she saw the decomposing corpse of a man. She felt a small portion of pity on him, but it was quickly overtaken when she saw the pack next to him and the glorious amounts of water present. She would cry if she wasn't afraid of losing more water.
The pack held some hiking water packs. It was more than enough to get her through another long journey, but she knew she wouldn't be able to carry them all.
Acting quickly, she began to clean the hiking packs out. It took effort, but she tried to clean them all out to the best of her ability. Once done, she filled 3 of them and put two in her pack and carried one outside. She made her way back and found a quiet place to sit, as far from the smell as she could. She thought about her journey thus far and how she got here. She was safe, for the moment, a luxury in it's own right.
Kristina looked up towards the black horse as she tried to calm the spooked beast, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible towards it, she would look over her shoulder seeing as some of the other people in the fields scrambling to try and calm down the other three horses. "Calm down, and i'll treat you to some carrots or something wouldn't you like that buddy?" Kristina said with a soft smile, as she watched the horse slowly start to calm itself down. She sighed softly as she slowly approached the horse and ran her hand over it's nose, sighing softly and smiled at it. "That's right, relax big guy." Kristina said calmly as she gently led the horse back towards the stables, she watched as Guy had managed to calm down another one of the horses and led it back towards the stables as well.
The two of them haven't gotten along that well since she had been here, she assumed he still held a grudge towards her for his current assignment. Kris didn't speak much to him, and only really talked with James whenever the two of them worked together as Kristina took the horses reins and tied it down onto the post so that it wouldn't run off again. Kristina watched as the others were slowly reigning in the horses back towards the stables and moved out of their way, Kris sighed slightly as she looked towards Guy and gave him a slight nod as she turned around and headed towards the fields to help tend to the crops now.
Sophia Harris
location: The Streets of Newnan.
"Those things can be pretty smart, so it's highly likely that it could have done it." Sophia said with a slight shrug as she ran her right hand through her hair as she looked at the little girl and gave her a soft smile and then looked towards Niesha noticing that she had leaned in closer to her and blushed slightly. She wanted to give the woman a kiss on the cheek but she decided to back out from that, she didn't know if Niesha felt the same and shifted awkwardly in her wheelchair and nodded towards Niesha and gave her a soft smile. "A little bit warm, but its Georgia after all, i'll be fine really." Sophia answered.
Then Sophia caught a glimpse of Bridgette running down the street on Cadence going past them, probably thinking that Bridgette wanted to give the massive beast a bit of exercise. Sophia shifted in her seat as she tried to get a look at where she was going, she gave a slight shrug as Sophia sat back down. She would probably end up bumping into her again later on in the day for more of her physical therapy as Bridgette called it. "Looks like she's getting Cadence some exercise for the day." Sophia said softly as was moved closer towards the Mess Hall.
"I'm kind of thirsty now that I think of it, maybe we can stop inside the mess hall?" Sophia asked and looked at the little girl who had joined them and helped Niesha push her towards the destination. "And maybe get her something to drink as well." Sophia said with a soft smile towards the little girl.
Raymond Mendoza
Location: Arnco Mills, Sugar Magnolia Deli
Raymond turned around to look over his shoulder and noticed several walkers coming down the road, and of course some of them took note of him and Laurence. Raymond quickly turned around to look at the Asian man he looked like he was about to shit himself or something, he of course wasn't ready to die yet and he didn't like the chances of several against a single walker. Raymond quickly shoved Laurence out of the way and opened the door, as he looked over his shoulder they were getting closer. And staying inside a building would be much safer then being outside with more then a dozen.
"Well good luck man." Raymond said as he quickly closed the door behind him and locked it, Raymond turned to the single walker that was inside the deli. He drew out his machete and swung it at the walker's head lodging it inside its skull, Ray quickly pulled out the machete. The walkers were gaining more now as Raymond quickly went towards a shelf and quickly shoved it in the way of the door effectively blocking the entrance.
Ray then took out his machete again and started to walk around the deli to make sure that there weren't anymore then the one that he had just dealt with and tried to search for anything that he could restock on as well.
Location: Some Road in Arnco Mills then the crash site.
Amelia was slowly walking towards and then through Arnco Mills. She had traveled for a good number of days already, she was out of food already and could feel the hunger settle in. Hunger was a bad thing, she always before had the luck to at least keep some food on herself in case of need, but the last days were hard and she barely had any change to scavenge at all. Arnco Mills presented one such great possibility though as soon as she was there, she heard a loud noise and the distinct rumble of car crashing! Not to mention it was really close too! Maybe there were survivors she could help!
Without losing another moment, she quickly started making her way over, still careful to not make much noise, but not really wasting time being slow for if there were people who survived that, their time was limited!
Sure enough she found the car in a ditch nearby and quickly moved down to see what was the situation. She saw two people, a man and a woman. The man seemed almost delusional, speaking in⌠French?
âExcuse me, are you alright?â She called to the woman who seemed to be in a lot better shape than the man. Amelia now gave a quick studying of the French speaking manâs situation. It wasnât good. His arm was bleeding deeply and his leg seemed caught by the dent door.
âC'est d'accord! â She called to the man, thinking to open the door, but decided it probably wasnât going to work if the dent was already this deep.â je t'aideraiâ She added with a shaky clearly not fluent voice. They had little time to waste, she suspected walkers will show up any moment now and they needed to leave this place. She hurried to the only other option she had, she tried to reach the lever allowed the seat to move back and forth. If they moved the seat backwards, it should free his leg⌠hopefully.â Excuse me, can you help me? We need to free him and run!â Amelia asked the woman in the car. If she helped with this, maybe they could get him out of there and away before the walkers showed up!
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