Meghna managed to catch up to Amelia once she turned around the corner, seeing her friend it looked like she was having some kind of mental breakdown. She heard Amelia mentioning Sana, but she was now dead then Amelia screamed Meghna quickly ran over and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulder. Meg wasn't sure if Amelia was starting to see things like she had earlier as well, she knew what she heard earlier wasn't real at all. "Amelia it's Meg calm down it's not real!" Meghna said as she held Amelia tightly hoping that it would help calm her down.
Raymond turned around the same corner just as he heard Amelia letting out a scream, making his way over to the two women Ray looked around he didn't see anything. Ray wasn't sure what was going on, this was now probably the third time he has heard someone see or hear something that wasn't there. "Lets go somewhere quiet, my place sound good?" Raymond offered, looking towards Meg for a moment as she gave him a nod. "Amelia, you okay to go to Ray's place for a little bit and talk?" Meg offered, she could see that Amelia was visibly disturbed at whatever she had seen
Kristina Smith
Location: Graveyard
Kristina started to dust herself off somewhat as she started to make her way over towards the Mess Hall, she stuffed her hands down into her pockets as she walked. She remained fairly quiet, she didn't really know what else to talk about at the moment Kris didn't really want to talk anymore about her dead family and friends anymore. Even though it did help somewhat it was also sad to talk about as well, looking over her shoulder towards Tiffany for a moment. It looked like that there was something going on in her friend's head as she turned around and stopped to look at Tiffany.
"Is everything okay?" Kristina asked softly, she wasn't sure what was going on maybe it was something to do with all of the death that happened today or maybe it was something else that was going on in her mind. They weren't that far from the mess hall now, she was getting fairly hungry now and wanted to see what they had as well for lunch, it could maybe make things feel better.
Tiffany shook her head. She had to get a grip. Now was not the time to break down over something silly. But still...she heard the voice. And she remembered that Meg said the same thing.
Were they all going nuts?
It wasn't hard to imagine, considering recent events, but she liked to think she had a solid grasp on her brain. This worried her. She glanced at Kristina as she talked. Perhaps talking about it would help, like she did with Meg. "I...this is going to sound crazy, but I heard a voice. It was Beatrice. She said that I would never fit in here. That I'm not really accepted here and it kind of brought back feelings that I've been having for a bit now. It just..hit me harder than I planned."
She was hungrier than ever. If there was ever one solace in life, it was usually food.
Niesha just nodded, before she entered the building as well, pausing a moment to look around, more then a little cautious right then. She studied the inside of the building, seeing old footprints- she thought they were old- before listening intently. the place was big... and it seemed clear, but she wanted to be careful. There could be a walker there... just because it didn't seem like it, didn't mean that could go in half-cocked. She waved her flash light around, checking each and every corner.
She shifted a little, keeping a hand on her weapons.
When Riley entered the building she looked around the main entrance, holding up her crossbow as she slowly started to scan around the first few rooms. Turning towards one of the rooms she noticed a few caskets in one of them, which was good they could easily transport the chemicals that they need without having to stuff their bags. And they would be able to lay Sally's body to rest more properly, she looked back towards the three in the room. "We can lay Sally to rest in here." Riley said.
As things seemed to be okay for now, Niesha followed Riley, although she still kept a good hold of her flashlight, figuring that if worse came to worse, she could brain a walker, and give her enough time to get her bow knocked. She looked over at the casket, and nodded, "Yeah. There might be a trolley or something around that we can use to push it along" She made a mental note to look for something of the likes, glancing about them, still listening for any sign that there were walkers in the building.
"Let's get the coffin last. We can put the chemicals inside of it," Chloe argued. She didn't want to drag a coffin all over the place while looking for the embalming chemicals. If they did that, she just felt like a hoard of walkers would open up and they wouldn't be ready to fight. Whatever could go wrong will go wrong and all of that fun stuff. She flicked on her flashlight, getting a good idea of her surroundings.
"They'll likely have the chemicals in the basement. Most embalming work is done down there. If we could locate a staircase, that'd be brilliant."
Niesha sighed, thinking that she hadn't suggested lugging it all over the building, merely suggested looking out for a trolley to make it easier to push back, and she shook her head, turning away, towards Ravi, nodding. "Call me paranoid, but we should probably clear the building as well. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while, but you can never be too careful right? We could do two upstairs, two down" she suggested
Riley nodded at Niesha's suggestion, even though the building did seem to be clear for now, there was still a chance that there could be a walker or two still stirring around. "Alright then Niesha and Ravi, you two search the downstairs, while Chloe and I take the upstairs and make sure its cleared for good before snagging all the chems." Riley suggested looking towards her sister, figuring that she didn't want to be near the new guy or Niesha for now.
For a moment, Ravi smiled. âYes, ahem, the chems....Roger that, homey,â he said, a bit awkwardly. Despite living in the United States for a considerable amount of time, he still couldnât quite use the slang properly. Instead, he just kept up the dialect of his native land.
Chloe rolled her eyes at the man, before giving a nod to her sister. She wasnât sure if Niesha and Ravi would be the best choice to clear a building, anyways. Theyâd be more likely to have an emotional fit or make a bad pun from her experience. âYeah. That works.â
Niesha nodded, a little grateful that Riley suggested that she not be put with Chloe- she didn't know what the other girls problem was, but Niesha didn't think she could stand being in Chloe's presence alone. It was clear that Chloe expected her to go off, plunge into the emotional deep end. Which was just ticking Niesha off. So, she was satisfied to be split from her for a time. "Alright" She said, looking over to Ravi and giving him a smile,
She started off, searching for the stairs, checking any rooms she passed, being careful, for any signs of the dead. Or even humans.
"Just you two stay safe, if either of you see anything or you two are in some trouble come and get us right away. And we will do the same." Riley said as she turned towards Chloe, it would be a good chance to find out what is going on with her. Riley turned around and slowly started to make her way up towards the stairs. "So something is up, whats wrong? You usually aren't this snippy with anyone." Riley asked as she turned around to face her twin.
Chloe held up her hand, indicating for Riley to be quiet for a moment. There was the sound of something breaking upstairs. She frowned a bit and shifted her stance slightly, with her gun firmly gripped in one hand and the flashlight in the other. The way she had them held, her light would be shining wherever she was about to aim. Given that they had cleared this area previously, Chloe wondered whether or not that sound could have been caused by a walker. Perhaps it was a person instead.
Meanwhile, Ravi turned to Niesha as the pair of them had set off, raising an eyebrow. He had heard the crash too and couldn't help but wonder the cause of it. Most walkers were still frozen and slow. Was a walker trapped upstairs? "Did you hear that?" Ravi whispered to Niesha. He gripped his knife a little tighter, but his hand shook. Normally, Gavin would go to investigate at this point. He never was in the situation where he'd have to take a life, human or walker, if it could be helped.
Niesha nodded, hesitating, looking up the stairs, pausing but a moment, before continuing, "If its trouble, Riley and Chloe will tell us"
*EVERYONE PM me here or on Discord BEFORE you post! Cases, every round pm for rolls. These will be to check to see if your characters are seeing or feeling anything, as well as anything else that might be going on. You might just get a "Nothing, keep moving" from me or something much more. Will depend on LLA at the time.
Case Name: Funeral Home Lead Reason: Getting embalming supplies Secondary Reason: Maybe a casket Recruiting: Nope Time: 1-2 hours, depends (Will probably be 1-2 cases to complete.) Group: Chloe, Ravi, Niesha, Riley
Okay, you have your next round of rolls - pm me between rooms or corners you turn while you are looking around. Goal is still the same currently. You know the drill. ^_~
Another 7 days
Case Name: Find the Tank Lead Reason: Find the damn tank Secondary Reason: Try to clear Ashs mind Recruiting: Depends if they run into anyone Time: 1 round Group: Ash, Thana
Continue, time to find the others
You have another 7 days
Case Name: Welcome to Eden Lead Reason: To bring in a new character Secondary Reason: To kill a new character Recruiting: BWHAHAHAHA yeah fucking right Time: However long we wish to make it Group: Faith, Alena, Adamm, Nathan
What better way to bring in a character only to kill her off for another RP than to use Eden as a back drop? Everyone else has gotten to show up at the gates of Newnan but I say fuck that same story, let's do something a bit different. We begin outside of Peachtree city. Faith is trying to find food, or shelter, or anything really at this point. It has been a week since she has come across any food stores and the only reason water hasn't been an issue is because of the snow but now it is melting. So wherever she held up at during this time, it is time to move on and press forward.
Because of the snow, Eden has been on lock down but again, snow is melting, time to do a run but because of the higher snow drifts, they are keeping it close to the vest. Nathan has gotten bored screwing with the usual people so he has put together a little run to Peach Tree City proper. Just him and Alena currently. Nathan tempting her with perhaps a new run in that she can play puppet with. She is his star pupil within the walls of Eden.
This isn't your typical case. We will post as normal when it comes to each character round this time until we bring the three together - which will be during the next update. Right now, this is for Fantasy to give an opening post. We will start at the Braelinn Village Shopping Center. Fantasy you are open to post for your new character now. Nallore, you are welcome to do something with Alena if you wish, you don't have to this round though if you don't want to. I will update for Nathan next round.
The sudden switch from personal to professional took Ash by surprise. Even so far as to call him "Sir", directly following a kiss that would have welded his sunglasses to his face, had he been wearing them. He risked a glance over in her direction and saw her smirking in the passenger's seat, suddenly understanding that while she was indeed grateful for the unimpeded return of her family's firearms, she was also becoming particularly fond of messing with him. Ash shook his head slightly, one corner of his mouth turning in yet another stifled smile. Ash was not very well known as a person who smiled often. If this kept up, his face might start to cramp.
Thana didn't know why she was teasing Ash the way she was but she wasn't about to stop. She was enjoying herself. They had a job to do but in the same breath this was a bit of a getaway for them so she could be as serious or as sensual as she so desired. The night before had opened her up in a way she hadn't expected and she knew life was short. Sure she was grateful to have her fathers guns back in her possession, it was something she had never thought she would have again, but that was just an excuse to be near Ash a moment ago.
Ash gave himself a couple of seconds to just experience the sweet sounds of the Hordebuster waking from too long of a rest, hearing and feeling the controlled mechanical purr of fine engineering and craftsmanship before saying, "Alright then, ma'am. Let's get going." He shifted the truck into gear and pulled out into the streets of Newnan, headed toward the main gate.
Nodding slightly Thana kept an eye on the road as the Hordebuster made it was through the south inner gate and then the main gate. The gate closed behind them as they drove off and started on their way. Looking in the rear view mirror Thana blinked as she swore she saw Gavin standing on the wall waving at her. Shaking her head a minute she looked again and she spotted someone on the wall. Just some member of Newnan but they did favor Gavin a little bit. Maybe she just had caught the reflection in the side view mirror at the wrong angle. That was it. Of course it was.
Leaning back in her seat she got comfortable and kept an eye out on the road. "So where are we headed?" she asked in passing.
Ash responded in a more businesslike manner while piloting his big, (mostly) blue truck out of the Newnan Safe Zone. "Spot six or so miles north of here - Dunaway Gardens. Fences, independent water source, and according to the papers in the old City Hall they grow tea. Or used to. Plants should still be there, but they're probably shaggy as hell by now. I'm interested in giving the site a cursory scan, determine feasibility to send in a full team to check the place out later." He turned a corner, bringing the Hordebuster headed more or less north. "Hey, let me ask you a question... Those initials on your guns? Can you tell me about them?"
Glancing down at the weapons in their holsters, Thana ran her fingers over the initials that were carved into them, M.M. "They're my dads, Macsen Martin," she said in a nostalgic voice before looking over towards Ash and giving a tight lipped smile, thin and a bit tense. Zoie, Thana, Macsen... Seemed everyone in the family had some rather unique names.
That fact was not lost on Ash, either. "The Martin clan got impressive naming their kids, didn't they?" he mentioned, thinking about the first names common in his own family. Even compared to most people from rural-ish Virginia, they were fairly basic. That he was given the name Ashton was miraculous, accounting for the multitude of monochromatic choices like Robert and Jim and Irene among his own people. "Don't think I've met a Macsen, ma'am. What does it mean?"
Thana let out a bit of a nod as she sat there and watched the street in front of them as they continued on their way. It was a wide route to try to get in the direction they were going, having to go around the southern part of Newnan, only to come back up north and even start to head west a bit. "Not surprising. Dad was the only Macsen I have never known," she said in passing as she shrugged. "It means greatest. Guess it was fitting, dad was everything that word entails."
The path that Ash selected was a bit cumbersome. More than once he silently berated himself for not just using the northern exit from Newnan. Hindsight, he supposed. It was supposed to be used as an emergency exit route primarily, but how often did he take the Hordebuster out? At least it gave him a few more minutes speaking with Thana, away from the drama of town. And this had the makings of a good, "getting to know you" conversation. Ash had no desire to take it for granted. "Greatest? Ok, I'd like to hear more about the guy, if you wouldn't mind."
Shifting slightly in her seat, Thana pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She half way resembled a kid sitting in front of the tree on Christmas morning awaiting to open her presents. "Dunno where to start," she said wistfully. It was hard to figure out just where to begin when speaking about the man she looked up to her entire life. "I'd like to think I'm a lot like him. Calculating, a quick wit, strong. Easiest way to describe him I guess is that he's a Marine." It was a bit odd, she was referring to him in the present tense.
That was a tidbit of information. Military, and from a military family. He gave a knowing chuckle, offering an observation from his own experience with the various armed forces. "Marine... Yeah, it conjures up images. What did he do in the Corps?"
"Master Gunnery Sergeant Martin, First Class does anything he wants," Thana stated flatly. "He enjoyed being a Drill Instructor."
The former Captain Holloway slipped further into his native Virginian accent and military mindset upon hearing Thana's words, getting a further sense of camaraderie with the statuesque woman. "Well holy Hell, ma'am. I had no idea I was out with a Gunny's daughter." He flashed a warm smile in Thana's direction.
Thana smirked a bit. "Yeah, you are. So watch your six."
His face took on a more neutral position, broaching a potentially touchy subject. "Couldn't help but notice you're talking about him in present tense, Thana. Is he still with us, or does "once a Marine, always" apply?"
Dropping her eyes Thana let out a bit of a huff before breathing in deeply. Turning her head she looked over towards Ash and spoke with all the conviction of a Marine stating Semper Fi. "Death knows better than to fuck with dad. He will be the last one standing at the end of all this."
Ash pulled the Hordebuster to a momentary park, facing into an intersection. There seemed to be undertones of both surety and uncertainty in her response, revealing nothing of her true belief on the matter. Still, she had a point. Old Marines were notoriously hard to take down. Ash himself was an Army Engineer, and for whatever reason he was still around. The old man had a better chance than himself, certainly. "Semper Fi. Thana, where would he be? If he's still kicking the shit out of, and taking names therefrom, whatever hostiles aim to take him down - be they living, Dead, hunger, natural phenomena, or factors unexpected, where would he be kicking said shit and taking said names?"
"Same place I was headed before I found my way here, the one place dad ever goes to get away from shit," Thana said as she looked at Ash. Turning her head and glancing back out the windshield she pointed south. "Mexico Beach, Florida."
Flashbacks raced through Ash's brain at the mention of Florida. He thoughts went back to a time, seemingly ages ago, to a truckstop in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He hadn't seen Lt. Colonel Leann McCormick in quite some time, and life had certainly beaten them both into a different shape than they were before their world imploded. She had her own group of people to look after, as did he. But they met, talked, and decided to merge their groups, increase their chances for survival. It was a simple bargain: Leann had a hell of a plan that became Newnan. If it failed, they would go with his plan, which initially was to head to a place with deep water and a long growing season. The words that Thana had uttered resonated with him more strongly than they likely should have. Mexico Beach, Florida.
Serious concern took Ash's voice as he spoke to Thana, "Things didn't work out for my people back in Virginia. We had to leave in a hurry. My initial plan was to get us down to Florida, after. If things don't work out for us in Newnan, it's still the plan. I would love to know more about Mexico Beach."
There wasn't really a chance for Thana to answer as her eyes spotted something vague in the melting snow. She didn't answer him as her feet dropped from the seat and she leaned forward a bit. Her head barely turned as she opened the passenger side door and hopped down without a word. Slowly she started walking over to where her vision had been directed. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not. Even as she approached and knelt down she still wasn't sure it was real. It wasn't until her hand reached out and her fingers ran lightly over the imprints in the half melted snow. "Captain... Does Newnan own a tank?" she asked loud enough to be heard as she glanced over her shoulder back towards the Hordebuster.
It was fairly odd that Thana felt the need to exit the vehicle, to Ash's perception. The action became more understandable when she voiced exactly why she stepped outside, but made him question the situation even more. "Tank." he said flatly. Then the implications of what it might mean if she were correct in her assessment hit him. "Tank?" He turned the engine off and dismounted the Hordebuster, closing up behind himself. As he approached Thana's position, he kept eyes on their surroundings. "No, we don't. The 'Buster is the closest thing we have to armored cavalry, and she's not rated for it..." Thana was right. The tracks were clear enough for anyone with military field experience. "...but why would a tank intentionally pass Newnan by?"
Thana shook her head slightly as she stood back up and wiped her hand off on her pants leg. Resting her hand on one of her side arms she glanced around where they were. It was odd that they had passed the town by. If they were unfriendlies and had a tank, wouldn't they have tried something? If they were friendlies, why didn't they come to the gate and knock? Then a thought came to mind and it was one she wished she hadn't had. "Dunno, but I think we need to check it out Sir. These are fresh enough not to have melted. Which means they were here around the same time that James was exiled."
"God damnit." growled Ash. Yes, she was correct. They needed to check it out. Even the Hordebuster was poor defense in the event that a hostile tank takes a shot at them, but it was better than nothing. And faster. But the obscenity was reserved for the choice that he had to make. James was exiled. He wasn't supposed to help the man any longer. But he had people with him that left by choice. And he could not ignore the elephant in the room. "I know where they went, after I exiled James. That tank's headed in their general direction." He straightened up and looked to Thana. "Would you get back in the truck please, Thana? Something's not right, and I'm not taking any chances with your safety I don't have to. Yeah, we'll check it out, but I want you behind steel right now."
Thana's brow arched slightly as she looked at Ash. "Alex, Captain Obvious will take the no shit category for $1000," Thana quipped in response to something not being right about this entire situation. Looking back at the track she let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, on it," she added. She wasn't about to argue with the man, even if she thought his judgement right then was being clouded by his feelings for her. Hell she wanted his ass back in the truck for safety as well. Turning on her heels she took a final look at the tracks before heading back towards the Hordebuster. Her hand coming up and resting on his shoulder for a moment and giving it a reassuring squeeze before she continued on her way.
Ash's hand rose to touch hers as it slipped from his shoulder. He stayed back only for a couple more seconds to confirm the direction of the tank by the shape of its treads and to note the street that it had been driven down, then jogged back to his big, monstrous truck. He climbed back inside and settled into the driver's seat, looking over at Thana. This woudn't be the first time he had run headlong into a dangerous situation with someone he cared about. It felt different, somehow. He had reached out and connected with someone, a thing he had not attempted in a long while. But like him, she was military. And suggested that they follow in the first place. They both knew what they might be getting into with this, and accepted it. Ash started the Hordebuster back up and shifted it into gear. Hoping to lighten the mood, he said in a mock serious tone, "Commander Martin, if we come into contact with the alleged Tank, request permission to get my gun back?"
Glancing over at the dashboard Thana smirked a bit. She had already placed his side arm within reach in case he needed it once she had gotten back into the truck. "Two steps ahead of you Captain," she said before looking over to him and sticking her tongue out at him. She knew what could happen. Shit could so south very quickly. Right then they had a moment to break the tension, it was something that was needed in situations like this. "Anything else before we go?"
He smiled, indicating that he indeed had an idea as to what he wanted to do before they left. Sadly, they didn't have the time right at that moment. He leaned across the gap between the seats, placing one hand on Thana's headrest and the other on the collar of her coat, slowly pulling her closer to him. He let his lips brush against hers briefly, before pressing into a soft, gentle kiss. Thanas lips pulsed against his and she let out a supple sigh as her lips peeled from his. "Thank you," he whispered. "Let's go."
Reaching up Thana ran her fingers along the line of his jaw and nodded with half a smile playing on her lips. "Yes Sir."
Ash recovered his handgun and slid it into his holster, securing it down its strap. He settled down behind the wheel of the big truck and pulled the ponderous vehicle into the intersection, turning to follow the tracks of the tank, left behind in the waning snowfall. It was difficult at first; the sun had done a good amount of work melting down the snow from the night before, but thicker drifts would show clear signs of a tank passing by or ice, recently packed down by the weight of the mobile armor, still showed proof of its passing. "You know, if this is a false alarm, they're not going to have a single goddamned clue what we're doing out here."
"Going to have to disagree with you there sir," Thana said as she kept an eye on the road and let her eyes follow the tracks ahead of them. This was not the normal type of tracking that happened these days. People tracked things for food in this day and age. Not following tanks around like they were in the middle of WWII. "We're following the tracks, so either they lead us to them or elsewhere. We are looking for the tank."
"Very true." Ash agreed, observing the tracks make a skidding turn southward and followed suit. "Assessing the tank takes priority." Either the tank had some issues with traction or it was being operated by a crazy person. He considered the chances of a tank from the north knowing how to find a truck leaving out of town from the south. "Something just doesn't add up. I hope to God this is all some stupid coincidence."
Thana shifted uneasily in her seat as she kept her eye on the tracks left in the quickly melting snow, a bit of a sigh coming from her lips before she spoke in a flat tone. "Rule 51: There is no such thing as coincidence." In her book there wasn't. It wasn't that shit happened for a reason from some divine overseer but that people did things for a reason and those reasons had consequences even if unintended.
Coincidences, in Ash's history, had a nasty habit of sticking it in and breaking it off sometimes. He had intended on verbalizing this idea, but concentration on keeping the Hordebuster running straight and even as it followed the slowly melting evidence of their armored quarry's passing was distracting his sense of personal sarcasm just then. As they came upon another intersection, he allowed himself to quietly mutter, "...please not straight, please not straight, please not straight, damnit!"
"I will take it that we are now heading in precisely the direction you were hoping we wouldn't go," Thana commented after Ashs little exclamation.
Trying to make light of a rapidly decaying situation, he asked Thana, "So how many rules are there?"
"Enough," Thana said rather cryptically as she sat there. Whether she was toying with him, didn't know, or just didn't care to answer was up to interpretation. Thana could be rather blunt when she spoke but it was becoming apparent that there was a lot more beneath the surface.
"What the hell type of answer is that? Ain't the time for puta to be playing games," a voice rang out in Ashs ear. He grew immediately quiet, eyes darting to the side before he could catch himself. There was only comfortable room in his brain for one voice. Maybe two. Hoping to clear his head with the present issue, he spoke to Thana. "Sorry. Yeah, we're going exactly where I don't want us to, so long as those tracks keep going forward. I might have to subscribe to your list of rules if this keeps up."
"After only hearing one? Seems a bit premature," Thana said as she sat there. She didn't like the fact that they were headed in exactly the direction Ash didn't want them to have to go but seemed there was no going back now. Ash apparently knew where James was heading when he left Newnan, the fact that the tracks were going into that direction didn't sit well with her. She didn't know the people of Newnan that left. She really didn't even know James anymore. Yet she still did know Gavin and even though she didn't want to be with him, she didn't want the Texan dead. "Don't worry. Gavins got James back it seems and nutin's gonna take that man down until he's ready. Death might be frightened of my dad, Gavin would just annoy him too much to bother with."
"Chica justs wants to see that tall drink of water again."
Ignoring this voice was becoming taxing, mentally and emotionally. Ash rather wished that the one already in there and Alicia's could have some manner of intercranial death match to see which one came out victorious, and the other one would have to leave. But things just didn't work out that way. Shaking his head, he attempted to ward off his personal insecurities and address the intent of Thana's words, rather than the message that his dead former girlfriend's hallucinated voice seemed to interpret from it. "They're handy people, all of them. James is no soldier, but he's reliable in a fight. But your rules: Yes, I've only heard the one. Holds up so far. Interested in learning more." Another intersection, another path straight ahead. If they got to the highway and they still hadn't turned, then the game was on.
Thana couldn't help but smirk a bit. "What is with her smirking all the damn time? Bitch gotta be up to something." Shaking her head Thana glanced over at Ash and chuckled. "Considering Rule 18 is never date a co-worker you really might want to rethink that."
Desperate and unknown situation be damned, Ash had to smile at that one. Not the voice again, but Thana's rule about dating co-workers. "If we were in an Army/Navy cooperative, you'd be a superior officer. Not a co-worker. In Newnan, you're my Agricultural Lead. Also not a co-worker. Back Before, we might have been a couple of people that had a drink in the same bar, if we were stationed nearby that month. Definitely not co-workers. I think we're good with Rule 18." Unfortunately, what he wasn't good with was the fact that they had reached the highway. Predictably, the tracks continued on straight.
"Oh but Captain, you're my Captain slash boss. Will have to see how things play out, I might have to amend the rule," Thana quipped as she looked at the road ahead of them. Leaning up slightly. "How far out are we from where Gavin and the others might be?" she asked as it was getting harder and harder to tell where the tracks where.
"I gotta rule for ya. Never take yer bitch to meet up with wither her piece of brisket."
It was tempting to think about scratching that voice out of his head with a bullet. He rejected it out of hand, owing to the fact that it would take a little more than cognitive, self-aware insanity to make him off himself, especially in a manner that would require significant cleanup from others. "Quarter mile to half mile up." he responded tersely.
Looking over to Ash, Thana quirked a brow. "Everything okay?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice. He had been acting normally towards her and now he was responding in a rather harsh tone compared to the others. Something wasn't right.
Gavin, Ryan, & Lola
Location: The Meeting
"Well dog my cats," Gavin muttered under his breath as he looked through the scope and kept an eye on things. Shit had hit the fan but not in the way he imagined it. Taking his finger off the trigger he sat up in the tree and leaned back against the trunk, it was probably time for him to head down but he didn't just want to pop up and set everyone off. Oh fuck it, like Gavin actually had that run through his mind. He was already in the snow by now and making his way with the rifle aimed low as he started to stroll right on over.
Lola watched her friend take care of her other friend then snickered a bit as Thalia had to correct herself about the entire best friend thing. "Fuck yeah, I be the bestie mate," she said proudly before turning and letting a whistle out towards the tank. "Hey pops, you alright?" she called out.
Ryan hadn't really taken note of the third member of his group. His eyes darted over as he spotted brown curls starting to come up from the ditch. "Oh, just so you know, we have another," he said quickly but he wondered if it was quick enough as Gavin came into full sight of the rest of the group.
"Ain't this just as fucked up as a turkey riding a hog during deer season. Names Gavin," he said with a broad smile as he waved with one hand and announced himself.
"How the fuck hasn't he gotten shot yet?" Ryan asked Bea as he looked over to her.
Lola yanked her head around to lay eyes on Gavin. "Holy hell, now that's a nice piece of yum. The mate isn't half bad either. Yours or he free game?" Lola said as she looked over towards the only girl in the group they were meeting with.
"Oh for fucks sake... Now we have to deal with two of them?" Ryan groaned as he shut the door to the truck and hopped up on the hood. Pulling out a cigarette he lit it up and took a long drag from it. This was one fucked up day.
Tatiana Korvo
Location: The Newnan's House (Building F)
Reaching over Tatiana took the glass and the rest from Jack. "Dank you," she said before coming up on her knees as she started to brush her teeth and wash her mouth out. She'd had hoped that the morning sickness was going to hold off a bit longer, or even not bother her at all but it seemed that wasn't going to happen. Spitting out the last of the toothpaste and rinsing her mouth again she left the glass on the counter before slinking back down on the floor and leaning against the wall letting out a long needed sigh.
The woman still felt a bit ill in the stomach and it seemed that their honeymoon would just have to wait. There were people in Newnan she needed to talk to, so just sitting there and dealing with the want to throw up every five minutes wasn't going to fly. Sighing a bit she looked over to Jack and gave him a bit of a smile. "Hate to ask, but can you go to Froggy? See if he has something for my morning sickness? Don't want to valk over there if I don't have to and don't want it just over the radio."
Slowly pushing herself up and off the floor she managed to make it back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. She knew she could have asked Jack to carry her, hell if she had even told him she was going to lay down in bed for a few minutes she was sure he would have swept her off her feet and carried her in there without a second thought. It was just the way he was but she wanted to make sure she could do it on her own. Her foot still stung but she found if she just walked on the heel or just the ball of her foot it wasn't too bad. "I promise, I just rest till you get back," she said in a quiet voice as she tucked her arm beneath her pillow and tried to get comfortable. What a way to start their honeymoon.
Meg's and Raymond's words barely were acknowledged by Amelia as she turned her eyes at them for just a moment before she felt something else... something moving up her legs. Something slithering. Her face took a very haunted look as she looked downwards. It was in that one moment that she lost it. At first she stood frozen as a snake was moving and coiling around her leg. It was bright one. Black, yellow and red. As someone who had absolute fear of snakes, she knew it had venom... this one was a deadly snake.
âNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!â Amelia let out a terrified shriek as she could feel the pressure from the snake's body coiling around her leg. She could feel the weight... she could hear the sound. She panicked, jolted backwards, falling on the ground sitting, but her limbs still moved in a rapid fashion non the less, all the while continuing to shriek as she reached and grabbed the snake, throwing it away without thinking. She could feel the scales.. the cold.â No... nO... NOOOOOOOOOâ She started repeating in terror as she crawled backwards, pressing her back against the nearby building when she then covered her head with her hands.â I don't want this... I want to go home...â She cried out, curling up as much as she can.â Please... just home... â She was crying, but it was not directed to Meg and Raymond. In her current state she didn't even realize they were there anymore. In fact she didn't even think where she was right now.
Alexander took Lola calling after him as a sign that he didn't need to take cover in the tank anymore. Problably, who knew who you could trust these days? He stood up in the hatch, now visible from his head and stomach to the others, holding his hands up to show that he wasn't armed either as he called back to Lola. "I'm alive and okay!" He still didn't know what to do, except not sitting inside the tank anymore. It wasn't like anyone could just hijack the tank and drive off without experience, but then again, never underestimate desperate people. Worse, they could drive the poor Stuart into something and wreck Lola little baby.
Hearing what Lola said about one of the strangers, the possibility of Lola actually thinking of the tank as her real baby was still significant. Crazy gal. Brave, but crazy. "Want some more company up there?" Alexander shouted back to Lola and Thalia. He was in need of stretching his legs, cramped up inside the bucket of bolts and all. Probably was the cold too.
Location: The Meet (Three-way intersection near the Hershall Norred Water Plant)
Astrid Hansen. Bridgette Vinters. Caesar Gonzalez. Alicia Gonzalez.
Thalia repeated the names in her head, trying to reconcile with herself that she had already expected this. She had said her goodbyes to Astrid and Bridgette before, never expecting to see them again. Prima and Tio Gonzalez; she never got the chance to say goodbye. Still, she had braced herself for the possibility that they would indeed be dead. The numbers were simply against it. Her little quest around the Atlanta area was just to find news, confirm what she had already made herself believe. But it still hurt. This time, she didn't let it show on her face. Thalia was done crying for today. She glared over at James, fitting an expectant look on her face. He still hadn't answered her question. And Lola's comment about it earned her a smirk from the coldly burning half-latina.
The request for a drink took James by surprise, though it really shouldn't have, considering the family this young woman came from. "Ooh, um... you know, I ain't thinkin' we have..." he began, before the sudden appearance of another Whack-A-Mole from the tank, and the inevitable return of Gavin from the soft cover to the side of the road, muttering something about a barnyard orgy he'd rather watch from behind protective glass. He took the next couple of seconds to really absorb the snatches of conversation going on around him. James rather agreed with Ryan. His own eccentricities aside, he did feel like he was being slowly surrounded by crazy people. Well, his philosophy centered somewhere near "Join the madness or get swept away by it" or "because fuck it, that's why". They hadn't started trying to kill each other just yet, and that was just about the closest thing to making friends as he could expect nowadays.
Meanwhile, Gavin's presence gave Thalia concern. A tall country boy appearing from a ditch beside the road, carrying a sniper rifle, gave her a distinct lack of ease. Apparently, Lola was very much put at ease with the stranger. Thalia did not share her optimism. Instinctively, she raised Astrid's shield to cover her face just below the eyes, the bottom rim jutting out more than the top. He knees bent and feet stepped wide, taking a charger's stance while her machete moved fluidly behind her, remaining solidly motionless, parallel to the ground upon which she stood. It was the fighting form of a Fairburn Shieldmaiden, something unseen in the area for too long. "Fuck is this, James? Sniper in the goddamn woods?" That rifle looked familiar too, but Thalia thought it prudent to impale one issue at a time.
"Yeah?" retorted James, not particularly wanting to lose control of the situation but unwilling to let people he just met walk all over them. "Y'alls the muthafuckas came to this party in a TANK. Y'alls also the muthafuckas left a man in y'damn tank with a cannon aimin' down the road. You gonna blame us for havin' a ace in the hole with a pissed-off Gonzalez runnin' around? Y'all must be crazy!"
Thalia looked from Gavin to James, over to Lola for some expression of confirmation, then a quick glance back to the truck. Mentioning the name of her father's people did calm her a bit. At least this man was aware of their reputation (if not hers specifically), reinforcing the notion that they were on the level. Her machete and Astrid's shield lowered slowly. "Alright. Fair 'nuff. But are we going to expect any more friends of yours today?"
James breathed a quick sigh of relief. "Naw ma'am, that'd surprise the hell outta me."
Ash & Thana
Location: The Meeting
Ash regarded the question soberly. If he were being completely objective, he might say that yes, he was indeed okay. This was par for the course, considering the world they lived in now. But it might not be the most emotionally honest thing he had ever said. As the Hordebuster rolled over the highway intersection, he responded neutrally, "Yeah, sorry. Stress. Trying to get my Game Face on." he permitted himself a chuckle at his expense, "Not how I expected my morning to go. I'm glad you're here."
"I really don't think this was how any of us expected this day to go," Thana said as she glanced over towards Ash. Reaching out she placed her hand on his shoulder for a minute, giving him a bit of a reassuring squeeze. Letting out a breath she let her attention face forward again and her hand fall away. This was NOT how she expected today to go that was for sure, especially after the night before. That had been bliss, this was starting to border on hell. Leaning forward she tried to get a better view of the road as they continued, it was harder and harder to see the tracks in certain spots because of the melting but the patches that were left, it was as clear as day thankfully.
As the truck crossed over the highway, the pair found themselves coming up on a high school to the left of the road. Bleak, with low fencing around the campus. It stood as a testament to the fact that the city of Newnan used to be a prosperous and populated area. It also stood as the last series of buildings before trees dominated either side of the road. Ash noticed Thana peering ahead and gave comment. "Unless the tank changes direction just after this school, there's no point in looking for tracks." he began, cracking the window just a bit to better hear outside. "Past the next road, there's not a whole lot of places to go."
Quirking a brow Thana leaned back in her seat. "I doubt a tree would stop a tank," she mused. Sure there might not be a lot of road to turn down different directions, from what Ash was saying at least, but that didn't mean the tank didn't chose a more off road route. Might have actually been one of the reasons it was still active after all this time. She had lost plenty of vehicles over the years because of down bridges, washed out roads, or even pile ups on the highways she just couldn't get around. A tank gave a person a lot more options.
"One tree, no. A couple thousand of them might be an interesting speed bump. Up a little is a water treatment plant and a reservoir lake. Civil engineers don't like putting this kind of stuff out in public view." Ash slowed the truck, coming up to the next intersection. Last chance to see if the big piece of rolling armor took a turn elsewhere.
Thana shook her head slightly. "With the ground composition in this area, the long freeze we just had, the drastically rising temperature and the quick thaw will have made even Georgia clay weak and would make uprooting even a two hundred year old pecan tree like snapping a toothpick to a tank," Thana explained as she watched the road. Turning she looked over towards Ash and smirked a bit. "Dr. Thana Martin, Botanist."
Ash arched an eyebrow as he looked back at Thana. He was an engineer. It was what he did. But his knowledge revolved around military and civil application. He was not a scientist. "Well then, Dr. Martin, I bow to your scientific expertise." there was the slightest hint of flirtation in his voice. "Let's hope they don't know that, either... Hey, do you see where the tracks lead?"
Looking back towards the road, she sighed a bit. "That way," she said pointing ahead. Resting back in her seat, she adjusted her cap before pulling out one of her side arms and checking it just in case.
Nodding grimly, Ash heard the confirmation of his least favorite direction just then. "Okay. Let's get to it." Ash followed Thana's example, chambering a round into his .45 and engaging the safety before slipping it back into his hip holster. He shifted the vehicle into gear, and slowly pulled forward. This was the last opportunity for the tank to have gone elsewhere. Coincidence be damned. Ash breathed out a long sigh and drove the Hordebuster forward. The grim nature of the man approaching what he believed to be the end of the path was belied by the movement of his hand, reaching out to squeeze Thana's hand.
"What the hell..." Thana muttered gruffly as she leaned up sightly in her seat and draped her arms over her knees as she watched something coming into view. "Do I even want to know?" she half asked herself, half asked Ash as the tank came into view. Parked in the middle of the road as if it had broken down or out of gas. Hopefully that was it but the way things were going she seriously doubted it. Especially when she spotted the truck and a bunch of people.
It was a very interesting scene to drive up to. Nobody was dead. Nobody was fighting. There were three people that he had never met, and four that he did. One, a younger woman, stood over the corpse of one of the Dead holding a machete and a shield that was very familiar to him. He forced himself not to react to what he was seeing. "Yeah. Copy "What The Hell". I've got a lot more questions."
Seeing Gavin strolling over to the main group from the side carrying a rather impressive rifle made her wonder even more. "Yeah, seems like it is time to pull over Sir and say hello."
Wordlessly, Ash nodded his agreement. He brought his heavily modified dump truck forward, bringing it to a rolling stop behind the even more heavily modified tank. He lowered his window the rest of the way and opened the protective grating covering it, even as his other hand strayed to his firearm. Using the diction of a trained military officer who had been exposed to some very nerve racking events, he semi-casually inquired of the Newnan expatriates, "Are these guys friends of yours?"
Location: Building F (The Newnans' House) ---> Building One (Medical)
"No problem," Jack reassured Tatiana, flashing her an award winning smile. Even if Froggy didn't have anything for Tatiana specifically, he'd feel better knowing that the resident medical expert was aware of Tatiana's morning sickness. He wanted nothing more than to protect his family - the little family of two that was about to become three - but he didn't have the medical knowledge needed to do that without help. Of course, as Tatiana got up and hobbled into the bedroom, Jack was never more than an arm's length away. He would've preferred carrying her, given her condition, but he knew how stubborn Tatiana could be.
"Rest," Jack agreed. Seeing Tatiana attempt to get herself situated, Jack insisted on tucking his wife in. He tried to make it as comfy for her as possible, even trying to fluff his pillow so that way she could use it if she wanted, before he finally stopped fussing over her. "I'll be back soon, solovey," Jack said, kissing Tatiana gently on the forehead before heading out.
The walk over was relatively pleasant, with Jack a bit unaware that he was bottling up his emotions once more just after talking with Tatiana. He was compartmentalizing everything, not allowing himself to grieve for his friends or express his fear for his loved ones. Instead, Jack focused entirely on the task at hand. Reaching the main building, he opened the door and headed inside, about to go to the infirmary door when he heard something strange.
When the door closed, it echoed like the sound of a cell closing. It was a noise he was familiar with down at the precinct. He had done his rotation through there, just like every other cop, before he was promoted up to vice. And even then, there were occasions where he still had to go down to lock-up before the prisoners were transferred to prison. Turning around to get an idea of what was going on, his breath caught in his throat. Everywhere he turned, there were bars. They had formed a cage around him.
Jack reached out to touch the bars of the cage. To his horror, he could feel the cool metal underneath his touch. He could still see the rest of the room, filled with the tributes to the dead, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't seem to find a way out of the cage. His entire body was shaking like a leaf as pushed up against the bars, attempting to force the cage open. But it wasn't working. Instead, the bars just kept appearing, with Jack able to see less and less.
Pulling out his radio, Jack could barely hold down on the buttons long enough to get a message out. "Somebody...Somebody get down to medical. Bring bolt cutahs. Quickly," Jack said, feeling more and more faint by the second. He let the walkie fall from his hand before he tried pushing on the bars again, but it was still useless. The bars had formed solid walls at this point. He couldn't see out. He was trapped inside an enclosed space, unaware of his surroundings - two of his greatest fears.
"SOMEBODY HELP!"
Beatrice Decker
Location: The Meeting (Three-way intersection near the Hershall Norred Water Plant)
"We should ask if she knows Jack too, with that accent," Beatrice commented dryly to Ryan. She already knew four people from Newnan. At this point, knowing more wouldn't have surprised her all too much. Everything around them did seem to be getting more and more insane as well, with the tank and Gavin just strolling up. She shook her head in response to Ryan. It didn't make sense why the Texan was still alive. She imagined the case was the same for the girl in the tank.
"Nah, you can have them. I'm not interested in off-brand herpes. I prefer the West Coast variety," Beatrice replied. Truthfully, she didn't have any romantic interest in anyone currently there with her. She never had been a romantic person, preferring one night stands. Use them, abuse them, and lose them. It tended to be her philosophy when it came to those more intimate matters. Turning her head as she heard an approaching vehicle, she expected it to be the bad sort of company: Eden. She figured Gavin and James would be thrilled: they'd get to commit suicide fighting Eden sooner than expected.
Instead, it was the Hoardbuster. As two Newnan members left, Beatrice raised a bit of an eyebrow. Had they already changed their mind about exiling James? They couldn't have been gone longer than a few hours and here Ash was - the man who cast James out of Newnan. The day really was just trying its hardest to get stranger and stranger.
"Ashton. Long time no see," Beatrice greeted. "As for whether they're friends...Well, one of them knows a few of our dead."
Meghna watched helplessly as she watched Amelia having a freak out in front of her but she didn't see anything at all which was something that confused her. Meg kneeled down as she tried to comfort her gently rubbing her hand up and down Amelia's back as she tried her best to calm her down. But Amelia continued to kick and scream over something that wasn't even there. "There isn't anything there Amelia take a deep breath!" Meghna said trying to get to her friend to hopefully calm her down to relax, when she mentioned about going back to her home was probably a good idea.
When Meg looked up her face instantly turned pale when she saw her brother turning around the corner, but it wasn't her brother seeing him as a walker. Something she was truly scared about seeing she never wanted to see her brother turned into a walker or even die in front of her. "Sid, no..." Meghna said as tears started to go down her eyes as she started to back away from Amelia as the walkerfied Sid started to make his way over towards her. Her hands were shaking as she reached for her sidearm stumbling as she tried to get it out, her hands shaking badly, hoping that it was all just a terrible dream.
Raymond did his best to try and get down to try and comfort Amelia, but it was always really difficult to try and sit down with one leg when her tried to sit down on the ground. "What Meg is saying Amelia you really need to calm down there isn't anything there at all." Ray said in a comforting voice. Ray froze for a moment when he could hear some barking in the distance, at first he thought that it was just Peaches running around somewhere. Which he tolerated the little dog, small dogs he could do his best to tolerate but bigger dogs he was always scared of.
"Lets head to your place then." Ray said as he tried to help Amelia up to her feet, he then stopped what he was doing when Ray saw a pack of dogs surrounding him. He reached for his knife as Ray stumbled backwards, seeing them barking and snarling at him they were a pack of wild dogs he tried to be as calm as he could doing his best to take deep breathes as they started to circle around him.
Kristina Smith
Location: Graveyard
Kristina looked towards Tiffany when she said that she had heard Beatrice's voice, it felt weird her saying that she thought for a moment on what she should say. "You belong here just like everyone else here. And you also have Ray and I know the two of you really love each other, We need you just as much as you need us. And i'm sure you do have frien-" Kristina cut herself off she, then froze in place when she started to feel something crawling along her shirt and midsection. When she looked down Kristina's face instantly started to pale, and started to scream and freak out as she saw several large tarantulas.
"Get them off me!" Kristina screamed, as a young child she was always terrified of spiders the bigger they were the more she freaked the hell out. She always went to her mother and father or even Maria to try and either kill them or get them out of her room, though she wasn't as scared as Walkers sure the more grotesque looking they were the more she did freak out. But spiders she was deathly afraid off, as Kristina stumbled down trying to shake off the tarantulas off of her shirt. "Get them the fucking hell away from me!" Kristina yelled as she started to breathe heavily and tried to not have a panic attack.
Tiffany was thankful to get it off her chest, but she still felt somewhat concerned. Kristina began speaking, but soon she stopped. Tiffany looked over and she saw nothing.
Really. Nothing at all.
All she could see was pure white. Tiffany began to sweat. She waved her hand in front of her face. Nothing. No movement. She couldn't see! It was one of her biggest fears. Especially now, she couldn't deal with that. Was it due to the stress. Tiffany stumbled over, falling on her knees, "I can't see! I can't see anything in front of me...I can't...what is..oh God..." Tiffany began to hyperventilate, unable to control her breathing normally. She struggled to get words out as the world continued to show nothing but white.
Faith Masters
Location: Braelinn Village Shopping Center
Faith woke up from what could be described as the best sleep ever. She had lucked out finding the shopping center. While lots have been looted, she found a comfy bed in the furniture store to rest on. However, supplies were dwindling. She had water, but food was becoming scarce. She also couldn't stay here forever. She needed to find a place to stay, at least for a bit.
Faith stood up and stretched. She grabbe and checked her gear before she made her way towards the exit. She looked outside. She could spot a few walkers, but nothing that gave her much trouble anymore. God, she enjoyed ending their feeble existence. She opened the door and did a second look around. Feeling it was clear, she stepped outside and walked. Hopefully, she could find something soon. She was getting bored.
Niesha glanced down the stairs when they reached them, hesitating another moment, shining her flashlight down them, noting the darkness that seemed to be waiting to swallow them whole, like some sort of monster sitting there with its mouth gaping wide open for its pray to slink in. Like a Whale. And she was letting her mind drift again.
"No time like the present" She muttered, starting down the stairs after waiting a moment to see if there were any walkers attracted to the light. She climbed down the stairs carefully, holding her flashlight tightly, ready to use it as a weapon. It seemed pretty hefty. At the least, she could use it to dent a skull. Which could give her the time to get her knife out.
A scent caught her attention, and she very nearly decided to turn around. It was... pungent, to say the least. What had failed, with the lack of power? The freezes for bodies? If that was the case, maybe there were dead here after all... she shook her head of that thought, holding her breath a moment. It smelled like...
The latrines in her first community before they'd managed to get some semblance of plumping working. Only worse. Like... rotting meat, stale water... old blood. The smell of unwashed bodies, and sickness. "That" Niesha said, "is a rather unique combination of smells" She spoke softly, as if afraid of waking... something up.
Ravi took in a good sniff, before nodding. He recognized that heavy stench - it was something to be expected. Whenever the drainage system in the morgue was (god forbid) backed up and got contaminated, those bodily fluids created this awful stench. It wasn't going to get any better the further they went, he knew that for sure. "It's contamination from biological materials in the drainage system," Ravi explained quickly. Thinking for a moment, Ravi reached into his pocket and pulled out his set of gloves, before offering one to Niesha.
"Here - place this over your nose. It'll help a tad bit," Ravi explained. It would mean they'd both be down a hand, but he couldn't help but be a bit concerned about the air they were breathing in down in the basement. Placing his glove up against his nose, Ravi jumped a bit as he heard...singing. It was the duet he and Gavin had sung the previous day. And just like the previous hallucination, it was Gavin's voice he heard, singing the part of the Nazi.
You're not real. You're not real, Ravi thought to himself, repeating it over and over again in his mind until he felt confident that it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps, he wondered, this was it. His last act would be to ensure the proper burial for a good woman, before he descended into madness. He wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of going batshit, but it was better than the fate most met at the hands of walkers.
Riley looked towards Chloe for a moment when she heard the same crashing sound as well, climbing up to the top of the stairs bringing her crossbow to bare as she looked down the hallway. She could see some light shining through some of the opened doors, but she wasn't exactly sure where the sound had came from. "Stay close together." Riley whispered as she started to head down towards one of the opened doors.
Chloe nodded, before looking in the other direction. "I'll sweep this direction," Chloe said quietly. The windows didn't seem to be boarded up here and she walked in the opposite direction of Riley. She figured they were close enough that if anything happened, they'd be able to get to the other in a heart beat. Besides, they'd cover more ground this way. As she slowly walked forward, Chloe's eyes widened for a moment as she felt an immense pressure around her arm. Dropping her flashlight, it fell to the ground as she turned her gun, her heart hammering. She expected to see a walker or a son of a bitch from Eden.
Instead, there was a needle in her vein and a chord wrapped tight. It stung deeply and Chloe shut her eyes tightly, as the entire world was drowned out by an intense ringing in her head. Her breathing was increasingly irregular by the second and had she been able to compose herself to take her pulse, she was certain it was skyrocketing. Her hands were shaking as she slowly brought one up to her arm, though truthfully, she was ignorant to the passage of time. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and it wouldn't have felt any different to her.
Still holding her gun, Chloe shakily brought her hand to the hypodermic needle, though she hesitated once she touched it and confirmed that it was real. She hadn't even noticed that she had been crying until a tear hit her outstretched arm. She could feel her veins swelling and blinded by tears, she mumbled an apology before she pressed the plunger down. She expected to feel it hit her system, but instead, the chord and the needle had vanished. Only about ten seconds had passed.
"Fuck. That bastard," Chloe whispered to herself.
Accepting the glove, Niesha put it over her nose, waving the light over the room, seeking anything dangerous, whether alive or not. She glanced to Ravi as he jumped, frowning sligtly, looking around to see what had caused him to react like that, but couldn't see anything. She turned back to him "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thought I heard something," Ravi said quickly. It was just his mind playing little tricks on him. Keeping his glove in place over his nose and mouth, Ravi shone his flashlight around as well, looking for shelves, carts, or storage areas. While chemicals are generally stored in special containers, the ones that were frequently used tended to be left out on carts in his experience.
"Alright just holler if anything pops up." Riley said and nodded, though she thought it was a bit risky but it would make things that much quicker in clearing the top floor, she looked over her shoulder towards Chloe as she went down the opposite direction. Her attention turning towards one of the opened doors the hallway so far seemed to be pretty clear. She turned her head when she heard Chloe dropping her flashlight and ran over to check to see if she was alright. "Chloe are you okay?" Riley asked looking concerned for her sister.
Chloe picked up her flashlight and forced a bit of a laugh. "I'm fine. Just dropped my flashlight, that's all," she said. She didn't want to get into this with Riley. There was only one person (alive) that she'd open up about this to and it wasn't her twin. Her relationship with Riley got better each day, but she didn't want to discuss this with her regardless. There was too much shame involved. "I'm gonna start checking doors," Chloe then added, before moving forward. Luckily, it didn't seem like anything had heard her, beyond Riley noticing she had dropped the flashlight. The low lighting helped as well - unless the flashlight was pointed directly at her eyes, no one would be able to notice that she had been crying.
Niesha sighed softly, but nodded. If Ravi didn't want to talk, he didn't have to. She was expecting too much- all they'd done together was try to save a dying woman, and now they were hunting up supplies for her funeral. He could keep his secrets. She looked about, just in case he had heard somethi-
A man was suddenly in front of her- she could swear she hadn't heard a walker approaching, and it simply wasn't possible that a walker could survive a blow to the head like that, the axe embedded in his head. She stumbled back, as everything, ever bit of logic she held, telling her this wasn't possible. Richard was dead. Wasn't that why James had been banished? For killing him?
"Got any aspirin?"
She threw up her arms, as if that could stop this, her heart beating fast, wanting to run, wanting to flee and get as far away from here as possible. "NO! Go away!" She tried to yell, but it came out a dry rasp, her mouth, her throat dry as her body focused on the more important task of survival. She closed her eyes tightly, it just couldn't be real... Like Sophia's voice, it just wasn't possible. She wasn't even that close with Richard... She had had sympathy for him... and maybe that was enough for her delusions... Heart beating fast, she opened her eyes.
She wasn't here to break down. She wasn't here to go crazy. She was here for Miss Sally. She could ignore everything else. so she could see and hear dead people. So what? She stared at the dead man, clutching the flashlight tightly, heart still galloping in her chest. She could go crazy later. "I'll deal with you later" She whispered, trying to feel strong, rather then barely holding on. "Ravi? Lets get what we need and get out of here"
"In a minute, love...Alien Hand Syndrome seems to have set in," Ravi said, his voice clearly panicky. Whilst he had been carrying his torch and a knife a moment ago, there was now a straight razor in his left hand. This in itself was bizarre enough, as he couldn't remember picking one up. However, he hadn't had much time to think about it. Acting of its own accord, his left hand started heading for his most beloved possession:
His beard. Ravi and his beard had been through the best of times and worst of times together. The thought of shaving it off with sacrilegious. Yet there was lefty, attempting to kill the golden goose. Dropping his torch, knife, and even the glove he had pressed up against his nose, he began one of the most important wrestling matches of his life. With his right hand, he attempted to restrain his left, leaning backwards as well to keep his precious beard as far away from it as possible.
"If you wouldn't mind taking the razor from my left, that'd be brilliant," Ravi grunted, throwing himself against a wall in an attempt to knock some sense into lefty.
Riley looked towards Chloe, she had a feeling that her sister was hiding something from her, but it seemed that Chloe just wanted to keep it bottled up for now. And fighting against her sister trying to get her to open up would end up in an argument which she didn't want at all at the moment. "Alright then, i'll continue looking through these other rooms." Riley turned back down the hallway and turned towards one of the opened doors.
But before she even entered the room, she suddenly let out a loud scream as she started to see spiders, really big ones crawling all over her body and started to freak out. Riley started to try and peel the ones off of her arms and tried to throw them off, but she was freaking out spiders and dogs, those were the few things that Riley had nightmares about if she ever did see any. "Fucking goddamned spiders!" Riley yelled out as she stumbled back into the hallway.
Had Chloe not been preoccupied, she likely would've rushed over to Riley. Instead, she found herself face to face with none other than Ryan O'Reilly, the Lord of the Fucking Dance. "Damn girl, calm your tits." There was a shit eating grin on his face as he took a drag from a joint, before holding it out to Chloe. She could clearly smell it, even feel the smoke hanging in the air. Huffing slightly, Chloe wasn't sure whether to crumble or to punch him.
"You know I'm clean, shitface," Chloe said, though her resolve was weak. The entire world was spinning and she had just had a hallucination. Reality was becoming more and more difficult for her to discern. Like a child testing to see if something was real, Chloe reached out and gently touched Ryan's arm, relief spreading through her as she touched fabric. He was real, then.
"Fuck, one hit isn't going to hurt ya. And besides, Newnan'll be looking for a reason to go three for three anyways. Your ass is getting kicked out, just you wait," Ryan promised. He took another drag, before once more holding it out to Chloe. "Come on - I can read ya like a book, girl. You're dying for a taste."
Chloe rubbed her arm where she had seen the syringe. The scent of the joint was comforting and Ryan was right. She was the last outcast left in Newnan. As much as she wanted to be there for her sister, her days in Newnan could very well be numbered. It was a small blip when Froggy finally accepted her in medical. Nothing else like that would happen again. She stared at the joint for a moment, before she raised her gun and aimed at Ryan.
"Fuck. You." Her voice was trembling as she stared at the man who brought her both happiness and pain. She tried to force a smile, but it was more like awkward muscle spams in her face. Then she took the gun and pressed it up against her own temple, laughing weakly. "If you're right, then what's the point in living? I'm only doing this for her - for Riley."
Coughing roughly Gavin spat out the mouth full of dirt and snow that had filled his mouth. His curls dripping with cold red Georgia slush as he scrambled to get on his knees. "Strawberry! Christ on a crack her girl, yous okay? Says something!" he yelled as he grabbed the limp body next to his and started shaking the shit out of the equally mush covered Naval Lieutenant Commander. "Thana!" he yelled in her face. She didn't seem to be breathing, her body was like a rag doll in his grip as he laid her back down and started to try to do CPR on her. Granted he didn't know what the hell he was doing. He killed people, he didn't save them. That was Ravi's job. He tried though, he had watched enough tv before the world went to shit right? Still as he blew into her mouth and then acted like a hammer on her chest she hadn't moved. From the looks of things, the curse of Ash had struck again....
180 seconds earlier....
"Here kitty kitty kitty," Tatiana called out. Slowly walking behind her house and following the damn orange tabby. He had been scratching at the door to her and Jack's house, meowing loudly after Jack left. Opening the door once she had crawled out of bed she looked at SchrĂśdinger as he pawed quickly down her front steps. "Come on, come inside," she said as she stood there waiting for the cat to get his act together and come inside.
Yet he wasn't having any of it. He just sat down and meowed loudly. Tatiana was about to just turn around and go back to bed but every time she tried SchrĂśdinger came closer to her. Slipping her boots on that were by the door she cringed a bit but she managed. Working her way down the stairs to just go and pick up the damn cat and bring him in. She wouldn't get any rest with him meowing constantly. Yet, every step she took near him he took one away. If she backed up he came towards her again. Apparently this was a cat and mouse game and she was the mouse right then.
Getting out of the Hordebuster Thana drew her side arm and held is low as she started to make her way over to the group. "Yes and no... Long story Wall Dick," Ryan called out as he smirked and hopped off the hood of the truck. Him and Ash had never been on the best of terms but having Ash and the Hordebuster show up right then to him was a good thing. It gave them a bit more leverage.
Lola spun around and looked at the large truck and her jaw went slack. "Well fuck me Mate, that is a fucking sweet piece of rolling metal!" she called out towards Ash. Ryan rolled his eyes a bit. Nothing seemed to phase this woman.
"Jack! Jack! It's okay!" Froggy yelled out as he tore out from the infirmary and into the vestibule of the main building. Sid was close behind him, having come in from the medical garden to store that days harvest of medicinal herbs and such.
"God damn it! Beni! Get that fucking dog under control!" Jim yelled as he landed on his ass in the armory.
"Sorry man, she won't stop barking and keeps running off," Beni quickly said apologizing for the way Peaches was tearing around the place.
"What the fuck!" Mike screamed as he started running out from the back of the kitchen. "Get out of here!" he yelled as he grabbed the fire extinguisher to put out a fire that only he could see.
More and more through out the town people were starting to freak out. Seeing things that were not there, hearing things that couldn't be heard. The place was turning into chaos quickly.
"Not eat today?" Gavin asked as he stepped over towards Thana and heard a low growl.
Thana shook her head, quirking a brow. "That wasn't me..." she said turning her head.
120 seconds earlier....
Tatiana froze just outside of the Distillery as a feeling of dread took over her senses. Was she hearing things? There was low grumbling sound echoing around her. Then she hit her knees as the ground shook. This wasn't a hallucination, she wished it was. No, this was real and everyone within a mile radius of Newnan would feel it. Those from the west coast would know this feeling, earthquakes were common out there and this was one had to be nearing a six on the richter scale. But earthquakes didn't hit Georgia... Did they?
The former ballerina had never felt one since she had been within the state yet there she was on her knees as the ground shook around her. The walls of Newnan were wobbling as if they were ripples in the water. SchrĂśdinger meowed at her as rubble started to fall from the tops of the buildings, his fur raising on his back and his claws digging into the ground. "SchrĂśdinger, here kitty!" she yelled as she stumbled to her feet and did as best she could to chase the cat as it took off towards the distillery.
Medic fell on his rear end in Franklins mini armory, Lyon grabbing onto the counter to keep his balance. "What the fuck is happening?" Medic yelled as Lyon grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him out of the room.
"We've got to get out of here!" the Frenchman yelled. It was the last time Medic heard Lyons voice as the ceiling crashed in on the mans head and ended his life on this earth. What happened to Medic, one can't be sure, we still can't find him.
Lola's knees bent slightly to keep her balance as she spun around. It wasn't hitting them as hard as it was Newnan but she felt it and it made her stomach do a flip. Ryan gulped slightly as he turned and looked over towards Beatrice, this wasn't good and the intensity of what was happening was only growing.
The vision before Chloe just smirked. "See you shortly," Ryan said before he was gone and the vibrations increased dramatically, causing the pull of the trigger and Chloe to do exactly what she threatened to do. Her body dropping to the ground as her brains splattered out on the wall behind her. Her body dropping like a lead weight in the ocean.
Victor grabbed Jack with the help of Sid and proceeded to drag him towards the door, shoving him outside as the world began to tumble down around them. A billowing of clouds rising from the debris. What happened to Froggy, no one call tell. There is no time to search the rubble as Newnan crumbles around them. The vision Jack had been seeing is no longer there but what is before his eyes is even worse than he could have ever imagined. Sids lifeless face dripping from blood and covered with dust from the rubble stared blankly from between the cracks of the rubble that had crushed his body.
60 seconds earlier....
In the Southwest corner of Newnan the ground opened up and everything above it fell into a chasm below. Fissures cracked in the ground and spread out like glass shattering. What was going on? Well it was a common thing in South Georgia but something that didn't happen often this far north, yet it was not unheard of. Lime Sinks. They could give away at any minute, causing the ground to collapse and take everything that was sitting on the surface with it.
Thana knew the feeling, Albany had the huge lime sink on third avenue over by Phoebe. After the flood of '94, it wasn't uncommon for parts of the city to open up and just swallow a building of three in the process. "Oh shit..." she muttered as she looked over towards James, she knew he would know the feeling as well. One didn't have to live on the west coast before to know this feeling. Anyone that grew up near Albany knew it wasn't always a seismic shift that caused this type of quaking.
Years of a town sitting on top of lime, wearing down by the flow of water thanks to the high water table. The recent snow, contracting the ground and now it expanding. It had burst long unused gas pipes. That was why people were losing their shit. That was why the ground was quaking. That was why the town of Newnan was now falling. Yet the damage wasn't done yet.
All over Newnan the breaking of the ground did help clear out a lot of the low lying unscented gas that was causing the hallucinations but they were far favorable to the buildings currently being swallowed up by Mother Earth. Buildings were crumbling, people were screaming trying to run but where to? So many exits were cut off! The wall was falling around Newnan as more and more cracks in the earth opened up and swallowed what was there.
Tatiana ran after SchrĂśdinger, her knees buckling with each step she took, and scooped the cat up. Inside the Distillery the stills were getting shook to high heaven. It was a recipe for booze normally, right then it was a recipe for disaster. As she grabbed the cat by the back of the Distillery, it all came to a head. She heard the hissing, spotted the smoke starting to billow up from inside. Turning on her heels she started to run with everything she had but was it enough? Was she fast enough? We may never know. All we do know is suddenly there was a atomic like explosion from within the building and a mushroom cloud of Virginian booze that broke up from the building and into the atmosphere.
Mike tore over towards Kris and Tiffany trying to get to them as the Mess Hall split down the center. He got to Kris but he shouldn't have. As the ground opened up beneath them and the ceiling came crashing down from above. Kris and Mike were gone. Tiffany had just barely escaped the falling from above. The force sending her back on the floor and across the room. She was injured, bruised and battered but she was alive.
Those in the armory were not so lucky. The building didn't split, it was simply engulfed. Beni, Jim, and poor Peaches were swallowed beneath a metric ton of rubble and devoured as ammunition and the small store of explosives went kaboom.... Fire broke out from between the pieces of crumbled concrete. If there is a god, if he is merciful they died in the fall instead of being trapped beneath and burned alive...
Guy jumped from the wall and onto the ground but with everything falling no one could tell if he made it or not. The graveyard was nearly surrounded by open parts of ground spanning over ten feet wide and three times as deep. Meg, Amelia, and Ray were alive, still being shook as the collapse of Newnan continued but there was a way out for them. To the east, the wall had fallen but the spread of the ground opening was not way. Towards the North, the South, and The West - nothing. There was no way to get back into Newnan.
20 seconds earlier....
While the world crumbled down around the citizens of Newnan it didn't mean that those meeting for the first time were left unscathed. Newnan itself got a large chunk of the devastation and while the ground opened up for a bit to the north and to the east... To the south and to the west is continued for over a mile. It continuing like cracks in the ice on a pond.
"Mother Dick!" Lola screamed as she half way ducked when the explosion went off in Newnan and the mushroom cloud billowed up above the tree line. She was still trying to keep her footing as the ground began to shake even more where they all were. Grabbing Thalia by the back of her collar she jerked her back and onto the ground with her. "Jet!" she yelled as she did and the two ended up back over by the tank.
Ryans head snapped around as the trees started to toppled towards Newnan. "Oh shit..." was all he was able to get out before he sprinted towards Beatrice and shoved her out of the way. The ground opening up beneath him and where Bea had just been standing. Ryan was gone and his body would be able to be seen in the rubble of the open chasm below, snapped and broken, and no more.
Gavin tackled Thana as the ground around them started to splinter, sending the two of them into the ditch and snow bank off near where he had just recently walked up from. If he hadn't, she would have have had the same fate as James, who sadly had perished as Ryan did. Exiled or not, it didn't matter. The Black Neck had met the very fate he figured he was going to that morning when he turned himself into Ash. Exile hadn't saved him, it had only delayed things...
The funeral home was shaking, boards coming off the windows on the main floor, the upper floor windows shattering from the movement. Yet all things considering it was in far better condition than the buildings that were just a few blocks south. The worst of it had hit Newnan Proper. Riley, Niesha, and Ravi were alive, even if the event had caused Chloe to pull a trigger she might not have but either way it didn't matter now.
It didn't really matter for any of them. So many were dead. So many were missing. And while the cloud of gas had cleared out enough to breath really again, it was still there and who knew how long it would. The buildings were still crumbling, the fires were spreading. And all of this was getting the attention of walkers for miles around. There was no going back and to stay would mean certain death. Newnan had fallen and only a select few survived. There were ones missing but they are only listed as such because their bodies cannot be found yet with all the destruction, that isn't surprising.
Back To Now...
There was a sharp gasp and Thana sat straight up, looking around frantically as Gavin fell back onto his rear end. "Oh sweet Jesus, thank you God!" Gavin spat out as he leaned forward and grabbed Thana by the shoulders and pulled her in for a bear hug from hell. He was shaking like a leaf even though the ground was settling and the quaking was ceasing.
Thana sat there stunned before pushing him off of her and jumping to her feet, rushing over but she felt Gavin grab her again from behind and thankfully he did so because she nearly went head long right into the very crack in the earth that had just stolen the lives of James and Ryan. "Whoa girl!" he yelled as they stumbled back. Thana was looking around frantically.
"ASH!!!" she screamed, her eyes looking for the Hordebuster and seeing it was still there.
"Everyone okay?" Gavin bellowed as he wrapped an arm around Thana and slowly started to show her the way around the cracks in the ground. The group was now split with the way the ground cut through them. Ash was by himself over with the Hordebuster but the rest that were still breathing with the truck and the tank.
"Ash!" Thana yelled again as Lola coughed and rolled onto her back.
"What the fuck was that..." the Kiwi muttered as she stared up at the sky. "Jet, ya dead?" she said in a cough. "Gramps, you still kicking?"
"Bea, you breathing?" Gavin asked as he let go of Thana and knelt down by the woman offering her a hand.
Thana was pushing her hair out of her face as she slowly approached the open spot which had swallowed Ryan and James and her lips thinned. "Rest in peace James Grady..." she said quietly before her eyes darted back up and towards the Hordebuster. "Answer me right now Ashton Holloway! You answer me right now! That's an order soldier!"
Elsewhere....
"Now Alena, remember. As much as we would love to take a few back to Adamm this is run to find supplies. The winter left us scarce and we just can afford another mouth to feed. Not that we would but you get the idea. We have orders, so we follow what the Father says," Nathan said as he took long strides along the edge of the shopping center. His light eyes were covered by his sunglasses and even if they weren't they would have showed no emotion.
Not even when the ground shook just in the slightest. His brow did arch, wondering what it was. Looking over as a mushroom cloud could be seen miles off in the distance a Machiavellian like smile came to his lips. "Always play the long game darling, things pay off in the end," he said with a cruel laugh. Then something caught his eye. "Allo, allo, allo... What is this?" he said as he pulled his rifle up and looked through the scope. Spotting Faith a couple of hundred yards in front of them.
"Well we aren't supposed to bring anyone back but that doesn't mean we cannot have a bit of sport. It has been so long since we tracked someone and had a little fun. Alena, time to wheel this one in. Shall we go introduce ourselves?" he said as he lowered his riffle and smirked, motioning for her to lead the way.
Razor? Niesha started at Ravi, more than a little unsure about him right then. What was going on? What was he seeing, for she was sure he was seeing something, as much as she herself had, moments ago. She refused to look about as she looked to Ravi. She didnât want to see if Richard was there, the axe in his head. Was there something in the water at Newman? Had someone put hallucinogenic in there? She seized upon these thoughts, using them to keep herself⌠grounded she supposed. This was a good thing⌠she wasnât going crazy.
She wasnât, wasnât she?
These thoughts were interrupted by the ground quaking, and Niesha crouched, holding her flashlight tightly still, seeking to maintain her balance. How long had it been since sheâd experienced an earthquake? It seemed mild here, the building shaking somewhat, and she could hear mild crashes- maybe the wood from the windows?. How bad was it, back at Newman? Or was it coming from the other way, somewhere far enough that Newman wouldnât be affected? The rumbling just seemed to continue, and before she knew what she was doing, Niesha rose, and turning to Ravi once more, contemplating slapping him across the face.
âSnap out of it! No time to go crazy, shitâs happening and I can-â Was that a gunshot? The sharp crack resounded through the air, faint for the walls and floors separating them. Something clutched at her heart, had something happened, was there walker's above? Had Riley been hurt? âand I canât deal with it all! It's hard enough to not see things that arenât there as it is!â A sentence she didnât think sheâd ever say. One that didn'tâ sound crazy to her, although she thought it might to Ravi. âThat was a gunshot. We'll check it out, make sure Riley and Chloe are okay. See if thereâs any damage around us- any walkers nearby. See what we can of Newman- if it hit hard there, there will be people hurt. We should abort this mission for now, and come back later. Now come on!â
What was she doing, seeking to take control of the situation? Did she think to lead them? That hadnât proven well in the past. All she did was lead people to death. Yet she thought on the fear she was barely containing- Kris⌠Victor⌠Tatiana⌠would they see Newman destroyed? Or would it be standing still? She knew it all depended upon what direction the earthquake had gone⌠If she let that fear take control... she didn't know what would happen. Pulling herself together meant making sure the others were okay, and keeping them together too.
She didnât wait to see if Ravi was following, bounding up the stairs, still clutching the flashlight, glancing about a little wildly, before bounding up the stairs, calling out âRiley? Chloe? Everything okay?â. The damage to the funeral home seemed minimal, for now at least. Would walkers be attracted here? It was a very real possibility, and she made a note to check out through the windows. With her bow, if there were some out there, she should be able to get some of them. Her thoughts racing even as her heart pounded, Niesha continued up the stairs, terrified of what she might see, waiting desperately to hear Riley call back.
Inside a cramped, but compact steel case couldn't possible be passed off as an excellent piece of cover for anyone in such a need. That, or just an over-sized and over-prized coffin for anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped inside it and not able to get out. For the old soldier his instinct and flashbacks to his training told him the first; inside the tank, Alexander had braced himself in the gunner's seat and held on tight for anything about to hit the tank. Whatever that anything was, he could only speculate afterwards as his combat instincts told him that a bomb, artillery shell or even a small nuclear bomb had been dropped behind the trees.
But what about before?
Alexander had noticed the sound of a large vehicle pulling up behind him just after he had tried to get contact with Lola and Thalia, but he couldn't possibly have expected what it actually was. Turning around to see the massive and heavily modified truck behind him and the tank, he jumped back - if he hadn't been standing in the hatch - and finally let his Chicago-accent be heard; "Fockin' Christ wit' a badge'âŚ". His eyes shot from the two visible people in the steel-caged truck, one still inside and the other walking towards the others, and the two people he actually knew. Lola seemed no more fazed with this sudden appearance, andâŚ
That was when the growling began. Like the distant thunder of carpet bombing of Viet Cong hideouts, it was a warning that something awful was happening to someone. That included them at the meeting. That was when he saw the mushroom cloud rise up on the horizon, giving him vivid memories of both the war he fought, and the war he feared would end it all. That was when he clambered down into the tank and hunkered it, prepared for the worst.
He didn't see what happened, but the shouting and screaming was accompanied by loud noises ofâŚcracking, big ones. The latter ones stopped. The yelling did not. It only escalated. Frightened screams, concerned shouting an cries of those around them. Alexander looked up through the hatch, waiting for the massive air-wave that never came, but hearing the New Zeelander's accented voice call out for him. They weren't dead, always a good sign. He began to climb back out of the tank, pushing himself out of the hatch. "YeahâŚyeah I'm all rightâŚGod AllmightyâŚ" The sight to behold was almost unbelievable, except that it had to be real. Massive cracks and gaps in the ground, large portions simply swallowed by the holes around them. "WhatâŚwhat the fuckâŚ"
But he didn't go back into his state of crying as before. No, enough tears appeared to have been shed already, while the others around him and the tank seemed to have their fair share of that taken care of. The soldier in him it would seem had come back to the grey-haired man, who climbed further out of the tank and stood on top of the turret, looking around him and their surroundings. "I'm getting too old for this shit⌠The mushroom cloud appeared to be coming from a very familiar directionâŚ
"You okay Lola? Thalia? We can't stay here, and I guess we won't be going there either." Alexander said while descending the Stuart, making his way over to Lola and Thalia. But he couldn't ignore the woman shouting angrily at the massive hunk of a truck. Soldier? An order? Did any of that matter anymore? And would Alexander have to rejoin his past like that?
Amelia managed to snap out of her delusions when the calamity started. Everything quaked, shook and trembled as if it was being forced by some almighty entity. Her senses were overwhelmed by everything that was going on, all the information. She was also being unable to move or do anything in combination from the intense shacking, shock and fear. For a good while she belived her life was over. People said life flashes before your eyes in the moments you feel your death is imminent... there was no such thing. All she experienced was mortal dread... regret and complete terror in the face of the overwhelming power of this disaster.
Then there was also a bright flash, another deafening roar. She felt the shock from it too. Everything around them was crumbling. It resembled some end of the world stuff she'd see in a movie or read in a book. Death was coming for them and all she could do was stay frozen on the ground as everything around crumbled.
Rifts in the earth opened around, causing huge deep open spaces around the ground, having swallowed entire buildings. She felt fear... they weren't dead? Were others dead? Was this real? Her mind was having hard time keeping up as finally the rumbling was ending, the calamity having passed, it's rage already unleashed and taken hold.
âAhhh...â Amelia was crying, tears rolling her cheeks as she felt an incredible sense of relieve. She almost lost complete control of her body, but somehow managed to hold it. Her feet felt weak as she tried to stand up. Meg and Ray were there with her. Her tears were still flowing as she looked around, she was afraid to move from her spot. Both of fear she might be swallowed by the earth and that she'd lose her posture and fall, her knees feeling as weak as jelly.
âMe..e.e..e..gggg, Raa..aaay... are yo...u alr...ig..ht!?â Amelia cried out through sobs, trying to put some sense in her mind currently consumed by chaos and confusion.
Riley was about to enter one of the opened doors when she stopped for a moment as she started to hear her sister saying something to herself, she turned around and headed back into the hallway, she was doing her best to try and ignore the feeling of the spiders crawling all over her as best as she could. Riley froze when she saw her twin taking her handgun to her head, her eyes going wide with shock. "Chloe what the hell are you doing!" Riley yelled, taking a few steps closer towards her sister then she started to hear what sounded like a grumbling stomach.
Then Riley was sent to the ground as the whole building around them shook violently, then she heard Chloe's gun going off time started to slow down around her as she watched her sister's body falling down to the ground. "NOOOOO!" Riley screamed loudly as she quickly ran over to her sister's body kneeling down as she held Chloe's body close to her. Tears started to flow down the sides of her face as she tried to shake Chloe's body someway hoping that she would still wake up. "Please Chloe don't leave me.."
Riley continued sobbing as she rocked Chloe's body in her arms slowly as the ground continued to shake around them, she could hear an explosion in the distance. But she didn't notice it as she continued to mourn the loss of Chloe, she laid her sister's body down on the ground looking into Chloe's now lifeless eyes. Riley whipped the tears away slowly as well as her nose, looking down she started to search Chloe's body. Riley eventually found Ryan's cross around Chloe's neck, she wasn't religious at all but took it anyway as her hands shook slowly stuffing it down into her pocket. Riley heard Niesha's voice yelling out to them, but Riley didn't answer as she sat there as the sobbing started up again.
Meghna Kumar & Raymond Mendoza
Location: The Graveyard
Meg and Raymond stopped for a moment as they both started to hear what sounded like some kind of rumbling in the ground, Ray started to look around to try and find out where the commotion was coming from. Then he started to see that the walls were starting to shake violently, then the ground started to do the same. Which caused Raymond to lose all of his balance and forced him to land ungracefully down onto his ass. He had only been to California a small number of times, and he knew that the west coast had gotten a lot of earth quakes, but this was the first time he ever felt an earthquake this far east.
Then that's when all hell started to break lose, Meghna had lost her balance as well as she watched everything around them started to fall and break apart. Then the ground suddenly gaveway, which caused large fissures to appear in the ground, then a few seconds later Meghna and Raymond could hear several explosions. Ray and Meg both saw a mushroom cloud appear where the distillery was located, and then another one where the armory was located.
"Why the hell is this happening?!" Meg yelled as she watched all of Newnan started to breakdown all around her, then the quake finally stopped, she slowly got up onto her feet as she started to look around. Raymond reached over to grab his crutch groaning loudly as he pulled himself up to his feet, then he started to instantly worry about Tiffany was she still even alive he wasn't even sure what he would do without her. Everywhere he looked it appeared that they were all surrounded by the large fissure that was around them where they were at. Raymond and Meghna turned to look at Amelia as Meg went over and helped her friend back up to her feet, looking over towards the few buildings that were still there. "No we really have to get out of here." Meg said her voice started to shake as she started to worry about her brother, he was still out there somewhere.
"Help me get Ray out of here." Meghna said, Ray looked towards Meg for a moment he then looked around hoping that he would at least see Tiffany safe. "Thank you.." Raymond said softly as he accepted Meg's shoulder supporting some of his weight he knew he wasn't fast at all with one leg heading towards one of the undamaged buildings.
Kristina Smith
Location: Graveyard
"Get these fucking spiders off!" Kristina continued to yell, ignoring Tiffany as she was more focused on her own fear as they continued to crawl all over her skin flinging them off as best as she could. Then she started to stop as she could hear a grumbling in the earth, then the ground violently started to shake. She watched as Mike quickly came up to them, she was helped up to her feet as she and Tiffany were rushed towards the mess hall. Kristina looked around the room seeing who was in there some of them were freaking the fuck out as well seeing things that weren't there like herself.
Then Kristina heard an explosion, and the ground suddenly gave way under her feet, she was about to rush over to Tiffany as the ground crumbled under her feet. She started to let out a loud scream as the roof came crashing down, falling down the dark fissure that had taken half of the mess hall towards her own death as she started to accept her own fate she would see her family again very soon.
Alena Sullivan
Location: Braelinn Village Shopping Center
Alena looked over towards Nathan for a moment and rolled her eyes slightly towards him. "The bossman hoards all of the food to himself that's why we are scarce on food. But yeah, yeah we are just here to find some supplies." She said sarcastically as she walked alongside him, as she turned her attention to the plume of smoke in the distance. She could feel the ground shake slightly, she started to smirk to herself as she started to think about the survivors that would be there for easy pickings.
She then caught movement as well in the corner of her eye as she watched a woman coming out of the mall, and slowly licked her lips as she thought of so many ways to kill her. "Maybe we can shoot her feet and play with her for a few hours without bringing her back home?" She suggested, she was really looking forward to hearing the girl's screams when they kill her very slowly.
Location: The Meet (Three-way intersection near the Hershall Norred Water Plant)
The solid, familiar sounds of James's favorite heavy truck reached his ears, just following the heated but short discussion he had concluded with Thalia. He had only met two members of her family, but upon meeting the young lady, there could be no mistaking the bloodline. She was a little difficult, granted, but James took comfort in the fact that her people continued. The world needed one of Caesar's people in it, probably more than ever. He even gave a little smile thinking about it, watching this girl with Astrid's shield and one of Caesar's old company's machetes.
But he had let his mind wander. James indeed did find that he was hearing The Hordebuster coming around the bend. The unmistakable plowhead on the front of the vehicle was visible first, rounding the bend in the road and emerging from behind scattered evergreen and deciduous trees. Then the rest of the truck burst into the scene, bigger than life; gorgeous and ugly all at the same time. He had no earthly idea why it would be headed down this way, but he never expected to see it, nor its driver again. It filled him with immediate, profound joy.
As it came to a controlled stop behind the tank, the driver's side window opened. James raised his hat high above his head and waved. Thana had exited the truck, striding over to the group, but Ash had stayed a bit more cautious. His inquiry as to whether these people were friends of his was taken by the veteran hogger as a sign of concern on his part. Ash was an honorable guy. If he wanted to do them harm, he would have back in Newnan. "Naw, Cap'n! We all good!" he called out. There was so much to tell him. The news of Thalia and the functioning satphone, the bittersweet revelation of Astrid and her body finally being laid to rest, the story about the TANK... things had happened in the time since he had left Newnan. He knew that he couldn't come back, but some things needed to be passed along to the guys back home. Beatrice had begun to detail Thalia to Ash in her own rough but endearing manner of homespun sarcasm. James was readying himself to follow up with a bit more detail after his own "all clear" declaration.
No sooner had the previous words left his mouth, though, than a great rumbling could be heard. The sound of stone fracturing and grating against itself, mixed with the cacophony of imploding ruin. Metal twisting, rending, the works of humanity ripping apart as the very earth beneath them cracked open wide. James had experienced lime sinks before, owing to his background, but never like this. This was huge. Unprecedented. Massive. And it was in the direction of Newnan.
The sound of roared throughout the still air, even as far away as they all were. Then an earth-shattering KA-BOOM, leaving a mushroom cloud floating over the horizon to the north. He instinctively took a step toward forward, toward his former home and almost every friend he had left in the world, when the sickly sound of the ground ripping open assaulted his ears, even as violent shaking threatened to drop him to the pavement below him. He still had his hat in the air as a crack violated the ground beneath him, split off from the main tear in the earth. Collapsing and widening, it refused to even give James the base courtesy of telling his friends goodbye as it began to swallow him up.
James tossed his hat into the air, scrambling furiously for the side of the opening chasm. He almost did, until the ground crumbled beneath his fingers and dropped him into the unforgiving shards of rock below. Whatever Providence existed did him but one favor: Before he got to experience the unnatural and mortal folding of his body, James clipped the back of his head on a shaggy chunk of exposed piping. Unconscious or dead, the point would be rendered almost moot in two short, horrifying seconds.
The story of James Mandingo Grady came to a close with his broken body at the bottom of a crack in the earth, having died for nothing and no one, save random misadventure. The legend known as Black James (!) has ended. May he finally rest in peace.
Location: The Meet
The arrival of the Hordebuster was noted with concern and and annoyance. It felt like a setup, pure and simple, but something was off. Thalia opened her mouth to say something - just in time for all hell to break loose.
It could be easily said that this was not a good day for Thalia. But viewing the horizon and feeling the shake of the earth beneath her feet, she was fairly certain that there were people just north of them who were having a much worse day than her. Thalia wasn't even fully cognizant of the fact that the ground was rebelling against their presence in a more direct, fatal manner, until Lola grabbed a handful of her jacket and hurled her away from the growing split in the pavement.
The sudden and unbidden thought of This is the East Fucking Coast flashed, her brain racked with disbelief. But this was happening. Thalia looked to where she was standing a second ago, and realized that the obnoxious but endearing Kiwi just saved her ass. Wow. She might actually deserve some consideration the next time she started getting suggestive. Maybe. When Lola asked her if she was still alive (calling her Jet again, she noted), Thalia responded with a half sarcastic, "Yeah, you win." She paused for a second to cough up a lungful of kicked-up dust, rasping out, "But no kissing, okay?" Slowly, she started to pull herself up to her feet.
Thalia looked over to Alexander, making sure he was still with them. ...Lola, Mugs, me..." he counted aloud, and looked over to the other group. "Hey James, are your people good? Ja... damn." Her people might be fine, but they were down a couple. That guy seemed pretty cool, all things considered. Then there was the sarcastic guy, standing near the equally sarcastic girl by the truck. Bad day all around. But from the way the new lady on the scene carried on, she might have just lost someone she cared about.
Seems there was a lot of that going around today.
Ash Holloway
Location: Armageddon
Get up, Captain.
Ash wasn't sure what happened, but the back of his head throbbed. It wasn't clear pain, but it was close to it. He became aware of his limbs; legs folded beneath himself, one arm dangling, the other obstinately clutching the doorhandle of his truck. It was a highly precarious position, hanging from a door, legs on one of the steps. Exposed. Open. And with an amazing view of the shitstorm raining down upon everything he allowed himself to care about. Still, he couldn't quite clear his head. Vaguely, he thought he heard someone calling his name. What the hell happened?
Get your legs underneath you, Captain. You are needed.
He grunted, shifting his feet about until they could support his weight. In pieces, the memory of what happened came back to him. Thana had gone ahead while he was still climbing out. The woman was fearless. He had a thing for strong women, apparently. Then... Then the world broke. Like a bomb went off in Newnan and the aftereffects ripped their way toward anyone who lived there, regardless of where they were, propelled by a sinister intelligence. It was coming back to him, as did the reason why it left his memory in the first place.
On your feet, soldier!
As the initial rumble hit, Ash's boot slid awkwardly on the step coming out of the Hordebuster. The explosion immediately afterward and increasing shake of the ground caused a momentary loss of footing, pitching Ash to the side and slamming the his head into the frame of the door. Stubbornly, he refused to let go of his grip on the door handle, but he remained in a daze, consciously aware of nothing for the next few seconds except for the mushroom cloud over his home and and unnatural upheaval of the ground.
Get up, or MORE people will die.
As if life were suddenly forced into him, Ash drew a large, shuddering breath. He sprang vertical, only to slip on the steps leading to the driver's side door and stumble onto the ground below. Again, he picked himself up. Adrenaline lanced through him, sharpening his senses and bringing him fully back into the now. He heard desperate shouts from Thana, demanding that he respond immediately. "Tha..!" he started, interrupted by a fit of coughing. "THANA!" Ash put a hand on his pistol and began moving forward through the dust and ruin, as close as he dared to the edge of the crack in the earth. What he saw broke his heart.
Help who you can, Captain. You will have time to mourn later.
James was dead. Ryan was dead. Thana was across a barrier that may as well have been a canyon, with Gavin. At least Tex was interested in making sure she was safe. It was the best Ash could hope for right then. "Present and accounted for, Ma'am!" he called back, over the last of the settling rock. His voice was hard, but tinged with grief. It was a tone that many in Newnan knew very well. But mostly, he was just glad to see that Thana was still alive, even if his friend was not. Then realization hit him: that sound was massive, and it was going to draw every one of the Dead for miles around. The explosion and line of smoke would serve as a beacon to draw them in, as well. But not just that - the living might be there, too. Ash almost welcomed the Dead. As far as he knew, Eden had a hand in this. He wouldn't put it past them in the least. And they would be along soon to pick over the bones of Newnan's carcass. "God, I'm so glad you're okay, Thana." He wanted to be over there, near her, holding her, whisking her away someplace safe, wherever that might be anymore. "We need to get out of here, and now. Whatever Dead have defrosted are going to be swarming this way! And Eden... Those fuckers are going to be lining up to pick off the survivors one by one!" The thought crossed his mind to pay Eden a visit, quick and quiet, and kill every last one of them. They had supplies, they had shelter. And they'd probably never expect a move like that.
Before you do anything, see to your people. They need you, Captain.
Damned logical voice in his head. It was right, though. He couldn't move to join the group right in front of him, and there had to be survivors in or around Newnan that probably wouldn't make it without his help. "Damnit... Get these people away from this place. There are supplies in the warehouse back up that way," he pointed back up the road that James's truck had taken to get to the meeting, "and we have a meet-up point established in case everything gets fucked. I have to see if anyone else made it, Thana. I'm sorry, I have to. All else fails, you're not at the meet - I will look for you... Remember the city we talked about in the truck? I'll find you, Thana. I will goddamned find you." He was rambling. He knew he was rambling. Desperation was poking through his stony demeanor, visible only in the details. Zebulon, Georgia was a meeting point for anyone who lived in Newnan, if they could make it. Then Mexico Beach, Florida, for anyone who still felt like following Ash after. But now, he had to see if anyone was even alive back home.
Chloe's hands trembled, and for a moment, it was as if she had lost control of her own body. However, she quickly realized that the source of the tremors was external, rather than internal. She had moved to California after graduating high school. There had been a few decent ones during her time at Stanford, but even more when she had been incarcerated. She knew what she had to do but for some reason, she couldn't move. She could just feel the vibrations pass through her. The smirking vision in front of her inspired a deep sense of dread, eating away at her.
There was no need to ask Ryan what he meant. The vibrations were increasingly violently and she could feel the weight of the gun against her head. She didn't have time to hope that Riley would avert her eyes - she didn't need to see this. There wasn't a moment to let the gun fall to the ground or even a chance to say goodbye to her twin sister. Her life didn't flash before her eyes - instead, she heard the sound of cuffs snapping on, the laughter of her cellmate. She smelled the smoke of a cigarette - one that she somehow knew belonged to Ryan - and the vibration of a guitar string against her fingertips.
Not more than a few seconds after the earthquake began, Chloe's finger clenched, pulling the trigger. Her death was nearly instantaneous, as the bullet penetrated her skull and her brains blew out behind her. The blood and grey matter spattered the wall, while her body dropped to the ground, the gun still clenched in her hand. It hadn't been the way she imagined herself dying. But her life was never the way she imagined it as well. There was little point in expecting the pattern to change at the very end.
She was twenty eight years old.
Six Years Ago The Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles, California
"Inmate 51434-499, with Griggs." The guard tapped twice against the cell door, staring expectantly at the shy girl from Indiana. Her hair was tangled and knotted, with her eyes swollen and puffy from crying at her trial. Despite a friend helping her to get a decent lawyer, it still hadn't been enough. Another had taken a deal and testified against her. There wasn't anything that could be done at that point. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison, but she would be up for parole in thirteen months. The sentence could have easily been far worse.
"Inmate 51434-499, we don't have all day," the guard stressed. Chloe jumped a bit before hurrying into the cell, carrying a pillow, blanket and toothbrush. They were her only possessions - anything else she wanted to have with her in the prison would come in a week if she was lucky, though it could easily be longer.
She couldn't tell if the cell was nice or not. Aside from movies and television shows, she had never seen a prison before in her life. But now, she was incarcerated in federal prison. Lying on one of the beds with a book was her cellmate - Griggs. In one hand, Griggs fiddled with a hamsa amulet.
"What day is it, girl?" Griggs asked.
"...Tuesday?" Chloe replied uncertainly, pillow and blanket still in hand.
"Huh. Now that's a white-ass name if I've ever heard one," Griggs mused. "First stint, Tuesday?"
"That's not my name...It's Chloe," Chloe said quietly. She wasn't sure as to whether or not she could place her things down on the other bed.
"Nah, stick with Tuesday. It's better."
Ravi Chakrabarti
Location: Funeral Home, North of Newman
The sharp crack of gunfire snapped Ravi out of the hallucination. He let out a sigh of relief upon realizing that it hadn't been real and that his beard was safe from harm. However, the gunfire itself was troubling. The noise would attract walkers and live people to their location. If that hadn't done it, then the earthquake certainly would have. While others might have been terrified and horrified with the vibrations, Ravi was accustomed to earthquakes. His Seattle pride wouldn't allow him to be anything but.
"Yes...Yes, we need to go see if they need help," Ravi agreed. The chemicals could wait. And with the shaking of the Earth, they were lucky nothing had tipped over. Proper storage methods were not always followed and while chemicals were separated according to the consequences if they were to mix, there was no reason to assume that the code had been followed correctly.
He took off after Niesha, torch in hand. The home seemed to be relatively intact, from what he could ascertain. Not all buildings were able to adequately withstand quakes. They were lucky - the damage could have been far worse. But it was possible that Newnan itself had not fared as well...They would need medical staff. Yet at the moment, as far as Ravi was aware, only Froggy was there. The rest of the medical team was here, attempting to get the needed chemicals. Once they made it to the main floor, Ravi looked around quickly. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. His gloves were abandoned on the floor of the basement, forgotten.
"Riley? Chloe? Can you hear us?" Ravi called out.
Jack Hudson
Location: Outside Building One (Medical)
Froggy's voice helped to calm Jack's nerves, still gripped by the illusion of being trapped in the enclosed space. However, he still couldn't see. He barely registered Froggy and Sid dragging him outside of the building, and when the vision dissipated, it seemed to be replaced by another one. The ground was shaking and clouds of dust were rising. "Froggy?" Jack called out, but he couldn't see the man.
"Froggy?! Froggy?!" Jack shouted, before his eyes fell upon a limp form - Sid. His heart stopped beating for a moment as he took in the sight and as it didn't vanish, he realized that it was real. "Tatiana. Tatiana. TATIANA!" Jack shouted, attempting to get his bearings. There was a gigantic chasm in the ground and across the way, towards the distillery, he could see Tiffany. As his eyes scanned the chasm, he saw a ten feet stretch. It was the only place that it could be crossed - he'd need to do a running jump.
While it made sense for Tiffany to jump across to join him, he couldn't make that decision. His pregnant wife was in the house, waiting for the morning sickness medication he was supposed to bring her. He didn't care if he died, as long as he could get Tatiana out of Newnan safely. He wasn't about to have their marriage last only a day. They were supposed to grow old together, to do the white-picket fence life in this time of suffering and tragedy.
"Tiffany, Tatiana's in the house!" Jack shouted across the chasm to his friend. "I gotta go get her!" He paused for a moment, before remembering that he had his walkie on him. Pulling it out, he put out a message: "Tati, do you copy? Tati?"
His heart was pounding furiously. If there was no answer, it would tear him apart.
Beatrice Decker
Location: The Meeting (Three-way intersection near the Hershall Norred Water Plant)
Beatrice's eyes widened as she felt the rumbling of the Earth. It had been years since she felt that - over four, to be precise. Earthquakes didn't happen very often on the East Coast, from what she had come to understand. But there wasn't another logical explanation for what was happening - unless a fleet of tanks happened to be coming their way, but she was fairly certain they'd only encounter one tank that day. Anymore than that and it would be excessive.
"It's a quake," Beatrice explained to Ryan. He seemed to be nervous, but as far as Beatrice was concerned, they weren't in the absolute worst place to be during an earthquake. It was only natural that he was afraid - from what she remembered, he was from New York. They mustn't have had many quakes there. Her eyes widened as she saw the mushroom cloud rising above Newnan.
Maybe it had been a good idea to go with James on the suicide mission, after all.
She barely registered someone crashing into her and shoving her out of the way. Beatrice hit the ground hard, sliding forward and skinning her arms in the process. Blinking a bit, she tried to comprehend the events that had just happened. It had all been so fast but then...Then she realized what had happened.
"That's not how we do it downtown," Beatrice whispered. She was normally completely composed, even stone cold at times. Yet her breath caught in her throat and silent tears slid down her face. Her hair had fallen forward, hiding her eyes slightly from the others. James, Ryan, and Tiffany were her only friends. Ryan and James had just died in front of her and judging from the smoke coming from Newnan, Tiffany wasn't among the living either.
She prided herself on having a certain healthy detachment. If only she actually could perfectly repress her emotions...
"Yeah, I'm good," Beatrice answered as she took Gavin's hand, but her voice broke.
It all happened so fast. Isn't that what they say when disaster happens? No one expects it. Truth be told, it was silly to think things were going well. The recent deaths should have foreshadowed this.
Tiffany didn't realize what was happening. She was still succumbing to her blindness when she was thrown. The ground splitting around her, buildings being torn down, and the ground eating whatever it wanted. She should be thankful. One minute, Kristina and Mike were there and the next....gone.
The last thing she felt was her being slammed against the wall and sinking to the ground. After a bit, she opened her eyes, able to see again. However, maybe blindness was a blessing. All around her was destruction and chaos. She was beaten and battered, but she was alive. She took what was around her into account. There was a large chasm that blocked her off. Over on the other side was Jack. Jack looked worse for wear and he kept screaming for Tatiana. She wanted Ray. She prayed he was alive.
So when Jack told her he needed to go find Tatiana, she couldn't blame him. She wanted to find the others as well. Were they alive? They had to be. She nodded, "Ok, can you make this jump?" Tiffany turned around to see the fire. Was it too dangerous? "Jack, there's a large fire happening on this side. We'll need to hurry, otherwise, we need to get to safety." Tiffany scooched over to the side, hoping to aid Jack in his jump if need be.
Faith Masters
Location: Braelinn Village Shopping Center
Faith took a few steps out in the open, unaware of the eyes on her. Instead, she greeted the day. Who could tell that elsewhere a town had fallen? She checked her supplies. Not much changed, she was in desperate need of a permanent place to stay. Food would be good too.
She wondered if she would run into anyone? Perhaps she could charm her way into getting what she needed? Or she could just kill them. It was dog eat dog in this world now. Kind of like cheerleading, actually. It was the top dogs that got the best. Popularity. Boys. She had it all.
She was getting mad again. She took a few deep breaths. Whenever she thought about her past, she got upset and when she got upset...she had to let it out. And since there were no zombies around...It was best she try to calm down and keep moving.
At Raviâs voice, Niesha let out a relieved sigh, glad he seemed to have come to his senses, but she didnât stop to turn and check, not yet. She figured they were still relatively safe, at the moment, unless the ground decided to open up and swallow them whole, or another earthquake came through. The dead would make enough noise to alert them if they were close, and they all had weapons.
Besides, Riley and Chloeâs lack of response shook her. That gunshot⌠Had something bad happened? Riley⌠right then, Riley might be her only friend in the world. She tried to look out a window, but she couldnât see Newman. She hadnât expected to, and yet her heart clenched with worry and fear. What had happened there? Was everyone okay? She knew she should probably prepare herself for something bad, but⌠she had to hope⌠didnât she?
âRiley!â She heard the fear, the panic, and worry in her voice, and she ran up the stairs, seeking any sign of the others, her heart beating fast. She looked about wildly, seeing Riley, she let out a breath. She was alive⌠what had the gun- She saw Chloeâs body, and stopped dead, staring at it.
What had happened?
âRiley?â She said softly, looking to her friend, not knowing what to say.
