The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alicd and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Goding back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
The three of you stare at the wound on Thalia's shoulder in shocked silence, none of you daring to speak. You don't know what you could say.… more Thalia - the last adult, the person who tried so hard to keep all of you safe - she's bitten.
"You have to leave," Thalia murmurs, her franticness fading now that she's revealed to you just why she wants you to abandon her. Clearly she's counting on you heeding her words now that you know she's dead either way. "Just go. I'm going to turn, you know I am. You three need to get out of here."
"Thalia...," Alice murmurs, voice somber. But she trails off, clearly not knowing what else to say.
When you don't speak up, Thalia meets your eyes specifically, moving forward to put a hand on your shoulder. "Elias," she says. "Listen to me. Take them and leave. Please."
Looking into her eyes, which convey more sorrow and care for all of you than you think could ever be spoken aloud, you find that you can'… [view original content]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monsters she was fighting to protect you from.
Your trek through the woods continues this way - your thoughts wandering until you think something you don't want to, and your desperate attempts to block it out. Besides your own mind, nothing bothers you as you move through the trees - no biters or wildlife. You remember that before, well, now, your Uncle Pun used to take you and Jen hiking in a place like this.
Remembering is always painful.
Alone with your thoughts, you're surprised when you quite suddenly emerge into the clearing around the farm. The trip was quicker than you'd thought it would be - maybe because it was so peaceful. It had been a long while since you had so much time to yourself. You almost feel grateful for it before you remember just why you have said alone time. Because your friends are dead. Oh. Now you feel bad again.
You approach the abandoned campfire where only a few days ago you'd all shared a meal. It feels like much longer than that. The campire is destroyed, sodden by rain and stomped out by now (presumably by the bandits, as you'd all fled too quickly to do so.) There are discarded plates around with rotting food. You guess you weren't the only one who didn't get to finish your meal. You realize upon seeing that the bandits didn't take any it; their attack wasn't spurred on by necessity or starvation at all, then - only bloodlust. The realization fills you with disgust.
There's still a makeshift seat here, though - a log you'd laid out. Feeling tired all of a sudden, you move to sit upon it. The smell of the spoiled food might bother you if you weren't so used to the scent of rot by now; as it is, you hardly notice it. You think you'll sit here until Alice and Dev arrive. You feel exhausted, and it takes you a few moments to realize that amidst the rain, the sun has begun to rise. Wasn't it only this evening that you, Jack and the others set off to look for Jen? It feels like years. The aching in your bones from all the running you've done, however, is enough to remind you that it really has only been hours.
How did everything get this fucked?
A week ago you remember feeling a little smothered by all the people in your group - you were never alone anymore, and it had honestly bothered you a little. Now you would give anything for anyone to be here... to not be alone anymore. You think the silence is going to drive you mad. The only sound for what seems like miles is the rain, which even now is beginning to slow.
Eventually, your head falls forward, and you let the sound of the rain lull you to sleep.
You awaken to an angry moaning - the horrible sound of one of the dead, coming closer even as you struggle to pull yourself up. You'd fallen off the log while you slept, and now you're laying beside it; as you push yourself to your feet and stand, you look around, seeing that it's bright outside. The rain has long since stopped, and the sun is high above you in the sky.
Slowly, you turn to face the woods, hearing the sound of shuffling footsteps. You're half-hoping to see Alice or Dev - but you've already heard the moaning, it's obvious that that's not what's coming. And your intuition is indeed correct - its neither of them, instead a biter, lumbering towards you with snapping jaws.
But the biter is not an unfamiliar face. It's already close enough to you that you can clearly make out its features - and marred though they are by death, there's no mistaking it.
It's Jack.
He's close to reaching you already, his mouth gaping and eyes alight with hunger. It's hard to connect the monster approaching you now, so eager to sink its ravenous teeth into your flesh, with the best friend you grew up with. But it's him. And you're the one who allowed him to become one of these things.
After all that's happened, everything that you've been through these past few days, you half expect yourself to be shaking now, devastated yet again at the sight of your friend like this.
But you're not. Without hesitation, you reach into your backpack, pulling out the rifle. Then, without a word, you aim it at Jack's head. And you pull the trigger.
A few minutes later, you're moving on, into the trees. It's clear to you that the others aren't coming. You don't want to go back to the city limits, not now. Not when you know that the only thing you'll find is corpses. So you wander into the woods, away from the city and from the farm, and just walk.
You don't know where you're going - only that you can't stay here.
You walk for a long time. Eventually, the hunger gnawing at your stomach is enough to make you stop. You open a can of beans and eat it. It's the last bit of food that you had on you. You walk again.
You don't encounter any more of the dead - none since Jack. And eventually, the sun starts to set. It's going to be dark soon. This is the farthest you've ever gone into the forest.
Eventually, you come to a stop beside a tree, glancing up it in an attempt to see if there are any animals in its branches. You've been trying not to think about it (mostly because you haven't been thinking much of anything) but you have to face it - you are alone. And that means that you've got to figure out how to survive. By yourself. You've got a rifle with a good amount of ammo; hunting will probably be your only option for a while, at least until you can find the next town --
Suddenly a whoosh of air makes you jerk in surprise as a knife flies past you. It misses you - or so you think, until you realize it's pinned you to the tree you had been up against by the side of your shirt.
A young woman appears in your field of vision, eyes wild and face bared in a snarl so vicious you might have confused her for one of the dead, were it not for the life still visible in her bright blue eyes. Long, dark hair falls across her face and down her back, almost obscuring one of her eyes. There is a layer of grime coating her pale skin, and you feel a sharp pain at your throat; she's got a knife pressed against it. Great.
"Who are you," comes a female voice from somewhere behind her. "And what are you doing here?"
You tear your eyes away from the woman attacking you to look to the source of the voice; another female, this one short and plump with darker skin and black hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, is standing some feet back from where the first woman has you pinned to the tree. You realize she must be the one who spoke.
"My name is Elias," you reply, surprised to hear your voice so firm. You're calm, calmer than you think you've been in a long time. "I'm here because... I'm alone."
There's a short pause - the wild-eyed woman continues to glare at you, though her snarl has mostly vanished, while ponytail girl seems slightly puzzled. "You're here because you're alone?" she echoes finally, raiising an eyebrow at you. "What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?"
"It means that I don't have anywhere else to go," you respond, a little softer now. "And that I'm not a threat to you. You don't have to kill me." You pause, and eventually, seeing neither of their expressions change, go on. "But go ahead. Do it. I don't care either way. Everyone I care about is dead." The knife at your throat actually seems to be pressed a little harder at your words, but the meaner-looking female hasn't killed you yet; it looks like she's waiting for approval from her friend before she does.
You see ponytail girl's expression soften briefly, before she quickly steels it again, clearly trying to hide it. Doesn't mean you haven't seen. "Well," she says. "That got real depressing real fast. But don't get excited, we aren't going to kill you." She narrows her eyes, smiling in what you think is an attempt at a cold expression. It just comes out more pained than anything. "I do have half a mind to take your stuff, though." The way she says it, you doubt she means it. You're starting to get a feeling that this whole tough girl act is just that - an act. Still, her friend sure seems pretty serious. You glance again to the knife at your throat, and this time ponytail girl seems to remember its existence, too.
"Let him go, Sorrel," she says to knife girl. "I guess we don't need to kill him." Sorrel rolls her eyes but does release you; you half expect her to say something in protest to the other girl, but she says nothing, just gives her a look that you don't catch in time - you're too busy rubbing at your throat, where a few beads of blood have appeared. Ow.
"Don't I get a thanks?" says ponytail girl.
"Thanks, I guess," you say half-heartedly.
"There we go," she replies. "I'm Zoey, by the way. And that's my girlfriend, Sorrel." Sorrel just stares at you, expressionless. It's kind of creepy. "She doesn't talk much," Zoey adds.
"Right," you say slowly, glancing from Sorrel to Zoey and back again. You're getting the feeling that these people are... kind of weird.
"So...," Zoey says to you, tilting her head a little. She's frowning. "You're... really all alone?"
"I guess," you say softly, looking away. "I got... separated, from what was left of my group. And--"
"So they're not dead, then!" Zoey interrupts you, still frowning. "Or you don't know that they are."
You stare at her for a moment, before finally shaking your head sadly. "No," you say. "They... They're gone, at least. And some of them have to be dead. They would have found me otherwise. I..."
"Why don't you come with us?" Zoey says suddenly. Her tone is the most genuine you've heard it yet; she meets your eyes with a serious expression. "We're headed north. To a community they're building up there in Brookhaven. They say it's safe there. Maybe your friends will find their way there, too. And hell knows Sorrel and I could use an extra set of eyes."
"I..." You trail off, glancing at both of them in turn. They seem ... capable enough, if a little weird, though judging by Sorrel's sudden glare, she isn't all too happy with the idea of you hitching along for the ride. And ... you really are alone, now. If anyone survived... there's as good a chance as any that they'll eventually end up headed for Brookhaven, too.
Zoey gives you a small, encouraging smile, tough girl act seemingly dropped for the moment, and you sigh.
"Okay," you tell her finally. "Okay. I'll come with you."
Maybe this way... maybe you can find the others again.
END OF CHAPTER 2
SECURITY- You chose to wait to go back to help Markus. LOYALTY- You warned Rema and the others when the bandits attacked. FRIENDSHIP- You used a bullet to put Rema out of her misery. REVENGE- You let Jack turn so that you could use your last bullet on Lizzy. SOLITUDE- You chose to move on to the farm.
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You… more've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monster… [view original content]
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You… more've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monster… [view original content]
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You… more've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monster… [view original content]
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You… more've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monster… [view original content]
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You… more've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monster… [view original content]
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and you doubt that Ouma, as ruthless as he might be sometimes, would tell you to do so any time soon.)
As you turn over the body of a middle-aged woman, rotted but not reanimated (it looks as if she's been shot in the head), Krisalyn speaks up from beside you, breaking the comfortable silence. "You know, Blair," she says with a sly tone of voice, and you look over your shoulder to see her brushing one of her white-blonde braids in front of her shoulder with one hand, clearly a move meant to be seen as alluring. "When you volunteered the two of us to check inside here together, I almost thought you were being romantic." She bats her eyelashes at you as she falls silent and clasps both hands to her face as if in wonder - the whole nine yards. You really doubt that she's serious, although you never know with Krisalyn.
"Oh, come off it, moron," you tell her with a roll of your eyes before you return your gaze to the body you're supposed to be searching.
"I know, I know," she laughs from behind you. "Your barn door doesn't swing that way, huh?"
"My 'barn door'," you say, turning to her and gesturing with the appropriate air quotes as you say the words, "doesn't swing either way. It's the goddamn apocalypse, aren't there more important things to be worried about than romance?" You shake your head as you stare at your friend. She looks amused by your response, though she only giggles slightly this time.
"Relax, B," she tells you. "I didn't mean anything by it." She starts to turn away, and you think she's gone back to being serious again before she speaks, though it's quietly, like she wants you to think it was spoken to herself. "You're too old for me anyway."
"I'm 22!" you snap, crossing your arms. "I'm only three years older than you!"
"Calm down, princess," she says with a grin. "It was only a joke. But you know... I am way out of your league."
You stick your tongue out at her, but don't deign her jest with a response. It's always nice to get to joke around with Krisalyn from time to time, but there are some important matters at hand here. "Yeah, yeah. Did you find anything on those two bodies? This one didn't have anything."
Krisalyn's face turns serious now. "Nah," she sighs. "Nothing. Whatever happened to these folks, it probably wasn't good. All their stuff's been looted already."
"Damn it," you sigh. "I'm not looking forward to telling Ouma this. You know how tense he's been after --"
"Blair!" comes a male voice suddenly, surprising you, as the sound of the door shutting alerts you to where the newcomer is arriving from (though it's hardly rocket science, considering the back is blocked.) It's Fabián - a tall, blond guy who helps to function as some of the group's 'muscle.' At his tone of voice, which sounds just a little fearful, you move your hand to the shotgun strapped to your backpack, wary. He seems to see your movement - along with Krisalyn raising her bow - and shakes his head.
"No deadheads to worry about," Fabián reassures you. "But there is some ... trouble. Kayla was trying to climb to the roof of the little building out back and she fell."
Instantly, you tense up. "Kayla? Is she alright?" While you and the girl aren't actually related, you were watching her for a friend of yours when this whole thing started, so you feel kind of obligated to keep her safe, even though she's 13 and can usually take care of herself.
"She hurt her leg, that's all," Fabián replies. "Ouma was hoping you could take a look at it as soon as possible."
"Alright," you agree. Since you're the only one in the group with any medical experience - you'd been in nursing school before this - it's since fallen on you to tend to any injuries, though luckily there haven't been many bad ones so far. None except... You shudder. You don't want to think about that now. Anyway, you're sort of the 'team mom' - though you can be a bit of a "worrywart" (according to Ursula, at least), your concern for the others has led them to all depend on you greatly for support.
"I'll come with," Krisalyn says. "There's nothing else really left in here. Whoever attacked these guys took everything."
Fabián nods, and together, the three of you file out of the building and move around back to where the others are gathered. Your whole group is here - they'd probably been close by enough, since most had either been searching the area around the store or standing guard, to see Kayla fall, so they've all made their way over. Kayla is a short Filipino girl with curly hair - probably only around 5 feet - but she looks even smaller sitting there on the ground, one leg held rather awkwardly to her side. As you approach she looks up to give you a weak smile. You return it as best you can, though you're rather worried.
You're already retrieving your first aid kit from your bag, and as you reach her side you stoop next to her, letting the smile drop from your face. "What happened?" you ask her as you roll up her pant leg. Though you already know the answer, you're hoping for some sort of clue as to how badly she's been injured - like if she heard a bone break.
"I was trying to climb up there," Kayla sighs, and gestures half-heartedly behind her to the building. "Because ... there could have been supplies. But I lost my footing, and I fell. I think a heard a joint pop."
"But no break?" you try and clarify, though you don't entirely expect her to be able to tell the difference.
"I don't know," she says, uncertainly. "It hurts pretty badly. But I don't think I heard a snap or anything..."
"Okay," you say, as you continue to look her leg over. It's swollen slightly, and inflamed, but judging by the way it's positioned and what she's told you, it's probably not broken. You touch her leg at various places, asking how badly it hurts, until you've gotten a good enough idea of what's wrong.
"It's not broken," you tell her finally as you start to wrap her calf with an ACE bandage from your first aid kit. "Just sprained. You'll need to rest for a while and keep it elevated. But you should be able to walk on it again by tomorrow. We'll have to camp out here for the night."
"Thanks, Blair," she tells you, and her smile is more genuine now. "That's a relief."
"You were lucky," you reply, sighing. "But you need to be more careful from now on. Next time it could be a lot worse. Why on earth did you think climbing up a building like that was a good idea?"
Kayla gets quieter then, and she won't meet your eyes; after a moment, you realize that she's looking at Aaron Caleb. The 16 year old is looking a little sheepish, as is Kayla, and it takes you only a moment to get an idea of what might have happened.
"Aaron," you say sternly, standing up from where you're stooped by Kayla and crossing your arms. "Do you have something you'd like to say?" You hear Krisalyn bite back a giggle from behind you, probably at your reaction, and you think you hear her whisper something about you being 'such a mom.' Whatever.
"I'm sorry," Aaron says with a sigh. "It was my fault that Kayla got hurt." At his guilty expression, your own softens a little, and you tilt your head.
"What do you mean?"
"I told her to try climbing up there," he tells you. You have to commend him - he's an honest, laid-back guy, and his voice doesn't even tremble as he admits to why he's feeling guilty. "I thought that since she was the smallest, she'd have the easiest time. But I guess I forgot how young she was. I'm sorry. It was irresponsible of me."
You shake your head. "I'm not the one you should apologize to, but I'm glad you admitted it. Just... be more careful next time, okay? Don't forget, she's only 13."
"You're right," he says, nodding. Then he turns to Kayla. "I'm sorry, Kayla."
"It's okay," she says, tucking a piece of her curly hair behind one ear.
"Next time you should be the one who does those sort of things, instead of volunteering other people," says Ouma Shu, who'd been quiet the whole exchange, probably wanting to let you handle it. He's the unofficial leader of your group, a brown-haired guy with a long scarf, and about the same age as you - you'd been classmates in high school, though you were never particularly close, just acquaintances.
"Oh, lay off him, Ouma," Melanie says with a frown. She's glaring at you in particular - you two had never gotten along, so you're pretty sure she's only making a comment because she didn't appreciate you lecturing the kids at all. "He didn't do anything wrong." Part of you doubts Ouma will dare disagree with Melanie - while he is the unofficial leader of the group, she's his older sister, and they rarely fight. Normally you think she'd support his decision to chastise Aaron - but since you're the one who started it, naturally, she's opposed.
But Ouma does look like he's about to respond after all. He opens his mouth, as if he's going to argue with her, before a shout from Ursula, who's still standing guard a short ways away with Fabián, cuts him off.
"Guys!" Ursula says, voice unhappy. "I think we have a problem!"
You turn to face the direction she's looking, and immediately see what she's talking about - four people are approaching you, two girls and two guys, though you can't make out much more from this distance. One of them, however - one of the males - looks to be hurt, and two of the others, the other guy and one of the girls, are supporting him. Clearly they've spotted you, and they aren't changing their course; they're probably looking for some help.
"Ouma?" Fabián asks softly. "What should we do?"
Ouma frowns, but eventually speaks, quietly but firmly. "Let's hear what they have to say first." He doesn't say what he intends to do afterward.
Eventually, as the people get closer to you, you can see them more clearly. There is a very small girl with long brown hair, looking to be about the same age as Kayla; the other girl, the one supporting the injured man, is taller, about average height, and she looks to be about Aaron's age. The uninjured guy looks to be about 17 or 18, and he's slightly muscular with short dark brown hair and glasses.
The man they're supporting definitely looks worse for wear - he's been shot, judging by the amount of blood around the wound, somewhere on the side of his stomach, which he's clutching with one hand - or he's got a particularly bad bite. You aren't sure which. The man seems to be in his 30s - you wonder if he'd been looking after the kids before this. Now he clearly looks like he's in need of some help; his expression is somewhat dazed, like the blood loss has affected him, and as you see him sway slightly it becomes obvious to you why the other two are supporting him.
The four of them reach you then, though they stay a safe distance away - and almost immediately the older girl speaks up.
"I'm sorry," she says. "But can you help us? My uncle - he's been hurt."
Right to the chase, then. You aren't exactly surprised, judging by the state of her friend.
"What happened?" Ouma asks.
"Our group was attacked," says the glasses-clad male. "We got separated when we tried to escape, but he... he got injured pretty badly. We don't have any supplies with us... it all happened so fast."
"Please," chimes in the smaller girl, looking at you with wide, frightened eyes. "Please help..."
You look at Ouma, frowning, but before he can say anything, Melanie speaks up.
"Why should we help you?" she says harshly, narrowing her eyes. "We need the supplies we have for ourselves. And how do we even know you're trustworthy?" In a quieter voice, to her brother, she says, "I say we turn them away."
"I'm inclined to agree with you," he sighs. "But this isn't a decision we should be making for the others." Louder, to the strangers, he says, "My group and I will talk it over and make a decision. Wait here."
As you start to walk some distance away so you can take a vote (Kayla staying behind because she's both injured and only 13), Melanie nods to you all. "You all already know my vote. I'll stay here with Kayla." The look she gives the strangers is distrusting - it's clear she's implying that she thinks they'll attack the girl if you so much as walk a few feet away from her. You can't say you're angry with her for staying behind; you aren't entirely comfortable with the idea of Kayla staying back alone anyway.
When your group is gathered, Krisalyn speaks up. "These people need our help," she says. "And we aren't exactly hurting for medical supplies right now. With those extra first aid kids we found last week, maybe we--"
"Who says we won't need those?" Ursula interrupts her. "You remember what happened in the first few weeks!" Your heart drops in your chest at the mention of the incident, but you force yourself not to think too hard about it. "We lost so many people that day. And all because we didn't have enough supplies to help them! What if that happens again?"
"But we can't just let that man die," Fabián argues. "He needs medicine, and we have a doctor. To turn him away would be heartless." Normally you would correct him at the word 'doctor,' but you stay silent; you're still reeling from the mention of the... incident that occured during the second week of all this.
"Let's take a vote," Ouma says. "Who agrees with Fabián?"
"Me," Krisalyn says.
"And me," says Aaron. He looks troubled, deep in thought.
After a short pause, Ouma nods. "And you know where Melanie, Ursula and I stand." He turns to you. "Blair?"
You blink, a little startled; you had spaced out a little, hearing but not entirely listening. You hadn't even thought about what you wanted to vote for yet.
"Looks like you're the tiebreaker, B," Krisalyn says. "So what's it gonna be?"
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We can't afford to waste our supplies on them - and it could be a trap. We have to turn them away.]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group… more have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and… [view original content]
In celebration of reaching our third chapter, I thought I'd post some of the possibilities that I had written in my document. This isn't everything yet, but I need to go back and make sure there's not any glaring errors in the others before I post them. For now, here's part 1 of 'what could have been.'
What could have happened (Ch 2, pt 1) -
If the hunting group had given the bandits the supplies at the beginning, they would have let them go for now but Markus would have died when they got back to camp very quickly, with the group's medical supplies given to the bandits. If they had tried to talk them into leaving, the bandits would have opened fire and killed Uncle Pun. If they had tried to run away without killing the bandit leader, he would have shot Jack, injuring Jack badly, but they would have gotten back to camp. Jack would be badly injured, and in serious condition.
If Jack and Eli had gone to look for Markus immediately, they would have found him alive but dying from his gunshot wound, and bitten. He would have asked them to shoot him, and they would get the choice to either do it, or take him back to say goodbye to Rema. If they tried to take him back to Rema, he would have died halfway there, and reanimated and attacked them. Lizzy, Devin and Dev would have showed up and shot him, saving Jack and Eli and earning Jack's trust. If they had shot Markus, Lizzy, Devin and Dev would have shown up because of the gunshot. Jack would neither trust nor distrust them, since there would be no reason to think they shot Markus in this case.
If Jack and Eli hadn't gone to look for Markus, but had allowed Stephany to come with them, Stephany would have looked horrified when they found Markus's body, but when Jack tries to comfort her, say that she is "used to it." Jack would have been annoyed with Eli for telling her to come with them and letting her see that. Stephany would have said that she trusts the newcomers when they showed up, avoiding the 'stand-off' decision, because Jack and Rema would both listen to her and tensions would be lowered.
If the group had run away from the bandits and tried to leave the others behind, Alice would have been hesitant to leave the others, and she would be shot and killed while she hesitated. Devin would have run to warn the others instead, and get shot, but make it to the house. Jack, Eli, and Jen would manage to escape, but lose sight of Pun and Stephany. The three of them would stop running about a mile away, and Eli would be crushed by Alice's death and very depressed. Jen and Jack would get mad at Eli for leaving everyone behind. They would leave to go back for their friends, and a very depressed Eli would have the choice to follow them or not.
If the group had made it to the house and tried to shoot at the bandits, Devin would have been shot and killed on the way to the house, but the others would have made it. Eventually, they would fight the bandits off from inside, and the bandits would flee, leaving them to stay at the farm (but a few days after, the herd would come through, and chase them out.) If they had tried to fight outside, Thalia, Pun, Devin, Alice, and Stephany would have all been shot. If Stephany went with you earlier, she would have been brave enough to take out the bandit who shoots Alice before it happens, and Alice would be spared. Rema, Lizzy and Dev would then appear, having snuck out of the house, and take the bandits who remained by surprise. Only a few bandits would have been left, and they would have run. Devin (and Alice, if Stephany was not taken) would be dead, and he would reanimate before being shot by Lizzy. Pun and Thalia would be injured, and Stephany would be bleeding out. If Alice was dead, Jen would try and save her, as Pun and Thalia would be unconscious, but she would fail, and Stephany would die. If Alice was alive, she would tend to Stephany and save her life. Then the people still alive would be able to stay on the farm, but eventually be chased off of it by the herd.
If they had surrendered, there would have been a choice to either tell the truth that there were three more people in the house, or lie. If Eli lied, Rema, Lizzy and Dev would have snuck out, and surprised the bandits and shot their leader and a few others before they were able to turn around and shoot Dev. But the group would have gained the upper hand, and fought the remaining bandits off, with only Dev, Pun, Rema and Devin being shot, and Dev being the only casualty. Then they would have stayed on the farm and been chased off by the herd later. If Eli told the truth that Rema and the others were in the house, the bandits would have brought them out. Then, after they got everyone's backpacks, they would have told the group that they wanted two of the girls as 'payback' for killing their men before, or they would kill everyone. They would ask Eli to choose. He would have a choice to give them any two of the girls, or to fight back. If he chose to fight back, he would grab his gun off the ground and shoot the leader, and Thalia, Rema, Pun and Devin would have died in the ensuing fight, but they would have fought them off.
In celebration of reaching our third chapter, I thought I'd post some of the possibilities that I had written in my document. This isn't eve… morerything yet, but I need to go back and make sure there's not any glaring errors in the others before I post them. For now, here's part 1 of 'what could have been.'
What could have happened (Ch 2, pt 1) -
If the hunting group had given the bandits the supplies at the beginning, they would have let them go for now but Markus would have died when they got back to camp very quickly, with the group's medical supplies given to the bandits. If they had tried to talk them into leaving, the bandits would have opened fire and killed Uncle Pun. If they had tried to run away without killing the bandit leader, he would have shot Jack, injuring Jack badly, but they would have gotten back to camp. Jack would be badly injured, and in serious condition.
If Jack and Eli had gone to look for Markus immediately, the… [view original content]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at you, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he responds as he does so; his voice is raspy from disuse, and soft, like he's sort of out of it. You sit beside him, one hand moving out to keep him from falling over as he suddenly sways, and then start on assessing and treating the wound once he lifts his shirt enough that you can see it. Luckily, it's not a bite - it's a gunshot, just like you'd first thought.
As you tend to him, the three kids move cautiously closer to your group - someone, probably Krisalyn, has likely beckoned them over, though you aren't sure because you aren't looking their way. Even as you continue working, you can hear their voices from behind you, though it sounds like they're trying to be hushed so that you can focus.
"What's your names?" The voice is Krisalyn's; "Mine's Krisalyn. Pleasure to meet you."
"Devin," the guy replies.
"I'm Jen," comes the voice of what you assume to be the older girl, though you've only heard her speak once before. "And that's Stephany."
"I feel like I've seen you before...," Aaron says then, sounding hesitant. "I used to live in Overland Park. Stephany, do you have a brother...?"
"Yes, I do!" replies a younger-sounding voice which must belong to Stephany, sounding surprised. "His name is Jack. Do you know him?"
"I've been to your house before," Aaron tells her. "I'm one of Jack's friends. We were supposed to meet up the day this all started, but..."
"You must be ... Aaron? My brother, Elias, went to that meeting," Jen replies. "That's how Jack, Alice and Stephany ended up with us."
"Jack and Alice are okay, then?" Aaron sounds relieved at the news, though there's a note of sadness, too. "Did... Rema not show up?"
"No, but she met up with us later," Stephany says. "But now we're all separated..."
"What happened?" Fabián asks.
"Bandits attacked our group," Devin says. "We all sort of... ran in different directions. Pun was shot pretty badly ..."
"It's all thanks to Devin that he's alive," Jen says. "He went back for him. I didn't even see him fall... I can't believe I could have left him."
When Devin speaks next, he doesn't address her words, and you think he sounds a little embarrassed by her praise. "Anyway, we just... ran. We don't know where the others are... but we need to go back to the farm as soon as possible. My sister could be there. It's only been a little while since the attack, but the bandits have probably moved on by now."
"Alright, I'm glad that you're catching up," Ouma interrupts. "But maybe you could be a little quieter. Blair is trying to focus." He's probably noticed your occasional glances back, knowing that the conversation is, indeed, distracting you a little. You're grateful.
"Oh, sorry," says Stephany, voice dropping considerably in volume. "Okay, we'll be quiet."
The next bit of their conversation is in much more hushed voices, enough so that you can't make out what they're saying. You've just finished cleaning around the wound with one of the alcohol wipes in your kit; now you move around to the man's - who you now know is named Pun - back and speak gently to him.
"I'm going to need to suture the exit wound so the bleeding will stop," you tell him softly. "It might hurt a little." He only nods weakly; after you've wiped down the area, you do so as quickly and neatly as you can. Then you work on bandaging it.
Finally, when you're finished, you stand and offer him a hand up. "Come on. You can come into the store and lie down. You're lucky - the bullet missed anything major. But you're still going to need to take it easy for a few days at the very least. Maybe more."
Jen moves to his side as he stands somewhat unsteadily, and together, the two of you lead him into the store, Stephany and Devin close behind. You move him behind the counter and pull out a blanket from your pack, spreading it on the floor before cautiously helping him to lay down.
"He'll be okay, then?" Jen asks you worriedly.
"Probably. But he'll need to keep his legs elevated some; he's probably gone into shock from the blood loss," you tell her.
"Wait, what?" she murmurs. "But I thought... if you were shot, you shouldn't elevate your legs."
"That's only if the wound's in the chest," you inform her lightly.
She looks sheepish. "Oh. I wish Alice were here," she sighs, looking at Stephany and Devin as she speaks, her words obviously meant more for them than for you.
"It's okay," Stephany tells her. "We'll find her and the others again soon."
Jen smiles at her, but before she can reply, you speak up. "You're going to need to stay here for at least a few days. He won't be fit to travel for a while." At this, the kids all look fairly concerned.
"We can't do that," Devin says. "We have to go back to find the others. My sister's still out there."
"Yeah," Stephany agrees. "And Jack!"
"Elias, too," Jen says. "But if Uncle Pun can't move... Maybe someone will have to stay here. Maybe... I can go? Or... someone... But someone has to stay here, and Stephany can't stay here alone..."
You realize then that she's turned to the rest of her group, and the discussion seems to be meant for them; politely, you excuse yourself and leave the store, walking back to your own group outside.
"So you're letting them stay in the store?" Melanie asks disapprovingly. "Why couldn't you send them away?"
"Doctor's orders," you say, rolling your eyes. "That man won't be able to move for a while or he might die. And then the supplies we used on him will have been a complete waste."
"Not that they already weren't," Ursula murmurs, looking away.
"But what about Kayla?" Ouma sighs. "We could've camped here for the night, what with her leg. Now..."
"Who says we still can't?" Fabián says. "These people aren't going to hurt us. They're just kids. And that man... Pun... he isn't going to be much of a problem, either."
"Fabián's right," says Aaron. "And maybe we can help them! They're going to need someone to go with them back to that farm they mentioned, right?"
"We should definitely help them!" Kayla speaks up from where she's still sitting. "They're Aaron's friends, right?"
"Well, not exactly, but...," Aaron mutters.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ouma says, but he sounds hesitant.
Krisalyn looks to you, obviously wanting to know your thoughts on the matter. "I ... don't know either," she says softly. "Maybe the kids are right and we should help them... but at the same time, I'm not sure it's safe to stick around here. We've never stuck in one place for very long before... But..." She sighs, tilting her head. "Blair, you're the sensible one here. What do you think?"
While you've never exactly been leader, you are the so-called 'team mom' ... and you know that your words here will be pretty influential. Whatever you say, Krisalyn is likely to agree with you... And you might be able to sway some of the others, too.
You frown. You aren't quite sure what the best course of action is, but...
[We should move on. We can leave them to their own and us to ours. It's how we've always done things, and sticking around could be dangerous.]
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
HOLY SHIT THEY'RE ALL ALIVE! UNCLE PUN IS ALIVE!!!!
Alright, Sonya, calm down. I think that [we should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at yo… moreu, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he res… [view original content]
HOLY SHIT THEY'RE ALL ALIVE! UNCLE PUN IS ALIVE!!!!
Alright, Sonya, calm down. I think that [we should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at yo… moreu, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he res… [view original content]
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at yo… moreu, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he res… [view original content]
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at yo… moreu, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he res… [view original content]
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at yo… moreu, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he res… [view original content]
Comments
Fuck... I'm going to have time to think... Either way... We're risking Dev and Alice...
[You have to go back to the herd. There's no way of knowing if Alice and Dev are still alive or not, and maybe they're in trouble.]
We check if they're dead... If they aren't... Then we might have a slight chance of catching up.
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
sigh
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alicd and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Goding back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
[You have to go back to the herd. There's no way of knowing if Alice and Dev are still alive or not, and maybe they're in trouble.]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
[You have to move on, to the farm. If Alice and Dev survived the herd, that's where they'll be. Going back is pointless - if they aren't out by now, they're probably dead.]
hi
Option A
[You have to move on.]
It takes you a few moments to come to a decision - but finally, steeling yourself, you turn to face the woods. You've got to try and go to the farm - if they've escaped, it's where they'll be. You don't want to think about the alternative. You can't.
And going back to the herd now would be suicide. You know that.
Your mind made up, you start walking, past the cottage and into the forest. You have to reach the farm as soon as you possibly can. You can't afford to miss them.
As you walk, you return the rifle from your hands to your pack, retrieving your cleaver instead. If anything, you feel safer with it - you're more practiced with it than you are with the rifle. And if what the others said about your aim with the thing is true, maybe it's better this way. Thalia always said...
No, you can't think about her - if you do, you'll think about her alone in that shed, slowly turning into one of the very monsters she was fighting to protect you from.
Your trek through the woods continues this way - your thoughts wandering until you think something you don't want to, and your desperate attempts to block it out. Besides your own mind, nothing bothers you as you move through the trees - no biters or wildlife. You remember that before, well, now, your Uncle Pun used to take you and Jen hiking in a place like this.
Remembering is always painful.
Alone with your thoughts, you're surprised when you quite suddenly emerge into the clearing around the farm. The trip was quicker than you'd thought it would be - maybe because it was so peaceful. It had been a long while since you had so much time to yourself. You almost feel grateful for it before you remember just why you have said alone time. Because your friends are dead. Oh. Now you feel bad again.
You approach the abandoned campfire where only a few days ago you'd all shared a meal. It feels like much longer than that. The campire is destroyed, sodden by rain and stomped out by now (presumably by the bandits, as you'd all fled too quickly to do so.) There are discarded plates around with rotting food. You guess you weren't the only one who didn't get to finish your meal. You realize upon seeing that the bandits didn't take any it; their attack wasn't spurred on by necessity or starvation at all, then - only bloodlust. The realization fills you with disgust.
There's still a makeshift seat here, though - a log you'd laid out. Feeling tired all of a sudden, you move to sit upon it. The smell of the spoiled food might bother you if you weren't so used to the scent of rot by now; as it is, you hardly notice it. You think you'll sit here until Alice and Dev arrive. You feel exhausted, and it takes you a few moments to realize that amidst the rain, the sun has begun to rise. Wasn't it only this evening that you, Jack and the others set off to look for Jen? It feels like years. The aching in your bones from all the running you've done, however, is enough to remind you that it really has only been hours.
How did everything get this fucked?
A week ago you remember feeling a little smothered by all the people in your group - you were never alone anymore, and it had honestly bothered you a little. Now you would give anything for anyone to be here... to not be alone anymore. You think the silence is going to drive you mad. The only sound for what seems like miles is the rain, which even now is beginning to slow.
Eventually, your head falls forward, and you let the sound of the rain lull you to sleep.
You awaken to an angry moaning - the horrible sound of one of the dead, coming closer even as you struggle to pull yourself up. You'd fallen off the log while you slept, and now you're laying beside it; as you push yourself to your feet and stand, you look around, seeing that it's bright outside. The rain has long since stopped, and the sun is high above you in the sky.
Slowly, you turn to face the woods, hearing the sound of shuffling footsteps. You're half-hoping to see Alice or Dev - but you've already heard the moaning, it's obvious that that's not what's coming. And your intuition is indeed correct - its neither of them, instead a biter, lumbering towards you with snapping jaws.
But the biter is not an unfamiliar face. It's already close enough to you that you can clearly make out its features - and marred though they are by death, there's no mistaking it.
It's Jack.
He's close to reaching you already, his mouth gaping and eyes alight with hunger. It's hard to connect the monster approaching you now, so eager to sink its ravenous teeth into your flesh, with the best friend you grew up with. But it's him. And you're the one who allowed him to become one of these things.
After all that's happened, everything that you've been through these past few days, you half expect yourself to be shaking now, devastated yet again at the sight of your friend like this.
But you're not. Without hesitation, you reach into your backpack, pulling out the rifle. Then, without a word, you aim it at Jack's head. And you pull the trigger.
A few minutes later, you're moving on, into the trees. It's clear to you that the others aren't coming. You don't want to go back to the city limits, not now. Not when you know that the only thing you'll find is corpses. So you wander into the woods, away from the city and from the farm, and just walk.
You don't know where you're going - only that you can't stay here.
You walk for a long time. Eventually, the hunger gnawing at your stomach is enough to make you stop. You open a can of beans and eat it. It's the last bit of food that you had on you. You walk again.
You don't encounter any more of the dead - none since Jack. And eventually, the sun starts to set. It's going to be dark soon. This is the farthest you've ever gone into the forest.
Eventually, you come to a stop beside a tree, glancing up it in an attempt to see if there are any animals in its branches. You've been trying not to think about it (mostly because you haven't been thinking much of anything) but you have to face it - you are alone. And that means that you've got to figure out how to survive. By yourself. You've got a rifle with a good amount of ammo; hunting will probably be your only option for a while, at least until you can find the next town --
Suddenly a whoosh of air makes you jerk in surprise as a knife flies past you. It misses you - or so you think, until you realize it's pinned you to the tree you had been up against by the side of your shirt.
A young woman appears in your field of vision, eyes wild and face bared in a snarl so vicious you might have confused her for one of the dead, were it not for the life still visible in her bright blue eyes. Long, dark hair falls across her face and down her back, almost obscuring one of her eyes. There is a layer of grime coating her pale skin, and you feel a sharp pain at your throat; she's got a knife pressed against it. Great.
"Who are you," comes a female voice from somewhere behind her. "And what are you doing here?"
You tear your eyes away from the woman attacking you to look to the source of the voice; another female, this one short and plump with darker skin and black hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, is standing some feet back from where the first woman has you pinned to the tree. You realize she must be the one who spoke.
"My name is Elias," you reply, surprised to hear your voice so firm. You're calm, calmer than you think you've been in a long time. "I'm here because... I'm alone."
There's a short pause - the wild-eyed woman continues to glare at you, though her snarl has mostly vanished, while ponytail girl seems slightly puzzled. "You're here because you're alone?" she echoes finally, raiising an eyebrow at you. "What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?"
"It means that I don't have anywhere else to go," you respond, a little softer now. "And that I'm not a threat to you. You don't have to kill me." You pause, and eventually, seeing neither of their expressions change, go on. "But go ahead. Do it. I don't care either way. Everyone I care about is dead." The knife at your throat actually seems to be pressed a little harder at your words, but the meaner-looking female hasn't killed you yet; it looks like she's waiting for approval from her friend before she does.
You see ponytail girl's expression soften briefly, before she quickly steels it again, clearly trying to hide it. Doesn't mean you haven't seen. "Well," she says. "That got real depressing real fast. But don't get excited, we aren't going to kill you." She narrows her eyes, smiling in what you think is an attempt at a cold expression. It just comes out more pained than anything. "I do have half a mind to take your stuff, though." The way she says it, you doubt she means it. You're starting to get a feeling that this whole tough girl act is just that - an act. Still, her friend sure seems pretty serious. You glance again to the knife at your throat, and this time ponytail girl seems to remember its existence, too.
"Let him go, Sorrel," she says to knife girl. "I guess we don't need to kill him." Sorrel rolls her eyes but does release you; you half expect her to say something in protest to the other girl, but she says nothing, just gives her a look that you don't catch in time - you're too busy rubbing at your throat, where a few beads of blood have appeared. Ow.
"Don't I get a thanks?" says ponytail girl.
"Thanks, I guess," you say half-heartedly.
"There we go," she replies. "I'm Zoey, by the way. And that's my girlfriend, Sorrel." Sorrel just stares at you, expressionless. It's kind of creepy. "She doesn't talk much," Zoey adds.
"Right," you say slowly, glancing from Sorrel to Zoey and back again. You're getting the feeling that these people are... kind of weird.
"So...," Zoey says to you, tilting her head a little. She's frowning. "You're... really all alone?"
"I guess," you say softly, looking away. "I got... separated, from what was left of my group. And--"
"So they're not dead, then!" Zoey interrupts you, still frowning. "Or you don't know that they are."
You stare at her for a moment, before finally shaking your head sadly. "No," you say. "They... They're gone, at least. And some of them have to be dead. They would have found me otherwise. I..."
"Why don't you come with us?" Zoey says suddenly. Her tone is the most genuine you've heard it yet; she meets your eyes with a serious expression. "We're headed north. To a community they're building up there in Brookhaven. They say it's safe there. Maybe your friends will find their way there, too. And hell knows Sorrel and I could use an extra set of eyes."
"I..." You trail off, glancing at both of them in turn. They seem ... capable enough, if a little weird, though judging by Sorrel's sudden glare, she isn't all too happy with the idea of you hitching along for the ride. And ... you really are alone, now. If anyone survived... there's as good a chance as any that they'll eventually end up headed for Brookhaven, too.
Zoey gives you a small, encouraging smile, tough girl act seemingly dropped for the moment, and you sigh.
"Okay," you tell her finally. "Okay. I'll come with you."
Maybe this way... maybe you can find the others again.
END OF CHAPTER 2
SECURITY- You chose to wait to go back to help Markus.
LOYALTY- You warned Rema and the others when the bandits attacked.
FRIENDSHIP- You used a bullet to put Rema out of her misery.
REVENGE- You let Jack turn so that you could use your last bullet on Lizzy.
SOLITUDE- You chose to move on to the farm.
My heart will go on.
;_;
But Jack's won't...
Jack ;_;
Oh, poor Jack
Well, at least we have hope to find the others. And it seems like there will be a lot of new characters.
UP!
Please continue the story I want to see my characters soon
Jack ;_; aff... lizzie, just why?
Double post, first part of chapter 3 below \/
CHAPTER 3 - No Regrets
Your name is Blair Watson and you are almost approaching your third month of survival into what you and your group have quickly come to know as the apocalypse.
It hasn't been easy - but right now, at the very least, you're fairly relaxed. You and another young woman from your group - Krisalyn - are currently searching the inside of a convenience store for any useful items (it's fairly far away from the nearby city, Overland Park, so you don't think there's a lot of danger of the dead getting to you.) You'd seen the signs of a recent group living here outside the convenience store, and where there was a recently departed group, there were bodies to be looted. Perhaps you'd feel bad about that if it wasn't the apocalypse - but it is, and it's just how the world works now. You guess your group sort of qualifies as bandits, although you haven't had to kill anyone who hasn't threatened or attacked you first so far (and you doubt that Ouma, as ruthless as he might be sometimes, would tell you to do so any time soon.)
As you turn over the body of a middle-aged woman, rotted but not reanimated (it looks as if she's been shot in the head), Krisalyn speaks up from beside you, breaking the comfortable silence. "You know, Blair," she says with a sly tone of voice, and you look over your shoulder to see her brushing one of her white-blonde braids in front of her shoulder with one hand, clearly a move meant to be seen as alluring. "When you volunteered the two of us to check inside here together, I almost thought you were being romantic." She bats her eyelashes at you as she falls silent and clasps both hands to her face as if in wonder - the whole nine yards. You really doubt that she's serious, although you never know with Krisalyn.
"Oh, come off it, moron," you tell her with a roll of your eyes before you return your gaze to the body you're supposed to be searching.
"I know, I know," she laughs from behind you. "Your barn door doesn't swing that way, huh?"
"My 'barn door'," you say, turning to her and gesturing with the appropriate air quotes as you say the words, "doesn't swing either way. It's the goddamn apocalypse, aren't there more important things to be worried about than romance?" You shake your head as you stare at your friend. She looks amused by your response, though she only giggles slightly this time.
"Relax, B," she tells you. "I didn't mean anything by it." She starts to turn away, and you think she's gone back to being serious again before she speaks, though it's quietly, like she wants you to think it was spoken to herself. "You're too old for me anyway."
"I'm 22!" you snap, crossing your arms. "I'm only three years older than you!"
"Calm down, princess," she says with a grin. "It was only a joke. But you know... I am way out of your league."
You stick your tongue out at her, but don't deign her jest with a response. It's always nice to get to joke around with Krisalyn from time to time, but there are some important matters at hand here. "Yeah, yeah. Did you find anything on those two bodies? This one didn't have anything."
Krisalyn's face turns serious now. "Nah," she sighs. "Nothing. Whatever happened to these folks, it probably wasn't good. All their stuff's been looted already."
"Damn it," you sigh. "I'm not looking forward to telling Ouma this. You know how tense he's been after --"
"Blair!" comes a male voice suddenly, surprising you, as the sound of the door shutting alerts you to where the newcomer is arriving from (though it's hardly rocket science, considering the back is blocked.) It's Fabián - a tall, blond guy who helps to function as some of the group's 'muscle.' At his tone of voice, which sounds just a little fearful, you move your hand to the shotgun strapped to your backpack, wary. He seems to see your movement - along with Krisalyn raising her bow - and shakes his head.
"No deadheads to worry about," Fabián reassures you. "But there is some ... trouble. Kayla was trying to climb to the roof of the little building out back and she fell."
Instantly, you tense up. "Kayla? Is she alright?" While you and the girl aren't actually related, you were watching her for a friend of yours when this whole thing started, so you feel kind of obligated to keep her safe, even though she's 13 and can usually take care of herself.
"She hurt her leg, that's all," Fabián replies. "Ouma was hoping you could take a look at it as soon as possible."
"Alright," you agree. Since you're the only one in the group with any medical experience - you'd been in nursing school before this - it's since fallen on you to tend to any injuries, though luckily there haven't been many bad ones so far. None except... You shudder. You don't want to think about that now. Anyway, you're sort of the 'team mom' - though you can be a bit of a "worrywart" (according to Ursula, at least), your concern for the others has led them to all depend on you greatly for support.
"I'll come with," Krisalyn says. "There's nothing else really left in here. Whoever attacked these guys took everything."
Fabián nods, and together, the three of you file out of the building and move around back to where the others are gathered. Your whole group is here - they'd probably been close by enough, since most had either been searching the area around the store or standing guard, to see Kayla fall, so they've all made their way over. Kayla is a short Filipino girl with curly hair - probably only around 5 feet - but she looks even smaller sitting there on the ground, one leg held rather awkwardly to her side. As you approach she looks up to give you a weak smile. You return it as best you can, though you're rather worried.
You're already retrieving your first aid kit from your bag, and as you reach her side you stoop next to her, letting the smile drop from your face. "What happened?" you ask her as you roll up her pant leg. Though you already know the answer, you're hoping for some sort of clue as to how badly she's been injured - like if she heard a bone break.
"I was trying to climb up there," Kayla sighs, and gestures half-heartedly behind her to the building. "Because ... there could have been supplies. But I lost my footing, and I fell. I think a heard a joint pop."
"But no break?" you try and clarify, though you don't entirely expect her to be able to tell the difference.
"I don't know," she says, uncertainly. "It hurts pretty badly. But I don't think I heard a snap or anything..."
"Okay," you say, as you continue to look her leg over. It's swollen slightly, and inflamed, but judging by the way it's positioned and what she's told you, it's probably not broken. You touch her leg at various places, asking how badly it hurts, until you've gotten a good enough idea of what's wrong.
"It's not broken," you tell her finally as you start to wrap her calf with an ACE bandage from your first aid kit. "Just sprained. You'll need to rest for a while and keep it elevated. But you should be able to walk on it again by tomorrow. We'll have to camp out here for the night."
"Thanks, Blair," she tells you, and her smile is more genuine now. "That's a relief."
"You were lucky," you reply, sighing. "But you need to be more careful from now on. Next time it could be a lot worse. Why on earth did you think climbing up a building like that was a good idea?"
Kayla gets quieter then, and she won't meet your eyes; after a moment, you realize that she's looking at Aaron Caleb. The 16 year old is looking a little sheepish, as is Kayla, and it takes you only a moment to get an idea of what might have happened.
"Aaron," you say sternly, standing up from where you're stooped by Kayla and crossing your arms. "Do you have something you'd like to say?" You hear Krisalyn bite back a giggle from behind you, probably at your reaction, and you think you hear her whisper something about you being 'such a mom.' Whatever.
"I'm sorry," Aaron says with a sigh. "It was my fault that Kayla got hurt." At his guilty expression, your own softens a little, and you tilt your head.
"What do you mean?"
"I told her to try climbing up there," he tells you. You have to commend him - he's an honest, laid-back guy, and his voice doesn't even tremble as he admits to why he's feeling guilty. "I thought that since she was the smallest, she'd have the easiest time. But I guess I forgot how young she was. I'm sorry. It was irresponsible of me."
You shake your head. "I'm not the one you should apologize to, but I'm glad you admitted it. Just... be more careful next time, okay? Don't forget, she's only 13."
"You're right," he says, nodding. Then he turns to Kayla. "I'm sorry, Kayla."
"It's okay," she says, tucking a piece of her curly hair behind one ear.
"Next time you should be the one who does those sort of things, instead of volunteering other people," says Ouma Shu, who'd been quiet the whole exchange, probably wanting to let you handle it. He's the unofficial leader of your group, a brown-haired guy with a long scarf, and about the same age as you - you'd been classmates in high school, though you were never particularly close, just acquaintances.
"Oh, lay off him, Ouma," Melanie says with a frown. She's glaring at you in particular - you two had never gotten along, so you're pretty sure she's only making a comment because she didn't appreciate you lecturing the kids at all. "He didn't do anything wrong." Part of you doubts Ouma will dare disagree with Melanie - while he is the unofficial leader of the group, she's his older sister, and they rarely fight. Normally you think she'd support his decision to chastise Aaron - but since you're the one who started it, naturally, she's opposed.
But Ouma does look like he's about to respond after all. He opens his mouth, as if he's going to argue with her, before a shout from Ursula, who's still standing guard a short ways away with Fabián, cuts him off.
"Guys!" Ursula says, voice unhappy. "I think we have a problem!"
You turn to face the direction she's looking, and immediately see what she's talking about - four people are approaching you, two girls and two guys, though you can't make out much more from this distance. One of them, however - one of the males - looks to be hurt, and two of the others, the other guy and one of the girls, are supporting him. Clearly they've spotted you, and they aren't changing their course; they're probably looking for some help.
"Ouma?" Fabián asks softly. "What should we do?"
Ouma frowns, but eventually speaks, quietly but firmly. "Let's hear what they have to say first." He doesn't say what he intends to do afterward.
Eventually, as the people get closer to you, you can see them more clearly. There is a very small girl with long brown hair, looking to be about the same age as Kayla; the other girl, the one supporting the injured man, is taller, about average height, and she looks to be about Aaron's age. The uninjured guy looks to be about 17 or 18, and he's slightly muscular with short dark brown hair and glasses.
The man they're supporting definitely looks worse for wear - he's been shot, judging by the amount of blood around the wound, somewhere on the side of his stomach, which he's clutching with one hand - or he's got a particularly bad bite. You aren't sure which. The man seems to be in his 30s - you wonder if he'd been looking after the kids before this. Now he clearly looks like he's in need of some help; his expression is somewhat dazed, like the blood loss has affected him, and as you see him sway slightly it becomes obvious to you why the other two are supporting him.
The four of them reach you then, though they stay a safe distance away - and almost immediately the older girl speaks up.
"I'm sorry," she says. "But can you help us? My uncle - he's been hurt."
Right to the chase, then. You aren't exactly surprised, judging by the state of her friend.
"What happened?" Ouma asks.
"Our group was attacked," says the glasses-clad male. "We got separated when we tried to escape, but he... he got injured pretty badly. We don't have any supplies with us... it all happened so fast."
"Please," chimes in the smaller girl, looking at you with wide, frightened eyes. "Please help..."
You look at Ouma, frowning, but before he can say anything, Melanie speaks up.
"Why should we help you?" she says harshly, narrowing her eyes. "We need the supplies we have for ourselves. And how do we even know you're trustworthy?" In a quieter voice, to her brother, she says, "I say we turn them away."
"I'm inclined to agree with you," he sighs. "But this isn't a decision we should be making for the others." Louder, to the strangers, he says, "My group and I will talk it over and make a decision. Wait here."
As you start to walk some distance away so you can take a vote (Kayla staying behind because she's both injured and only 13), Melanie nods to you all. "You all already know my vote. I'll stay here with Kayla." The look she gives the strangers is distrusting - it's clear she's implying that she thinks they'll attack the girl if you so much as walk a few feet away from her. You can't say you're angry with her for staying behind; you aren't entirely comfortable with the idea of Kayla staying back alone anyway.
When your group is gathered, Krisalyn speaks up. "These people need our help," she says. "And we aren't exactly hurting for medical supplies right now. With those extra first aid kids we found last week, maybe we--"
"Who says we won't need those?" Ursula interrupts her. "You remember what happened in the first few weeks!" Your heart drops in your chest at the mention of the incident, but you force yourself not to think too hard about it. "We lost so many people that day. And all because we didn't have enough supplies to help them! What if that happens again?"
"But we can't just let that man die," Fabián argues. "He needs medicine, and we have a doctor. To turn him away would be heartless." Normally you would correct him at the word 'doctor,' but you stay silent; you're still reeling from the mention of the... incident that occured during the second week of all this.
"Let's take a vote," Ouma says. "Who agrees with Fabián?"
"Me," Krisalyn says.
"And me," says Aaron. He looks troubled, deep in thought.
After a short pause, Ouma nods. "And you know where Melanie, Ursula and I stand." He turns to you. "Blair?"
You blink, a little startled; you had spaced out a little, hearing but not entirely listening. You hadn't even thought about what you wanted to vote for yet.
"Looks like you're the tiebreaker, B," Krisalyn says. "So what's it gonna be?"
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We can't afford to waste our supplies on them - and it could be a trap. We have to turn them away.]
[We can't afford to waste our supplies on them - and it could be a trap. We have to turn them away.]
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We can't afford to waste our supplies on them - and it could be a trap. We have to turn them away.]
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
[We can't afford to waste our supplies on them - and it could be a trap. We have to turn them away.]
If he is 30 years old... and is a man... and there are kids on his group... I think that he maybe is my character... so my vote is:
[We need to help these people. We can't turn them away.]
In celebration of reaching our third chapter, I thought I'd post some of the possibilities that I had written in my document. This isn't everything yet, but I need to go back and make sure there's not any glaring errors in the others before I post them. For now, here's part 1 of 'what could have been.'
What could have happened (Ch 2, pt 1) -
If the hunting group had given the bandits the supplies at the beginning, they would have let them go for now but Markus would have died when they got back to camp very quickly, with the group's medical supplies given to the bandits. If they had tried to talk them into leaving, the bandits would have opened fire and killed Uncle Pun. If they had tried to run away without killing the bandit leader, he would have shot Jack, injuring Jack badly, but they would have gotten back to camp. Jack would be badly injured, and in serious condition.
If Jack and Eli had gone to look for Markus immediately, they would have found him alive but dying from his gunshot wound, and bitten. He would have asked them to shoot him, and they would get the choice to either do it, or take him back to say goodbye to Rema. If they tried to take him back to Rema, he would have died halfway there, and reanimated and attacked them. Lizzy, Devin and Dev would have showed up and shot him, saving Jack and Eli and earning Jack's trust. If they had shot Markus, Lizzy, Devin and Dev would have shown up because of the gunshot. Jack would neither trust nor distrust them, since there would be no reason to think they shot Markus in this case.
If Jack and Eli hadn't gone to look for Markus, but had allowed Stephany to come with them, Stephany would have looked horrified when they found Markus's body, but when Jack tries to comfort her, say that she is "used to it." Jack would have been annoyed with Eli for telling her to come with them and letting her see that. Stephany would have said that she trusts the newcomers when they showed up, avoiding the 'stand-off' decision, because Jack and Rema would both listen to her and tensions would be lowered.
If the group had run away from the bandits and tried to leave the others behind, Alice would have been hesitant to leave the others, and she would be shot and killed while she hesitated. Devin would have run to warn the others instead, and get shot, but make it to the house. Jack, Eli, and Jen would manage to escape, but lose sight of Pun and Stephany. The three of them would stop running about a mile away, and Eli would be crushed by Alice's death and very depressed. Jen and Jack would get mad at Eli for leaving everyone behind. They would leave to go back for their friends, and a very depressed Eli would have the choice to follow them or not.
If the group had made it to the house and tried to shoot at the bandits, Devin would have been shot and killed on the way to the house, but the others would have made it. Eventually, they would fight the bandits off from inside, and the bandits would flee, leaving them to stay at the farm (but a few days after, the herd would come through, and chase them out.) If they had tried to fight outside, Thalia, Pun, Devin, Alice, and Stephany would have all been shot. If Stephany went with you earlier, she would have been brave enough to take out the bandit who shoots Alice before it happens, and Alice would be spared. Rema, Lizzy and Dev would then appear, having snuck out of the house, and take the bandits who remained by surprise. Only a few bandits would have been left, and they would have run. Devin (and Alice, if Stephany was not taken) would be dead, and he would reanimate before being shot by Lizzy. Pun and Thalia would be injured, and Stephany would be bleeding out. If Alice was dead, Jen would try and save her, as Pun and Thalia would be unconscious, but she would fail, and Stephany would die. If Alice was alive, she would tend to Stephany and save her life. Then the people still alive would be able to stay on the farm, but eventually be chased off of it by the herd.
If they had surrendered, there would have been a choice to either tell the truth that there were three more people in the house, or lie. If Eli lied, Rema, Lizzy and Dev would have snuck out, and surprised the bandits and shot their leader and a few others before they were able to turn around and shoot Dev. But the group would have gained the upper hand, and fought the remaining bandits off, with only Dev, Pun, Rema and Devin being shot, and Dev being the only casualty. Then they would have stayed on the farm and been chased off by the herd later. If Eli told the truth that Rema and the others were in the house, the bandits would have brought them out. Then, after they got everyone's backpacks, they would have told the group that they wanted two of the girls as 'payback' for killing their men before, or they would kill everyone. They would ask Eli to choose. He would have a choice to give them any two of the girls, or to fight back. If he chose to fight back, he would grab his gun off the ground and shoot the leader, and Thalia, Rema, Pun and Devin would have died in the ensuing fight, but they would have fought them off.
I'm just curious, will we know what happened to Jen and Stephany, and if they are alive or not?
Yes...
[We need to help these people.]
"Fabián is right. We can't let him die," you say finally, looking at Krisalyn as you do. She smiles at you, showing her approval, and you give her a weak smile in return. "I'll see what I can do for him."
Ouma nods at your words. "Alright, Blair. Do what you can." With that, he turns, giving the others a quick glance before leading your group (minus Melanie and Kayla) back to where the strangers are still waiting.
"We've decided," he tells them. "Blair here is going to help your friend. She's a doctor." Again, you don't bother to correct him, only grab the first aid kit from beside Kayla and move forward after Ouma has spoken. The girl, who is the only one supporting the man now, releases him and lets him take an unsteady step to meet you, though she still looks wary. You nod to the man.
"Here," you say. "You can sit down. It looks like the blood loss is really affecting you."
"Thank you," he responds as he does so; his voice is raspy from disuse, and soft, like he's sort of out of it. You sit beside him, one hand moving out to keep him from falling over as he suddenly sways, and then start on assessing and treating the wound once he lifts his shirt enough that you can see it. Luckily, it's not a bite - it's a gunshot, just like you'd first thought.
As you tend to him, the three kids move cautiously closer to your group - someone, probably Krisalyn, has likely beckoned them over, though you aren't sure because you aren't looking their way. Even as you continue working, you can hear their voices from behind you, though it sounds like they're trying to be hushed so that you can focus.
"What's your names?" The voice is Krisalyn's; "Mine's Krisalyn. Pleasure to meet you."
"Devin," the guy replies.
"I'm Jen," comes the voice of what you assume to be the older girl, though you've only heard her speak once before. "And that's Stephany."
"I feel like I've seen you before...," Aaron says then, sounding hesitant. "I used to live in Overland Park. Stephany, do you have a brother...?"
"Yes, I do!" replies a younger-sounding voice which must belong to Stephany, sounding surprised. "His name is Jack. Do you know him?"
"I've been to your house before," Aaron tells her. "I'm one of Jack's friends. We were supposed to meet up the day this all started, but..."
"You must be ... Aaron? My brother, Elias, went to that meeting," Jen replies. "That's how Jack, Alice and Stephany ended up with us."
"Jack and Alice are okay, then?" Aaron sounds relieved at the news, though there's a note of sadness, too. "Did... Rema not show up?"
"No, but she met up with us later," Stephany says. "But now we're all separated..."
"What happened?" Fabián asks.
"Bandits attacked our group," Devin says. "We all sort of... ran in different directions. Pun was shot pretty badly ..."
"It's all thanks to Devin that he's alive," Jen says. "He went back for him. I didn't even see him fall... I can't believe I could have left him."
When Devin speaks next, he doesn't address her words, and you think he sounds a little embarrassed by her praise. "Anyway, we just... ran. We don't know where the others are... but we need to go back to the farm as soon as possible. My sister could be there. It's only been a little while since the attack, but the bandits have probably moved on by now."
"Alright, I'm glad that you're catching up," Ouma interrupts. "But maybe you could be a little quieter. Blair is trying to focus." He's probably noticed your occasional glances back, knowing that the conversation is, indeed, distracting you a little. You're grateful.
"Oh, sorry," says Stephany, voice dropping considerably in volume. "Okay, we'll be quiet."
The next bit of their conversation is in much more hushed voices, enough so that you can't make out what they're saying. You've just finished cleaning around the wound with one of the alcohol wipes in your kit; now you move around to the man's - who you now know is named Pun - back and speak gently to him.
"I'm going to need to suture the exit wound so the bleeding will stop," you tell him softly. "It might hurt a little." He only nods weakly; after you've wiped down the area, you do so as quickly and neatly as you can. Then you work on bandaging it.
Finally, when you're finished, you stand and offer him a hand up. "Come on. You can come into the store and lie down. You're lucky - the bullet missed anything major. But you're still going to need to take it easy for a few days at the very least. Maybe more."
Jen moves to his side as he stands somewhat unsteadily, and together, the two of you lead him into the store, Stephany and Devin close behind. You move him behind the counter and pull out a blanket from your pack, spreading it on the floor before cautiously helping him to lay down.
"He'll be okay, then?" Jen asks you worriedly.
"Probably. But he'll need to keep his legs elevated some; he's probably gone into shock from the blood loss," you tell her.
"Wait, what?" she murmurs. "But I thought... if you were shot, you shouldn't elevate your legs."
"That's only if the wound's in the chest," you inform her lightly.
She looks sheepish. "Oh. I wish Alice were here," she sighs, looking at Stephany and Devin as she speaks, her words obviously meant more for them than for you.
"It's okay," Stephany tells her. "We'll find her and the others again soon."
Jen smiles at her, but before she can reply, you speak up. "You're going to need to stay here for at least a few days. He won't be fit to travel for a while." At this, the kids all look fairly concerned.
"We can't do that," Devin says. "We have to go back to find the others. My sister's still out there."
"Yeah," Stephany agrees. "And Jack!"
"Elias, too," Jen says. "But if Uncle Pun can't move... Maybe someone will have to stay here. Maybe... I can go? Or... someone... But someone has to stay here, and Stephany can't stay here alone..."
You realize then that she's turned to the rest of her group, and the discussion seems to be meant for them; politely, you excuse yourself and leave the store, walking back to your own group outside.
"So you're letting them stay in the store?" Melanie asks disapprovingly. "Why couldn't you send them away?"
"Doctor's orders," you say, rolling your eyes. "That man won't be able to move for a while or he might die. And then the supplies we used on him will have been a complete waste."
"Not that they already weren't," Ursula murmurs, looking away.
"But what about Kayla?" Ouma sighs. "We could've camped here for the night, what with her leg. Now..."
"Who says we still can't?" Fabián says. "These people aren't going to hurt us. They're just kids. And that man... Pun... he isn't going to be much of a problem, either."
"Fabián's right," says Aaron. "And maybe we can help them! They're going to need someone to go with them back to that farm they mentioned, right?"
"We should definitely help them!" Kayla speaks up from where she's still sitting. "They're Aaron's friends, right?"
"Well, not exactly, but...," Aaron mutters.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ouma says, but he sounds hesitant.
Krisalyn looks to you, obviously wanting to know your thoughts on the matter. "I ... don't know either," she says softly. "Maybe the kids are right and we should help them... but at the same time, I'm not sure it's safe to stick around here. We've never stuck in one place for very long before... But..." She sighs, tilting her head. "Blair, you're the sensible one here. What do you think?"
While you've never exactly been leader, you are the so-called 'team mom' ... and you know that your words here will be pretty influential. Whatever you say, Krisalyn is likely to agree with you... And you might be able to sway some of the others, too.
You frown. You aren't quite sure what the best course of action is, but...
[We should move on. We can leave them to their own and us to ours. It's how we've always done things, and sticking around could be dangerous.]
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
HOLY SHIT THEY'RE ALL ALIVE! UNCLE PUN IS ALIVE!!!!
Alright, Sonya, calm down. I think that [we should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
And to think some people (including the real Stephany) voted to turn them away... Lol.
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
Shocking, who could have done that...
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]
Gah. Too late to "move on".
omg xD haha
Okay, I really wasn't expecting this, I have to stop making bad decisions XD
[We should stay. We aren't in any danger from these people, and Kayla needs rest anyway. Maybe it's time we helped someone out.]