Youngstown: Interactive story.
Like I promised, here's the new story.
Youngstown will be a continuation of where my previous story, Stranded, has ended. If you have not yet read it, i suggest you do so by following this link:
https://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/89877/stranded-interactive-story
So, character submission is easy as pie. Kinda. Just follow this link and pray you can figure it out:
http://goo.gl/forms/roUJ5IypKb
Mr. Quality, now sponsored by google forms.
So the story itself will mostly follow the stories of completely new characters, but will have tie-ins with old ones. No promises on when this will start, so Until then, have fun with the character submit and see you around. King Quality out. Peace.
Characters Waiting to be introduced: Chase Hernandez ,Kaitlin O'Riley, Ryan Hoffman
Dead or unknown:
Alive: Lizbeth Morrison, Evan Banks, Miller, Aspen Diaz, Raven Lee, Nass, Rossi Dennis, Laken Dennis, 'The Dragonfly Killer', Isabelle Shaw, Amber Drake, Tegan Marsh
Comments
Chapter 1; The good left undone
Part one
Lizbeth Morrison
Her eyes drifted around the dark cabin. The only source of light was the fire that cast eerie shadows across the walls. Pictures of a happy looking family hung on the walls still, it almost made her angry. No one was ever that happy. Not anymore. Happiness is a thing of the past, hell, happiness is nothing more than a distant memory anymore, it’s just a word. Happy, it kind of rolls off the tongue, well. It used to. Now, trying to say that word was like trying to talk with a mouth full of sandpaper.
Things weren’t always this way, small pockets of human living wherever they could find shelter and food. Life used to be more than just surviving, it used to actually be about living. Whatever the hell that was. Nowadays, the best you can do to live is to focus on not dying. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted the snoring figure of a man.
Miller. That’s all she knew, no other names, last names. Anything. Just Miller. The tall black man still managed to strike fear into her heart every once in a while. What scared her the most about him was the fact that he always went out of his way to get an adrenaline high. She didn’t really know much about him, other than the fact that she could trust him. He and his two friends Miranda and Carlton had found her on the streets outside Athens. Right now Carlton was out on watch, trying to track those damn bandits that had taken up refuge in the woods near the cabin. As of now, they weren’t threatening. But bandits in your backyard is never a good thing.
Miller had stayed up almost all night chatting with Miranda, again. Those two never shut up, and they never really talk about anything useful. It’s all shits and giggles with them.
How the hell did they make it this far?
Judging by the darkness, it was around midnight. Lizbeth probably should be sleeping now, it’s going to be another long day tomorrow trying to re-enforce the fence in preparation of the inevitable Bandit attack. But she just couldn’t sleep, Carlton was out there somewhere right now, and he said the Bandits were looking a little more active than usual before he left. Now, no word. The could be gone, they could be on their way to kill them right now.
Can we make it? If they come can we hold them off? How will they kill us when they get to us? Will they kill us or do they have other plans? Are they even coming?
It was all these thoughts that kept her up at night, that and the fact that she was starving to death. Slowly, but she was. Lizbeth eventually got bored with thinking and grabbed at her olive colored backpack, unzipping it. She grabbed out the water bottle from within and takes a swig before replacing the cap and shoving it back inside. One good thing about living in this cabin was the fact that they were on a working well. Fresh water, at your command. She heard something out on the front porch and grabbed her pistol quickly. She jumped up from the chair and spun to the door, aiming the gun. The door creaked open slowly, just as she was about to fire, Carlton stumbled in. He quickly slammed the door shut behind him, breathing heavily. Blood was flowing from his forehead from a large gash and he looked as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“What happened?” Lizbeth asked.
“They’re coming.” He said.
“How many?” She asked.
“Not sure. There’s a lot, maybe ten.” He said. Ah, the time when ten people was a laughable amount. Now, ten people against the four of them. Certain death.
“How much time do we have?” She asked.
“Not much, I spotted them when they were at the James’ ranch.” He said.
“We got… About ten minutes then.” She said.
“Ten minutes.” He agreed.
Evan Banks
Damn Bandits.
That’s what most people think, but you are what you are in the end. Life is a lot about give and take, and well, right now was about taking. Not giving. Tents aren’t permanent housing, but a cabin with a farm. Now that’s living. He turned the crowbar over in his hands.
“You don’t have to kill them Evan.”
“You think they’re just going to give up that cabin?” Evan asked.
“No, but… That doesn’t give you an excuse to kill them.”
“I don’t want to kill them. But we have to live, we have to grow. Even if that means we have to knock off the weaker fish.” Evan said.
“It’s just not right.”
“I don’t care about what’s right or not.” Evan said. “None of this is right, you think if the world was ‘right’ we’d be living in a damn tent in the woods of Georgia?”
“Just because the world’s not right, doesn’t give you the right to not be.”
“Who are you talking to?” A new voice asked they walking into the tent.
“No one.” Evan said as he looked over at the vacant area where his brother sat a second ago.
“Okay.” She said. “Our scouting party found a rat out there, we’re moving on the farm.”
“Did the rat get away?” Evan asked.
“Yeah, he ran home.” She said.
“So now they know we’re coming.” Evan said.
“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean anything. He only saw the scouting party before he ran.” She said.
“So he doesn’t actually know how many of us there are.” Evan said.
“Exactly. He thinks there’s only about ten of us.” She said.
“We better move then.” Evan said.
“We move in ten.” She said as she stood and walked out of the tent. She was a good friend, and a fellow survivor. Rebecca. Evan never really thought about it, he always thought she was dead. They met up outside of Athens. Now, they were here. About to raid a farm and kill innocent people.
“You can still back out.”
“No, I can’t.” Evan demanded as he stood up.
Lizbeth Morrison
“Right there, I think I see them.” Lizbeth whispered to Miller. From where they lay behind the hay bales, they were completely invisible.
“Keep your head up, and your eyes open. They don’t know we’re here. We open fire before they have a chance to think about it.” Miller said. “Just wait for them to get closer.” He said. She nodded in agreement, even though she knew he didn’t see her. She grabbed at her red scarf and pulled it up over her nose in an attempt to keep the cold out, but also the fear. She was shaking. And it was undeniable. She could blame it on the cold if she wanted to, but is wasn’t really that cold out. She was scared. There was a group of people willing to kill her without question out there, and her here with Miller. Carlton and Miranda were out in the woods trying to flank them.
The group of ten began walking forward up the drive towards the cabin, they were armed with an array of weapons. Lizbeth made sure to take stock. Her main goal was to take out the guy with the M16 first. The guys with pistols next, then the two with bows. Lastly came the ones with assorted melee weapons, such as a copper pipe, a tire iron, a switchblade, and… A beer bottle? That guy was the least of her worries.
“On three.” Miller whispered.
“Where are they?” One of the bandits asked.
“One.” Miller said.
“I think they ran.”
“Two.”
“No. They’re here.”
“Three!” Miller said, this time loudly as he sprang up with his machete. It was stupid, but it was all they had. Lizbeth quickly took aim and dropped the guy with the M16. Miranda and Carlton burst forth from the woods and rained hell down on them. The bandits were caught between to target to shoot at. The remaining ones took off running back down the drive. Carlton kept picking them off as they ran with his rifle. He had a more personal beef with them.
“Is that it? Did we do it?” Lizbeth asked, her hands shaking badly now. She killed people. Lots of them, she didn’t even get the chance to take a count.
“That’s it. We did it.” Miller said, placing his big hand on her shoulder.
“Fuck!” Carlton yelled.
“What?” Miller asked.
“Miranda, she’s hit!” Carlton yelled. Lizbeth ran across the drive to the other side and slid on her knees to a stop next to Miranda, she’d been hit in the shoulder with an arrow.
“It doesn’t hurt to bad, just pull it out.” She said.
“No, we can’t do that. We could make it worse if we do that.” Lizbeth said.
“Am I supposed to walk around with a fucking arrow in my shoulder then?” She asked.
“No, we… We have to push it through.” Lizbeth said.
“Great.” Miranda said. “Fucking great.”
“Inside. We can’t do it here.” Miller said.
“I’ve got her.” Carlton said as he reached down and pulled Miranda up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder to help her walk.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Miranda said,
“I do to.”
Evan Banks
“What do you mean you ran?” Evan demanded. “Where’s everyone else?”
“I-I’m the only one, they killed everyone else.”
“Fuck!” Evan yelled. “How many were there? Do you know?” He asked.
“Four.”
“Ten of my damn scouts lost to four rag-tag survivors?” Evan said.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they’re your scouts.” Evan spun around and saw Howard standing behind him. Howard, the ass hat that formed his fuck parade of bandits. Not only was he a horrible person in general, he was a horrible person throughout. “But you did bring up a good point. How exactly did ten of my people go out, yet only one came back?” He said as he walked up to the scout.
“They came out of nowhere, and surrounded us. We retreated but they kept shooting while we ran.” He said.
“Ten went out. One came back.” Howard said. “None should’ve come back.” He said.
“Wha-“ The scout began and Howard snapped his neck like it was nothing. His body fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
“This will not be tolerated!” Howard yelled. “You either do what I tell you or die trying!” He yelled. “No, we’re moving out. Now.”
“Yes sir.” The entire camp responded. It’s an unwritten rule, if you want to live, you respect Howard. They weren’t far from a new home now. All that stood in their way was four nameless people.
Lizbeth Morrison
“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Lizbeth said as she threw the half of an arrow to the ground.
“Speak for yourself. I don’t think I’ve felt that much pain… Ever.” Miranda said.
“Well, at least you don’t have an arrow in your shoulder anymore.” Miller said.
“Damn right.” She said.
“Guys, we got something out there.” Carlton said from his watch at the window.
“That one you missed came back?” Miller asked.
“No…” He said. “There’s about a hundred out there.”
“What!?” Miller demanded.
“We didn’t kill all of them… That was a scouting party.” He said.
“Ammo check!” Miller yelled.
“Three rounds.” Carlton said.
“Five.” Miranda said.
“Seven… Eight.” Miller said. “Lizbeth?”
“N-none. I’m out.” She said.
“Fuck…” Miller said. “We’re out numbered and out gunned. This is a death sentence.” He said.
“I’m not going out without a fight.” Carlton said.
“Damn right.” Miranda said as she picked up her gun, not moving her right arm. Lizbeth reached out and picked up a kitchen knife.
“I-I’m not giving this up.” She said, her voice unsure of her decision.
“Then if it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they get.” Miller said. “Miranda and Carlton, take the front room. Lizbeth, you take the fireplace.” He said.
“What about you?” Lizbeth asked.
“I have an idea. Just don’t worry.” He said, giving her a light push in the direction of the fireplace. Miranda and Carlton ran off into the living room. From within the fireplace she looked out the window. The early morning sun eerily illuminated the yard silhouetting all the bandits out there. Her heart raced as she tightened her grip on the knife, she’d always sucked at melee. But, now it really didn’t matter. She just wanted to get at least one of those bastards before she was dead. She saw something move and her eyes darted to the left, just in time to see an arrow crash through the window and impale itself into the wall behind her, barely missing her. Out of instinct she spun and looked at the arrow. As she looked at the arrow she heard someone climbing in through the smashed window.
A bearded man with matching long brown hair was now standing inside with her. She raised the knife and ran at him, without thinking. The one time she didn’t actually think about something. The man smashed a crowbar into the side of her head and sent her sprawling to the floor, the knife clattering away from her. She rolled onto her back just in time to see the bearded man crouch down on top of her and pin her to the ground. He pulled a knife out of the sheath on his belt.
“It’s nothing personal.” He said as he raised the knife. Lizbeth’s brain registered what was happening, she was going to die. But she was still groggy from the crowbar to the head and couldn’t control her body.
“Shut up!” The man suddenly yelled, looking up. “I have to do this and you know it damn it!” Lizbeth didn’t know who he was talking to, there was no one else in here. But she took this as her chance. She attempted to free herself from the ground, but her vision was still foggy and she couldn’t feel her body. Suddenly she heard a loud exploding sound and the ground shook. The man stood up and looked outside. His eyes widening. Lizbeth forced thought the pain and numbness and crawled away towards the window. She saw the barn that sat not far from the house was now up in flames. It lighted up the yard enough to see everything. The man turned back to Lizbeth and looked at her. His face turned from anger to shock as he saw her.
“You…” He said. “I know you.” He walked towards her and she quickly crawled away until her back was against a wall and she could go no further away.
“Please… Just kill me! Get it over with already!” Lizbeth yelled, cried more likely. He looked at the knife in his hand and back at Lizbeth. He chucked the knife to the ground.
“I’m not going to kill you.” He said.
“Why? Why!” Lizbeth asked.
“You saved my life back in Athens. You get what you give.” He said.
“I don’t understand…” Lizbeth said.
“I was surrounded by infected. Moments away from being dead, when you… You came out of nowhere. You killed the infected, but before I could even say anything you ran off. You saved me.” He said.
“A lot of good that did.” Lizbeth said.
“I did what I had to to survive out here.” He said.
“How many people have you killed?” She asked. His eyes drifted downwards.
“To many.” He said.
“You’re not human.” She said.
“Then what am I?” He asked.
“A bandit.” She said. He got in her face and she winced.
“Is that all I am to you? A bandit? Something that was left here to unravel what’s left of the world?” He said. “Because the way I see it, we’re a lot more civilized than you people. And like it or not, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He said.
“Fuck you.” Lizbeth spat at him. He grabbed her by her shirt collar and lifted her upwards to his face.
“I’m letting you live, You should be happy.” He said. Happy, there’s that damn word again.
“I’d rather die.” She said. Wrong choice of words apparently because he lifted her up over his shoulder and stood up. Lizbeth attempted to fight back, but his grip was to strong and her arms were pinned. He walked out of the fireplace into the living room, not knowing Miranda and Carlton were in there. He quickly resorted to using her as a human shield as they turned their guns on him.
“Let her go!” Miranda yelled.
“You want to shoot a girl? No? Then drop the guns.” He said, his eyes darting around. He noticed it was two against one and there was no chance he was getting out of this one. He pushed Lizbeth away from him with enough force to send her crashing into Miranda as he ran back into the fireplace and jumped out the window. Miranda nor Carlton made any attempt to follow him.
“Are you alright?” Miranda asked. “What happened to your head?”
“Crowbar. It hurts like hell.” Lizbeth answered.
“Guy’s, they’re running.” Carlton said.
“What?” Miranda asked.
“Something’s got them running away.” He said. The front door busted open and Miller ran in. He saw all three of them and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank God you guys are alright.” He said.
“Was that you that made them run like that?” Carlton asked.
“No, I have no clue what made them run.” Miller said.
“I think I know.” Miranda said as she looked out the window. Three Humvees with a faintly familiar logo on the door skidded to a stop outside the cabin. Moments later the door flew open again and a squad of four walked in. The one in the lead aimed him gun at them.
“Drop your weapons. We are the Federal Army of the United States. We are here to help.” He said. Miller looked to the others. They all reluctantly dropped their guns, even though they were empty. “Diaz, check the building. Lee, assess the wounded. Walker, secure the perimeter.” He continued. One of the soldiers stood in the doorway while one woman walked through the cabin, looking for any threat. Another woman approached them, pulling out a medical kit from her pack.
“I’m Raven Lee. I’m the squad’s medic. Are any of you injured?” She asked.
“No.” Lizbeth said.
“Yes, Lizbeth got knocked in the head.” Miranda said, pointing out Lizbeth. Raven looked at her and saw the blood running from her head.
“What happened to your head?” She asked.
“Crowbar.” Lizbeth responded, once again.
“Looks like it hurt.” She said as she began going to work wiping away the blood with a clean rag.
“Clear!” Diaz yelled from the fireroom, before walking back in to the living room.
“Aspen, could you give me a hand?” Raven asked.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Aspen asked.
“I need you to go out to the Humvee and get the suture kit out. This is going to need some stitches.” She said.
“On it.” Aspen said. As she began to walk out the door.
“How bad is it?” Lizbeth asked.
“For someone that just got attacked with a crowbar, it could be worse.” She answered. Aspen walked back in with a small box in her hands.
“Great. Thank you.” Raven said as she grabbed the box. Aspen smiled at her and she walked away.
“This is going to hurt isn’t it?” Lizbeth asked.
“No. You won’t feel a thing.” Raven said.
……………………..
Lies. Lies. All Lies! She felt every part of it. Damn that hurt. But now it was done. She was fine now, it was all over. All over.
“Are we ready to move?” The commander asked.
“Just about.” Raven said as she put a bandage on over the stiches. “You’re going to need to be on antibiotics for a while, but you’re going to be fine.” She said. “We’re good to go.” She said, standing back up.
“Alright, if you have anything you want to take, get it now. We won’t be back out this way from a long time.” The commander said.
“Wait. Who said we’re going with you?” Miller demanded.
“No one, I just supposed you didn’t want to die.” The commander said. He looked over at Aspen.
“I know you don’t know us, or even understand what’s going on. But you trusted us enough to let Raven look at Lizbeth. We’re not bad people. We want to help.” She said.
“I know it’s a lot to comprehend, but we are the Federal Army of the United States of America. We’re under orders from the CDC council to save and protect citizens. Like it or not, you are under the control of the CDC government. You can stay here, but it’s a lot safer in the cities.” Raven said. Miller looked to everyone else.
“Where are we going to?” He asked. Raven smiled.
“Youngstown.” She said.
This was a great first part, as I have expected. I am so hyped for this story already, can't wait for more of it. By the way, I think I finally got a theory why the army just executed Marcus and Mariza at the end of Stranded. From what we learned at the end of this part, the CDC seems to have replaced the regular government and I bet they are nothing more than a military dictatorship. Marcus and Mariza were likely threats to their new regime in the long run. Assuming of course, the people who are responsible for Marcus' death have acted under the new government's orders. It seems likely at least. Anyway, I can't wait for some answers after the Stranded finale! I'm going to submit my new characters for this story tomorrow at latest
By the way, I got one question: How much time has passed between the finale of Stranded and the beginning of Youngstown?
Well, this part itself is actually set before the actually end of stranded. It will be shown more in future parts.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 1; The good left undone
Part two
Lizbeth Morrison
Hard to believe two years had gone by since then. Yeah. Two damn years. Lizbeth was now seventeen.
By the time the Army showed up, Youngstown was nothing more than a few people with guns. Now it was a fully operating city, full of people, with an established Guard that patrolled the streets. Youngstown was one of the safest places to be, especially since it was this close to the base. They had the military right in their backyard, in case of emergency.
Raven Lee moved on to become the captain of the mayor’s personal Guard, it was kind of like the secret service. She was the eyes and ears of the mayor, and she took her job seriously. No threat had been made on the mayor since she took charge.
Speaking of the mayor, that’s Mayor Peron. Mariza Peron. She took over office not to terrible long ago, but in her short time in office she has been able to increase the size of Youngstown tenfold. The CDC council don’t seem to happy about her rapid expansion of the settlement for one reason or another, but she refuses to slow.
Now on to Miller, what is there to say about him? He’s Miller, off doing Miller things. Ever since they showed up at Youngstown, they grew apart. Slowly at first, but now, she’s practically a ghost to him. She sees him out on the street every once in a while, but other than that… Nothing. She couldn’t blame him, it was a big place where the outside world didn’t exist.
Speaking up the outside world, that brings up two different subjects. Infected and Bandits. But aren’t they just one in the same? Not really, sadly. You see, when the CDC council commissioned the release of some sort of chemical into the air, the infected ceased to be… infected. Bandits are still bandits though. But, now you don’t have to worry about your face getting ripped off by some fungus- covered flesh-muncher. But then again, the bandits are still out there… So, yeah. One parasite gone, on remaining.
Bandits, they’re like damn mosquitos. They come out of nowhere, bite, and before you can swat them, they fly away. And when you think you got the damn thing, think again! Because even if you get one, there’s a hundred more just like it in the vicinity.
Oh, and while on the topic of the outside world. Why not talk about the rest of the US. Or at least what they know is out there. The government of the CDC council, based in Georgia, stretches as far north as Virginia (Or at least they claim so) and as far westward as Louisiana. North of the government of the CDC council, is the Ohio republic. The Ohio republic is small, but is incredibly strong military wise. You guessed right, they’re based in Ohio and it contains Indiana, Michigan, part of Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. Everything north of there is no man’s land, claimed by no one at all.
To the west is the wasteland, or, that’s what they call it. It’s pretty much a hell hole with no government at all, infected roam free, they’re all kind of like hunters and scavengers. A very barbaric people really, a bandit paradise. The wasteland continues on until you run into the Pacific Republic, the area from Washington to California. The rich people. Not that their money means anything to us.
“Hey, Lizbeth. How’s it going?” Someone asked from behind her. She cocked her head around and Raven walked towards her.
“Raven.” Lizbeth said. “Shouldn’t you be… working?”
“Mayor Peron made me take the day off, so here I am.” She said.
“Where are you going?” Lizbeth asked. “Wait, don’t answer that. You’re going to the Coms station.” Raven smiled.
“Am I that predictable?” She asked.
“Well, ever since Aspen began working there you spend just about all of your free time there.” Lizbeth said. “What is she working on anyways?”
“Right now…” Raven said, thinking about it. “Right now, she’s welding a new dish to the tower so we can pick up more signals.”
“How long has she been at it?” Lizbeth asked.
“Well, right no it’s about three in the afternoon so…” She said. “About two days.”
“Two days?” Lizbeth asked.
“Oh yeah.” Raven said. “She won’t come down from that damn tower. If she doesn’t give it a rest soon, she’s going to fall off the thing.”
“I’m sure she’s hooked into it somehow.” Lizbeth said.
“Doesn’t make me feel any better.” She said. “I’m going to see her if you want to come with me.”
“Yeah sure. Why not, I’m not doing anything right now.” Lizbeth said. Raven and she began walking down the sidewalk towards the radio tower where Aspen was working. “You know, I can’t help but notice. The Army seems a little… Inactive lately.”
“How so?” Raven asked.
“I mean, You and Aspen haven’t been called out for duty in a long time.” Lizbeth said.
“I have a feeling that’s going to change.” Raven said.
“Why do you think that?” Lizbeth asked.
“Right now, as we speak, the CDC council is trying to push into the wastelands. And, if they can’t set things straight with the Ohio republic, we’ve got a war on our hands.” She said.
“Oh yeah, almost forgot about that.” Lizbeth said.
“Good, you were supposed to.” Raven said. Yeah, the CDC council made a few questionable choice early on and accidently kind of killed an entire squad of Ohioan soldiers, even though they weren’t a threat. So, yeah. Oops.
“So, how’s the Mayor doing?” Lizbeth asked, eager to change the subject.
“Eh, she’s good. Bull-headed as ever though. She’s talking with the Mayor of Ramsey right now. She didn’t seem too happy about it.” Raven said.
“So that’s why she told you to take the day off.” Lizbeth said.
“Bingo. She knows I would’ve shot that bastard before he got a word out.” Raven said.
“Ramsey isn’t the nicest of places.” Lizbeth said.
“I was the one that cleared it out originally, I think it was better filled with infected than people.” Raven said. Then she went silent, her green eyes fixating forward.
“What’s wrong?” Lizbeth asked.
“I don’t want to have to do that again. I like it here in Youngstown. I don’t have to… kill anyone.” She said. “But, if the council declares war, I’ll be one of the first ones on the ground. I-I don’t know if I can do that again. I left that life a long time ago.” Lizbeth placed her hand on Raven’s back, reassuringly.
“Don’t worry about it, alright?” She said. “The Ohio republic doesn’t want a war, they don’t care about who’s in charge, they just want to live. And the Wasteland, that’s nothing more than a few groups of bandits that need cleared out.” She said.
“Bandits are people to.” Raven said. “Just… Bad ones. I don’t want to kill anyone, not after New Orleans.” She said.
“Raven, what happened in New Orleans, wasn’t your fault. The Council already cleared you.” Lizbeth said. Raven stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Lizbeth.
“The council?” She hissed. “I don’t give a damn if they cleared me or not. That doesn’t change the fact that I murdered sixteen people in cold blood.” She said.
“You didn’t know they were just people.” Lizbeth said.
“Yeah. I didn’t know.” Raven said with a somber tone as she began walking again. The siege of New Orleans happened about a year ago, I was long and bloody. Push came to shove and all hell broke loose. The line broke and panic ensued. It became a free for all. Nobody knew who the enemy was. They were just fighting to stay alive. Six hundred soldiers went in, only about one hundred came back out. Raven and Aspen included. Every survivor from the siege was arrested and brought before the council. Most were acquitted of all charges, but sent on indefinite leave, marked as a possible threat to the council. Three of the commanding officers at the siege were found guilty, after it was discovered that the purposely broke the line and caused the panic. All three were tried as war criminals and executed accordingly. If you asked Raven about it, she’d tell you she should’ve been one of them. She still has a scar from where she was shot in the chest… By Aspen herself. They moved on really, in a big way. But everyone that was present at the siege didn’t come back the same, simply put, the fog of war is one that lingers. Raven ducked inside the library and Lizbeth followed. They’d decided it was best to put the radio tower on top of the library for one reason or another, probably because it was high up and has a flat roof.
The library itself really wasn’t even used for books. There were a few books, scattered around. The ones that weren’t burned during the first winter. You could easily find a copy of Grey’s Anatomy or a book on botany, but you’d be hard pressed to find any sort of fiction book. They kind of burned all the good stories so they wouldn’t freeze to death. Boo-hoo.
Now, instead of books, the shelves were lined with various pieces of electronic equipment, circuit boards, hard drives, anything shiny and useful. Then there was a shit ton of tolls and electric tape. This is where any sort of techy went to die.
“Raven, ‘sup?” A voice asked. Lizbeth looked over and saw a shaggy looking man standing behind the reception desk, which was being used as a workbench.
“Just visiting Aspen.” Raven said, her voice changing as if she hadn’t been forced to relive her nightmare just moments ago. “What are you working on Mike?” She asked.
“Just a new router. I’ll spare you the tech details. Aspen’s a lot better with that stuff than you are.” He said.
“Of course she is. I was medical major, she was a tech major. Big difference.” Raven said.
“Well, neither one of you got to finish your degree before the apocalypse so it doesn’t really matter.” Mike said. “Where did you even go to college anyways?” He asked.
“Washington University.” Raven answered.
“Uh-huh. Nice.” Mike said. “You know where to find Aspen. Now, let me get on with this, would ya?” He asked, more sarcastically than demanding.
“You got it.” Raven said as she walked away towards the stairwell. Together they went up the stairs towards the roof.
“You think she’s ever going to come down?” Lizbeth asked.
“I’m just about to make her come down.” Raven answered.
“How exactly?” Lizbeth asked.
“I haven’t gotten that far yet.” Raven said as she opened the door that lead to the roof.
The radio tower rose about thirty feet from the roof of the building, having four legs bolted to the roof itself for support. It was stable, but if a big windstorm came through it probably wouldn’t hold. And of course, up at the very top a woman in a welding mask dangled from the side, welding yet another dish onto the side of the tower.
“Aspen!” Raven yelled up at her. Of course she didn’t hear. So, like a mature adult, Raven picked up a rock from the roof and chucked it upwards, nailing the side of the welding mask. Aspen looked down at them and lifted the welding mask.
“The hell was that for?” She asked.
“Get down here!” Raven said.
“I’m almost done.” Aspen said.
“I don’t give a shit! The damn things on there just fine.” Raven said.
“No, not yet.” Aspen said.
“It’s fine Aspen. Just come down.” Raven said.
“Just give me a few more hours.” Aspen said,
“Why is it taking you so long?” Raven asked.
“Because she’s doing it wrong.” Mike said, as he appeared on the roof behind them and walked forward. “Aspen, come down from there. I’ve got it from here.” He said.
“I’m almost done.” Aspen said.
“That’s an order Aspen.” Mike said. Aspen shook her head and huffed angrily. She began climbing downward and just let go, falling the last ten or so feet, but she landed just fine. She pulled off the welding mask and gloves and threw them to Mike, revealing her dark curly hair and brown eyes.
“Knock yourself out.” She said.
“Will do.” Mike said as he began climbing.
“How long has it been?” She asked.
“Too long.” Raven said as she tightly hugged Aspen.
“I don’t think I’ll do anything like that again. For a while at least.” Aspen said.
“You better not.” Raven said.
“So, uh. Who’s hungry?” Aspen asked. “I mean, a couple of granola bars and a bottle of water. I don’t think that’s enough for two days.”
“I’m good to get something to eat.” Raven said. “Liz, you want to come with us?” She asked.
Choice
[Go eat with Raven and Aspen]
[Decline]
Evan Banks
Two damn years since they’d failed at taking that cabin from those three survivors, and the girl. Lizbeth.
It almost seemed like a miracle to run into her again, just odd seeing as he was trying to kill her, when she’d saved him. Maybe picking up someone and trying to carry them off isn’t the best way to thank them… Yeah, probably.
Most of the original group had been shattered. Starved to death, suicide, murder. A huge fight broke out within the camp as one side tried to kill the other. Now, here they were, camped just off of highway 27. All fifteen of them. Of course that bastard Howard had survived this long, only so he could be a pain in everyone’s ass.
They were still starving to death, slowly now that there was less of them. But still starving. Rebecca nearly died a week ago, but she was able to pull through in the end. But now she wasn’t looking good again.
“Evan.” She said.
“Yeah?” Evan asked, looking over at her as she lay in the sleeping bag in the dirt. It was warm outside, but she insisted she was cold.
“Do you think there’s anything more than this?” She asked.
“There has to be. Somewhere.” Evan said.
“Oh.” She said. “Do you think we’ll ever get to a better place.”
“Any place is better. When you start from zero, you’ve got nothing to lose.” Evan said.
“True.” She said. “Zero. That’s where we are.” She said, with a weak laugh accompanying.
“Evan, Rebecca. My two favorite people.” A man said as he walked in.
“Fuck off Howard.” Evan snarled.
“No, that would be your job.” Howard said.
“What?” Evan asked, looking up.
“You and Rebecca here, are our new sleeper units.” He said.
“I don’t think I follow.” Evan said.
“We’re sending you into the ‘civilized’ world. You play nice and look normal, but when we give the word, you unleash hell on them.” He said.
“I see.” Evan said.
“Where are we going?” Rebecca asked.
“Youngstown.”
This is so great!
[Go eat with Raven and Aspen]
GREAT !!
[Go eat with Raven and Aspen]
[Go eat with Raven and Aspen]
Another awesome part! I have to say, I find Evan to be a very interesting character.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Thank you. Glad you find him... Amusing.
So, I guess I'm just going to go ahead and close voting I guess....
Lizbeth will go out and eat with Aspen and Raven
What will be the effects of this decision? I have no idea.... Or do I?
Chapter 1; The good left undone
Part Three
Lizbeth Morrison
“Yeah, Sure. I’ll come with you guys.” Lizbeth said. Aspen smiled.
“Cool. Let’s go then. I’m starving.” Aspen said.
“It’s what you get for dangling off the side of a radio tower. For two days.” Raven said.
“Lesson learned.” Aspen said. “But trust me, if Mike doesn’t fuck it up, that weld will hold until the end of the world.” She said.
“I thought that already happened. Like, five times over.” Raven said.
“This is true.” Aspen said as she unzipped her bulky jacket, revealing the white tank top underneath. She threw the jacket on a nearby table haphazardly and began walking towards the stairs.
“I guess we’re going then.” Raven said.
“Guess so.” Lizbeth responded.
…………………………………..
“So, where are we even going?” Lizbeth asked.
“Trust me, I know a place.” Aspen said.
“And this place… Does it have food?” Lizbeth asked.
“Oh yeah. It defiantly has food.” She answered.
“Heads up, ten o’clock.” Raven said as she pointed across the street to where a jeep was parked.
“That’s a military jeep.” Aspen said.
“From the base.” Raven said. “At the mayors house.”
“Wait, I think I know that guy.” Aspen said as she pointed out the man standing at the door.
“Holy shit.” Raven said. “That’s Marcus Bishop.”
Holy Shit is right, Marcus Bishop is like a legend. Stories about him traveled all throughout the area like wild fire. He was a member of the Olympus, a cruise ship that was out on the sea when this shit show all happened. He, and multiple others, were able to defend the hospital where the base now sits. The story of the fight is crazy, it’s a lot like the Alamo, except the defenders won in the end. The Federal Army showed up seconds before everyone inside was about to be brutally murdered, deus ex machina style.
“He’s here? Now?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah, and he’s going somewhere with the mayor’s wife.” Raven said.
“This day just went from good to better.” Aspen said.
“Looks like you picked the right time to come down from your tower.” Raven joked.
“I want to go talk to him.” Lizbeth said.
“No, not now. If he’s talking to the mayor’s wife, he’s probably looking for the mayor herself. So, he’s probably on official business.” Raven said.
“Damn it.” Lizbeth muttered. She watched as Marcus ad they mayor’s wife, Holly got into the jeep and drove off towards the town hall.
“I guess I’m like a good luck charm.” Aspen said. Raven rolled her eyes with a small laugh as she jokingly pushed Aspen away. Everyone began walking again down the sidewalk. A few blocks later Aspen stuck her arm out and stopped Raven and Lizbeth. Lizbeth looked to the building they’d stopped in front of. Sam’s Deli, the window was still faintly painted with the name of the shop. It was a wonder the paint hadn’t completely faded, nor the window itself broken.
“The Deli?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah.” Aspen said, excitedly.
“Okay then.” Raven said as she walked to the door and pushed it open. Aspen walked in behind her. Lizbeth sighed as she walked in too.
“Ladies, welcome. How can I help you?” The man behind the counter greeted them.
“You know what we want.” Aspen said.
“Of course I know what you want.” He said with a smile before disappearing into the back of the store. While they were waiting Lizbeth noticed a distinct smell.
“Is that… Meat?” Lizbeth asked. She saw the smile on Aspens face.
“Yes it is.” She said. “Jetson’s cow died this morning, I saw them bring it in.”
“Maybe all that time on the tower wasn’t all bad then.” Raven said.
“I would not recommend it to you though.” Aspen said.
“I wouldn’t go up that damn tower even if you did.” Raven said.
“Hey, that tower is pretty stable. I built the damn thing.” Aspen said.
“I know you did.” Raven said.
Minor note about Aspen; she’s very proud about her handiwork. Just stick around for a little while, and you’ll get to hear about how she build this or fixed that. She doesn’t really seem to get the fact that she’s really just the town’s fix-it guy. Except for the fact that she’s not a guy.
“Ladies.” The chef said as he returned from the back of the store, managing to balance three bowls in his hands. “Here’s your food.” He said, handing the bowls to them. They were filled with broth, mixed vegetables, and chucks of… meat. It had been so long since any of them had beef. It’s not common to come across domesticated livestock anymore, but when it happens, do not question. Food is as food does. Or something like that.
Lizbeth instantly slurped it down greedily, as did Aspen and Raven. It didn’t last long, and as soon as the last drop was gone, she wanted more.
“Sorry ladies, but I have to make sure there’s enough to go around.” The chef said.
Damn it, always wanted more. Just as they were all about to leave a man walked in through the door and glared at Raven.
“The mayor wants to have a word with you.” He said.
“What about?” Raven asked.
“You know damn well what it’s about. Are you coming or am I going to have to make you?” He growled. Raven looked to Aspen and Lizbeth.
“I’m coming, don’t shit yourself just yet.” Raven said. “God damn Minutemen.” He mumbled.
Oh, Minutemen. The irregulars of Youngstown. The local militia, heavily armed and drilled under supervision of the mayor. The Council disliked the fact that Youngstown had raised a militia, constantly stating over and over again that they were perfectly safe. The mayor called bullshit and raised a militia anyways, saying the bandits were still out there and since they had no walls, a militia was the way to go. Oh, the Council loved that. They kept threatening the Mayor to get her to disband the Minutemen, but she wouldn’t. She didn’t see the wrong in having a militia. Frankly, no one saw the wrong in having a militia.
Raven walked over to the man and he ushered her out the door before turning back to everyone inside.
“Town meeting in five, this one’s mandatory.” He said, then marched out the door.
Yay, mandatory meetings. No skipping. Of course you could easily just slip away unnoticed, but if on the very likely chance you were spotted, you risk imprisonment and severe rationing. They do not fuck around with the laws in Youngstown. You break a law, you pay for it, drastically.
Lizbeth had recently heard a story about a man over on the east end of town. He’d stole a tomato. Not a dozen, not two. One tomato. His punishment? They cut his hand off. Was it true? Who knew. Was it likely to happen? Maybe. Youngstown was not friendly to rule-breakers.
“I don’t like this at all.” Aspen said.
“Why’s that?” Lizbeth asked.
“They just called a mandatory meeting for one, when’s the last time they did that?” She asked. Lizbeth shuddered to remember.
“During the outbreak about a month ago.” She said.
“Exactly.” She said. “And also, the Minutemen are assembled. They don’t assemble unless something is very wrong.” She said.
This is true, the last time the Minutemen fully assembled was also during last month’s outbreak. Oh, how many people died. Lizbeth was lucky to make it through, she was actually on the list as a carrier, but her tests came back clean so they didn’t have to kill her. I guess that’s one way to deal with a problem. If you can’t beat it, kill it.
“Five minutes…” Aspen said, looking at her homemade solar powered watch, it wasn’t the best looking, but it worked. Was it accurate, hell no. Nobody knew what the real time was, actually… They did, just look at the sun. The watch was more just for keeping track of how many minutes had passed. “We should get going.”
Evan Banks
“Ow, fuck me.” Evan whined as he gripped his now bleeding nose. “I knew you guys said you had to make it look real, but seriously.” He said.
“Shut up, I’m making as painless as possible.” Jason said.
“I know, but still.” Evan said as he wiped the blood away.
“The town’s that way, a few miles.” Jason said. “Remember the plan, once you’re there, you are not you.” He said.
“Why? It’s not like anyone I know is going to be there.” Evan said.
“You can never be too sure.” He said. “You guys good to go?”
“Yeah, we’re good.” Evan said, as he looked over at Rebecca. They’d gone easy on her, as she was still sick. But, she still looked like someone had beaten the shit out of her.
“Well, good luck out there.” Jason said, placing a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Stay safe man. We’ll meet up with you as soon as we get a chance.” He said. “Remember where we buried the supplies, just in case.” He said.
“I know, I know.” Evan said.
“And keep an eye on Rebecca, she’s not looking too good.” He said.
“Hey, you’re the one that beat her up.” Evan said.
“Wasn’t my idea man, you know I wouldn’t hurt you. Ever.” He said.
Jason was a good man, caught in the wrong place. When the group was still small and ‘normal’ they found Jason and welcomed him in, it wasn’t long after that they realized there was only one way to get what you need; take it by force.
Their first gig went without a hitch; they jumped a ragged group of survivors as they were walking through the woods. Took what they had, most of it. Not all of it. Then they sent them on their merry way, with no weapons, almost no food or water, or anything necessary to live. Yeah, that was pretty bad. But it wasn’t as bad as some of the others, most of the others really. Most of the other ‘bandits’ would just kill survivors on sight and take everything they had. They weren’t like that. They never killed anyone directly if they could avoid it, and they never took everything the survivors had. They were more, humane. They never really had a ‘camp name’ really, or if they did it never stuck. All the other bandits had names like Reapers or Desperados. Something with one word and very ominous. Nah, not their style presumably.
“Yeah, I know man.” Evan said. “We should head out.”
“I’ll see you on the other side.” Jason said as he trotted off and disappeared into the woods. Evan stood up and walked over to Rebecca.
“You alright?” He asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She said. Evan extended his hand as she took it, he hauled her up to her feet. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder to help her walk. “I can walk you know.” She said.
“I know you can.” Evan responded.
“Onwards.” She said.
“Onwards? What kind of word it that, seriously?” He joked.
“Not sure really.” She said.
“Onwards then.”
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth managed to wedge herself between the crowd and a brick wall of the corner store. The ‘courtyard’ was where everyone assembled for meetings or announcements. Loudspeakers and microphones were set up, but rarely used to conserve energy. As for the ‘meeting hall’ it wasn’t a building at all, everyone just kinda stood out on the road that ran in front of the town hall and listened to the mayor and anyone else on the elevated platform.
Oh, the roads. They suck. Seriously. GDOT needs to get on this, for real. But then again, it was in pretty good shape for the apocalypse. It really, in all, needed to be resurfaced, cracks filled in, potholes filled, restriped… Okay, they needed to replace the road. But it really didn’t matter because nobody had cars, except the base. And if they have to be out here, well. They can deal with an uneven road. Seriously, they have working radio at the base! Radio! Somebody had managed to build a working radio station with a collection of records someone had stowed away in case of apocalypse. Music industry: 1, Apocalypse: 0. Okay, that’s a lie. Maybe once the new improvements on the tower are done, they could pick up some on the radio from the base.
Lizbeth noticed multiple people standing on the stage, Raven included. She saw the mayors wife, but not the mayor. Oh! Miller! There he was, over on the far right in an all-black uniform with a CDC badge on the right arm. Mark of the Minutemen. Oh, and he was still wearing his trademark black beanie. Truthfully, he probably hasn't taken the damn thing off since he's gotten it. He was actually on of the first Minutemen, and well, that’s something to be proud of, right?
Apart from that, there were multiple others on the stage, high ranking officials that had no reason to get to know any of the citizens of Youngstown because they were too good for them. Despite that, everyone looked on edge.
“Hey Aspen, why aren’t you up there?” Lizbeth asked, struggling to be heard over the noise of the crowd. That and the drunk asshole yelling ‘free beer!’ Yeah, keep dreaming.
“I’m not an officer, Mike’s my superior.” She answered. Duh. She knew that. Lizbeth looked up and saw the mayor’s wife grab the microphone. Okay, something was going on. Where’s the Mayor, did the mayor even know about this?
“Quiet.” She called. After a few seconds the crowd died down and turned their attention to the stage. Lizbeth could see that her eyes were red and puffy, as if she’d been crying.
“Where’s the Mayor!?” Someone yelled from the crowd.
“I am the Mayor now.” She said. “Mariza Peron, the Mayor of this town, is dead.” She said. She let the crowd get their gasps of disbelief out. “As her second, I now inherit the title of Mayor.” She turned to the officials that were gathered on the stage. “And there’s going to be a few changes.”
“Effective as of now, all members of the Federal Army are hereby banned from the district of Youngstown. This will be strictly enforced by the Minutemen and any opposition will be put down without hesitation.” She said. Lizbeth didn’t know which hit was bigger, that one or the fact that the Mayor’s wife, Holly, was now the Mayor. She turned and saw the shocked expressions on all the officers faces. “Officer Lee, is there something you’d like to say?” She asked. Raven, seemingly shell shocked by the announcement stood up and walked over to the mayor, taking a microphone. She looked out at the crowd, no expression whatsoever, then turned back to the Mayor. All the other officers looked like they had an entire speech already prepared, but waited their turns.
“A-as the head of your personal guard, I feel qualified and obligated to tell you that doing this is a bad decision for the people of Youngstown. If you kick us out, you will be left with no support and no protection.” She said. “And the Council is sure to see this as an act of war. This is not what you want for your people.” She continued.
“The Minutemen will provide all the protection we need. And the Council can go fuck themselves.” The mayor said, very un-mayor like.
“What is this even about? I’m sure we can work it out.” Raven said.
“This is about your government executing Mariza Peron and murdering Marcus Bishop and countless others.” She said. “This is about ending the war you started. Miller, relieve Officer Lee of her weapons.” She instructed. Miller stepped forwards and walked over towards Raven, a glowering rage in his eyes. He stepped about a foot away from her before, without breaking eye contact, grabbed her gun form it’s holster and walked away. “Miller.” She then said. “Get these dirt bags out of my town.”
Well, there was no denying it. The crowd was in a frenzy, surging forwards towards the stage, everyone wanting to take out their rage on the officers. Some people were ripping through the crowd attempting to spot out any soldiers to kill. But truth be told, the Federal Soldiers were already gone. They ran a long time ago, they’re good at telling when things are getting bad. They were already halfway outside of town by now. She felt someone grab her arm
“Aspen?” Lizbeth asked as she spun around.
Oh no, not Aspen. Not anyone she knew. Goodbye world, Hello Mister brick wall.
Evan Banks
“That’s it, right there.” Evan said as he saw the communication tower looming in the distance.
Youngstown. The promised land of the forgotten. The jewel city of the apocalypse. Right there, so close. Yet so far. As time went on, Rebecca became more and more dependent on Evan. BY now, he was practically carrying her. He saw the head of a man appear in the distance and as he came up over the top of the hill, it was apparent he wasn’t alone. Maybe more than a hundred soldiers were running at him. His first thought; they figured me out.
But as they ran, it became more evident they weren’t after him, they were running from something.
They were unarmed and full-out running. Not the standard military hustle you do when you are getting into position. No, this was running for their lives. The first one blew past Evan without looking back, after about twenty, one stopped and looked at him.
“You’re not headed into Youngstown are you?” He asked.
“Yes, why?” Evan asked.
“I think they just declared war on the CDC Council.” He said. “Come with us, back to base. It’ll be safer there.” He said.
Oh, the base. The wonders of the new world, all piled in one area. He’d be like a kid in a candy store picking through everything they had, sapping their resources, slitting their throats and they wouldn’t even notice. This could be the big break they were all looking for. But this wasn’t the plan. The plan was Youngstown, any deviation could mean his death and the death of everyone in the camp. The plan was to stick to the plan and the plan had nothing about going to a base full of people that want nothing more than to kill every bandit they saw. Was it worth it?
[Go to the base]
[Continue on to Youngstown]
[Go to the base]
[Continue on to Youngstown]
[Continue on to Youngstown]
I am worried that Sammy is still at the base. I mean, the base is the hospital from Stranded, or have I understood anything wrong? If it isn't, I may change my vote. There was no mention of her during the scene with Holly, so I am concerned that Holly just left her at the hospital after the deaths of Marcus and Mariza. I can't even blame her, as she likely either didn't know about her existence, or had no way of freeing her while she escaped herself. Considering what the military did to her brother, Sammy is definitely not safe there and I am deeply concerned for her, after my relief that she survived Stranded against all odds, with a cute little baby on top. However, I still have the theory that she was the woman that spoke the very final lines of Stranded. I mean, it has to be either her or Holly and considering that the woman mentioned Marcus instead of Mariza, Sammy makes a lot more sense than Holly, since Holly barely knew him. Speaking of Holly, it was nice to see her again after her short role in Stranded. After they were likely behind Marcus' execution, I got a deep-seated hatred against the CDC council and it was nice to see that Holly stood up against them. By the way, sorry for not having submitted any characters until now, but I make good progress on them and they should be ready tomorrow or the day after at latest.
No, you've understood correctly. The hospital was transformed into the base at the end of Stranded.
None to worry my friend. I eagerly await
Note to all readers: I'm an idiot.
Anyways, I scrapped the idea of chapter titles, mostly because I decided they weren't going to work for me. So, yeah. That's it. New part should be out later today (?)
Anyways, King Quality out! Peace.
Evan Banks
A promise is a promise, and Evan couldn’t just leave his group out to dry. Even if that’s exactly what they did to him, huh. Weird.
The soldier continued to look at Evan, he looked like he was just going to take off running at any second. What the hell kind of soldiers are they recruiting over there? Do they not know how to fight?
Hell, the wastelanders put up a better fight than this. And they don’t have guns!
“I’m not going with you. We just went through hell to get here and I’m sure as shit not going to just turn around now.” Evan answered him. He looked relived, only because he could continue running away now.
“Suit yourself. It’s your funeral.” He said as he rejoined the ranks and ran off.
“It’s not the first time I’ve heard that one.” Evan said, even though there was no chance of him hearing him anyways. “Come on Rebecca. Let’s get inside.” He said as he began walking forwards again. Rebecca now heavily leaning on him for support. He was lucky that she didn’t weigh a lot, that and the fact that he was strong. Seriously, he looked like he bench pressed pine trees for fun. Not really.
Together they shuffled down the road towards Youngstown, as he crested the hill that lead down into the town his eyes widened.
“Holy hell Rebecca.” He said. “We’re home.”
Raven Lee
Raven paused at the mahogany door, longer than she should have. She defiantly was having second thoughts of going in. She knew she had to, but she just didn’t want to. Her hand hovered slightly above the brass doorknob. She noticed for the first time how bad it was shaking. What went on in this room right here, today. It was going to shape everything that was going to happen for her for the rest of her life.
“Officer Lee, the door is unlocked.” The secretary said from the desk. Raven turned around and looked at her, giving a quick worried smile.
“I know, I was just…” She trailed off trying to find a good lie of why she wasn’t going in.
“Officer Lee, the longer you wait, the worse it will be.” She said.
“I know.” Raven said. The secretary raised an eyebrow at her, questioningly.
“Are you trying to make it worse on yourself Officer?” She asked, annoyance in her tone.
“No.” Raven said.
“Then open the door.” She said. Raven nodded and turned back to the door. So big. So menacing. She took a breath and held it in like it would be the last breath she ever took. Who knows, it actually might. She reached out and grabbed the handle, it was cold to the touch. Chills went down her spine as she twisted the knob and pulled the heavy door open.
“Officer Lee. Glad you could finally join us.” A loud annoyed voice boomed as she stepped in. She quickly stood up straight and snapped off a salute as the door swung shut on its own.
“Commander Wells, Sir.” She said, in her most authoritive tone, which at this time was very allusive and she was afraid her voice was going to fail her.
“Cut the formalities officer and take a seat. We have a lot to talk about.” Commander Wells said. The big black man was menacing without even trying to be. He could strike fear into the heart of any soldier, no matter how brave. Your life rested in his hands from the moment you joined the federal army, right up to the point you were resting in a coffin six feet under. Even then, by all rights, he could freely dig up your grave just to use your rotten corpse as fertilizer if he wanted to. Which, by rumor, he has.
Raven shakily walked across the room and took a seat on the opposite side of the large desk as Commander Wells. The desk itself was dug out of a museum in Florida just to be brought here for him. Lifestyles of the rich and the famous.
Raven forced herself to meet his gaze which angrily burrowed into her. It held no emotion or feeling, it was just a glare. A cold and soulless glare.
“Officer Lee, it is to my understanding that you were stationed at the Youngstown outpost?” He asked.
“Yes sir, I was transferred there after the siege of New Orleans.” Raven said, shuttering to even say that out loud.
“So you’re one of those.” He said. One of those? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Thought it was true, once you came back from New Orleans, no one ever looked at you the same. No one wanted to be in the same room as you. No one wanted to know you, or talk to you. You were a killer. A cold blooded killer, no matter what anyone said on their behalf. Everyone present at the siege was scattered throughout the CDC’s territory, both so they could keep an eye on you and so they wouldn’t have to deal with you.
“What was it that you were doing in Youngstown Officer?” He asked.
“I was serving as head of the Mayor’s private guard.” Raven answered.
“Officer, you do realize that the people of Youngstown think we’ve killed the mayor.” He said.
“Yes sir.” Raven said. “I tried to talk to them about it and tell them that there was no way the Council would do something like that, but they refused to listen.” She continued. “The Council would never do anything like that, sir.” She said, looking back into his soulless gaze once again. But this time she caught something in it that made her worry. “Right?” She asked.
“Wrong, Officer. We did capture and execute the Mayor of Youngstown.” He said.
“What? Why?” Raven asked, then immediately hated herself for letting it slip.
“Officer, it sounds an awful lot like you’re questioning my actions.” He said.
“No sir. Sorry sir.” Raven said.
“You better be Officer. Because, now because of you, the entire town of Youngstown has taken up arms against the Council.” He said.
“Sir, with all due respect, there was no possible way that was my fault.” She said.
“Really now? Because to me it looks like the district you were sent to is now rebelling. Tell me, Officer, how is this not your fault?” He asked. Raven remained silent, trying to find an answer. She just couldn’t. It obviously wasn’t her fault, and there were obvious ways to support that. But now she just couldn’t think, and Wells was making her think it was her fault and she was to blame.
“That’s what I thought.” He sneered. Raven forced another deep breath before asking the next question.
“What happens now, sir?” She asked.
“Now, I send my men in to clean up your mess.” He said. “And it won’t be pretty, they’re going to fight back and there’s going to be casualties on all sides because of you.” He said.
“What about me, what happens to me?” She asked.
“I’ve thought that over for a while now.” He said. “The way I see it there’s two outcomes. One: We book you for being a traitor and execute you.” He said. Raven swallowed the lump in her throat.
“And two?” She managed to shakily ask. He smiled as he rose from his chair and walked to the map of the United States that hung on the wall.
“Two… Two is my favorite, Officer.” He said as he pointed to the map, right where the Ohio republic was. “I’m sure you’re aware of the negotiations that have been going on between the CDC Council and the Ohio republic?” He asked.
“Yes sir.” She managed, now getting the idea of where he was headed with this.
“Well, they failed.” He said. “We’re now at war with the Ohio republic.” He said.
“And you want to drop me in there.” She deducted.
“Smart girl, but dumb none the less.” He said. “Not only are we dropping you in, we’re dropping in the entire 231st.” He said.
“But sir, the 231st was almost complete wiped out.” She said. He massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“How stupid are the people we recruit?” He growled. “We got more, you idiot. The 231st is now one hundred strong.” He said.
“And you’re dropping all of us in?” She asked.
“There you go, that’s the first smart thing I’ve heard you say since you got here.” He said. “We’re dropping you on the river near Cincinnati. Your commanding officer will be captain Charles Boggs. You will follow his every order, or die trying.” He said. “And let’s just make this clear, we have no intentions on ever seeing any of the bastards in the 231st ever again. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.” He said. “The next time I see you, you better be in a body bag. Do I make myself clear?” He asked.
“Crystal sir.” She said.
“Good.” He said. “Then you better get going, your ride leaving in fifteen and your ass better be on it.” He said.
“Yes sir.” Raven said, as she stood up from the chair. She flashed him a salute out of spite and he stood up, and walked around the desk, coming face to face with Raven.
“I despise your kind. You make me sick to my stomach.” He said, as he grabbed at the officer badge on her shirt and ripped it off. He then grabbed the CDC badge on her arm and ripped it off. She was no longer branded. “From here on out, you belong to no one. If you are capture or killed, you are not one of ours. Understood?” He asked.
“Sir yes sir.” She said, blinking back the forming tears.
“Are you going to cry?” He asked.
“Sir no sir.” She said.
“Then get your good for nothing ass out of my office!” He yelled, though he was only inches away.
“Sir yes sir.” She said as she lowered her arm from her forehead and walked out the door, aware of Commander Wells stare on the back of her head the entire time.
“How’d it go?” The secretary asked.
“I’m going to Ohio.” Was her only answer.
Lizbeth Morrison
Her mind swam and her head throbbed as she slowly opened her eyes, a ringing filled her ears but soon went away as she forced herself to sit up. The crowd was gone, they probably chased the soldiers out of the town and then some. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, waiting for the pounding in her head to stop, becoming painfully aware that it wasn’t going to.
She raised her hand to her forehead, and sure enough she saw blood. A lot of it, but she wasn’t worried about it. Head wounds always bleed pretty bad in the first place. Nothing an old rag couldn’t fix.
“Are you alright?” A deep voice asked. She looked up and her hear raced as she saw the man towering above her. She knew him from somewhere. She remembered that burly appearance, rugged beard and long hair. But from where? Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run and her mind was telling her this wasn’t a good guy. But she just couldn’t peg him. Where did she know him from? He was holding a woman up, helping her walk. She looked pretty bad.
“Is she alright?” Lizbeth asked.
“She will be, once I find the hospital.” He said, he held out his hand to her. Against her better judgement she took it and he hauled her to her feet.
“I guess I’m headed that way anyways.” Lizbeth said.
“So you wouldn’t mind showing us the way?” He asked.
“No, not at all.” Lizbeth said.
“What happened here?” He asked. “Well, I mean, what happened to cause you to wake up in an alley bleeding from your head?” He continued.
“You want the long story or the short story?” She asked.
“Oh, short please. I’ve never been one for the details.” He said.
“The Mayor was murdered by the Council, Her wife came back and took control and kicked out all the Army members.” She said. “So I guess, we’re at war. You showed up at a bad time I guess.” She said.
“Seems like.” He said. “So, all of the Army is gone?” He asked.
“Yeah. All of them. They got run out of town.” She said.
“So this town is defenseless?” He asked.
“Not entirely. We have a local militia known as the Minutemen, they keep us safe. But there’s not many of them.” She said.
“So if some bandits were to roll through here, what would happen?” He asked.
“Hard to tell. Maybe we hold them off, maybe we die. We’ll all die anyways when the Army rolls back in.” She said. “You know, I don’t think I caught your name.” She said.
“That’s because I never said it.” He said, smiling. “It’s Evan Banks. And you are?” He asked.
“Lizbeth Morrison.” She answered. “And she is?” Lizbeth asked, motioning to the sick woman.
“This is Rebecca.” He said with a smile. He seemed like a friendly enough guy, just… Something was telling her she couldn’t trust him. It now dawned on her how silent the streets were. Something was going on. She then noticed a single solitary figure dressed in black walking up the street towards them. As soon as he saw them, he raised his gun at them.
“Stop, don’t move!” He yelled as he closed in on them.
“Who is this guy?” Evan asked.
“He’s with the Minutemen.” Lizbeth answered.
“What are you three doing outside, all citizens are to remain indoors until further notice.” He said.
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, two of the three of us aren’t citizens.” Lizbeth said. “And two of the three of us are wounded. So I don’t suppose you can drop the act and let us get across the street to the hospital.” She said. He narrowed her eyes at her, then grabbed his radio.
“Command, this is Wallace, I’ve got three people requesting an escort to the hospital.” He said.
“Copy that Wallace, bring them in.” The radio said.
“Alright, you three follow me.” He said as he began walking across the street. Together they walked until they reached the hospital and he opened the door. “Go on in. You might be there for a while, so get comfy.” He said. Lizbeth nodded to him and the three walked in. They were immediately greeted by a doctor. He took one look at the both of them and decided Rebecca was worse off.
“Whoa, hold on. Where are you taking her?” Evan asked.
“We’re going to check her into the hospital so we can find out what’s wrong and treat it.” The doctor said.
“Like hell you are. She isn’t going anywhere without me.” He said.
“Evan.” Rebecca said weakly. “It’s fine.” She said. Evan backed off a little, though not amused. He seemed very protective. Lizbeth threw her olive colored book bag to the floor and unzipped her leather jacket. Luckily, her scarf was red so blood didn’t show up on it, her white shirt was a different story though. She grabbed her bag and rifled through her things until she found a clean rag. She wiped the blood away from her forehead and looked in the mirror they had in the lobby. The wound wasn’t bad. It probably wouldn’t even need stiches at the end of the day. She pressed the rag to her head and walked over to the waiting area and flopped down in a seat. She noticed Evan pacing back and forth along the wall methodically. It was annoying.
Choice
[Talk to Evan]
[Ignore him]
[Talk to Evan] because why not XD
I just have to say, I love your profile pic.
Thank you :DD It is lovely I have to admit
[Talk to Evan] i really love how you're handling Evan :DD !!
Why thank you!
Hey, there's a new part out. Just thought I'd let you know.
[Talk to Evan] I agree with wishwash, why not?
So... that Commander Wells guy is the one responsible for the deaths of Marcus and Mariza, am I right? Oh man, I already have a character I hate. Hopefully he hasn't dared to touch the remaining Bishop family, although I am quite nervous. But even aside from that, he is a huge asshole for sure. I mean, not only has he ordered the execution of Mariza and Marcus, he also now blames Raven for the people of Youngstown being understandably pissed at his decisions. And then there's his attitude... Gosh, the longer I think about it, the more I hate him.
I know, I have already read it. I just wanted to submit my characters first before I vote. Sadly, I am far too busy these days and barely manage to write all the stuff I want to write, so I'm afraid my characters will take a little bit longer. Sorry.
That means I've done my job right.
Raven Lee
She walked through the streets silent as the night, though it was mid-day. She made no sounds, no sudden movements, she just blended in. She refused to be noticed by anyone or anything. She just was, so she is.
Her first stop was the armory, fifteen minutes gave her exactly enough time to get suited up and get over to the airfield in time for takeoff.
Ohio. God damnit. Out of all the places on this planet, Ohio. Her mind refused to admit it, and she refused to accept it. There was no possible way she was going to Ohio, no. This was just some sort of drill. Her and the rest of the 231st were just being assembled to judge combat effectiveness in case of emergency. Yeah, this is just a drill.
Not at all.
She walked into the armory and looked at the clerk behind the counter. He was solidly built, with a far of gaze, as he seemed preoccupied with something under the counter. None the less, he noticed her presence.
“Can I help you?” He asked.
“Yeah, uh, I’m with the 231st. We’re headed out, just thought I should grab some gear.” She said.
“The 231st?” He asked, now interested in the conversation. The look on his face told her that this was the first time he’s heard of the 231st. “You fuckers back at it again?” He asked.
“Seems like.” Raven answered. “And this time we’re all going to hell.”
“I’m guessing you’re headed north towards the Ohio republic.” He said.
“Yeah. Like I said, hell.” Raven responded.
“You got that right. Them damn Ohioans ain’t worth shit.” He said.
“So, can I get some gear or what?” Raven asked.
“No can do, miss.” He said. “I have orders not to give any equipment to anyone in the 231st, you’re getting geared up at the runway.” He said.
“Fucking great. They really want our asses out of here, huh?” She said.
“Seems like.” He said.
“Well shit, I better go then.” She said.
“Wait, hold on a second.” He said.
“Yeah? What?” She asked.
“Just hold on.” He said as he disappeared into a room behind the counter. Waiting. Great. How long has she been? Ten minutes already or something? She was going to be late. But who cares, really. They were shipping her off to die in someone else’s war. They could wait two damn minutes. The man reappeared carrying a silver chain in his hands with a silver dragonfly on it.
“What is that?” Raven asked.
“It’s a dragonfly necklace.” He said, with a smile.
“Seriously?” She asked.
“Yeah, we found it somewhere. Brought it back here, no one’s going to miss it. I have no clue why it’s even here. So, yeah. Take it.” He said as he held it out to her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She said as she grabbed the silver chain. She shoved it inside her jacket pocket and headed towards the door.
“Hey.” He called, and she turned around to look at him. “When you’re back in town, look me up. We can have dinner or something.” He said.
“Yeah, sure thing.” She said, lying through her teeth. Well, it technically wasn’t a lie, because she wouldn’t make it back here alive. Hopefully.
The airfield wasn’t far from the armory, someone thought it was a good idea to put the two close together. You know, just in case someone broke in and decided they wanted some guns and a plane. May as well make it easy for them. Whoever came up with that idea deserves to be shot, if they haven’t already.
“You’re late.” Someone said. “You were told to be here two minutes ago.” He continued.
“With all due respect, does it look like I give a shit?” Raven responded. Yeah, ballsy move. But when you’ve got nothing to lose, why not go all out? What were they going to do? Kill her? That would be a vacation compared to this. No, she was safe.
“No, it doesn’t. But, hurry up and get on the plane.” He said.
“Fine.” Raven responded. She walked through the airfield and towards the operations hangar, hopefully that was where they were supposed to be.
Apparently not, the hangar was empty. Who the hell was in charge of giving directions around here? A four year old?
“Raven Lee?” Someone asked. Raven spotted a man walking in through the front of the hangar.
“Yes.” Raven said.
“Good, I’m Charles Boggs. I’ll be directing this operation. Seems like someone gave you some bad information.” He said.
“I have no clue where I’m supposed to be.” She said.
“That’s fine. We’re going nowhere fast.” He said as he handed a large bag to Raven.
“What’s this?” She asked.
“This is everything I could take without anyone noticing.” He said. “It’s everything you’ll need for the mission. Hopefully.”
“I don’t know if you know this, but, or only mission is to die.” She snapped at him. He got in her face.
“Officer Lee, I am well aware of our predicament. But unlike you, I have made it my own personal mission to survive this hellhole for as long as I can. Just so I can shove it down to Council’s throat.” He said. “Am I understood?” He asked.
“Yes sir.” She answered through gritted teeth.
“Good, then get your parachute ready and head to runway two. They’re already prepping for takeoff.” He said.
“Parachute?” She asked.
“I’ll explain on the plane.” He said as he walked off.
Holy hell. Parachutes. Not good. Parachutes mean certain death. The parachutes they were able to scrounge up have a one in five failure rate. Meaning, one out of every five theoretically won’t open. Which means, twenty out of the one hundred of them would make it to the ground the hard way.
Damn, Gravity sucks.
She angrily ripped her bag open and looked inside. They were screwed. She had a pistol, a few mags, a couple of grenades, a knife, a canteen, and a world war two style gas mask? The hell? Hopefully that was a mistake and they weren’t actually expecting chemical warfare. Damn it Ohio.
The parachutes weren’t hard to find, mostly because they were all piled up in a giant stack like garbage to be thrown out, which they actually were. She rummaged through them until she found one that looked relatively okay. Hopefully it would work and she wouldn’t end up as a red mark on the banks of the Ohio river.
Next step was to head to runway two. Sure enough there was a huge plane taxied out on the runway. Probably the biggest they had, it was an old C5 Galaxy. Probably the only left in operating condition still. One problem though, the thing was huge. Massive. Any two-bit with an anti-aircraft gun could easily score a direct hit on this thing. And apparently they’d be jumping out the back of it before the day was through, so. Fuck you logic.
Once inside she was greeted by the sight of about one hundred others. Damn, she was the last one apparently.
“Officer Lee, go ahead and take a seat next to Diaz and we’ll get started.” He said. Raven’s eyes narrowed. Diaz? Like, Aspen Diaz? Had raven dragged her into this to? Raven walked across the hull of the huge ship and sat down next to her friend.
“What are you doing here?” Raven whispered.
“Same as you.” She whispered back.
“Alright, everyone. Listen up.” Charles Boggs began. “I am the acting commander of this operation form here on out. You will do as I say, exactly how I say it, when I say it. Am I understood?” He said.
“Yes sir.” The ninety-nine others responded.
“Good. Now my main goal in this mission is to bring each and every one of you back alive. That means no trying to be a hero. We are here to survive above anything else.” He said.
“Now, our mission collectively.” He continued. “Is to infiltrate the Ohioan bunker that houses their leadership.” He said.
Damn, Ohio bunkers. Some people survived the infected by fighting, running and bleeding. Others, like the Ohioans, dug into the ground and hid. For years. Underground, like in some video game. And now, one of the biggest of the apocalypse bunkers is being used as a base of operations as well as a refuge for civilians.
“As you are well aware, we will be HALO jumping into the target zone, which is on the Ohio side of the river at Cincinnati. From there we will regroup at Paul Brown stadium. From there you will all be given further instructions on what to do. Understood?” He asked.
“Yes sir.” The ninety-nine responded once more.
“Alright then. We’ve got some time yet before we reach the drop zone, so if you have something you need to do, I suggest you finish it before you jump.” He said as he walked up towards the cockpit, thank God that guy wasn’t the one flying this thing. They got actual pilots, he was just hanging out up there like the Commanding Officers did.
“Raven.” Aspen said. Raven looked over.
“Aspen, I’m sorry, this is my fault. I got you into this.” Raven said.
“No, Raven, look.” Aspen said. Raven looked up.
“I don’t get it, what am I looking at other than a hundred dead people?” Raven asked.
“Everyone here… Raven, everyone here was at the siege of New Orleans.” Aspen said.
“Holy shit.” Raven said. “They’re cleaning up their mess.” She said.
“They really want us dead.” Aspen said.
“They do, which is why I’m going to live.” Raven said.
“That’s a gutsy thing to say coming from someone who’s about to jump out of a plane with a parachute that might not open.” Aspen said.
“I’m going to live.” Raven repeated. “And so are you.” She said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Aspen said, the gigantic plane lurched forward.
“You’ll live.” Raven said.
“I wish you were right.” She said.
“The ones who are going to die are the ones who think they are going to die.” Raven said.
“I’m not going to lie to myself and try to believe there’s a way I’m going to make it through this thing.” Aspen said.
“We made it through New Orleans.” Raven said. Aspen remained silent. She’d struck a soft spot. “As long as we stick together, we can make it through this thing.”
“Okay.” Aspen responded, nearly silently. By now the hulking mass of the plane was airborne and well on its way to its inevitable grave. So, fuck you gravity.
“Try to get some sleep. It’s going to be the last time for a while you’ll get the chance.” Raven said.
“Way ahead of you.” Aspen responded, resting her head on Raven’s shoulder like an annoying passenger on a flight. But Raven was fine with it, she needed to know someone was there. And hell, if you’re going to die in a few hours, why not spend it with your best friend? Raven sighed as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She was sure the next time she opened her eyes she’s be falling out the back of the C5 on her way to a death at terminal velocity.
Some would say, aim for the water, right? It’ll soften the fall, right? Wrong. Hitting water from this high is the same as hitting concrete, every bone in your body will disintegrate on contact, and hell, if you’re lucky enough you might get a tibia through your skull if you land right.
Oddly enough thinking like this actually relaxed Raven, the hum of the flying giant mixed with her morbid thoughts was just enough to send her over the edge and into a not-so-peaceful sleep.
Lizbeth Morrison
She watched Evan pace back and forth becoming increasingly annoyed with his antics. He was like some kind of lost puppy, except this puppy looked like it would rip your arms off and beat you to death with them. In a friendly manor, of course.
“Evan.” Lizbeth said. “Hey, Evan.” She said once more when she realized he wasn’t paying attention. “I think the floor gets the idea.” She said, growing increasingly annoyed at the way he was ignoring her. Raven and Aspen were the only ones that ever payed and attention to her, to everyone else she was just a ghost, and now, she might never see Raven or Aspen aver again. Hell, she might not even live to see tomorrow. Hopefully where ever they are, they’re safe from this shit.
Lizbeth huffed as she grabbed her bag and rummaged through it, grabbing an empty tin can. Yeah. That’ll work. She looked up at Evan and smiled to herself as she threw the tin can and hit him in the side of the head. He looked up at her like he wanted to rip her eyes out and hang her by her feet from the ceiling.
“What was that for?” He asked.
“Your pacing is annoying.” She said. “Come over here and sit.” She said. He rolled his eyes and looked like he was just going to ignore her.
“I’ll keep throwing shit at you.” She threatened. What was she? A six year old?
“You’re the annoying one.” Evan huffed as he walked over and took a seat next to her. “What do you want?” He asked gruffly.
“If you’re going to be like that, nothing.” She said.
“That was a short conversation.” Evan said as he began to stand up.
“Sit down.” Lizbeth commanded. He complied.
“Well aren’t you a little bossy?” He taunted.
“Shut up.” Lizbeth said.
“You know, this whole conversation thing, it usually consists of more than just telling people to shut up and sit down.” Evan said.
“Whatever.” Lizbeth said. “But, I have a question.”
“Shoot. As long as it’s not math I should be able to answer.” He said.
“Have I meet you somewhere before?” She asked. It seemed like she knew this guy, somehow.
“I don’t think we have.” Evan said.
“I feel like I knew someone like you before.” She said.
“I think you’ve got me confused with someone else.” He said.
“I probably do.” She said, shaking her head. She brushed a piece of hair out of the way and showed him a fading scar near the new open gash on her forehead. “This is why I asked.” She said. “Some man hit me with a crowbar when they were trying to take over the place I was staying. And for some reason, I keep thinking he looked like you.” She said, as she looked up to his face. He had gone pale, his face in shock.
“What?” She asked.
“No-Nothing. I’m just not good with blood.” He said. She nodded slowly.
“Uh-huh.” She said. “So where did you come from to end up here at a time like this?” She asked.
“Me and Rebecca, we’ve been wandering around ever since we found each other in Athens. We went for the coast, ended up here instead.” He said.
“Athens?” She asked. “I was there once. Almost died, but, you know.” She said.
“What happened in Athens?” He asked.
“Some guy, I saw him get cornered by infected. I knew he was toast, but I pulled the trigger anyways. The infected turned on me instead of him. Dumb, right?” She said.
“Doesn’t seem dumb to me, sounds heroic.” He said.
“That’s what I thought at the time, but the more you think about it, the more you realize that being heroic is just being dumb in disguise.” She said.
“Huh.” He said.
“Hey, how long ago was it that you were in Athens?” She asked, his eyes widened and his mouth hung open as he searched for an answer.
“Lizbeth?” Someone asked, and she turned away from Evan. It was Joshua Kilmore, a good friend of Lizbeth. One of the only friends she had. The kid was almost always smiling, and had his long hair greased back. He was kind of cute, though he’d never see her as more than a friend, probably.
“Josh, welcome to the party.” Lizbeth said.
“It’s been a warm welcome. They kind of shoved me in here and told me not to leave.” He said.
“Today is a seriously fucked up day.” She said.
“Got that right.” He said. “Who was that guy you were talking to?” He asked.
“Who, this is Evan…” Lizbeth said, as she looked over at the empty seat where Evan once sat. “Fuck.”
“What? He just walked over that way.” Joshua said. Lizbeth looked around, but he was nowhere in sight.
“How secure is this building?” She asked.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“Can anyone get out?” She asked.
“No. Not unless you’re a militia member.” He answered.
“Good. Who’s the guard on duty here?” She asked.
“Miller.” He said. “Why, what’s up? Something to do with that guy?” He asked.
“His name is Evan Banks he is, or was, a bandit.” She said.
“How do you know?” He asked.
“I’m not stupid.” She said. “A asked him questions, and just like a politician, he beat around the bush without answering it, relying on half-truths.” She said.
“Do you think he’s dangerous?” He asked.
“I don’t know. As long as we have his friend, he won’t try anything. But he’s a bandit. Bandits can’t be trusted.” She said.
“Is it something we need to tell the guard about?” He asked.
Choice
[Yes.]
[Not yet]
Miller
Well, this day is shit.
Started out okay, but now… Shit. So, the mayor was murdered and now they may or may not be at war with the CDC Council. Which is good and bad, good because they now had a radio station that was capable of listening in on all the activates of the Council’s army, that and the fact that the CDC was now fighting a multi-front war, both in the Wastelands and the Ohio republic. That should keep the occupied for a little while so they can dig in and prepare for a fight. Hopefully.
One worrying thought, a C5 had just taken off from the base and had circled around Youngstown twice, scaring the shit out of everyone before heading north. Who or what was on that plane, he had no idea, but it was headed for Ohio. Where the pulled that plane from, who knew? The fact the that thing even got airborne was a big F you to gravity. So, yeah.
He wished they didn’t decide to lock all the people up, it was creepily silent outside, beside the occasional radio chatter. If you listened hard enough, you could hear someone walking down the street a block away. Probably not.
He reaffirmed his grip on his rifle, he preferred a baseball bat over this boom stick any day, but, they said it was more effective to pop their heads like balloons from far off rather than smash them open close up. Yeah, sure. Either way, they’re dead. But as time went on, he was getting better with a rifle. It was embarrassing to admit that Lizbeth was better than him with the thing.
Damn it, Lizbeth. He hadn’t talked to her in over a month. By now she probably thinks he’s trying to avoid her. Such was not the case, he honestly didn’t mean to ignore her, he was just too involved with the new job and all. Maybe if after this was all sorted out, and if they were still alive, they could go out somewhere sometime together with Carlton and Miranda. That’d be good, just the four of them. Like old times.
“Miller, how’s the hospital holding up?” His radio asked.
“It’s holding fine, I’ve got more than enough men here to keep the place secure.” He said.
“That’s good, we need you and as many men as you can spare and get to the western road.” The radio said.
“You got it.” He said, the western road was just the name for the highway that ran into town from the west. The town was bisected by… Three major roads? Something like that, one went north, one went to the base, and one headed west towards the wasteland. Whatever was coming in that direction, who knew? Most likely it wasn’t Wastelanders, they would’ve had to go through way to much CDC territory before even getting here, but it’s still possible. Miller looked around to some of the other people guarding the hospital.
“You three, on me.” He said.
“You got it.” One responded.
“You sure you want to leave the entire hospital guarded by Julian and Yamaha?” Another asked.
“Who the hell is Yamaha?” Miller asked.
“Robby.” The third one answered. Miller rolled his eyes.
“Whatever, those two will be fine. Let’s go.” He said.
“Whatever you say boss.” One said, the four of them took off running for the western road.
By the time they got there, there was already about three guards there. They were all tense and hunkered down behind cover.
“Miller, get your men into cover.” The CO said. The men were one step ahead of him, because they had already taken refuge behind a truck. Miller hunkered down next to the CO.
“What’s going on?” Miller asked
“We’ve got a small group headed this way from the west.” He answered.
“Small? As in how small?” Miller asked.
“Around six.” He answered.
“Explains the back up.” Miller said.
“Yeah.” He sa
“Yeah.” He said.
“Are they friendly?” Miller asked.
“No way of telling. All our scouts can tell us is that they are heavily armed.” He said. “And closing in fast.”
“I see something!” One of the guards yelled. Miller shot up from his cover and looked down his sights. They were still too far off.
“Simon, report.” The CO said.
“Six well-armed, well –trained, seriously pissed off looking people headed straight for us.” Simon, the designated sniper said.
“Are they CDC?” Miller asked.
“No, they aren’t in any sort of uniform.” Simon said.
“That doesn’t mean anything. It could be a trick.” Miller said, the group was now not too far out and he could clearly see for himself. “Fire a warning shot. Right over their heads.” He said.
“On it.” Simon said as he half-assed a shot that clearly would’ve missed the broadside of a barn.
“Were you even looking?” Miller asked as he watched the group stop dead in their tracks and pull up their guns.
“No, I had my eyes closed.” Simon answered.
“I think you shoot better that way.” Miller said. “Hey!” He shouted. “The next one won’t miss! What is your business being here?” Miller asked. The leader, the cliché tall, strong man stepped forward keeping his gun up in their direction. Maybe the clichés were real?
“We’re from the California Commonwealth.” He said, Ah, the Commonwealth, the beautiful hellhole in Las Angeles, that is considered to be its own standing country by some. It’s mostly ruled my gangs and mafia though. “We came here to the Government of the CDC Council a long time ago, hoping to have a better life. We’ve gone from town to town, but we heard stories of a place called Youngstown, and thought we should check it out. It sounded too good to be true, but here we are.” He said. “I’m Marlin Coates, and this is my group.” He said.
“Well Marlin, you’ve showed up at a bad time.” Miller said.
“How so?” He asked.
“We’ve got ourselves in a little jam here. The CDC and us don’t exactly see eye to eye, So we might have a little fight on our hands.” Miller said.
“Sounds like you could use some help.” Marlin said.
“Depends on who’s offering.” Miller said.
“All of us here are former members of the Commonwealth Statesmen. We know a thing or two about fighting.” He said. The Commonwealth Statesmen, a group of tacticians and assassins in the Commonwealth who swear allegiance to the Pacific Republic, drilled and trained to perfection. It was hard to find a bad one of them. Heck, it was hard to even find one of them.
“What are the Statesmen doing here? Your allegiance is with the Republic.” Miller said.
“The Republic’s gone.” Marlin said. “They were overthrown by rebels, who were killing anyone loyal. We were smart enough to hightail it out of there.”
“The Pacific Republic is gone?” Miller asked.
“The new governing body calls themselves the Oregon States. It’s a complete anarchy over there, I think they’re going to fall to the Wastelands.” Marlin said.
Miller looked around at the rest of Marlin’s group. Defiantly battle-tested and war-torn. He noticed one woman was slowly moving her hands towards he gun hanging at her side. Nobody else was moving at all, the ones holding guns had by now lowered them.
Choice
[Open fire]
[Keep talking]
[Order the woman to stop]
[Not yet]
[Order the woman to stop]
[Yes.]
Better safe than sorry. I guess Evan is going to cause trouble sooner or later and Youngstown should be prepared.
[Order the woman to stop]
It's worth a try. If she does not stop, then hopefully he can still shoot her quick enough, but he should give her a chance to stop. The rest of the group does not seem to be too keen on shooting, or else they wouldn't have lowered their guns.
By the way, your new profile picture is nice
Is that Murphy?
Why, yes it is. Thank you for noticing.
[Not yet]
Let's give a chance to poor Evan ^^
[Order the woman to stop]
don't know what she's trying but it doesn't look good .
Raven Lee
The air was cold and thick with fog.
The mixture of fog and smoke from the burning city made it hard to see more than five feet away, but you didn’t need to see to hear what was going on. The mortars roared and gunfire crackled as the army continued to bomb the crap out of New Orleans.
Raven stumbled in the fog towards the command tent, only recognizable by the lamp that hung on the tent post. She brushed the tent flap out of the way as she stepped in.
“Commander Grigsby, sir.” She said, snapping to attention.
“Officer Lee, at ease.” Grigsby said. “I’ve got your assignment here from high command.” He said as he tapped a folder in his hands.
“We’re geared up and ready to move out on your order, sir.” She said.
“That’s what I like to hear Lee.” He said. “You and your group will relive squad 62’s position on the northern flank and start working your way south through the city, once you get to third street, dig in and wait for reinforcements.” He said.
“Understood sir.” She answered.
“Good, now hurry up. The entire 231st is counting on you.” He said.
“I don’t plan on letting them down.” She said.
“You never have, that’s why I picked you.” He said. “The town’s been cleared all the way up to Weaver street, so once you get there you should expect heavy resistance. Visibility is low, so you’re going to have to rely on your gut out there. Take your time and don’t get in a hurry, that’s how people die.” He said.
“Understood sir.” She said.
“Then what are you waiting for? Get your ass on the line, now.” He said.
“Yes sir.” She said.
“Godspeed Lee.” He said.
“Let’s hope.” She said as she walked out of the tent. Now back to wandering around hoping she can get back to the barracks.
This fog was unreal, like freakishly thick. When you were in it, you were alone. You just couldn’t see, like you’re in your own little world and nobody else is around.
The fog rolled in this morning around three, ever since then, it just seemed to get thicker. They’d been here what, three days? They made great time in the first two days, but with this fog, they’re just fighting ghosts. Not good.
Multiple squads of soldiers have just, disappeared. Gone, without a trace. That could mean one of a few things. One; They ditched the army and ran home, just to be hunted down and tried for deserting. Two; The bandits in the town are kidnapping their soldiers. Or three, her personal favorite; There’s something in the mist!
After too long, she finally walked into the barracks, literally, face-first into the tent pole. She stepped back and stared at the pole through the fog. She shook her head, glad nobody could see that. Maybe the fog is good for something.
“Alright everyone, let’s get moving. North side, pronto.” She said.
“North side?” Someone asked, a tall man.
“Yeah, north side. Deal with it.” She said.
“Better get moving then.” He said.
“Damn right. Diaz, comms?” She asked.
“Still down. No idea what’s going on, but something’s blocking our signal.” Aspen answered as she looked up from her complex wiring system.
“Looks like we’re alone on this one.” Raven said. “One me, stay close.” She said.
“Sure thing.” The man answered. Raven had only recently been appointed as the leader of the squad, and he was as new as her. She’d learn names later. If she lived that long.
The walked to the north side went without a hitch, no one got lost or anything. But at one point, Williamson strayed too far from the group and started doing the whole ‘Marco-Polo’ thing to get back. After Raven threatened to tie a rope around them all, he wasn’t a problem anymore. Once at the north side Raven saw a bright light illuminating the area, and a fire burning.
“Squad 62, we’re here to relieve you. Head on back to camp.” Raven yelled at the oblivion.
“Thank God.” Someone answered. “It’s been quiet, but we think something’s going on down at Weaver street. Keep your guard up.” They said, still remaining unseen.
“I’m aware.” Raven said. “Alright squad, listen up.” She said, turning to her squad. “We’re following this road all the way down to third street. Keep your eyes moving at all times, even if we can’t see them, they might be able to see us.” She said, as she stepped out into the street and began walking into the city, a tight grip on her rifle.
“I don’t like this fog.” Aspen said.
“We’ll you won’t like a lot of things, but you get used to them.” Raven said.
“That’s not what I meant.” She said. “Just how thick it is, it’s not natural.” She said.
“It’s not only fog, Diaz.” Williamson said. “There’s smoke from the fires to.” He said.
“Yeah, but not enough to cause this.” She said.
“So, what are your guesses?” The unnamed man asked.
“My guess, man- made fog.” She said.
“Man-made fog?” Raven asked. “I never knew bandits were that advanced.”
“It’s not hard to do really. Just takes a little bit of math and chemistry.” Aspen said.
“You know, I liked it better when you never talked.” Raven said.
“Should I be worried?” Williamson asked. “Like, is my face going to melt off or something?” He asked.
“Look around dumbass.” The unnamed man said. “We’ve been in this shit all day, and we’re fine.” He said.
“Hey, I was just being saf-“ Williamson said and was suddenly cut off with a thudding sound. Raven quickly dropped to one knee and brought her gun up scanning the fog.
“Williamson, report.” She said.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just tripped. I can’t see shit in this fog.” Williamson said.
“Get on your feet, we still have a ways to go.” Raven said.
“You got it.” He answered. “H-holy shit…” The words pierced the fog like a knife, burrowing itself deep into Raven’s eardrums. Those kinds of words could mean anything in a fog like this.
“Wha-?” Raven began to asked as she spun around and faced the direction of Williamson. Just as she began to see his ghostly outline, a bright flash engulfed him. A sudden force blew Raven off her feet and sent her tumbling to the other side of the street like a ragdoll.
She landed face-down on the pavement, a horrid ringing filling her ears. She reached for her rifle only to find it gone, flung somewhere else after the explosion. No way in hell she was finding it in the fog. She looked down the street in the direction they were headed, small sustained flashes pierced the fog. Like little explosions dotting the air.
Raven knew better, those were gunshots. Someone was shooting at them. What the hell? This area was supposed to be clear up to Weaver street. Apparently someone had other plans. She felt a sudden force pull her back. Through the numbness and ringing she fought back, punching the ghost in the face. It let go and she fell back to the ground, only seconds later Raven pulled out her pistol and faced the ghost, pulling the trigger before thinking too much. The figure crumpled to the ground, an obvious gunshot to the head.
Raven rolled on her back breathing heavily, trying to regain her breath. She needed to get off the street. Those sons of bitches down the street defiantly didn’t know where she was, but they knew she was here and it was only a matter of time before one of them would score a lucky shot.
She quickly pushed herself up and stumbled over to the man she’d shot, looking for a gun. Her jaw dropped as she realized the critical error of her judgment. She’d just shot the man who was in her squad. The one who had no name. She killed him, and never even bothered to learn his name.
Her mind ached, her heart raced, her body hurt. Nothing was as it should be. She sank down next to the man and looked at him. She took a deep breath as she reached into his shirt and pulled out his dog tags, ripping them off. Alfons Newman. She killed Alfons Newman.
Her face hardened as she studied his restful face, now burdened by the gaping hole above his right eye. This man had done nothing wrong. He was one of theirs. She was well aware of the gunfire at this point, and her hearing was slowly coming back. She couldn’t tell what was worse, getting blown up, or surviving it.
She grabbed his rifle that lay at his feet, as much as she hate to say it, it was more useful to her now. She leaned in close to his ever resting face, edging close to his ear.
“I’m sorry, Alfons.” She whispered, maybe he’d hear her from wherever he was. She forced her wobbly legs to bring her up. She turned from the dead man and ran across the street away from the burning silhouette of a car. She raced for the alleyway between two buildings, but as she got close her leg, just above the knee, gave out with a massive amount of pain shooting through it. She knew instantly she’d been shot. Lucky bastard.
She attempted to force herself back up, but by the amount of pain that shot through her leg every time she put any amount of weight on it, she knew she wasn’t getting up. She forced herself instead to crawl into the alleyway, propping herself up against the brick wall of the building, doing a quick synopsis of her squad.
Williamson the Joker; tripped on a bomb, more than likely dead. If that fucker could survive that, she was though as steel, more than steel actually.
Alfons the Unknown man; Dead, GSW to the head. Jesus…
Raven Lee, squad leader; tossed across the street like a piece of garbage, shot one of her own in the head, ran away like a scared kid, than got herself shot in the process, which reminded her…
It’s bad, pretty bad. And she was the trained medic. By the looks of it, it hit an artery. Blood was everywhere, and by the looks of it she left a trail when she crawled back here. Great. Now they can track her. She was already feeling lightheaded, blood loss. Maybe if Aspen was here, she could…
Holy shit, she’d forgotten.
Aspen, squad techy; missing. Not seen since the explosion.
Well, that’s one thing she could add to her own synopsis, ditching her crew member. She contemplated yelling for her, but knew better. She’d just give away her position. From here there was only one smart option, get to the rally point. She could follow this alleyway to the next block and slip away, undetected then just cut over after she passed the shooters.
And that’s what she’d do unless she felt like waltzing past those bandits standing guard at the cross roads. She looked down at her leg, this was going to suck. Majorly. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself up, avoiding her left leg entirely. She’d have to lean against the wall for support, but once she was out of the alley, she’d be on her own.
Gosh dang it, where’s the reset button? Seriously, life should come equipped with one of those.
“I fucking hate this city.” She moaned as she hobbled farther down the alley. Pure and raw agony filler her leg, dizziness crept in with the lightheaded ness, she was beginning to lose her bearings, she stood no chance to make it to the rally point on her own and she knew it.
After only making it about ten steps she collapsed, exhausted and in pain. This was hopeless. She grabbed her radio from her gear.
“This is Officer Raven Lee, does anyone copy? Over.” She said, again, it was hopeless but it was something. Maybe by an odd chance a miracle would happen, and heaven would open up and angels would relay her message to base. Maybe.
Out of pure defeat, she slammed her head back in anger, banging it against the wall. Except the wall was metallic and produced a droning sound that echoed through the alley. Shit.
“Did you hear that?” A gruff voice asked off to Ravens left.
“They’re out here somewhere.” Another said.
“Hey, just come on out. We just want to talk.” The first one said. Raven lifted her rifle and pointed it down the alley. Fucking bandits, coming right for her. Raven saw the blueish-black outline of a figure pierce the fog. She’d killed a friend to get this far, she wasn’t going to give up now. Without as much as a word Raven pulled the trigger, shells flew all over the ground as bullets filled the air. She didn’t quit until she was out of ammo. Damn guns, they won’t shoot unless they’re loaded for some reason.
Raven went silent, listening closely if anyone was there, she wanted to know. She heard nothing. They were all dead or ran away. She was alone again.
“Multiple hostiles down in an alleyway.” Raven said into her radio, she knew no one was listening but it made her feel better. She laid her head back against the metallic wall once again. What kind of wall was metallic? The kind with a knob that swings open so you can walk in. Dumb ass, she smacked herself on the forehead.
One last time she forced herself up and squinted at the door, grasping for a knob. Her fingertips finally brushed the round, cool metallic knob and she gave it a twist. Thankfully, it opened, swinging open wide enough for Raven to limp in before it slammed shut behind her. Thankfully the fog was lessened inside the building due to insulation between this and the outside, but it was still hard to see.
It didn’t take her long to realize she was in the back of a restaurant. The deep fryers and ovens kind of gave it away. Stainless steel was everywhere. She limped around the kitchen area, careful to not make a sound. She didn’t know what was out in the dining area, and thank God she thought of that because as she approached the dining area she heard voices.
“I swear I heard gunshots.” Someone said.
“Of course you did, we’ve been shooting at them for a while now.” A woman answered.
“What the hell is going on?” Someone asked, sounding like they were on the verge of tears. “All hell is breaking loose.”
“Keep it together. There’s not as many of them as you think, we can take them even if we’re not organized. Remember the mission guys.” The woman said.
“But our leader is dead. We’re wandering blind in the fog and nobody knows what anybody’s doing. Everyone’s running blind trying to kill someone.” One said. Raven heard the sound of the front door opening.
“Guys, I found five of our guys dead out back.” A new voice said. Five, now she was up to six kills.
“Shit. The shooter?” The woman asked.
“No idea, but there’s a blood trail.” He said.
“Where does it lead?” She asked.
“The kitchen.” He answered.
“Shit.” Raven mumbled to herself. Her hand brushed across something on her gear and she almost smile, her saving grace. A beautiful, shining, happy looking grenade. Two of them, actually. This would clear that room, at any rate. She held the grenade in her hands, looking at it. She heard footsteps walking towards her. Now or never. She pulled the pin on both and threw them through the doorway. It landed on the floor and she could hear it continue to roll.
“The hell is that?” Someone asked.
“Grenade!” Another yelled, half a second before it went off. Raven took this as her chance. She busted through the doorway and shot anything still standing or moving, or once alive at any given point. She just shot. Once she was done, she stopped and looked around at the surrounding gore. People with their guts ripped open, missing limbs, blood ever where. And worst of all, they were in uniform, all of them. All of them were Army members, that she just shot.
The stinging pain in her leg traveled upwards to her stomach making it churn as she doubled over and threw up on the blood soaked floor. She stumbled a few steps before her leg gave out again and she collapsed against the bar, she managed only to pull herself up and sit in one of the stools. Tears ran down her bloody cheeks like rivers turning to waterfalls. She threw her rifle to the floor. Her hands were shaking badly, horribly. Her breathing was erratic, her heart was racing, and her mind was the only thing not working overtime.
She heard something outside and forced a deep breath, and looked up, still shaking. Footsteps. One person. She was out of ammo any way you look at it. Well, if there’s a time to be defiant, it’s right before you die.
“Just shoot me you bastard!” She yelled. Nothing happened. Raven scanned the fog still mumbling to herself in childish jibber as she continued to cry. “Just shoot me…”
She felt the pain before she heard anything, actually she didn’t hear anything. She just saw the flash, then a fire was set in her lungs. In shock, her head tilted downwards, staring at the quarter sized hole in her chest right where her lung should be.
Her pale skin went paler than before, comparable to a bedsheet at this point. She began gasping for air as the taste of blood filled her mouth. She doubled over and fell out of the stool, grasping the wound, riving in pain. Her vision swirled as she felt the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth onto the floor.
She was on her way out, and she knew it. She saw her killer walk in through the front door, Raven’s green eyes fixated on a woman. She had dark, warm curls in her hair, matched with brown eyes and a complimenting tan skin tone. None other than Aspen Diaz.
It was only suiting after what she’s done that it be her own friend that takes her out in the end. She was a monster. A sick, demented creature hell-bent on killing. A sick dog. And what do you do with a sick dog? In this case, put it down. Aspen’s eyes scanned the room until they fell upon Raven and her brown eyes widened, her jaw dropped. She ran over to Raven and slid to a stop next to her. She grabbed her head and cradled it gently in her lap. Raven’s eyes were fixated at the ceiling, not moving.
“Raven, Jesus… I didn’t know it was you.” She said. Raven answered with a wheezing breath. “They’re all dead Raven, all ten of them.” She said. Ten… Ten plus six is sixteen.
“Sixteen…” Raven spit out, through the blood.
“Jesus Christ… It’s going to be okay Raven, we’ll get out of here and be just fine.” She said.
“Bull… Shit.” Raven stammered between choking breaths. It was becoming harder and harder to breath.
“It’s going to be fine, It’s going to be fine.” Aspen said, repeatedly. Probably trying to convince herself.
“Aspen.” Raven said.
“Yeah?” Aspen asked.
“O-Once you get back t-to Youngst-town…” She began, taking a shaky breath and choking back tears. “G-give this to L-Liz… Please.” She said as she moved her blood soaked hand into her breast pocket and pulled out a small envelope, which was now soaked with blood through and through.
“Raven, no.” Aspen said.
“Yes.” Raven said.
“But we’re going to get out of here, I promise.” Aspen said, she now being the one in tears. Raven’s head was swimming though it held no thought at all, it was just being active to cloud he judgment. Everything was darkening and spinning. This was her exit, her curtain call.
“D-on’t….. Promi….se” Raven said as her body involuntarily relaxed and her head fell back into Aspen’s lap.
“Raven, no… Don’t do this! Raven!” Aspen yelled.
“Shit!” Raven yelled as she shot straight up, gripping her ribs right where she’d been shot. It took her a moment for her breathing to get back to normal, she finally realized she was one the plane now, headed for yet another inevitable death. But, right now, she was being pretty optimistic for a pessimist.
“You alright?” Aspen asked. Raven’s head swiveled around and saw Aspen next to her, with a genuinely worried expression.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream.” Raven said. “Worse than the one I’m living.” She said. Right now she was beginning to wish she wasn’t the last one on the plane. Because, the last one on it the first on off. Damn it.
“Alright everyone, let’s go over the drill one more time.” Commanding Officer Boggs said as he appeared once again. “We jump, we land, we regroup at the stadium. Understood?” He asked.
“Yes sir.” Everyone answered.
“That’s what I like to hear.” He said as he walked over to the rear of the plane. “I’ll see you guys on the ground.” He said as he pressed a button and the entire rear of
of the plane folded completely open. The plane began to shake, and Raven was the first to see why.
Flack. Anti-aircraft fire. And they were jumping into it.
“Officer Lee, you’re up!” Boggs yelled. Her heart raced and her stomach churned rationality went out the window at this point.
“I fucking hate flying.” Raven muttered as she simply walked off the edge of the ramp and began to fall. Wind rushed and explosions filled the air. She had a little time before she was below the flack range. Just because she felt stupid, she looked up at the planes. Around seventy soldiers had already jumped out. It was heartbreaking when Raven saw one man pull his chute to early, and it opened. That’s great, right? No. He got hit with flack, the parachute was ripped apart and he free fell the rest of the way to the ground, becoming a human pancake. If he even survived the flack in the first place.
And that wasn’t the worst thing she saw. The Flying Giant, the C5, took a direct hit. Soldiers still on board, and took a nose dive directly downwards. It was going to crash into the city somewhere.
She looked back down at the ever approaching ground. From the height, flack couldn’t hit her. Now or never. She held her breath and pulled the chord, the chute opened, to her surprise. But to her dismay, it had a hold in it, and the chute did little to slow her decent. She was going to hit hard, but she was going to live.
It was easy to tell who’s chute didn’t work, they were the ones who screamed as loud as they could as they continued to fall at terminal velocity as everyone else smoothly glided downwards. Pancakes. Way to be morbid, Raven. But, it’s what trained medics do right?
She looked down and got a good picture of just how fast she was actually going in. Judging by how fast those trees were approaching, she was moving to damn fast.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, No!” Raven yelled, moments before making contact with the trees. It was an instant blackout, thankfully.
Raven, huh? More like Dodo.
Lizbeth Morrison
“No, not yet at least. Not until we know what he’s up to.” Lizbeth said.
“But the guard can help find out what he’s up to.” Joshua said.
“No means no, Josh. Can I trust you on this?” Lizbeth asked. He looked a little offended.
“Lizbeth, you know you can always trust me, right?” He said.
“I was just setting the record straight.” Lizbeth answered.
“Okay. What now?” Josh asked.
“Now we wait, I guess.” Lizbeth answered.
“Wait for what exactly?” Josh asked.
“To die.” Lizbeth answered.
“Ohh, sounds fun.” Josh said. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ve got a better idea.”
“So, what is it?” Lizbeth asked.
“Well, if I recall correctly, today is a certain someone’s special day. Am I correct?” He asked.
“You mean my birthday?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah, I mean your birthday Liz.” He said. “You’re eighteen now.”
“Yeah, a helluva birthday it’s been.” Lizbeth said, covering up the fact she forgot today was her own birthday. She was eighteen now. Welcome to hell.
“Well, it’s only costmary in the United States, and multiple other countries to give the birthday person a present, I believe?” He pressed.
“You didn’t.” Lizbeth said, with a grin.
“I did.” He said as he reached under his chair and pulled out a small box. “Now, I’m just letting you know, I’m not a stalker or anything so I have no idea what size I should’ve gotten, but it should be close enough.” He said, handing her the box. A giddy, childish smile flashed across her face as she took the lid off the cardboard box to reveal a set of simple shoes inside.
“Shoes?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah, I saw that the ones you wear were falling apart so, on my free time I snuck out and found a shoe store. It was mostly raided, but I thought you’d like these.” He said, with a smile that faded just as quickly as it came. “You don’t like it?” He asked.
“No, Josh. I love them.” Lizbeth said. “It’s just, weird. You know. It’s then end of the world and you’re sitting here with me celebrating my birthday.”
“We can’t just give up on what once was because what we have isn’t what we had.” Joshua answered. “And I think you’re worth it.” He said. Lizbeth smiled.
“Thanks.” She said, she knew she was probably blushing. “Hey Josh.” She said.
“What?” He asked.
“Where did you go to school?” She asked.
“Weird question. Why are you asking?” He asked.
“Just wanted to know.” She answered.
“Well, if you have to know. I never really went to school, you see, my father was a crazy revolutionary kind of guy. He was caught in the whole notion that education was just brainwashing us.” He said.
“You never went to school?” She asked.
“Not really.” He said.
“And here you are, one of the smartest teenagers I know.” She said.
“Probably because I’m the only teenager you know.” He said.
“Shut up.” Lizbeth said, playfully punching his arm. “I have friends.”
“I’m not questioning that, I’m just saying that… Hold on.” He said. “Over there, that’s your guy.” He said. Lizbeth looked around the room, there she saw him. Evan Banks, milling through the crowd looking thoroughly pissed. He began walking towards the front door. “Your call, what do we do?” He asked.
[Confront Evan]
[Stay put and watch]
Raven's part was seriously awesome, so far my favourite part in the whole story
[Confront Evan]
I think it should be for the best to make sure that he doesn't start any trouble. Maybe Lizbeth can prevent things from escalating.
Thank you! I put a lot of time into this part, and I'm glad you like it.
[Stay put and watch]
[Confront Evan] is the right choice I think