Aspen Diaz
“Where are you going? That’s our prisoner.” Ed said, pushing Aspen back while grabbing Raven’s arm. Raven had lost all her wil… morel to fight at this point and practically collapsed onto Ed.
“She ain’t yours.” Aspen growled. “She’s my friend, and we’re getting the hell out of here.”
“I can’t let you do that, not after the crimes she’s committed.” Ed said.
“Crimes?” Aspen asked. “And I guess you think what you people do down here is any better? Do you even see what you did to her?”
“She was an enemy of the state.” Ed said.
“Enemy of the state my ass.” Aspen said, stepping forwards towards Ed. She pushed him back, he stumbled a few steps letting go of Raven, who slumped against a wall. “You’re the only enemy I see here. Get out of my way.”
“I can’t.” Ed said.
“Do you want to die today?” She asked ,taking out Raven’ pistol. Ed’s eyes widened as he looked at it. “Because I really wouldn’t mind ending you, right here … [view original content]
Aspen Diaz
“Where are you going? That’s our prisoner.” Ed said, pushing Aspen back while grabbing Raven’s arm. Raven had lost all her wil… morel to fight at this point and practically collapsed onto Ed.
“She ain’t yours.” Aspen growled. “She’s my friend, and we’re getting the hell out of here.”
“I can’t let you do that, not after the crimes she’s committed.” Ed said.
“Crimes?” Aspen asked. “And I guess you think what you people do down here is any better? Do you even see what you did to her?”
“She was an enemy of the state.” Ed said.
“Enemy of the state my ass.” Aspen said, stepping forwards towards Ed. She pushed him back, he stumbled a few steps letting go of Raven, who slumped against a wall. “You’re the only enemy I see here. Get out of my way.”
“I can’t.” Ed said.
“Do you want to die today?” She asked ,taking out Raven’ pistol. Ed’s eyes widened as he looked at it. “Because I really wouldn’t mind ending you, right here … [view original content]
Lizbeth sat down on the couch, more like collapsed. Her leg was hurting her badly, and was glad to finally be able to rest. On an actual couch, none the less.
Eve looked exhausted, having practically carried her this far. She wandered away, over towards the window.
Josh and Rebecca seemed interested in practically nothing in the building and went across the room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.
Miller seemed interested, however, as he spotted something none of the rest had.
“You have a baby?” He asked, Lizbeth saw it as soon as he said it. There, in a crib, lay a small little child sleeping. Samantha gazed over at the infant, a small smile on her face, before she looked back at Miller.
“She’s mine.” Samantha said.
“What’s her name?” He asked.
“Nadia.” Samantha responded.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He said.
“I had a sister names Nadia.” Eve said, Lizbeth looked over and saw she was leaning on the windowsill, looking out into the street. “It’s a beautiful name.” Lizbeth saw Samantha smile at Eve.
“Where’s your sister now?” She asked. Eve looked away from the window towards Samantha, a pained look on her face.
“Hold on to the ones you have while you still can.” She said. “People tend to envy what they can’t have.” Samantha bit her lip, Eve looked away, taking a keen interest in the pavement. Miller seemed lost. Rebecca and Josh had entered their own conversation.
“So, the father. Where is he?” Lizbeth asked, blurting out the first thought that came to her mind. Samantha sighed as soon as she heard the question. Lizbeth knew she’d hit a nerve.
“She doesn’t have a father.” Samantha said.
“What happened to him?” Lizbeth asked.
“I was raped.” She said. “In the end, we killed him…I killed him.”
“Jesus… I’m so sorry.” Lizbeth said. Samantha sighed.
“Don’t be.” She said. “Nadia’s the best thing that’s happening in my life for a long time.”
“Just as a question, You’re Marcus Bishop’s sister aren’t you?” Miller asked. “Why aren’t you back at the base?” Samantha shook her head, lowering her voice.
“It’s not safe for me there.” She said. “They killed him, and would’ve done the same with me. The only reason I got out was because of a nurse I didn’t even know. She got me out of there, sent me on my way. She didn’t want to come with me, I don’t even know her name.”
Lizbeth tried to say something, try to say something reassuring. But there just wasn’t anything to say. Everything she ever knew had fallen apart around her once before, and it was happening all over again. The people that had once protected her, have now turned hostile. She felt alone, betrayed, she didn’t know who to trust. Not anymore.
“How about you?” Samantha asked, looking over at Lizbeth. “Your family, where are they?” Lizbeth just shook her head.
“Dead.” Was her only answer, she looked up, nodding at Miller. “This is my family now.” She said.
“Family’s a good thing to have.” Samantha said. “Especially now.”
“Everyone needs someone.” Lizbeth said. “Whether or not they realize it.”
“Speaking of which…” Samantha said, as she stood up. “Miller, is it?” Miller nodded.
“Yeah.” He said.
“I could use some help with something, if you wouldn’t mind.” She said.
“Not at all.” He said.
“Come on.” She said, as she moved towards the door. Miller turned towards Lizbeth.
“I’ll be right back.” He said, as he walked out. Lizbeth heard the door shut behind him and the only sound was the dying conversation between Josh and Rebecca. Lizbeth sighed, and stood up. She avoided putting too much pressure on her bad leg, but it hurt anyways.
She hobbled across the floor and leaned against the wall next to Eve.
“You shouldn’t be walking.” Eve said.
“You really want to be telling me what I shouldn’t be doing after you almost got yourself killed?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah, fine. Next time I’ll keep it in mind to not save your life.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“That’s not what I meant.” Lizbeth said. “What you did for me… it’s just, I don’t understand why you did it.”
“Why do you say that?” Eve asked.
“You barely know me.” Lizbeth said.
“Maybe.” Eve said. “But it doesn’t make a difference, your people saved my life and they barely knew me.”
“But you helped us.” Lizbeth said.
“I guess it just creates a vicious cycle.” She said, as she peered out into the street. Lizbeth noticed she was tapping her fingers against the windowsill, to a tune she’d heard once before. “But I don’t regret it. I’ve lost too much to lose you and your people.”
“You know you don’t have to prove anything to us, you’re one of us.” Lizbeth said.
“I had to kill my father and mother when I was only sixteen.” She said. “You think I had something to prove then?” She asked. “I hid away and watched as people I didn’t know dragged my only sister away and I never saw her again, she was only thirteen. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”
“Jesus, Eve.” Lizbeth stammered. “That’s horrible.” Lizbeth saw Eve wipe a tear from her eye with the sleeve of her shirt. She looked up, and instantly changed the subject.
“I’m going out there.” She said. “I’m going to find Evan.”
“What?” Lizbeth asked. “You can’t go out there alone, they could still be out there.”
“All the more reason to find Evan before it’s too late.” Eve said.
“Evan can handle himself, Eve. I know him.” Lizbeth said. “You don’t even have a gun.”
“Did you not see that gun locker Samantha has? The thing’s stocked. She has more guns than she needs.” She said.
“Eve, come on.” Lizbeth said.
“I’ve made up my mind, Lizbeth.” Eve said.
Choice
[Let her go]
[Make her stay]
Aspen Diaz
The road was long and open, Cracked and bumpy, and full of potholes. But at least it was leading them away from Ohio.
Aspen didn’t feel altogether comfortable crossing the bridge though, as it looked ready to crumble at any moment. But, luckily, they made it across. As they drove Aspen noticed a tall, dilapidated building. She recognized it all too well, and it sent shivers down her spine just to remember it. She hated to remember the people in there, Delilah and Ben. Where she met Train, it’s the place that started this whole thing.
She couldn’t resist. Aspen slowed down, and parked the truck right in front of the building.
“What are you doing?” Raven asked. Aspen looked over at her.
“Picking up some of my things.” She said. “Just stay here, I’ll be quick.” She pushed open the door and jumped out of the truck, walking towards the front doors of the building.
It took her some time to backtrack to where it all happened. In the dark hallway, it took her long enough to know where she was. But she found the door, slightly ajar. She pushed it the rest of the way open and saw the carnage inside.
Two dead bodies, not even fresh. It smelled like death in here, apparently Delilah and Ben didn’t take too long to start decomposing. She walked across the room, pulling open the closet door. She hastily stuffed both bodies inside and slammed the door shut.
She shuffled across the room towards the bed, finding a rifle laying on the floor, a large gash in the wooden stock. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Empty, not a single round in it. But it wasn’t what she was here for anyways.
She walked over towards the bed, and there she found it. Her helmet. She picked it up, looking It over. It was just the same as when she’d left it. She lowered it on over her head, glad to finally be reunited with it.
But then something else came to mind. She stood and walked away from the bed, towards the bathroom. She pulled open the medicine cabinet, finding a few bottles of painkillers. Not many though, the soldiers that had saved her had taken most of them. She grabbed the remaining bottles and headed for the door, not looking back even once. She never wanted to see this place again.
Back outside, she climbed back up into the truck, throwing the rifle at Raven. She almost smiled at Aspen.
“We came here to get your helmet, didn’t we?” She asked.
“I’ve had this thing as long as I can remember. I’m not going to let it sit and gather dust.” She said, then showed Raven the bottles of pills. She grabbed one and read it over.
“Oxycodone?” She asked. “Don’t come near me with that stuff.”
“It’ll help with the pain.” Aspen said.
“I don’t care.” Raven said. “I’m not taking any more pills.”
“Suit yourself.” She mumbled, as the truck lurched forwards on down the road.
It was hours later, now. Aspen stared out into the never-ending road before her. She saw a road sign that said ‘Louisville, 3 Miles’ She looked to her right and saw Raven, her head leaning against the truck’s window. Her eyes shut, and body limp. She’d been asleep for a while now, Aspen had lost track of time after they passed Sparta.
Aspen swore she only shut her eyes for half a second, but she opened her eyes to the sound of Raven yelling. She noticed that Raven had grabbed the steering wheel. Aspen quickly grabbed it back from her.
“What are you doing?” Aspen asked.
“Are you trying to get us both killed?” Raven asked. “You nearly drove us straight off a bridge!” She yelled.
“What? No.” Aspen said, she noticed the city of Louisville growing closer in the distance. Raven pointed at a brick building that sat on the corner of a street, the painting on the window reading ‘Al’s Barber shop’
“Pull over, we’re stopping here for the night.” Raven said.
“No, I’m fine.” Aspen said.
“It wasn’t a question.” Raven said. Aspen nodded. She was too tired to fight. The truck squealed to a stop in front of the barber shop, and Aspen killed the engine.
Aspen went in first, pushing through the glass door and looking around. The place was abandoned, luckily. And in good shape. No one had been here in a long time.
“It’s clear.” Aspen called out to Raven, who entered behind her. Aspen shuffled across the floor, looking for somewhere to crash, and decided that a spot on the floor a few feet from the door was good enough. She collapsed face-first into the wooden floor, her helmet sliding off her head.
While I want Evan to reunite with the group, there are two reasons why I choose to make her stay. First, she has no lead on where to search and it is more likely that she stumbles upon the bandit that got away than Evan. Second, if she leaves, then that means having one fighter less if the bandit returns, making it harder for the rest to survive. Also, Sam has been extremely helpful towards them and it sounds as if Eve would just take the gun without asking. Stealing from the person that saved their lives is wrong and it would also make it less likely for her to trust the group, which means, less likely that she leaves with them when they continue their journey. Since Sammy can't remain in this location with the bandit around, I absolutely want for her to leave with the rest.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth sat down on the couch, more like collapsed. Her leg was hurting her badly, and was glad to finally be able to re… morest. On an actual couch, none the less.
Eve looked exhausted, having practically carried her this far. She wandered away, over towards the window.
Josh and Rebecca seemed interested in practically nothing in the building and went across the room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.
Miller seemed interested, however, as he spotted something none of the rest had.
“You have a baby?” He asked, Lizbeth saw it as soon as he said it. There, in a crib, lay a small little child sleeping. Samantha gazed over at the infant, a small smile on her face, before she looked back at Miller.
“She’s mine.” Samantha said.
“What’s her name?” He asked.
“Nadia.” Samantha responded.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He said.
“I had a sister names Nadia.” Eve said, Lizbeth looked over and saw she was lean… [view original content]
[Make her stay] No one should go alone. She would at least need partner with her. And she doesn't even know where to search. I trust Evan can handle himself.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth sat down on the couch, more like collapsed. Her leg was hurting her badly, and was glad to finally be able to re… morest. On an actual couch, none the less.
Eve looked exhausted, having practically carried her this far. She wandered away, over towards the window.
Josh and Rebecca seemed interested in practically nothing in the building and went across the room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.
Miller seemed interested, however, as he spotted something none of the rest had.
“You have a baby?” He asked, Lizbeth saw it as soon as he said it. There, in a crib, lay a small little child sleeping. Samantha gazed over at the infant, a small smile on her face, before she looked back at Miller.
“She’s mine.” Samantha said.
“What’s her name?” He asked.
“Nadia.” Samantha responded.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He said.
“I had a sister names Nadia.” Eve said, Lizbeth looked over and saw she was lean… [view original content]
I agree with the arguments the others said. Going alone is too dangerous and even going with just one partner seems risky to me. Either they all have to go or they all have to stay but it is never a good idea to split up more. Maybe Evan finds his way back to the group but Eve gets missing instead if she leaves.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth sat down on the couch, more like collapsed. Her leg was hurting her badly, and was glad to finally be able to re… morest. On an actual couch, none the less.
Eve looked exhausted, having practically carried her this far. She wandered away, over towards the window.
Josh and Rebecca seemed interested in practically nothing in the building and went across the room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.
Miller seemed interested, however, as he spotted something none of the rest had.
“You have a baby?” He asked, Lizbeth saw it as soon as he said it. There, in a crib, lay a small little child sleeping. Samantha gazed over at the infant, a small smile on her face, before she looked back at Miller.
“She’s mine.” Samantha said.
“What’s her name?” He asked.
“Nadia.” Samantha responded.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He said.
“I had a sister names Nadia.” Eve said, Lizbeth looked over and saw she was lean… [view original content]
She saw Eve moving towards the door, she knew she had to stop her. Going out there alone would mean almost certain death. She quickly reached out, grabbing Eve’s forearm. Eve tried to pull away from her.
“Let me go, Lizbeth.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No, I’m not about to just let you go get yourself killed.” Lizbeth said. “Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
“Your man is still out there.” Eve said. “Someone has to go find him, otherwise he may never make it back here.”
“And you think stealing a gun from the person who’s letting us stay here is a good idea?” She asked. Eve’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I don’t.” She said. “But it’s the only one I could come up with.” Lizbeth looked Eve straight in the eye, she saw a lot hidden beneath a layer of false strength. A lot of pain, hurt, sorrow. But maybe there was still a little hope in there. Maybe.
“Why?” Lizbeth asked. “Why does it have to be you? Why can’t it be someone else? You risked your life to bring us to that church-“
“Which didn’t really end too well if I recall.” Eve interjected.
“That doesn’t matter, what matters is the fact that you tried.” Lizbeth said. “It was always you, you always stepped up when no one else would. You saved me from those bandits out there, after you carried me all the way here.” She went on. “I just don’t understand it. Why is it always you?” Eve brushed past Lizbeth, pulling her arm away. She walked across the floor back to the window, where she took her previous position once again. The same faraway look filled her eyes.
“It’s my fault they’re dead.” Eve said.
“What do you mean?” Aspen asked.
“My mother and father. They’re dead because of me.” She answered. “I could’ve done something, but I was a coward and they got infected because of it. I could’ve saved my sister, but I was a coward and they took her away because of it.” She said, “All my life, all I’ve ever been is a coward. All I’ve ever done is get people hurt or killed. I don’t know why I chose to save you people. I just- I just felt like maybe I could make up for being a coward if I did something good in my life.” She wiped at the tears in her eyes as she looked back at Lizbeth. “Do you think that’s stupid? Do you think I’m crazy?” She asked. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No.” She said. “That sounds heroic. You’re very brave for wanting to do that…” She trailed. “Back when that bandit grabbed me out on the street, I froze. All I could see was my mother. Back when this all started, it was just me and her. My father never made it home before this started. We lived in Nashville back then, decided it would be better out here in Georgia. We ran out of food, water, everything. We slept in a car on the highway one night… They came out of nowhere, one of them grabbed me. The other… He just. He just shot my mom right there in front of me. They kept saying all these horrible things that they were going to do to me, they hit me in the back of the head and I woke up later locked in some cage.”
“What did you do?” Eve asked.
“I… I killed them. Both of them.” She said. “After that, I was alone. I ran into the rest of my group in Athens, by that time I’d nearly forgotten who I was. Sometimes I still look in the mirror and don’t recognize myself because I’ve changed so much, because I’ve killed people.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry.” Eve said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“It wasn’t you holding the gun.” Lizbeth said, placing her hands against the windowsill. There was a silence between the two. The only sound was their breaths piercing the ever present silence. Lizbeth felt something touch her hand, she looked down and saw Eve’s hand covering her own.
“I remember my father once said ‘life goes on, only if you let it’.” Eve said. “I never realized how true that would turn out to be.”
“Why does this world suck so much?” Lizbeth asked, maybe she wasn’t asking Eve. Maybe she was just asking anyone. Maybe she was asking God, maybe she was asking the trees.
“Because it’s beginning again.” Eve said. “This… Apocalypse, it wasn’t the end. All along it was just a new beginning.” She pointed across the street towards the woods at a large sign that used to belong to some reality company. “Maybe the Earth just go tired of us ripping it apart so it had to fight back.”
“You really believe that?” Lizbeth asked. “Out of all the possible reasons, that’s the one you believe?”
“Why not?” She asked. “We’ll never know the true reason.” Her eyes drifted across the room, settling on something that sat behind Lizbeth. She smiled. “Come here, let me show you something.” She said as she grabbed Lizbeth’s hand and pulled her away from the window. Eve led her to a sleek black grand piano.
“You know how to play?” Lizbeth asked.
“I learned as a little girl.” She said. “My mother didn’t want to deal with me so she sent me to lessons.” She continued as she took a seat at the bench, her hands resting on the keys. She looked up at Lizbeth. “It’s been awhile since I’ve last played, so bear with me.” Lizbeth could’ve said she was laying as soon as her fingers began hitting keys.
It started with a gentle rhythm, but quickly picked up speed. Eve almost looked as if this was her second nature, like this came natural to her. Lizbeth was never good at things like this.
She happened to look up and spot Josh, glaring at her. Not simply staring at her, he was full on glaring at her. ‘What’s his problem?’ she first wondered. It didn’t take her long to piece it together. He was jealous. She couldn’t believe it. Josh was jealous. She shook her head as she turned her gaze back to the piano, listening to the shifts in tone and speed. The major lift, the minor fall. There was emotion in the music. There was life in the music. Hope.
Lizbeth couldn’t help but to smile. Outside this building, people were staring and falling over dead. But here they were, alive and well. Listening to Eve play a piano. She recalled what Eve had said her father told her. Life goes on only if you let it. Then she remembered what Eve said. Maybe this was Earth’s way of fighting back. For some reason she felt her eyes get watery, not from sorrow, not from fear, anger, no. This wasn’t anything like that. This was something different. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
This was joy, happiness, hope. The strength to go on in the face of all these insurmountable odds. This, this was life.
“Fuck you.” She said to the earth. “I’m not afraid.”
Evan Banks
Left or right? Right or left?
Wait. Didn’t he pass that tree already?
Was that the sound of feet behind him? No? Paranoia? Yes.
He knew those ravens in the trees above him were watching him. They kept crowing at him, wanting food. Well, he didn’t have any. Not until he got back to his group.
Which might be awhile. He wouldn’t say he was lost but… He had no idea where he was. At least no one was following him anymore. Maybe.
He had followed the river for quite some time, but felt like it wasn’t taking him where he wanted to go, so he climbed up the other side and now, well. His master plan failed him. He was more lost than before. He’d thought about climbing one of these trees, but opted against it. He’d just fall out.
“Any idea where I’m at?” He asked a raven hanging from a branch far above him. It didn’t respond. “Didn’t think so.”
“Hey you.” A voice called. “Over here.” For some reason Even looked up at the Raven as if it had just spoken to him. He thought he was losing his mind. He heard a rustling behind him and turned around. There was a man standing right behind him.
“Who are you?” Evan asked.
“Just a wanderer.” The man said. “Wondering if you wanted to join me.”
“Join you doing what?” Evan asked.
“Me and my men, we were just doing our job.” He explained. “Then out of nowhere, these people show up and kill my men. I barely got out of there myself.”
“Where did you run into this group at?” Evan asked.
“In Roswell, about five minutes that way through the trees.” He said, jutting a thumb over his shoulder.
“And this group.” Evan said. “Was there a young blonde girl? Maybe a tall man, dark skin? Maybe he was wearing a black beanie?” Evan asked. The man nodded.
“Yeah, yeah. That was them.” He said. “Did they screw you over too?”
“No.” Evan said. “They are my group. And they wouldn’t attack you unless they had a reason.” The man looked as if he was about to make a move, but Evan was faster. His fist clashed with the man’s jaw and he went down like a sack of rocks.
Evan looked at the man lying on the ground and a thought popped into his mind. Kill him, it said. But another said let him live. This man was no longer a danger, by the time he came to, they’d be far gone.
So, this guy claims he was just doing his job, huh? Let's check again what he did. He tried to rob the group, he was perfectly willing to kill the group, he implied that he wanted to rape Lizbeth, he wounded Eve and if it wouldn't have been for Samantha, he would have even succeeded. On top of that, he lied to Evan about the reason why his men were killed and he also, he was about to make a move, likely trying to kill Evan, if Evan wouldn't have been faster. He is clearly a danger to the group and letting him live might only mean that he is going to return with more men, to finish what he started. It's foolish to let a man as dangerous as him live.
Also, I am totally shipping Lizbeth and Eve now, their interaction in this part was once again adorable Josh is clearly jealous though, I don't think he approves of them bonding. I'm calling it now, he might be a problem in the future. And I'm curious where Sammy and Miller went. I reread the latest part and it appears she needed his help with something. Hopefully Miller can help her, because that could likely lead to her trusting the group enough to leave with them.
Lizbeth Morrison
She saw Eve moving towards the door, she knew she had to stop her. Going out there alone would mean almost certain death… more. She quickly reached out, grabbing Eve’s forearm. Eve tried to pull away from her.
“Let me go, Lizbeth.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No, I’m not about to just let you go get yourself killed.” Lizbeth said. “Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
“Your man is still out there.” Eve said. “Someone has to go find him, otherwise he may never make it back here.”
“And you think stealing a gun from the person who’s letting us stay here is a good idea?” She asked. Eve’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I don’t.” She said. “But it’s the only one I could come up with.” Lizbeth looked Eve straight in the eye, she saw a lot hidden beneath a layer of false strength. A lot of pain, hurt, sorrow. But maybe there was still a little hope in there. Maybe.
“Why?” Lizbeth asked. “Why does it have to be y… [view original content]
It's never a good idea to let people go like that, he could just come with more people and try to kill our whole group. And I love Lizbeth x Eve too, they are adorable!
Lizbeth Morrison
She saw Eve moving towards the door, she knew she had to stop her. Going out there alone would mean almost certain death… more. She quickly reached out, grabbing Eve’s forearm. Eve tried to pull away from her.
“Let me go, Lizbeth.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No, I’m not about to just let you go get yourself killed.” Lizbeth said. “Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
“Your man is still out there.” Eve said. “Someone has to go find him, otherwise he may never make it back here.”
“And you think stealing a gun from the person who’s letting us stay here is a good idea?” She asked. Eve’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I don’t.” She said. “But it’s the only one I could come up with.” Lizbeth looked Eve straight in the eye, she saw a lot hidden beneath a layer of false strength. A lot of pain, hurt, sorrow. But maybe there was still a little hope in there. Maybe.
“Why?” Lizbeth asked. “Why does it have to be y… [view original content]
It is likely that he comes back later if they let him go now. He knows where the group is and he is dangerous. Even if he is unconscious until the group is away, he is still a danger to other travellers.
Lizbeth Morrison
She saw Eve moving towards the door, she knew she had to stop her. Going out there alone would mean almost certain death… more. She quickly reached out, grabbing Eve’s forearm. Eve tried to pull away from her.
“Let me go, Lizbeth.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No, I’m not about to just let you go get yourself killed.” Lizbeth said. “Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
“Your man is still out there.” Eve said. “Someone has to go find him, otherwise he may never make it back here.”
“And you think stealing a gun from the person who’s letting us stay here is a good idea?” She asked. Eve’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I don’t.” She said. “But it’s the only one I could come up with.” Lizbeth looked Eve straight in the eye, she saw a lot hidden beneath a layer of false strength. A lot of pain, hurt, sorrow. But maybe there was still a little hope in there. Maybe.
“Why?” Lizbeth asked. “Why does it have to be y… [view original content]
It must’ve been mid-day before she woke up. Light was leaking in through the windows, she couldn’t help but to think how stupid the two of them had been.
They’d stayed all night right in plain sight, if anyone would’ve passed by here they both would’ve been seen. Stupid.
She heard thunder outside. Lots of thunder, like the thunderstorm from hell. It sounded like the sky itself was exploding in on itself. But just as quickly as it came, it faded. Only to start again.
No. It couldn’t be.
She pushed herself up off the ground, rushing towards the glass window.
The sky was thick with smoke. Ohio was burning. Jets filled the air, preforming deadly acrobatics high above her head. She watched the tracers fill the air, clawing their way through the air as the pilot pulled against gravity until, the tracer bit into its target. The wing of the jet split off, sending the jet into a fiery tailspin, until it disappeared from her view.
Just as it seemed that the remaining jet was the victor, Aspen watched as a trail of smoke rocketed upwards from the ground towards the sky, careening with the jet’s fuselage. The jet exploded into pieces as if it’d just ran into an invisible wall.
“Raven?” Aspen called.
“Over here.” She heard Raven say. She craned her head, spotting Raven looking out another window. She noticed that Raven was wearing her helmet. Aspen moved closer to her.
“What’s going on out there?” Aspen asked.
“A war.” Raven replied. “I’ve watched it all night. It started when some jets flew in from Georgia and started bombing the crap out of the place. From what I could tell, the Ohioans scrambled their jets from Wright Patt and staged a counter offensive on the river.”
“Who’s winning?” Aspen asked.
“Nobody.” Raven said. “It’s a stalemate, a bloodbath in every direction. Georgia has the numbers, but Ohio has everything else.”
“We need to go.” Aspen said. “It’s not safe here.”
“Damn straight.” Raven said. “A jet nearly crashed in the street right out front.”
“What?” Aspen asked, she never heard a jet until she’d woken up.
“Yeah, took a hit and went into a dive. Pulled up at the last second, any later and it would’ve hit the road.” She said.
“Holy shit.” Aspen said.
“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Raven said. “Let’s get out of here.” She pushed her self away from the window and began walking towards the door. She seemed to notice that Aspen hadn’t followed her and stopped. “Are you coming?”
“Neither side can win.” Aspen said.
“This is war, one side has to win.” Raven huffed, obviously not amused. “Now come on.”
“No, Raven, neither side can win this war.” Aspen said, and before Raven got the chance to ask if she was on drugs, she continued. “If Ohio wins, they’d be too weak to govern the Georgia territory. If Georgia wins, the entire eastern seaboard would be under military rule.”
“There’s no third option here, Aspen.” Raven said. “Let’s just get the hell out of here and ride out this shit show somewhere else. This isn’t our war.” She went on, but then dropped her voice low. “Just wish I would’ve seen that sooner.”
“Where do you think we’re going to go?” Aspen asked. “We can’t go back to Georgia, and we can’t stay here in the Ohio territory.” Raven paused.
“South, we have to head south.” Raven said. “ like I said,While I was locked up in that bunker, I heard of a place. What used to be Tennessee declared itself an independent nation, if they remain neutral through this…”
“We might have a place to stay.” Aspen finished her sentence. “But only for a little while. If Georgia win’s they’re going to go on a blitz through the entire US.”
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Raven asked.
“We could head west.” Aspen said.
“Into the Wasteland?” Raven asked. “I thought I was the crazy one. You do realize we’re as good as dead the second we step foot in that land.”
“No, Raven. The Wasteland… We’re used to that, we’ve lived through it.” Aspen said.
“Don’t remind me, Aspen.” Raven said. “I don’t even want to think about some of the things I had to do to survive… No, there’s no way I’m going back to that.”
“And you think this ‘paradice’ in the south will be any better? Anyone that claims to be the good guy in this world is just the opposite. I’ve met a lot of people who claim to be the good guy in my life, you know what they all have in common? They all lie.” Aspen said.
“Don’t you think it’s worth a shot?” Raven asked. “I don’t know how bad you had it before I met you, but I know how bad I had it. I’m not fit to live in that world again, Aspen.” Aspen lowered her head, listening to the thundering war outside. Raven had never been one to talk about who she was before she net Aspen. All she ever told her was where she was from.
Aspen remembered the day she’d met her, she’d looked like a ghost, ready to fade away at any moment. She wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. If anyone ever asked her what happened, all they’d get is a blank stare.
She remembered that one day, out of the blue, five soldiers picked her up and took her away somewhere. The next time Aspen saw her, five days later, she had a gun in her hand and was shouting orders.
“Do you want to risk your life for a maybe, Raven?” Aspen asked. “You heard this while you were in an underground prison, information beings passed around in those kinds of places isn’t always accurate.”
“It’s better than returning to a life I finally got to leave.” Raven said, she shook her head. “Look, this choice is up to you. But I’m telling you right now, I’m not going west. You’re going to have to find someone else if that’s where you’re headed. Like it or not, I’m going south.”
Choice
[Go West]
[Head South]
Miller
“Got it?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah, just give me a second.” Miller said, narrowing his eyes.
“Sorry to throw this on you like this, it’s just that I can’t see those wires as good as I wish I could.” Samantha said.
“Not a problem, I’m happy to help out.” Miller said. “What happened to make you go blind in one eye anyways?” Miller asked, as he looked back at her. He saw her shoot him a sour face.
“I was born this way.” She said.
“Oh shi- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Miller said. She shook her head, with a small laugh.
“I’m just joking.” She said. “I lost vision after a helicopter crash. To be honest, I’m lucky I didn’t lose my life after what happened that got me in that flying deathtrap.” She said.
“Yeah?” Miller questioned. “You’re still a hell of a shot either way.”
“It took some time to get used to it, trust me.” Samantha said.
“So, this helicopter?” Miller asked. “What got you in it?”
“I got stabbed right in my lung.” She said.
“Damn that’s rough.” Miller said.
“To make it worse we were stranded on some God forsaken island off the coast.” Samantha said. “Anyone else would’ve just shot me, gotten it over with. But my brother, he refused to give in.”
“He sounded like a good guy, I never got to meet him.” Miller said. “Sorry about the way things ended.”
“You’re not the one that killed him.” Samantha said. “But you can rest assured that those fuckers are going to be sorry.” She said.
“Sounds like revenge.” Miller said.
“Yeah, you going to try and stop me?” She asked. Miller shook his head.
“No, I’m just wondering why you’re waiting.” He said.
“I have a daughter I need to take care of.” She said.
“That’s a good a reason as any.” Miller said. “I just feel sorry that she has to grow up in this world.”
“Try and imagine how I feel.” Samantha said. “How is she ever going to have a normal life in a world like this, where she’s constantly on the run, always looking over her shoulder?” She asked.
“This is normal now.” Miller said. “As much as I hate to admit it.” She sighed.
“I know. I just don’t like it. I feel like she deserves more than what I can give to her.” She said.
“Mark my words, that kid’s going to grow up to be some sort of hero to the world.” Miller said. “She’s going to reunite the entire US or something.”
“Or something.” Samantha said. “So, Miller. Your group, what can you tell me about them?” She asked, Miller noted her changing the subject.
“What do you mean?” Miller asked.
“Lizbeth, Eve, Josh, Rebecca, what can you tell me about them?” She asked.
“I know that if there’s anyone I still trust in this world, it’s Lizbeth.” Miller said. “I ran into her in Athens, and we’ve been stuck like glue ever since. She’s a good girl in a bad world, it’s changed her a lot. But she’s changed me too, I know that much.”
“It’s sad that good people have to go through such terrible things.” She said.
“Yeah it is.” Miller said. “Eve saved our lives, time and time again, and we’ve only known her a few days. She had no reason to risk her life for us, but she did anyway.” He went on. “She said she was from France, got stuck here.”
“Poor kid.” Samantha said. “This apocalypse ripped us all from our homes, but she’s in a completely different continent.”
“Tell me about it” Miller said. “And she just goes on living her life, not afraid at all.”
“At least there’s still some good people let in this world.” She said.
“Yeah, I feel bad for her. She’s just a kid, and there’s nothing I can do for her.” Miller said.
“What about Josh?” Samantha asked.
“He’s been a longtime friend of Lizbeth.” Miller explained “Possibly one of her biggest fans in the world. She’s practically his favorite subject to talk about.”
“Sounds like a crush.” Samantha said.
“Oh yeah, big time.” Miller said. “But he’s just not her type. The kid has a good heart, his head’s in the right place, but he lets his fear rule his life. He’s too scared to take a risk because he’s always afraid of what he’ll lose.”
“People like that don’t usually make it this far in an apocalypse.” Samantha said.
“From what I heard he wasn’t always this way.” Miller said.
“Oh yeah?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah, apparently the kid’s got a body count behind him. And a big one.” He said.
“Is this something I should worry about?” Samantha asked. Miller shook his head.
“Not at all.” He said. “The kid wouldn’t hurt a fly nowadays.”
“So something changed?” Samantha asked.
“Big time.” Miller said. “Something changed.”
“Rebecca?” Samantha asked. Miller paused before answering, he concentrated on this last wire before he stepped back and closed the electrical box.
“She’s a friend of Evan, our man that’s still out there.” He said. “She’s loyal and devoted. Likes him a lot, but the guy’s to blind to see it.” He explained. “No offence.” He quickly said to Samantha. She shook her head.
“None taken.” She said. “And Evan?”
“Evan’s…” Miller trailed. “Even’s a long story. He wasn’t always on the right team, he got messed up in with some bad people. I think there’s been a few time where I’ve nearly killed him.” Miller said.
“But that changed?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah.” Miller said. “He’s one of us now, no doubt about it.”
“I hope he makes it back here in one piece.” She said.
“I do too.” Miller said, looking over towards the trees. It was getting a little hot here on the roof, but it was the best place to put a radio antenna. He turned to Samantha. “Go ahead and give it a shot. See if it works.” She nodded, slipping some headphones on over her ears, and flipping the old military radio on. She’d rebuild most of it herself, just needed his help with some of the finer details.
At first she looked unamused, as she spun the dial, changing the frequency, trying to pick up a signal. The her hand froze, she looked turned from shock to confusion within moments, then back to shock again.
“You get anything?” Miller asked stupidly.
“Yeah, it’s all in code though.” She said.
“Do you understand any of it?” He asked. She nodded.
“And none of it’s good.” She said.
“What’s the big one?” Miller asked. She looked directly at him.
“Georgia has launched a full scale assault on Ohio.” She said. Miller’s jaw would’ve dropped, instead he just froze. Georgia just went into total war with Ohio, meaning now they were targets for both sides. Everyone wanted them dead. This is a new feeling of abandon he’d never felt before. This was the feeling of being totally alone in an entire world. This was the feeling of drowning on dry land.
He could hear, rising up from down below, the gentle vibrations of a piano. Which clashed with the thundering palpitations within his heart.
Aspen and Raven are friends, a team. After what Aspen risked to save her, she can't just abandon her now. And after what Raven went through, I don't want to force her to decide between going back to a live she hates or loosing her friend. Besides, a place that is called 'The Wasteland' sounds hellishly dangerous and certainly not worth the try. Raven said it herself, they would probably die the second they walk in there. Her plan is worth a try and even if they won't find a place to stay forever, they can stay a while, recover from their recent ordeal in the bunker and if they have to leave again, they can do so together and hopefully with newfound strength.
I also liked Miller's part greatly. It appears Samantha indeed starts to trust this group a bit more now, so I hope she won't stay behind when they leave. They could need someone like her, she could need someone like them. With Georgia on the move, they have to find some safe place as well.
Aspen Diaz
It must’ve been mid-day before she woke up. Light was leaking in through the windows, she couldn’t help but to think how stupi… mored the two of them had been.
They’d stayed all night right in plain sight, if anyone would’ve passed by here they both would’ve been seen. Stupid.
She heard thunder outside. Lots of thunder, like the thunderstorm from hell. It sounded like the sky itself was exploding in on itself. But just as quickly as it came, it faded. Only to start again.
No. It couldn’t be.
She pushed herself up off the ground, rushing towards the glass window.
The sky was thick with smoke. Ohio was burning. Jets filled the air, preforming deadly acrobatics high above her head. She watched the tracers fill the air, clawing their way through the air as the pilot pulled against gravity until, the tracer bit into its target. The wing of the jet split off, sending the jet into a fiery tailspin, until it disappeared from he… [view original content]
I've as well ended Stranded and I can say, that Youngstown is much better and it's showing how much you improved with your writing. Can't wait what comes next.
Aspen Diaz
It must’ve been mid-day before she woke up. Light was leaking in through the windows, she couldn’t help but to think how stupi… mored the two of them had been.
They’d stayed all night right in plain sight, if anyone would’ve passed by here they both would’ve been seen. Stupid.
She heard thunder outside. Lots of thunder, like the thunderstorm from hell. It sounded like the sky itself was exploding in on itself. But just as quickly as it came, it faded. Only to start again.
No. It couldn’t be.
She pushed herself up off the ground, rushing towards the glass window.
The sky was thick with smoke. Ohio was burning. Jets filled the air, preforming deadly acrobatics high above her head. She watched the tracers fill the air, clawing their way through the air as the pilot pulled against gravity until, the tracer bit into its target. The wing of the jet split off, sending the jet into a fiery tailspin, until it disappeared from he… [view original content]
I see nothing good coming out of the Wasteland option. Raven is still weak after being tortured and I dont think she can survive such a journey, so we should not go there.
Aspen Diaz
It must’ve been mid-day before she woke up. Light was leaking in through the windows, she couldn’t help but to think how stupi… mored the two of them had been.
They’d stayed all night right in plain sight, if anyone would’ve passed by here they both would’ve been seen. Stupid.
She heard thunder outside. Lots of thunder, like the thunderstorm from hell. It sounded like the sky itself was exploding in on itself. But just as quickly as it came, it faded. Only to start again.
No. It couldn’t be.
She pushed herself up off the ground, rushing towards the glass window.
The sky was thick with smoke. Ohio was burning. Jets filled the air, preforming deadly acrobatics high above her head. She watched the tracers fill the air, clawing their way through the air as the pilot pulled against gravity until, the tracer bit into its target. The wing of the jet split off, sending the jet into a fiery tailspin, until it disappeared from he… [view original content]
It's alright, I can understand that. Thanks for the update! And take your time. While I hope that you'll find your inspiration soon again, perhaps a small break will be beneficial in the long run. I'm already looking forward for the return of this wonderful story
Okay guys, just an update. It might be awhile before I can get a new part out, for a few reasons.
1, no inspiration whatsoever.
2, I'v… moree been in and out of WIFI all week since I'm house sitting for some relatives who've left town.
3, next week I'm going to camp so I won't be around at all.
Sorry guys, I hate to do this. But just bear with me, I'll be back.
It's alright, take your time. I totally understand, even if I've just catched up on both of the stories and am curious what happens next.I am patient reader :-D
Okay guys, just an update. It might be awhile before I can get a new part out, for a few reasons.
1, no inspiration whatsoever.
2, I'v… moree been in and out of WIFI all week since I'm house sitting for some relatives who've left town.
3, next week I'm going to camp so I won't be around at all.
Sorry guys, I hate to do this. But just bear with me, I'll be back.
This is okay. I hope you will soon be able to continue the story but I totally understand it. Thank you for giving us an update. I hope you have a great time and I will see you when you return
Okay guys, just an update. It might be awhile before I can get a new part out, for a few reasons.
1, no inspiration whatsoever.
2, I'v… moree been in and out of WIFI all week since I'm house sitting for some relatives who've left town.
3, next week I'm going to camp so I won't be around at all.
Sorry guys, I hate to do this. But just bear with me, I'll be back.
It's alright, I can understand that. Thanks for the update! And take your time. While I hope that you'll find your inspiration soon again, p… moreerhaps a small break will be beneficial in the long run. I'm already looking forward for the return of this wonderful story
Thank you for being so patient with me, I tend to just lose my focus time to time. It must be a product of an overactive mind, I seriously have millions of thoughts on what I want to do, but none of them seem to stick. I'm hoping that stepping away for a little bit will get me recharged.
It's alright, take your time. I totally understand, even if I've just catched up on both of the stories and am curious what happens next.I am patient reader :-D
This is okay. I hope you will soon be able to continue the story but I totally understand it. Thank you for giving us an update. I hope you have a great time and I will see you when you return
I totally understand you, cause I am similar chaotic and loosing my focus on things. Recharge your batteries and come back to us with jaw dropping part! :-) Story really is something special and I had real pleasure reading it, together with Stranded which was precursor of Youngstown. It's having this specific dark atmosphere and I love the detail you put into characters and their mental (and not only) transformation. So curious how you will present my character, especially that she is very specific by herself.
Thank you for being so patient with me, I tend to just lose my focus time to time. It must be a product of an overactive mind, I seriously h… moreave millions of thoughts on what I want to do, but none of them seem to stick. I'm hoping that stepping away for a little bit will get me recharged.
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He picked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lifted the gun, leveling it to the man’s head. His finger eased the trigger back and the gun kicked upwards. A small hole formed in the man’s skull as his body went ridged and collapsed back into the dirt a trail of blood arching from the new hole.
“We won’t take prisoners.” Evan spoke as he shoved the gun into his pocket. He knew he had to get moving. In woods like this, everyone within miles of this place would’ve just heard that shot.
He had to go find his people, then they had to go get the hell out of Georgia. It wasn’t safe here from the beginning. It was like trying to find shelter in an abyss.
Compared to the hell he was living in, he’d take the Wasteland any day of the year. At least you can count on those people to turn on you at any moment. Here, you never know. Once your friend, always your enemy.
The only thing you can count on in this world is getting shot in the back. Trust no one, not even yourself. But that never works out in the end, because all you end up doing is dying alone.
Trust, don’t trust. Love, hate, it’s all the same in the end. No matter the path you take, the ends are always the same. Death is the final end, and no matter where you’ve gone or what you’ve done it will get you. You can run all you want, but the faster you run, the closer it comes.
Trust is just one pillar that supports human life, take it out and it’s like a house of cards collapsing in on itself. Without trust, there would be no love. No sympathy, no friendship, cooperation, or even a reason to fight. There would be nothing.
He didn’t know much himself, but he did trust one thing. He trusted that the man he just killed wasn’t alone, and he trusted the fact that he had to save his people. No matter the cost.
Lizbeth Morrison
“That was beautiful.” A voice spoke, though it wasn’t hers. She looked up and saw that Josh was leaning against the polished surface of the piano.
“Thank you.” Eve said.
“How long have you been playing?” He asked.
“Since I was a young girl.” She answered. He smiled.
“I never learned piano.” He said. “Always wanted to, sad thing that the apocalypse got in the way. I was always good with the bass though.” Eve laughed.
“The bass?” She asked. “That doesn’t take much skill.”
“I’m assuming you’ve never played a bass then?” Josh asked. She shook her head.
“Well, no.” She said. He smiled.
“Then don’t say anything.” He laughed, then turned to Lizbeth. “Didn’t you used to play the flute?” He asked. Lizbeth nodded, still confused as to when Josh had joined this conversation between her and Eve.
“Yeah, I played flute and clarinet.” Lizbeth said.
“My sister played clarinet.” Eve said, Lizbeth could hear a pang of regret in her voice.
“Sorry.” Josh said. Eve shook her head.
“Don’t be.” She said. “Shit happens.” Josh nodded.
“Shit happens.” He agreed. Lizbeth heard a crash and looked over just in time to see the door to the apartment fly open. A man barreled in, gun drawn. Eve nearly toppled backwards over the bench, whilst Lizbeth froze in place her mind refusing to process her need to run. Rebecca was too far away to do anything. Somewhere in the back of her frozen mind, Lizbeth could register the faint pings of a crying infant.
Josh was the only one quick enough to act, he spun around facing the man. One hand grabbed his wrist, the other his arm. He quickly bent his arm back and kicked him in the knee, sending him to the ground in one quick move. There on the floor, Josh held the gun to the man’s head.
“Evan?” Josh asked, seemingly confused. He let go of Evan’s arm and allowed him to stand.
“I saw the bodies outside and I just… I just didn’t know.” He said. He looked around. “Everyone alright?”
“Yeah, we’re all good.” Lizbeth said.
“Thank God you’re still alive.” Rebecca said as she walked up to Evan, wrapping her arms around him.
“Yeah.” Evan responded. “But it might not stay that way for long.”
“What do you mean?” Eve asked.
“I ran into one of those guys out there in the woods.” He said. “He told me he wasn’t exactly working alone on this.”
“Who-“ Josh started, moments before he was cut off by Samantha barreling into the room followed by Miller. Samantha rushed forwards, throwing her entire body into Evan tackling him to the ground.
“Who the hell are you?” She yelled at him. “And what are you doing in my house?”
“Hey, calm down.” Miller quickly spoke. “He’s one of ours.” Samantha quickly stood up, letting go of Evan. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face sheepishly as she took a step back, Lizbeth watched her step away out of her vision.
“Anyone else want to attack me?” Evan asked as he stood up. Miller looked at him, scanning him with his eyes carefully.
“Now that you’re here, we should get moving.” He said. Evan nodded.
“I was just about to say the same thing, something big’s happening out there..” Evan said. Miller narrowed his eyes at Evan.
“How did you know about Ohio?” Miller asked. Evan looked at him confused.
“Why the hell are you talking about Ohio? That has nothing to do with this.” Evan said. “I’m talking about the possibly cult of human traffickers that might be hunting us down.”
“What?” Miller asked. Evan nodded.
“Yeah, the one I killed in the woods said he worked for a guy that ‘collected’ people.” Evan said.
“Tell me why I don’t like the sound of that.” Samantha said, reappearing next to Miller holding Nadia in her arms.
“Because you have more than half a brain.” Evan said, looking at her. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“We haven’t.” Samantha said. Evan nodded as he looked at her.
“Good.” He said. “Now let’s go.” He began walking towards the door, Rebecca following close behind him.
“Wait a minute, Evan.” Miller said. “If what you’re saying is true, then you’d just be leading us out into the open unarmed. I’m almost out of bullets, the rest of us are in just as bad condition.”
“I have bullets.” Samantha said. Evan smiled, stepping forwards and patting her on the shoulder.
“There we go, we’ve got bullets.” He said. “Now can we please get the hell out of here? I’d rather not spend the rest of my life in some small cage.” Just him mentioning the possibility of being locked in a cage sent chills down Lizbeth’s spine.
Ever since she was abducted by those men on the highway and locked in that cage she hadn’t been a fan of tight spaces. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she was afraid, but she could go the rest of her life without being in a confined area ever again and be just happy.
“You don’t have to give us your guns.” Miller said. Evan looked at him like he was about to protest but Samantha beat him to the punch.
“I’m not giving you my guns.” Samantha said. “I’m taking them with me.”
“You’re coming with us?” Miller asked.
“Yeah, it’s not safe for Nadia or me anymore. I’ve been planning on moving for a while, now seems like a good time.”
“Great, she’s coming.” Evan said. “Let’s go.”
“You want a gun?” Samantha asked him. He shrugged.
“Couldn’t hurt.” He said.
“Then shut up.” She shot back. Evan looked at her with a look of mock pride.
“Alright princess, forgot this was your castle for a minute.” He said. She looked to Miller.
“Are you sure I can’t just shot him?” She asked. Miller laughed.
“He’ll grow on you.” Miller said. “In the meantime, I suggest trying to refrain from beating his face in.”
“I don’t know.” Samantha said. “Might be a little hard to refrain.” She moved across the room towards the locker where they’d stashed their weapons. She pulled the doors open, and grabbed the bod hanging inside, slinging it over her shoulder along with some arrows. “Everyone grab something. We won’t be coming back here for a while.”
So they headed out. Evan leading, Rebecca at his side. Both of them had fully loaded pistols hanging at their sides. There’s nothing more satisfying in this world than having a full magazine. That and still being alive.
Miller took a pistol too, though he didn’t seem interested in using it. He instead seemed more interested in the baseball bat he lifted from Samantha’s house. It was just sitting in a corner, so he took it. It made him look truly intimidating, just walking through the woods with a baseball bat in his hands.
Josh grabbed a shotgun, and slung it over his back. His eyes darted around the trees, watching every leaf, every gust of wind, every raven hopping from the branches above.
Eve snagged an M16 and a few extra magazines. Lizbeth still leaned on her pretty heavily as they walked, her leg still hurt. And, well, never really getting that chance to sit down might have something to do with that. But Eve said nothing about it, happily carrying Lizbeth along with her. She and Josh had switched off a few times when Eve grew tired.
Lizbeth herself got her hands on a sleek rifle, a nice scope and a handful of bullets. They’d be dead before they even knew she existed. Her uncle had taught her how to use a rifle long ago, back when he used to take her hunting.
Her uncle Billy was one of her only friends back then, she never really fit in. She was always alone no matter where she went, no matter who she met, no matter what she was alone. It was Only Billy and her only friend Susie.
It only now flashed across her mind how much Eve reminded her of Susie, they were practically the same person. She wondered what happened to Susie, if she was still alive. If she was dead, or worse. She wondered if she was alive, if she was thinking about her.
Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when she heard Eve cry out in pain before falling to the ground. She was screaming something in French, Lizbeth didn’t understand it. She didn’t know if she wanted to understand it.
Lizbeth looked down at her and saw something sticking out of her thigh, a shaft. No, an arrow. Lizbeth dropped down to one knee, pulling up her gun. She saw Josh stepping in between her and where the arrow came from.
“If you move, the next one goes into your head. If you try to shoot, you will all die.” A voice boomed, surrounding them. Lizbeth couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. “If you want to live, place your guns on the ground, get on your knees and place your hands behind your heads. Try anything and my sister will put a chunk of lead right through your skulls before you can even think of pulling the trigger.”
Lizbeth looked around. Everyone was slowly tuning in circles, scanning the trees for anyone or anything. She noticed it now, too late, this was the perfect spot for an ambush. It was in a small dip in the forest floor, anyone up on the ridge would have a great angle on them and practically no exposure. Anyone hiding in the brush could easily slip away without being seen.
There was nowhere to run, except straight. Any halfwit with a gun can shoot something going in a straight line, and from the way that guy was talking, his sister sounded like a pretty good shot.
Run, you die. Surrender, you live to die another day. Best case scenario, these are just raiders. They’ll take their stuff and let them go. Worst case scenario, these people were the traffickers Evan was talking about earlier.
Either way, these people knew what they were doing. They found the perfect spot in the forest to hide out and wait to ambush people. And now they’d ambushed them, and had them pinned down.
Choice
[Run]
[Surrender]
Okay guys, I lied a little.* This* will be the last part for at least a week. See you around guys. Stay frosty.
Evan
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He p… moreicked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lif… [view original content]
I do believe that running could easily cause the death of at least one member of the group. They already wounded Eve, so she's incapable of running. Sammy has her baby, so she's not that fast either, which means that these two (or three, counting Nadia) would be likely to stay behind if the rest just runs. Naturally, that is not an option for me. I hope these people are not some fucked up psychopaths, but simple worthless raider scum instead, just interested in their stuff. And even if they are psychopaths, or these human trafficker bastards, I hope they are not going to enslave/torture/kill Sammy or her baby, or any other member of the group for that matter. Anyways, running and risking the deaths of one or more group members is not an option to me. Hopefully they can kill these scumbags quickly and continue with their journey, but I have a very bad feeling about this.
Evan
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He p… moreicked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lif… [view original content]
No, not good. The group sounds screwed either way but just running sounds like immediate suicide, for Sam and Eve in particular, while surrendering could mean a chance. But we know nothing about the people who attacked them so it is a risk either way. They sound extremely violent and I am scared for the group. The next part cant come soon enough.
Evan
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He p… moreicked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lif… [view original content]
Hey sorry I'm a little late to this I've been reading Youngstown for a while, so far I think it's one of the best I've ever read! Thank you liquid for suggesting this
[Surrender]
Someone will most defiantly get hurt if they try to run, surrendering is best and maybe trying to escape later? Good part ^-^
Evan
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He p… moreicked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lif… [view original content]
She looked around. She knew they were trapped, whoever was out there in these woods picked this place for a reason.
They wouldn’t just set up an ambush where people could escape from. And then there was Eve and Samantha, neither one of them would be able to keep up. They’d fall behind or get killed, one or the other.
She looked at the rifle in her hands, then out into the vast woods before them. She couldn’t pinpoint where the voice had come from, it echoed off the trees, surrounding them.
She sighed, dropping her rifle to the ground, it clattered on the dirt as she dropped down on her knees next to Eve, looking at the arrow embedded into her thigh watching the blood soak through her pants into the dirt.
For a moment, Lizbeth believed she was going to be sick. She never liked blood, especially the blood of a friend. She placed her hand on Eve’s thigh, around the shaft of the arrow. She felt Eve’s hand on top of hers.
“Don’t pull that out.” Eve grunted through the pain, “Just leave it.” Lizbeth nodded as she let go of the arrow and clasped her hand instead. She looked up and saw the others had followed her, dropping their weapons and falling on their knees. Soon the only one standing was Josh, still scanning the trees for something to shoot.
“Please don’t try to be a hero.” Lizbeth said, just loud enough for him to hear. He stared at her for a moment before his gaze drifted downwards and his gun clashed with the dirt.
As soon as he was on his knees she saw a bush shake nearby and a man emerged. His skin was dark, darker than Miller’s. His eyes were brown, his black hair short. He was very muscular, almost looking like he was the type of guy that would like to try and bench press an oak tree. She saw a fresh looking scar covering his right cheek. He was wearing a grey T-shirt under an unbuttoned army jacket, tan cargo pants and black leather boots.
A quiver full of arrows hung off his back, a pistol at his side. If he wasn’t at one point part of the military, he sure looked the part.
He stood in front of them, an arrow nocked in his bow as he looked around. He looked up to the top of the ridge above them.
“Laken!” He shouted. “Get down here!” He looked around at them, his eyes full of nothing more than pure disgust. Eve got the feeling that she’d be seeing more of him somehow.
She heard someone walking through the woods to her side, emerging into the clearing behind her. She didn’t dare turn to look and she felt a hand on her shoulders.
“Arms up.” A female voice ordered. She sighed, letting go of Eve’s hand as she raised her arms into the sky. She felt the woman’s hands search her body for any form of weapon, she conducted herself as if she’d done this many times before. Lizbeth suddenly became afraid of how many people they’d robbed before.
Just as her hands finished searing Lizbeth, there was a pause. She didn’t move, didn’t say anything. She just stood behind Lizbeth, staring at her. She walked around Lizbeth, crouching down in front of her.
She was extremely muscular, even more so than the man standing feet away. Her hair was a light brown, cut short but keeping longer in the bangs. Her eyes were dark brown, nearly a black that scanned her face. She was wearing a black T-shirt, a faded grey jacket tied around her waist. She wore camouflaged cargo pants and black leather boots. Her skin, unlike the man standing nearby was a tan color. Lizbeth couldn’t see any resemblance between the two, despite the fact that the ma had called her his sister.
Her right arm was covered in tattoos from the wrist up, disappearing under the sleeve of her shirt. She saw a tomahawk dangling at her side, a pistol strapped to her leg, a sniper rifle slung on her back. She wore a black utility vest, with multiple fully-loaded magazines jutting out and even a grenade dangling off it. She saw two other that looked like some sort of gas grenade. She saw silver beads forming a thread around her neck, disappearing into her shirt. Possibly dog tags.
Her eyes were different than the mans. She looked at Lizbeth curiously, almost confused. She looked at Lizbeth’s rifle on the ground.
“Sniper huh?” She asked. “What’s your name?”
“Go fuck yourself.” Lizbeth spat at her, she tried to lash out at her, but she was quick. She caught her arm, mid-swing and bent it back. Lizbeth felt pain searing through her body.
“Tell me your name.” She said. “Tell me if you’re with Chase.” Somewhere between pain and fear, Lizbeth caved.
“Lizbeth Morrison.” She quickly choked out. “I have no idea who Chase is.” She could feel tears of pain running down her face, but then the woman, whose name must’ve been Laken, let go. Lizbeth recoiled and grabbed her arm.
“Oh my God.” Laken mumbled, looking over at Eve. “You don’t know Chase?”
“No, I have no fucking clue who Chase is.” Lizbeth said. Laken buried her head in her hands for a second with a sigh, before looking up at Eve.
“Rossi.” She called out. The man standing a few feet away responded.
“Yeah?” He asked.
“These aren’t Chase’s people.” She said. “These are just innocent travelers.”
“Are you sure?” He asked. She nodded.
“If they were one of Chase’s I would’ve recognized them.” She said as she stood and faced Rossi. Her eyes drifted over to Samantha. “For God’s sake Rossi, she has a baby! What were you thinking?” She asked, stepping towards him. He pushed her back, away from him.
“You told me to shoot when I saw them.” He defended himself.
“No, I told you to shoot when you were sure the target was who we were after.” She said. “Now you’ve just shot an innocent girl for no damn reason.”
“I did what I thought I had to do.” Rossi said.
“But you didn’t have to do it.” Laken shot back as she turned from him and began walking away. She untied her jacket from her waist and crouched down next to Eve, her eyes scanning her. “This is going to hurt, but it has to be done.” She said. Eve’s hand slowly crawled out and clasped Lizbeth’s.
Laken wrapped the jacket around the base of the arrow, pressing down hard. She looked Eve in the eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” She said. “On three.”
“Okay.” Eve whimpered. Laken gripped the arrow hard, never breaking eye contact.
“One.” She said, “Two.” Without continuing onto three she yanked the arrow. Eve nearly crushed Lizbeth’s hand as she cried out in pain, cursing in French. She tossed the bloody arrow aside. “Three.” Laken went on, unamused. She placed her hands on top of the jacket, pressing down hard.
“Looks like you got lucky.” She said.
“How’s that?” Eve grunted.
“It’s not serious.” She said.
“Of course it’s not.” Rossi replied. “I wasn’t aiming to kill.” Laken glared back at him and he instantly stopped talking. She took her jacket and wrapped it around Eve’s leg, tying it tightly.
“That’ll have to do.” She said, standing up.
“Let’s go, Laken.” Rossi said as he turned to walk away.
“You’re just going to leave us like this?” Miller asked. Laken looked back at him, Lizbeth could see pain hidden somewhere within her gaze.
“I don’t want to.” She said. “But you don’t understand the stakes here, Chase has been hunting us down for almost a month now and he’s not going to quit after what we did to him.”
“Who even is Chase?” Evan butted in. Laken sighed.
“He’s the leader of a ring of human traffickers running through the Wasteland and Georgia, they abduct people and sell them off. He was going to do the same to us, but we escaped and after our history with him, I don’t think he’s willing to let us just slip away.” Laken said, then looked to the sky hearing a roll of thunder. Lizbeth looked up too, becoming concerned over how dark the sky had just grown.
“A storm’s on its way, Laken.” Rossi said. “We need to move.”
“Chase’s people don’t hunt in the weather.” Laken responded as she walked a few steps away before sitting down on the dirt. “We stay here for the rest of the night, if the storm’s broken by morning we move.”
“Are you suicidal?” Rossi asked. She shook her head.
“We have to stop and rest sometime.” She said, “And now we have to clean up your mess.”
“Fuck you.” He muttered.
“I’m going to go get some wood to build a fire.” Josh said as he stood and began walking away. Rossi moved over towards Lizbeth and Eve. He looked at the two of them and sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry I shot you. But you have to know that I had to do it.” He said. Lizbeth glared at him, about to snap at him, but Eve cut her off.
“I understand that.” She said. “You have to look out for your family, no matter the cost.” He nodded as he sat down beside them.
“Laken’s all I have left, I can’t lose her.” He said.
“It makes sense that you’d want to protect her, some of us have nothing left in this world. It’s not a place you want to be.” She said.
“Laken saved my life even before the apocalypse.” He said as he looked over at Eve.
“Yeah?” She questioned. “How’s that?”
“Well, uh…” He pondered. “I was born a privileged little brat. I was the son of a wealthy politician and a lawyer. I had everything I could ever want, all the money in the world. But, uh… I was dating this guy, he introduced me to cocaine and it all went downhill from there. I let the addiction consume me, it’s all I was. I always chased that next high, that next guy or girl to fill that void in my life. My mother and father ended up cutting themselves out of my life, after that I didn’t have enough money to pay my debts. I… I was going to die.”
“That’s horrible.” Lizbeth said. “What happened?”
“Laken happened.” He said. “My parents adopted her back when I was younger. Her parents were both drug addicts that ended up getting killed. She nearly starved to death as an infant because her parents were just too busy with the meth. She followed a different path than me, she was close with my parents she liked them a lot. It was new for her to actually have a family. They never told her anything about the state of my addiction, never really told her anything about me. She ended up joining the Marines for a few years before she got sent home after… unfortunate circumstances, to say the least.”
“What kind of circumstances?” Lizbeth cut him off before he could continue. He just shook his head.
“That’s her story to tell, not mine.” He said. “She ended up hitting the alcohol pretty hard for a few years afterwards, it changed her. It ripped her apart, I could barely recognize her. She ended up running into an old friend she’d met in the orphanage in a bar, her name was Isabelle. I don’t know how they did it, but both of them ended up sobering up completely. After that, she spent a lot of time trying to get her life back on track and Isabelle had helped her a lot with that. But Laken realized what I’d truly done with my life, and wasn’t exactly thrilled.” He said, taking a pause.
“What happened? What did she do?” Eve asked.
“She borrowed some money from my family, a lot of money actually.” He said. “She just hunted down this guy that was dealing me my drugs, handed him them money and told him to quit dealing to me.”
“Did it work?” Lizbeth asked.
“Not a chance. Laken’s mind was still a little shot after what happened in Iraq, in her mind she though it would work. This guy took the money gladly, and just let her walk away.” He said, she could see a far off look in his eye as he recalled the events. “He just shot her in the back as she walked away, four times. Left her in the street to die. She was in a coma for a few weeks afterwards, it was a miracle she survived at all. I ended up meeting Isabelle in the hospital, she didn’t judge me, she didn’t look at me any different, she just told me that I needed to change to make sure Laken’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”
“Wow…” Lizbeth stuttered. “She risked her life for you? Without a second thought?”
“She risked her life for all of us in the war.” He corrected her. “But the war didn’t end for her when she got home.”
“And she just kept fighting.” Eve said. He nodded.
“Isabelle helped me check into rehab.” He said, “Apparently she was an Olympic gymnast, but that’s beside the point. I eventually sobered up, it was long and hard, but I did. The next time I saw Laken, I didn’t have to feel ashamed about who I was anymore. And she didn’t hold anything against me at all. She just… Forgave me, like it was nothing. Like…”
“Like she was your sister.” Eve said. He nodded.
“Like she was my sister.” He agreed. “But there’s one thing that Isabelle told me that I’ll never forget. She’d brought up God in a few of our conversations, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore and I had to ask her. I asked her why she didn’t hate me, even after all the thing’s I’d done to her and my family and my own sister. She just looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘If we’re too busy judging people, when do we find time to love them?’”
“She sounded like a great person.” Lizbeth said. He nodded again as he looked her in the eyes.
“She was, it was horrible what happened to her though.” He said. “You might want to talk to Laken about that one though, I don’t know if it’s my place to share that story.” Lizbeth looked him over, all his weapons and all of Laken’s weapons. A question formed in her mind.
“Where’d you guys get all those guns?” She asked. A small smile pulled at the edge of his lips.
“Laken had some connections still, even after her discharge. She used them to get us into a National Guard Armory, we got pretty well equip and used it as a base of operations after our family mansion was overrun by raiders and our parents were killed.” He said.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Your parents sounded like good people.” Eve said.
“Yeah, my father was a man of the people. I guess that’s why he kept getting reelected.” He said.
“Where was this armory? There’s not any big ones anywhere close to here.” Lizbeth said.
“California.” He said. Lizbeth’s jaw dropped
“You’re from California?” She asked. He nodded.
“Yeah, after the armory got overrun by infected we had nowhere else to go so Laken led us east through the Wasteland. We ended up here in Georgia.”
“You survived the Wasteland on foot?” She asked. He laughed.
“I’m more surprised the Wasteland survived Laken.” He said. “With that rifle, she’s unstoppable. It’s ridiculous.” He said.
“Wait.” Eve said. “You said ‘us’ earlier, like it was more than just you and Laken. Was there more than you two?” She asked. He sighed and nodded.
“Yeah. There were three of us.” He said. “It was Laken, me…” He paused, a deep sigh. “And Chase and his husband.”
“Chase, like as in the guy that’s hunting you two down?” Eve asked. He nodded.
“I was a good friend of his before the apocalypse, I dated his sister for a while. We ended up running into each other at the armory and we made an alliance, the four of us. After we crossed the Wasteland into safety, he turned on us. He attacked Laken when she wasn’t looking, took a Taser to her until she was out then did the same to me. He locked us up like animals in cages inside some compound he found, it was an old research facility used by the military back during the cold war. And they just kept coming, the numbers grew. He began collecting people. Selling them off, to the Wasteland. Soldiers, prostitutes, slaves, anything you needed. We knew it was only a matter of time before he sold us off too.”
“How did you get out?” Lizbeth asked. He smiled.
“Isabelle.” He said. “Just out of the blue, she showed up. I don’t know why, but Chase trusted her and let her into his inner circle. It didn’t take long for Laken to build a plan in the brilliant head of hers… Isabelle agreed to stay behind while we escaped so we could find more people and come back to end Chase’s empire.”
“And that brings us to now.” Eve said.
“And that brings us to now.” He agreed. Lizbeth heard metallic sounds off to her side and looked over, in the light from the fire Josh had built, she saw Laken sitting alone taking apart her rifle piece by piece and cleaning it, before putting it back together. “It’s her baby.” Rossi said. “She won’t let that rifle out of her sight… Maybe you should go talk to her.”
“She looks a little occupied.” Lizbeth said. He shook her head.
“No, she looks lonely.” He said, pausing for a second to listen to the rain beating down on the trees above their heads. “Ever since she got home from Iraq, she can’t stand to be alone. Poor girl got messed up over there.”
“I don’t know.” Lizbeth trailed as she looked over at Laken, watching as she slid the receiver back into place, completing the rifle.
Choice
[Talk to Laken]
[Leave her be]
Aspen Diaz
As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t do it without Raven. And Raven wouldn’t make it far without her either. The two of them needed to stick together, and Aspen wasn’t about to let the two of them get ripped apart by something as stupid as the Wasteland.
The truck bounced down the road, farther and farther from the echoing war behind them. It was Aspen’s constant fear that a jet would target them out and blow them to kingdom come.
Aspen wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but she was afraid. She’d experienced firsthand what the CDC had been able to accomplish through force, and then again she’d also experienced the pure brutality and technological advantage of Ohio.
This was a war with no good guys. Only two evils fighting each other to become to predominant evil within the United States. The only thing that could make this any worse was the Wasteland deciding to launch an assault on Ohio and Georgia. Any way you dice it, that’s a bad combination. Luckily, California was more likely to stay out of it. They’re too far away and just don’t care about anything outside the boundaries of their territory.
So south they went, in search of a place as elusive as the Holy Grail and the fountain of youth. South they were bound in a search for safety. They headed towards a place called Tennessee, hoping that something was there. Praying there was safety. They only expected one thing, however.
They only expected to be let down. They expected noting.
Hope is dangerous, it’s what inspires action and action can be rash. Rash action leads to death, and death is not good. A dead soldier can no longer fight and has become useless to the cause. Have no hope for a better tomorrow, and you’ll only have to fight for today.
Maybe it was a stupid motto spread around in the barracks of the CDC army, but she remembered it well. Have no hope for a better tomorrow, and you’ll only have to fight for today.
She remembered being a recruit in the army, sitting in the barracks alone in the cold listening to the other soldiers chant those words as if it were a prayer to God.
She remember the feeling that sent shockwaves through her bones as those soldiers words reverberated into the deepest wells of her very being, draining away any feeling she had left. She remembered the day she lost hope for tomorrow.
She remember sitting against a concrete wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, shaking against the cold as just around a corner a fire burnt to keep the soldiers warm, but she was not welcome to join. She remembered hearing the chant, remembered the very fabric of her existence unraveling before her.
She remembered a tactical knife, a sleeve rolled up. The words carved into her skin oozing out a crimson stain into her lap. No hope tomorrow. Fight for today.
Now, the fading scar still stains the inside of her arm with the message to give up hope. A message that Raven had told her to give up on.
Raven had always been different, she believed hope was what made a soldier a soldier. They had to have hope in what they were fighting for, faith for their comrades and courage to go on after it all. Soullessness d
didn’t make a soldier. Soullessness made an army of hive-minded goons ready to die at the snap of a finger.
Aspen hadn’t find hope. Hope had found her. And this time, she wasn’t going to give up.
“Look.” Raven said, even though Aspen had saw it before her. There was a group of people in the road, maybe four of them. Two men, a woman and a young girl. They looked rough, like they’d been traveling for a long time. Just another family displaced by the war between Georgia and Ohio.
“What do we do?” Aspen asked. Raven shook her head.
“I’m not the one driving.” She said. “We have room in the back for them, we can work together, maybe share supplies. Get as far as Tennessee together.” She went on. “But how do we know we can trust them?” She asked. Just then, as if he could read her mind, the man that seemed to be the father of the family turned and looked at the approaching truck. He began waving his arms motioning for them to stop.
Lizbeth Morrison
She looked around. She knew they were trapped, whoever was out there in these woods picked this place for a reason.
T… morehey wouldn’t just set up an ambush where people could escape from. And then there was Eve and Samantha, neither one of them would be able to keep up. They’d fall behind or get killed, one or the other.
She looked at the rifle in her hands, then out into the vast woods before them. She couldn’t pinpoint where the voice had come from, it echoed off the trees, surrounding them.
She sighed, dropping her rifle to the ground, it clattered on the dirt as she dropped down on her knees next to Eve, looking at the arrow embedded into her thigh watching the blood soak through her pants into the dirt.
For a moment, Lizbeth believed she was going to be sick. She never liked blood, especially the blood of a friend. She placed her hand on Eve’s thigh, around the shaft of the arrow. She felt Eve’s hand on top of… [view original content]
Laken and Rossi dont sound like bad people, even if they seemed so at first. Perhaps a bit too quick to shoot random travellers but at least they are not part of the human trafficker group. Cant be a bad thing to get to know her a bit better, to get on her good side.
[Stop the truck]
If they start to distrust everyone without even having a reason, they will soon be in danger of becoming no better than random bandits. They have to keep a bit of humanity to remain the good guys.
didn’t make a soldier. Soullessness made an army of hive-minded goons ready to die at the snap of a finger.
Aspen hadn’t find hope. Hope … morehad found her. And this time, she wasn’t going to give up.
“Look.” Raven said, even though Aspen had saw it before her. There was a group of people in the road, maybe four of them. Two men, a woman and a young girl. They looked rough, like they’d been traveling for a long time. Just another family displaced by the war between Georgia and Ohio.
“What do we do?” Aspen asked. Raven shook her head.
“I’m not the one driving.” She said. “We have room in the back for them, we can work together, maybe share supplies. Get as far as Tennessee together.” She went on. “But how do we know we can trust them?” She asked. Just then, as if he could read her mind, the man that seemed to be the father of the family turned and looked at the approaching truck. He began waving his arms motioning for them to stop.
[Stop the truck]
[Keep going]
didn’t make a soldier. Soullessness made an army of hive-minded goons ready to die at the snap of a finger.
Aspen hadn’t find hope. Hope … morehad found her. And this time, she wasn’t going to give up.
“Look.” Raven said, even though Aspen had saw it before her. There was a group of people in the road, maybe four of them. Two men, a woman and a young girl. They looked rough, like they’d been traveling for a long time. Just another family displaced by the war between Georgia and Ohio.
“What do we do?” Aspen asked. Raven shook her head.
“I’m not the one driving.” She said. “We have room in the back for them, we can work together, maybe share supplies. Get as far as Tennessee together.” She went on. “But how do we know we can trust them?” She asked. Just then, as if he could read her mind, the man that seemed to be the father of the family turned and looked at the approaching truck. He began waving his arms motioning for them to stop.
[Stop the truck]
[Keep going]
Alright, it appears I was wrong about these two. To be fair, shooting someone in the leg is not the best way to make a good first impression, but to my surprise, they sound genuinely sorry. I doubt many people are sorry about their mistakes in these times anymore, which makes me believe that Laken and Rossi are indeed not the bad guys I thought they were at first. In fact, considering that they are now risking their life to make sure that our group is safe from the human traffickers, I'd even say they are a classic case of good people who just had the bad luck of making a horrible first impression. Eve doesn't seem to carry any grudges towards them though, so I won't hold any grudges to them either. Let's talk to Laken, so that we can make new friends. I have the feeling the group could need new friends in this situation.
[Stop the truck]
I totally agree with what has been said before. These people don't seem too threatening. I mean, if they want to ambush the truck there are far easier and safer methods, methods that wont' endanger the young girl they have with them. The presence of this young girl convinces me to give them a chance here. It's the right thing to do and I hope it won't backfire.
didn’t make a soldier. Soullessness made an army of hive-minded goons ready to die at the snap of a finger.
Aspen hadn’t find hope. Hope … morehad found her. And this time, she wasn’t going to give up.
“Look.” Raven said, even though Aspen had saw it before her. There was a group of people in the road, maybe four of them. Two men, a woman and a young girl. They looked rough, like they’d been traveling for a long time. Just another family displaced by the war between Georgia and Ohio.
“What do we do?” Aspen asked. Raven shook her head.
“I’m not the one driving.” She said. “We have room in the back for them, we can work together, maybe share supplies. Get as far as Tennessee together.” She went on. “But how do we know we can trust them?” She asked. Just then, as if he could read her mind, the man that seemed to be the father of the family turned and looked at the approaching truck. He began waving his arms motioning for them to stop.
[Stop the truck]
[Keep going]
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey.” Laken responded as she shifted a little as if speaking had brought her back to this reality.
“I’m Lizbeth.” She said. Laken nodded.
“I’m Laken.” She said, looking over towards Lizbeth slowly. “Sorry my brother shot you. He’s a good guy, but he’s a hair trigger sometimes.” She explained.
“I like that.” She said. “But I’m guessing you’re not here to pass the time, are you?” She asked.
“I was talking with Rossi, he told me to talk to you to get your side of the story.” She said. Laken shrugged.
“Depends on what part of the story you want.” She said, Lizbeth could see the reflection on the fire dancing off her dark eyes. She saw that she was tracing the tattoos on her arm with her left hand as if she were nervous.
“Just start from the beginning.” Lizbeth suggested. Laken sighed.
“I don’t like talking about the beginning.” She said. “My life didn’t begin until Rossi’s parents adopted me. Before that, I was just on a downward spiral. My parents were shot dead in their own house by a gang they owed money to, but they left me alive for some reason… Sometimes I wished they didn’t.” She went on, lowering her voice to a mere whisper on the last part.
“What happened after that?” Lizbeth asked.
“I was put into an orphanage where I met Isabelle Shaw, she was a good friend of mine for a long time. My only friend. After I was adopted out, I lost contact with her. But it was okay, since I had a family now. Back then, Rossi wasn’t around much. He was five years older than me, had a life to live. He ran with the wrong crowd a lot, though back then I didn’t know that. My parents never told me.” She said.
“Rossi seems like a good guy.” Lizbeth said. She nodded.
“He is, he really is.” She said. “He’s just made some mistakes.”
“We all do.” Lizbeth mumbled.
“My parents spent a lot of time with me, since Rossi wasn’t exactly around to be their kid. My father took me hunting, showed me how to use a rifle. I was a hell of a shot, even from the beginning. My mother loved to cook, and I picked up a thing or two from her. Life was good.” She said.
“What changed?” She asked. Laken sighed.
“I joined the Marines after I got out of high school. Training was the easy part for me, I was a sniper, all I had to do was learn how to do what I was good at better. But I didn’t realize then the kind of shit I was going to get into over there.” She said.
“What happened over there?” Lizbeth asked. “Rossi said something about it.” Laken hesitated as if she didn’t want to answer.
“I had it rough, I was in a hot zone. I had to make tough calls almost every day and sometimes it was the wrong call, I have innocent blood on my hands and that’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life.” She said. “But that wasn’t what sent me over the edge.” She trailed.
“What did?” Lizbeth questioned. Laken drummed her fingers against the stock of her rifle as if recalling the events.
“On July 7th I heard over a radio broadcast that some hacker on the internet had discovered a missive movement of terrorists in the south of the city I was in, I was ordered to ignore it so I did. It was two days later when they attacked the city, full on. I watched as my spotter… My spotter got shot in the head just a foot away from me. They had the city surrounded, I was running out of ammo, I thought I was going to die. I just shot off the last few rounds I had in my rifle and made a run for the north. Running through those streets, I just lost it. I couldn’t tell the difference between civilian and enemy, I just shot them all. I made it out of the city and just kept running as long as I could. I tried to radio for help, but no one answered.” She said.
“What happened after that?” Lizbeth asked, her eyes widening. Laken sighed, her breath shaky as if just recalling this was hard for her.
“I got lost.” She said. “I didn’t know where I was, I just had desert on all sides. I spent a week alone in that desert, barely avoiding dying of dehydration. I’m glad I wasted all my bullets in that city, otherwise I would’ve blown my brains out into the sand.” Lizbeth could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep herself together. Lizbeth placed her hand on Laken’s arm to steady her.
“Hey, it’s okay.” She tried to say reassuringly. Laken nodded as she took a breath.
“I’d given up all hope, I was just wondering around aimlessly. I heard something far off in the distance, I knew it was a helicopter. I saw it coming over the horizon, the rotors sent sand everywhere. But they saw me. The pilot said I was lucky, they just happened to be flying through the area on their way to another base. They told me that it was at least another day to the closest base on foot, and that was if I was able to find it.” She said. “After that, they had me in the hospital… I just couldn’t do it anymore, they deemed me crazy and decided to ship me home. I guess they thought it would be too dangerous to keep me around.” She said.
“That’s horrible. How did you do it?” She asked. Laken shook her head.
“It doesn’t even stop there.” She said. “I was on my way out, walking towards the airfield. Four guys in a jeep pull up in front of me and offer me a ride. I didn’t realize it until it was too late that they weren’t taking me to the airfield, they’d taken me to some isolated part of the base far from anyone else. They threw me out of the truck and they…” She trailed, seemingly unable to finish her sentence. She didn’t have to say anything else for Lizbeth to know what she meant. “I never told anyone what they did to me, I was too afraid of what would happen. They probably wouldn’t have believed me anyways, everyone thought I was insane. And I just can’t talk to anyone else about it now, now it’s just too late.” She said. Lizbeth tapped her fingers against the dirt as she thought.
“You don’t have to be silent about it, you know.” Lizbeth said. Laken shook her head.
“Who’s going to care about it?” She asked.
“I will.” She said, then lifted a finger, pointing over to Eve. “And she will.” Then she pointed over to Samantha. “And she will.” She said. “Samantha had to go through the same thing, it was hard for her too. She had to do it all alone, with a baby that it wasn’t even her choice to have. Her brother was in the Marines too, before all of this. She had him for a while, and then he was killed in cold blood and she had to run.” Lizbeth could hear Laken trying to muffle the sound of her crying and watched as she brought her hand to her cheek, wiping away at the tears.
“I’m sorry…” She cried. “I really shouldn’t be talking about this. I mean, you all have your own problems and-“
“You don’t have to be ashamed of what happened, Laken.” Lizbeth said. “You’re not alone.” By now Laken was sobbing, though still trying to hide it even as she buried her head into Lizbeth’s shoulder.
“And then I got home, I didn’t want to face it. So I just started drinking so I could forget it all, it got bad. I felt like I’d become such a disappointment to my family, I felt like I was turning into the thing I hated the most, the thing I fought my entire life to not be, it was now becoming it. I hit rock-bottom in an alleyway outside some shitty bar that people with no money hung around. I’d somehow managed to get ahold of some heavy-duty sleeping pills, too drunk to remember how. I spilled them all into my hand, and I was about to swallow them all, just drift away and forget this all. Right before I swallowed them I heard someone calling my name, I turned around and saw Isabelle standing only feet away. I tried to hide the pills, but she saw them. She didn’t judge me, she didn’t look at me any different. She just looked me straight in the eye and said we could beat this together.” She said.
“Wow… Sounds rough.” Lizbeth said. Laken sounded as if she was starting to calm down again. Her voice was back in a normal range though it was still interrupted by sniffling and she was shaking.
“After that night I was on and off with the alcohol, I tried at least four more times to kill myself. Tried to hang myself in the bathroom once. But every time it was the same, she’d show up and save my life again and again, and never give up on me. And I made it, she was right, together we could beat it. I sobered up and heard the news of what Rossi had gotten involved with, Isabelle tried to stop me but she was with the Olympic team out of town and couldn’t stop me. I wasn’t in my right mind, ended up getting shot in the street and left to die. I guess after she heard the news, Isabelle came right back and helped Rossi get into rehab. I guess his sobering went a lot easier than mine did, didn’t end up with him getting shot in the back.” She laughed uneasily.
“He said that you acted like nothing ever happened.” Lizbeth said.
“We both began a new chapter in our lives that day. For a moment everything was calm, the family was back together and Rossi was getting into politics. When the world went to hell, I pulled a favor and snuck into a national guard armory and got enough weapons to survive for a while. We were held up in our parents mansion for a while, then one day a group of travelers showed up seeking refuge. We gave it to them and invited them in, and then the raiders came. We tried to fight them off, but there were to many. Me and Rossi escaped but everyone else was killed, I still remember just sitting on the hillside watching my life go up in flames. Me and Rossi ended up making a new home at the armory where we ran into…” she said.
“Chase.” Lizbeth said. “Rossi told me that part.” Laken sighed as if she’d just made it easier for her.
“We hid there for a long time, but infected swamped the area out of nowhere and we got pushed farther and farther east. I ended up having to lead everyone through the Wasteland, it was nasty but we did it. Ended up crossing the boundary into Georgia. Chase came at me when I wasn’t looking, knocked me out cold and then took Rossi out. I woke up in some sort of jail cell and we stayed there for a few months like animals. It only got worse when Chase’s husband committed suicide. He went bat shit and just started abducting people left and right. Then Isabelle showed up, it hadn’t crossed my mind that she could still be alive. We worked together, I promised I would come back to get her. All I needed was people to help me cut the head off the snake.” She said.
“I don’t know how much I can do, but I’ll do whatever I can to stop this guy.” Lizbeth said. Laken sighed.
“That’s the thing, even after all of this, I don’t know if I can kill him. I just don’t know if I have it in me anymore to be able to do that and come back the same.” She said.
“I told you that you weren’t in this alone.” Lizbeth said. “Chase is a problem, not for you, but for everyone in Georgia. We can help you.” Silence fell over the two of them as Laken stared into the fire.
“Thank you Lizbeth. For just listening to me.” She said. Lizbeth nodded, not being able to find words. She watched Laken stood from where she was siting, and looked down at her. “I, uh… I think I’m going to go talk to Samantha real quick.” She said. Lizbeth nodded.
“You should. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have to carry everything alone.” Lizbeth said.
“Thank you.” She said as she slowly began walking away. Lizbeth watched as she hovered next to Samantha awkwardly for a moment, She looked down at the baby coddled within her arms. She saw Laken saying something, though she couldn’t hear. Samantha smiled and offered Laken a seat next to her. Laken extended her arm, her hand running through the infant’s thin hair.
“She cried.” A voice said. Lizbeth looked over and saw Rossi next to her.
“Yeah.” Lizbeth said.
“I didn’t know my sister could cry.” He said.
“It got deep.” Lizbeth said. Rossi shook his head.
“Sometimes I just wish I knew what was really going through her head.” He said. “She’s always trying to protect me, I can never get her to tell me the truth about what’s really going on.”
“You just have to talk to her.” Lizbeth said.
“I’ve tried, but she just says everything’s fine.” He said. “And then you show up and she breaks down for some reason.”
“Then don’t talk.” Lizbeth suggested. “Just listen.” He sighed.
“So, um… I’ve been thinking.” He said.
“About what?” Lizbeth questioned.
“I was just thinking that once the sun comes up tomorrow we better get moving. If we want to get away from Chase, it’s best not to stay still for too long.” He said.
“Where were you thinking of going?” Lizbeth asked.
“North, probably somewhere in the Tennessee valley.” He said.
“We were headed north before we ran into you.” She said.
“Yeah, it would be nice to find some place where we ever had to worry about Chase ever again.” He said, Lizbeth narrowed her eyes at him.
“Laken said you guys were going to go back to get Isabelle out of there.” She said. He shook his head with a sigh.
“No.” He responded. “She might think we are, but we most certainly are not.” He went on.
“So you’re going to lie to her so you can just drag her farther north away from a promise she made?” Lizbeth asked.
“Well….” He muttered.
“No wonder she doesn’t talk to you.” She said.
“Lizbeth, you have to understand one thing about my sister. She can’t think straight. She doesn’t make choices that are good for her health, she doesn’t understand that she could end up dead if she went back there. Isabelle knew the risk she was taking when she helped up get out.” He said.
“Maybe she understands perfectly.” Lizbeth said. “Maybe you just don’t want to accept it.”
“I’m not going to just sit by and watch as my sister gets herself killed over an empty promise she more than likely can’t keep in the first place.” He said.
“Why did you bring this to me?” Lizbeth asked, shaking her head.
“Because, when tomorrow comes. I want you to take my side. Laken’s not going to want to leave, but if we all outnumber her she’ll have no choice.” He said.
“So you want to get everyone here to turn on your sister so you can drag her away from something she needs to do after she saved your life and got you here? And then you still think you’re the hero?” Lizbeth asked. “I’m starting to think you’re the real crazy one.”
“Look, I just want to know that you’re going to take my side on this.” He said.
This is a very hard choice for me. Laken won me over in this part and I believe this decision is going to crush her. At the same time, I have to think of the rest of the group. Eve is wounded and can hardly walk on her own, Lizbeth was close to death not long ago and only started to recover, Sam has a baby that depends on her and is the least person I want to put in harm's way. What Laken attempts to do here is dangerous, not only for herself, but for those she potentially drags into it. This Chase guy is not the kind of person I want the group to encounter. While, of course, there is no guarantee that the group would even support her in this mission that sounds a lot like suicide, I don't want to take any chances and at least Lizbeth has guaranteed her support. Aside from that, this is at the very least suicide for Laken and Rossi, whom I somehow start to like. So, getting the hell away from there sounds like the better option to me.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle… more was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey… [view original content]
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle… more was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey… [view original content]
Going after the bad guy gets people killed. Laken can try to kill him of course but Lizbeth should choose what is best for her group, which is agreeing with Rossi.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle… more was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey… [view original content]
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle… more was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey… [view original content]
Comments
[Take 71 to Louisville]
The faster way has no advantage if it kills them. Its better if they take longer but stay out of danger.
[Take 71 to Louisville], safety is always a better option!
[Take 71 to Louisville]
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth sat down on the couch, more like collapsed. Her leg was hurting her badly, and was glad to finally be able to rest. On an actual couch, none the less.
Eve looked exhausted, having practically carried her this far. She wandered away, over towards the window.
Josh and Rebecca seemed interested in practically nothing in the building and went across the room, taking a seat at the table in the kitchen.
Miller seemed interested, however, as he spotted something none of the rest had.
“You have a baby?” He asked, Lizbeth saw it as soon as he said it. There, in a crib, lay a small little child sleeping. Samantha gazed over at the infant, a small smile on her face, before she looked back at Miller.
“She’s mine.” Samantha said.
“What’s her name?” He asked.
“Nadia.” Samantha responded.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He said.
“I had a sister names Nadia.” Eve said, Lizbeth looked over and saw she was leaning on the windowsill, looking out into the street. “It’s a beautiful name.” Lizbeth saw Samantha smile at Eve.
“Where’s your sister now?” She asked. Eve looked away from the window towards Samantha, a pained look on her face.
“Hold on to the ones you have while you still can.” She said. “People tend to envy what they can’t have.” Samantha bit her lip, Eve looked away, taking a keen interest in the pavement. Miller seemed lost. Rebecca and Josh had entered their own conversation.
“So, the father. Where is he?” Lizbeth asked, blurting out the first thought that came to her mind. Samantha sighed as soon as she heard the question. Lizbeth knew she’d hit a nerve.
“She doesn’t have a father.” Samantha said.
“What happened to him?” Lizbeth asked.
“I was raped.” She said. “In the end, we killed him…I killed him.”
“Jesus… I’m so sorry.” Lizbeth said. Samantha sighed.
“Don’t be.” She said. “Nadia’s the best thing that’s happening in my life for a long time.”
“Just as a question, You’re Marcus Bishop’s sister aren’t you?” Miller asked. “Why aren’t you back at the base?” Samantha shook her head, lowering her voice.
“It’s not safe for me there.” She said. “They killed him, and would’ve done the same with me. The only reason I got out was because of a nurse I didn’t even know. She got me out of there, sent me on my way. She didn’t want to come with me, I don’t even know her name.”
Lizbeth tried to say something, try to say something reassuring. But there just wasn’t anything to say. Everything she ever knew had fallen apart around her once before, and it was happening all over again. The people that had once protected her, have now turned hostile. She felt alone, betrayed, she didn’t know who to trust. Not anymore.
“How about you?” Samantha asked, looking over at Lizbeth. “Your family, where are they?” Lizbeth just shook her head.
“Dead.” Was her only answer, she looked up, nodding at Miller. “This is my family now.” She said.
“Family’s a good thing to have.” Samantha said. “Especially now.”
“Everyone needs someone.” Lizbeth said. “Whether or not they realize it.”
“Speaking of which…” Samantha said, as she stood up. “Miller, is it?” Miller nodded.
“Yeah.” He said.
“I could use some help with something, if you wouldn’t mind.” She said.
“Not at all.” He said.
“Come on.” She said, as she moved towards the door. Miller turned towards Lizbeth.
“I’ll be right back.” He said, as he walked out. Lizbeth heard the door shut behind him and the only sound was the dying conversation between Josh and Rebecca. Lizbeth sighed, and stood up. She avoided putting too much pressure on her bad leg, but it hurt anyways.
She hobbled across the floor and leaned against the wall next to Eve.
“You shouldn’t be walking.” Eve said.
“You really want to be telling me what I shouldn’t be doing after you almost got yourself killed?” Lizbeth asked.
“Yeah, fine. Next time I’ll keep it in mind to not save your life.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“That’s not what I meant.” Lizbeth said. “What you did for me… it’s just, I don’t understand why you did it.”
“Why do you say that?” Eve asked.
“You barely know me.” Lizbeth said.
“Maybe.” Eve said. “But it doesn’t make a difference, your people saved my life and they barely knew me.”
“But you helped us.” Lizbeth said.
“I guess it just creates a vicious cycle.” She said, as she peered out into the street. Lizbeth noticed she was tapping her fingers against the windowsill, to a tune she’d heard once before. “But I don’t regret it. I’ve lost too much to lose you and your people.”
“You know you don’t have to prove anything to us, you’re one of us.” Lizbeth said.
“I had to kill my father and mother when I was only sixteen.” She said. “You think I had something to prove then?” She asked. “I hid away and watched as people I didn’t know dragged my only sister away and I never saw her again, she was only thirteen. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”
“Jesus, Eve.” Lizbeth stammered. “That’s horrible.” Lizbeth saw Eve wipe a tear from her eye with the sleeve of her shirt. She looked up, and instantly changed the subject.
“I’m going out there.” She said. “I’m going to find Evan.”
“What?” Lizbeth asked. “You can’t go out there alone, they could still be out there.”
“All the more reason to find Evan before it’s too late.” Eve said.
“Evan can handle himself, Eve. I know him.” Lizbeth said. “You don’t even have a gun.”
“Did you not see that gun locker Samantha has? The thing’s stocked. She has more guns than she needs.” She said.
“Eve, come on.” Lizbeth said.
“I’ve made up my mind, Lizbeth.” Eve said.
Choice
[Let her go]
[Make her stay]
Aspen Diaz
The road was long and open, Cracked and bumpy, and full of potholes. But at least it was leading them away from Ohio.
Aspen didn’t feel altogether comfortable crossing the bridge though, as it looked ready to crumble at any moment. But, luckily, they made it across. As they drove Aspen noticed a tall, dilapidated building. She recognized it all too well, and it sent shivers down her spine just to remember it. She hated to remember the people in there, Delilah and Ben. Where she met Train, it’s the place that started this whole thing.
She couldn’t resist. Aspen slowed down, and parked the truck right in front of the building.
“What are you doing?” Raven asked. Aspen looked over at her.
“Picking up some of my things.” She said. “Just stay here, I’ll be quick.” She pushed open the door and jumped out of the truck, walking towards the front doors of the building.
It took her some time to backtrack to where it all happened. In the dark hallway, it took her long enough to know where she was. But she found the door, slightly ajar. She pushed it the rest of the way open and saw the carnage inside.
Two dead bodies, not even fresh. It smelled like death in here, apparently Delilah and Ben didn’t take too long to start decomposing. She walked across the room, pulling open the closet door. She hastily stuffed both bodies inside and slammed the door shut.
She shuffled across the room towards the bed, finding a rifle laying on the floor, a large gash in the wooden stock. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Empty, not a single round in it. But it wasn’t what she was here for anyways.
She walked over towards the bed, and there she found it. Her helmet. She picked it up, looking It over. It was just the same as when she’d left it. She lowered it on over her head, glad to finally be reunited with it.
But then something else came to mind. She stood and walked away from the bed, towards the bathroom. She pulled open the medicine cabinet, finding a few bottles of painkillers. Not many though, the soldiers that had saved her had taken most of them. She grabbed the remaining bottles and headed for the door, not looking back even once. She never wanted to see this place again.
Back outside, she climbed back up into the truck, throwing the rifle at Raven. She almost smiled at Aspen.
“We came here to get your helmet, didn’t we?” She asked.
“I’ve had this thing as long as I can remember. I’m not going to let it sit and gather dust.” She said, then showed Raven the bottles of pills. She grabbed one and read it over.
“Oxycodone?” She asked. “Don’t come near me with that stuff.”
“It’ll help with the pain.” Aspen said.
“I don’t care.” Raven said. “I’m not taking any more pills.”
“Suit yourself.” She mumbled, as the truck lurched forwards on down the road.
It was hours later, now. Aspen stared out into the never-ending road before her. She saw a road sign that said ‘Louisville, 3 Miles’ She looked to her right and saw Raven, her head leaning against the truck’s window. Her eyes shut, and body limp. She’d been asleep for a while now, Aspen had lost track of time after they passed Sparta.
Aspen swore she only shut her eyes for half a second, but she opened her eyes to the sound of Raven yelling. She noticed that Raven had grabbed the steering wheel. Aspen quickly grabbed it back from her.
“What are you doing?” Aspen asked.
“Are you trying to get us both killed?” Raven asked. “You nearly drove us straight off a bridge!” She yelled.
“What? No.” Aspen said, she noticed the city of Louisville growing closer in the distance. Raven pointed at a brick building that sat on the corner of a street, the painting on the window reading ‘Al’s Barber shop’
“Pull over, we’re stopping here for the night.” Raven said.
“No, I’m fine.” Aspen said.
“It wasn’t a question.” Raven said. Aspen nodded. She was too tired to fight. The truck squealed to a stop in front of the barber shop, and Aspen killed the engine.
Aspen went in first, pushing through the glass door and looking around. The place was abandoned, luckily. And in good shape. No one had been here in a long time.
“It’s clear.” Aspen called out to Raven, who entered behind her. Aspen shuffled across the floor, looking for somewhere to crash, and decided that a spot on the floor a few feet from the door was good enough. She collapsed face-first into the wooden floor, her helmet sliding off her head.
“Good night.” Raven said.
“Night.” Aspen croaked as she shut her eyes.
[Make her stay]
While I want Evan to reunite with the group, there are two reasons why I choose to make her stay. First, she has no lead on where to search and it is more likely that she stumbles upon the bandit that got away than Evan. Second, if she leaves, then that means having one fighter less if the bandit returns, making it harder for the rest to survive. Also, Sam has been extremely helpful towards them and it sounds as if Eve would just take the gun without asking. Stealing from the person that saved their lives is wrong and it would also make it less likely for her to trust the group, which means, less likely that she leaves with them when they continue their journey. Since Sammy can't remain in this location with the bandit around, I absolutely want for her to leave with the rest.
[Make her stay] No one should go alone. She would at least need partner with her. And she doesn't even know where to search. I trust Evan can handle himself.
[Make her stay]
I agree with the arguments the others said. Going alone is too dangerous and even going with just one partner seems risky to me. Either they all have to go or they all have to stay but it is never a good idea to split up more. Maybe Evan finds his way back to the group but Eve gets missing instead if she leaves.
Lizbeth Morrison
She saw Eve moving towards the door, she knew she had to stop her. Going out there alone would mean almost certain death. She quickly reached out, grabbing Eve’s forearm. Eve tried to pull away from her.
“Let me go, Lizbeth.” She said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No, I’m not about to just let you go get yourself killed.” Lizbeth said. “Not after all that you’ve done for me.”
“Your man is still out there.” Eve said. “Someone has to go find him, otherwise he may never make it back here.”
“And you think stealing a gun from the person who’s letting us stay here is a good idea?” She asked. Eve’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I don’t.” She said. “But it’s the only one I could come up with.” Lizbeth looked Eve straight in the eye, she saw a lot hidden beneath a layer of false strength. A lot of pain, hurt, sorrow. But maybe there was still a little hope in there. Maybe.
“Why?” Lizbeth asked. “Why does it have to be you? Why can’t it be someone else? You risked your life to bring us to that church-“
“Which didn’t really end too well if I recall.” Eve interjected.
“That doesn’t matter, what matters is the fact that you tried.” Lizbeth said. “It was always you, you always stepped up when no one else would. You saved me from those bandits out there, after you carried me all the way here.” She went on. “I just don’t understand it. Why is it always you?” Eve brushed past Lizbeth, pulling her arm away. She walked across the floor back to the window, where she took her previous position once again. The same faraway look filled her eyes.
“It’s my fault they’re dead.” Eve said.
“What do you mean?” Aspen asked.
“My mother and father. They’re dead because of me.” She answered. “I could’ve done something, but I was a coward and they got infected because of it. I could’ve saved my sister, but I was a coward and they took her away because of it.” She said, “All my life, all I’ve ever been is a coward. All I’ve ever done is get people hurt or killed. I don’t know why I chose to save you people. I just- I just felt like maybe I could make up for being a coward if I did something good in my life.” She wiped at the tears in her eyes as she looked back at Lizbeth. “Do you think that’s stupid? Do you think I’m crazy?” She asked. Lizbeth shook her head.
“No.” She said. “That sounds heroic. You’re very brave for wanting to do that…” She trailed. “Back when that bandit grabbed me out on the street, I froze. All I could see was my mother. Back when this all started, it was just me and her. My father never made it home before this started. We lived in Nashville back then, decided it would be better out here in Georgia. We ran out of food, water, everything. We slept in a car on the highway one night… They came out of nowhere, one of them grabbed me. The other… He just. He just shot my mom right there in front of me. They kept saying all these horrible things that they were going to do to me, they hit me in the back of the head and I woke up later locked in some cage.”
“What did you do?” Eve asked.
“I… I killed them. Both of them.” She said. “After that, I was alone. I ran into the rest of my group in Athens, by that time I’d nearly forgotten who I was. Sometimes I still look in the mirror and don’t recognize myself because I’ve changed so much, because I’ve killed people.”
“I’m… I’m so sorry.” Eve said. Lizbeth shook her head.
“It wasn’t you holding the gun.” Lizbeth said, placing her hands against the windowsill. There was a silence between the two. The only sound was their breaths piercing the ever present silence. Lizbeth felt something touch her hand, she looked down and saw Eve’s hand covering her own.
“I remember my father once said ‘life goes on, only if you let it’.” Eve said. “I never realized how true that would turn out to be.”
“Why does this world suck so much?” Lizbeth asked, maybe she wasn’t asking Eve. Maybe she was just asking anyone. Maybe she was asking God, maybe she was asking the trees.
“Because it’s beginning again.” Eve said. “This… Apocalypse, it wasn’t the end. All along it was just a new beginning.” She pointed across the street towards the woods at a large sign that used to belong to some reality company. “Maybe the Earth just go tired of us ripping it apart so it had to fight back.”
“You really believe that?” Lizbeth asked. “Out of all the possible reasons, that’s the one you believe?”
“Why not?” She asked. “We’ll never know the true reason.” Her eyes drifted across the room, settling on something that sat behind Lizbeth. She smiled. “Come here, let me show you something.” She said as she grabbed Lizbeth’s hand and pulled her away from the window. Eve led her to a sleek black grand piano.
“You know how to play?” Lizbeth asked.
“I learned as a little girl.” She said. “My mother didn’t want to deal with me so she sent me to lessons.” She continued as she took a seat at the bench, her hands resting on the keys. She looked up at Lizbeth. “It’s been awhile since I’ve last played, so bear with me.” Lizbeth could’ve said she was laying as soon as her fingers began hitting keys.
It started with a gentle rhythm, but quickly picked up speed. Eve almost looked as if this was her second nature, like this came natural to her. Lizbeth was never good at things like this.
She happened to look up and spot Josh, glaring at her. Not simply staring at her, he was full on glaring at her. ‘What’s his problem?’ she first wondered. It didn’t take her long to piece it together. He was jealous. She couldn’t believe it. Josh was jealous. She shook her head as she turned her gaze back to the piano, listening to the shifts in tone and speed. The major lift, the minor fall. There was emotion in the music. There was life in the music. Hope.
Lizbeth couldn’t help but to smile. Outside this building, people were staring and falling over dead. But here they were, alive and well. Listening to Eve play a piano. She recalled what Eve had said her father told her. Life goes on only if you let it. Then she remembered what Eve said. Maybe this was Earth’s way of fighting back. For some reason she felt her eyes get watery, not from sorrow, not from fear, anger, no. This wasn’t anything like that. This was something different. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
This was joy, happiness, hope. The strength to go on in the face of all these insurmountable odds. This, this was life.
“Fuck you.” She said to the earth. “I’m not afraid.”
Evan Banks
Left or right? Right or left?
Wait. Didn’t he pass that tree already?
Was that the sound of feet behind him? No? Paranoia? Yes.
He knew those ravens in the trees above him were watching him. They kept crowing at him, wanting food. Well, he didn’t have any. Not until he got back to his group.
Which might be awhile. He wouldn’t say he was lost but… He had no idea where he was. At least no one was following him anymore. Maybe.
He had followed the river for quite some time, but felt like it wasn’t taking him where he wanted to go, so he climbed up the other side and now, well. His master plan failed him. He was more lost than before. He’d thought about climbing one of these trees, but opted against it. He’d just fall out.
“Any idea where I’m at?” He asked a raven hanging from a branch far above him. It didn’t respond. “Didn’t think so.”
“Hey you.” A voice called. “Over here.” For some reason Even looked up at the Raven as if it had just spoken to him. He thought he was losing his mind. He heard a rustling behind him and turned around. There was a man standing right behind him.
“Who are you?” Evan asked.
“Just a wanderer.” The man said. “Wondering if you wanted to join me.”
“Join you doing what?” Evan asked.
“Me and my men, we were just doing our job.” He explained. “Then out of nowhere, these people show up and kill my men. I barely got out of there myself.”
“Where did you run into this group at?” Evan asked.
“In Roswell, about five minutes that way through the trees.” He said, jutting a thumb over his shoulder.
“And this group.” Evan said. “Was there a young blonde girl? Maybe a tall man, dark skin? Maybe he was wearing a black beanie?” Evan asked. The man nodded.
“Yeah, yeah. That was them.” He said. “Did they screw you over too?”
“No.” Evan said. “They are my group. And they wouldn’t attack you unless they had a reason.” The man looked as if he was about to make a move, but Evan was faster. His fist clashed with the man’s jaw and he went down like a sack of rocks.
Evan looked at the man lying on the ground and a thought popped into his mind. Kill him, it said. But another said let him live. This man was no longer a danger, by the time he came to, they’d be far gone.
Choice
[Kill him]
[Let him live]
[Kill him]
So, this guy claims he was just doing his job, huh? Let's check again what he did. He tried to rob the group, he was perfectly willing to kill the group, he implied that he wanted to rape Lizbeth, he wounded Eve and if it wouldn't have been for Samantha, he would have even succeeded. On top of that, he lied to Evan about the reason why his men were killed and he also, he was about to make a move, likely trying to kill Evan, if Evan wouldn't have been faster. He is clearly a danger to the group and letting him live might only mean that he is going to return with more men, to finish what he started. It's foolish to let a man as dangerous as him live.
Also, I am totally shipping Lizbeth and Eve now, their interaction in this part was once again adorable
Josh is clearly jealous though, I don't think he approves of them bonding. I'm calling it now, he might be a problem in the future. And I'm curious where Sammy and Miller went. I reread the latest part and it appears she needed his help with something. Hopefully Miller can help her, because that could likely lead to her trusting the group enough to leave with them.
[Kill him]
It's never a good idea to let people go like that, he could just come with more people and try to kill our whole group. And I love Lizbeth x Eve too, they are adorable!
[Kill him]
It is likely that he comes back later if they let him go now. He knows where the group is and he is dangerous. Even if he is unconscious until the group is away, he is still a danger to other travellers.
Aspen Diaz
It must’ve been mid-day before she woke up. Light was leaking in through the windows, she couldn’t help but to think how stupid the two of them had been.
They’d stayed all night right in plain sight, if anyone would’ve passed by here they both would’ve been seen. Stupid.
She heard thunder outside. Lots of thunder, like the thunderstorm from hell. It sounded like the sky itself was exploding in on itself. But just as quickly as it came, it faded. Only to start again.
No. It couldn’t be.
She pushed herself up off the ground, rushing towards the glass window.
The sky was thick with smoke. Ohio was burning. Jets filled the air, preforming deadly acrobatics high above her head. She watched the tracers fill the air, clawing their way through the air as the pilot pulled against gravity until, the tracer bit into its target. The wing of the jet split off, sending the jet into a fiery tailspin, until it disappeared from her view.
Just as it seemed that the remaining jet was the victor, Aspen watched as a trail of smoke rocketed upwards from the ground towards the sky, careening with the jet’s fuselage. The jet exploded into pieces as if it’d just ran into an invisible wall.
“Raven?” Aspen called.
“Over here.” She heard Raven say. She craned her head, spotting Raven looking out another window. She noticed that Raven was wearing her helmet. Aspen moved closer to her.
“What’s going on out there?” Aspen asked.
“A war.” Raven replied. “I’ve watched it all night. It started when some jets flew in from Georgia and started bombing the crap out of the place. From what I could tell, the Ohioans scrambled their jets from Wright Patt and staged a counter offensive on the river.”
“Who’s winning?” Aspen asked.
“Nobody.” Raven said. “It’s a stalemate, a bloodbath in every direction. Georgia has the numbers, but Ohio has everything else.”
“We need to go.” Aspen said. “It’s not safe here.”
“Damn straight.” Raven said. “A jet nearly crashed in the street right out front.”
“What?” Aspen asked, she never heard a jet until she’d woken up.
“Yeah, took a hit and went into a dive. Pulled up at the last second, any later and it would’ve hit the road.” She said.
“Holy shit.” Aspen said.
“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Raven said. “Let’s get out of here.” She pushed her self away from the window and began walking towards the door. She seemed to notice that Aspen hadn’t followed her and stopped. “Are you coming?”
“Neither side can win.” Aspen said.
“This is war, one side has to win.” Raven huffed, obviously not amused. “Now come on.”
“No, Raven, neither side can win this war.” Aspen said, and before Raven got the chance to ask if she was on drugs, she continued. “If Ohio wins, they’d be too weak to govern the Georgia territory. If Georgia wins, the entire eastern seaboard would be under military rule.”
“There’s no third option here, Aspen.” Raven said. “Let’s just get the hell out of here and ride out this shit show somewhere else. This isn’t our war.” She went on, but then dropped her voice low. “Just wish I would’ve seen that sooner.”
“Where do you think we’re going to go?” Aspen asked. “We can’t go back to Georgia, and we can’t stay here in the Ohio territory.” Raven paused.
“South, we have to head south.” Raven said. “ like I said,While I was locked up in that bunker, I heard of a place. What used to be Tennessee declared itself an independent nation, if they remain neutral through this…”
“We might have a place to stay.” Aspen finished her sentence. “But only for a little while. If Georgia win’s they’re going to go on a blitz through the entire US.”
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Raven asked.
“We could head west.” Aspen said.
“Into the Wasteland?” Raven asked. “I thought I was the crazy one. You do realize we’re as good as dead the second we step foot in that land.”
“No, Raven. The Wasteland… We’re used to that, we’ve lived through it.” Aspen said.
“Don’t remind me, Aspen.” Raven said. “I don’t even want to think about some of the things I had to do to survive… No, there’s no way I’m going back to that.”
“And you think this ‘paradice’ in the south will be any better? Anyone that claims to be the good guy in this world is just the opposite. I’ve met a lot of people who claim to be the good guy in my life, you know what they all have in common? They all lie.” Aspen said.
“Don’t you think it’s worth a shot?” Raven asked. “I don’t know how bad you had it before I met you, but I know how bad I had it. I’m not fit to live in that world again, Aspen.” Aspen lowered her head, listening to the thundering war outside. Raven had never been one to talk about who she was before she net Aspen. All she ever told her was where she was from.
Aspen remembered the day she’d met her, she’d looked like a ghost, ready to fade away at any moment. She wouldn’t talk, wouldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. If anyone ever asked her what happened, all they’d get is a blank stare.
She remembered that one day, out of the blue, five soldiers picked her up and took her away somewhere. The next time Aspen saw her, five days later, she had a gun in her hand and was shouting orders.
“Do you want to risk your life for a maybe, Raven?” Aspen asked. “You heard this while you were in an underground prison, information beings passed around in those kinds of places isn’t always accurate.”
“It’s better than returning to a life I finally got to leave.” Raven said, she shook her head. “Look, this choice is up to you. But I’m telling you right now, I’m not going west. You’re going to have to find someone else if that’s where you’re headed. Like it or not, I’m going south.”
Choice
[Go West]
[Head South]
Miller
“Got it?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah, just give me a second.” Miller said, narrowing his eyes.
“Sorry to throw this on you like this, it’s just that I can’t see those wires as good as I wish I could.” Samantha said.
“Not a problem, I’m happy to help out.” Miller said. “What happened to make you go blind in one eye anyways?” Miller asked, as he looked back at her. He saw her shoot him a sour face.
“I was born this way.” She said.
“Oh shi- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Miller said. She shook her head, with a small laugh.
“I’m just joking.” She said. “I lost vision after a helicopter crash. To be honest, I’m lucky I didn’t lose my life after what happened that got me in that flying deathtrap.” She said.
“Yeah?” Miller questioned. “You’re still a hell of a shot either way.”
“It took some time to get used to it, trust me.” Samantha said.
“So, this helicopter?” Miller asked. “What got you in it?”
“I got stabbed right in my lung.” She said.
“Damn that’s rough.” Miller said.
“To make it worse we were stranded on some God forsaken island off the coast.” Samantha said. “Anyone else would’ve just shot me, gotten it over with. But my brother, he refused to give in.”
“He sounded like a good guy, I never got to meet him.” Miller said. “Sorry about the way things ended.”
“You’re not the one that killed him.” Samantha said. “But you can rest assured that those fuckers are going to be sorry.” She said.
“Sounds like revenge.” Miller said.
“Yeah, you going to try and stop me?” She asked. Miller shook his head.
“No, I’m just wondering why you’re waiting.” He said.
“I have a daughter I need to take care of.” She said.
“That’s a good a reason as any.” Miller said. “I just feel sorry that she has to grow up in this world.”
“Try and imagine how I feel.” Samantha said. “How is she ever going to have a normal life in a world like this, where she’s constantly on the run, always looking over her shoulder?” She asked.
“This is normal now.” Miller said. “As much as I hate to admit it.” She sighed.
“I know. I just don’t like it. I feel like she deserves more than what I can give to her.” She said.
“Mark my words, that kid’s going to grow up to be some sort of hero to the world.” Miller said. “She’s going to reunite the entire US or something.”
“Or something.” Samantha said. “So, Miller. Your group, what can you tell me about them?” She asked, Miller noted her changing the subject.
“What do you mean?” Miller asked.
“Lizbeth, Eve, Josh, Rebecca, what can you tell me about them?” She asked.
“I know that if there’s anyone I still trust in this world, it’s Lizbeth.” Miller said. “I ran into her in Athens, and we’ve been stuck like glue ever since. She’s a good girl in a bad world, it’s changed her a lot. But she’s changed me too, I know that much.”
“It’s sad that good people have to go through such terrible things.” She said.
“Yeah it is.” Miller said. “Eve saved our lives, time and time again, and we’ve only known her a few days. She had no reason to risk her life for us, but she did anyway.” He went on. “She said she was from France, got stuck here.”
“Poor kid.” Samantha said. “This apocalypse ripped us all from our homes, but she’s in a completely different continent.”
“Tell me about it” Miller said. “And she just goes on living her life, not afraid at all.”
“At least there’s still some good people let in this world.” She said.
“Yeah, I feel bad for her. She’s just a kid, and there’s nothing I can do for her.” Miller said.
“What about Josh?” Samantha asked.
“He’s been a longtime friend of Lizbeth.” Miller explained “Possibly one of her biggest fans in the world. She’s practically his favorite subject to talk about.”
“Sounds like a crush.” Samantha said.
“Oh yeah, big time.” Miller said. “But he’s just not her type. The kid has a good heart, his head’s in the right place, but he lets his fear rule his life. He’s too scared to take a risk because he’s always afraid of what he’ll lose.”
“People like that don’t usually make it this far in an apocalypse.” Samantha said.
“From what I heard he wasn’t always this way.” Miller said.
“Oh yeah?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah, apparently the kid’s got a body count behind him. And a big one.” He said.
“Is this something I should worry about?” Samantha asked. Miller shook his head.
“Not at all.” He said. “The kid wouldn’t hurt a fly nowadays.”
“So something changed?” Samantha asked.
“Big time.” Miller said. “Something changed.”
“Rebecca?” Samantha asked. Miller paused before answering, he concentrated on this last wire before he stepped back and closed the electrical box.
“She’s a friend of Evan, our man that’s still out there.” He said. “She’s loyal and devoted. Likes him a lot, but the guy’s to blind to see it.” He explained. “No offence.” He quickly said to Samantha. She shook her head.
“None taken.” She said. “And Evan?”
“Evan’s…” Miller trailed. “Even’s a long story. He wasn’t always on the right team, he got messed up in with some bad people. I think there’s been a few time where I’ve nearly killed him.” Miller said.
“But that changed?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah.” Miller said. “He’s one of us now, no doubt about it.”
“I hope he makes it back here in one piece.” She said.
“I do too.” Miller said, looking over towards the trees. It was getting a little hot here on the roof, but it was the best place to put a radio antenna. He turned to Samantha. “Go ahead and give it a shot. See if it works.” She nodded, slipping some headphones on over her ears, and flipping the old military radio on. She’d rebuild most of it herself, just needed his help with some of the finer details.
At first she looked unamused, as she spun the dial, changing the frequency, trying to pick up a signal. The her hand froze, she looked turned from shock to confusion within moments, then back to shock again.
“You get anything?” Miller asked stupidly.
“Yeah, it’s all in code though.” She said.
“Do you understand any of it?” He asked. She nodded.
“And none of it’s good.” She said.
“What’s the big one?” Miller asked. She looked directly at him.
“Georgia has launched a full scale assault on Ohio.” She said. Miller’s jaw would’ve dropped, instead he just froze. Georgia just went into total war with Ohio, meaning now they were targets for both sides. Everyone wanted them dead. This is a new feeling of abandon he’d never felt before. This was the feeling of being totally alone in an entire world. This was the feeling of drowning on dry land.
He could hear, rising up from down below, the gentle vibrations of a piano. Which clashed with the thundering palpitations within his heart.
[Head South]
Aspen and Raven are friends, a team. After what Aspen risked to save her, she can't just abandon her now. And after what Raven went through, I don't want to force her to decide between going back to a live she hates or loosing her friend. Besides, a place that is called 'The Wasteland' sounds hellishly dangerous and certainly not worth the try. Raven said it herself, they would probably die the second they walk in there. Her plan is worth a try and even if they won't find a place to stay forever, they can stay a while, recover from their recent ordeal in the bunker and if they have to leave again, they can do so together and hopefully with newfound strength.
I also liked Miller's part greatly. It appears Samantha indeed starts to trust this group a bit more now, so I hope she won't stay behind when they leave. They could need someone like her, she could need someone like them. With Georgia on the move, they have to find some safe place as well.
[Head South]
Finally managed to catch up.
Edit:
I've as well ended Stranded and I can say, that Youngstown is much better and it's showing how much you improved with your writing. Can't wait what comes next.
[Head South]
I see nothing good coming out of the Wasteland option. Raven is still weak after being tortured and I dont think she can survive such a journey, so we should not go there.
Okay guys, just an update. It might be awhile before I can get a new part out, for a few reasons.
1, no inspiration whatsoever.
2, I've been in and out of WIFI all week since I'm house sitting for some relatives who've left town.
3, next week I'm going to camp so I won't be around at all.
Sorry guys, I hate to do this. But just bear with me, I'll be back.
It's alright, I can understand that. Thanks for the update! And take your time. While I hope that you'll find your inspiration soon again, perhaps a small break will be beneficial in the long run. I'm already looking forward for the return of this wonderful story
It's alright, take your time. I totally understand, even if I've just catched up on both of the stories and am curious what happens next.I am patient reader :-D
This is okay. I hope you will soon be able to continue the story but I totally understand it. Thank you for giving us an update. I hope you have a great time and I will see you when you return
Thank you Liquid. And I hope I can return in a blaze of glory.
Thank you for being so patient with me, I tend to just lose my focus time to time. It must be a product of an overactive mind, I seriously have millions of thoughts on what I want to do, but none of them seem to stick. I'm hoping that stepping away for a little bit will get me recharged.
Thank you! I plan on continuing this ASAP, though it may be a week or two.
I totally understand you, cause I am similar chaotic and loosing my focus on things. Recharge your batteries and come back to us with jaw dropping part! :-) Story really is something special and I had real pleasure reading it, together with Stranded which was precursor of Youngstown. It's having this specific dark atmosphere and I love the detail you put into characters and their mental (and not only) transformation. So curious how you will present my character, especially that she is very specific by herself.
Evan
He watched the man, down on the ground not making any movements. He was impressed with his punch, even if his fist still stung. He picked up the man’s gun and held it in his hands.
The man’s eyes shot opened with a cough, he looked up at Evan. A wicked smile formed on his lips.
“I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked. “And I’d suggest you don’t do it.”
“Why’s that?” Evan questioned.
“My boss likes his people alive.” He answered.
“You’re boss?” Evan asked.
“He’s a collector of sorts.” He said.
“What does he collect?” Evan asked.
“The rarest commodity of them all.” He answered once more. “People. And if you don’t want him hunting you down like he did me, I suggest you walk away, maybe I can turn a blind eye to your people.” Evan nodded, and looked at the man.
“Alright.” Evan said. “But can you send your boss a message for me?” He asked. The man nodded with a smile.
“What would that be?” He asked. Evan lifted the gun, leveling it to the man’s head. His finger eased the trigger back and the gun kicked upwards. A small hole formed in the man’s skull as his body went ridged and collapsed back into the dirt a trail of blood arching from the new hole.
“We won’t take prisoners.” Evan spoke as he shoved the gun into his pocket. He knew he had to get moving. In woods like this, everyone within miles of this place would’ve just heard that shot.
He had to go find his people, then they had to go get the hell out of Georgia. It wasn’t safe here from the beginning. It was like trying to find shelter in an abyss.
Compared to the hell he was living in, he’d take the Wasteland any day of the year. At least you can count on those people to turn on you at any moment. Here, you never know. Once your friend, always your enemy.
The only thing you can count on in this world is getting shot in the back. Trust no one, not even yourself. But that never works out in the end, because all you end up doing is dying alone.
Trust, don’t trust. Love, hate, it’s all the same in the end. No matter the path you take, the ends are always the same. Death is the final end, and no matter where you’ve gone or what you’ve done it will get you. You can run all you want, but the faster you run, the closer it comes.
Trust is just one pillar that supports human life, take it out and it’s like a house of cards collapsing in on itself. Without trust, there would be no love. No sympathy, no friendship, cooperation, or even a reason to fight. There would be nothing.
He didn’t know much himself, but he did trust one thing. He trusted that the man he just killed wasn’t alone, and he trusted the fact that he had to save his people. No matter the cost.
Lizbeth Morrison
“That was beautiful.” A voice spoke, though it wasn’t hers. She looked up and saw that Josh was leaning against the polished surface of the piano.
“Thank you.” Eve said.
“How long have you been playing?” He asked.
“Since I was a young girl.” She answered. He smiled.
“I never learned piano.” He said. “Always wanted to, sad thing that the apocalypse got in the way. I was always good with the bass though.” Eve laughed.
“The bass?” She asked. “That doesn’t take much skill.”
“I’m assuming you’ve never played a bass then?” Josh asked. She shook her head.
“Well, no.” She said. He smiled.
“Then don’t say anything.” He laughed, then turned to Lizbeth. “Didn’t you used to play the flute?” He asked. Lizbeth nodded, still confused as to when Josh had joined this conversation between her and Eve.
“Yeah, I played flute and clarinet.” Lizbeth said.
“My sister played clarinet.” Eve said, Lizbeth could hear a pang of regret in her voice.
“Sorry.” Josh said. Eve shook her head.
“Don’t be.” She said. “Shit happens.” Josh nodded.
“Shit happens.” He agreed. Lizbeth heard a crash and looked over just in time to see the door to the apartment fly open. A man barreled in, gun drawn. Eve nearly toppled backwards over the bench, whilst Lizbeth froze in place her mind refusing to process her need to run. Rebecca was too far away to do anything. Somewhere in the back of her frozen mind, Lizbeth could register the faint pings of a crying infant.
Josh was the only one quick enough to act, he spun around facing the man. One hand grabbed his wrist, the other his arm. He quickly bent his arm back and kicked him in the knee, sending him to the ground in one quick move. There on the floor, Josh held the gun to the man’s head.
“Evan?” Josh asked, seemingly confused. He let go of Evan’s arm and allowed him to stand.
“I saw the bodies outside and I just… I just didn’t know.” He said. He looked around. “Everyone alright?”
“Yeah, we’re all good.” Lizbeth said.
“Thank God you’re still alive.” Rebecca said as she walked up to Evan, wrapping her arms around him.
“Yeah.” Evan responded. “But it might not stay that way for long.”
“What do you mean?” Eve asked.
“I ran into one of those guys out there in the woods.” He said. “He told me he wasn’t exactly working alone on this.”
“Who-“ Josh started, moments before he was cut off by Samantha barreling into the room followed by Miller. Samantha rushed forwards, throwing her entire body into Evan tackling him to the ground.
“Who the hell are you?” She yelled at him. “And what are you doing in my house?”
“Hey, calm down.” Miller quickly spoke. “He’s one of ours.” Samantha quickly stood up, letting go of Evan. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face sheepishly as she took a step back, Lizbeth watched her step away out of her vision.
“Anyone else want to attack me?” Evan asked as he stood up. Miller looked at him, scanning him with his eyes carefully.
“Now that you’re here, we should get moving.” He said. Evan nodded.
“I was just about to say the same thing, something big’s happening out there..” Evan said. Miller narrowed his eyes at Evan.
“How did you know about Ohio?” Miller asked. Evan looked at him confused.
“Why the hell are you talking about Ohio? That has nothing to do with this.” Evan said. “I’m talking about the possibly cult of human traffickers that might be hunting us down.”
“What?” Miller asked. Evan nodded.
“Yeah, the one I killed in the woods said he worked for a guy that ‘collected’ people.” Evan said.
“Tell me why I don’t like the sound of that.” Samantha said, reappearing next to Miller holding Nadia in her arms.
“Because you have more than half a brain.” Evan said, looking at her. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“We haven’t.” Samantha said. Evan nodded as he looked at her.
“Good.” He said. “Now let’s go.” He began walking towards the door, Rebecca following close behind him.
“Wait a minute, Evan.” Miller said. “If what you’re saying is true, then you’d just be leading us out into the open unarmed. I’m almost out of bullets, the rest of us are in just as bad condition.”
“I have bullets.” Samantha said. Evan smiled, stepping forwards and patting her on the shoulder.
“There we go, we’ve got bullets.” He said. “Now can we please get the hell out of here? I’d rather not spend the rest of my life in some small cage.” Just him mentioning the possibility of being locked in a cage sent chills down Lizbeth’s spine.
Ever since she was abducted by those men on the highway and locked in that cage she hadn’t been a fan of tight spaces. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she was afraid, but she could go the rest of her life without being in a confined area ever again and be just happy.
“You don’t have to give us your guns.” Miller said. Evan looked at him like he was about to protest but Samantha beat him to the punch.
“I’m not giving you my guns.” Samantha said. “I’m taking them with me.”
“You’re coming with us?” Miller asked.
“Yeah, it’s not safe for Nadia or me anymore. I’ve been planning on moving for a while, now seems like a good time.”
“Great, she’s coming.” Evan said. “Let’s go.”
“You want a gun?” Samantha asked him. He shrugged.
“Couldn’t hurt.” He said.
“Then shut up.” She shot back. Evan looked at her with a look of mock pride.
“Alright princess, forgot this was your castle for a minute.” He said. She looked to Miller.
“Are you sure I can’t just shot him?” She asked. Miller laughed.
“He’ll grow on you.” Miller said. “In the meantime, I suggest trying to refrain from beating his face in.”
“I don’t know.” Samantha said. “Might be a little hard to refrain.” She moved across the room towards the locker where they’d stashed their weapons. She pulled the doors open, and grabbed the bod hanging inside, slinging it over her shoulder along with some arrows. “Everyone grab something. We won’t be coming back here for a while.”
So they headed out. Evan leading, Rebecca at his side. Both of them had fully loaded pistols hanging at their sides. There’s nothing more satisfying in this world than having a full magazine. That and still being alive.
Miller took a pistol too, though he didn’t seem interested in using it. He instead seemed more interested in the baseball bat he lifted from Samantha’s house. It was just sitting in a corner, so he took it. It made him look truly intimidating, just walking through the woods with a baseball bat in his hands.
Josh grabbed a shotgun, and slung it over his back. His eyes darted around the trees, watching every leaf, every gust of wind, every raven hopping from the branches above.
Eve snagged an M16 and a few extra magazines. Lizbeth still leaned on her pretty heavily as they walked, her leg still hurt. And, well, never really getting that chance to sit down might have something to do with that. But Eve said nothing about it, happily carrying Lizbeth along with her. She and Josh had switched off a few times when Eve grew tired.
Lizbeth herself got her hands on a sleek rifle, a nice scope and a handful of bullets. They’d be dead before they even knew she existed. Her uncle had taught her how to use a rifle long ago, back when he used to take her hunting.
Her uncle Billy was one of her only friends back then, she never really fit in. She was always alone no matter where she went, no matter who she met, no matter what she was alone. It was Only Billy and her only friend Susie.
It only now flashed across her mind how much Eve reminded her of Susie, they were practically the same person. She wondered what happened to Susie, if she was still alive. If she was dead, or worse. She wondered if she was alive, if she was thinking about her.
Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when she heard Eve cry out in pain before falling to the ground. She was screaming something in French, Lizbeth didn’t understand it. She didn’t know if she wanted to understand it.
Lizbeth looked down at her and saw something sticking out of her thigh, a shaft. No, an arrow. Lizbeth dropped down to one knee, pulling up her gun. She saw Josh stepping in between her and where the arrow came from.
“If you move, the next one goes into your head. If you try to shoot, you will all die.” A voice boomed, surrounding them. Lizbeth couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. “If you want to live, place your guns on the ground, get on your knees and place your hands behind your heads. Try anything and my sister will put a chunk of lead right through your skulls before you can even think of pulling the trigger.”
Lizbeth looked around. Everyone was slowly tuning in circles, scanning the trees for anyone or anything. She noticed it now, too late, this was the perfect spot for an ambush. It was in a small dip in the forest floor, anyone up on the ridge would have a great angle on them and practically no exposure. Anyone hiding in the brush could easily slip away without being seen.
There was nowhere to run, except straight. Any halfwit with a gun can shoot something going in a straight line, and from the way that guy was talking, his sister sounded like a pretty good shot.
Run, you die. Surrender, you live to die another day. Best case scenario, these are just raiders. They’ll take their stuff and let them go. Worst case scenario, these people were the traffickers Evan was talking about earlier.
Either way, these people knew what they were doing. They found the perfect spot in the forest to hide out and wait to ambush people. And now they’d ambushed them, and had them pinned down.
Choice
[Run]
[Surrender]
Okay guys, I lied a little.* This* will be the last part for at least a week. See you around guys. Stay frosty.
[Surrender] I prefer not to risk someone from the team to be killed.
You tricky, sneaky you....! See you around.
[Surrender]
I do believe that running could easily cause the death of at least one member of the group. They already wounded Eve, so she's incapable of running. Sammy has her baby, so she's not that fast either, which means that these two (or three, counting Nadia) would be likely to stay behind if the rest just runs. Naturally, that is not an option for me. I hope these people are not some fucked up psychopaths, but simple worthless raider scum instead, just interested in their stuff. And even if they are psychopaths, or these human trafficker bastards, I hope they are not going to enslave/torture/kill Sammy or her baby, or any other member of the group for that matter. Anyways, running and risking the deaths of one or more group members is not an option to me. Hopefully they can kill these scumbags quickly and continue with their journey, but I have a very bad feeling about this.
Yeah,i reread the last part and realized I left off on a slightly happy note, And I just cant do that.
[Surrender]
No, not good. The group sounds screwed either way but just running sounds like immediate suicide, for Sam and Eve in particular, while surrendering could mean a chance. But we know nothing about the people who attacked them so it is a risk either way. They sound extremely violent and I am scared for the group. The next part cant come soon enough.
Hey sorry I'm a little late to this
I've been reading Youngstown for a while, so far I think it's one of the best I've ever read! Thank you liquid for suggesting this 
[Surrender]
Someone will most defiantly get hurt if they try to run, surrendering is best and maybe trying to escape later? Good part ^-^
Lizbeth Morrison
She looked around. She knew they were trapped, whoever was out there in these woods picked this place for a reason.
They wouldn’t just set up an ambush where people could escape from. And then there was Eve and Samantha, neither one of them would be able to keep up. They’d fall behind or get killed, one or the other.
She looked at the rifle in her hands, then out into the vast woods before them. She couldn’t pinpoint where the voice had come from, it echoed off the trees, surrounding them.
She sighed, dropping her rifle to the ground, it clattered on the dirt as she dropped down on her knees next to Eve, looking at the arrow embedded into her thigh watching the blood soak through her pants into the dirt.
For a moment, Lizbeth believed she was going to be sick. She never liked blood, especially the blood of a friend. She placed her hand on Eve’s thigh, around the shaft of the arrow. She felt Eve’s hand on top of hers.
“Don’t pull that out.” Eve grunted through the pain, “Just leave it.” Lizbeth nodded as she let go of the arrow and clasped her hand instead. She looked up and saw the others had followed her, dropping their weapons and falling on their knees. Soon the only one standing was Josh, still scanning the trees for something to shoot.
“Please don’t try to be a hero.” Lizbeth said, just loud enough for him to hear. He stared at her for a moment before his gaze drifted downwards and his gun clashed with the dirt.
As soon as he was on his knees she saw a bush shake nearby and a man emerged. His skin was dark, darker than Miller’s. His eyes were brown, his black hair short. He was very muscular, almost looking like he was the type of guy that would like to try and bench press an oak tree. She saw a fresh looking scar covering his right cheek. He was wearing a grey T-shirt under an unbuttoned army jacket, tan cargo pants and black leather boots.
A quiver full of arrows hung off his back, a pistol at his side. If he wasn’t at one point part of the military, he sure looked the part.
He stood in front of them, an arrow nocked in his bow as he looked around. He looked up to the top of the ridge above them.
“Laken!” He shouted. “Get down here!” He looked around at them, his eyes full of nothing more than pure disgust. Eve got the feeling that she’d be seeing more of him somehow.
She heard someone walking through the woods to her side, emerging into the clearing behind her. She didn’t dare turn to look and she felt a hand on her shoulders.
“Arms up.” A female voice ordered. She sighed, letting go of Eve’s hand as she raised her arms into the sky. She felt the woman’s hands search her body for any form of weapon, she conducted herself as if she’d done this many times before. Lizbeth suddenly became afraid of how many people they’d robbed before.
Just as her hands finished searing Lizbeth, there was a pause. She didn’t move, didn’t say anything. She just stood behind Lizbeth, staring at her. She walked around Lizbeth, crouching down in front of her.
She was extremely muscular, even more so than the man standing feet away. Her hair was a light brown, cut short but keeping longer in the bangs. Her eyes were dark brown, nearly a black that scanned her face. She was wearing a black T-shirt, a faded grey jacket tied around her waist. She wore camouflaged cargo pants and black leather boots. Her skin, unlike the man standing nearby was a tan color. Lizbeth couldn’t see any resemblance between the two, despite the fact that the ma had called her his sister.
Her right arm was covered in tattoos from the wrist up, disappearing under the sleeve of her shirt. She saw a tomahawk dangling at her side, a pistol strapped to her leg, a sniper rifle slung on her back. She wore a black utility vest, with multiple fully-loaded magazines jutting out and even a grenade dangling off it. She saw two other that looked like some sort of gas grenade. She saw silver beads forming a thread around her neck, disappearing into her shirt. Possibly dog tags.
Her eyes were different than the mans. She looked at Lizbeth curiously, almost confused. She looked at Lizbeth’s rifle on the ground.
“Sniper huh?” She asked. “What’s your name?”
“Go fuck yourself.” Lizbeth spat at her, she tried to lash out at her, but she was quick. She caught her arm, mid-swing and bent it back. Lizbeth felt pain searing through her body.
“Tell me your name.” She said. “Tell me if you’re with Chase.” Somewhere between pain and fear, Lizbeth caved.
“Lizbeth Morrison.” She quickly choked out. “I have no idea who Chase is.” She could feel tears of pain running down her face, but then the woman, whose name must’ve been Laken, let go. Lizbeth recoiled and grabbed her arm.
“Oh my God.” Laken mumbled, looking over at Eve. “You don’t know Chase?”
“No, I have no fucking clue who Chase is.” Lizbeth said. Laken buried her head in her hands for a second with a sigh, before looking up at Eve.
“Rossi.” She called out. The man standing a few feet away responded.
“Yeah?” He asked.
“These aren’t Chase’s people.” She said. “These are just innocent travelers.”
“Are you sure?” He asked. She nodded.
“If they were one of Chase’s I would’ve recognized them.” She said as she stood and faced Rossi. Her eyes drifted over to Samantha. “For God’s sake Rossi, she has a baby! What were you thinking?” She asked, stepping towards him. He pushed her back, away from him.
“You told me to shoot when I saw them.” He defended himself.
“No, I told you to shoot when you were sure the target was who we were after.” She said. “Now you’ve just shot an innocent girl for no damn reason.”
“I did what I thought I had to do.” Rossi said.
“But you didn’t have to do it.” Laken shot back as she turned from him and began walking away. She untied her jacket from her waist and crouched down next to Eve, her eyes scanning her. “This is going to hurt, but it has to be done.” She said. Eve’s hand slowly crawled out and clasped Lizbeth’s.
Laken wrapped the jacket around the base of the arrow, pressing down hard. She looked Eve in the eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” She said. “On three.”
“Okay.” Eve whimpered. Laken gripped the arrow hard, never breaking eye contact.
“One.” She said, “Two.” Without continuing onto three she yanked the arrow. Eve nearly crushed Lizbeth’s hand as she cried out in pain, cursing in French. She tossed the bloody arrow aside. “Three.” Laken went on, unamused. She placed her hands on top of the jacket, pressing down hard.
“Looks like you got lucky.” She said.
“How’s that?” Eve grunted.
“It’s not serious.” She said.
“Of course it’s not.” Rossi replied. “I wasn’t aiming to kill.” Laken glared back at him and he instantly stopped talking. She took her jacket and wrapped it around Eve’s leg, tying it tightly.
“That’ll have to do.” She said, standing up.
“Let’s go, Laken.” Rossi said as he turned to walk away.
“You’re just going to leave us like this?” Miller asked. Laken looked back at him, Lizbeth could see pain hidden somewhere within her gaze.
“I don’t want to.” She said. “But you don’t understand the stakes here, Chase has been hunting us down for almost a month now and he’s not going to quit after what we did to him.”
“Who even is Chase?” Evan butted in. Laken sighed.
“He’s the leader of a ring of human traffickers running through the Wasteland and Georgia, they abduct people and sell them off. He was going to do the same to us, but we escaped and after our history with him, I don’t think he’s willing to let us just slip away.” Laken said, then looked to the sky hearing a roll of thunder. Lizbeth looked up too, becoming concerned over how dark the sky had just grown.
“A storm’s on its way, Laken.” Rossi said. “We need to move.”
“Chase’s people don’t hunt in the weather.” Laken responded as she walked a few steps away before sitting down on the dirt. “We stay here for the rest of the night, if the storm’s broken by morning we move.”
“Are you suicidal?” Rossi asked. She shook her head.
“We have to stop and rest sometime.” She said, “And now we have to clean up your mess.”
“Fuck you.” He muttered.
“I’m going to go get some wood to build a fire.” Josh said as he stood and began walking away. Rossi moved over towards Lizbeth and Eve. He looked at the two of them and sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry I shot you. But you have to know that I had to do it.” He said. Lizbeth glared at him, about to snap at him, but Eve cut her off.
“I understand that.” She said. “You have to look out for your family, no matter the cost.” He nodded as he sat down beside them.
“Laken’s all I have left, I can’t lose her.” He said.
“It makes sense that you’d want to protect her, some of us have nothing left in this world. It’s not a place you want to be.” She said.
“Laken saved my life even before the apocalypse.” He said as he looked over at Eve.
“Yeah?” She questioned. “How’s that?”
“Well, uh…” He pondered. “I was born a privileged little brat. I was the son of a wealthy politician and a lawyer. I had everything I could ever want, all the money in the world. But, uh… I was dating this guy, he introduced me to cocaine and it all went downhill from there. I let the addiction consume me, it’s all I was. I always chased that next high, that next guy or girl to fill that void in my life. My mother and father ended up cutting themselves out of my life, after that I didn’t have enough money to pay my debts. I… I was going to die.”
“That’s horrible.” Lizbeth said. “What happened?”
“Laken happened.” He said. “My parents adopted her back when I was younger. Her parents were both drug addicts that ended up getting killed. She nearly starved to death as an infant because her parents were just too busy with the meth. She followed a different path than me, she was close with my parents she liked them a lot. It was new for her to actually have a family. They never told her anything about the state of my addiction, never really told her anything about me. She ended up joining the Marines for a few years before she got sent home after… unfortunate circumstances, to say the least.”
“What kind of circumstances?” Lizbeth cut him off before he could continue. He just shook his head.
“That’s her story to tell, not mine.” He said. “She ended up hitting the alcohol pretty hard for a few years afterwards, it changed her. It ripped her apart, I could barely recognize her. She ended up running into an old friend she’d met in the orphanage in a bar, her name was Isabelle. I don’t know how they did it, but both of them ended up sobering up completely. After that, she spent a lot of time trying to get her life back on track and Isabelle had helped her a lot with that. But Laken realized what I’d truly done with my life, and wasn’t exactly thrilled.” He said, taking a pause.
“What happened? What did she do?” Eve asked.
“She borrowed some money from my family, a lot of money actually.” He said. “She just hunted down this guy that was dealing me my drugs, handed him them money and told him to quit dealing to me.”
“Did it work?” Lizbeth asked.
“Not a chance. Laken’s mind was still a little shot after what happened in Iraq, in her mind she though it would work. This guy took the money gladly, and just let her walk away.” He said, she could see a far off look in his eye as he recalled the events. “He just shot her in the back as she walked away, four times. Left her in the street to die. She was in a coma for a few weeks afterwards, it was a miracle she survived at all. I ended up meeting Isabelle in the hospital, she didn’t judge me, she didn’t look at me any different, she just told me that I needed to change to make sure Laken’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”
“Wow…” Lizbeth stuttered. “She risked her life for you? Without a second thought?”
“She risked her life for all of us in the war.” He corrected her. “But the war didn’t end for her when she got home.”
“And she just kept fighting.” Eve said. He nodded.
“Isabelle helped me check into rehab.” He said, “Apparently she was an Olympic gymnast, but that’s beside the point. I eventually sobered up, it was long and hard, but I did. The next time I saw Laken, I didn’t have to feel ashamed about who I was anymore. And she didn’t hold anything against me at all. She just… Forgave me, like it was nothing. Like…”
“Like she was your sister.” Eve said. He nodded.
“Like she was my sister.” He agreed. “But there’s one thing that Isabelle told me that I’ll never forget. She’d brought up God in a few of our conversations, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore and I had to ask her. I asked her why she didn’t hate me, even after all the thing’s I’d done to her and my family and my own sister. She just looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘If we’re too busy judging people, when do we find time to love them?’”
“She sounded like a great person.” Lizbeth said. He nodded again as he looked her in the eyes.
“She was, it was horrible what happened to her though.” He said. “You might want to talk to Laken about that one though, I don’t know if it’s my place to share that story.” Lizbeth looked him over, all his weapons and all of Laken’s weapons. A question formed in her mind.
“Where’d you guys get all those guns?” She asked. A small smile pulled at the edge of his lips.
“Laken had some connections still, even after her discharge. She used them to get us into a National Guard Armory, we got pretty well equip and used it as a base of operations after our family mansion was overrun by raiders and our parents were killed.” He said.
“I’m sorry to hear that. Your parents sounded like good people.” Eve said.
“Yeah, my father was a man of the people. I guess that’s why he kept getting reelected.” He said.
“Where was this armory? There’s not any big ones anywhere close to here.” Lizbeth said.
“California.” He said. Lizbeth’s jaw dropped
“You’re from California?” She asked. He nodded.
“Yeah, after the armory got overrun by infected we had nowhere else to go so Laken led us east through the Wasteland. We ended up here in Georgia.”
“You survived the Wasteland on foot?” She asked. He laughed.
“I’m more surprised the Wasteland survived Laken.” He said. “With that rifle, she’s unstoppable. It’s ridiculous.” He said.
“Wait.” Eve said. “You said ‘us’ earlier, like it was more than just you and Laken. Was there more than you two?” She asked. He sighed and nodded.
“Yeah. There were three of us.” He said. “It was Laken, me…” He paused, a deep sigh. “And Chase and his husband.”
“Chase, like as in the guy that’s hunting you two down?” Eve asked. He nodded.
“I was a good friend of his before the apocalypse, I dated his sister for a while. We ended up running into each other at the armory and we made an alliance, the four of us. After we crossed the Wasteland into safety, he turned on us. He attacked Laken when she wasn’t looking, took a Taser to her until she was out then did the same to me. He locked us up like animals in cages inside some compound he found, it was an old research facility used by the military back during the cold war. And they just kept coming, the numbers grew. He began collecting people. Selling them off, to the Wasteland. Soldiers, prostitutes, slaves, anything you needed. We knew it was only a matter of time before he sold us off too.”
“How did you get out?” Lizbeth asked. He smiled.
“Isabelle.” He said. “Just out of the blue, she showed up. I don’t know why, but Chase trusted her and let her into his inner circle. It didn’t take long for Laken to build a plan in the brilliant head of hers… Isabelle agreed to stay behind while we escaped so we could find more people and come back to end Chase’s empire.”
“And that brings us to now.” Eve said.
“And that brings us to now.” He agreed. Lizbeth heard metallic sounds off to her side and looked over, in the light from the fire Josh had built, she saw Laken sitting alone taking apart her rifle piece by piece and cleaning it, before putting it back together. “It’s her baby.” Rossi said. “She won’t let that rifle out of her sight… Maybe you should go talk to her.”
“She looks a little occupied.” Lizbeth said. He shook her head.
“No, she looks lonely.” He said, pausing for a second to listen to the rain beating down on the trees above their heads. “Ever since she got home from Iraq, she can’t stand to be alone. Poor girl got messed up over there.”
“I don’t know.” Lizbeth trailed as she looked over at Laken, watching as she slid the receiver back into place, completing the rifle.
Choice
[Talk to Laken]
[Leave her be]
Aspen Diaz
As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t do it without Raven. And Raven wouldn’t make it far without her either. The two of them needed to stick together, and Aspen wasn’t about to let the two of them get ripped apart by something as stupid as the Wasteland.
The truck bounced down the road, farther and farther from the echoing war behind them. It was Aspen’s constant fear that a jet would target them out and blow them to kingdom come.
Aspen wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but she was afraid. She’d experienced firsthand what the CDC had been able to accomplish through force, and then again she’d also experienced the pure brutality and technological advantage of Ohio.
This was a war with no good guys. Only two evils fighting each other to become to predominant evil within the United States. The only thing that could make this any worse was the Wasteland deciding to launch an assault on Ohio and Georgia. Any way you dice it, that’s a bad combination. Luckily, California was more likely to stay out of it. They’re too far away and just don’t care about anything outside the boundaries of their territory.
So south they went, in search of a place as elusive as the Holy Grail and the fountain of youth. South they were bound in a search for safety. They headed towards a place called Tennessee, hoping that something was there. Praying there was safety. They only expected one thing, however.
They only expected to be let down. They expected noting.
Hope is dangerous, it’s what inspires action and action can be rash. Rash action leads to death, and death is not good. A dead soldier can no longer fight and has become useless to the cause. Have no hope for a better tomorrow, and you’ll only have to fight for today.
Maybe it was a stupid motto spread around in the barracks of the CDC army, but she remembered it well. Have no hope for a better tomorrow, and you’ll only have to fight for today.
She remembered being a recruit in the army, sitting in the barracks alone in the cold listening to the other soldiers chant those words as if it were a prayer to God.
She remember the feeling that sent shockwaves through her bones as those soldiers words reverberated into the deepest wells of her very being, draining away any feeling she had left. She remembered the day she lost hope for tomorrow.
She remember sitting against a concrete wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, shaking against the cold as just around a corner a fire burnt to keep the soldiers warm, but she was not welcome to join. She remembered hearing the chant, remembered the very fabric of her existence unraveling before her.
She remembered a tactical knife, a sleeve rolled up. The words carved into her skin oozing out a crimson stain into her lap. No hope tomorrow. Fight for today.
Now, the fading scar still stains the inside of her arm with the message to give up hope. A message that Raven had told her to give up on.
Raven had always been different, she believed hope was what made a soldier a soldier. They had to have hope in what they were fighting for, faith for their comrades and courage to go on after it all. Soullessness d
didn’t make a soldier. Soullessness made an army of hive-minded goons ready to die at the snap of a finger.
Aspen hadn’t find hope. Hope had found her. And this time, she wasn’t going to give up.
“Look.” Raven said, even though Aspen had saw it before her. There was a group of people in the road, maybe four of them. Two men, a woman and a young girl. They looked rough, like they’d been traveling for a long time. Just another family displaced by the war between Georgia and Ohio.
“What do we do?” Aspen asked. Raven shook her head.
“I’m not the one driving.” She said. “We have room in the back for them, we can work together, maybe share supplies. Get as far as Tennessee together.” She went on. “But how do we know we can trust them?” She asked. Just then, as if he could read her mind, the man that seemed to be the father of the family turned and looked at the approaching truck. He began waving his arms motioning for them to stop.
[Stop the truck]
[Keep going]
[Talk to Laken]
[Stop the truck]
[Talk to Laken]
Laken and Rossi dont sound like bad people, even if they seemed so at first. Perhaps a bit too quick to shoot random travellers but at least they are not part of the human trafficker group. Cant be a bad thing to get to know her a bit better, to get on her good side.
[Stop the truck]
If they start to distrust everyone without even having a reason, they will soon be in danger of becoming no better than random bandits. They have to keep a bit of humanity to remain the good guys.
[Talk to Laken]
I agree with janitor. Laken and Rossi don't seem bad, more like they've been through a lot and could use a good friend ^-^
[Stop the truck]
The travellers don't seem that threatening, expecially with a young girl and if needed Raven and Aspen can handle a bad situation
Good part!
[Talk to Laken]
Alright, it appears I was wrong about these two. To be fair, shooting someone in the leg is not the best way to make a good first impression, but to my surprise, they sound genuinely sorry. I doubt many people are sorry about their mistakes in these times anymore, which makes me believe that Laken and Rossi are indeed not the bad guys I thought they were at first. In fact, considering that they are now risking their life to make sure that our group is safe from the human traffickers, I'd even say they are a classic case of good people who just had the bad luck of making a horrible first impression. Eve doesn't seem to carry any grudges towards them though, so I won't hold any grudges to them either. Let's talk to Laken, so that we can make new friends. I have the feeling the group could need new friends in this situation.
[Stop the truck]
I totally agree with what has been said before. These people don't seem too threatening. I mean, if they want to ambush the truck there are far easier and safer methods, methods that wont' endanger the young girl they have with them. The presence of this young girl convinces me to give them a chance here. It's the right thing to do and I hope it won't backfire.
Lizbeth Morrison
Lizbeth looked across towards Laken, though her gaze wasn’t met by her. She sat staring into the fire now that her rifle was completed, her eyes seemed distant like she was seeing something else other than the fire. She looked hollow like there really wasn’t anyone there.
“She’s not going to bite.” Rossi prodded her. Lizbeth nodded.
“Okay.” She said.
“That’s the spirit.” He responded, half-heartedly. Lizbeth turned to Eve.
“Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.” She said, Eve smiled.
“Yeah, because I’m going to get so far with my leg like this.” She said. Lizbeth smiled.
“I guess we’re one in the same now.” She said. Eve looked at her slyly.
“Whatever.” She laughed as Lizbeth stood. She walked across towards Laken and sat down next to her, she didn’t move, didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge that someone had joined her. For over a minute Lizbeth sat beside her in silence. “Hey.” She finally said.
“Hey.” Laken responded as she shifted a little as if speaking had brought her back to this reality.
“I’m Lizbeth.” She said. Laken nodded.
“I’m Laken.” She said, looking over towards Lizbeth slowly. “Sorry my brother shot you. He’s a good guy, but he’s a hair trigger sometimes.” She explained.
“No one’s dead.” Lizbeth said. Laken laughed stiffly.
“I like that.” She said. “But I’m guessing you’re not here to pass the time, are you?” She asked.
“I was talking with Rossi, he told me to talk to you to get your side of the story.” She said. Laken shrugged.
“Depends on what part of the story you want.” She said, Lizbeth could see the reflection on the fire dancing off her dark eyes. She saw that she was tracing the tattoos on her arm with her left hand as if she were nervous.
“Just start from the beginning.” Lizbeth suggested. Laken sighed.
“I don’t like talking about the beginning.” She said. “My life didn’t begin until Rossi’s parents adopted me. Before that, I was just on a downward spiral. My parents were shot dead in their own house by a gang they owed money to, but they left me alive for some reason… Sometimes I wished they didn’t.” She went on, lowering her voice to a mere whisper on the last part.
“What happened after that?” Lizbeth asked.
“I was put into an orphanage where I met Isabelle Shaw, she was a good friend of mine for a long time. My only friend. After I was adopted out, I lost contact with her. But it was okay, since I had a family now. Back then, Rossi wasn’t around much. He was five years older than me, had a life to live. He ran with the wrong crowd a lot, though back then I didn’t know that. My parents never told me.” She said.
“Rossi seems like a good guy.” Lizbeth said. She nodded.
“He is, he really is.” She said. “He’s just made some mistakes.”
“We all do.” Lizbeth mumbled.
“My parents spent a lot of time with me, since Rossi wasn’t exactly around to be their kid. My father took me hunting, showed me how to use a rifle. I was a hell of a shot, even from the beginning. My mother loved to cook, and I picked up a thing or two from her. Life was good.” She said.
“What changed?” She asked. Laken sighed.
“I joined the Marines after I got out of high school. Training was the easy part for me, I was a sniper, all I had to do was learn how to do what I was good at better. But I didn’t realize then the kind of shit I was going to get into over there.” She said.
“What happened over there?” Lizbeth asked. “Rossi said something about it.” Laken hesitated as if she didn’t want to answer.
“I had it rough, I was in a hot zone. I had to make tough calls almost every day and sometimes it was the wrong call, I have innocent blood on my hands and that’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life.” She said. “But that wasn’t what sent me over the edge.” She trailed.
“What did?” Lizbeth questioned. Laken drummed her fingers against the stock of her rifle as if recalling the events.
“On July 7th I heard over a radio broadcast that some hacker on the internet had discovered a missive movement of terrorists in the south of the city I was in, I was ordered to ignore it so I did. It was two days later when they attacked the city, full on. I watched as my spotter… My spotter got shot in the head just a foot away from me. They had the city surrounded, I was running out of ammo, I thought I was going to die. I just shot off the last few rounds I had in my rifle and made a run for the north. Running through those streets, I just lost it. I couldn’t tell the difference between civilian and enemy, I just shot them all. I made it out of the city and just kept running as long as I could. I tried to radio for help, but no one answered.” She said.
“What happened after that?” Lizbeth asked, her eyes widening. Laken sighed, her breath shaky as if just recalling this was hard for her.
“I got lost.” She said. “I didn’t know where I was, I just had desert on all sides. I spent a week alone in that desert, barely avoiding dying of dehydration. I’m glad I wasted all my bullets in that city, otherwise I would’ve blown my brains out into the sand.” Lizbeth could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to keep herself together. Lizbeth placed her hand on Laken’s arm to steady her.
“Hey, it’s okay.” She tried to say reassuringly. Laken nodded as she took a breath.
“I’d given up all hope, I was just wondering around aimlessly. I heard something far off in the distance, I knew it was a helicopter. I saw it coming over the horizon, the rotors sent sand everywhere. But they saw me. The pilot said I was lucky, they just happened to be flying through the area on their way to another base. They told me that it was at least another day to the closest base on foot, and that was if I was able to find it.” She said. “After that, they had me in the hospital… I just couldn’t do it anymore, they deemed me crazy and decided to ship me home. I guess they thought it would be too dangerous to keep me around.” She said.
“That’s horrible. How did you do it?” She asked. Laken shook her head.
“It doesn’t even stop there.” She said. “I was on my way out, walking towards the airfield. Four guys in a jeep pull up in front of me and offer me a ride. I didn’t realize it until it was too late that they weren’t taking me to the airfield, they’d taken me to some isolated part of the base far from anyone else. They threw me out of the truck and they…” She trailed, seemingly unable to finish her sentence. She didn’t have to say anything else for Lizbeth to know what she meant. “I never told anyone what they did to me, I was too afraid of what would happen. They probably wouldn’t have believed me anyways, everyone thought I was insane. And I just can’t talk to anyone else about it now, now it’s just too late.” She said. Lizbeth tapped her fingers against the dirt as she thought.
“You don’t have to be silent about it, you know.” Lizbeth said. Laken shook her head.
“Who’s going to care about it?” She asked.
“I will.” She said, then lifted a finger, pointing over to Eve. “And she will.” Then she pointed over to Samantha. “And she will.” She said. “Samantha had to go through the same thing, it was hard for her too. She had to do it all alone, with a baby that it wasn’t even her choice to have. Her brother was in the Marines too, before all of this. She had him for a while, and then he was killed in cold blood and she had to run.” Lizbeth could hear Laken trying to muffle the sound of her crying and watched as she brought her hand to her cheek, wiping away at the tears.
“I’m sorry…” She cried. “I really shouldn’t be talking about this. I mean, you all have your own problems and-“
“You don’t have to be ashamed of what happened, Laken.” Lizbeth said. “You’re not alone.” By now Laken was sobbing, though still trying to hide it even as she buried her head into Lizbeth’s shoulder.
“And then I got home, I didn’t want to face it. So I just started drinking so I could forget it all, it got bad. I felt like I’d become such a disappointment to my family, I felt like I was turning into the thing I hated the most, the thing I fought my entire life to not be, it was now becoming it. I hit rock-bottom in an alleyway outside some shitty bar that people with no money hung around. I’d somehow managed to get ahold of some heavy-duty sleeping pills, too drunk to remember how. I spilled them all into my hand, and I was about to swallow them all, just drift away and forget this all. Right before I swallowed them I heard someone calling my name, I turned around and saw Isabelle standing only feet away. I tried to hide the pills, but she saw them. She didn’t judge me, she didn’t look at me any different. She just looked me straight in the eye and said we could beat this together.” She said.
“Wow… Sounds rough.” Lizbeth said. Laken sounded as if she was starting to calm down again. Her voice was back in a normal range though it was still interrupted by sniffling and she was shaking.
“After that night I was on and off with the alcohol, I tried at least four more times to kill myself. Tried to hang myself in the bathroom once. But every time it was the same, she’d show up and save my life again and again, and never give up on me. And I made it, she was right, together we could beat it. I sobered up and heard the news of what Rossi had gotten involved with, Isabelle tried to stop me but she was with the Olympic team out of town and couldn’t stop me. I wasn’t in my right mind, ended up getting shot in the street and left to die. I guess after she heard the news, Isabelle came right back and helped Rossi get into rehab. I guess his sobering went a lot easier than mine did, didn’t end up with him getting shot in the back.” She laughed uneasily.
“He said that you acted like nothing ever happened.” Lizbeth said.
“We both began a new chapter in our lives that day. For a moment everything was calm, the family was back together and Rossi was getting into politics. When the world went to hell, I pulled a favor and snuck into a national guard armory and got enough weapons to survive for a while. We were held up in our parents mansion for a while, then one day a group of travelers showed up seeking refuge. We gave it to them and invited them in, and then the raiders came. We tried to fight them off, but there were to many. Me and Rossi escaped but everyone else was killed, I still remember just sitting on the hillside watching my life go up in flames. Me and Rossi ended up making a new home at the armory where we ran into…” she said.
“Chase.” Lizbeth said. “Rossi told me that part.” Laken sighed as if she’d just made it easier for her.
“We hid there for a long time, but infected swamped the area out of nowhere and we got pushed farther and farther east. I ended up having to lead everyone through the Wasteland, it was nasty but we did it. Ended up crossing the boundary into Georgia. Chase came at me when I wasn’t looking, knocked me out cold and then took Rossi out. I woke up in some sort of jail cell and we stayed there for a few months like animals. It only got worse when Chase’s husband committed suicide. He went bat shit and just started abducting people left and right. Then Isabelle showed up, it hadn’t crossed my mind that she could still be alive. We worked together, I promised I would come back to get her. All I needed was people to help me cut the head off the snake.” She said.
“I don’t know how much I can do, but I’ll do whatever I can to stop this guy.” Lizbeth said. Laken sighed.
“That’s the thing, even after all of this, I don’t know if I can kill him. I just don’t know if I have it in me anymore to be able to do that and come back the same.” She said.
“I told you that you weren’t in this alone.” Lizbeth said. “Chase is a problem, not for you, but for everyone in Georgia. We can help you.” Silence fell over the two of them as Laken stared into the fire.
“Thank you Lizbeth. For just listening to me.” She said. Lizbeth nodded, not being able to find words. She watched Laken stood from where she was siting, and looked down at her. “I, uh… I think I’m going to go talk to Samantha real quick.” She said. Lizbeth nodded.
“You should. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have to carry everything alone.” Lizbeth said.
“Thank you.” She said as she slowly began walking away. Lizbeth watched as she hovered next to Samantha awkwardly for a moment, She looked down at the baby coddled within her arms. She saw Laken saying something, though she couldn’t hear. Samantha smiled and offered Laken a seat next to her. Laken extended her arm, her hand running through the infant’s thin hair.
“She cried.” A voice said. Lizbeth looked over and saw Rossi next to her.
“Yeah.” Lizbeth said.
“I didn’t know my sister could cry.” He said.
“It got deep.” Lizbeth said. Rossi shook his head.
“Sometimes I just wish I knew what was really going through her head.” He said. “She’s always trying to protect me, I can never get her to tell me the truth about what’s really going on.”
“You just have to talk to her.” Lizbeth said.
“I’ve tried, but she just says everything’s fine.” He said. “And then you show up and she breaks down for some reason.”
“Then don’t talk.” Lizbeth suggested. “Just listen.” He sighed.
“So, um… I’ve been thinking.” He said.
“About what?” Lizbeth questioned.
“I was just thinking that once the sun comes up tomorrow we better get moving. If we want to get away from Chase, it’s best not to stay still for too long.” He said.
“Where were you thinking of going?” Lizbeth asked.
“North, probably somewhere in the Tennessee valley.” He said.
“We were headed north before we ran into you.” She said.
“Yeah, it would be nice to find some place where we ever had to worry about Chase ever again.” He said, Lizbeth narrowed her eyes at him.
“Laken said you guys were going to go back to get Isabelle out of there.” She said. He shook his head with a sigh.
“No.” He responded. “She might think we are, but we most certainly are not.” He went on.
“So you’re going to lie to her so you can just drag her farther north away from a promise she made?” Lizbeth asked.
“Well….” He muttered.
“No wonder she doesn’t talk to you.” She said.
“Lizbeth, you have to understand one thing about my sister. She can’t think straight. She doesn’t make choices that are good for her health, she doesn’t understand that she could end up dead if she went back there. Isabelle knew the risk she was taking when she helped up get out.” He said.
“Maybe she understands perfectly.” Lizbeth said. “Maybe you just don’t want to accept it.”
“I’m not going to just sit by and watch as my sister gets herself killed over an empty promise she more than likely can’t keep in the first place.” He said.
“Why did you bring this to me?” Lizbeth asked, shaking her head.
“Because, when tomorrow comes. I want you to take my side. Laken’s not going to want to leave, but if we all outnumber her she’ll have no choice.” He said.
“So you want to get everyone here to turn on your sister so you can drag her away from something she needs to do after she saved your life and got you here? And then you still think you’re the hero?” Lizbeth asked. “I’m starting to think you’re the real crazy one.”
“Look, I just want to know that you’re going to take my side on this.” He said.
Choice
[Agree to back Rossi]
[Refuse to agree]
[Agree to back Rossi]
This is a very hard choice for me. Laken won me over in this part and I believe this decision is going to crush her. At the same time, I have to think of the rest of the group. Eve is wounded and can hardly walk on her own, Lizbeth was close to death not long ago and only started to recover, Sam has a baby that depends on her and is the least person I want to put in harm's way. What Laken attempts to do here is dangerous, not only for herself, but for those she potentially drags into it. This Chase guy is not the kind of person I want the group to encounter. While, of course, there is no guarantee that the group would even support her in this mission that sounds a lot like suicide, I don't want to take any chances and at least Lizbeth has guaranteed her support. Aside from that, this is at the very least suicide for Laken and Rossi, whom I somehow start to like. So, getting the hell away from there sounds like the better option to me.
Hey i'm back , catched it all back , sorry for my absence ,
as of the vote : [Agree to back Rossi]
Bad guys gets people killed , let's not be valiant heroes that sacrifice for a stranger's promise .
[Agree to back Rossi]
Going after the bad guy gets people killed. Laken can try to kill him of course but Lizbeth should choose what is best for her group, which is agreeing with Rossi.
[Agree to back Rossi]