The Abandoned

The best part about this store was that there was plenty of fort making material. She’d made a nest for herself and for Niko if he wanted to come and stay with her. It gave her privacy, gave her warmth in the cool of the night and the dark of the store. It also, foolishly, gave her security. The way a child found security hiding under their covers from monsters. 

But now, she was out on a mission to make it better. Make it grander. Bigger, in case more people wanted to partake in Fort Alice. So she found herself wandering down aisles until she heard the squeak of a cart being pushed. She rounded the corner and came face to face with someone in the group who was stockpiling stuff for themselves as well. 

“Thanks, dude,” she grinned at the man, looking past him for blankets that she could go get to drape over some of the bedframes she’d jammed together. Though she paused and looked at him and his cart. 

“You building a fort, too?” 

“Wasn’t the original plan” He said with a grin. “But now that you mention it, that is a damn fine idea. Think I’d need more blankets though...maybe some pillows.” 

The longer he spent on the fringes of this group, the more he was surprised. There were more than a dozen people all coexisting. Nice to see, after so long by himself. It might be easy to slip in and become one of theirs. Maybe. 

“I’m Jack, new to the club. You the lady in charge of very serious fort building supplies?” He chuckled, pleased to be teasing someone again. 

Plenty left for somebody enterprising who had put together furniture for no less than 5 younger sisters. You’d have thought they’d never seen plasterboard before in their lives. Didn’t matter. 

So he wasn’t surprised when pushing the cart around a corner he was face to face with one of the others in the group. He’d found some of the kids cooking sets, a couple of the tarps hidden behind a shelf that had come down, and the real find; a handful of still in one piece blankets. Sure, it was almost summer and hot and humid, but come fall he’d want them.

“There’s more blankets back that way.” He offered. “If you’re lookin to stay a bit warmer.”

“pity.”

a shrug and she leaves it at that.  not much point reminiscing about a place that was as likely as much rubble as most other places by now.  though it’s almost amusing to imagine the panic among the exalted ‘dignitaries’ in their lap of luxury who suddenly realised that a large wallet and ‘diplomatic immunity’ didn’t make for a very useful shield against risen hell.

“is lot of things not there anymore…”

she shrugs, it’s not a dismissal, just a truth.  she doesn’t know what, who or how much he might have lost - people had a tendency to… grieve for their past.  she tended not to… there wasn’t much in the way of loss there.  perhaps that was just a sad reflection on her own life – or might have been… if there was something about that she could recognise in herself.  as it is… it’s something of a foreign concept.  you can’t miss what you never had…

“…you live here long - guessing that you say ‘being back’ mean you went… somewhere else?”

Jack nods but doesn’t answer. No point when she shrugs and doesn’t continue. He’s seen the look before. The ‘its all gone so what does it matter’ look. He’d seen it plenty long before the world had gone well and truly to shit. You had to look for the bright spots or you’d get lost in the darkness. 

“Further upstate.” He wrinkles his nose, a small tell. “The city got too crowded. Better up near the mountains where everybody knew everybody.” And nobody knew the man who’d engineered the death of his own daughter. 

Where Jack could live a life not predicated around death and fire and men calling shts from a damned ocean away. If any of the other Wessons had survived, it would be because they weren’t in Baltimore . Small favors, but a favor none the less. 

“What about you, you like the cities or the country better? I think I spent enough time in both to enjoy them. You can’t beat a good street vendor for lunch, but those festivals in small towns during the summer...” His voice trailed off but he smiled, wistful. “Maybe I just miss people. “

If she’s trailing someone, Charlie doesn’t mean to be - idly picking at dirt trapped underneath her nail to focus her brain upon something else than her mother’s sharp teeth or the terror Shane’s eyes had been frozen in. She closed them before she left, horrified that he’d be stuck like that for eternity. But she didn’t bury him or her mother, as though she could hear her brother say it would just be a waste of time and energy. She kept them side by side, sheets tossed over their frames. Something line a funeral. Something like mourning.

The voice that breaks through her thoughts isn’t unwelcome then, because her brain strayed into dark territory without her permission. “Oh, uh…” she stalls, thinking through childhood memories, “Has a field trip to Baltimore once. For the aquarium.”

Jack nods at the woman, bittersweet smile gracing his lips. “Can’t go wrong at the aquarium. I always like the sharks best. I grew up in Baltimore, just about half an hour south of here.” 

His smile turned a little softer. Much as he tried to forget most of how he’d grown up; blood and death and fire, he couldn’t help but love Baltimore. Broken city; either Charm City or. Murderland. Just depended on who you were talking to. 

“I’m Jack, guess I feel in with your people just before leaving Jersey.”

he’s funny. perhaps he doesn’t know how funny he is….

that the place that was - for all intents - her namesake on american soil just happened to linger on the periphery of this ‘maryland’.  the link that railed back to a place that was - as much on the periphery as this - her home - her ‘mother russia’ ( still something that railed against the independence from the belarussian )… funny, funny man.   perhaps he’s never heard of ‘dacha’.  dacha… dascha… either way… she’s amused.

“da… little place name of ‘pioneer point’.  ever heard of it?”

at least that was the colloquial term for it.  not so far away, just a little over the water and there would be a little slice of something more familiar to the immigrant than to the locals.

“what is weird?”

“Sounds familiar, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually been there.” He grins with a shake of the head. “Spent most of my time in Baltimore, or further north near the mountains.”

It isn’t a lie. Not quite. He knew Pioneer Point was out on the shore, he’d driven past it once or twice on jobs with the boys. There were places where you could get rid of things and nobody would ever find them. Not like he was going to admit as much here and now though. 

“Being back here is the weird part. So close to a home that isn’t there anymore.” He shrugs, trying not to get into it. 

Sam liked Jack. Seemed like a soldier, someone who was well versed, well prepared and one who didn’t seem to have a problem with authority. Though Sam didn’t really look at himself as much, he still knew he could come across a little too straight laced for people’s liking. At least Jack was hiding it well if that was his thought too. 

“As long as you use those guns to help protect people, you’re more than welcome to stick around for as long as you’d like. California or beyond.” 

“That’s the plan.” Jacks nods agreeably. “More of us there are, better we can hold off them.” 

He hopes that Sam takes his meaning. Hie doesn’t know these people, can’t tell yet if he’ll be able to trust them. Doesn’t mean he’d turn a weapon on any of them unless they tried to get the jump on him first.  “Thing is, I ran a shop. Gun shop. If you need anything worked on, or if anybody wants some training. I can help out there too. I appreciate the hospitality, not much of that to go around anymore.”

Nora nods. That was enough detail for her, not wanting to make him walk down that memory if it wasn’t a pleasant one. He was a survivor, just like they were, and that’s all she really cared about. 

When she’d been in New York, she hadn’t known the scope of it all. She’d been on a hunt, a rather big one and when the hell gate had opened up, she’d thought it was localized. A tragic event, but nothing that could possible be nationwide. It wasn’t until a few days afterwards that she had realized exactly what was happening to the world. 

“Who knows if we’re the lucky ones,” she said dryly. Then she nodded her head towards a man sitting nearby. “That’s Sam.” 

Jack slots his eyes to Nora. That comment reeked of something—despair, defeatism, bitterness? — but he didn’t have any interest in going down that rabbit hole. Survivors, they were the lucky ones. He’d bet his life on surviving before laying down. Every time. 

When it hurt, thats when you knew you were alive. The world was brutal. Just now that brutality was out in the open and not behind locked doors and in shadowy corners. Although his view of brutality up until this shit had been beating a man to death, putting fire to businesses who didn’t pay, not monsters and demons. 

“Good to know,” He turns to Nora, genuine smile gracing his lips. “Thanks for your help Nora. I appreciate it.” He touched two fingers to his temple in a small mock salute and headed towards the figure she’d pointed out. 

Least, it had been. Tucked into the middle of Baltimore City. Charm City in all her bloody glory. He wouldn’t be surprised if Westport or parts of West Baltimore had managed to hole up and survive somewhere. They’d already been ducking bullets from corrupt cops for decades. 

“Being back here in weird.” He turned to where someone was approaching from behind. “You ever been down to Maryland before?” 

Sam nodded his head, accepting the explanation. Just a man and his truck, looking to join up with a group that was already established. There was a benefit to traveling with other people and even if the man claimed that running solo had never been his favorite, Sam didn’t think that was the only thing the man had to gain. 

“Well, you’re welcome to join up with us,” Sam told the man earnestly. “We’ve got regular patrol schedules and if you’re driving, you might have a passenger or two to worry about.” Though Sam wasn’t sure if he wanted anyone driving with a complete stranger just yet. Maybe someone he trusted to handle themselves. 

“We all contribute to the supplies as much as we can and other than that, we don’t really have ground rules. Don’t be a danger, don’t cost anyone their lives.” Simple as that. “We’re headed to California, Zoe’s our navigator, so she sets the path.” 

Sam seemed like a solid kind of guy. Earnest and swell. What Mam would have called a ‘good egg’. Put Jack’s teeth on edge, but considering the bandage across his face the guy handle himself fine. He just appeared too well adjusted for the end of times was all. 

“I can do that. I have what you could call, a way with guns. I’m fine with falling in line, and California is as good a spot as anywhere else.” He was agreeable, but if somewhere between this coast and that one he caught wind of one of his siblings, he’d be gone in a flash.

Nora leads the way inside, intent on finding Sam or Zoe to show Jack who he could talk to about joining up. She didn’t think much of it, there wasn’t some big ceremony or oath they had to take, but it was out of respect for the people running the show that she wanted to introduce him in the first place. 

“It was bad down that way. What was it like further south?” she asked, curious to see if it was an immediate falling of civilization or if New York had just been the start. If there were other Hell Gates, if there was something else out there. The monolith they’d just fought hadn’t built itself in a day, she reckoned. 

 “I was in Baltimore when the shit hit the fan.” He rubbed at his jawline. “695 filled up with, things.” He shook his head. “I managed to book it into the suburbs where it was a little quieter. But only a little.” 

He’d fought his way down and through the burbs all right. Sheltering in an apartment complex and hopping block by block, day by day. That’s where he’d met the first people who would make up the group that had stabbed him in the back. When people could still be trusted. 

“It didn’t go all at once, but it wasn’t slow either. I got lucky.”

jackwesson:

Sam had been in the middle of cleaning his rifle when someone called his name. He looked up, eyeing the other man a moment, still getting used to strangers coming in here already knowing his name. 

Putting his rifle to the side, he stood and closed the rest of the distance between the two of them. He tried not to look intimidating, but his brother’s words were in the back of his head. He was without an eye patch today and wondered if he really did look as intimidating as Eli said he did. 

“Nice to meet you, Jack,” he said, holding out a hand for the man to shake. He already knew his name, so Sam tilted his head to the side. “You’re certainly welcome to travel with us. You by yourself?” 

Jack took the outstretched hand, giving him a firm shake without trying to crush the guy’s hand. A solid handshake could tell you a lot about a person. About who they were, the way they saw the world. Every little trick helped. 

“Just me and my truck.” He nodded. “I ran into a few of your people when I was on the hunt for some parts, and you seemed like decent people.” He rubbed at his chin. “Running solo has never really been my favorite, especially now.”

You could never be sure how much information was too much. Especially these days. Better to err on the side of caution that hand out information that could screw you over. He’d learned that lesson the hard way. More than once. 

“mmhm.”

a confirmation of the names.  not that he’d had too much to do with either - a few words exchanged with one, not so many with the other.  as for jae, he was simply - there.  another body - perhaps simply a slightly more permanent part of the scenery.  not much more.  a trick or two up his sleeve in a tight spot… he supposes he might be useful in a way.  not that so many of them knew much about that.  and it’s at this point in the conversation that his presence becomes somewhat redundant… but, he understands jacks want to get those formalities over with before dark.  remembers the first few weeks after everything fell apart where he’d been alone in the dark with all of the creepy things that wanted to chow on his face… and it wasn’t exactly a comforting thought.  

“okie dokies, well - best of luck.”

“hopefully they’ll be more responsive than the trees… and… a good sort in general, i think.”

Jack took a few steps forward before pivoting and turning back to Jae. The guy seemed like a decent sort, the kind he hadn’t run into in a ver, very, long time. Least it seemed that way anyhow. 

“Thanks for your help Jae. I’ll see you later, yeah?” 

He touched to fingers to his brow in a small imitation of a salute and grinned before turning back t the rest stop and slowly heading inside. No time like the present, and if he wanted to get this handled before dark he’d need to beat feet.

The man apologizes. Quick, no excuses. She hadn’t been waiting on it but it matters that it came at all, and that way. Jean nods, a casual acceptance of it, and moves on with a slightly more positive opinion. He’s funny, she thinks, because he assumes automatically that she must be with a group and seems confused at the idea that she might not be. 

“Yeah, kinda. Why not? You’re out here alone.” Or else why would he be looking for these people? “Sometimes it’s easier to be. For me.”

“True,” He raised his eyebrows with the cocky smile that seemed painted on more and more these days. 

Except that he was pushing fifty, and had spent most of his early years working for the mob. With those kinds of foundations, you found the skills to survive just about anything that the world might try to throw at you. That was the theory he was working off of anyhow. 

“Guess I’m just surprised anybody would want to hit the road without a shotgun. Especially these days.” He sure as hell hadn’t chosen this path for himself. “But if it suits you, then fair is fair. I never sleep well without another body to keep watch.” 

Nora had spotted Sam when they’d come inside and pointed him towards the other man. He just needed to deal with an introduction and maybe he’d have the benefit of walls tonight. 

There was the possibility that he’d read all of this wrong and it was about to go seriously off the rails but that was a chance he had to take. Being on his own wasn’t a cakewalk, and he sure as hell was 20 years old anymore. Besides, that shit got lonely and dangerous far too fast for his liking.

He closed half the distance to the other man before speaking up. “Sam? Lovely woman named Nora found me out front looking to see if you good people needed another hand.” He smiled. “I’m Jack.”

A few months on his own. She didn’t ask what had happened before that because it was none of her business. Nora had been in a group before this one as well and it had been vastly different from this one. Vastly different from the do-gooders and honorable decision makers. She’d done things she wasn’t proud of just to survive in that group. 

At his question, she nods her head. 

“Some of them have been together since the beginning,” she tells him. “But there are some recent additions from a military base up the road a bit.” 

She didn’t see the harm in telling him those details. If he did turn out to have ill-will towards the group, if his intentions were anything but what he claimed them to be, she’d protect the people in this group fiercely. 

“Some of them are from the heart of New York City, where the Hell Gate opened.” 

When she didn’t answer Jack’s question with a question of her own, he tried not to heave a sigh of relief. Lying wasn’t nature to him, to like it had been when he was younger, but telling that story would require more than a kind word. 

So bit of here, and a bit of there. People that trusted each other. They’d have to, to have survived this long together. That much boded well at least. Last thing Jack wanted was to find out they were eating people or some equally ludicrous shit. 

“Hol-y shit. Color me impressed. I was...further south, and that was bad enough.”

there’s a slight grin at the comeback.  sense of humour - check.  not shooty on first glance - check.  thus far, mossy-rock-man… aka. jack - was making great strides in jae’s general opinion.  of course, what was important to the magician seemed… less so to most of the others… things like guns took precedence over smiles.  bullets or blades over laughter.  and, y-es… he understands that gracing a slavering hell-beast with a winning smile isn’t exactly going to save your life in a pinch and that guns and knives had their uses… but that didn’t mean that the other things weren’t important too.

“unless you want to talk about photosynthesis then… nope.  you might have more luck here –”

he does have to clip his tongue to stop from referring to some people as equally as talkative as said trees… some with personalities which were more abrasive than a trip through a saw mill.

one hand makes a vague whirling gesture above his head - one finger pointing every which way before he shrugs…

“unfortunately they don’t come with gps.  they’re around.  and i’m sure that if you don’t find them, they’ll find you soon enough.  that’s kind of what they do.”

Jack smiled and nodded. It was nice to run into someone willing to banter a little bit, chat about something other than life and death. Sure, death was closer now than it had ever been before, but that didn’t matter as much as it ought. Not if you got so worried about punching your ticket that you forgot to live.

“Looks like I’ll have to find them and dazzle them with these sparkling good looks then. Zoe or Sam, yeah?” He looked towards the inside of the building. He really didn’t want to go strolling inside without a bit more to go on, but thus far the folks he’d run  into had been decent. 

“Better go and introduce myself. Don’t wanna be stuck out here when the sun goes down.”

Jack was an agreeable sort, at least. He followed in step with her, keeping his distance, however, when she started to lead him inside. They’d find Sam and Zoe, he’d get acquainted and Nora would stick around to make sure he didn’t cause any trouble for either one of them. Especially for Zoe. The woman would be able to take care of herself, she was sure, but she shouldn’t have to. Not with Nora around. 

“You’ve been on your own long?” she asks as they walk, wondering about his past and why it was he didn’t have anyone with him. 

“A few months.” 

He wasn’t gonna win himself any friends from lying, but there were different kinds of lies. White lies to make someone feel better, all-out lies where you were bound to get caught eventually, and his personal favorite: half-truths. Lies of omission. 

She hadn’t asked for details, just if he’d been running solo. So technically it wasn’t a lie. He wasn’t exactly bouncing to go trotting out those details though. If he told her why he was on his own, then she’d want to know how it happened. That was a more complicated question than he wanted to answer right now. 

“How about you lot, been together long?” 

His own question. Could he trust these people? Were they decent, or just pretending to be while they fell apart.