The Survivalist

Simple, quiet, uncomplicated. 

I’d have been spending most of it in my cabin I guess. Nothing too fancy, just livin’ life away from anybody. Wasn’t nothing special, just my little slice o’forest. Alone. 

A social butterfly might not have ever been the way most would’ve described Charlie. But she’d never made herself a societal pariah either. Mostly, she’d been deemed friendly enough by her peers, usually the one cracking jokes and smiling amidst the group she surrounded herself with. Customers at the diner thought she was cheerful enough to throw her a few extra bucks. Perhaps she had her mother’s grin all along but it was her father’s warmth that illuminated it.

There’s less reasons to smile these days.

And Charlie keeps to herself, helping out where she can or when she’s called upon but bonds and friendships aren’t tying knots between her and the others. There’s a loyalty burning brightly in her chest for them, a camaraderie simply because there’s faces from the beginning - when New York City crumbled into a blackened hole. She owes them her life.

A voice breaks through the reveries as she mindlessly wonders in the hopes she’ll lose memories of her home if she just walks far enough away. It halts her tracks. Causes her to turn and the familiarity of the gruff sound only rings clear when the face matches the tone. The guy from that tower. Saved her life, she thinks. The least she could do is offer her time. “Yeah?” she offers quickly, stroll cut short by a man she hopes isn’t too angry with her for whatever she might’ve done wrong in escaping the fire.

Charlie ran to catch up with her, stopping a few feet away when she turned. “It was you in those tunnel with me, right? Just wanted t’say uh, thanks. Without you, neither of us woulda gotten the hell outta there.” He laughed roughly. “Never caught your name though. I’m Charlie.” 

He nodded, feeling awkward and out of place. But if the shit hit the fan again (and it always would over and over until he was dead) he’d rather know the name of them he was fighting with. Names worked way better than hey you. Well, most of the time anyway. 

The burn on his leg was finally starting to turn pink, peeling along the edges. The skin pulled too tight, even now weeks after the fight, but he’d gotten lucky. Not too deep, and it hadn’t eaten away at muscle so much as skin. 

The last time he’d been wounded, seriously hurt in a fight, he’d had a hole to crawl back to. Lick his wounds as he healed up. Being on the road, and then in a (kind of) unsecured location had made it harder this go round. Still he’d managed to keep on his own until the last few days. 

Back to being able to move quick and easy there was one thing he needed to do before getting a few traps set up in the nearby woods. In the tower the only reason he’d gotten out was the red head he’d run into in the tunnels. He needed to find her, figure out her name. Any woman who could use an axe that well was fine in his book. 

“Speak of the devil.” He muttered to himself, as he caught sight of the woman up ahead. He picked up his pace until she was just ahead and called out. “Hey you, I wanted t’talk t’you.”

“Aiiiiee,” Alejandro let out a yell when he came face to face with a crossbow. His hands came up quickly, folding in front of his face as he turned a cheek. He’d been taken by surprise, his gun tucked into the back of his pants, where it stayed, useless. 

He’d just gotten back from a scavenging trip. A trip to bring people what they were asking for, as he promised them he would have their goods. It was a good way to ensure repeat customers, following through on his promises. 

The last thing he wanted to do was pull a gun on someone and definitely the last thing after that he wanted to do was shoot someone. Especially not from a group that had proven to be so useful to him. He’d made good trades here. Favors and goods. 

“Don’t shoot!” he squawked. “I am too young and good looking and useful to die.” 

Charlie stopped short, blinked and lowered the crossbow. If this guy was an actual threat odds were that he wouldn’t have squealed like a kid just at somebody coming around the corner. 

He didn’t recognize him, but that wasn’t strange. He’d kept his distance since they’d hit the road, and the way this group picked ups trays one more face wasn’t anything worth much notice. 

“Crossbow is down.” He sucked at his teeth. “Any reason you’re skulking around in the dark, or nah?” 

He might have put down his weapon, ut that didn’t mean he trusted this guy. If he was hiding in the shadows trying to get away with something, it wasn’t going to go well for him. 

The woods here were too quiet, which meant no hunting. He’d scavenged as much as he could from the vehicles left to decay on the road, but now he was getting antsy. 

It was well past midnight, and after giving up on any rest he’d started walking the perimeter. There were other patrols out, but extra eyes didn’t hurt things. Not when he felt like he was sitting on his thumbs anyhow. 

From around the corner, he heard the scrape of shoes on asphalt and stopped short, crossbow coming up. “Whose there?” His jaw went tight, hoping it was one of their people, and not something else. 

A few things I guess. Doesn’t seem like we have many other folks who did much hunting, in the ‘I can eat this’ sense, and being able to bring in fresh meat is more important to keep survivin’ than ever. Havin’ somebody who’s used to living rough, and figurin’ it out seems to help too. Course these days every body that can use a weapon is handier than they were before too. So, killin’ animals, knowin’ what can an’ can’t be eaten, and this sweet ass crossbow. 

Getting back on the move. This place ain’t secure, and i’m not a fan. Rather be moving, keeping an eye out for the kid. Or some wheels that don’t belong to somebody with a pulse. 

Her shoulders relaxed when she heard his voice, of course it was him. “Sorry the sun is at my back and I just wanted to make sure it was you.” She smiles, apologizing and rolling her eyes at herself. Charlie was no threat in her mind, the man was far too sweet a person to be one. She continues forward towards him now before she hears something, or thinks she does. Something scraping against a tree trunk maybe. She whirls around and pauses. Nothing. She continues on.

“These woods are a bit odd.” She says as she nears him, keeping her voice down for a reason she can’t place. “So what are you doing out here? Is this place good for hunting?” She changes the subject slightly to him, wondering if he was out getting food. She hadn’t known it from meeting him at first but apparently Charlie was an excellent hunter and the only reason the group had any fresh meat. An impressive thing in her mind.

Though for some reason this area didn’t seem like a good place for any of that, maybe, because it seemed so empty? She hadn’t come across a living thing besides plants the whole time she had wandered in here. It was nice, and yet not. But now that Charlie was in her company she didn’t feel uneasy about it.

“Better t’stay safe than t’be polite these days for sure.” He flashed an easy smile, hoping it didn’t look forced. He liked Masha, even if he still felt bad about their first interaction. First impressions had never been his strong suit, and that much hadn’t changed. 

He heard the snap of something further into the woods, but her comment about it being too quiet made something zero in. Even now the woods were never quite quiet. Always the move of snakes through the leaves, or athe scratch of a squirrel’s claws on bark. This was damned disconcerting. 

“Just keeping an eye out. No point in trying to bring something big down, since we won’t be here long enough for me to...deal with it.” 

He took a. half step forward, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the treeline. Was there smething in there? Monster or wildlife, that was always the question these days. Quietly, he slung his crossbow from across his shoulder and into his hands. Better safe than sorry. 

“Did you see anything in there?” He asked, eyes sliding over to Masha. “It’s too damn quiet.”

@prodigal-hunter​

The sun is setting now and Masha is making her way back from a considerable distance of having ‘taken care of business’ so to speak. Going to bathroom while on the move was… more complicated than she had ever considered. Masha’d been brought up in a ladylike manner and going to the bathroom outside certainly wasn’t very ladylike, but well working toilets were a luxury now. She was lucky enough if she could locate a private and hidden area to pop a squat, a thing she was willing to hold it for quite a while in order to locate. She was even willing to risk wandering around on her own for it.

The silence was nice, if deafening, there weren’t even birds chirping. Which was odd to her, there was always birds, or at least the chirp of a cricket. But nothing. A snap of a twig that isn’t her own foot goes unregistered to her own untrained senses, and keeps on, walking without any real urgency or suspicion. The sun is almost entirely set now and the dark is threatening, she speeds up.

On her way she’s startled to find a figure in the distance but figures out who it is after a moment of standing still and focusing. “Charlie?” She calls uncertainly. “Is that you?” There’s a hint of fear in the uncertainty of her voice.

Charlie hasn’t been making a fuss of much of anything since they started to move. Aside from the first night after they’d hit the road, he decided to stick more to himself than usual. He still kept an eye out though, too many years of paranoia pounded into him meant he didn’t stop scanning for danger. 

The tower might have gone down but they weren’t safe. Far from it. In just a visitor center, it would be too easy for something to go seriously awry before anyone noticed. So when he’d seen Masha sneak off towards the woods, he’d kept an eye out. Last thing anyone wanted was their nurse to get wounded for her privacy. 

“The one an’ only.” He answered her question, his own voice friendly. He still felt bad about what he’d said to her the last time they’d spoken. If he could make it up by making sure she was safe, then it was better than nothing. 

“You doin’ okay Masha?” He could hear the fear in her voice, and took a step forward, crossbow slung across his back where he could get it at quick if need be. 

That’s not an easy one to answer, but I’ll give it a shot. 

Selflessness, and loyalty are the two that come to mind first. 

It takes something else to put your neck on the chopping block for someone else. To put yourself in between somebody you barely know and something trying to take a piece out of them. Anyone who does that, I can respect. Loyalty...being true to the people that you pick as your people. It’s easy to turn your back on them, to walk away. It’s harder to stand next to them when the shit hits the fan and weather the storm. There’s more too, but less important. 

It wasn’t an ideal spot to stop and rest, lacking in a formal shelter, but it would have to do. Nora didn’t mind sleeping the blazer and would have laid down just as soon as they stopped, but there was something restless in her now that they were out of the base and away from civilization again. She’d followed Zoe, the only reason she really agreed to come this way any how, but it didn’t mean that a part of her didn’t miss the base a little bit. Didn’t miss being able to put her guard down just a little with those high walls and patrols making their rounds. 

Hopping out of the driver’s seat, she stretched her back a little bit, looked around the portion of highway they’d decided to stop at and decided to stretch her legs a little bit before she caught some shut eye. 

Crowbar in hand, she made her way through the remaining cars on the highway. They’d had to weave in and out of them as best they could and in some cases, stop and move some out of the way or find a way around the dilapidated vehicles. Stopping towards the front of the group, she looked further up the highway and wondered what lay ahead of them. What the road would bring them to and she hoped that Zoe knew where they were going. 

The voice to her side had her turning and looking at one of the passengers in her Blazer. 

“Bunking down there?” she asked, giving him the smallest of smiles. 

At Nora’s voice, Charlie’s eyes bounced to her figure, an erstwhile half-smile gracing his lips. 

“Figured I might as well. I’ve got a wall and a half, plenty of sky...” His head lollled to. one side. “I’ll be able t’hear anything what tries to sneak up on us. It works. I’ve bunked in worse.”

He laid down his bedroll, knapsack working as a makeshift pillow and crossbow always handy. Never would have thought it’d end up as handy as it had, but who was he to argue with a good thing? Especially these days. 

“What about you? Looking for your own wreckage walls, or are you takin’ the Blazer?” 

Sure he’d bunked in vehicles on more than one occasion. But he’d never gotten used to. Muffled everyting from outside, made it to hard to hear sommat coming until it was too damn late to deal with it quiet. 

No, he’d take the asphalt and the wind or rain. Might not be the most comfortable, but the early warning was perk enough for him. 

He still missed his motorcycle though, even if after the initial onslaught it was nothing more than twisted charred metal in the ground. The trip would have been easier with the wind in his hair, and a bit less idle chatter. 

With his thigh finally healing properly at least he wasn’t moving so slow anymore. The urge to check out the surrounding area, and see if there was anything worth hunting for some decent meat was tempting but he knew they wouldn’t be here long enough for it to come of anything. 

Especially considering anything bigger than a few rabbits would need time, which was the one thing they didn’t have a lot of. So instead he walked the perimeter, keeping an eye out for anything that screamed danger, trying to get the stiffness out of his joints after too many hours in a vehicle without much moving. 

He didn’t like being on the edge of the highway. Too open, too easy for something to see them. But it was better than trying to camp in the truck, or trying one of the exits which was probably blocked with more dead vehicles than they had the oomph to move. 

“Better than nowhere I guess.” He muttered to himself, finding a spot where two dead cars were wedged against one another. A hard bed, but with his roll it wouldn’t be any rougher than the last year had been. 

he hadn’t meant it to be a surprise… though when the words teased a chuckle from the man rather than a growl - it makes jae content enough, the headache that had been plaguing fading even further into the background, enough that he’s paying it no mind now.  however, he’ll take the kudos where he can get them - intentional or not.

“surprise is kinda what i do.”

a small hike of brow and a slight grin - a gentle reminder that at their first meeting, he’d turned a staggeringly huge, butt ugly ‘raider’ into a cloud of confetti and glitter.  though when he mentions a burn, jae rather abruptly relates… at least, mentally.  remembers hurling a molotov at the freaky, silent, slender man type thing… and then burning his hands when his companion at the time had managed to set his clothing on fire from proximity… jae patting violently at the flames until they were out and jaes hands were scorched, blistered and tender.  that had been some time ago… long before the monolith.  still though… the skin is still not smooth… carrying mars and lines, pitted scars.  but hey, he hadn’t lost any digits and his friend hadn’t flambe’d.  so… all is well.

there is a glance down as he studies them - reminded of that little encounter, fingers flexing.  

“just be careful your skin doesn’t get too tight.  burns pull like a bugger when they start to heal.  embrace your inner…  mermaid.  or dolphin.  basically… go big on the lube.”

there’s another quick grin.  a flash of teeth in the gloom.  

“soooo - you enjoying the festivities?”

“So I remember.” Charlies answered, voice dry. “Seems last time I ran into you shit got...sparkly.” He raised an eyebrow, a small smile breaking his usually stony face. 

It was hard to keep his usual grim mask in place. Jae was just so bright and shiny. Weird in the apocalypse sure, but obviously he knew how to take care of himself or he wouldn’t still be here. 

For the second time in as many minutes, Jae caught him by surprise and this time a full grin broke out on Charlie’s face. He closed his eyes and shook his head still smiling. It was just so damned ridiculous. 

“I’ve dealt with burns before, but I’ll keep that in mind. Wouldn’t wanna dry out after all.” 

The festivities. Charlies turned his head, looking towards where the music was playing. Part of him was on edge about it, that kind of noise was too easy to pull in an unwanted element when nobody was watching out. But hell. They deserved this one. 

Everyone had managed to get the hell out of the monolith before it fell completely to pieces. And that wasn’t a small thing, even if most of them were wandering around with wounds of some kind or another. 

“From a distance. People and parties? Not really where I shine.” He shrugged. “How about you? Rockin out from a distance?”

“Ah, that’s no fun,” Alice said, taking his word for it that he’d mended his burned leg. She wasn’t one to nag people, or worry too much, because people could and should take care of themselves. Her part had been simply to ask him about it, to make sure he knew people were going to check in on him. 

“Those are those army meals, right?” she asks. “With like…freeze dried potatoes and shit?” She made a face and an MRE, at least in her mind, didn’t really sound like anything she’d want to partake in. But she supposed if she was starving, which thankfully they were not yet, she’d have to deal with whatever they could find. 

“Yeah not my slickest move ever.” Charlie shook his head, and dipped into the tuna. The surface concern was touching, but he was still glad she wasn’t prying. It’d been hard enough to avoid Masha moving slow as he was. 

“Yeap. Some of ‘em are outright terrible, but there’s a few good ones too. Very least it gets you a good meal and they keep for practically forever.” Granted there were plenty of them that were downright awful but hey, food was food, right? 

He scooped out another bite of tuna, relishing the taste. Fish, now that wasn’t something they’d be seeing anytime soon unless it came out of a can. Beggars couldn’t be choosers and with the lack of hunting the past few weeks he was glad to be eating something with some protein in it. 

“They also make a good trade for folks tryin to feed a couplapeople. Its how I got the crossbow.”

jae is tapping his foot.  he can hear the music from here.  and usually would be at the centre of the bodies facing the stage - very likely adding some spectacular ‘special effects’ to the whole affair.  but that’s slightly on the back burner for now… the lingering ache in his brain had dulled, though had yet to dissipate completely.  however, it wasn’t thumping enough to discourage him from enjoying the celebration.  even it it was at a small distance.  this was a nice middle ground.  a bench outside of one of the ‘houses’.  close enough that he can pick up on the atmosphere.  a buzz… a vibe… he’s really rather enjoying himself.  even if it’s a smaller, more solitary enjoyment.  

a small frustration is that the music keeps making him want to nod his head - which was playing havock with the nice neat stitches in his shoulder and providing a rather poignant reminder of why he should stay put and enjoy rather than venturing further.

however, when charlie comes hobbling around the corner, he does perk up.  the possibility of a little company, even a few words exchanged was always something that brightened his day.

“cock punch?”

he asks - seemingly out of the blue with a rather wide grin.

“last time i saw someone limping like that was after a bar fight in toledo.  they’d been walloped something wicked and their bollocks inflated to the size of something resembling melons.  though hopefully they hadn’t turned yellow… or green… or… whatever other colour melons come in.”

“definitely more honeydew than watermelon though.”

“also… i wouldn’t put it past the nasties in that tower to play dirty.  evil being their ‘thing’.  and a cock punch is definitely way up on the evil scale.”

“I...” Charlie stops short looking at Jae with something between bewilderment and confusion. He didn’t even know how to begin to reply to that but thankfully Jae kept on chattering up a storm. 

He could hold a conversation with himself, this guy. 

Charlie blinked once, blinked twice, and then started to snicker. He couldn’t help himself really, it was too ridiculous. He started to snicker, a wide grin stretching across his face. 

“No.” He wheezed out tipping his head back. “Just a burn on m’thigh makin shit more difficult than it needs to be.” He shrugged and let a lazy grin out. 

“Glad I missed the dick punch though.” He shifted uncomfortably. “That’s the kinda shit is just cruel and unusual.” He huffed out another snicker and then settled himself down. 

It had been a long, long time since anyone had made him laugh like that. And out of nowhere too. “You can’t just surprise a guy with shit like that. ‘m liable to fall over since I’m limpin along like.”

She smirked at him, holding the can of tuna out as he stood, and fumbled, before sitting back down. She eyed him, looking down at his leg like she could see the answer for what was ailing him. Several of their group had come back with wounds, some more severe than others. It was hard to keep up with everyone, but the only people she’d cared about, the only person, really, had come back relatively unscathed and that’s really all she needed to know. 

“You have someone look at that?” she asks, handing him the tuna the rest of the way. It left her with one can, but she was certain Niko and her could share it without any trouble. At the question, she gave a small chuckle, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Traded a can of spaghettios for the tuna, was getting tired of fake pasta.” 

He saw her eyes move to his leg but thankfully she wasn’t asking about it. Or poking at it. Or demanding he undress to ensure it. had been properly dressed. As if he didn’t know how to deal with a damn burn like an adult. Honestly. 

“I took care of it. Just a burn, its just taking it’ssweetass time healin’ up.” He said with a. turn of his lips, and took the can of tuna flipping it in his hands before popping it open. 

“Nice trade.” He nodded. “I had MREs for a while but they ran out before we moved to the base. Might be worth checking around and seeing if there are any hidden away here.” 

Things were looking brighter. Literally and figuratively. The snow had all but melted and the warmth had started to seep into the world again. Alice was walking around without a coat, instead in a pair of shorts and a tank top like it was the hottest day of the year and she was perfectly fine with it. 

Plus, with the monolith dead, that feeling of restlessness had ebbed somewhat. There wasn’t a looming threat of doom and destruction on the horizon anymore and it had helped her sleep better at night. Even if the visions were still prominent in her memory. For now, that monster was gone. Until the next  monster came to take its place. 

In her hands were two cans of tuna and some plastic forks. She was walking through the sidewalks looking for Niko, to bring him something to eat because she was always on the lookout for him. Always watching out for her boo, especially now. He’d kept his promise. He hadn’t died on her and she was going to try to do better to be there for him, instead of crying in the bathroom and letting the fear get the best of her. 

When she spotted the man limping, she didn’t plan to stop and ask him if he was alright. It just wasn’t her prerogative to care about people like that. Not until he sat down and she saw who it was. Someone who had gone out and gotten fresh meat for them. She slowed down, chewing her lip for a moment before she turned and made a beeline for him. 

“Hey, dude,” she greeted and held out one of her tuna cans for him. “Want some?” 

He hadn’t expected to see Alice wandering around looking like it was July in Carolina, but it wasn’t a bad sight. Definitely better than running into one of the saltier members of the group. 

He could see the gear in her head spinning as she made a beeline for him, and usually, he would have grunted just to get out of it. But he was playing nice. And she had food.  

Anyone who turned down a meal these days was at the very least stupid, if not addled in the head. So he did the only smart thing when someone offered freely. He waited a beat, and his lips curled into something that passed for a half smile. 

“Not the kinda guy who turns down a free meal. Thanks.” He went to stand up, and his leg twinged angrily making him sit back down with a frown. He considered just taking what was offered but that wasn’t the way to go about it. Or so he’d heard. 

“Where’d you find tuna?” He asked, voice light. “That’s a real find these days.”