#discordthreads

Colin Young Colin was working as quickly as possible. He was no horse man, but he could saddle a horse, Leigh had showed him basic care. "I'll give you as much as you need to get back to Redwood." he spoke, knowing well what that actually meant and entailed. "Front gate is compromised, you'll have to get through one of the fences…let's go…"

Leigh Madison Leigh adjusted a couple of straps before pointing her attention on Colin. "Wait, what are you gonna do?" She didn't like what they could possibly mean, although leaving everyone back here was not exactly any better.

Colin Young "Buy you time if we get stopped on your way out." he replied as a matter of fact. "We're gonna be like the wind, quick and quiet." he heard some commotion nearby. "come on, let's go. " he motionned towards the back of the building. He peaked his head out , right, left, he saw no one in sight. "go go go."

Leigh Madison Leigh hated this. This was what she was here for, but still, Colin and the others weren't safe. And if she didn't make it back to Redwood in time it was possible everyone else here wouldn't survive. But she couldn't think of that. She had to succeed. So she followed behind Colin, waiting for him to give the clear. As he told her to go she did, pulling Stella along - until she heard gunfire behind Colin. "Colin, move!"

Colin Young Some of it brought back bad memories about how his last settlement , the difference was that zombies did not discriminate and aim with precision. He knew far well that one of them would be a shield for the other. It was what it was. He ducked down, the gunfire not really bothering him since they were everywhere, but he heard the bullet whistle past them. "Doesn't matter, forward Leigh, forward." he told her . Looking back to where that came from he still wasn't seeing anyone, and thus he focused on looking at the corner of the building, it would be open after this. "I'll go first , open the fence, you get on Sally and just go okay? " It wasn't really a question. He made a run for it, avoiding the traps he memorized thanks to Zack. He managed to open the fence, but before he could make any further move, he felt the air knocked out of him when projected…well…against said fence. He groaned, completly out of it and shook his head to regain composure. He only had time to see the light vanish behind a towering figure when he felt a blow.

Leigh Madison Leigh knew that when this day happened it was going to be bad, but still to see it like it was - nothing could have ever prepared her for it. She remembered the chaos when the ranch she had been on was overrun with zombies but it was so much more different than right now. Colin's directions were easy but she didn't like them. Although he left no room for argument as he ran to the fence. She saddled herself on Stella and was ready to run when she saw the man throw Colin into the fence. "Colin!"

She dug her heels into Stella's sides and ran around the traps, approaching the man that was towering over Colin. As she got closer she rared Stella on her hind legs so Stella would kick the man away from Colin. It worked - kind of. He stumbled and then looked up to Leigh with a predatory sort of glance. She backed Stella away as the guy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and started walking towards her.

fleet summers Colin was safe -- within reason -- where he'd landed, so Fleet didn't head towards him. If Colin was injured worse then there was nothing he could do anyhow; the real concern was getting the way clear for Leigh to make it out, make it to Redwood.

The idea wasn't to draw the Daybreaker's attention, not really; Fleet was more inclined to take advantage of his focus being on Leigh. But even his lightfooted run towards the man didn't work in the end because Stella saw him, or caught wind of him, and she lifted her head and whinnied, and the Daybreaker must have understood horses because that reaction prompted him to turn. Fleet should have kept running. He should have barrelled right into the man and swung his crowbar before the Daybreaker had much time to register what was happening.

But he wasn't a seasoned fighter in that way. He couldn't suppress his overwhelming instinctual reaction, which was to freeze, some feet away with his crowbar in his shaking hands. 'I'll do both of you, then,' the Daybreaker said, with a sinister grin, his eyes on Fleet's weapon as he stalked towards him.

Leigh Madison Leigh was running through her options. She could try to run through him with Stella but that wasn't guaranteed to work. He could grab her and pull her off if she wasn't fast enough or hurt Stella and then they had no way to get word back to Redwood. She had to think fast but she wasn't a fighter. Not like this, at least. She was looking to Colin, willing him to get up when Stella started to whinny. That's when she saw Fleet. Unfortunately, just as much as Stella's behavior gave Fleet away to her, it gave him away to the Daybreaker too. Stella was trotting nervously and she held the reins steady to keep her from bolting. But now with the Daybreaker not paying attention to her and focused on Fleet, she could make a move. She clicked her heels into Stella's sides and started running towards him. "Fleet, move!" she said just as she got close and trampled him down with Stella. It wouldn't keep him down but it could stun him enough for Fleet to help Colin while she started her race back to Redwood. She felt bad for leaving them behind but the sooner she got back the faster she could bring help. Hopefully nothing happened to them in that time.

Colin Young It took that long for Colin to come back to his senses. He pulled himself up with the help of the fence. He only saw the back of the horse, and was a a bit relieved that Leigh was on her way out. He couldn't do more. However, Fleet was standing opposite to him. Maybe they could pull it off to make him stumble towards a trap. Maybe. He wiped the blood from his face and took some speed to then jump on the daybreakers' back. Not thinking about how dumb this was, was helping to not freak out for now. He used the fact that he was a bit stunned to put koala hug him from his back and put his hands on his eyes. Blind giant, he was starting to push the eyes in , knowing that he wouldn't be able to hang on for very long, but hopefully that would be enough for the other to do something.

fleet summers The Daybreaker roared with aggravated rage when Colin jumped on his back, and even stunned as he was, Fleet could see that the other man was digging into their enemy's eyes, possibly intending to … pop them out? The thought made his gorge rise but Fleet shook his head hard, remembering those Daybreakers in the pit traps outside the perimeter. He'd killed them. He'd done that. He could do this.

Fleet darted into motion, not giving himself a chance to think any deeper; he was thinking instead about Zack killing the Daybreaker who'd attacked him, and although his crowbar wasn't the same as a knife, it had a hook on its end. Fleet reached the big man, wheeling around blindly as Colin tried to dig out his eyes, and he rammed the sharpened ends of his crowbar into the man's belly, just above his left hip. A moment of resistance and then it gave, and Fleet made an agonized noise at the horrendous feel of the crowbar ripping through skin, flesh, fascia, the stench of intestines tumbling out.

Colin Young Colin was trying his best to keep the Daybreaker blind, but he was getting tired of holding on, especially with his bad arm. He ignored the sound of penetration and the growl of pain the Daybreaker. It was probably easier to pretend this was just a big Walker and not a human being. The Daybreaker rammed Colin against a building , which made him lose his grip and had to hold on to the other man's shoulder. Having eyes on Fleet, the guy grabbed the crowbar and pulled on it to get Fleet closer before sucker punching square in the face. Out of breath and mostly out of options because he had nothing on him to pierce or bash, he resorted to biting the guy in the neck to get his attention back on him and not Fleet. "Aah son of a bitch" yelped the Daybreaker. He bashed Colin against the nearest building again and again until Colin let go. Then took him by thre throat and lifted him up. Swinging wilding, Colin was grasping for air and was putting his hands on that arm to try to get him to let go .

fleet summers The man was like a tank. It was as if Fleet hadn't just disemboweled him, like Fleet had just given him a love-tap, as the Daybreaker yanked him closer and disarmed him, following it with a punch to the face that sent Fleet reeling back with an explosion of pain in his head. He wanted to throw up but all he could manage was retching and moaning, black fireworks going off in his vision, and Fleet forced himself to breathe and wiped blood from his eyes, blinking to clear his head. The Daybreaker still had Colin, somehow managing to hold the man up and throttle him with whatever violence-fueled adrenaline was running through him.

He'd dropped the crowbar, at least, and Fleet slapped more blood from his eyes -- it just kept running down, that punch must have busted his brow somewhere -- and threw himself into motion. Heading towards the dark shape of his crowbar in the grass, swooping it up in his hand and catching a loop of dangling intestine with the hook end, swinging his arm to wrap it around and around as more guts spooled out of the Daybreaker's belly and then stopped. At the end of its tension. Fleet could hear himself panting, keening through his teeth, but he yanked his arm back and the Daybreaker finally dropped to his knees, slithering in the pile of his own entrails, slumping heavily over onto Colin.

Colin Young Colin told himself to just hold on, hold on. He saw Fleet in his peripheral vision and in his state of semi-consciousness, that thread he was pulling seemed endless, going and going for so long. Time seemed to stop. All became sensations. He was hearing his hearbeat in his ears and when he finally hit the ground, the whole was spinning. It took all his strength of will to actually pull the Daybreaker off of him. He remained on the ground for a second. He was coughing and trying to catch his breath. As he regained some of his senses, the first thing that he noticed was the stench of intestines, of blood. It was different than walkers. He also knew that there were high chances that this Daybreaker might turn.

He pulled himself up and stumbled towards Fleet. He put a hand on his shoulder and searched for eye contact. There was no point in asking if he was okay, none of them were. He silently took the crowbar and went back to the corpse. He lifted the crowbar and swung it in the guy’s skull , stumbling forwards on a knee when he did so. He spat some blood and turn around with the crowbar to meet Fleet again. He extended a hand. “ We can’t stay here.” He whispered in a raspy painful voice.

fleet summers Colin managed to get himself free from the weight of the Daybreaker and Fleet watched, half-tuned in and half-out, not wanting to have to enter the fray again. He didn't need to; Colin came over and looked at him, seeing that Fleet was standing and functional, and then he went off to the Daybreaker lying in a huge heap and started swinging. Fleet didn't try to go over there, but as each blow landed things started to come into sharper focus and by the time Colin came back to him, reaching out a hand, Fleet felt rage heating its way up his throat. "Don't you fucking touch this," he spat, reaching out to snatch his crowbar back from Colin, holding it tight to his chest white-knuckled. "Don't ever touch this again, it's mine." The bloody effluvium of it was smearing into Fleet's beard, down his neck, but it didn't matter, just the overwhelming distress at somebody else having used his crowbar. "I killed my father with this. Don't -- nobody else gets to touch this."

Colin Young Now that was a reaction and an answer he did not want to delve into or touch form a mile away. He really was not sure how to approach someone who was piling different traumatic events. Colin lifted his hands to appease Fleet and show that he was not the enemy here. “ I needed to make sure he wasn’t coming back for a second round, it’s all yours, won’t take it again.” He whispered because maybe an explanation would also be what Fleet needed. He had buried the father, taken good care of him for his lest resting place. He stepped closer. “ You killed …but you also saved my life with it … now please, let’s move before another sees us. “ he pleaded.

fleet summers The deathgrip on his crowbar didn't abate, but Fleet watched Colin raise his hands and that meant Colin wasn't going to take it again; he knew logically, somewhere, of course, that Colin had simply taken whatever weapon was at hand to save them both, but. That logic hadn't percolated its way anywhere useful, and the only things Fleet was aware of were the feel of the crowbar in his hand and the blood that was dripping down his face unabated now. "Okay," he said, and realized his voice was coming out strange and juddering because he was shaking from head to toe, and then further realized that it wasn't just the bleeding wetting his face, it was that he was crying. A red haze fuzzed his vision, eyelashes hung heavy with brine and blood, and Fleet felt his knees almost start to give out before he bit down on his tongue to bring himself back, shaking his head hard and dragging his sleeve over his face. "Okay," Fleet said again, still trembly but more sure. "Colin. Yeah. Let's keep moving."

mike bennet "So you ready for this caper, girl?" Mike was chewing a knob of sticky pine sap as gum, grinning down at Drea as they approached the kitchens in the community centre where Fleet and Mayra would be working. "Gotta be sneaky stealthy. You even know where them pots is at?"

Andrea Brandon "As ready as one can be. " It wasn't her first stealing rodeo. "I did some recon , I know exactly where they are. Should be in and out in no time. " she said and started to move away from Mike to not be in any line of sight when he would do his magic. She was aiming to wait by an entrance that would allow her to sneak in without being seen.

mike bennet Mike nodded at Drea and sauntered into the kitchen, hooting loudly and holding his arms out to his sides when he saw the two workers bustling around. "Well if it ain't ice mocha princess and tiny peanut princess! Just the folks I was aiming to find." He sidled to the fridge, opening it and standing in front of the door, picking up one of the carefully portioned paper-wrapped wedges of precious butter. "I got me a hankerin' for some foodstuffs and I wanted to see iffen you'uns would be willin' to help a feller out."

Mayra Rojas Mayra and Fleet were truckin' right along getting the chores done. Mayra, specifically, was getting the pre-cooking chores checked off her list. She was humming along to a song when the doors burst open, Mike sauntering through them with a cocky grin. Mayra rolled her eyes. So far she had managed to void him. Her luck ran out. "Maybe if you actually use my name, I'll see about helping you, huh?"

mike bennet "Didn't nobody tell me your name!" He left the fridge as Fleet came over to it and pointedly started closing the door onto Mike, forcing him out from its chilly area. "Put the butter back," Fleet said sharply, and Mike saluted him before going, "oh, wait," and crouching down to Fleet's height, saluting again. "So what's your name, princess? Of the ice mocha variety, not the lil goober here."

Mayra Rojas "Very convenient someone told you an old nickname but not my name," Mayra groaned as she walked up behind Fleet, her arms folded across her chest. "It's Mayra. And food will be readily available later, as long as there are no distractions. So please." She motioned toward the door, waving him away.

Andrea Brandon In a corner, Drea was waiting for the good moment to sneak in, for now just hanging back in the shadows , she could see that Mayra moved away and behind Fleet. She took this a good sign to make her first moves. With a silent thumb up she disappeared behind a working station , and looked around for her options, mapping a route to follow once she could go for it.

mike bennet Mike saw Drea creeping in and reached out to grab one shoulder each, on Mayra and Fleet both. "Moayra!" Mike said, then again, face screwed up in confusion: "Moira? Myra? Sorry, I didn't take no Heh-span-yole in school, you gonna have to be patient with my bad grammar and all that." He glanced at Fleet. "How bout you, amigo? Or, sorry--" he peered closer at Fleet, who leaned slightly back, "--you, uh … Thai or something? Like one'a them ladyboys, right?"

fleet summers "You've got to be kidding me." Fleet shook off Mike's hand, then slapped his other one off of Mayra. "My name's Fleetwood. Mayra told you the food isn't ready yet. If you need something to eat right away, there's two roasted sweet potatoes in the fridge."

Mayra Rojas "And that's him being generous, 'cause honestly I don't see a reason for you to have anything right now." Mayra folded her arms across her chest, thankful Fleet had moved Mike's hand off of her. Still, she felt an ick shiver run down her back. "Hurry up and grab your shit and get out before you're the reason everyone one else has to wait for food."

Andrea Brandon The firefighter tried not to listen but her ear just picked what Mike was saying and she shook her head. She snuck past the working station towards the back of the kitchen. Thankfully they werent using the bigger pots. She braced herself and took 2 that were piled one on top of the other. Her tongue was a bit out in concentration. She stopped midway when she realized that the pots would make noise when leaving the shelves.

mike bennet Mike noticed Drea freeze, saw the huge pots start to slide in a way that would clank, and he grabbed Mayra around the waist and kissed her, pushing his tongue deep into her mouth. He kept a tight hold of her, making interested sounds into her mouth as Fleet honked indignantly in protest.

Mayra Rojas Mike's actions were too sudden and Mayra's eyes widened when his lips landed on hers. She groaned into his mouth, protesting the kiss while she tried desperately to push away from him.

Andrea Brandon like a bandaid. Rip it off and be done. She took the pots and tiptoed/ ran better than the pink panther towards the exit. Making sure the metal sound of a dumbass running with pots was kept at low and that those two people were a bit hard of hearing. She ducked behind the working station and there her training came handy to continue in squads.

Mayra Rojas Finally Mayra was able to push Mike off her. Immediately she began wiping her mouth, and ran to the sink to spit out any saliva he felt behind. "Asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

mike bennet Smirking, Mike started to say, "Well now ice Mayra princess, I--" before Fleet's elbow smashed into his mouth.

fleet summers Fleet followed up on that without a hitch in his motion, punching Mike in the throat while the bigger, taller man was still reeling, and looked back at Mayra to connect with her for a moment before telling Mike, "Get out. Don't come in here again. We'll set your food outside in the common room from now on and if you don't come collect it during mealtimes, you don't get anything."

Mayra Rojas Mayra's eyes widened for the second time, only this time her hand flew to her mouth witnessing Fleet's elbow connect with Mike's face. When Mike finally left the kitchen, Mayra chuckled. "Damn Fleet, that was kinda hot," she snorted. "Thank you, though. He's such a dickhead."

fleet summers "He's the worst." Fleet glared at Mike's retreating back, then shook his head and his hand a little bit. "God. Let's put that out of our minds. We've still got work to do." He looped his arm around Mayra for a moment, pressing a kiss to her temple, and they went back to what they'd been doing.

Andrea Brandon BOT — 24/03/2024 09:25 waiting with the pots , Drea saw Mike arrive. " There's the star of the show. That went well. Let's get you some ice and get this project started somewhere only we know." She smiled and pumped his shoulder.

mike bennet Mike puffed up, smirking and giving Drea a deep bow for her calling him the star of the show. "I'm good without the ice. Some kissin' on my big hero bruises wouldn't be turned down, though." His smirk widened, though he didn't try anything, just taking the pots from Drea to carry. "We done good and annoyed them lil kitchen bitches in the process. That there was a good day's work."

Renee Brandon -At this point, fuck protocol. The keys rattled in her hands as she unlocked the door and swung it open so she could step in and take Drea in. Holy shit. It was her baby sister- Oh my God, you're alive. -her words came out like a breath before she pulled her sister up into a hug-

Andrea Brandon "Not for long if you keep squeezing me like that" Drea replied gasping. That hug had knocked the air out of her, and while she was still convinced this was a prank, she could not bring herself to let her guard down even more than just putting her arms around Renee's back.

Renee Brandon Renee gave Drea one more squeeze before letting go and holding her at arm's length so she could look at her. Like properly look at her and make sure her eyes were not playing tricks on her. But they weren't. This was Drea. She was alive and in front of her. "I can't believe it's you. You're alive. I'm so happy to see you!"

Andrea Brandon "Yeah, me too. " Drea admitted. She just couldn't really show it. It was all going really fast, and this was again not something expected and she was not really dealing well with the unexpected. "Is there any more of us , so I actually can brace myself or ? "

Renee Brandon "Oliver and Henry too. And Andy." Although that was complicated in and of itself. Something she would explain that in due time. After Drea got settled. "I haven't heard anything from our sis. Have you?"

Andrea Brandon "Andy? …fuck me, how is he capable of surviving? " she joked. "Nah, I did not really have time to contact anyone when shit broke loose, I was called front line. So…yeah. This is just pure luck." she shook her head, still filled with the shock of being in front of her big sister. "So, I guess I will have a Multipass preeeetty soon, right sis? "

Renee Brandon Renee did feel a bit of a twinge of sadness knowing that their other sister might still be out there but to see Drea in front of her was more relieving. At least not everyone was lost. "It's about time there was some luck." Renee laughed a bit as she squeezed her sister's shoulders. "I'll never regret showing you two the Fifth Element. But yeah, I'll see what I can do. Ike might want to do his own questioning but you'll be out of here before you know it…..God, it's really fucking good to see you."

Andrea Brandon "Don't speak too soon, I got here at the worst possible time … like you pissed of some bad crowd Renee, really bad. " she explained. "Well, I'll give you credit on that, you did give me a good pop culture education…that's true. " She cocked an eyebrow. "Ike ? …okay…that's a weird name, not that I'm judging, but I do not picture someone I can take seriously ." she confessed and sighed again. "Yeah…yeah…it's nice to see you too…" she gave in and hugged her again. "But you'll never be as cool as me, miss doctor perfect mom."

Renee Brandon "Yeah….." Renee sighed, her head bobbing in her nod as she thought about the Daybreakers and the problems they were facing. But she smiled and hugged Drea again, laughing at the end. "Maybe not, and yeah, we've got some problems. But that's a whole long story. Once we get this all situated I will tell you everything. But here…" she sat down on the cot and patted the space next to her so Drea could sit down, "why don't you tell me everything that happened after the infection spread. What happened? Where were you?" 21 janvier 2024

Andrea Brandon "As long as you don't add : when you're all grown up , I'm fine waiting for the oh so intriguing story on how you brought the wrath of those guys upon you. " she went and sat down. "Everything…jeeez , pfff….euhm…. well for starters I was in Chicago… aaand woa I don't even know what the last text message I wrote to you was…anyway…so things happened, I got called to help…. and that went south…I spent the first months with my squad…" she paused. Not really willing to tell more just yet. "I lost them, stupid foot made me slip and I got seperated from them…." she rubbed her nose with her finger. "Been roaming alone ever since…was actually coming to trade a firefighter vest for something , when I stumbled on your people…David and Clint …" She slapped Renee's arm. "There's a bike …I swear to god, if someone takes it I'm gonna lose it…A BIKE REN…A BIKE"

Renee Brandon Renee huffed a laugh and leaned back against the wall so she could listen. Drea was right - it had been a while since they spoke. Something else she could feel guilty about. "I knew you went out to Chicago and were becoming a firefighter, but I think that's the last thing I heard." She let Drea go on about her story and she heaved out a sigh. She was happy that things had been pretty quiet for her but damn, her sister had been on her own this whole time? She laughed a bit at Drea's excitement about the bike. "You're probably not going to be able to use it for a bit," she laughed, "remind me to thank David and Clint for bringing you back. But there was no trouble getting here? No crazy groups of people you ran into or anything?"

Andrea Brandon "For a bit? What do you mean ? Don't make me regret agreeing to join this " she made a circle with her finger. "Why thank them ? Their ass could be very cramped in bites and bullets without me ! They did nothing than be bossy macho men …arggg you stay here… actually no come because argg…" she imitated a cavern man. " The grazy group of people is the reason I'm here… cause MY bike and THAT truck were from the guys you have a problem with. "

Renee Brandon "For a bit meaning gas preservation, not to mention the weather. Bigger picture, Drea." Renee laughed under her breath as she watched her sister mocked Clint and David. "You're just missing the Texan twang and the Louisiana drawl and you got them to a t…..but yeah, I know. They still brought you here instead of leaving you out there. Not that I think they would have, but considering the crazy group, as you called them, they could have been extra suspicious, so I'm glad they weren't. It's good you're here and not out there, Drea. Those people…..they're dangerous."

Andrea Brandon "Who cares about that Renee, I'll get my own gas " she rolled her eyes. "Yeah well, I invited myself, that's the official story. The older guy is cute tho I'll give you that. " she admitted. "You know I've had some trades with them right ? You think they're dangerous , they probably think the same about you…takes always two sides to start a war you know. "

Renee Brandon Renee laughed softly and shook her head. "That's not exactly how things work, Drea." But that was another conversation. After they debriefed her and everything. But the amusement dropped from her face for a moment. "Drea, they captured and beat up two of our guys. They lured them in with a kid that they wounded. They're not good people."

Andrea Brandon Andrea nodded. "That's survival , Renee. It's not really personal. Tho I'm not saying some do not enjoy it than others. It's really an old bait trick. Really, it is what it is. You were just lucky enough up until this very moment. But shall this place fall, just run, don't try to like get me out of the cell or some shit like that. "

Renee Brandon Renee shook her head. "After just now getting you back? No, ma'am. I'm not leaving you again." Renee side hugged her sister. "I'm gonna talk to the rest of the Council about expediting your approval. You gonna be good for a bit?"

Andrea Brandon "David guy promised me food, still waiting on that, but I'll be alright. " she stated. "Go bail me out … like the good old days…" she joked…not joked since Renee had paid more than enough to get her out of jail time more than once when she was a teenage.

Renee Brandon Renee laughed under her breath. "I'll go tell David to hurry up with that while I bail you out. At least this time it's not because you're in trouble." Renee stood up and pulled Drea into one more hug. "I'm so happy you're here."