starter blog

One of the nice things about Fairvale was it’s consistency. Except for the guards, runners, and medical staff, everyone kind of ran on similar schedules. It made prepping food at Common Grounds pretty easy. There was the breakfast assortment that would be gone just after noon, at which time people started looking for whatever sandwiches or other light meals that could be provided. When dinner rolled around, most people were at home or Hard Times Tavern so there wasn’t much prep put in there except for the few stragglers who came in for coffee at night.

That’s why he was surprised to hear the little bell above the door jingle as someone walked in. Even for stragglers, it wasn’t really the kind of time to expect anyone, somehow too early and too late at the same time.

Oliver set down the plastic tub he’d been using to carry the assortment of newly cleaned mugs on the back counter and turned around.

“Hey,” he said. “This isn’t your usual time.”

         “You’re fucking kidding me,” she muttered under her breath. Her voice was paired with an exhausted sigh as she approached what was going to be her place of work for as long as she stayed. “Please tell me that this is some kind of joke and the actual barn is somewhere else in town rather than it being this,” she spoke with a wave of her hand at the mess of tools and supplies that were strewn about everywhere. It looked as if it had been raided and everything thrown back down wherever they wanted to leave their things. There was no order or organization which meant that her duties only grew about ten-fold. This is what you get for not telling the whole truth, she scolded herself, but knowing that she was far from ready to be in the midst of medical and patch others up. “How does anyone get anything done here?” 

This was simply a reminder of why it had been so long since she’d slept so good. When she wasn’t simply taking naps to get her through, when she was able to fall into a deeper sleep, her dreams were simply nightmares. Ones filled with dead faces of those she loved, those she lost, ones who left her behind. Sitting on a bench under the moonlight there was a warm Georgia breeze that whipped around her. Hadley tilted her head back and sighed. At least it was peaceful, quiet. In a good way. Fairvale was nice but being around so many people, ones that weren’t trying to kill her, was still a bit much for the blonde. And alas, the serenity couldn’t last for too long. Hearing someone address her, or what she assumed was her, Hads turned to face them. “Hmm”, she inquired. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

one of them was scheduled to be there during ‘regular office hours’ at all times; usually there were a few of them, making decisions, plans, trying to create what they could of a town. but today it was merely stella left; the rest had gone for the day, and she was on her own. 

technically, anyone could come into the ‘headquarters’ at any time, but stella liked to hold special office hours - for anyone who needed to talk, alone, to someone about…anything. gossip, secrets, unload their burden onto someone else…she’d heard her fair share of just about everything in the months since she’d taken up her post. 

“what brings you in today,” she greeted as she turned to see them, a gentle smile on her face, “or are you just trying to beat the heat outside?” 

where: common grounds

when: early morning, monday the 15th of june 2020

too many people…there were too many people for being so early in the morning and holly was in no way equipped to deal with it. arms wrapped defensively around herself as she stood in line waiting to be served and trying to convince herself in no uncertain terms that being at work was better than hiding away under the covers in her bed, she gnawed at her bottom lip as she glanced around.

where: hard times

when: whenever

after every successful supply run (successful meaning she came back through the gates of fairvale relatively uninjured or simply that she came back at all) colette usually liked to spend a little of her hard earned tokens drowning her sorrows celebrating the win. 

on the road booze had been in short supply, and the few times mateo and her had stumbled upon a little treasure trove she hadn’t wanted to let her guard down too much to indulge all that much well aware that out in the open keeping her wits about her was the number one priority.

now though, safe behind high walls, now she could let go.

drink in hand she slid into the first open stool she came across, grinning at the person next to her. “you gonna sit here moping all night or do you wanna have a little fun instead?”

‘ fuck, ’ he mutters under his breath after the first swig. ‘ people actually drink this shit? ’ it’s not that he’s not aware of the other’s gaze on him, but he doesn’t blame them for staring. he’s sure he must be a real sight right now, lounging on the grass with half of his tank top stained with the reddish brown of dried blood. there’s a long gash along his upper arm from where he’d gotten caught in a chain link fence during that morning’s supply run, but his tetanus booster is up to date—death by rusty metal would be such an uncool way to die—and he’s gotten roughed up enough times to know when an injury looks worse than it actually is. 

There was a clang of metal against metal followed by a frustrated stream of curses coming out from beneath the hood of a car, Javi hunched over it. Since arriving at Fairvale only a couple months prior he’d finally gotten the chance to throw himself back into some more familiar work, something far more easing of the mind than a battle against the zombie hordes beyond these protective walls. Or, as he’d come to know far more intimately than he would have liked, the even worse enemy that could be other survivors in this world.

At the flicker of movement in his peripheral vision Javier’s eyes shift in the other’s direction, trying to ignore the flush of adrenaline in his veins at even the notion of someone sneaking up on him - even though he was rather certain they hadn’t intended to. Fairvale…it was safe. These people were good. He wished he just didn’t have to keep reminding himself of it.