Ashes

[Deleted User - 819397]

The case was about to be blown wide open…Caitlyn had recovered conclusive proof that the main suspect had indeed committed the robbery, a fingerprint lifted from the inside of the victim's home, that somehow had been left despite the gloves the crook had clearly worn. Whether he'd made the mistake of taking one off to scratch his nose and had put his hand down on that table or for some other purpose, he'd messed up. The table hadn't been in the same room as the safe, nor on his path to and from the back door, so no one had bothered to check it…no one except her, anyway. Now she was hurrying along the corridor to tell her superior that yet another case had been solved. Just a little farther, and…

Without warning, the right side of the wall exploded, throwing the investigator to the ground, a fragment of the building striking her in her right temple. A yelp and a curse flew from her mouth as she struggled to rise, her ribs sore from the unexpected encounter with the ground. She wasn't sure if her head was pierced or not…it hurt like none other, regardless. She was halfway up when her legs became tangled in something and she fell down again. Looking down, she discovered a bike chain tangled up in her legs. How had that gotten there? It only took a moment for her quick wit to bring the fact she was in a dream to light. Unconscious as she was, she couldn't remember the circumstances behind her being asleep, but she was somewhat sure it wasn't her going to bed…typically she woke up the instant it was decided she was in a dream. No, she had to have been forcibly knocked out…but by what? She tried to piece together her dream's physical state…severe pain in her right temple, caused not by a headache but trauma…sore torso, and a bike chain around her legs…she must have fallen, but surely that would not account for the amount of pain that her dream state felt? The bike chain…she must have been outside the bunker…so the attack was likely not from someone she lived with. Couldn't be marauders or bandits or she'd be dead, or at least there'd be clear gunshot or stab wounds. It had to have been…ghouls. As she thought this, she could feel herself beginning to wake up…apparently her subconscious had wanted her to solve the most important case of all…why she'd been knocked out, before it would allow her conscious to wake up…most peculiar…her last thought in her dream was that this was the first time she'd been knocked out...if this situation persisted every time she was forcibly removed from a conscious state, and it should be a truly unusual happening…she'd be unconscious for a good while…

As Caitlyn returned to consciousness, she became aware of the very real pain in her head and torso. Full details of what had happened flooded her mind against the searing pain in her head…she thought it possible she had a concussion if this level of pain was anything to judge by. Fantastic, she'd have to stay awake for a while…and if there was one thing she'd decided since the bombs fell, dreams were better than reality. She prepared to open her eyes when she felt someone was removing the bike chain from around her legs. Preparing to have to deal with Finn, for that was who Mouse had been calling before she'd fallen unconscious, she blearily added sight to the senses she was ready to experience again, wincing as her eyes met the light, a fresh stab of pain shooting through her head. She was in the medical bay, that was clear…the incompetent intern-turned-doctor was undoubtably hanging around, though he likely wouldn't be able to assist her much. Looking down, it became clear it was not Finn removing the bike chain, but rather Max. She hadn't had a ton of contact with the practically self-appointed chief engineer, knowing only that he was a business driven individual like herself, and he prided himself to a somewhat silly degree about how well he'd maintained his bulging muscles since the attack, rather unlike herself. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again quickly as it only worsened the pain in her skull. After a couple seconds of coping with the extra discomfort she forced herself to fight through the pain to ask, "Did the others fare better than me? Also, do you have any pain relievers? My head feels like it's going to split in two."

 

[DeletedUser31931]

(OOC: That's a bit unfair, that's not the only thing he's proud of, he's also proud of keeping the Bunker supplied with electricity and having almost all of the machines (pretty much) still working.)
Caitlyn was awake now it seemed, as Max sat there and removed the chain, and unsurprisingly for someone with a head injury, she was feeling quite hurt. "Donald, do we have any Aspirin left? If so Caitlyn could probably do with one." Max said as he continued to unwrap the bike chain. At least the fact that she was awake was a good thing, she probably therefore hadn't suffered any serious damage to her head, and from experience, her legs didn't look broken and neither did her arms. She'd most likely be fine with a good couple of nights sleep.

 

[DeletedUser13682]

He had done it. Somehow the circumstances surrounding this incident had allowed Patrick to make it another day at the bunker. He had successfully defended himself and managed to slay the ghoul chasing him. Shortly after, Mickey arrived to retrieve his arrow and ensure Patrick was fine. “I don’t think I’m hurt. Shouldn’t have been bit,” Patrick said, while retrieving his knife from the ghoul’s eye; its lack of progress suddenly changed, causing Patrick to nearly tumble backwards. “I’ll just be a moment; I have to find my sword.” Patrick searched near the area where he fell, finding the sword a few metres from where he fell. Both his sword and knife were covered in blood. They’d have to be cleaned properly before being put away. After Patrick had found his sword, Mickey asked if he was ready to head back inside. “Yeah, let’s go,” Patrick replied, his body suddenly noticing the cold, and his mind reminding him that he left his coat back at the greenhouse. He’d have to get it later. As Patrick headed back inside with Mickey, he called back to Finn and his crew who were just arriving at the scene. “I’ll come back out to help the cleanup when I get these things cleaned off, yeah?” waving the bloodied weapons for emphasis. Patrick turned back towards Mickey, and spoke again. “Glad you made it back Mickey. And with great timing. So, what’s the news for the colonel, or is it one of those top secret things?”

 

[DeletedUser]

“Now James, you are no idiot. So, don’t even think that.” Clara looked up from her pillow, which was already drenched with her tears. “It’s just that all this reminded me of losing my husband and child. All the people I care about die.” Clara started to get emotional again. “And..and..and… it should have been me that died…not them.” The seamstress had never forgiven herself for not being with her family on that fateful day. If she had been with them, they would all have still been together. Dead…but together. Poor Clara struggled with this issue. Not wanting to care about anyone else, so it wouldn’t hurt if they too died. And yet, at the same time, she expected everyone she cared about, to die too. All the while, wishing it was she herself that died. She didn’t want to care, but inside, underneath all her grief, she really did care about people. “Is Caitlyn going to be ok? What were those awful creatures?” All of a sudden Clara thought about the vegetables. “Oh! I need to go get the basket, and finish getting the vegetables. Sally will need them for dinner.”

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"Yes we should have...if I can remember where I left them" the greying former vet stated; looking about the make shift medical bay before rushing over to a corner to search through a couple of cardboard boxes. A sudden cry of victory signalling the mans success as he tips out one of the few remaining aspirin's into Caitlyn's hand followed by some water in a semi-clean coffee cup.
As Caitlyn took the old and most likely useless pain killer, Donald made a quick examination of the side of her head before then flashing a light across her eyes "you should be fine, no need to have you put down yet" he said laughing at his own joke before returning to the medical text he'd been reading and quietly missing a time when his patients could only respond by wagging their tails.

The young man seemed reluctant to speak as he continuously looked over his shoulder as if in search of something or someone but eventually replied to Patrick in a grave voice "The kind of news that changes your life" he said thinking back on the things that he had and hadn't found within the city.
They had barely set foot into the main corridor when Mickey was accosted by Mouse; the girl throwing her arms about the young man as she babbled excitedly in Spanish "...Patrick you're ok too!" she said upon seeing the other man happy to see him even if she didn't give him a hug "say Mouse is the Colonel in his office?"
"El coronel? sí que está en su oficina" the girl replied finding Mickey's grave and almost business like manner somehow disturbing. Without saying another word he then rushes off no doubt to impart the bad news he'd come bearing.

Listening to the weeping woman’s words, it was clear even to James that there was more to her current state of mind than what had just happened and had he been a psychologist or even someone more used to dealing with these sort of situations he may have explored these feelings in an attempt to banish them entirely. But he wasn't, James was a musician, a guitar player in a blues rock band who'd grown up in the rough end of Ireland and used drink and drugs to deal with his problems and so settled for trying to make her stop crying " Now come on Clara even I know I ain't the brightest tool in the shed" he said with a broad smile and an even broader accent as he sat on the bed beside her "...and you shouldn't go blaming yourself darling, your not a bad person and neither you or your family deserved to die it just...happens" he finished rather lamely yeah great start James ol' buddy shame about the ending...maybe you should have stuck what your good at and tried to get in her pants you brainless oaf! "Sorry babyluv I am not very good at this...but I meant what I said; your not a bad person and you don't deserve to die because trust me I am a lot higher on his naughty list than you are and I ain't planning on going anywhere" oh yes because you've been a real bad boy all those people you've hurt, all those hearts you've broken you're a very bad boy James Patrick O'Reilly and you're going to roast for it just like your ol' ma said you would. He quietly hoped that wouldn't be the case but even he had to admit that his mind was right, he had done a lot of bad things and yet it was this poor woman that was blaming herself for the sins of the world whilst he continued to sleep like a babe.
Gratefully taking the sudden shift in conversation James couldn't help but smile in relief as he relay what he knew "Scull-I mean Caitlyn is with Donald so it could go either way" he said hoping that the joke would cheer her up a little "...and those things were ghouls, zombies, Dead ones...They've got a lot of names but Finn and the others have seen them off...oh and don't worry about the veg, its on the table waiting for you" he said pointing over his shoulder in the tables general direction, he'd never make a counsellor but if nothing else James could be helpful when he wanted to be "Well...I'll leave you to your veg, though you could always pop down and see Caitlyn, I am sure Sally wouldn't mind waiting" the Irishman suggested as he got up to leave, knowing that the others would need help burying the bodies. Someone needed to do the dirty work so it may as well be him.

"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I am sure...its them...they're back"
"You know we can't stay, not now, we barely survived last time they were here and now...now we wouldn't stand a chance"
"What do you want me to tell them?"
"Tell them nothing...I need to speak with Jim and Mark...then I'll make the announcement"

 

[DeletedUser13682]

Mickey was not very forthcoming, not forthcoming at all, with what information he had gathered. It was that serious, then. Patrick began to worry about what the news meant for the group. Were they going to die soon, one of the last civilized remnants of humanity, wiped out for an unstoppable reason. It was tragic, really. They entered the bunker, and started down towards the hallway to the Colonel’s office. Mickey seemed broody and not very receptive to talking, once the epinephrine settled down, Patrick wasn’t feeling like talking either. He wanted to rest, clean his weapons off, and figure out how to better protect himself from the zed. If it hadn’t been for Mickey… well Patrick didn’t want to think about it.

Shortly before getting to the Colonel’s office, Mickey was nearly tackled by Mouse in her eagerness to give Mickey a hug on his successful return from his scouting mission. Almost as an afterthought, she acknowledged that Patrick was also alright. Mickey asked, very grave like, whether the Colonel was in his office. After Mouse responded in her Spanish, Mickey silently left. “Something’s eating him up, Mouse,” Patrick commented, watching Mickey’s sullen form slink away. “He found out something really bad. Not sure what. Everyone else made it back, right? No injuries?”

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

(I never said he wasn't, I actually said "he was a business driven individual"...I just also mentioned the bodybuilding)

Caitlyn took the aspirin with a quiet word of thanks, hoping that the pill would at least help a little...the pain was making her eyes water...definitely her worst headache ever. She hesitated for a moment as the doctor proceeded to return to his book, then slowly stood, wincing as the elevation change triggered a spike of pain in her head. "Well, since I can't sleep for a bit I should probably try to make myself useful...I'll stop by the kitchens or something...thanks again for helping me, Max...I do appreciate it...I'd rather not be dead, you know?" With that, she started moving, slowly, towards the door, attempting to limit her head's movement, and by extension the throbbing.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Max finished unwrapping the bike chain as Caitlyn took the pill and he stood up and helped her stand up. As she made off for the door, deciding to be helpful due to her inability to sleep, he nodded and said "Just... take things slowly, yeah? Go help Sally in the kitchens or something." As she turned round and thanked him, he went a little flushed, he'd never been a hit with the ladies, and he supposed that'd been half the point of the body-building, in order to try and make himself look a bit more 'attractive' so to speak. "I'll... uh.... go fix the windmill.... You know, gotta keep the bunker supplied!" He came out with, it sounding weak and fable. "Anyway, it was my pleasure and I was glad to help you." At this point he realised he was gabbling and so he said "If you see JP, can you send him towards the windmill please." And with that he left with his tongue wrapped around his mouth and his tail between his legs, cursing how stupid he'd made himself look. The detective was nice, in another life he might even say that he fancied her, but as if she'd ever think of him as anything other than the engineer... He was a complete fool sometimes, and he feared that he'd only just worsened the tiny chance he'd had to begin with.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"Malo?...No entiendo..." Mouse said in confused Spanish as she watched Mickey hurriedly disappear wondering if she had done something to upset him. However these thoughts were very short lived and quickly banished by Patrick asking whether the others were ok "Si most of us are alright, Caitlyn she fell and...daño a la cabeza..." the girl patting the side of her head as her English failed her hoping that he would get the gist of what she was saying "...I am going to go and see her, Do you want to come?" Donald was a pretty easy going guy and so wouldn't mind his office being swamped with visitors and Mouse really did want to see if Caitlyn was ok after all it had been her that had brought the ghouls after them even if unintentionally.

Mickey departed the Colonel's office hurriedly and went down the corridor at a pace only slightly slower than a run. It hadn't taken long for a decision to be reached concerning their future although he wasn't sure exactly what that was only that they had to act quickly.
He'd already found Jim and told him to go and see the Colonel and JP said he'd send Mark down; the former lumberjack having almost ran into him on his way back up to the windmill which meant that only one more person on the list was required.
Entering the kitchen he gives Sally a single in greeting before turning to address Nelx "Nelx, the Colonel wants to see you...Now"

The ground was like concrete and had been for quite some time and so using his initiative Finn had had the bodies dragged into a nearby car park and buried under a pile of litter forming a makeshift funeral pyre “You sure this is going to work Finn?”
“Of course it’ll work…it worked last time we did it didn’t it?” the Irishman replied with a wolfish grin remembering the look on the mans face as he’d killed him that taught him to tell tales behind my back he thought with a grin before proceeding to produce a Zippo lighter and a wedge old newspaper.
With the alight he thrust it deep into the pyre and waited for it to catch hold before turning and heading back for the bunker “Tell me Finn…why do you let those mugs boss you around? Why don’t we just slot them and be done with it?”
“Because Silas ol’ buddy they’re useful and even without his damn Para’s the Colonel would have little trouble with kicking us out into the cold…those of us that survived anyway…but don’t worry things will change and when they do…”

 

[Apelatia]

Feeling utterly rejected and useless, Nelx had slumped to the floor in the corridor just outside the kitchens, in which Sally and her helpers were busy working. The mean, old lady had brushed off Nelx's honest attempt to be useful in the bunker. Looking back at her time here, she really wasn't sure how she's survived. Her previous life had involved managing bank account transactions and overseeing the running of a leisure centre, both of which she had enjoyed thoroughly, and had attacked with a determination that she knew those under her had admired. Now though... Now she was a nobody in a bunker put in place as a shelter for those that had survived the winter blizzard... Nelx spent the next few minutes grumbling to herself, in which time she heard the guard outside calling frantically for Finnegan, someone that she was certainly not overly fond of... The man was dangerous, that much she knew, and she also hoped that he considered her a threat, as she had made it very clear over the years that she was not someone to be played or toyed with. Her latest slip hadn't ended happily, and she feared that perhaps she had pushed slightly above her weight, something of which she was fearful. She had heard strange, outlandish stories about Finnegan's past actions, and though she didn't entirely believe their credibility, there still remained with her a slight feeling of unease towards him...

It was as she pondered her situation, looking utterly miserable sat slouched against the wall, that Mickey appeared, informing her that the Colonel wanted to see her. In her usual tone, she spoke, "The Colonel wants to see Nelx does he?" Sighing, she pushed herself bolt upright, before assuming a serious expression. "Sooo Mickey, to the Colonel we go. ...and just where have you been these past few days my deaar friend?" Nelx waited for Mickey's response, if one was incoming, before announcing in an almost commander-like tone, "Let us delay no longer! To the office I go!" Following this, Nelx set off at a jog in the direction of the office, the intense, purposeful facial expression that she wore being enough to make any weak man cringe before her.

 

[DeletedUser]

"Yes, I think I will go see her James." The seamstress grabbed the basket of veggies, and walked the short distance to Caitlyn's bunk, and as she started to scratch at the partition, she heard Caitlyn talking. And...there was someone else in there with her. Clara certainly didn't want the interrupt. Privacy was something that everyone valued, and tried to respect. She hastily turned around, and headed toward the kitchen. Sally was waiting for the veggies anyway, and she had wasted enough time already. Clara made it quickly to the kitchen area, passing Nexl on the way, and turned in the prized vegetables to Sally. "We went through an awful lot to get this Sally. It's looking kind of tough now though. Hopefully you will be able to salvage some of it."

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"In London trying very hard not to get shot and eaten" Mickey replied simply to Nelx's enquiry not wanting to reveal the exact nature of his unusually long trip into the city preferring to let the Colonel impart the information should he see fit to do so. It was strange he'd never had any military leanings before the fall and often resisted anything he felt to be an order and yet here he was a cog in a military machine; taking, following and occasionally giving orders without even thinking about it. It was strange the things you would do in order to survive.
Arriving at the office door he knocks upon the wood before entering; holding the door open for Nelx to enter before closing in it behind an imperceptible nod of the Colonel's head signalling that he could remain "Nelx its good to see you again, make yourself comfortable" the Colonel said with an entirely fake smile as he tried to put on a show for the young woman; the other two soldiers making no such effort as they gravely studied the walls or their boots in an effort not to look at her "Nelx as you know Mickey's been out on a raid these past three days what you do not know is that he was searching for a rather important part for our water purification system a part he did not find meaning that within a day or so we'll have no clean water" and highly radioactive those were the words he didn’t say but all within the room knew to be true. Their water came from the reservoir via a series of underground pipes before being fed through a high grade purification system without which they would all have become very sick a long time ago "To make matters worse Mickey believes that..."
"No I am certain! its them they're back!" the young man interrupted hotly earning him a withering look from the Colonel before carrying on as if nothing had happened "...he believes that a group known as the Pale Ones have returned to the area which if he is as right as he says he is we are all in mortal danger...in short everyone needs to leave the bunker now and we want you Nelx to lead them...any questions?"

"Oh I am sure they'll be just fine Clara" Sally replied warmly as she took the proffered basket and carried it over to a counter top for preparation. Meanwhile the smell of warm bread could be smelt coming from one of the few remaining ovens promising an appetising meal if nothing else "So how are you Clara, you're not feeling down or anything are you?" Sally asked with genuine concern, she knew about the poor woman's family and how it affected her if not exactly how badly it affected her "If you like you can give me a hand, Nelx said she wanted to help but disappeared after I got a little sharp with her, I think she means well but her attitude is just awful" she finished with sad shaking of her head. The girl would learn eventually...if she was lucky.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

(OOC: My last post before Regal takes over)

Max stalked off, slightly irritated at how awkward he'd been leaving the infirmary. "Stop whining Ossam!" He muttered under his breath as he entered the engineering control room. Mark was nowhere to be seen but that wasn't too unusual, he'd probably gone to report on progress to the Colonel . He had disconnected the crankshaft remotely, if the wind picked up now the windmill would just be spinning which was nice. Max headed back over to where the windmill was and looked at his tool belt, still lying on the ground where they'd left it. He grabbed a screwdriver out of it, putting the hammer away, and climbed up the tower. About five minutes later he'd pulled out the drive belt, untangled it and put it back in, at least the fail-safes had kicked in and it'd stopped rather than ruining the machinery, that would have been much harder to fix. Grinning to himself he replaced it and checked that it was sliding ok, it'd probably be worth installing something to make sure that it stayed straight, some sort of presser to keep the drive belt in position to make sure that didn't happen again, but how to do that without affecting the performance? That was an issue for another time he decided as he climbed down. He'd figure out a solution another day, for now it was time to go find Mark and tell him it was done, but not before he'd reconnected the crank shaft. Making his way quickly through the base he entered the control room and remotely reconnected the crank shaft, the windmill would now be powering them again. He headed back out in search of Mark and so began to head towards the Colonel's office.

 

[DeletedUser]

Clara sighed, and said "Aye, Sally, you are knowing me too well. It wasn't a great day to start, but with all the goings on, that dark cloud is hanging right over my head. But, if ye don't mind, I am thinking that just getting busy would be better than talking about it right now. Put me to work, and maybe then the dark will go away for a while?" Clara looked imploringly at Sally, as tears filled her eyes again, and started wringing her hands. "I'd like to help, and what shall I do first?"

 

[DeletedUser13682]

Patrick listened patiently as Mouse explained what had happened to Caitlyn. She had something or other, the Spanish didn’t translate well to Latin. Maybe something about her head. Maybe she had gotten a concussion. That wouldn’t have been good at all. Probably a concussion. Patrick’s cousin, Joseph, had a high risk for concussion, being a rugby player and all, and had talked all about how he was fine a couple days after receiving a nasty head injury during practice. Having read up on the literature the doctor had handed Joseph, he knew Caitlyn would be out for a week or so, though maybe she could get back up sooner with Panadol, though Patrick doubted they had any.

Patrick followed Mouse to where Caitlyn was, located within Donald’s practice. The former vet was good, a quick study, though Patrick still worried he’d accidentally confuse a cure for a dog ailment for a human rated cure. Still, Patrick trusted the guy enough to go to him whenever he got injured. As he entered the office, he saw Donald reading a medical text, and Caitlyn trying to get out the door. “You shouldn’t be trying to get up now, Caitlyn,” A concerned Patrick said. “You’ve just received a head injury, right? You’ll be out for a week, about, if that old literature is right. I’ll help you back. Still, I’m glad everyone made it back.” Patrick realized he had both his weapons in his left hand, still covered in rotted human. “Donald, you got a basin I can wash these in? Must have forgot about them. Hopefully they haven’t corroded. Shouldn’t though.”

 

[Apelatia]

"Oh reaally? Shot and eaten by who exactly?" Nelx forced out as she jogged towards the Colonel's office. Upon arriving, she nodded curtly to the young man before strolling into the office that she had stood inside less than half an hour earlier. Taking up a position opposite his desk, she stood upright, awaiting whatever orders he was going to give her. Nelx smiled back at him when he greeted her, though her teeth made the smile appear more like a disconcerting grimance. As soon as it had appeared, her smile disappeared, and soon her mouth lay gaping open like that of a goldfish as the Colonel first described the true purpose of Mickey's mission, and then delivered the deathblow that the water purification system was completely unfixable without the particular part that Mickey had been looking for. That made for...water that would do more harm than good for the residents of the bunker, and would likely result in their imminent deaths... Having had to deal with the occasional chemical leak in her time at the pool, she knew how problematic the situation at hand was...

The Colonel, with frequent interjections from Mickey, went on to describe how the young man had also discovered that a group know as the 'Pale Ones' had returned to the area... Nelx hadn't heard of the faction before, and their name would have sounded almost laughable back when the world was...normal. But now...now, rogue humans doing unpredictable things was exactly what they didn't need. Nelx's shock when it was announced that she would lead the remaining people in the bunker stirred within her a sense of excitement and duty that she had long thought gone. "It would be my honour as a survivor of the eternal dark to lead the group to safety Sir!" She announced, dropping her usual sarcastic tone temporarily. As he asked if she had any questions, two immediately came to mind. "Sir, when do we leave, and...where, oh where shall I lead the survivors?" Once her questions had been answered, Nelx paused to think, when suddenly the true meaning of what the Colonel had spoken dawned upon her... "Colonel, won't we have the pleasure of your joyful company on this...excursion?"

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Max was acting fairly weird, that was for certain…Caitlyn wanted to give more thought to this, but her pounding head forced her to reconsider…she couldn't concentrate long enough to postulate. In fact, she'd barely made it to the door of the sick bay when Patrick walked in and proceeded to admonish her for her attempt to walk around. Gritting her teeth against the throbbing that pulsed through her skull with every syllable, she grunted, "I can't sleep with a recent head injury either…laying around for me means I'll be falling asleep before too long, and I can't. Therefore, I might as well make myself useful." In a somewhat softer tone, she added, "Glad to see the ghouls didn't get you…now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the kitchens…maybe the aromas will help the pain." She wasn't sure if she really believed that, but she had to rationalize it…Patrick had questioned her on something she considered rather trivial and she wasn't going to just let that go.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

“Don’t get too full of yourself girl, there were half a dozen people I had in front of you”
“That’ll do Sergeant, your concerns were noted” the Colonel said cutting off any further complaint from Sergeant Harrigan; the former Royal engineer reacting badly to girls apparent enthusiasm for the task at hand along with a general dislike for the girl who seemed to never fail at rubbing him up the wrong way “In answer to your question’s Nelx; you all need to leave as soon as possible; tonight preferably tomorrow morning if not and no I will not be accompanying you” the Colonel pauses to take a breath steeling himself to reveal the unwanted truth he’d kept hidden for so long “I am dying Nelx; have been for quite some time and neither myself or Jim here wish to risk your lives by slowing you down and so will stop behind and act as a rearguard along with sergeant Harrigan here, who was remarkably insistent and vocal about remaining with us” he said scowling at the man in question and receiving only a broad smile in reply making it clear that there was no ill feelings between the pair and that it wasn’t the first time that this sort of thing had occurred “As for where you go…there was a rumour…” again the Colonel pauses however this wasn’t the dreaded pause that preceded bad news but something different entirely.
There had been a lot of rumours in the early days; stories and gossip passed around the groups of survivors as they traded what few precious resources they had between themselves. Most had been total rubbish, the stories so warped that any grain of truth that they had once possessed were long since lost; edited out by a thousand mouths as they exaggerated and altered the tale to their own tastes. But not this one, this one was different, perhaps it was just wishful thinking on his part but he didn’t think so, hoped it wasn’t so “about three years ago a Royal marine and his young wife stopped with us for a few days whilst she recovered from a fever; he’d been fighting down south with his unit up until his CO realising that all was lost had disbanded the regiment and let them all go their separate ways. Anyway he told me of a rumour he’d heard of about a place that had been set up by the military; a little piece of civilisation he’d called it. A place by the name of Fort Windsor; rumour had it that one of the royals had been involved in setting up or something but anyway this guy reckoned it had been set up on an RAF base…either Brize or Wyton wasn’t sure which, but without anywhere better to suggest it’s as good a place as any to go to” Had they been capable of going he would have led them there himself but there had been far too many people either too sick or too young to make the journey and so staying within the bunker had been the more practical option. However with the filtration system now broken and the Pale ones back on the scene it seemed like a better prospect that blindly searching the badlands for a place to call home.

Despite Mark’s disappearance mid-job, an odd thing in itself, Max had little problems in fixing the windmill with the aid of JP. As he fastened the last piece back into place he could see Finn and his crew appearing from out of the fog like a band of outlaws from some bygone age or possibly more accurately a Mad Max film considering the amount of worn denim and leather they sported; stained with a plethora of bodily fluids and assorted muck.
In the distance a plume of greasy black smoke could be seen rising from the general direction of the car park built at the parks edge giving him no illusions about what they had been doing.
Throwing the former bodybuilder and his lumberjack assistant a mock salute as he passed, Finn headed straight into the bunker without uttering a word leaving the pair to their work “That guy is in need of a good smack to the head if you ask me” JP grumbled with a shake of his head, safe in the knowledge that he wasn’t alone in his dislike of the man.
From upon his perch in the windmill Max would be just about capable of catching a glimpse of two dark clad figures lurking within the fog; the hoods of their sweatshirts pulled down low over their faces as they crouched seemingly watching as Finn and his crew entered the bunker before disappearing like ghosts leaving no trace that they had ever been there at all. If they had ever been there that is.

“Oh sweety come here” Sally said putting her arms about Clara; gently stroking the tearstained woman’s hair as she made soothing sounds “it’ll get better I promise you it will” she said almost as much for her own benefit as for Clara’s.
After a few minutes of this she eventually breaks away before delivering her instructions in calm friendly voice “now the girls have already made the bread, but I’ve got some veg prep you can do and then after that you can help me sort out the pantry” she’d been putting that particular job off for quite some time now; the shelves were getting emptier every time she went in there which was more than a little depressing “Now before you get started would you like a cup of tea? There may even be a couple of biscuits around assuming the girls haven’t found them” no matter where she hid them the little rascals always managed to find them and once they had found them they didn’t last very long at all.

“A basin?” Donald asked in a confused voice as he looked up from his book, a look of horror appearing on his face upon seeing the bloodstained weapons “Oh my no…but there’s one in the gents across the hall” he supplied helpfully, though he wasn’t entirely sure whether the taps still worked in that particular room, Max tried his best but he could only be in one place at a time and considering how old this place was it was a miracle that he’d managed to keep it running this long “…and you really shouldn’t be walking around yet young lady” he called over to Caitlyn as he caught sight of her heading for the door “…at least wait until the paracetamol has kicked in, Sally will give me hell if you collapse in her kitchen” the look on his face making unclear whether he was more concerned about Caitlyn’s well being or getting in trouble with his wife.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

As he climbed down the ladder he looked back and saw the smoke rising as Finn and the others disposed of the bodies. Max tried to not think about that aspect of things too hard, he would kill the Ghouls in self defence, but that wasn't to say that he enjoyed it. As his little group of cronies entered the base and saluted, Max did not react, instead coolly watching them walk past. As JP gave comment he nodded and said "They have their uses though, and the last thing we need is a fight on our hands. I wouldn't put it past him though to have some delusions of grandeur in that thick skull of his, he wouldn't mind running this joint and I for one am not keen to let that happen." As he finished talking he scanned the horizon again, just instinctive, a reflex that he had developed over the past five years. As he saw the two figures he stopped and squinted. They were covered from head to toe, he could not see any sign of humanity, merely their sweatshirts. As soon as he had seen them they melted back into the shadows from whence they had come, and now that he was satisfied that they had gone he finished scanning the horizon. If there were others out there then that could be either good or bad. They could be survivors looking for a place to stay, unsure of the safety of the Bunker, or they could be bandits. Either way best mention it to Mark who'd pass it on to the Colonel, if there were others here then those two would need to know. With those thoughts in mind, he left JP and (as mentioned in the previous post) began to make his way towards the Colonel's office.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Caitlyn scowled as Donald told her she wasn't supposed to be moving around yet. "I can't sleep, right? So I may as well make myself useful, and I can't think of many things a concussed person can do aside from help with the evening meal, as that won't move their head around much. If I collapse it'll be my own fault, but I'll be damned if I just sit around with nothing to distract me from my pounding head!" Unfortunately, her rising voice only worsened said headache, and she cursed again. "I'm sorry…that was uncalled for…head trauma and all, temper's a bit off-kilter. I promise I'll sit down if I feel like I'm about to pass out again, ok?" She hoped he'd let her go…she wanted to be involved with something menial, so that she could completely disconnect from the world and her throbbing skull.