UrbanDead: Second Chances

[Shark Bait]

Mike looked around the group then back up to the roof. "Well, we've all got rifles, kinda hard to holster. We could take the magazines out of our guns and come up with empty guns. That work? We can also give you some food." He called.

“Sounds very fairâ€

[Rukia]

The cord pulled taught for a few moments then the cams kicked in making holding the cord back easier. She normally preferred a recurve but the compound was better suited for her current situation. She lined up the zombie’s head with the tip of the arrow and let it fly. It soared perfectly and pierced the rotters head right in the ear, it dropped moments later. She smiled as she threaded herself between the cords and the bow, she picked up her compound crossbow and checked the pistol on her hip. She then set out towards the west, she had been to caiger more than once and knew exactly where it was. Thankfully she wasn’t too far away, she had eaten the last of her food two days ago and hadn’t found any since. She grabbed a nearby plank and set it across the gap between the buildings and walked across then promptly knocked it down. She felt the sun on her back and was confidant she’d make it to the mall by night fall.

=====================================

‘Ell had checked the barricades twice before grabbing a MRE and heading back to the department store furniture section she had made her home. The leather double chair was cool and overstuffed she pulled the afgan over her body and was out in minutes. It was the fist time she had slept for more than two hours at a time in over a week.

[Charon]

John came to a slow stop a block away from the Caiger. He'd had to take a scenic detour to avoid a group of brainless zeds along the way, but it hadn't been anything he couldn't easily handle. Now though, there was a different problem.

People.

A part of him was still rather unsure of rejoining humanity, but frankly there wasn't anything for it now. He was running low on supplies, he hadn't had a gun in four months, hadn't had companionship in two month. With a sight, John walked out into the open, shouldering his backpack as he walked the final stretch towards the Caiger.

[frigidmagi]

With a sight, John walked out into the open, shouldering his backpack as he walked the final stretch towards the Caiger.

Frigid just happened to be on the roof at that time. It was a high post and so Frigid would move from sniper nest to nest. They had been constructed during the last period of residence and Zed had never gotten to taking them down. Zed had his virtues but smarts wasn't one of them. Zed didn't care for heights either now that Frigid thought about it.

He was in a sniper nest scanning about. He had a pair of binos but wasn't using them at the moment. No need. He could see the incoming loner just fine with eyeball mrk I. He took up a walkie.

"Guard Command, this is Roof Echo One. Incoming loner. Male, White, On Foot. No firearm sighted. Over." He grabbed his rifle and scanned the surrounding area. He would clear the road for the man if needed and if the guy was a jackass, well Frigid would clear him right through to.

[Dark Silver]

"Echo One this is Guard Command," the voice came over the walkie - a female voice who sounded just slightly tired, one of the many who made up the Militia, "Proceed with protocol. Relaying to Quartermaster and Quartermain."

Silver was coming out of the garden, walking up the makeshift bridge in what looked like a man on a mission. He pulled out his own walkie talkie, "Quartermain here. Already know. Tell Quartermaster"

Silver stopped as he reached FM's sniper post, "Go down and guide him in. Front gate. Do the S.O.P. for all new comers. After that, get a loadout from the supply lockers, at least three days loadout. I'm sending out scout teams to search for suvivors and spot Zed around around us. I want you to do tactical scouting....spot us positions to best take Zed down....up for it?"

[B4UTRUST]

"Oh, aye, and a right good explodin' of the zeds i' twas,' commented the Scot. "Couldno done beta meself, lad, no offense bein made."

He held up his hands, showing he wasn't holding any weapons to the person training the rifle on him from the rooftop. The ones down below might likewise see his reaction, but he was more concerned about the one who had the direct line of sight at him.
"You be guessin' right there, I'm no wit' them. I just be sawin the big boom ya be makin what with dropping those there buildins on them zeds. Thought I should be seein who's makin such a rukus. But ifin you be sayin there be no more zeds about, I'll believe ya, lad."

He smiled charmingly as he listened to the route advice, cataloging it for later use if needed.
"By the by, lad, just fer yer own knowin' the Pied Piper was a German. Ye be soundin' a bi' more 'merican tame. But aye, I mean no trouble to ya. Just passin' through, really. Now whats this noise abou' the Caiger? Ima James b' tha way. James Montgomery, at yer service."

[Shark Bait]

Craig holstered his weapon, “Special agent Craig Henderson, US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and my mother was German.â€

[B4UTRUST]

"A bit far outye jurisdiction, aren't ya, lad," the Scotsman inquired jokingly.
"And aye, I think it be best that a group o' us stay together. Less chance the zeds'll getta chompin on us now. So lead on Mr. Special Agent."

[Shark Bait]

"A bit far outye jurisdiction, aren't ya, lad," the Scotsman inquired jokingly.
"And aye, I think it be best that a group o' us stay together. Less chance the zeds'll getta chompin on us now. So lead on Mr. Special Agent."

“Not far enoughâ€

[B4UTRUST]

James shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, following the ATF agent cheerfully enough.

[Cynical Cat]

Zombies didn't see any better than humans after dark, most types anyway. They just didn't need to sleep and were still active. So Shattergrave waited until after dark to cross over the razor wire and exit Wendigo's fortress.

It was the ones like Wendigo that were the ones that were the most dangerous to him now. The horde leaders would stay with their shambling minions and were easily avoidable. The shamblers were stupid and devoid of stealth. But those that had retained a rudimentary intelligence and could stalk prey, those were very, very dangerous. As were the humans who preyed on their own kind.

It was slow going. He had to retreat and take detours multiple times. Once that hadn't been an option and he had to speak the words to the charm that would make them oblivious to his presence. The words tore at his throat and the strain of maintaining the charm left him shaking and with a pounding headache afterwords. The terrifying sensation of a dozen cannibal corpses walk within several feet of him, oblivious to his presence, was much, much worse. One slip and they would have torn him apart.

He had spent too much time and too much of his strength coming too few blocks. He wasn't going to make it. He cautiously entered an empty apartment building. It was clear that it had been fortified at least once and that the zombies had smashed their way through anyway. Old evidence of violence was everywhere. Shattergrave had a strong stomach. He could live with that.

The zombies weren't bright though. The tore down doors and barricades but left the rubble behind. It was easy enough to block off the stairway and an apartment door. Both could be easily cleared, but not quietly. Fishing line attached to bells provided additional warning across doorway and windows. He painted symbols of repulsion on the floor, wall, and ceiling and focused his mind upon the symbols. Ancient menomics were repeated and power forced into each one. The zombies would tend to avoid this place, at least for a while. The other defences would warn him of human predators.

That was as much as he could do for now. He lay down on a battered couch and placed his coat on top of himself to sleep.

[Shark Bait]

Once everyone was across the bridge Craig bent down and touched the jumper cables to a car battery he had waiting. There was a sharp pop followed by the sound of wrenching metal and then the crash of the fire escape falling off the building. “Rule sixâ€

[Agent Fisher]

Mike and the rest of CAG followed the yank and the scottsman. As they reached top of the tall building, Mike raised his rifle, using the scope to look at Caiger.

"Never did like the look much. Wasn't my favorite place, either, before all this mess. But damn if doesn't look pretty now." He said. Lowering the rifle, he looked at his watch. "Might be able to make it before sunset, but not sure on that."

[B4UTRUST]

James reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a small flask, uncapped it and took a sip. He grimaced as he swallowed then offered the flask to the American.
"Here ya are, lad. Take yerself a slug o' this. I be warnin' ya though, it be tastin' like right shite but it'll get ya good 'nd drunk iffn you're no careful. Made it meself, few months ago."

James surveyed the course between them and the mall.
"A right pain in the arse this is gonna be, lads. I suggest we stick to th' proverbial 'igh road on this one. Less street exposure we be lettin' ourselves have, the less chance th' zeds'll be amunchin' on our arses. I'm not seein' sunset either. Best ta take it slow and steady and be avoidin tha zeds instead of trying to make us a race of it. Find us a right cozy spot for grabbin a bit of the ole shut eye for the night and finish out on the morrow."

[Agent Fisher]

Mike reached behind himself, grabbing a canteen and opening the pouch, pulling it out. He took a drink of water, then handed it to one of his buddies, who put it back in the pouch. As they stood, Mike opened a pocket and pulled out a packet from an MRE, a piece of wheat bread. He tore the package open, the rest of CAG doing likewise, grabbing some sort of food to eat before they moved out. Mike took a bite of the bread, then looked at the others.

"Oh, we promised food, didn't we?" He asked with a grin.

[Shark Bait]

Craig took the flask from James and hesitantly sniffed the liquid inside then coughed. “Good god man if we were in the states I’d have to arrest you for thatâ€

[frigidmagi]

Silver stopped as he reached FM's sniper post, "Go down and guide him in. Front gate. Do the S.O.P. for all new comers. After that, get a loadout from the supply lockers, at least three days loadout. I'm sending out scout teams to search for suvivors and spot Zed around around us. I want you to do tactical scouting....spot us positions to best take Zed down....up for it?"

Frigid gave him a sour look. Meet and Greet? The bastard wanted him to do Meet and Greet? The damn army could do welcoming committee. And who was gonna do overwatch while his pale ass was hanging out playing Happy Homemaker with the tupperwear? Brass, nothing changes. At least DS hadn't forgot the deal. He stayed out of arms reach.

"I don't need a team. I'll do a sweep. Keep them out of my way." Was all he said. He stood up, backed out of the sniper post and left the roof keeping an eye on DS the whole time. He needed to stop by his bunk space and pick up his mission pack.

Meet and Greet indeed! The pack had everything he would need for a few days. He shrugged into a load bearing vest he had found at a surplus store. It had his ammo and water attached. A pair of canteens that he filled up every morning, med kit and water purifiers. Pack had food, and various odds and ends. With a sigh he left the book behind. One should not be distracted in the field. He headed out the door and towards the exit of the mall.

[Agent Fisher]

Mike gestured to Jenny, who produced the street map. Together they looked over it. "There's a three story office building about between Caiger and here. My insurance used to be there. Good place. One small staircase leading up to the second and third floors, all the other buildings around it are one stories." He said, looking up and pointing towards the building. "It's make a good layup spot for the night."

[B4UTRUST]

"Aye, assumin' it aint hostin' a nest of Zeds in it, it would. I don't right mind tellin' ya that trying to clear the building just for a few hours o' shut eye dun sound like too good o' a plan. But if it's clear it'll do."

[Rukia]

Ell finally woke up a few hours later. She stretched as only a good nights (or in the case days) sleep would allow. She threw back the blanket and put her walkie back on her hip, but didn't turn it on yet. Grabbing the MRE she hadn't touched earlier she set out to find Silver. As she walked through the mall she made a point to say hello to the current occupants of the mall, most were familiar from before it fell. When she passed the makeshift cafeteria she picked up another MRE for Darek. The dinners they had at the end of his shift and the beginning of hers were often warm and friendly and they rarely talked about "work" but their families and lives before the outbreak. She rounded a corner and ran into the day crew that was working on the barricades. They all said their hellos and Ell returned them. Noticing someone was missing she asked where Decimus and the rest of the crew was and one of the guys said something about a scouting mission. Ell's shoulders slumped and her brow furrowed. "Thanks guys. Get some sleep. You did a great job today." They went on her way and Ell hers.

She found Silver coming in from the roof access. Holding up the MREs she smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew it was childish but she couldn't help but feel betrayed. "Hey. You hungry?"

[Dark Silver]

Silver watched as FM went down off the roof, shaking his head sadly. For the longest time, FM had been...uncomfortable..around Silver and the rest of the Second. Admittedly, it was probably granted given how odd some of the second had been after returning from Zombie-hood.

Still, FM was a professional soldier before the Outbreak. Petro relied on the man to do what needed to be done, and FM didn't haul ass when he was given the chance.

And he stayed to help the Irregular's and the people of Malton now.

He could trust the Marine. If he said he could do the job alone...well..Silver wouldn't push the point.

"Just make sure to check in!" Silver called before the American disappeared down the roof access stairwell.


As he prepared to go down himself, Melani appeared, MRE's in hand. Was it dinner time already? So much to do, kept busy as it was trying to get fifty million things done and ready on time..he usually lost track of it.

"Hey Kid," he said, noting her smile. He had no idea why she attached herself to him like she did, if he was a vain man, he'd say she was half inlove with him, but the truth was, she was more like a kid sister. She wanted to impress him, he guessed, like she didn't think she was good enough.

"Dinner time already...." he said, eyeing the MRE, "Hope it's not 'chicken fajita'...I hate those" He waited a moment, before finally talking, "Your not going out on any of the away teams," he said, keeping it business, "We've got new people coming in, and we need people who are familiar with this place getting them sorted...I can't send all of the Irregular's out."

[Rukia]

She resisted the very childish urge to stomp her foot and throw the packaged food at her elder. It had been her idea to go scouting and she didn't even get the chance. "Why do you insist on treating me like such a child? I'm not made of porcelain, Sliver. I'm not gonna break. I'm just as capable as any of those guys. I did have command over people when I was in the military...." She paused and sighed, "You know what, just forget it. I hope you'll give me the chance eventually." She gave him the spaghetti bolognese and kept the chicken fajita for herself.

[Agent Fisher]

Mike took another bite of the bread then put it back into a pockets on his trousers, looking around at the group. "Well, even if we have to clear it, it'd be safer than trying to travel at night. Zeds get more active after dark. Plus, we've got enough that everyone should be able to get more than a few hours of sleep."

[Shark Bait]

"Well lets try for this building you know of standing around here ain't gonna keep the sun up any longer. Don't suppose you folks have a marked path or a yellow brick road for us to follow do you?" Craig asked looking over the edge of the building at the quiet streets. "I doubt zack is going to let us sit around here much longer before they start asking to join the party."

[Agent Fisher]

Mike looked over at him. "What, you haven't built a path on the roofs? You seemed to have been in this area for awhile." He asked then sighed. "No, we don't have any safe paths. We haven't been around this part of Malton since the whole thing kicked off." He glanced around the roof. "Most of the buildings are pressed together, we can get around that way, and as we go, we should search for wood planks we can use to bridge gaps." He suggested. "I figure if we don't waste too much time, we can be there about an hour before dark, clear the building and get some rest." He said, shifting his pack.