Urban Dead: The Price of the Oath

[Caz]

"... What?" Sherry asked in a tiny voice, allowing just a bit of fear to creep into her voice.

[Caz]

Sherry nodded. "Marley, you can take it," she said with a grin. "You're a ballsy one."

Melanie then spoke up:

"What about the man that saved Silver and Trouble? He could help."

Sherry, of course, wasn't up to speed on the matter.

[Josh]

"Him, he's a separate issue. He's not a man, he's another smart rotter. I'm going to deal with him soon."

One way or another. "Before the attack goes through."

[Caz]

"Without him, Silver and Carter wouldn't be alive. Probably Trouble, either," Melanie said pointedly. "I've spoken with him and I'm certain he doesn't constitute a threat."

Sherry wasn't aware of that whole ordeal and looked to Petro for a explanation.

"A smart rotter took care of Silver?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

[Josh]

"Yeah, he did," he said. "But he's still feral, and he admits it. I'll make the call, and if nothing else, I'll give him a chance to relocate instead of splattering his brains on the wall."

[Caz]

"That's all I was asking for," Melanie said. "It wouldn't be fair to attack him after what he's done."

What she left out was that, seeing how quickly Reaper had healed, chances were he could take out half the First with those mutations. But she wouldn't get into that debate.

Sherry, irked a bit at not having her questions answered, took a sip of her drink and sighed.

[Josh]

"Okay, you've got the plan. Get your people ready to roll, get 40 winks if you can, and I'm going to head out to talk to our 'friend'. Any last questions?"

[Caz]

"Yeah," Sherry asked. "Who are the survivors that came back with Punt and Ellen? I know two died, but there weren't just four."

She paused.

"They'll be able to show us how to fare in the cold."

[Josh]

Petro looked over at Marley, who nodded. "Jake and Nathan. But we've all had our practice with it after last night, I figure."

Petro nodded. "We're all going anyway. We're ending this tonight, before they have a chance to throw themselves at us."

[Caz]

"Right," Melanie said, giving Petro a look that said, clearly, that he wasn't going. At least not without being checked out beforehand with a due back by morning card tucked in his pocket.

"Anything else from you goons?" Sherry asked.

When no one spoke up, she sighed.

"Let's get this mobile feast under way, then."

[Josh]

He clapped his hands once, grinned, then bounced off the table to head out the door.

[Caz]

Sherry went off to assemble the First Irregulars, Zimmerman to his office, and the others to either the militia or their 'homes,' leaving Melanie and Petro alone in the war room.

She didn't say anything, just lingered next to him.

[Josh]

He leaned over to give her a kiss. "I gotta go talk to Mr. Smart and Smelly, baby. Be back in a bit."

[Caz]

"I was thinking it might be best if I went with you," she said. This time, not as a demand. Just a suggestion.

[Josh]

He shook his head automatically. "We've been over this."

[Caz]

"Baby," she said, taking his hand, "he knows me. I'm the one who splinted his leg, for Christ's sake. If he trusted me to break his damn bones then he'll trust me now... And I don't think he trusts the mall."

With good reason.

[Josh]

Very calmly, very reasonably, he said. "You... what?"

[Caz]

She looked up to him, five feet of courage and a little pride in her eyes.

"When he arrived with Silver and Carter, his leg had been broken. The way it healed he wouldn't have been able to walk right, so I re-broke it and set it for him," she said matter-of-factly. "He feels pain just like we do."

She'd never thought about how gloriously pissed her husband would get at whomever had authorised or encouraged her to go out there.

[Josh]

"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" he exploded. "He's a god damned zombie!"

[Caz]

"Silver would still be out there without him," she countered. "And he didn't make any sort of threatening move on me. He's intelligent, not like one of the horde-forming shamblers, but in the fact that he knew I was a doctor."

She placed her hands on her hips.

"What was I supposed to do? Just leave him out there even after he and Carter had a die?"

She admited:

"I also gave him my remaining ammo..."

[Josh]

He opened his mouth, then shut it. "Mel, that was a hell of a risk," he said.

He had been been about to launch on the unpredictability of such a creature, but he was about to go out and offer him a job.

That would be a very stupid and easily dissected argument, so he refrained.

[Caz]

"What type of condition was Gwen in when you retrieved her, hm?" she asked to prove her point. "I'm sure they weren't still on top of the roof. And someone had to have fed her."

[Josh]

"Yeah, which means that he can deal with people and you can stay here where it's safe," he said.

[Caz]

"I just figured a third party would be in everyone's best interest," she said. "To keep you from shooting children and Silver like said third party has done."

[Josh]

He looked at her for a long moment, gritting his teeth. She had the yen to go out and do shit, damn her. If not now, she'd find some other way to cause mischief, probably where he couldn't be along to watch out for her.

"First sign of trouble, you run. No arguments, you fucking bail. Understand?"