ZRP-2: Brave New World

Eve went for the chips, obviously. There was no stopping her.
Hibiki sighed and took the jerky, then made the girl sit down. Pulling some water out, she handed it to Eve, then began to eat.

(James)
=It didn't look like the Stranger was hungry, so I settled with opening the can of peas with a small Swiss army knife. They were cold, but it beat not eating anything. I walked over to the edge of the camp, near the tents, eyes constantly scanning the tree line=

I peek out from the tree again, seeing the man finish off and search the dead bandit. I wonder what rifle he had.
I get up and run over to the girl, whose behind a thick bush three trees over. I brought her over there incase I'm killed so she has a slight chance.
Anyway. I take another look at her leg. The strip of shirt is soaked. I guess she started bleeding again. Shit.

She looks rather pale too. She shouldn't move again I think. Too bad I'll have to later, if I survive what I'm about to do.
"Stay here. If something goes wrong... what weapons do you have?"
"I don't have any.... I barely escaped... with the clothes on my back."
"Okay. Then just stay here."
I stand up and go to greet the man who saved me- us. With but one word in my head.

Escaped?

(James)
=There was the sound of footsteps on dirt, and I soon found myself standing next to the caravans leader, Arthur. He was a middle aged man, a grey beard covering his face=

*Arthur*
"James, how are you doing?"

(James)
"Doing fine Arty."
=He made a sound of disapproval, not really liking the nickname. I was maybe one of the few people who could get away with calling him that=

*Arthur*
"Look, I wanted to talk to you about what's happened today."

(James)
"Which part? The part about the Stranger, the part about Hibiki and Eve, or the part about Andrew trying to leaving?"

*Arthur*
"Basically, all of the above."

(James)
"Well I'm iffy on the Stranger, but Hibiki and Eve? They have my support for staying Arthur. And as for Andrew....come on, we've all thought of leaving at some point."

*Arthur*
"Well I'm glad to see you taking a liking to our new arrivals James, but I wasn't asking you for an opinion on whether or not they should stay. The fact is, we don't have enough food and water to let three more people stay. Now, if Andrew had left, then we may have let the girl stay."

(James)
"We, or just you?"
=His face got flushed at my accusation=

*Arthur*
"Don't you dare assume that this isn't a democracy, or that I wouldn't let them all stay. But I'm the head of this caravan, and I have to make the hard choices, like who joins and who doesn't. We just can't feed them and ourselves, James, unless you'd like to volunteer to leave?"

Abel had his chest low, and his head almost resting on the bicycle's handle bars.
When he looked up he saw the highway bridge, along with multiple entrance ramps, a few convenient stores, and a large super center across the way. Abel hadn't seen any walking corpses yet, so he peddled his way to one of the gas stations. The windows were smashed in, probably wasn't much for food in there, but he was too hungry not to check. He didn't want to have to go in the super store.

Abel dismounted the bike, he kept his shotty on his back and drew his sword. He started to inch his way towards the door of the fuel station. Keeping his eyes peeled for any movement. He heard a loud crunching sound come from the building, then a zombie peaked its head out the window and moaned a horrific noise at Abel.

"Shut the fuck up. You'll alert your buddies."
Abel then sprinted up to it and lodged his broadsword into its skull, splitting it slightly. Blood sprayed unto Abel's camouflage. He withdrew the sword from the zombie's head, then made his way into the store. Finding most of the shelves empty. Though after searching the store thoroughly, he did manage to find a SlimJim, a single bottle of water, and a pair of sunglasses. There wasn't much daylight left and Abel was extremely tired, so he would find a safe place to rest in the store and sleep until morning.

(James)
=All I could do was glare at the old man=
"So what, you're really suggesting we throw those two back out there? With the zombies, and the Shepherds?"

*Arthur*
"I'm saying we protect our own, not every stray that wanders into our camp."

(James)
"Then we're losing our humanity then, aren't we? You know what? If this is really the caravan, the family, I'm a part of, then maybe I should leave. Because I don't turn people away, especially children."

I searched the bandit I had shot and found a few .308 rounds, About 20 plus obviously his rifle. Looks like he was the leader of the group and obviously a bit of a junkie judging by the half filled bottle of pain killers I found on him. Besides what little I find there is nothing worth of value on this piece of garbage. I stand up and grab the rifle and slip it over my shoulder.

I look over to see that whoever was getting shot at is now standing up and looking at me. Judging by the distance he looks to be average height and a medium build. I cant notice much else from this distance with my mask on. As bulky as it is, it has saved my life on more than one occasion. Like the time a rifle clipped where my cheek would be and left a nice gash in the mask. Until I know I can trust this person, my mask isnt coming off.

*Arthur*
"I know that James, and it is a rare thing to find such humanity in this day and age. But it's also a weakness for this group. What about Harry? Are you willing to let him, or his family starve because we suddenly have too little food, for too many mouths?"

(James)
"Leave. Harry. Out of this. If anyone pays, for letting those three stay, it's me, and me alone."

*Arthur*
"Noble, but flawed. You are one of our scouts, James. And a damned good one too. We can't afford to have you in poor condition."

Eve finished half the bag snd stowed the rest in her pack. Hibiki chewed on some more jerky, staring at Eve and stroking the girl's hair.
She hoped the caravan would at least help them find a lockdown town that hadn't been destroyed by the Shepherds or told her to fuck off

(James)
"Oh, so I'm your prize fighter now?"

*Arthur*
"That's not what I meant."

(James)
"No, I think it is Arty. And in a way, I can see now why Andrew wanted to leave. At least he wouldn't have had to live under your thumb anymore."
=I turned to walk away from him=

*Arthur*
"So is that it then? Are you going to leave, because you don't enjoy living with me as the head of this group? What about Harry, or Dan? They're your friends, and you're going to leave them here?"

(James)
=That certainly stopped me in my tracks. As much as I hated Arty right now, I wasn't sure if it was enough to really leave, especially leave all these people behind=

I begin walking towards the man with my hands halfway up. Just trying to be friendly-ish. Not a threat.
Besides, if he means to harm me I can whip pistol out quick enough. Hopefully quick enough.

Once I'm about ten feet away from the man I get a better view of him. He's some kind of mask on. Black leather jacket and camo pants.
Just adding to the fear factor of this man. But I'm not scared easily. Especailly after the very same man just helped me.

I put my hands down and smile slyly. "Hey. You just saved me... so uh... thanks."

*Arthur*
"They need you, James. I'm guessing more than those three people need this caravan, if they've survived this long on their own."

(James)
=It was hard, to argue with that logic. After all, I barely knew these people. And hey, maybe they didn't even want to stay with us. How was I to know? But the one thing I kept coming back to, over and over again, was that Eve was a little girl. Okay, maybe 12 years old and armed with a bow and arrows, but still. You don't just turn away children because you lack enough food=

"Sorry sir, but they're staying. Maybe not permanently, but we're not tossing them out so soon. And if they go tonight, then I'm going with them. I won't stay with an asshole leader, who throws out children or their parents."

I lumber toward the person I saved rather interested. He has his hands up kind of like I am going to shoot him but I understand why they are there. As he gets closer he lowers then and with a smile thanks me. I stop about 10 feet from him and look him up and down. He looks to be in his mid-teens which is kind fo amazing he has survived this long. I notice there is blood on his hands and some other places but no wounds. But I have almost been killed in situations like this.

Im holding my bat is my left hand and steadying the rifle's sling on my right shoudler. Even from here I am slightly looking down on him. He is about average height which means I have roughly a foot of height on it. But the blood makes me think.

"So where is other one? The one who is probably still hiding over there. Are they hurt?"

"Um. I don't have anyone hiding back there. So.... ah who am I foolin'? I've got an injuried woman back there."
I put my hands into my coat pockets.
"She's bleeding and I have no medicine. So if you have something to spare would be... nice. But uh... you don't have to."

I figured as much, but she must be badly hurt that he is out here by himself.

"Okay, hold on." I said, judging by the blood she was probably dying of blood loss, the same way a deer would when it was hunted. I dropped the rifle on the ground and walked back to the dead bandit leader. Compared to the other two bandits his clothes were the cleanest. I yanked off his shirt and walked over to the boy.

"Show me where she's at and I will see what I can do. You can have the bandits' rifle. By the way, my name is Wrex."

"Well. Howdy Wrex. She's uh... right over here. Not sure what else can be done though."
I turn around and start walking back towards her. My left hand on my pistol just incase.

*Arthur*
=He was silent for a moment, and while I couldn't see his expression with my back to him, I could tell he was struggling=

"Our maps show a town, Johnsonville, maybe 20 miles from here. We've heard rumors that a lock down town was established there. We'll head there, see if we can get supplies, and then drop off our guests."

(James)
=I turned to say something, but was distracted by a sound=
"Did you hear that?"

*Arthur*
"No, what did yo--"
=He was silenced as a bullet was fired, and hit him in the chest. From the tree line, a small group of men wearing camouflage gear and wielding rifles appeared, quickly heading for the camp=

(James)
"SHEPHERDS!!!"

=I hear the announcement and pale=

Aw shit...

=I get my rifle and get with the others=

I pick up the rifle and follow the boy. He has his hand on his hip which I assume is his gun. Obviously not too trusting which is good in this current world. I wonder what it must be like for him. Just a teenager in a world gone to hell.

At Shep, Hibiki had quite literally threw Eve under some cover, then ran and tackled Harry to the ground, shoving him out of sight. She had execured this in around ten seconds.
She then came to a knee and brought her rifle up.
"Get any more children to Eve!" She shot at the caravan-goers. Her SWAT instincts shot her into overdrive. She took aim.

Eve collected herself, getting on a knee and scowled.
"Tell the kids to crawl this way!" She shouted. Her bow was drawn and an arrow ready. She looked like Katniss Everdeen, having braided her hair over one shoulder earlier.

Hibiki tightened her grip on the G36 and prepared to fire.

=The Shepherds began moving forward, firing off pot shots from their guns. Bullets pinged off of the vehicles, while some tore into civilians. Malcolm went down in a spray of blood, his wife Julia letting out a wail of despair and kneeling over his body. Sam and Dan rushed for cover, their weapons firing at the Shepherds=

(James)
=There was nothing I could do for Arthur, blood pooled from his mouth. I pulled an arrow from my quiver, aimed at one of the Shepherds, and loosed it, not bothering to check if it hit or not as I reached for another=

=I take aim and settle my sights on one of the Shepherds=

Breath and relax...and then fire

=I then fire, seeing one of the Shepherds go down, I then load and fire once again, hitting another Shepherd=

This is for all that you have done...This is for my family...

=I then take cover and reload my rifle=

Hibiki picked her shots carefully. These...monsters were not as good as a SWAT officer.
Most of her shots hit home; she pulled a three round burst into another. She ducked down to switch mags as an arrow flew over her head. There was Eve.
Hibiki saw the woman kneeling. Scowling, she popped up and dropped three right off the bat.
"Go to Hell you bastards!"

I look behind me once or twice before I get there. When we do get there, I kneel down next to her with my elbow resting on my knee.
"From what I could tell, it looks only lika flesh wound. Nothin' seriouly bad."

=Four Shepherds went down, either dead or too wounded to stand. The remaining three crouched low, abandoning the random shots of before and choosing their targets carefully. They aimed for the people firing at them=


(James)
=One of my arrows flew through the air, and impacted a crouching Shepherd in the eye. He didn't even scream, just collapse to the ground. My elation at killing him though, was short lived. There was a new sound, of an engine, and I found the source of it: a jeep racing down the road towards us, more Shepherds within=

"Fuck....aim for the jeep! Take out their driver!"


=Sam aimed her rifle at the driver's window, and fired. The range was far, but the jeep was coming closer. Glass shattered, and the jeep swerved=

Hibiki saw the jeep swerve. Smiling slightly, she came up and took aim...as an arrow pierced a man's throat. Eve.
Hibiki switched and sent five rounds at the next man, hitting his leg twice. He went down, into plain view.
She again entered cover to conserve ammunition and wait for a chance to check the man who had gone down.

I take my backpack and my gear off my back. Setting my bat and the rifle next to my bag. I looked at the gear through the slits in my mask. Her leg was covered but only with a wrap. I handed the boy the half bottle of painkillers and told him, "I got these off the bandit with the rifle. they should help her."

I turned back to my bag and pulled out some string and a needle, I also grabbed the bandits mostly clean shirt. Looking at him I said, "I have tried helping many people in my time since the outbreak happened. Sadly they all eventually died off because of other reasons, like infections and other obvious threats. But you should give her some of those painkillers for her leg. Do you have anything to disinfect it?"

=I then prop up my rifle and fire, hitting a Shepherd square in the chest=

Let's see ya get up from that...

=I then sling my rifle over my shoulder and switch to my crossbow, taking aim=

It's just like a turkey shoot back home...

=I fire, hitting a Shepherd in the throat and toppling him to the ground=

(James)
=The jeep came to a halt, not quite tipping over. Doors opened and more men came out, not dressed in camouflage fatigues this time. They wore some type of gray clothing, and they all wore some type of vest, and I could only guess what kind it was. I loosed another arrow for the lead Shepherd's head, and it sank into his throat. More gunfire sounded as their weapons flashed, followed by more screams=

Hibiki popped up. Sure, have a vest.
She wasn't some survivor.
She was a bloody SWAT member.
Blam.
Blam.
Blam.
Thud.
Thud
Thud
Hibiki tried for two more but missed. Cursing, she came down behind the car again as Eve retrieved an arrow. Nocking it, she let it fly. Miss.
The next one...oh god
The Shepherd clucthed his knee...before someone blew his head off.
Hibiki glanced at Eve. The kid looked calm and focused.
Hibiki was proud to call herself Eve's mother.

(James)
=Dan and Sam fired off a few more shots, until the last of the Shepherds was either dead or incapacitated. Raising a closed fist, they both stopped firing, but just to be clear=
"Hold your fire!"

=I rushed forward, cold fire fueling each step. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to flay each and every Shepherd that was still alive, or at the least leave them for dead in some zombie infested city. The first one I came to, was clutching his leg, blood pouring from the wound=

*Shepherd*
"The lord is my shepherd.....he shall give me strength.."

(James)
=I stomped down onto the wound in his leg, and he cried out in pain=

=I sling my crossbow back over my shoulder as I walk over to James=

Serves you assholes right...

=I then take out my Bowie Knife, its large blade gleaming in the night=

Bless the good Lord...and Jim Bowie, for making an excellent weapon

=I continue to walk over, trying to avoid eye contact with Sam=

(James)
"Where was it written that you could slaughter innocent people, huh? To shoot at children!"
=I applied more weight onto my foot, leaning more and more into the bullet hole in his leg. He screamed some more, and of all things his scream reminded me of where I was, and more importantly, who was still with me. Harry, and the other children shouldn't see this. Hell, I didn't want to see me like this. So, removing my foot, I unsheathed my knife and quickly slit his throat=

"Kill the rest, quick and quiet. The kids have been exposed to enough."

Eve handed her bow to Hibiki, who quickly and quietly silenced any survivors with the others. She then gathered all their weapons and lugged them back to the camp, dumping them in a pile near Eve before going back to rummage for supplies.
"How many." She asked James as she came near.

=I nod, knowing the situation at hand=

Well...just another shitty day in hell

=I take my Bowie Knife, silencing those still living=

It's a horrific task...but it sometimes has to be done

=I look towards the children...knowing what it was like to see people that cared about you die before your eyes. That, and having to kill to survive. I then take the bodies toward the pile, resisting an urge to gag.=

(James)
"We'll need to do a proper count, but I counted maybe twelve or thirteen Shepherds."
=I turned my head back towards the rest of the camp. Harry and his mom Julia were weeping over Malcolm's lifeless body, while Dan had Jennifer crying into his shoulder. Even Ebenzer was crying. Two other people, including Arthur, were dead, with only one wounded=

"Dammit.....we need to bury our dead, but we also need to move soon. This was probably just a scouting group so more will be here soon."

Hibiki sighed.
"Too many have been buried. Too many are dead." The woman brushed some hair from her face. "I'm sorry."
What else could she offer?

(James)
"It's not your fault....the only one at fault here is me. I'm the lead scout for fuck's sake, I should have seen them coming."
=I bot back the tears, and did my best to keep my voice steady, to keep it from breaking. I wanted to cry, but crying wouldn't do us any good. Sam came up behind me, a hand coming to rest on my shoulder=

*Sam*
"James, we need you to get your head in the game. You can cry later, but not now."

(James)
=Taking a shaky breath, I straightened up a little=
"Yeah, you're right. Okay, I want you to scout the perimeter, keep an eye out for any more Shepherds. Dan! I'm sorry, but I need you to help Andrew out. I'll....I'l take care of our own."

"What can I do?" Hibiki asked.

Eve sat with the children, managing to corall their attention by acting out The Hunger Games (she knew it by Heart....). It was the best she could do to keep them calm.

(James)
"Right now? I don't know. If you can help with our wounded, then please do what you can. Or take inventory of the Shepherd's weapons.....just....please, help us."

=I get another one of the bodies, Dan pitching in to help me=

Thanks, Dan.

Dan: Not a problem. This isn't a task we're pleased about...

I know. Lets get this over with.

=I continue to gather the dead with Dan, placing the dead into a large pile=

"Eve has the kids occupied. I'll look over the weapons."
She then began to search the Shepherds, taking anything of use. She finally had all the weapons lsid out near a truck and everything else laid out by them. It took a bit, but she had found all she could.
"James, their Jeep might be ok. We gonna take it?"

(James)
"I don't know. We already have enough cars.....and right now we have too few people. Search the jeep, drain it of gasoline, and leave it."
=With that, I walked over to Malcolm's family, grabbing a blanket on the way. I draped it over his body so his family wouldn't have to see his body so bloodied. Julia was still weeping, her hands balled into fists. I knelt down, putting an arm around her shoulder=

"Julia, come on. Harry and Jennifer need their mother right now."
=She just wept into my shoulder, as she slowly rose=

*Julia*
"He....he can't be dead."

(James)
=I shook her gently, and made sure she was looking me in the eye=
"Julia, you're family needs you right now. I need you to be strong, for them."

"James!" Hibiki called. "We got a few hunting rifles, two M16s, and an M4...and a decent amount of ammo. Guess...they've been busy. Plus assorted knives and crowbars. Also found some medicine. Not much...just a bottle of asprin." She sighed, then got up after pocketing a clip from the M16 men as payment for wasting a clip. Frowing, she grabbed a few free travelers and got to work draining the gasoline from the Jeep.

(James)
=I still held Julia in my arms, though it looked like she was slowly calming down. Letting go of her, once she had stopped crying, I turned back towards Hibiki. She and some other members of the caravan were busy draining the jeep of gasoline. from the looks of things, Dan and Andrew were done piling the bodies=
"Dan, help Sam out with her patrol. Andrew, get those weapons secured and in the truck."

=Orders given, I grabbed a shovel, walked over to a spot behind the RV, and more importantly far from the view of the caravan members, and began digging three graves=

=I nod and gather the weapons, placing them onto the truck, setting the ammunition on the other side=

Well...This is one task that calms and relieves the mind

=I continue on, relishing the task of being a quartermaster, being able to take my mind off of today's events=

Leaving the caravan...ers to drain, Hibiki helped Andrew put the weapons on the truck. She was carefultto remove all ammo to avoid accidents.
"Hibiki. Hibiki Ikezawa." She said to Andrew.

Eve had started to get the kids safely into their vehicles. She knew they were leaving.
She sighed, bow drawn, as she watched the kids.
Lucky buggers.

(James)
=The ground was soft, so I didn't need to dig for very long. I remember how in the world that was, graves used to be six feet deep. I just didn't have the time, and neither did the group. So I went with a two holes, each three feet deep and big enough for each body. Laying the shovel down, I walked over to Malcolm's body, the blanket still draped over him=

=I look to the newcomer, giving her my best smile=

Andrew Harris. Pleasure to meet ya.

=I say that with a bit of western Kansas charm in my voice=

*Mike*
=Mike walked over to James, his weapons slung over his shoulder and a grim expression on his face. He didn't say anything, just knelt down and reached for Malcolm's legs=

(James)
"Thanks, Mike."
=I reached under Malcolm's arms, and we both lifted his body up. It was a hassle making sure the blanket stayed on his body, but we managed as we carried him over to the grave=