ZRP-2 Chapter 6: Scattered

"Doesn't matter!"
Throwing the last box over, she started shoving evryone onto the boat.
"Get the ramp! GET US THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

*Mark*
"Geez James, your wife always this dominating?"

(James)
=I nearly fell as I was pushed over onto the boat=
"Actually, she tends to be a lot less pushy than this."

=Trevor pulled the ramp back, and Mark quickly climbed the ladder to the bridge so we could get moving=

Hibiki drew her katana, ready to slice anything that tried to get onto the boat.

(James)
=I gave Hibiki a blank look=
"Uh, I don't think you need to draw the sword Hibiki, we're already pulling away."

Rilling her eyes, she waited until they were a good distance away before putting her sword away.
"It's thinking like that...that kills survivors."

(Andrew)

=I then get an idea in my head, and figured that heading west might be the best idea=

Cooper, if they went in that direction, shouldn't we head closer to the caravan?

=I hoped that he'd side with me, because I just hoped my logic work=

*Cooper*
"Andrew, Marcus and I both said we were heading. So did James the moment he went down the Ohio river. West would take us away from them."

(James)
"Really? Because I used to say stuff like that back n the caravan and nothing bad happened then."

(Andrew)

=I gave a silent 'ohhh', then facepalmed. I wasn't aware of that=

Well...your logic trumps mine. East it is.

=I settled in my seat, just plain exhausted=

Tyler hadn't helped in fighting the survivors. If he could avoid actually fighting any other human he would do it. So he let the others fight for him.
He just jumped into a car when it was ready. And as of now he was wondering where Jennifer was. If she had survived.
Because again, she had gotten away from him.

Hibiki frowned.
"Really?" She looked up. "C'mon. Not letting me get a 'I told you so' in, Lord?"
She sighed.

Jennifer was currently asleep with Mira, the two leaning against each other in a cute display of...well, sorta friendship and mainly play exhaustion and worry for their other halves.

(James)
"Maybe it's one per customer."
=I looked down at the boxes of food=

"Come on, lets get this stuff sorted, figure out what's expired and what we can eat."

*Trevor*
"Sure thing James."
=He descended on to the boxes, picking them up and checking on their labels, putting them in neat rows=

"Doesn't matter..." hibiki looked at it all.
"Everyone will love us when we find them."

(James)
"Until they get stomach cramps. We should have looked for toilet paper."

"Next town James." Hibiki countered.

(James)
"If there is a next town.toilet paper is worthies weight n gold nowadays."

"Paper towels then."
Sighing, Hibiki looked towards shore. "I want to hold Eve again."

Tyler sat there albeit agitatedly. He wondered where they were going this time. And will his car run out of gas?

(James)
=All I cold really do was grunt in agreement. Despite the fact that I was her dad now, and had tried to get to know her better, I still didn't have the same bond she and Hibiki had=
"I'm sure she's doing better."

Hibiki rested a hand over her stomach.
"Almost a month...almost a month."

(James)
=Most of the food was sorted, and Trevor could deal with the rest. N walked over to Hibiki, behind her, and wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close=
"You okay?"


=The caravan moved further down the road, signs showing they were nearing Shawneetown=

Hibiki nodded.
"Month...since we created new life."

Eve was still asleep.

(James)
=I pressed my face affectionately against her hair=
"Yeah....you worried about them?"


*Marcus*
=As they drove down the road, Marcus decided to once more try the radio, grabbing the microphone and speaking into it=
"This is the St. Louis caravan, anyone out there on this frequency? Respond over."

=The radio n the boat crackled, and Marcus' voice came through. Mark blinked, and turned to look. When he realized what was happening, he dropped what he was doing and ran for the door,shoving it open and looking down to the deck=

*Mark*
"Guys! We've got a signal on the radio! Think its Marcus!"

(James)
=I didn't exactly drop what I was doing with Hibiki.....but I did let go and run from her, heading for the ladder=
"Have you said anything?"

*Mark*
"No, I just heard him and came to tell you!"

Hibiki was right behind James.
"We need to talk to them!"

(James)
=When we entered the bridge, Mark went right back to the wheels of the boat, keeping us on course while I grabbed the mic for the radio=
"Marcus, is that you? It's the boat. It's James."

*Marcus*
=When he heard James' voice, he closed his eyes, let out a sigh of relief, and mouthed the words "Thank you God"=
"James.,,,good to hear from you boy. Where are you? Is everyone okay?"

(James)
"We're fine. Everyone's okay, and we got some good news for you. But first, how's Sam, how's Eve?"

*Marcus*
"Sam's doing fine, and Eve's passed out but okay. The priest was injured, unconscious but I think he'll be okay. Everyone else is hanging in there, it we could use that good news."

(James)
"We've got food. Not a truck load, but a lot. Just came back from a town where we found some food. Not sure if its still good though."

*Marcus*
"It'll have to do. Where are you, which town did you hit?"

(James)
"Golconda. How about you, where are you?"

*Marcus*
"Well, if the signs are any indicator, we're coming up on Shawneetown, Illinois."
=He checked a map=

"We may actually be able to meet up with you. The river runs right by the town."

Hibiki actually started crying.
"Marcus. When Eve wakes up, please tell her I love her. Ok? Please."

*Marcus*
=He actually smiled=
"Will do Hibiki. But you can tell her yourself when you get here."

(James)
"Marcus....any word from the train? Cooper?"

*Marcus*
"None. I had hoped you would have heard something, acne you'd be closer."

(James)
"Sorry, I got nothing."

Hibiki smiled a bit.
"Thank you Marcus."

*Marcus*
"No problem. So we'll meet you by the river in a bit. Not sure when, but hopefully in the next hour."

(James)
"Next hour, hopefully. Till then, stay safe. And try and keep a lid on this, make it a surprise,"

*Marcus*
"Will do."

(Andrew)

=I continued to look, but spotted absolutely nothing=

Goddamnit...where can we find civilization here?

=I sighed, wondering if the others still had us on their minds=

The moment the radio went to static, Hibiki latched onto James, crying again.
"We can see our daughter James. We can hold her again."

(James)
"Yeah....yeah we will."
=And I found myself grinning from ear to ear=

*Mark*
"Listen, if m right we should be at that town in less than an hour, forty minutes tops."

(James)
"Great. We'll be....mostly reunited in no time."


*Marcus*
=He walked back to Eve, still out cold, and laid a hand on her forehead=
"Your mom says hi kiddo. And she loves you."

I take out a hammer and a box of nails I took from the hardware store and set them in the seat next to me.
Just incase we need to build...

(James)
"Okay....lets get the food put away. Mark, get us there as fast as possible. And Trevor, get up front with those binoculars and keep a lookout for that town and the bridge."
=Both nodded, leaving me and Hibiki to deal with the food=

Hibiki started storing food.
"What names were you thinking of for our child, James?"

(James)
=Chuckling as I stored food alongside her, I shot her a glance=
"Didn't we have this conversation a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah...but...I want to have some names picked out..."
Hibiki sorted a few more cans.

(James)
=The pantry was going to get full soon, and we still had a large amount of cans=
"Well....there was Harry, but I guess that was obvious. I remember nice having a friend in the old world named Zane."

"Middle name will be Harrison or Harriet...Zane? I like it...how does Ashlynn sound?"

(James)
"Wait, what? You lost me there."

"How? We're talking names for our baby, right? I'm suggesting girls names, you boys...we don't know yet...so...better safe then sorry, right?"
Hibiki smiled a bit.

(James)
"Oh. Ashlynn sounds good. Maybe Jessica, or Zoe?"

(Andrew)

=I sat and looked out the window, hoping for at least a sign, anything that meant civilization=

Come on...give us something here, anything...

=I then catch a glimpse of something, and my eyes lit up=

Cooper...I think I've found something.

*Cooper*
"What is it Andrew?"

(Andrew)

=I take a look out the window, and spot it again, this time a little bit closer=

It looks like an old water tower that's seen better days.

=I squint a bit=

And it looks like it may have the town name on the side.

*Cooper*
"And? What's the verdict?"

(Andrew)

=I rub my chin, slightly annoyed at the stubble=

I say we check that out from a distance, just to be safe.

=I keep my eye on the tower=

And if nothing goes wrong, we check it out, see if we get any positive results.

Tyler leans back and looks out the window.

*Cooper*
"Alright, we'll give it a look. But just a look. If its too dangerous, we're out of there."

(Andrew)

=I nod, happily agreeing=

Agreed. Cause luck tends not to be on our side.

=I keep an eye on the tower, trying to judge distance=

"I like Zoe...Ashlyn Zoe Harriet."
Hibiki chuckled.