ZRP-2 Chapter 6: Scattered

(James)
"Yeah. Yeah, that will work for a girl."
=I chanced a look to the eastern horizon, and saw a few clouds. It reminded me of that sorm that hit, the night I went over the bridge=

"Heh, looks like we may have a storm coming in while we're on a boat."

*Cooper*
=He was in the lead vehicle, and had it turn down the next road which would lead to the town. They stopped though, when they were halfway to the town=
"Well Andrew, you point editor, you get first look. Take some people and check it out."

(Andrew)

=I stop the car, open the door and take a look=

Alright, I want Tyler and the lead driver to come with me to check this place out.

=I then motion Tyler to come over. I say to the others=

Keep an eye on the vehicles. I want to book it if things go south.

=I motion to my team and head towards the town=

(Ace)

I step out of the truck I was in and look over at Andrew and the others.

"Whats the problem?"

I get out of the car and head over to Andrew. "Have you seen Jennifer?" I asked. Then followed up with. "And we're checking out a town right?"

(Andrew)

=I nodded=

I spotted this town from the road earlier=

=I gestured toward the town=

We're just checking to see if there are any problems. If there are, we're hauling ass out of there fast.

(Ace)

I grab my rifle and step out, walking over.

"Sounds like fun, lets do it."

"Hopefully there will be food there. Or water... but have you seen Jennifer?"

=As the boat drew closer to the town, Trevor peered through the binoculars and spotted one of the first signs it was there: a bridge, with a few buildings close by=

*Cooper*
=He contacted Andrew over the radio=
"Andrew, you have the reigns over that group. Get in, check it out, and tell me what you find."

(Andrew)

=I pick up the radio and nod=

Copy that. I'll keep you posted.

=I look to Tyler=

And no, I haven't seen Jennifer.

Abel stepped out of the vehicle and stretched his legs. He watched the group walk off to scout out the town, then walked over to Cooper.

"Should we cut the cars' engines, or leave 'em going? Could be hard getting them on again, if we need to get outta here quick."

*Cooper*
=He looked from Abel, to the cars=
"We'll cut the engines, but take some men, two or three, and spread out around the group. See anything, give a holler and we should have enough time and space to get the engines back up."

*Marcus*
=Soon the town came into sight. It looked deserted, as did most towns these days. No bandits, but the most worrying thing was the lack of any bridge. Or river. He got the map out to check. Turned out there two Shawneetowns, one just called Shawneetown, the other called Old Shawneetown. Old town was by the river, and more than likely the one they needed to get to=
"Lets skip this town,continue on the byway. Bus upfront, keep that battering ram of ours out to clear a path."

"Gotcha."

Abel moved to the far side of the away team, taking the highest vantage point he could find in the area, that being an easily climbable tree, that he climbed to the first branch, sitting on it while watching around the others.

=For the boat, they soon passed under the bridge. There was oh be spot where the caravan could actually park to meet with the boat, and it was further down towards the end of the town. But the boat hung back, on the other side of the river, not seeing the caravan itself=

(James)
=Through the windows, I could see there was no caravan waiting. We were probably early=

Hibiki was beside James, holding a rifle from the boat's armory. She adjusted the scope.
"See them?"

(James)
"Nope, they must not be here yet. We should stay on this side until they show up though."
=I wasn't sure how long a wait it was going to be=

=The caravan continued down the road, most occupants a little surprised they didn't stop to check for supplies. It would be another few minutes before they reached the river=

Eve had woken up finally, somewhat better. She rubbed her eyes.
"Where are we?"

*Marcus*
"We're getting close to the Ohio river, near Old Shawneetown. And you might like what we find there Eve. I think the whole caravan will like it."
=The town came within sight. They didn't have any street maps, so they were unsure where to lead the caravan. But Marcus figured the best start would be to turn into the town, then take the routes that would lead to the river. As the bus smashed its way through more cars, a few walkers came out to the noise. The caravan continued moving until it reached the river, and there n the otherside was the boat=

(Sam)
=As the bus finally made another turn, I finally saw what it was leading us towards: the boat. The same boat that carried James and Hibiki=
"Well I'll be damned...."

(James)
"There they are. Mark, bring us around, and have the boat brought alongside that dock!"
=There was no shouts confirmation, just the feel of the boat as she turned and moved for the flat block of concrete that served as the peer for the town=

Eve wasn't paying attention. She was trying to not throw up.
"May I have some water, Marcus?"

Hibiki kept a sharp watch.
"Don't get relaxed just yet."

*Marcus*
"Sure thing Eve,p."
=He walked over to her with the canteen, handing it to her=

"But if you're up for walking, I've got a surprise for you."

(James)
"I won't. But allow a small sigh or relief at least."
=The boat came up next to the peer, and I walked out to the deck. We were close enough that I grabbed the rope on deck, tied one end to the hooks, and hopped onto the peer, rope n hand. I tied down the boat, and heard the sound of a car door opening and then closing, followed by running footsteps. Looking up, I saw Sam running towards me and then pull me into a very tight hug=

(Sam)
"You lucky, miserable, beautiful son of a bitch!"
=I was so happy to see him back. My friend was back, and I had another powerful hug saved for his wife=

Hibiki was right there.
"I'm happy to see you, but Eve. Where's my baby?"

Eve nodded, standing. "Candy?"

(Sam)
"First things first..."
=And then I walked over to Hibiki and pulled her into an equally powerful bear hug=

"She's safe and sound back on the bus, though she tore her wound open a little."

*Marcus*
"Better. Do you want to walk, or should I bring it to you?

"I can walk.."
Eve got up, wincing at her shoulder, then stumbled down the steps of the bus a minute later.

Hibiki hugged back. "I missed you Sam...thank you. Thank you for keeping my baby safe."

(Sam)
"No problem Hibiki. Thanks for keeping my bro safe."

(James)
=Still massaging my aching chest from the hug, I looked beyond Sam and Hibiki to the caravan. People were already getting out, walking towards us. And I saw Eve stumbling down the steps of the bus=
"Eve!"

Eve looked up.

Spotting James and Hibiki, she didn't stumhle forward. She shot off running, jumping into Hibiki's waiting arms, crying.
"Mommy!"
After that, her sobs were all that came out as she clung to her mother.
Hibiki didn't budge, and lifted the teenage without an oof.
"I'm here baby. I'm here."

Hibiki motioned James over.

(James)
=I went to them, wrapping my arms around my wife and daughter=
"Good to see you Eve."


=As the caravan and boat team reunited, they were left unaware of the bandits that had escaped the walkers, and were still coming for the caravan. Hunger and desperation drove them to go on, even if it meant more of those guns=

Hibiki buried her face in Eve's hair.
"I love you Eve...I missed you so much. I missed you babe..."

Eve calmed down a bit, twisting to slip and arm around James' back.
"I love you too, daddy."

(James)
"I love you Eve."
=It would have been a nice, touching reunion. If it wasn't for the sound of bullets being fired a few seconds later=

=The bandits had arrived, and blocked the street the caravan came from. Then they rushed the caravan, catching them off guard=

*Marcus*
"We're under attack! Everyone, grab a weapon!"

(Sam)
"You have gotta be kidding me! Again?"

Putting Eve down, Hibiki drew her side arm and slipped Eve's out.
"Kill them all." She said, moving forward. "Gun them all down. I'm not letting some assholes hurt my daughter again!"

She was in full out Mama Bear mode.

(James)
=I let good Eve, and grabbed my gun=
"Just once, I'd like to have a quiet moment."

=And then I charged forward towards the oncoming bandits. I took cover behind a car, and poked out to shoot at the bandits as they came=

(Sam)
"Hibiki, stay with Eve, I'll help James!"
=Rifle out, I ran for James to give him help=

=The caravan managed to hold their own against the bandits. Most of them were so desperate they really did throw themselves at the caravan, convinced that a group so large had a large amount of food=

Hibiki hung back, rushing Eve onto the boat.
She took her sniper nest at the very top, and started to watch.
"Eve. Call out any target."

(James)
=There were a lot of bandits coming for us. I took out two with bursts from m P90, but there were still a lot of them=
"Focus fire on the ones holding guns, take them out first. We can handle anyone with a melee weapon!"

(Sam)
"That's kinda wha I've been doing here James!"

Hibiki took a shot, and one bandit carrying a shotgun lost a grapefruit sized part of his head in the back.
"Down."
Hibiki scanned. "Only clear shot?"
"Yeah..."
Hibiki cursed. Only one.

=The rest of the group armed themselves and fired at the bandits, following James advice and taking out the gun toting bandits. For those that held purely melee weapons, they let them get in close so that their own people, holding bats, golf clubs, and axes could deal with them=

(James)
"These guys are either really desperate, or really stupid."

(Sam)
"Maybe they go hand in hand!"
=I pumped a round into the closest bandit=

Hibiki kept watch, downing two that tried to flank the van.
"Desperate, stupid bastards should know they'll die in vain."

(James)
=One of the bandits who rushed us came at me from a different angle, so I didn't see them until he vaulted over the hoods the car. He wielded a machete, and the first thing he did was swingit at my head. I jumped back, dodging the blade, but instead of following with another swing, he rammed income, shoulder first and knocked me to the ground=

(Sam)
"James!"
=I moved to help, but more bandits coming towards us forced me to focus on them=

(James)
=The bandit swung down at me as I lay on my back, and on reflex I rolled to one side. There was a clang of steel on concrete, and when I looked up I saw he pulled his arm back for another swing. It gave me an opening to kick his legs out from under him, and he went down=

"You idiot James, I had him!" She growled.

Leaving James to his own devices, Hibiki scanned around Sam, taking down a bandit to her right. "Eve, anything?"
"No, too far in front of our lines."

(James)
=The bandit landed on his back, machete waving in the air. I stood up as fast as I could, ignoring the slight dizzy feeling in my head, and then kicked the hand holding the machete, sending it flying. Then, stomped down once onto his throat, crushing his windpipe. He choked and sputtered, blood spurting from his mouth. I simply ignored him, he was already dead=

(Andrew)

=I motioned for those in my group to follow me, heading towards the town=

Please...Please have good luck for once...

=I then walk forward for several more feet before I heard a noise, and motioned for the group to stop. I stayed silent, hoping it wasn't a walker; or worse, a Shepherd=

I get my knife out, the combat one, and prepared to throw it at whatever made the noise. We'd have to be quiet to not attract attention.
"And we're not even in the town boundaries yet..."

My mind was elsewhere. Jennifer to be exact. Yeah yeah, she's all I ever think about. But it's not like I can just forget her.

(James)
=The rest of the bandits, the ones that were just carrying clubs or knives, were taken down by a mix of gunfire and groups of caravan members=
"I think.....I think that's all of them."

(Sam)
"Looks like it."
=I got out of cover, and checked the area. All the bandits were dead, their bodies laying across the ground=

"Uh, where'd Eve and Hibiki go?"

Eve groaned, setting the binoculars down as Hibiki let the rifle rest against the boat.

Retrieving her rifle, Hibiki jogged down, Eve on her heels, and back to the others.
"Hey. you all ok?" She asked as Eve slowed down and hugged Sam, nestling against her side.

(James)
"Well, other than having our reunion ruined, I'm peachy."
=I cast a glance at the bandit I killed, his limp body laying there spread eagle. I thought about the way I killed him, and thought that, of some f the ways to get killed, that was one of the more painful ways=

"We should unload the cargo now, and get ready to move soon."

(Sam)
"Where were you Eve?"

"I was spotting for mommy on the boat. She was a sniper."
She pointed to some of the dead bandits that would have flanked the group. "She took them out. And that guy with the shotgun." She pointed. "I went with her because I'm hurt and I didn't want to get in your way..."

Hibiki reached over to ruffle the girl's hair. "She did good."

(Sam)
"Oh, ok. And James....cargo?"

(James)
"Huh? Oh, right. We found some food in one of the towns earlier. A big box of canned goods, but we don't know yet if its all edible."

(Sam)
"Well, lets get unloading then."

*Marcus*
=When the fighting was over, he walked over to James, Sam, Hibiki and Eve=
"James, Hibiki, glad to see you two alive again. Sorry for the mess, thought we lost them earlier."

(James)
"It's all good. We brought some goodies."

Eve tightened her hold on Sam, then let go, hugging Hibiki from behind, burying her face in her mom's back, and started crying.

It was clear why she was crying.

A child had missed her mother.

And Hibiki rested a hand on Eve's arms. "Sam...could you help James? I don't think...I'll be free to."

(Sam)
"Sure."
=I left Eve with her mom. Marcus nodded to James, giving him leave to unload the food. I walked with James to the boat=

"So, enjoy your three week cruise?"

(James)
=I grinned a little=
"Yeah, it was okay. Caught a few fish, journeyed down the long river, and.....well, apart from a little shortage of food, it was actually nice. Out of reach of walkers and bandits, we were free."

=We reached the boat, Trevor and Mark already busy carrying boxes across the ramp=

Hibiki took Eve to the bus, settling her down on her makeshift bed. Eve ad attached herself to Hibiki, so the woman found her lap was now occupied by Eve's tear-streaked face.

She smiled, wiping away the tears. "I'm here baby..."

(James)
=As we unloaded the boat, several people from the caravan came to help us. The rest stayed by the cars, keeping watch for any bandits, or more likely walkers attracted to the noise. The extra help allowed us to divide the food up equally between the boat and the caravan, and our first drop was to the bus. I walked aboard with two boxes carried in my arms, and I saw Hibiki with Eve, sitting on the bed=
"Special delivery."

Hibiki smiled.
"She's sleeping...again..." She stroked Eve's hair. "What's the menu looking like?"

(James)
"No idea yet. We'll have to open them and find out."

(Sam)
=I followed behind James, seeing Eve laying on Hibiki's lap, and felt slightly envious=