Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 12b: The Tower

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie popped into the cold room, hoping and praying that no one was in the room. She only needed a couple of moments anyway – just long enough to find the ice cream. Humming to herself, she dug through the crates of frozen products, past a wealth of frozen steaks and chicken and so much more stuff. She rifled through it with care, trying to not be obvious about having been here.

“Hey!” The barked exclamation made her turn, her exhilaration turning into fear as she spun. The young man in the door stared at her, his eyes widening. “Cassie!” he yelped, surprised to see her here. “You… stay there! Right there!” The young man bolted from the room, yelling for someone who could handle her.

“Soon I will be a pumpkin again,” Cassie muttered, this time not taking care as she searched. Fate was with her; she opened a Tupperware box to find dozens of pints of ice cream. She grabbed three at random, just as she heard more people at the door. Triumphant, she turned, extending a middle finger to them as she disappeared from view.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey,” she said, catching him by the arm. The gesture had more familiarity than it did a moment ago. “I’m not sorry I did it,” she told him, her brown eyes earnest as she looked up at him. “You and I… we’ve had this spark between us for a while now. I wanted to do that to you for a long time.”

She looked like she had more to add, but the door to their Kabin opened and Cassie came out, grinning broadly. She had three pints of Ben and Jerry’s in her hands, which she held up triumphantly. One of them popped out and Cassie engaged in an awkward juggle to keep it from hitting the ground. “Is that ice cream?” Felicia asked.

“I told you she was getting some,” Ira said.

“I thought that it was an allegory, a Cassie-thing!” Felicia blurted. The double-timed it over to Cassie, stopping in front of her. Felicia touched one of the cartons and blinked. “It’s cold. Cassie, where the hell did you get this from?”

“The Oracle is privy to the larder of the Americas!” Cassie giggled. She was flushed with excitement and victory.

“Wow… I have no idea what that means, but Jesus! Real ice cream!” Felicia looked at the cartons. “Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey and Cheesecake Brownie! Holy shit, Cass! This is awesome!”

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira figured she would be coming back with Dots or something similar, not real ice cream, the little cartons of ice cream encased in frosted humidity were a huge surprise. "I don't even wanna know how you got these, I'm just glad to see you're ok." Ira said, taking the Cherry Garcia after dropping his load. He looked over the little bit of heaven as he shook his head in disbelief.

No fuckin' way...where the Hell'd she get these?

He tossed it at Felicia, and picked up the basket again, "Let's get inside out of the light before they melt. We're just gonna have to spoil our appetite."

I don't deserve either of them.

~~~~~~~~~~

The first taste of the cream-based delight banished any and all self-deprecating thoughts from Ira's mind as he savored the decadence that had made Ben & Jerry the company they were. They easily decided to hold off on the chili until the next day and instead sat around and ate the ice cream, occasionally passing off the carton to share or even feed each other spoonfuls. By the time the three pints were gone, all three of them were overloaded on the richness of the dessert.

"I swear I never want to eat ice cream ever again." Ira moaned, from where he was lounging by the fire, "but now I have the weirdest craving for ice cold milk..." He looked over at Cass who was sprawled on the bed. She looked over at him, dislodging the spoon that had been leaning on her cheek and partially covering her nose, a look of mock disbelief on her face.

"My Knight shall have to vanquish the chilled udders on his own, the hunter's Labrador ate the duck." she said, letting an arm flop down in a display of exhaustion.

Both Ira and Felicia started laughing which got them pillows to the head from Cass as she vented irritation at being laughed at.

The rest of the evening was wasted away with a game of Clue where Ira was repeatedly accused of doing it with the candlestick in the conservatory despite his defense of the butler setting him up and that they should try to track down Tim Curry.

Eventually, like many nights before and an anticipated many night to come, they settled down in their nest of bedding and sleeping bags. Long after the girls were both asleep, Ira stared at the dying embers of the fire, his lightning-quick mind creating alternate solutions and setups for the last day and playing them out one after the other in rapid succession. It didn't help that he wasn't tired either, since he'd come back from the dead at Target, it was getting harder and harder to get to sleep.

Sometime around 1am he finally got up, careful not to disturb the girls and quietly closed the door behind him. Even in only his boxers, the chill of the night air didn't seem to touch him. He found himself laying on the hood of the Nova, staring up on the multitude of stars in the sky. It still amazed him how many more you could see without the haze or light pollution of cities to interfere. The stars inched their way across the sky as he laid there, pondering his life. He kept tracing it back to various decisions he'd made, then imagining splinters that he felt would have been better. He kept at it for what seemed like forever, hoping to trace out the regret-free path, then wondering why it hadn't happened that way when he heard the cabin door open.

"You okay, Ira?" he heard Felicia whisper.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied.

"The Knight lays siege to Nox without his armor?" Cass asked, pulling the door open all the way.

"More like a parley." Ira smirked.

Both girls had a blanket wrapped around themselves and still appeared cold as they stepped out towards the car, pussy-footing over the gravel as it bit into their tender feet. Ira helped them both up onto the hood, the metal only popping once in protest at the weight as the girls got settled, one on each side of him. The Upchuck was still radiating the day's heat, so the girl's both threw their blankets partially over Ira and cuddled up close to absorb his heat and use him as a pillow.

"You guys coulda just stayed in the cabin..." Ira offered, looking down at them.

"We have something to tell you," Felicia said, flipping her head up and resting it on one of her hands as she looked at him, "after you got up, we had a talk..."

Oh fuck me running. Ira's heart immediately began to race as a shot of adrenaline rapidly went through his system. Cass turned and looked up at him as well, her penetrating, violet eyes not giving away any clue for Ira's mind to deduce what his best option for action was right now.

"Really...?" Ira managed to squeak out, his voice nearly cracking as his stomach rolled.

"Yes." Felicia said, slowly beginning to move her hand, "We agreed that it would be better if we shared you and avoided the drama."

"Wha--?" Ira started, surprised as he suddenly realized where Felicia's hand was heading. Cass slowly came up on her hands and knees, the blanket sliding off to reveal a matching black lace bra and panty set. She started to lean in close as Felicia's hand found him, enticing a moan from him.

Just as Cass was about to kiss him, she stopped and pulled back, her expression dropping from sensual to serious, "Ira!" she yelled. He looked back, confused when she said it again, louder, and grabbed his arms.

"Ira!!"

Ira jolted awake, jarring his elbow on the windshield as he sat up. It was sometime in the morning, a light fog encompassed the campground. Both the girls were standing next to the car, both with crossed arms and both with looks that shifted from wanting an explanation to looking like they would bust up laughing.

He saw Felicia's eyes dart down and he suddenly became aware of his very aroused state. Blushing furiously, he cupped his hands over himself jumped down off the car and headed for the cabin.

"I love what you do for me..." Felicia sang, "Oh wait, that's Toyota, not Chevy..." and she started laughing, which only spurred Ira to walk faster.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie was right behind him as he hurried into the Kabin, a grin on her face. “What?” Ira asked, feeling ungracious after the embarrassing why he’d woken.

“Ice cream shouldn’t be allowed to melt,” Cassie murmured, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him. It wasn’t exactly the sentiment he wanted, but her kiss – and the ones that followed – made up for it.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kyle was happy to see them again. He seemed a little lonely, perched on the table waiting for them. George scrambled off his lap as they approached, darting into the undergrowth. “Wow, the rabbit seems unhappy to see us,” Felicia muttered, her breath warm and intimate on Ira’s neck as he carried her up the trail.

“Good,” he muttered, remembering the damned thing watching them by the pond. Ira set her down on the bench and Kyle rubbed his hands together, knocking a few bits of skin off his palms.

“Now, yesterday, we were talking about controlling the zombies,” Kyle began immediately. Cassie crossed her arms and nigh-pouted as the rotting man continued, “You’ll want to sense the zombie again, then try to control him using the holes in his essence. I’d explain more, but it’s really kind of something that is perceptive, so I don’t know if my perception on the matter is helpful.”

Felicia settled down and pulled out a book, one of the romance novels she’d found in a RV. Cassie did the same, though she’d picked a Harry Potter book to bring. “Not gonna try, ladies?” Kyle asked.

“Here and there,” Felicia admitted. She shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at him. “But I’m trying not to push things, and frankly, I can’t even really feel them. I feel something, but I can’t do it like Ira can. So I think I’m just imagining it.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira's distracted mind took a few hours to even sense a zombie again. Every time he though he would be getting close, Felicia's lithe form would pop back up in his head, tantalizing him and beckoning his thoughts until he would lose concentration.

zombie babies, zombie babies, zombie babies...

A quick flash of toddler undeath brought Ira back around and he managed to locate and fixate on the positioned zombie Kyle had placed earlier.

Finally!

Ira attempted many times and methods to get the zombie to do something, ranging from 'thinking hard' at it, threats, begging, and many other mental games, but nothing seemed to work. By mid-afternoon, Ira was ready to give up for the day, but agreed to try one more time at Kyle's request.

"Don't try to tell it what to do, there's nothing there to comprehend the command, you have to find another way." Kyle said, brushing off a piece of his flesh from the table.

"You say it like it's suppose to be easy." Ira said, holding his head in his hands as he stared at the worn initials encased in a heart proclaiming eternal love that had been carved long ago in the table.

"It is for me." Kyle said. Ira could hear the mirth in his voice, but didn't dare look up, knowing that the look was gruesome.

"Fine." Ira huffed. "One more time..." He folded his arms down on the table and let his head fall into them, shutting out the world as he connected with the zombie just beyond sight in the trees.

Fill the holes in the essences...that sounds so gay.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel the zombie, letting his sense get close and probe it.

I hope this zombie used to be a woman. Ira paused for a moment. Yeah, because being a necro is sooo much better.

Shaking his head slightly and trying not to think of the connotations, he tried to feel out the zombie, looking past the physical form and letting his view expand beyond. And that's when he felt it...a slight pull.

He let himself be pulled into the current and as his focus narrowed, he finally saw it, a hole in the substance of the zombie. It was like a gaping black hole that was yearning. He could feel the hunger underlying its very being.

Ira figured this had to be the hole Kyle was talking about, and if not, then this was his 'different' way of doing things. Ira concentrated and imagined a command to 'sleep', letting the unseen force pull it into the zombie. There was a moment where Ira felt himself pulled into the zombie, as his will supplanted the hunger, but it was brief and fleeting and then he felt the zombie fall over.

"I did it!" Ira said suddenly, sitting up. "I fuckin' did it!"

He stood up and danced around, excited at his success.

[Dawn OOC]

The girls had been entertaining themselves. Cassie mostly read her book or wandered around; she wasn’t even trying to learn Kyle’s lessons anymore. Felicia kept trying but it seemed to wear her out rapidly so she limited her attempts. Between tries, she napped, her head in Cassie’s lap, or read her own book.

At Ira’s exclamation, Felicia jerked awake and Cassie looked up. As the cinnamon-skinned temptress that had been distracting him all day wiped drool off her face and mumbled an apology to Cassie, Kyle clapped him on the shoulder with a wet meaty sound. “Congrats!” the undead man said, grinning from ear to ear. “Some more practice, and you’ll be able to do this all day long.”

“Did you kill it?” Felicia asked, moving closer to the zombie.

It lurched at her on hands and knees, but only an inch before it stopped, shaking. Felicia was already backpeddling but Kyle said, “Alright, I’ve got ‘em.” He smiled at Ira. “You did good – you just need to maintain the hold instead of getting excited about it. But for your first day, that was excellent.”

“Alright,” Felicia said, looking paler than usual. “I think I’m done for the day. Ira… you can stay, but I need to go back. Cassie could take me, if you wanted.” Her big eyes looked at him with both weariness and alarm; the zombie had shaken her.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira glanced back and forth between the two, seeming to pause for a moment, calculating.

Is she gonna say something? Is she feigning exhaustion? She looks far too tired. Is it safe to let them go alone? What if something happens? Could Cass get me in time? Would she get me? Gotta maintain confidence and innocence.

"Sure, that's fine." Ira said with cautious undertones. "I'd like to see if I can do it again."

Kyle nodded, "That's fine with me, not like I have any pressing business to attend to."

The girls made their way down the trail leaving the Master and Apprentice alone.

"Think you can do it again?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, now that I know what to look for, should be no problem." Ira responded, sitting back down.

"Okay, this time, don't release. Maintain it."

Ira rolled his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I get it." and he waved off the advice.

Let's see how awesome I am.

He closed his eyes and quickly found the stilled undead, the current of dammed up hunger held by Kyle already trying to pull Ira in. He tried just telling it to 'Die', but the swirling vortex of insatiable desire devoured the thought before it could supplant the emotion. He tried again, this time trying to focus that hunger inward, to reverse the current back upon itself, in an attempt to have the zombie consume or attack itself, but he was barely able to make it quiver.

Okay, not that awesome.

He thought of the next worst thing next to death and sent that command, supplanting the hunger easily this time, the essence of the zombie taking to his command with the same fervor it had wanted to kill. Ira raised his head and opened his eyes as he watched the abomination perform the Macarena.

Suck it, flesh face.

[Dawn OOC]

Kyle grinned widely. “Awesome! You’re picking this right up,” he said, offering his fist to bump. Ira canted an eyebrow and stared at him; when it was clear that he’d get no fist-love, Kyle lowered his hand. There was a moment of awkwardness from the rotting man before he bulled past it. “And you’re maintaining it.”

“Yeah,” Ira said, “is there any way to tell it to do the Macarena and just have it do it? Or do I have to tell it to do each step?”

“You can tell it to do an action and it will, but it has to know what the action is,” Kyle told him. Reaching over, he turned on the Coleman lamp, pushing back the darkness that had gathered around them. “So telling it to tango won’t do anything; telling it to dance will get it to do a weird straight-man’s shuffle-sway. Walking is a viable command; goose-stepping isn’t. I think that with the conscious mind gone, all you’re left with is the learned patterns, the so-called muscle memory. You’ve got some muscle memory to play around with, but not much.”

“Let’s keep going,” Ira said. He was caught up in his desire to learn this power. If he could command zombies to die, that would be the best power to have in a zombie-infested world. On through the night they worked, both unaware of the time passing. It wasn’t until Ira felt sudden fatigue and knew he’d run through his energy reserves did they stop. “Best get home,” he said, even as he realized he may have pushed too far.

“Why don’t you sleep up here? I have a sleeping bag that the kid uses sometimes,” Kyle offered.

“Nah, the girls will worry if I don’t get back,” Ira said, having zero interest in leaving himself helpless around Zombie-man.

“Alright, I’ll see you later,” Kyle offered. Reaching over, he snapped off the lamp, pitching them into darkness. The last thing Ira saw was Kyle grinning gruesomely at him.

Ira made it as far as the car before he decided to stop. After stumbling down the trail with only the moonlight to guide him, he decided that he was done. It didn’t even occur to him to figure out why the Nova was still parked there. He tumbled into sleep, right into a nightmare that Felicia and Cassie were searching for him. He was there, but he was a zombie and they couldn’t recognize him anymore. The dead rabbit watched with dull eyes while static hissed and crackled at the edge of his perception.

When he woke up, there was a note, a warm six-pack of root beer and a Tupperware container. The container held chili; the note said, You looked like you needed the sleep. Cassie sends her love (or is all “Juliet” for her Knight – was Romeo a knight? I don’t think so, also they died so to be safe, I think you shouldn’t ever marry Cass ) and I send love and chili. I think we’re going to stay at the Kabin from now on, maybe I’ll take Cassie out to the lake. We just don’t have much to do up there and Kyle is scary. And the damned rabbit, too. Plus we distract you, I suspect. Have fun, don’t forget to once and a while come and see the two hot babes pining for you. We love you more than Kyle does and his powers of bro-mance are flaccid compared to our powers of ho-mance. XOXO Felicia and Cass.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira smiled at the note, once again feeling undeserving of the care and attention he got from the two women. At least now though, he wouldn't have to constantly worry about their safety around Kyle. But on the other hand, now they would be alone most of the time and he wouldn't be anywhere near them. That seemed much worse the more he thought about it, but then his mind flashed the images of the two victims in the parking lot of Target and he knew their immediate safety was not a worry. To his benefit, without their distraction, he would be able to hopefully master the ability much faster and get rid of Kyle. Then they could enjoy the safety of the park until whenever they decided to leave.

Ira ate the chili while he read the note again, chasing the spicy beans and meat with the warm root beer.

God, I'm gonna have bad heartburn.

"Why would I ever marry Cass?" Ira wondered, idly using his finger to wipe out the last vestiges of chili from the container.

The institution of marriage is more or less a sham in a world that any pre-conceived conception of God has obviously abandoned. If anything, we're the ones in Hell, and the dead are the lucky ones.

"Wonder what I did that got me sent to Hell then." Ira mused, downing the fourth root beer.

Man, I'm starving.

Ira looked down at the empty container that had been wiped clean and tossed it down on the passenger seat.

"Need fooooood. Nom nom nom."

Ira folded the note and stuffed it in his pocket as he got out of the Nova and unlocked the trunk. He dug around for awhile, but found a few half melted candy bars that hadn't been moved to the Kabin. Careful to use the wrapper as a barrier against the prevailing stickiness he quickly consumed them and tossed the wrappers.

"Well, if the girls are gonna have a spa day, might as well head back to the academy."

Sipping the last root beer, with the Citori on his shoulder, Ira started walking back to Kyle's class, his mind switching between worrying and fantasizing about the girls at the pond.

[Dawn OOC]

Kyle was surprised but pleased to see him back so soon. The dead man didn’t hesitate or waste time, and soon Ira was back at his studies, endlessly practicing on the zombies. They tested his tolerances that day and Ira was disappointed: his range could be measured in yards and he could only control one at a time.

“Man, that sucks,” Ira groaned, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He’d worked hard trying to control more than one zombie, and had only worn himself out. He’d been able to handle one or the other, but not both.

“No worries, it’ll just take time,” Kyle said encouragingly. He didn’t try to touch Ira again, though he looked like he was considering it.

“How long did it take you?” Ira asked, hoping to get a timeline of how long he was going to be suck here, tolerating the zombie and the damned rabbit.

“I… I’ve been able to do this since Z-day,” Kyle said, looking a little sad as he spoke. “But, I’ve also looked like this, so it’s a balance, right?”

“Uh huh,” Ira grunted. He fell silent, mulling over what Kyle had told him. Despite being glad that Ira wouldn’t have competition from other ‘zombie-manipulators’ he kinda wished he could talk to someone who had to learn it. It would have been nice to get a bit more guidance than Kyle’s “I just have to do this” stuff.

“You wanna try again?”

“No,” Ira said, rising to his feet. “I’m done for today.”

“Alright. Tomorrow, let’s try more than two zombies,” Kyle replied.

“Why?” Ira asked.

“Because when you get enough zombies they all start to… hive together,” he said, frowning. “That’s not the right word. You know how fish all move together when they’re in a pack? Zombies seem to do that too. It’s like they move as one, when they are in the right mindset. I thought I’d bring twenty or so up here and see if you can hook into that hive-mind. Sound good?”

“Yeah, as good as anything,” Ira said, feeling discouraged and unhappy. It was so freaking easy for Kyle; he’d been gifted with this. Ira felt like he was grasping at strings made of smoke.

“Don’t worry,” Kyle encouraged. “You’ll get it.”

“Yeah.” That was the last thing that Ira said to him, before leaving for the evening. Back at the car, there were no more gifts from the girls; perhaps that was a subtle way of drawing him back to them. It occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Kyle eat anything yet. Ira considered that he might not eat at all, right before he realized that Kyle just might not eat in front of him. With that chilling thought, he went home.

The girls were happy to see him; he got kisses from both, though Felicity’s was a chaste peck on the cheek. He was just as happy to see them. They spent the night playing games, eating and talking. When Ira lay down, it was happily cuddled between them. He practiced long into the night, until he wore himself out.

The next day was another frustration. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t do more than one zombie. This streak continued onward, as the hot days passed. He spent them laboring over his lessons; at night, the girls told him about their days fishing or swimming or exploring. Ira did his best to smile, but they were having a nice summer vacation and he was learning how to dominate zombies from a living zombie. It sucked.

It was almost August before he learned how to do it.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Once he got it, Ira didn't know how he hadn't been able to do it before. It was like it was always there, beckoning him.

"I've always wanted to do that, but I couldn't remember the moves." Kyle chuckled grotesquely, watching Ira's group of zombies.

"I used to be a fan...not much anymore, but it seemed appropriate." Ira said, keeping concentration as he guided the small group of zombies through the dance moves of Thriller that he could recall.

That only went so far though, and as Ira got confused and couldn't recall the next steps, so did the zombies, stopping their actions and milling about. The looks on their faces returned to the ever-present hunger and they stared with intensity at Ira.

"Don't lose them Ira, you have to focus, one command to the next, no lapsing." Kyle cautioned.

"Right, right." Ira said, collecting his thoughts as he stood up from the picnic table and stretched. He commanded the undead to stop and reform into a loose group near the table.

"Well it seems you've got everything down. Now it is just repetition, repetition, repetition." Kyle said.

"Finally." Ira said, "If I had to stare at a zombie one more day, I think I'd lose it."

"So you're gonna leave then?" Kyle asked, the question laced with a hint of wistful sorrow.

"Yeah...about that...."

Attack him.

Ira grabbed his shotgun from the bench where he stood and faster than thought let loose a round at Kyle.

Click to reveal.. (rollin' down a river)

Forge *rolls* 12d10: 2+1+9+9+1+10+8+3+7+5+9+5: 69

[Forge] 12:35 pm: 6 sux

[Forge] 12:37 pm: so carv, what is the diff to hit Kyle, sitting at the picnic table at point blank range?

[Carver] 12:37 pm: If Ira gives him no warning, then he doesn't get a dodge and it's not hard to hit him.

Forge *rolls* 11d10: 10+10+6+1+6+1+4+4+10+5+2: 59

[Forge] 12:39 pm: that was damage

[Dawn OOC]

Kyle screamed and rocked backwards as the shotgun blast tore into him. He didn’t fall; instead he straightened up and leapt at Ira. His rotting fingers had pulled back to expose the tips of his fingers, which raked at Ira. They were sharp and tore gouges in his shoulder.

The zombies tottered forward - and stopped. Ira wasn't sure what was going on, but it was clear that they weren't listening to him. Dead eyes watched the conflict, impassive.

“You rotten little bastard!” Kyle snarled. “You think you can take me!” He grinned suddenly. “At least when you lose, I can persuade the girls to join me up here.”

Click to reveal..

It is on – 2 lethal to Ira.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Holy fuck you freak! You jack off with those?" Ira said, leaping back.

I said Attack! Attackattackattackattack

Taking advantage of the close proximity of Kyle, Ira let loose with two more shots, hoping to put him down as easily as he had Wolfie and that the mob would join in.

Click to reveal.. (Steel Cage Death Match)

Spending quantum for Quickness x2

1st: Attempting to command zombies again. Forge *rolls* 6d10: 7+5+4+3+2+8: 29....2 sux

2nd: Blasting Kyle. Forge *rolls* 12d10: 1+10+1+3+2+3+5+4+8+6+6+6: 55...2 sux

Damage (assuming +1 carryover -5 for soak)

Forge *rolls* 2d10: 7+3: 10...1 Lethal

3rd: Blasting Kyle. Forge *rolls* 12d10: 7+4+1+8+6+5+10+5+3+7+2+9: 67...5 sux

Damage (assuming +4 carryover -5 for soak)

Forge *rolls* 5d10: 3+10+10+2+1: 26...2 Lethal

Quantum: 21/28 Health: Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

[Dawn OOC]

Kyle was staggering after the two shots, going to one knee. He managed to surge forward and take another swipe at Ira but missed – and started to laugh. “Always thought it might be you,” he rasped as black blood welled on his lips. On hands and knees, he added, “But I didn’t think I was Moses…”

The zombies attacked then, as his laughter died away. The zombies jostled Ira rudely as they swarmed their former master, causing Ira to jerk backwards in disgust until he was clear of the mass. He heard Kyle scream in pain as the zombies tore at him.

Ira relaxed as the sounds faded slowly, only to be replaced by another noise: the sound of flesh being ripped with blunted teeth, chewed and swallowed.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Moses?

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." Ira muttered.

The sound of the cannibalistic feast finally became too much for Ira to bear and he started picking off the zombies with his shotgun, stopping to reload as necessary.

Girls are gonna freak out at all these shots.

"Better head down and make sure they are okay."

Ira stopped himself before he left and put one last shot in Kyle's head.

Better safe than sorry.

He quickly jogged back to the Nova and then wasted no time getting back to the Kabins, keeping an eye out for the telltale signs of zombies, not knowing how many Kyle had brought to the area.

[Dawn OOC]

When Ira got to the Kabin, only Cassie was there. Paranoia jolted a fresh stream of adrenaline into his body as Cassie asked, "What passed?"

"Kyle's dead. Where's Felicia?"

"Locked away in Rapunzel's tower." Cassie didn't seem angry as she said it. Instead she seemed concerned for him, touching the now-healed rents in his torso. "Is my Knight well?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ira said, not reassured by Cassie's statement. "Where is that exactly?"

"She was removed from danger," Cassie said with an uncertain smile. "Is my Knight wroth for that?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Did you ditch her on the top of the Tower?" Ira asked, confused. "Was that really necessary? And why aren't you with her, Baby?"

"I don't think we have any zombies out there. There is still his boy to worry about, but otherwise we are probably in the clear to stay here through the summer, we should head farther south before winter sets in, down into Mexico somewhere."

*Like I wanted to when I met you.*

"I don't think Felicia could handle a winter here in Colorado, nor could we, really. Not without power. Not that big a fan of snow."

[Dawn OOC]

“The Oracle heard the wolves howling,” Cassie said, frowning. “It seemed that the Happy Warrior was safer away.”

“You wanna get her back?” Ira asked. He’d feel better if he knew where ‘safer’ was. Cassie’s impromptu jumps were unnerving enough when they only threatened one of Ira’s girls, not both of them. Though was he really supposed to think of them as his?

Cassie looked like she was going to do that; then she smiled and all-but purred, “My Knight is fresh from battle - perhaps he would like to retire to the pavilion?” There was a shine to her purple eyes that was unmistakable. “The Happy Warrior needs no attending.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Sorry, Baby. No hanky-panky, I just watched Kyle get eaten and I'm covered in undead...not really in the mood." Ira responded. "I'm more concerned about the possible zombie-infestation we might be looking at with the death of Kyle. I'm heading to the lake to clean off, I will be back soon."

Not waiting for a response, Ira turned and left, heading for the trail, the lake, and its theoretical cleansing waters.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie watched him go, her face somewhere between disappointment and worry. With a sigh, she disappeared, only to come back with Felicia. “-ra back yet?” the pale former soldier asked, as she looked around for him.

“My knight needed purification.” Cassie still looked put out. “My arms were no sanctuary.”

“Euh, sure.” Felicia paused and then added, “It’s not personal hun. He thinks the world of you.” Trying not to feel guilty, she added, “Let’s make some dinner and see if he feels better, ok?”

Cassie sighed. “His words were caution for the unquiet hollow ones.”

Felicia pieced that together and said, “Right. Something fast then. C’mon.”

By the time Ira came back, the girls had ‘prepared’ a meal of dried jerky and sliced cheese, with a side of peanut butter and preserves cracker-sandwiches. The crackers were on the bleeding edge of edible, but the peanut butter helped them go down.

“Are we going now or waiting?” Felicia asked. She looked uncertain, but she was clearly ready to move one way or another.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"We're not in any hurry that I'm aware of." Ira said, ripping off a bit of jerky to wash the taste of everything else down. He let it somewhat reconstitute in his mouth, leeching out as much of the taste as possible before swallowing. "We should go over the entire place again, make sure we strip this place of anything we might need, maybe even a second car. If we don't have to stop for supplies on the way down, less chance we'll have to worry about fuckers with guns, the military or psychotic bimbos."

"We can just make our way down at a pace that keeps us all healthy and happy." Ira added, glancing at Felicia.

[Dawn OOC]

“About that,” Felicia said, looking uneasy, “maybe we should see that doctor you guys know. I mean, I’m doing ok, but maybe we should get an opinion from another medical person. See if I’m as bad as we assume. I mean… I really thought I’d be dead now.” Cassie shook her head, looking distressed but remained silent. “I think having an updated assessment of my health would help us.”

“The Oracle could move her there without delay,” Cassie offered. “The Happy Warrior could be measured soon.”

“I think I’d like Ira there,” Felicia said softly. Her dark eyes caught his for a moment. “That way, he can hear the information from the doctor. I don’t mean go now – we have this place to ourselves. I mean we stop on our way down there.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Oklahoma isn't exactly 'on the way', but if you think we need to, then I suppose we can. Not exactly my first choice, but we have always said that 'Mif' doctor chick could probably heal you." Ira said, dreading another encounter with the crazy people of the refuge. "Assuming that place hasn't been overrun or imploded...what about bringing Mif here? Baby, was she small enough that you could bring her here? Seems like that would be a win-win."

Brilliant!

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie was quiet as she clearly considered it. Then she nodded. “The Healer should not be too great a burden,” she said. A moment later, she was gone with a popping of displaced air.

“So.” Felicia looked uneasy. “What the hell is going on? Cassie freaked out something good on me when we heard the gunshots. Are you okay? I mean, you look fine, but are you okay, Ira?”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Cassie popped into the Refuge’s medical center to find it bustling. Boxes were being packed; beds were being stripped and prepared for a move. Several people stared at her and she stared nervously back.

“Cassie?” Myfwanny’s voice made the Oracle sag with relief. She turned to see the fiery-haired doctor approaching her.

“Allow me to ferry you down the Stygian depths to help the Happy Warrior,” Cassie quickly requested.

Click to reveal..

This a little ways further along for the Refuge; they’ve started the first steps of the move.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany threw the nonsense out and mentally peered at the meat of what Cassie was saying. She wanted to take Myf somewhere...somewhere dark?...and help someone. Which meant that there was probably some kind of emergency.

She grabbed a first aid kid and asked, "Is it dangerous? Should we bring someone who can fight as well?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

Originally Posted By: Felicia

“So.” Felicia looked uneasy. “What the hell is going on? Cassie freaked out something good on me when we heard the gunshots. Are you okay? I mean, you look fine, but are you okay, Ira?”

"I'm cool now I got the Kyle-bits off me." Ira said, repressing a shudder. "He went down easy, I think. I didn't give the zombies time to get indigestion. Daven wasn't there though, concerned he may take this out on us."

"What did he say when you...ya know..." Felicia asked, kinda tilting her head and looking askance.

"Oh, he went on about Moses and some shit, sounded very Cassie-like. Saying he didn't think I would be the one or whatever. It isn't important, that guy was fucked in the head...what hadn't rotted anyway." Ira mumbled.

"Did you tell Cass about it?"

"No, why would I, Sugar?"

"Well, that is kinda her thing."

"Then you tell her, I don't care."

"I wasn't there Ira, I don't know what he said!"

"Hey now, what's with the flare up? I'm sure it will come up, not like we don't have lots of time and very little to talk about. 'Sides, nothin' much she says seems to actually be prophetic, mostly cryptic doom and gloom that never passes."

Yay for talking

"Be nice."

Ira sighed. "I wasn't insulting her..." For fucking out loud "Just sayin' the garbled thing...look I better just shut up...I exchanged my shovel for a backhoe and I want my hole to be something I can dig out of."

Felicia folded her arms.

Ira glanced over at her from the suddenly very interesting goings on outside.

Good Lord. "I will tell her tonight, after Myf has check you out...happy?"

Where did I put that fucking Zune?

[Dawn OOC]

“The wagon will not hold all you ask,” Cassie told her, taking the case from her. The Oracle put it on a nearby table and turned back to Myf. The blonde girl put her hands on Myf’s shoulders, her purple eyes intense as she met the older woman’s gaze. Myfwanny felt a tingle –

And they were in bright sunlight, in front of a cabin. Two people were waiting for her; a younger man she remembered, Ira, and an unfamiliar woman. She was clearly in poor health, with skin bordering on gray. Long dark hair fell past her shoulders, which were bony even through the shirt she wore. Still, there was something about her, some presence of person which drew the eye to her. When she was healthy, she must have been a show-stealer. However, it was clear to Myf that the two had been arguing, or at least not agreeing, right before she showed up. If Cassie was aware, she wasn’t showing it.

“You must be the doctor,” the woman said, offering her hand. “I’m Felicia. Thanks for coming to see me.”

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany smiled, but it wasn't in her eyes. Felicia looked bad.

She offered a hand and smiled warmly. "I'm Myfwany Shattuck. You must be the 'happy warrior' I've heard so much about. You look like you've been having a rough time. Would you describe your symptoms?"

She activated her parasenses as she spoke, reducing Felicia to a web of energy that she examined minutely as she listened.

(Activating Life Sense)

[Dawn OOC]

"I'm just generally tired all the time," Felicia said, her expression falling into schooled impatience. It was a common look when someone has been dealing with a lot of doctors in their recent history. "I feel weaker, it's a lot easier to lose my breath and I struggle with tasks that used to be easy."

"Before?" Myfwanny asked. "What changed?"

"Oh! Right. The US government was trying to make a zombie vaccine, I volunteered and then Ira helped me unvolunteer," Felicia explained. At Myfwanny's look, she said, "According to them, it ruined my immune system."

As bad as that was, Myfwanny had something worse to worry about. Felicia had no life force. Zlitch. Nothing. There was no life in her, that Myfwanny could see. Technically, that meant she was dead. And the fact that she was talking to her...

Made Felicia a zombie.

Click to reveal..

SalmonMax *rolls* 10d10: 5+9+6+1+6+5+2+3+6+1: 44

Felicia is doing Something Roll: [4, 2, 8]. Total Successes: 1.

Tie, roll goes to defender.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Sooo, what's the diagnosis, Doc? She gonna live?" Ira asked, eager to get this 'home visit' over, and with good news.

It wasn't just that he was worried deep down about what was happening to Felicia. He was also concerned for himself. Recent events only fed that fear that he was going down a dark path and there was no high-road fork to take. From what he knew and had deduced of the good doctor's abilities, she would probably be able to figure out what Ira was. Or at least what Ira thought he was, and the thoughts of the Refuge's denizens or Undermountain's even crazier whack-jobs being alerted to their whereabouts was a threat he took seriously.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany didn't answer at first. She was busy staring at Felicia with an expression trapped midway between horror and wonder.

"You're...still alive," she said softly, as if unable to believe her eyes. "How can you still be alive? You haven't got any powers...there's nothing between you and the black...but you're still alive."

Her eyes refocused and she seemed to shake it off a bit.

"Felicia, I need more information. How are you feeling? As much detail as you can manage. And this...drug you were given. What was it, exactly?"

She looked back at Ira, eyes shining. "She's got the z-plague, but...I don't know, I've never seen anything like this before. There's still a piece of her that's alive; keeping her going. I don't know why or how."

(OOC - QA and lifesense still on when she looks at Ira...and Cass for that matter. )

[Dawn OOC]

Ira and Cassie burned bright green with health and energy. Both of them were also glowing golden, though they had clear black streaks in that gold.

“Yes, I’m not surprised to hear I have the Z,” Felicia said calmly, though her voice was shaky. “It wasn’t a drug, but a vaccine. I was infected with a weakened version of the Z. Or so I was told. I was a soldier, not a doctor. They told me it was a vaccine, said there were preserving agents in the liquid… but just stuff to keep the vaccine alive until it got into my system. Then my immune system was supposed to fight it off and I’d be immune to the Z, only I got sick and didn’t get better. The Army docs surmised that the fight had damaged my immune system. They only gave me a few weeks to live.” She swallowed hard at the last sentence.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"She's a fighter. Those few weeks they gave her, we passed that mark a long time ago. According to those gopher-hole docs, she should be six-feet down, but I know she has lots of...um...vitality. Yeah, vitality." Ira said, stumbling a bit as thoughts of a certain pond encounter came to mind. "She might be getting tired, but she seems better than she was when we escaped from Cheyenne Mountain and that psycho General."

Ira turned into the sun and put on his sunglasses, trying to hide his sudden flush and slight embarrassment.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany shook her head. "I don't know exactly how to explain what I'm seeing in her," she said. "To my eyes, Felicia is dead. When I first looked at her, there was nothing but the Z. I had to look again, look DEEP to see that there was still some life left. It's faint. She should be comatose right now. And the z-plague...it's not like a normal disease, you can't vaccinate it. ANY exposure, even slight, is fatal."

She looked back at Felicia. "I think they were lying. Telling you something you'd understand. Would you be willing to come to my lab? I really need to know more before I can even begin trying to figure out how to help you."

[Dawn OOC]

“I dunno.” Felicia looked away, her stance screaming reluctance. Myf didn’t react to the lackluster statement; it wasn’t uncommon for terminal patients to refuse care if they had accepted their deaths. It also wasn’t uncommon for patients who were tired of tests to refuse them.

“We really didn’t plan on making a trip to your place,” Felicia finally said, her hands sliding into her back pockets. “I mean… what kind of tests do you need to do? How long would this take? We have… plans.” The last was finished with an evasive shift of her eyes.

[SalmonMax]

"It'd basically just be a physical," Myf answered. "I'd take some blood, some cell cultures. Check your responses, temperature, that sort of thing. Felicia...I know you probably haven't got any reason to trust doctors. Believe me, I get that a lot these days. I just want to impress on you that...you represent something completely unknown outside the enclave you came from. Nothing anyone's been able to do, nothing, has ever so much as slowed Z down. I can heal a broken bone or bad cut in an instant, but I can't stop Z for more than a second or two."

"And I know you're not 'just' an experiment. I know you're a woman, and I believe you need help. I think, if you give me a chance I can help you. And I think that helping you may very well give me what I need to help a lot of other people too."

Myf grinned then. "But I promise that I won't forget about helping you first."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Yeah, I've heard that before." Ira said, suddenly indignant. "We didn't rescue her from the former President of the United States and his military masters just to make her a lab rat again. She didn't come from some "enclave."

He finished with air quotes, his face drawn down in anger. "How long into your "research" (air quotes again) before you rationalize it to yourself and forget who Felicia is, or her sacrifice becomes a necessity for the greater good? Huh? She was being held by what's left of the government and they did shit-all. Either you can help her, or you can't. And it sounds like you can't. We've done well so far, we can continue to manage."

[SalmonMax]

Myf looked over at Ira. There was anger in her eyes, and disappointment, but also a measure of sadness...recognition of where Ira's own anger came from.

"Well, I guess you have me all figured out, don't you?" she said. "Not bad for having met me once before, where I was running a clinic for the Refuge. A clinic full of cruel experiments, and terrible secrets."

She shook her head. "I'm a doctor first, a scientist second. I'm telling you now what I need to help Felicia. Whether or not you want to trust me is up to you. Though I will point out that you came to me. Maybe you expected me to wave my hand and make it all better...and if I could, I would. I'd do that for the world if I could. Just stretch out my fingers and weave the world whole again."

Myfwany looked away and brushed at her eye with her hand. "Sometimes it seems like I can almost do it. Like I should be able to do it. With everything I can do, why not that? But it doesn't work. So I'm left with what I can do...which is what you're left with as well."

The doctor looked back up at Felicia, and then Ira. "That's all I have to offer; what I can do. If you're not going to make use of me, then I should be going back. What's the decision?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Fine. Whatever." Ira scoffed, too stubborn and prideful to accept Myf's rational retort. "Her body, her choice, I'm gonna find something to eat."

He snagged his shotgun and started walking down the gravel path away from the trio of women.

Can't fuckin' think with all those boobs.

[Dawn OOC]

Felicia was quiet as Ira stalked away. Her dark eyes were sorrowful as she looked back to Myfwanny. “I’ll give you forty-eight hours,” she said softly. “Then we’re gone, at least for the winter. Maybe we’ll check back in on our way up, maybe not.” She shrugged. “I don’t seem to be dying right now. Maybe I’ll still be alive come spring.”

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany nodded. "If that's what you can give me, I'll do what I can in that time. The first question is..."

She looked at Cassandra. "Can you get us back to the Refuge? I can get the blood and tissue samples there. My lab isn't finished yet anyway, so...again, we'll work with what we've got."