Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 10c: Dealing with the Devil

[Dawn OOC]

Dinner was good. No, it was delightful. No, it was heaven! Ira had trouble deciding exactly what adjective to use to describe the pure delight of sitting down at a table with real food, knowing that a zombie couldn’t get to you. It was the most wonderful thing he’d ever done, though he knew that was the previous months of deprivation talking. Ira longed to do this all the time.

And that was the problem. The implication was that he could have this kind of life if only he was willing to give up his freedom. And that implication was tempting. Hot food. Safety and hot showers. All of it was so promising, if only one wanted to sell their soul.

Dinner was done all too soon, leaving Ira wishing he could have eaten more. But some discretion was required; also, there was no more left to eat. Everyone seemed either stuffed or pleasantly full. Conversation continued a bit until Laura left, stating that she was tired. It was smoothly done but Ira knew that it was a way of getting her out of the room so that the big boys could talk.

“Let’s make one thing clear,” Nelson said, “before we begin. We know that neither of you are exactly normal. And the other thing – both of you are US citizens. We want you to help your home country by working for us. There will be missions, but nothing you can’t handle. We’ll assess you – you’ll go out with someone like Fuse, our heavy-hitter in most cases – and see where you would fit in best.” Nelson smiled easily, as if their acceptance was a foregone conclusion.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira couldn't help but snort in restrained laughter. He had done well to hold it back at the mention of 'normal', but when the 'US citizens' came out, no dam could hold those waters.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you guys, since you obviously haven't gotten out of this prairie dog hole much, but the good ol' U S of A is a half-forgotten memory. Wal-Mart is the new Salvation Army. The Stock Market doesn't exist, Congress isn't taking bribes, the media was the first to bite it, and the American Dream consists of seeing the next sunrise. Mad Max-Warlords, the RUS and self-proclaimed Messiah's own half the former Midwest. The only thing you can hope to secure is a long winding road to starvation as the zombies mass around you like the incoming tide.

Don't attempt to appeal to my patriotism after some 'Presidential, White House-Dinner', it is probably your guys fucking fault we're even in this situation. Nature sure-as-hell didn't create zombie-virus'. Corpses didn't make an evolutionary jump and realize that decaying was a waste of time. Wouldn't be surprised if it was some half-ass billionaire wanting cheap mindless labor throwing grant money at some Chinese labratory.

So let me make one thing clear...I am, 'disinclined to acquiesce to your request.' No need to put myself in any more danger than I already do by not already being one of the undead. So, thanks, but no thanks. I'll take my chances on the road."

[Dawn OOC]

"You say that like you have a choice," Nelson said easily. Bush looked uncomfortable as Nelson continued. "Regardless of the state of the country, there is a United States so long as we have a leader and the will to save the country. There is a way to recover from this, but we need every one of you enhanced people that we can get." Nelson's voice had gone cold and hard, absolutely implacible. "You can kill everyone in this room, but you will not escape, and you will not survive." He smiled grimly. "I know what it takes to kill one of you."

Cassie was staring at him, her eyes wide. Ira could hear her rapid breathing as she tightened her fingers around him. He heard her mutter, "Just like Death." Felicia looked enraged, her face red and her eyes narrowed at the general.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira's mind raced as he attempted to think his way through the problem. It didn't surprise him nearly as much as he wished it had that, some government ass would attempt to make himself some kind of Overlord or that 'W' was all the nimrod the media had portrayed him as.

He was more sad than angry that it had already progressed to subtle threats and strong-arming. They had probably already seized his possessions, the next step would be to undoubtedly separate them and coerce them that way somehow. The General didn't care about Felicia, she was a pawn, being used to bait his next move into a sacrifice he would regret. Only the King and Queen were important to him.

That was his first mistake. Ira wasn't a King, he was Knight. A Knight prepared to jump his front line and give him a gunpowder enema.

His second mistake was assuming that he would give in to intimidation.

His third and final mistake was thinking that Ira was some stupid kid in a Nova that happened to be lucky enough to know which end of the gun to point at a zombie.

There was a way out of this, maintaining was the key. He couldn't just fold now, that would be suspect, he had to sell it, and he had to sell it hard.

"You sound like my boss at Wal-Mart." Ira said, turning to George, "This how you want your United States to be reborn? Through threats and slavery? Because that's what it sounds like he's trying to do."

[Dawn OOC]

"Sometimes we have to make tough choices, to win against the zombies," George said, and it sounded scripted.

"There is a great deal of difference between slavery and the draft," Nelson added, his voice smoother than before. He was adjusting, attempting to bring them around. "My 'threats' were to insure that you didn't decide to fight your way out of here in a knee-jerk reaction."

He leaned forward, the light glinting off his short salt and pepper hair. "Wouldn't you like the world to get back to what it was? With your help, we could return to the days when we could sit down and eat at a table in safety together, without fear of zombie attack."

"You have earned a river of blood," Cassie said. "The world sickens, and there is no going back to health. We are dying." There was a terrible certainty in her voice, a quiet resignation to fate.

"That is quitter talk. We can beat this thing, and we will," Nelson said firmly. There was a terrible certainty in his voice, too; both he and Cassie believed they were right.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Gonna have to side with Cassie on this one General. Violence begats violence which begats my head crawling out some zombie's ass in 6-8 hours.

Don't get me wrong, I'd be first in line to go back to the America of yester-year, fat-ass customers and all, but that dream is dead. Now we dream of the Dead.

Last thing I wanna do is blast my way outta here, I just wanna leave with what I came with, you can even keep the MRE's, hear they taste like shit anyway. You have to ask yourself, is this punk kid and his psycho girlfriend worth the trouble when they don't wanna be here?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Why wouldn't you want to be here?" George asked suddenly, his voice full of confusion. "It's safe here, you'll be well-fed and protected. And you can help us research how to stop the zombies. Then we can have our world back. Irrelevantly altered, but still we'll have safety from the zombies. Why wouldn't you want to help save the world?" He seemed genuinely confused, like a puppy seeing snow for the first time. He even had his head slightly cocked to the side, as if it helped him think.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"George...do you mind if I call you George?" Ira asked, not pausing for an answer, "What we have here is a difference of opinion. You say 'why not?' and I say 'why bother?' America's mass consumerism left plenty for me and mine to live on until the day some zomb wins the lottery and catches me taking a dump. There is no need for me to go running at them with my pants down asking for a Horror Movie Enema."

The thrill of rebuking the former President had Ira's heart racing. He might not have any respect for the man anymore, but they were really, really deep under the mountain.

[Dawn OOC]

"I cannot understand or condone that attitude," George said. "If you could live without waiting for the zombies to win the lottery-"

"He doesn't care," Nelson said suddenly, his eyes narrowed at Ira. "Well, it doesn't matter. We need all the enhanced people we can get to help us. So, what was that about the Army of the Dead? Lord of the Dead?" Nelson had turned to talk to Cassie. "Whatever it was, you were willing to hurt yourself over it."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Cutting off the President, talk about being a dick. You kiss zombies with that mouth?" Ira said, quickly cutting in. "I think we're done here since the sham of civility has finally dropped. Bet or fold."

[Dawn OOC]

"You've been drafted, son, both of you actually," Nelson said, leaning forward. "Accept it gracefully, before we have to take severe actions."

"Ira, we do need your help," George added, going for the soft touch. "You'll have a great life here," he chuckled easily, amused by something. "I know how good it is."

"The puppies are dead," Cassie said softly. Ira glanced at her, surprised by her tone; her expression was sympathetic as she continued. "I can't bring them back. There is no back, only forward, into the light, into the end."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Name your terms then, and describe our iron bars." Ira said, figuring he had fought enough and hearing Cass concede. He wasn't stupid either. They would probably as soon kill them as let them go and be utilized by someone else. The General had 'Royal Asshat' written all over him.

[Dawn OOC]

"It won't be that bad," Nelson promised, smiling with a saleman's unnatural charm. "I think you'll like it here. Lots of other enhanced people have. All have come to think of it as home."

"Home is where the heart is," Cassie said. "You cannot make a broken heart beat."

Nelson locked eyes with her, and there was a short confrontation. Then Nelson glanced at Ira. "You'll stick to the living areas, where you've been for the most part in the last few days. If you want an item, just let me know and I'll do my best to get it for you. And when you have a vision, Cassie, or whatever it is that you do, you'll tell me about it. Keep out of trouble. That's all. Questions?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Nope." Ira snapped, standing up and offering hands to Felicia and Cass. His body language was all about leaving the room. He could only hope to maintain the dignity that they would let him.

[Dawn OOC]

Nelson nodded and let him go; even the 'president' seemed to sense that now was not the time to suck up to the voters here. Cassie and Felicia each took a hand; Cassie seemed calm, even relaxed, while Felicia was shaking with barely restrained fury. She kept that restraint until they reached somewhere more private. "What now?" she asked Ira, her dark eyes bright with wrath. "What's the new plan?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira looked around, knowing full well, they were watching and waiting for them to say something, "There isn't one. We do what they say." he said, giving Felicia an intent stare. "I don't like it any more than you do baby, but this isn't the time. Too much leverage, so for...the time being...we place nice. Catch up on rest, eat til you're fat and squeeze these bloated wharf rats for all they're fuckin' worth."

Why didn't I develop some sorta telepathic ability?

[Dawn OOC]

"So we're... just giving up?" Felicia asked, looking defeated.

Cassie turned and hugged her. "The cobra waits to strike," she whispered to her softly.

"Right," she muttered. An intrigued expression crossed her features. "I thought of someone who might be able to help us, but we'll have to wait and let me work on him." She sighed. "I'm sorry you guys got stuck here. This place... it's not what I hoped it would be."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"It's a giant gopher hill run by the military, no offense baby, but what else did you expect?" Ira asked, rhetorically. "They take what they want, then scurry back away. We were stupid and drove straight in."

Ira sighed as he walked away, throwing his hands up in frustration.

What the fuck do I do now?

[Dawn OOC]

The days rolled by. For a cage, it had some nice gilding. Ira didn't like being here, but there were some compensations - a bed, a hot shower, three square a day of all he could eat.

Cassie put on a bit of weight, her frame filling out now that they had access to plenty of food. Daily hygiene improved their skin, teeth and hair. And Felicia soldiered on, quietly hinting that she was making progress on trying to get them out of there.

What wasn't good was the General's insistance on meeting with them and drilling them for information. They weren't sure what he was looking for, other than information on any other enclaves. They also seemed interested in the RUS. Ira gave them nothing; Cassie gave them gibberish. The general's patience had held, for now - barely.

After a couple of weeks of this, Felicia slipped up behind Ira as he sat playing X-box game in the game room. Leaning over the back, she put her arms around him as if giving him a hug. "Ready to risk leaving?" she murmured in his ear.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"You know it, baby." he whispered back, turning his head slightly towards her and giving her a flirtatious grin. "Your place or mine?"

His thoughts ran off in a different direction as he turned more to watch her eyes, knowing the comment could be taken many different ways. But he was tired of being cooped up and the meanness of the innuendo on someone who probably had an interest in him gave him a small vent of his emotional turmoil.

[Dawn OOC]

The smile slipped a bit before she murmured, "Yours, sweetstuff, in an hour." She pulled back and put her arms around Cassie, kissing her on the cheek. "You too, beautiful."

Straightening, she gave Ira one last inscrutable look before leaving the room. When he looked at Cassie, she was giving him much the same look. "What?" he asked. She just turned back to the game, her limitations preventing her from speaking what was on her mind.

The hour dragged by, but finally they turned over the controls to another Air Man who had shown up to play. With his arm around Cassie, he guided her back to their room. By now, they were a common sight in the complex, and there were even people who knew their names. They were greeted as they walked, though both of them knew that the same people smiling at them were keeping them captive.

In their room, they only waited a few minutes before Felicia arrived. "Ok," she said breathlessly, sinking into their spare chair with a grimace, "this is likely dangerous and hard. Are you two game?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira slowly and with exaggeration rolled his head to the side, giving Cass a look with a smirk that said, 'Heh, who does she think she's talkin' to?'

"Yeah, I think you can count us in." he said, with a hint of sarcasm. "Anything to get out of this damn cave....Lay it out sugar.?"

[Dawn OOC]

"There is a way out, besides the elevators and stairs," Felicity said, her voice hushed. "There are tunnels that go up to the surface - straight up. I'd heard rumors of them before, and it took a while to find them and work out where they are. But I finally got someone to tell me. Here's the deal. To get out, you have unlock their doors, climb up twenty floors worth of ladders, and someone has to be outside to unlock the covers on them.

"So it's going to be pretty hard," she finished, frowning and looking sad. "But if anyone's going to be able to do it, you two can." Her brown hands curled around each other and clasped tightly.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Sounds like a plan. What kind of locks are we talking about? Something Cass could handle? How heavy is the watch on the car? Hoofin' it is impossible with the terrain around here, especially in your condition...no offense, baby." Ira said, with some eagerness.

[Dawn OOC]

"They're big screws," Felicia said, not replying to Ira's jibe. "Cassie could get them off, but she'd need time or help. And... I can't go with you."

Cassie inhaled sharply, her purple eyes flying to Ira. "What?" he asked. "That's the plan, baby."

"I can't climb that ladder," she said softly, her hands rubbing the tops of her thighs as she spoke. "As you said, the terrian is too much for me, how could I make it up the ladder?" She brighted a little; though it was something of an act, she was chipper as she added, "I did think about the car. They towed it to another part of the base, not too far. It was in the way there. I guess they didn't want people asking about the clunker and learning that you were being held against your will."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"I can push you up the ladder. You're coming with us, there isn't another option. If it really isn't possible for you, then we'll find another way out. Cass has been busted a vein trying to blink with stuff, she'll figure a way to take you, baby." Ira said, matter-of-factly.

He'd gotten a little attached to Felicia, not to mention, it was nice to have someone around to distract Cass once in awhile...to say she was clingy was a gross understatement. A man, needs some space once in awhile.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie nodded quickly to affirm his statement. Standing, she reached out to Felicia, taking her arm. As they watched, she disappeared, leaving Felicia behind. "Not there yet, I see," Felicia said with a sigh. Cassie's scowl when she returned echoed that sentiment.

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

It took Cassie a week to finally work it out. She did push herself too hard, hard enough that for all his joking, Ira did worry about her. But he didn't say anything, for fear of slowing their progress. The walls of the mountain were closing in around him; he wanted out, now.

But finally, Cassie teleported out, and Felicia went with her. Ira stared at the empty room, then whooped excitedly. When Cassie and Felicia came back, he grabbed Cass and kissed her, grinning. "Brilliant, baby!"

She giggled and smiled, then took his arm. A tingle passed over him and then Cassie disappeared. She came back, frowning. "You must be too heavy still, Ira," Felicia said. "Cassie might be able to get you with more practice."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"That's alright, you were the spare part we didn't wanna leave behind. You two can blink out, open the port hole on this place and we can get the hell outta Hell!" Ira said with anxious excitement. It was about time he got out, this place creeped him out more and more and video games had ceased to give him any escape.

"I assume there's some kinda guard rotation or somethin' we gotta take care not to interrupt, so you just say the when and where, we'll be there."

Ira was already packing in his mind, taking a mental tally of what he had been squirreling away into their room that would fit in his backpack without being too obvious. He had made a point of walking around with his pack so as to not stand out when he did finally try to escape. He wasn't too keen on the idea of the military going through his stuff when he wasn't there anyway. Even if they only found some stinky socks and a Zune, you never know what the armed forces had up their sleeve.

Felicia went over again when would be their best bet and where there seemed to be a partial blind spot in the surveillance where Cass could probably blink out with Felicia without causing an alarm. The two could have just as easily teleported from Ira's room, and left him to make his way to the hatch, but Cass never left Ira's side when they were about the base, and Ira wasn't about to let her be alone anyway, lest she be spirited off to be some 'G.I. Oracle'...or worse.

The details were nailed out and now, like before, they just had to wait for that perfect moment.

[Dawn OOC]

The perfect moment came just days later. After Nelson had given up trying to provoke something out of Cassie that day, Felicia was waiting for them. "Ready?" she asked quietly.

"Fuck, yeah," Ira proclaimed. He was ready yesterday. Cassie looked pale but nodded quickly.

Felicia swallowed and murmured, "Ok, then. Let's go."

The three headed out of the room, talking idly about what their plans for the rest of the day were. Actually, it was Felicia and Ira talking; Cassie just held Ira's hand and nodded or shook her head at their suggestions. Anyone listening would have noticed that they were having a hard time deciding what to do.

After winding around bored and chatting amongst themselves - which wasn't all that different from what they usually did - Felicia pulled them into a hallway. "We have to hurry," she whispered, moving to a hatch and struggling to get the catches open. Ira had seen them before, but thought that they housed electronics. He helped her get them open and revealed metal ladder rungs, disappearing into the darkness above. "Hurry!" Felicia hissed; Cassie gave him a quick kiss before he scrambled inside. Then the hatch was closed and latched, leaving him in the dark.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira plugged one of the dangling earbuds into his ear and made sure to turn the volume way down. He wanted to be sure he could hear anything going on around him, but also didn't wanna go insane in this make-shift sensory deprivation chamber as he climbed up the access ladder. He hit 'shuffle all' and was pleased when he saw what came up. Somehow, this little machine always hit it right.

Your construction

Smells of corruption

I manipulate, to recreate

This air, to ground saga

Gotta launder, my karma

I said hallelujah, to the sixteen loyal fans

You're gettin' down on your muthafuckin' knees

And it's time for your sickness again

Come on and tell me what you need now

Tell me what is making you bleed

We got two more minutes and

We gonna cut to what you need

So one of six so tell me

One do you want to live

And number seven tell me

Is it time for your muthafuckin' ass to give

Tell me is it time to get down on your muthafuckin' knees

Tell me is it time to get down...

The lyrics streaming through his mind, he made his way up the ladder, the metal rungs quickly descending under Ira's fit body as he sucked on stale air.

"Maybe I shoulda lost a few pounds," Ira whispered to himself, "Baby coulda ported me..."

Lo-Fidelity Allstars faded way and was replaced with Garbage.

The song made Ira pause his ascent, Okay, that's not cool.

Taking the opportunity, Ira wrapped his arms around the rungs and took a breather. The Knight of Cassandra glanced up and down into the blackness and was not being able to see much in either direction, even with the glow of his Zune's lit up screen.

"A whole horror movie could be set in this thing." he mumbled to himself.

Knowing he had a long way to go and two vulnerable women waiting for him, he steeled himself and double-timed it, imagining the fresh air of freedom washing over his face.

[Dawn OOC]

It was like climbing out of a tomb. The darkness all round him, with only the light of the Zune to show him where to grab the next rung. It felt like he'd been going forever; hed long since lost count of the floors. All he knew was that Cassie and Felicia were above him, and needed him.

Sudden tingles ran up his left arm; Ira stopped, securing himself with his right arm wondering if he was having a heart attack. It seemed impossible, but there was not doubt that something was happening to his arm. For a horrible moment, he wondered if it were 'going bad' and he'd have to cut if off like Ash in Evil Dead II.

There was a word in his head; not a voice, but a word: Come. Immediately, it was followed by an image:

Then the tingles, word and image were all gone, as if they'd never been. The only proof of what had happened was Ira's memory and the white-knuckled grip he had on the rungs.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Holy Shit...I hope that wasn't just callin' my arm." Ira said to himself.

Pondering the consequences of his odd...vision and a resolute desire to ask the one person he knew that dealt with weird crap like this, he started his steady crawl back up the ladder. It had been so long, he had hoped that maybe he was recovering, but this latest episode all but sealed his thoughts on his eventual fate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without knowing he had reached it, his head hit the top, which seemed to be the only signal that his ladies were waiting for, because moments later, disused metal protested and then gave way as the giant screw top was loosed and finally opened into the air of Colorado wilderness.

Ira emerged, rubbing his head fiercely and wincing, "They should put some kinda fuckin' sign or something, ran clear into the damn thing."

"By chance, either of you see Devil's Tower?"

Cass shook her head and Felicia gave him a quizzical look, "How hard did you hit your head?"

"Never mind, let's get the Chuck and hit the road. I'll explain later."

[Dawn OOC]

They began to walk over the broken ground, skirting trees and clumps of dead weeds. Felicia was soon flagging, her breath rasping softly in her throat. Cassie kept silently urging her on, and somehow she kept going.

The Chuck was parked by itself on a blacktop lot. Ira couldn't see anyone around there, but he still made Felicia and Cassie hide. He carefully examined the area and the car. It looked like they had tossed the car - unsurprising - but it also looked like they hadn't bothered guarding it.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Could be worse.

Ira surveyed the obvious spoils they had 'taken in the name of US security' and having found their take to be rather unobvious, he left the inventory check for later and made for the door, his heart beating rapidly.

This wasn't any normal 'escape from town, zombies are chasing you' run. This was the remnants of the military, with a psychotic leader hell-bent on ruling the world. They were smart, relatively speaking, and had guns, lots and lots of them. Ira had no intentions of relying on Lady Luck to get him past those guns either.

He slid into the driver's seat, cringing as the driver's door made its telltale metallic pop, echoing off the rocks walls surrounding him. Ira shoved the key in the ignition and brought the Up Chuck to life, letting her warm up as he sought out his other necessities. His backpack was haphazardly tossed onto the center floor.

A quick scramble under his seat brought out the Citori where it had been stowed in some horrendous clothing that smelled of rotten tuna fish to deter would-be thieves. Giving its barrel a quick kiss, he made sure it was loaded and laid it on the dash. Throwing down the middle seat, he climbed into the rear and pulled down the backseat, his eyes moved at lightning speeds, trying to keep up with his mental process.

Ignorant asses.

Pulling out his bolt cutters, which lay among some of his more prized pieces of survival gear, he put the seat back up and vaulted back into the front. Releasing the brake with his foot and slamming it into gear, he drove the short distance to the women's hiding spot and frantically gestured for them to get in, "C'mon! Move it!"

With Cass' help, Felicia climbed in as Ira flipped the center seat up, making room on the front bench for all three of them. Cass followed her in and quickly closed the door and rolled down the window, her nose crinkling at the tuna smell.

"Sorry Baby, wanted to discourage them. You girls'll need to buckle up." he said, the bolt cutters laying in his lap. "Lish, honey, what's the fastest, quietest way to the perimeter that still drivable?"

Felicia, in her exhaustion, was fumbling with the buckle and getting frustrated before Cassie helped and gave her a smile.

"Out that way," Felicia pointed, "There's a maintenance access road that comes outta the hills, it'll be bumpy to get there, but its flat. If they're lookin', they'll see us... hope this thing can fly."

"The Eagle dives for its prey, but the salmon swims fast." Cassie nodded, confident in her Knight.

"What she said." Ira agreed, not sparing a glance as he sped off, heading in the general direction that was indicated.

Within a couple minutes he had made his way as far as he dared on the paved road and cut off onto the rough, moving over scrub brush and exposed rock. They rode in silence, all focused on the escape at hand and looking out for pursuit. Before long, the chain link fence that comprised their cage came into view. Ira skidded the car to a stop and jumped out, implement of destruction in hand. He moved with the quickness gifted to him and deftly cut the support rings that lashed the fence to the poles along one section.

He had thought to just run the fence, but in his over-thinking, was paranoid that the base would be reinforced somehow, what with the invading hordes of undead.

Dashing back to car, he tossed the big cutters into the backseat as he loaded himself in, already slamming the accelerator before he had the door closed.

"Hold on!"

Cassie clung to the dash and Felicia to her as Ira white-knuckled the steering wheel and plowed through the fence. The wire fencing dragging over the vehicle's sheet metal like fingernails on a chalkboard as it succumbed to the superior force.

Adrenaline pumping full force, Ira kept his wits and continued to navigate his way across the rough terrain, trying to keep himself from breaking his beauty.

[Dawn OOC]

It was a jarring, jouncing ride, even after the slam into the fence. The Up Chuck roared as it bore across the wild ground, rattling its passengers badly. Ira bore forward in the dark, hoping he didn't hit anything. The car's nose dropped in a sudden, heart-sinking lurch, then popped back up. As the rear tires repeated the maneuver, Ira felt the ground under the front change, becoming a road. Grinning, he spun the wheel and got it onto the road. With a final stomp on the gas pedal, he got serious about putting distance between them and the psycho-military.

For a long stretch of road, there was only the rapid gasps of the girls as they sought to regain control of their breathing. Ira had been distracted by the rigors of their escape, but all Cassie and Felicia could do was hold on and ride it out, experiencing each harrowing bump and jolt. Of the two, it took Felicia longer to catch her breath and regain her composure, and she was slumped against Cassie before it was done.

“Where now?” Felicia’s voice was muffled against Cassie when she asked the question; it seemed almost disembodied in the darkness of the car. Ira felt Cassie’s eyes on him, as she stroked Felicia’s hair. For a prophetess, she certainly expected him to make a lot of decisions.

[Ira Sagebrush]

He wasn't exactly keen on heeding the advice of someone so easily able to give him commands inside his own head, but then again, could he really ignore it either? Not like he had anywhere else to go, and hopefully it would get the military looking in the wrong direction. There was still Felicia to worry about and Fox's place seemed the logical choice, what with their healer, but first the more pressing need...supplies.

There were plenty of 'Guzzle & Go's' along the way to Devil's Tower, hopefully they had something viable left. Not easy to feed three, and without checking, Ira was pretty much counting on the fact that the knuckle-draggers had taken their food.

With a practiced motion, Ira dug his Zune out of his backpack on the floor and plugged it in. A song was usually a good way to bring levity to an uncomfortable situation without the otherwise necessary talking that women always seemed to need and he didn't.

The song came up and Ira could helped to ask out loud, "Good question."

"I think we head to resupply first, give me some time to think about that, unless anyone else has a bright idea?"

Ira Sagebrush! You just escaped a high security military stronghold, the former location of NORAD... with two beautiful women...what are you gonna do next?

I'm fuckin' headed to Zombieland!

[Dawn OOC]

Click to reveal..

7 xp