Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 11c: Binding Ties

[Jasmine Gentian]

"I was two weeks away from turning eighteen. Jim was my first. I got pregnant the very first time."

She picked up the plate and grabbed some napkins, motioning towards the crate of bottled water. They'd gotten lucky and stocked up with quite from a convenience store who's back room hadn't been hit not too long after leaving Fox's, so they were still good to go there.

"And sorry about that. People used to do it all the time to me too - when you're sick, people always think you're younger. It was even worse when my hair fell out, people used to think I was three or four years younger, it used to make me really mad. Anyway.. I'm just saying.. the only way for sure not to get pregnant is to not have sex at all. The human body is a crazy thing. I mean.. I had just had my period, and it's supposed to be nearly impossible to get pregnant then, you know? I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but now that I think back.. I dunno. Maybe it's cause I'm a super - between me, and Violet, and the Kristen girl.. something might be different about us. Which doesn't necessarily affect you.. but there's just no way to be sure. We don't know enough yet about how all this has affected us.. you know?"

She waited till Hana had gotten the bottles, but paused before heading in the direction of the guys and Pumpkin.

"Is there anything else, Hana? I'm more than happy to answer as truthfully as I can. I wasn't necessarily prepared for this kinda thing, you know.. talking to you about this stuff. I hadn't really thought about it. But I don't mind - I promise. And I promise that I won't ever lie to you about any of it, to try and make you act one way or another. If I did that you might not trust me, and I want you to trust me, no matter what. We all need someone to trust, these days."

[Atomicweasel]

She knows. Hana thought with a start. She almost dropped the bottles of water she was carrying and turned her head up sharply to stare at Jasmine. She knows, she knows, she knows... But how could she know, unless Simon had told her, Hana reasoned. And how could he betray her like that? Because you were stupid and you trusted him and you shouldn’t ever trust anyone. Especially with that. But as she searched Jasmine’s face, Hana saw only warm acceptance and perhaps a hint of concern. Stop spazzing out. she told herself. If Jasmine really knew...

“What is it, Hana?” Jasmine had begun to suspect there was a bee in her hair or something gross stuck between her teeth from the way Hana was looking at her.

You’re gonna blow it. Stop. Breathe. Hana took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Um...” her mind raced for the right lie. “I just thought of something...I thought maybe...cuz of what I was asking you about and what you said just now, I thought maybe you meant, maybe I made you think he was touching me or something like that.” She stammered, blushing cutely. Beet red. “He’s not, he’s totally not.”

Looking mortified was easier when you actually felt that way, Hana found. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than they acquired their own truth. Hana’s embarrassment lacked nothing in believability. She would have very much liked for the earth to swallow her whole at that moment.

[Dawn OOC]

Both of the causes of her embarrassment shouted and then ran toward the two women. “Get in the cars!” Bond yelled as Simon paused to pull a stumbling Mrigesh to his feet. The doctor looked terrified, but he had the pistol he’d been loaned in one hand, and the keys to the second Hummer in the other.

Their source of their concern crested the hill behind them. A herd of cattle was stampeding, sweeping toward them in a rush. It looked to be impelled by the creatures themselves, but Jasmine’s sharp hearing caught shouts and cries behind the rushing cows. Regardless of what was compelling them forward, the small group was in immediate danger from the pounding hooves.

Click to reveal..

Feel free to post up to six rounds of actions - remember to keep it reasonable. Jas, you can post Bond being Bondy; if you think of something awesome for Simon or Mrigesh, feel free to post it within reason. With luck, I’ll be online again soon and will start the actual combat when I have regular access again.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine took off, seeming almost to Hana as if she were running even as Bond was telling them to. She jumped the rocky outcropping leading down to the Hummer, and landed next to a frightened Pumpkin, grabbing the startled little girl with ease and hightailing it towards the vehicle. She handed Pumpkin off to Hana, yelling over the noise of the stampede for her to strap them both in. Bond had already leapt into the vehicle and started it up, so Jasmine grabbed the shotgun Jim kept at the ready and crouched in the seat so that she could get a good angle out the window and behind them. Hana could hear her voice over the sound of hundreds of pounding hooves, calling out so that both Bond and the two men in the other truck could hear her.

"This isn't a normal stampede, I can hear someone behind them egging them on!! Drive evasively, I'll try to scare them off!"

With that, the Hummer that Bond and the girls were in swerved sharply. Hana could see the hint of a wicked grin tugging at the corners of Bond's lips, that confident daredevil expression that was both a bit scary, and a bit reassuring all at the same time. He gunned it as he swerved, giving Jas enough of an angle to fire off a couple of shots at the stampeding herd.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana hadn’t had time to think. She had heard Jasmine yelling at her over the storm of hoofbeats, had felt Pumpkin being thrust into her arms and felt herself pushed towards the Hummer. She’d run faster than she thought she could, even carrying the weight of her cousin, until she’d reached the Hummer and shoved herself inside with Pumpkin and belted her down over the little girl’s half-hearted protests of “I wanna see”. It had all been instinct and reaction.

Now Hana had a chance to think. With the adrenaline still making her heart buzz and her lungs ache, she looked out at the approaching stampede. Jasmine had shouted that someone was egging them on. The collar of her little sundress was soaked with sweat, but Hana felt only a cool calm as she looked out the window at the crazed cows. I have to do something... she thought. There were just too many. What if, after surviving so much, after sacrificing everything, a bunch of cows killed them all. How insufferably stupid would that be? It might be now or never. Hana took a deep breath.

“Squirt,” Hana reached behind her to put her hand on Pumpkin’s knee. Her cousin was busy trying to climb out from under the seatbelt to look over Hana’s shoulder.

“What?”

“I need you to close your eyes.”

“Why?”

Hana turned to look at her. She could already feel the darkness seeping up and into her eyes, beginning to spread as if her irises had cracked open and were bleeding ink.

“Bana, your eyes are all funny...”

“Please, Pumpkin?” Hana begged.

Pumpkin must have sensed the urgency in Hana’s voice, because she reluctantly nodded and closed her eyes and unbidden, began to count. Hana quickly turned back to the window, and lowered it just a crack. The darkness came bubbling out then, gushing from her eyes black and oily and infinite. It narrowly avoided the two trucks, spilling and splashing out of Hana like the brackish water of some long forgotten well...and it spread. It spread until it covered the cattle and their drivers in a mess of roiling blackness as wide as a football field is long...

Click to reveal..

Hana is using Shroud! I accidentally rolled twice and this was the second roll. It should only be 1 suxx. area of effect is 105m by 105m. (7d10.hits(7)=3)

[Dawn OOC]

Simon and Mrigesh made it to the other Hummer, though it looked like Simon was heading toward the wrong car for a moment. There wasn't time to really notice, but he changed direction right about the time Hana reached the Hummer.

Jasmine stood firm and fired off two shots, the retorts sounding so closly together that they almost sounded like one shot. One cow veered as a sudden patch of red spread over its shoulder; the other just collapsed.

But they were literally drops of water in a flood, and Jasmine knew that she'd need something a lot bigger to turn the herd. Even so, she was glad that her family was in their vehicles, where they should be mostly safe from the rampaging herd.

She heard another snap of fire from the other vehicle; then darkness covered the storming animals. Jasmine's sharp ears caught shouts of concern from behind the herd; the bellowing of blinded cattle rendered the human voices incomprehensible.

[Jasmine Gentian]

The sounds of the gunshot and the terrible noise of stampeding cattle obscured the details of Hana and Pumpkin's brief conversation to Jasmine, still half-leaning out of the paassenger side front wondow. For a split second as she watched the darkness spill out and consume the cattle, causing their bellows to become confused and panicked, Jasmine felt only confusion. After a moment the obvious (if mistaken) conclusion finally hit her.

It's Pumpkin. This must be some new power. She must be frightened.

She glanced behind her into the backseat of the car to try to calm the little girl down. But this time, the little blond girl wasn't source of the somewhat eerie power. This time.. it was Hana. Normal, wraith-like Hana, with whom Jasmine had just been discussing the facts of life. She was too startled to even be scared, though the black inkyness pouring out of Hana's eyes and forming a river of darkness was indeed one of the creepier abilities she'd seen.

But those thoughts were brief, and shoved out of her mind quickly, not only by the Bond-like training she had been getting, but from the man himself.

"Whatever Hana's doing, it's confusing them pretty good! Jas, climb back there and open the box of motor oil. It's easier to replace than the gas, and I think that's in the other Hummer anyway! I'm gonna gun it to gain us some distance, and then swing around in an arc so you can lay out a line of oil! Light it up, and it should stop them in their tracks! You got that?!"

Jasmine nodded slightly, and climbed back, past Hana and Pumpkin, calling out as she made it to the back.

"You heard 'em Hana, you're doing great, keep it up! Pumpkin, sweetie, just keep those eyes squeezed shut for me, k?"

Click to reveal..

Not sure what to roll, or if GM will be doing any checks for Bond. Placeholder spoiler box till I can touch base w/Carver.

[Atomicweasel]

“Don’t look!” Hana squealed as Jasmine tumbled past her. She raised her hand to her face, as if to shield Jasmine from the darkness pouring out of her eyes. It was gushing free and wild from her and Hana didn’t think she could hold it. Already it was twining around her fingers and coiling over her wrist, snaking down her arm and under her dress and making Hana gasp at its cold slippery touch. She couldn’t stay in the car. It was already reaching past her fingers, oozing onto the seat. Soon it would burst out of her and splash over Pumpkin and Jasmine and Bond. It would ruin everything.

Do something! Hana demanded of herself as the inky black whorls of darkness shot across her body, wrapping her in their chill embrace. She had to get out now. Get away. Desperately, Hana grabbed at the door and yanked it open. She went to throw herself from the car, but instead of the jarring bone-breaking impact she’d expected, she saw clear open sky rushing to meet her. There was darkness all around her and inside her and below her. It was in her eyes and in her hair and in her lungs. She was gulping it like air and the cold burn of it was becoming a mounting excitement. A violent rush of power. She was flying—a vaguely human form, a shadow like an ink blot on the sky. Hana wanted to laugh and cry all at once. The darkness was free, not just snapping at the end of its chain. It was thrumming with power, relishing the taste and feel of Hana’s slender form, devouring her. Hana found it terrifying and thrilling. She wanted it to stop. She did not want it to stop.

Below her she could see the Hummer veering, the cows wildly trampling the earth...the men driving them forward. Hana felt the darkness pulsing and constricting around her. Caressing her. She had only to give it what it wanted. She had only to let it, and it would do the rest...

...from the mass of writhing shadows that had once been Hana, a twining bolt of black leaped from the sky and struck at the men driving the cattle.

Click to reveal..

Hana’s next three actions are: Blacking up (using force field), Flying up (fliggity flying) and Shooting up (shiggity shooting blackiness) 2 suxx on hit roll, Blacky blast at one of the bad dudes! (8d10.hits(7)=2), 13 lethal damage, Damage dice! Added onto 10. (7d10.hits(7)=3)

[Jasmine Gentian]

For a moment, Jasmine just stopped and stared, eyes wide at the young girl's impressive if imposing display. After a moment of silence from the truck, broken only by an abnormally meek-sounding Pumpkin, Bond interjected, breaking Jasmine out of her stunned state.

"Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Jasmine! The oil?!"

"Right.. right, sorry!"

She ripped open a couple boxes, finally finding the one full of the black liquid, and twisted off several caps to prepare. Then she called out over the noise of the panicked cattle that she was ready, and managed to grab on just in time as Bond swung the Hummer around in a sharp, purposeful curve. He looped back behind Simon and Singh, and Jasmine started to pour the oil in a steady stream behind them as Bond drove them in a wide curve intended to cut of the cattle from their route. Once Jasmine had almost emptied the last bottle, she dropped it, allowing the last of the oil to flow out of the bottle into a large puddle. Then she pulled out the finishing touch - a stick of fairly low-powered dynamite. It wasn't the strongest of their explosives by far, but it would do the job, and hopefully frighten the herd in the opposite direction of the explosion in the process. She pinched the tip of the fuse lightly, and felt the spark jump from her fingertips to the twined string. She hesitated only a second, then took aim and threw it directly at the puddle, calling out to Pumpkin as she spoke, and any others that could hear her through the radio.

"Cover your ears!!"

Click to reveal..

Strength + Throw roll for Dynamite: 3d10 → [5,5,7] = 1 suxx + 5 auto-suxx for M-Str = 6 suxx

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2575166/

[Dawn OOC]

Mrigesh watched, his eyes wide, as he swerved around the other Hummer, getting well away from the oil and the explosion. He spared a glance at Simon, to find him peering out the window at the dot of black in the sky. What looked to be a lightning bolt of black energy shot out of the dot and struck something behind the sea of black. Mrigesh heard himself make a horrified noise; Simon just smiled and murmured something under his breath.

A second later the dynamite went up and the cattle were thrown into more confusion. Those exiting the wrong side of the darkness found themselves facing a wall of flame. Some were pushed into it, and the smell of burning cattle hair was added to the air. Cattle were also streaming out of the darkness, jostling and pushing each other in their haste.

In all of this, only Hana was able to see the man lying so still on the ground, a blackened hole in his chest. That was her doing; like Zeus, she'd struck him down on her wrath.

[Jasmine Gentian]

For a tense few moments, Jasmine focused on the cattle, coughing a couple times as the mingled smell of burning oil and cattle hair assaulted their senses. Once she remembered to stop breathing, it was a little less terrible, but those first few whiffs elicited a sense of sympathy for the rest of those less able to ignore the awful scent.

"Jazzie, it stinks!"

"I know, baby, hold your nose."

Once it appeared that their diversion had been mostly effective, at least for now, Jasmine's direction turned upwards, towards the scarce figure still hovering above them.

"Jim?! I think she's scared - how are we going to get her down from there?!"

[Atomicweasel]

Hana was thinking much the same thing. How the fuck am I going to get down from here?. And even if she did get down, how was she going to reel the darkness back inside of her? It was loose and howling madly in her blood. It was pulsing out of her like some horrible black afterbirth. Watching it move through the air with lazy menace, like oil on water, Hana felt a sickening sense of elation.

She could do anything she wanted. To anyone.

The thought sent a chill through her. She felt the darkness coil a tendril around her neck, a silken caress that carried beneath it the promise of death. It was as if it was speaking to her. Into her. Let me free. Or else.

Hana gasped with fright and more black ringlets raced out from her, stabbing into the earth in front of a terrified cow and then blossoming outwards like some nightmare flower. The black rose up underneath the cow, lifting it and hurling it towards one of the riders as if the massive animal were no more than a child's toy...

Click to reveal..

to hit roll on the cow! (8d10.hits(7)=4), this is for how far the cow can be moved and damage! (7d10.hits(7)=1), so 10 meters and 2 bashing, then 3d10.hits(7)=1 for extra damage from extra suxx...so total is 3 bashing on cow and it is thrown 30 feet...except that is disappointing to me, so using willpower for autosuxx, which makes it 60 feet and 5 bashing, yay!

[Dawn OOC]

The first Hummer was pulling well away from the cloud of darkness only to turn around it. The change in direction sent cows in new directions, though Mrigesh had to do his share of steering to get around them. "I'm going to see if I can take one," Simon said over the radio. Jasmine could see the muzzle of the rifle the man had borrowed coming out of the window. After a moment, there was a muffled crack of sound.

Hana watched through night-black eyes as the cow flew through the air in a way that cows are certainly not supposed to fly. It bowled into both horse and rider, knocking down all three mammals in a disturbing tangle. All of them had likely been hurt.

[Fox]

Bond slewed the Falcon into a sharp, sliding turn that brought the Hummvee out of the line of the broken stampede. Between the fire, the darkness that Hana had conjured, and the chaos being wrought by Simon's strangely effective (and concussive) rifle-fire, the direction of the cattle had been altered enough that it was easy enough to steer clear.

Quote:

"Jim?! I think she's scared - how are we going to get her down from there?!"

Bond peered up at the distant inky blot that was Hana, lips pursing slightly in a mixture of annoyance and concentration, then glanced at the mixture of men and cows on the ground. One thing at a time - Hana was scared, but to talk the girl down while they were still in danger was not going to work. He unhooked the mic for the loudspeaker rig and thumbed it on, his amplified voice rising above the noise around them.

"Attention, any and all cowboys who still have their health. This is James Bond. You're outmatched and outgunned here, so calm your herd down and point them elsewhere, or we'll turn the lot into jerky. This is the only warning that you're getting." He handed the mic off to Jasmine, smiling wryly. "Try to calm Hana down some, let her know she's doing well up there and to keep her head." Keeping one hand on the wheel, the mercenary pulled his assault shotgun free of the door holster and laid it across his lap before grinning like a cat.

"Keep an eye out for any of the people out there that might try to be smart and take a shot at Hana." So saying, he followed his own advice, watching the surging crowd of beef and man for upraised weapons.

[Jasmine Gentian]

She took the mic, though for a moment, everything remained silent. Jasmine had no idea what to say to Hana - she wanted to get her down from there, right now. But she assumed that Jim had his reasons, and she wasn't too confident in her ability to calm the girl down enough to get her out of the sky anyway. So after a moment of doubt, Jasmine lifted the mic and started to speak, her gaze shifting between Hana and the herd.

"Hana, I want you to tell me how many are out there, so that we don't let any of them get away."

She had a sudden vision of Hana obliterating them all just to make sure that didn't happen, and while she didn't have a serious problem with that at this point, she didn't know how well Hana would take it, once all this was over.

"We want to question the survivors. So just yell out how many are left - you know I'll be able to hear you."

She swallowed nervously, hoping the distraught young teen hovering above them encased in shadow could even hear her, or register what she was saying. She hoped that making Hana focus on something besides her fear would get her to calm down. So she made her voice as normal and calm as possible, as if Hana were back in the car on lookout duty, and it was Jasmine, Simon, and Bond facing down zombies or whatever instead, and she were checking up on her and Pumpkin and Mrigesh.

"Can you do that for me please, Hana?"

Click to reveal..

Activating Enhanced Hearing: -1QP = 19/23 QP

[Atomicweasel]

Jasmine’s voice seemed far away. It felt to Hana as if she were submerged in water and Jasmine were yelling at her from its edge. The words reached her slowly, lazily. She could clearly see the remaining men below her. One of them—the one hit by the cow—was twitching, wriggling like a worm on a fishing hook. It looked like he was trying to stand. Another was terribly still, darkness oozing from his empty eyes and pooling around him like black blood.

Hana opened her mouth to answer and the inky darkness drifting around her rushed into her throat and lungs. It was like swallowing a cup full of ice and Hana coughed and felt the panic rise up in her. Why hadn’t it eaten her yet? How could she make it stop? She shook her head furiously, the writhing shadows wrapping and re-wrapping themselves around her, shifting like swirls of ink. I have to get down. I have to make it stop. Hana thought desperately. Otherwise there would be no end to it. She balled up her fists and closed her eyes...It’s just a dream. Wake up wake up wake up...and opened them again.

Watching from below, Bond and Jasmine saw the mass of darkness that had been Hana convulse. The field of darkness began to disperse, sucked back in on itself. It lifted from the cows and the remaining riders, withdrawing in liquid lines of oily black that all met in one place like an explosion in reverse. Slowly, the shape of the little teen in the sky revealed itself. She was trembling as she sank through the air behind the herd...and the darkness poured back into her. As more and more of the inky tendrils swam back into Hana’s body through her eyes, she arched herself in agony, her arms outstretched. She looked crucified in the sky, a perverted figure of Christ bathed not in light but in eerie shadow. And then, as the last fingers of darkness dug themselves back into Hana’s eyes, Jasmine heard the girl gasp. A second later Hana dropped from the sky like a bomb...

Click to reveal..

edited to await the resolution of Jas's action!

[Jasmine Gentian]

Time seemed to slow down for Jasmine as she watched the shadows receded back into Hana's frail form. A growing feeling of dread began to twist her stomach in knots, and as the girl took in a sharp intake of breath, Jasmine reacted. Though Bond had told her to cover the cattle, her own instincts took over.

With a quick jerk of her wrist, the Hummer door flew open, and Jasmine leaped out. She took off at a full run even as Jim was still registering what was about to happen. By the time everyone watching realized Hana was going to fall, Jasmine had covered half the distance between the Hummer and where she thought the girl was going to land. She only prayed she would make it to her in time, and found herself bracing for the impact even as the image of what might happen if she didn't flickered through her mind.

Click to reveal..

Carver, I'm guessing as to what I should roll to catch someone falling from mid-air. I'm assuming it's either PER or STR, coupled with Might or Brawl? So I did that basic roll, but if there's Megas I need to factor in (I have both of those stats as Megas, but different amounts), or anything else, please let me know so I can make the adjustments. Thanks.

Roll to catch the Hana-Bomb: 6d10 → [8,1,6,10,1,6] = 2 suxx for now, till Carver update

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2601070/

Spending 2QP for Enhanced Initiative and Quickness (figuring that'll about cover the distance between her and Hana in one round, if she needs additional uses of Quickness to do so, please let me know, I have up to 3 and don't know the distance between the Hummer and Hana. -2QP = 17/23QP

[Dawn OOC]

Hana fell but Jasmine was there to catch her. It was close. Jasmine almost didn't make it and her mental visions almost came true. But her arms curled around the girl's small form, and Jasmine cradled her to her chest, holding her close.

There was no time for celebration. The dull pounding of hooves heralded a new threat. Jasmine looked up to see a horse and rider bearing down on her. She didn't have time to move and the mental movies started again. This time, though, it was full of the certainity that Hana would be hurt. There was even the cold realization that if the horse stepped on Jasmine right, she might lose the baby.

Angels were watching out for them; the horse stumbled. It toppled over them, legs flailing but not touching them. Time seemed to slow as Jasmine saw the entire thing from the wrong side of the animal; the image of the size of the horse and the dull glint of horseshoes burned themselves into her mind.

Time resumed its normal rate of speed with a jolt as the rider hit the ground on the other side of Jasmine and Hana. The young man lay gasping for air as his mount clambered back upright and stood shaking. When Jasmine moved, the horse squealed in fear and bolted toward the west.

[Atomicweasel]

In Jasmine’s supernaturally strong arms, Hana seemed as light and delicate as a puppy. Soft and easily broken. But there was some cold hard presence inside the girl that Jasmine could feel like ice through her skin. In the blistering sun, Hana should have been baking hot. Instead, the girl shivered uncontrollably against Jasmine’s chest. The little teen’s dark blue eyes came open as Jasmine moved and they were flecked with shadowy movement around the irises. And then the shadows broke into bits of inky blackness, like stars in a constellation. And then they were gone. And Hana’s eyes were the same deep blue they’d ever been.

It took Hana a moment to realize where she was as she came to. The memory of it, hazy at first, came rushing back as she heard the horse’s panicked cry and became aware that Jasmine was cradling her like a baby. The immediate embarrassment she felt was not so intense as the overwhelming sense of security, the comforting warmth of Jasmine’s embrace. She was safe. She had been in the sky and then tumbling through it and now Jasmine was holding her. How had that happened? She must have caught me, was Hana’s first thought, one she quickly rejected. That was impossible. Jasmine had been in the car. No one could move that fast...could they?

Hana’s eyes focused on the fallen rider, on the fleeing horse. Somehow Jasmine had saved her, she was sure. She had to fight the instinct to hug back, to wrap her arms around Jasmine’s neck and cling to her. “It’s okay.” Hana said in a small shy voice. “I’m okay. You can put me down.”

She was shivering still, but the darkness was gone, pushed back deep inside of her. She was safe.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine hesitated, though only for a brief moment, before nodding slightly and setting Hana back down on her feet gently. The gentle, worried expression on Jasmine's face was a far cry from the horrified look Hana had expected to see were she ever to be discovered.

"Okay. Go back to the Hummer, okay? Wait for me there."

She waited until she saw Hana hurry safely away, her thin legs still trembling slightly but steady enough to move quickly. Then Jasmine walked over and picked up the gun she'd dropped in her hurry to reach Hana before she'd made impact with the ground. Once Hana was back in the vehicle, Jasmine walked over to the man who lay gasping on the ground, her eyes narrowed sharply and the fury she felt at their lives being endangered the moment radiating out of them.

He'd started to sit up, but she placed one foot firmly on his chest and pinned him back down to the ground with it. Then she calmly aimed the shotgun at his head, staring down at him from behind the scope.

"Any day that involves someone trying to run my family down with a herd of stampeding cattle? That's a bad day. Now you can start talking.. or I can start shooting. Pick one."

Click to reveal..

Intimidation roll: 5d10 → [10,10,3,5,2] = 2 suxx

[Atomicweasel]

Hana slowed as she reached the Hummer. Her legs felt rubbery and her mouth dry as she reached for the door handle. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Jasmine standing over the fallen man. Maybe Jasmine would shoot him. It was strange how she didn’t care about that, Hana thought, pulling open the Hummer door and slumping into the back seat beside Pumpkin. She studiously avoided looking at her little cousin. She could feel Pumpkin’s fierce scrutiny, and Bond’s clinical appraisal, without raising her eyes. She could hear the litany of unspoken questions they’d soon be asking: Why hadn’t she told them? Why had she hid it? What was it? Could she control it? Was it dangerous?

Hana felt her face reddening under the intensity of her blush. She felt like she’d cheated on a test in school. She sought comfort and distraction from the little tactile sensations of the seat cover under her legs, from the curl of her toes against the rubber of her flip-flops. She wished acutely for Simon’s hand to hold. Hana didn’t dare look up at Pumpkin, or the cold blue eyes in the rear-view mirror. Her throat was tight and she thought she might do something stupid like start crying. That made her ears burn. She never wanted Bond to see her cry. She sank lower in the warm seat, pressed her knees primly together and turned her face away to look out the window at Jasmine. Jasmine hadn’t looked angry or scared. Jasmine hadn’t screamed at her to get away and stay away. She’d caught Hana. Saved her.

Maybe it’ll be okay.

[Fox]

Bond kept the bulk of his attention on the other men, one hand resting the barrel of his shotgun out of the driver's side window, pointing in their general direction. He fully trusted Jasmine to handle the talking: she was the woman on the spot and seemed to be doing fine. Besides, under pressure she had the coolest head on her shoulders of anyone Bond had met, save maybe Priest.

And himself, naturally.

He did spare Hana a few glances, noting the curled-in, hunched posture and lowered gaze. It wasn't hard for him to read her like a book: her powers were a frightening, scary thing that she probably wished didn't exist and spent most of her time denying, hence the lack of control or practice. That would need to change, but jackboot tactics weren't needed or wanted on this poor kid. Besides, Bond never used a jackboot when a handshake would suffice.

"I'll bet that came as a big shock when it first happened." was all the Englishman said, his tone a mixture of friendly amusement and warmth. He was speaking to Hana, but his attention was, to all appearances, on the goings-on outside the Falcon.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana looked up with a start. Was Bond talking to her? Her stomach tensed with apprehension and her hands gripped the seat next to her pressed-together thighs, and then...

“Huh?” Hana’s look of apprehension became one of surprise. Bond didn’t sound angry at all. She had found acceptance with Simon and it had been more than she had ever hoped for. But now her hopes leaped and jumped beyond the impossible. Maybe Jasmine and Bond weren’t upset with her. They were changed too, at least Jasmine was, and Daniel Craig had gone insane, so...could it be they wouldn’t cast her out, that they understood, that they might have felt the same or something close to it? No, Hana reminded herself, they don’t have an evil thing inside of them trying to bust out through their eyes.

“Oh. Um, yeah,” Hana squeaked back an answer, her voice cracking. Her blush deepened behind her golden tan as she briefly fantasized about disappearing into thin air. She coughed and cleared her throat. “it was.”

Pumpkin watched the exchange between Bond and Hana quietly, thoughtfully. At last she broke her silence. “My power’s better.”

[Dawn OOC]

"I've got a family to feed, too," the man said, his eyes glittering like hard stones in the bright sun. "I saw a chance to get some food - sorry if you were the unlucky one today." He sounded defiant, not at all apologetic about attacking them for their things.

"It hasn't turned out too badly for you, though," he said simply. He stared at her with the gaze of a man who'd do anything to keep his family safe and fed.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine felt anger well up in her, justified rage at the way the world had turned out, and at the measures people felt they had to go to in order to keep their family provided for. Anger at the men who'd been stupid and unlucky enough to attack them, hoping for an easy mark. Anger at God, maybe, for allowing everything to go to hell like it had. He saw the fury flare in her gaze, and waiting for the pull of the trigger, but she pulled back instead, her boot lifting off his chest, though she kept the shotgun aimed at him.

"You stupid bastard. Don't you get it? Who'd be feeding your family if I shot you right now?! Who's gonna feed your friend's families, now that they've been killed? No one's going to get anything done by turning on each other anymore! People have enough to handle with the zombies, we don't need to start attacking each other too! Just go! Go back to your family, and tell them you were a stupid son of a bitch who almost got killed today because you don't have the humanity left to know right from wrong! Tell 'em you were fucking lucky that I didn't shoot your sorry ass for putting my family at risk! And if I come back through here and find out you're pulling this shit any more, I will shoot you next time, got it?!"

With that she pulled back away from him, resisting the urge to express her anger by kicking some sense into him until he really apologized. She knew he wouldn't, knew he had no remorse for what he'd done. She could only hope to scare some sense into him, to remind him of how much he had to lose. She turned, storming over to the truck, and popping the back of it open angrily. She dug through the back, pulling out a few things, even though their rations were starting to get tight. She gathered together a few power bars, and one of their extra bottles of vitamins, piling them into an almost empty box. She tossed in two more cans of the Spam, even though they were getting low. And she finished it off with a large-ish bags of rice, something Jasmine had been using to stretch out the nutrition of some of their meals and that they still had a fair amount of. Then she picked the box up, walked over, and dropped it next to him where he'd managed to pull himself to a sitting position.

"There! Take it home to your family! Feed them! And try to remember what it's like to be a fucking human being again, instead of acting like a wild animal, killing to survive!"

Her voice wavered as she shouted at him, her words loud enough to be heard in both vehicles as they teetered on the edge of tears. Pregnancy hormones and adrenaline were starting to kick in, the fear from almost losing Hana or the baby or even her own life rearing it's ugly head. She knew she was tough, but she didn't know how well she could resist a hoof to the face, or how well that resistance would protect the life growing inside of her. She didn't want to cry in front of this man, to expose the weakness she felt threatening to overwhelm her. She turned and started to walk away, back towards the direction of the Hummer, still clutching the shotgun tightly, her senses alert and her hearing heightened for any sounds of an attack from behind.

[Dawn OOC]

The man watched her for a moment, then gathered up the food and picked himself up. Jasmine wasn't sure he'd express gratitude, but he did make an attempt: "I hope you guys don't need this food later."

When she looked back at him, he was hurrying away, his arms full of her gift.

[Fox]

When she looked back at the Hummvee containing her hodgepodge family, Jasmine saw Bond standing by the open driver's side door smiling faintly, his pale blue eyes letting the young woman know that he understood. Without a word she strode up to him and, shouldering the shotgun on it's sling, wrapped slim brown arms around her lover and hugged him as tightly as she dared, blinking back the moistness in her eyes. His own gun still in his hand, Bond hugged her back one-handed, dropping a kiss atop her head.

"It's so messed up." Jasmine said, her voice muffled by his chest. "What the Z-plague has done to people, what it's made them. That man... he was so desperate he didn't care."

"I know." Bond murmured back, kissing her cheek now. "But you're not messed up. You did what your conscience told you was right." He looked up at the retreating man. "As long as the world has people like you, love, the human race stands a chance of remembering to be human."

"Oh?" Despite the situation, Jasmine had to grin a little through her tears as she looked up at him. "And what about you, Jim?"

"As long as the world has people like me, it'll need people like you to act as our guiding lights. Otherwise the world will need to watch out." He grinned back without missing a beat before half turning, still with Jas in the crook of one arm, to look over at the truck.

"Simon? Mrigesh?" He called across to them. "You both okay over there?"

[Atomicweasel]

Hana had watched with stunned surprise as Jasmine put together a care-package for their attackers. She’d spun around in her seat, rising up on her knees and looking on in disbelief as Jasmine filled a box with vitamins and power bars and a bunch of their rice and even two precious cans of spam. NO! Hana had thought, cringing, her stomach grumbling as Jasmine gave their food away. Stop! But Jasmine had gone through with her strange gesture of generosity. That doesn’t make you human, that makes you stupid! Hana wanted to yell at her. She wanted to grab Jasmine and shake some sense into her. But Jasmine was supernaturally strong, and Hana was barely bigger than a child. And so Hana had sat and watched, powerless to stop her, as Jasmine rewarded their enemies with food they couldn’t afford to share. As furious as Hana felt, she was determined to keep her mouth shut, to sit and bear it out of a debt of gratitude and a sense of loyalty...until she saw Jasmine crying in Bond’s arms and getting praised for her feeble-mindedness.

The passenger door swung open and Hana bounced out onto the dusty sun-stricken ground. “Why did you do that?” She was blushing, but not from embarrassment. When Jasmine and Bond turned to look at her, Hana mustered her courage and pressed on. “That was our food, all of ours, and those men tried to kill us and you gave them our spam and we hardly even have any left!”

“Hana, I was making a point about what it means to be a human being and you may not get it right now, but—“

“I don’t get it because it was...” stupid as fuck “...dumb!” Hana felt a tickle high up in her throat and worked hard to fight back the ridiculous urge to cry. “It’s not like we can just go to a store and buy some more. Nobody’s making any more spam! Nobody’s even making more power bars or vitamins, okay!? Pretty soon it will all be gone forever and you just gave it to that guy! You just let him take it after he tried to kill you and me and Bond and Pumpkin and Simon and Dr. Mrigesh...and even your baby!”

“Hey. Hana. Calm down. Take a breath, kiddo.” Bond’s tone was not unfriendly, but his eyes were cold like steel.

“Just...” Hana whipped around and threw her arms up against the side of the Hummer. She leaned forward, buried her face in her arms, and screamed out her frustration as only an adolescent girl can. “NNNNNNNNnnnngh!”

[Jasmine Gentian]

"Hana..."

The young girl didn't answer right away, and Jasmine shot Bond a worried glance, pain etched into her liquid brown eyes. She'd placed a hand gently on Hana's shoulder, but the angry teenager had shrugged it off. So this time Jasmine took her upper arm - not painfully, but still firmly, and pulled her away just enough so that she couldn't muffle Jasmine's words with her arms.

"Hana, listen to me. You don't have to agree with me, or even say you do. I just want you to understand why I did what I did. And then, if you wanna stay mad at me, that's fine. It's your call."

Hana scowled, but she turned around, leaning back against the van and away from Jasmine, the expression on her face and the darkness in her eyes making it clear she was still furious with the other super.

"I know what I did seems really stupid. And.. maybe it was. But I think you're wrong about one thing, Hana. We're not gonna run out of this stuff. It's gonna go bad first. The power bars are gonna expire, and the Spam is gonna go bad, and the rats are going to eat all the rice. We could go out, right now, and stock up enough stuff to last us for a really long time, and go hide it all in a building and live there and forgot about the rest of the world.. but it's not gonna last, Hana. Even if we took enough to feed ourselves forever, it's not gonna last that long, because it's going to rot. And maybe I don't have to eat, but you do.. and Jim, and Pumpkin, and Mrigesh, and Simon. You all have to eat and drink, Hana."

Hana felt another surge of anger well up inside, and she glared at Jasmine, angry and hurt.

"So what's your point? If we all need to eat, why would you give away our food?!"

"What I said.. about being human.. I'm not just saying what you think I am. Part of it is.. and maybe I'm just being stupid. Sentimental. But being human also means we're not wild animals. We haven't lived by our instincts - off the land - in so long, we've forgotten how to do it. Everybody alive in this country grew up with Hamburger Helper and Fruit Roll-ups and fruit that comes from the produce department. We're used to thinking before doing. And now we don't know what we can eat, and we don't know what we can drink, and we don't know what will make us sick. The only way we're gonna survive is if we figure it out. We have to learn how to live again without all that stuff, cause you're right - when it's gone, it's gone. And there aren't that many people left, Hana. I have no way of knowing if the family that guy is trying to feed might not include somebody smart enough to figure out how to help the rest of us survive longer than the next few years. The only reason humans have flourished all through history is because they put their heads together and figured stuff out. And if no one can figure it out this time.. Hana, a box of granola bars and a couple bags of rice aren't gonna make that much difference anyway. And no.. maybe giving that guy some food won't change anything. Maybe it will. I just don't know. All I know is that I'm the lucky one. I'm the one who can charge into a suburb and kill zombies until I'm so covered in their filth you can't even tell what's underneath anymore, and I'll still be able to walk out with some food.. that man couldn't. It would be his death sentence. I can go places to feed my family that he can't even dream of to feed his. Maybe if I was like him, I'd be as desperate as he was. But there's just too few of us left to turn on each other. It's not going to help anyone in the long run."

She stood up, letting go of Hana's arms, and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. She didn't know if she'd said anything that made an impression or not.. she didn't know if Hana was mature enough to comprehend what she was trying to say, or if she was still enough of a thirteen year old girl to not care about anything beyond her next meal. But that didn't make her any less Jasmine's responsibility, and it didn't mean that the words the young girl had spoken didn't sting. More than anything, Jasmine was concerned she might run off by herself because of her anger and put herself at risk. Even though she was obviously more powerful than Jasmine had previously thought.. she had still been exhausted and miserable and hungry when she'd been found, and there's no guarantee her luck wouldn't run out eventually.

"Besides, Hana.. we won. We're walking away, and those other two men aren't. It's gonna be harder for them to find food now. That's not our fault.. they attacked us. But.. maybe a little bit of kindness might make him think twice before he does it again. It's like you said, back at the refuge.. we're dangerous people. We have to remember what it's like to be people.. or we might end up becoming something else."

[Atomicweasel]

“Yeah, well, if we don’t have enough to eat we might end up becoming dead.” was Hana’s snarky reply. At Jasmine’s hurt expression, Hana rolled her eyes then looked away guiltily. Jasmine had done a great deal for her. Jasmine had taken Hana in. Fed her. Cared for her. Protected her. Given her a family. It wasn’t much of a family. A cousin she’d only seen a handful of times over the holidays. An ex-cop who understood her better than anyone she’d met yet...but who couldn’t give her what she wanted because she was—even if they both pretended she wasn’t—just a kid. An Indian doctor whose name she could barely pronounce. A psychotic Daniel Craig look-alike with delusions of grandeur. And Jasmine, who had installed herself into Hana’s life as older sister and mother both. But it was a family. And Hana was deeply grateful to be part of it.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be hungry, cuz you don’t have to eat...” Hana explained in softer tones. “When you’re hungry all the time you pretty much only think about one thing and that’s food. You think about how to get it and where to get it and if you’ll have enough of it for tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.” Hana blurted. “And you don’t share it with some crazy guy who’s trying to run you over with a bunch of cows!”

Under Jasmine’s scrutiny, Hana’s blush deepened. With no pockets in her summer dress to shove her hands into, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest again. “You talk about fixing things and making the world better and all that...but if you really wanted to help that guy and his family, why didn’t you give him one of the Hummers? I mean...we could probably all squeeze into one. Why didn’t you give him a bunch of Bond’s guns, so he could fight off zombies and stuff? Why didn’t you take him with us?”

“Oh, Hana...”

“No!” Jasmine tried to put her hand on Hana’s shoulder again, but Hana shrugged away as before. “Those guys had a bunch of cows and everything! You can’t save everyone, Jasmine!”

“I can save you.” Jasmine said simply. When Hana lapsed into stunned silence, she pulled the troubled teen into a hug. At first Hana stood rebellious and aloof, her arms stiff at her sides. But Jasmine held on. And, reluctantly, Hana returned the hug and slowly Jasmine felt her relax, felt her breathing grow slower and steadier.

“You know...Hana does make a good point.” Bond said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Both girls looked up from their embrace in surprise.

“We shouldn’t let those cows go to waste.” Bond explained. “Who’s up for some steaks?”

[Jasmine Gentian]

A wistful smile flickered across Jasmine's face, but she shook her head slightly.

"We probably shouldn't eat those cows for the same reason they probably weren't, guys. We don't know if the meat is safe to eat. Maybe it's not an issue for us, but it definetely might be for Simon and Mrigesh. We have no way of knowing without just.. trying it. Is that a chance we want to take?"

She saw the brief but crestfallen look on Hana's face as she realized what Jas was implying, and she sighed softly.

"I don't know.. maybe we should talk to Mrigesh about it, he's the doctor. See what he thinks. But Hana, I promise I'll try to remember what it feels like to be hungry. We'll make sure our supplies don't get this low again. We'll go on a raid to get stocked up somewhere closer. I'll hit the maps right away."

It would mean a delay, Hana knew - Jas had planned their route and included a few likely restocking spots along the way. To go to something closer would deviate from the route she'd planned.. but if it made Hana more comfortable and less afraid of starvation, then it was worth it.

[Dawn OOC]

"You guys can eat them," Simon said as he walked up. "It would extend the food that much more, especially since the folks with the biggest appetites can eat the meat without fear. It might even be worth our time trying to dry some."

The other two men were approaching, Simon first. He looked calm and competent, like a cop, as he approached them, shotgun held ready but low and pointed away from them. His eyes were behind his shades, but Simon's face looked concerned as he looked down at Hana. "You ladies ok?" While the question worked for both women, it was clearly for Hana.

Mrigesh was right behind him, stuffing the keys into his pockets with unsteady hands. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked, his dark eyes too wide as he surveyed the area.

[Fox]

"Nice idea." Bond said with a smile in answer to Simon's suggestion. "I'd like to minimise the risk before we make solid plans, though." He gave Jasmine a further squeeze then disengaged, moving towards the back of the Hummvee. As he passed Hana the tall merc clapped a hand gently on her shoulder, then motioned to Mrigesh to follow him.

"We're all fine, Doctor." He told the man, studying the way his hands shook and his head moved this way and that, trying to take in every part of his surroundings. Bond kept his own voice reassuring as he opened up the rear door and began to rummage through some of the boxes. "These aren't the best conditions or the best gear, but we need you to do a spot of impromptu lab work."

"I'll do what I can." Mrigesh answered, curiousity beginning to edge away his adrenaline high. "But what-" Bond turned towards him, holding out a black hard plastic case with "E.P.A." written on the side and grinning triumphantly.

"Knew this would come in handy." he said with that same note of triumph, then handed it to Mrigesh. "It's a field test kit, mainly for environmental, food, or water-based contaminants. I picked up a whole stack of them in New York right after Z-Day. Got a few stashed here and there, and this one." Bond regarded Mrigesh with a friendly blue stare. "I don't have much of an idea how to use this, Mrigesh, but I imagine you do." The doctor looked at the case in his hands, then at Bond, then smiled and nodded.

"I do indeed. But it will take a little time."

"Not a problem. We'll set up a camp and take a break for a bit, I think." Bond ducked back into the Falcon and reached into another box, emerging with two bottles of peach Snapple. "Pumpkin?" The girl looked around and brightened as she saw the drinks Bond was holding out. "Hana's not feeling very good right now." he told her in a quiet tone, his voice low as he held Pumpkin's eyes with his. "She probably needs one of these and a friend after all of that. Why don't you take her one?"

"'Kay!" Pumpkin said with a purposeful nod before reaching out and taking the offering. Unbuckling herself, the child slid down out of the Falcon, a bottle of Snapple in each hand. Bond straighted up out of the hummvee and called over to the others.

"Let's look for a good spot to camp for a few hours. I doubt those men will come back, and Hana's right: it would be a crying shame to pass up fresh meat if there's even a chance it's safe." He looked at the doctor. "Mrigesh, let me know if you need anything."

[Atomicweasel]

“I’m okay,” Hana answered Simon unconvincingly. She could still feel the fluttering tendrils of darkness. It felt like someone scraping fork-tines down her belly, from the inside. Maybe I’m just hungry. Hana told herself. She nearly jumped when Bond clapped a hand on her shoulder, but her startled look became a self-conscious grin as he reassured her with a squeeze. Turning back to Simon, Hana shyly sought his side, drifting over to him as if by accident. She wanted to tell about the wicked rush she’d felt, the thrill of power. But Jasmine was standing just a few feet away.

Hana was still trying to work out what to say, how to pass along her secret message, when Simon bent toward her. For a wild panicky moment Hana thought he would kiss her—right there in front of everyone—she froze, mute with apprehension, but Simon had only bent to look at her. He straightened as Hana fought her embarrassment. “Your eyes are still—“

“They are?” Hana pressed her palms over her eyes, counted three long seconds and looked up at Simon. “Is it gone now?” she asked imploringly.

Simon took another careful look at Hana’s dark blue eyes but before he could answer, Pumpkin came skipping up to them. She thrust a peach Snapple at Hana. “Here Bana! There’s one for you and there’s one for me but you have to open mine.” Pumpkin looked slyly at Simon as she made her announcement.

Hana took the Snapple, shook it, thumped the end of the bottle, shook it again and twisted off the cap before handing it back to Pumpkin. “Thanks, Squirt.” She repeated the process on the second bottle Pumpkin handed her, tipping it to her lips only to have her cousin interrupt her with an urgent cry.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“You have to do cheers first.” Pumpkin patiently explained, reaching up to clink her bottle against Hana’s. “Cheers.”

“Okay, cheers.” Hana agreed, grinning and then giggling.

Simon watched the two girls drink their Snapples, Pumpkin clutching her bottle with both fists and leaning her whole body back theatrically as she gulped down the sugary treat, while Hana sipped at hers reverently, with quiet concentration. Of the inky whorls that had swam in Hana’s eyes just moments ago, Simon saw no trace.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Hana smiled gratefully at Bond and let the question from Simon pass to Hana, knowing that was his main intention anyway. She watched in amazement as Jim pulled out the environmental testing kit, a flicker of a hopeful smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She had questions, but decided that they could wait until the testing was complete, and so for now she dedicated herself to helping set up camp. She would need some time with the maps to rearrange a new course anyway, and the girls could use a little time to themselves, out of the Hummer. So while Pumpkin and Hana drank their Snapples, the three adults (sans Mrigesh, who had the pleasant duty of field researcher) pulled the cars away from the area where the fighting had taken place, and around so that they were parallel with each other, leaving several feet between them. Jasmine then hooked a tarp onto the corners of the vehicles, providing them some shaded relief from the overhead sun.

She knew Hana and Pumpkin would most likely pull out one of the games they played on occasion, or perhaps Pumpkin would make up her own.. they usually required the assistance of several of her little 'friends', something that rarely failed to make Hana a little edgy, which was of course part of the appeal. Jim had suggested picking up a couple of those hand-held game systems for as long as batteries remained easy to acquire, or if they could perhaps find a couple of those little solar-power chargers that they could use for some of the still-useful electronics like MP3 players or hand-held games. But they hadn't done that yet, so for now the girls made due entertaining themselves with old-fashioned games or books.

Their last task was to retrieve the dead cows, which she and Jim did with ease due to their enhanced strength. They put them nearby to deal with as soon as Mrigesh had finished his tests, but downwind, so that they wouldn't have to smell them too much in the meantime. Then Jasmine retrieved the maps and went to find Bond and Simon so that they could discuss what areas nearby were most likely to be successful raid sites.

[Dawn OOC]

Mrigesh started the tests on the meat while Simon, Jasmine and Bond went over the maps. Simon chuckled suddenly and said, "Hey, we're only a bit out from Roswell. Part of me wants to see; the other part of me is convinced it'll be bad, and I'm not sure which is right." He glanced at the girls playing in the shade and sobered some. "Maybe we should avoid it altogether. Circle around and hit Carlsbad or Pecos."

"Bana?"

"Yeah?" Hana looked at her cousin, who was directing a small choir of humming slime wads. The creatures were so ugly they were adorable, and the two were making music by tapping them in sequence. To Hana, they felt gross, like those toys that crawled down walls.

"Can you make friends too?" Pumpkin asked. "With you dark-stuff? I was skeered of my friends, too, at first. Then I made friends with them."

[Atomicweasel]

“No…” Hana wrinkled her nose up, made a face, and pushed her fingertip into one of Pumpkin’s melodic slimes. MMMMmm. The slime hummed back. “…my dark stuff isn’t very friendly.”

“How come?” Pumpkin asked, tapping another slime in the choir line. NnnnnMMM.

Hana shrugged and then tugged up the strap of the summer dress as it slid away from her shoulder. She had loved the dress when Jasmine first found it for her. The first time she’d worn it she’d let Jasmine pull her long dark hair into a pair of girlish pigtails, even though it had made her look like a child. It was all part of the act. Like the homework assignments and ‘chores.’ All part of being a pretend family. And Hana had been happy to play house. Only she still wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been cast as. Little Sister? Adopted Daughter? Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Now though, she only wore the dress to avoid hurting Jasmine’s feelings. It had no pockets. The shoulder straps kept sliding. She had to be mindful of how she sat, with her thighs pressed together, and the hem had to be straightened and the color had faded and she had to be careful not to get it dirty...

“How come?” Pumpkin demanded again, tap-tapping another slime to make it hum.

“I don’t know, Squirt.” Hana looked up from the color coded slime wads. “It’s just…not.”

“Can’t you just make it be nice, like my friends?” Pumpkin tapped three slimes in quick succession and clapped her hands with glee.

Hana shook her head. “Nope.” All I can do is keep it inside me…mostly.

“Maybe you’re just skeered.” Pumpkin reached across her slime to tap Hana’s. “You’re not touching them right.”

“Sorry.” Hana carefully tapped out a sonorous hum on a series of slimes, then looked up at her cousin, who was staring back at her. “Can we not talk about my dark-stuff right now?”

“Fine” Pumpkin touched the green slime, “by” then the red one, “me” and lastly the yellow one. The slimes answered with a long and dissonant melody. “Wanna play tag?”

“Okay.”

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine's gaze followed Simon's for a moment, then she glanced back at the two men and nodded slightly.

"That would be my vote. I'd rather avoid seeking out any unnecessary excitement for now if we can avoid it. With our luck it's probably a ton of military - maybe even RUS.. or a bunch of whack jobs who decided it was some kind of zombie-apocalypse mecca. Right now I just want to get stocked up. We'll want to have plenty to trade when we hit Mexico City anyway."

She glanced at Bond, tilting her head slightly.

"What're your thoughts?"

[Fox]

"Pecos." Bond stated after a heartbeat-long pause, blue eyes measuring the distances on the map. "We can make it on what we have, and it's not so far that we don't have a little margin for error if there's something else to avoid." He looked up at Simon, then over at Jasmine as his lips twitched onto a smile.

"Not so long ago I would have taken the straight route and investigated Roswell. Time's change and we change with them, I guess." He glanced over at where Mrigesh was working on the cattle samples. "With any luck, we'll at least have plenty of meat to take with us."

[Dawn OOC]

Mrigesh's report was less than promising. "I see now sign of contaniments, which makes it safe for the supers to eat. Simon and I should avoid it, if only because the testing equipment is pre-zombie and I don't know if it can find the virus." He shrugged. "If the four of you eat steak, then there is more food for the two of us."