it's the end of the world

To Whitney

Sat, 21 May 2011 20:04:03 GMT

[I'm jumping forward on the seasons a bit. >.> Because time is our plaything and I love playing fairly current weather.]

With spring well underway, Smith was taking to spending more time outside. Having survived winter was an accomplishment that he hadn't been certain was going to happen. Finding the camp had had everything to do with that, he was sure. Otherwise, he knew that people in their group would have been dying. At times, he wondered how the winter had affected the people without the safe shelter of this place. Maybe it had made them meaner, desperate in ways he couldn't fathom. It did not bode well for future scavenging missions and it helped to ease Smith's worries if he focused on a project.

All that morning, he'd been out to explore the houses within the fence and then a few outside to gather the last of what he needed. He hadn't asked for any help because he'd wanted this to be his own thing, his own contribution to the camp. So he spent the greater part of that afternoon hauling gym equipment from the various houses to one central location: the living room of a house about a half block away from the main bed and breakfast. It was to become his gym and training center. In the future, he planned to turn one of the bedrooms of the same house into a ring, padding its walls with mattresses for safety. It would be someplace they could really practice. But that was a little ways in the future. For today, he was done, exhausted, and he actually fell asleep on one of the thick yoga mats he'd found, feet propped up against a giant blue exercise ball.

to Court

Thu, 12 May 2011 08:05:53 GMT

Eugene was possibly the only person at camp who would know the ingredients and equipment for meth. But the younger man was in his lab a lot and so Abe kept them all very separated so they couldn't be linked together while he still decided if he would or not. Like his first attempts before the explosions, this was about money. What sort of supplies could he bring into the community if he could sell a designer drug to the very bored, depressed masses? It seemed like a good thing to have in his back pocket for a rainy day. So Abe was still thinking about the possibility, even if it was dangerous to make.

Hunched over a tatty notebook with hardly any paper in it from all of the sheets he'd frustratedly ripped out, Abe sketched a set up of what he'd need for a hidden lab. He could do it in one of the many buildings left outside the gate they'd erected. It would be safer for the others at a good distance. He was in his kitchen lab a couple houses down from the main house where he prepared medicines and helpful concoctions. No one but Eugene had ever visited him out here until Kelly got to town. Now he was a frequent visitor. They discussed needed medicines and possible alternatives.

To Cadence

Sun, 01 May 2011 06:35:19 GMT

Malachi could be a very sweet kid. He'd frequently been the triplet to melt into the background, happily take a backseat to the fullness of his siblings' personalities. He didn't start much trouble and he usually went with the flow. That was, of course, before he'd been taken by those men. The need to protect Murielle had changed him. The feeling that he wasn't every really going to be safe again had taken the soft part of him and turned it into something hard. It was a shoe that didn't quite fit and he hated the way it felt, but he hated the feeling of vulnerability even worse so it wasn't something that he felt ready to change.

What sucked the most about it was the way it was making him treat Murielle, how angry he'd gotten that she was interested in Cash. He was going to be stubborn about it, even if deep down he didn't want to feel the way he felt about it. Needless to say, he was busy brooding as he leaned over the makeshift fence Willard had put up inside a house a little ways away from the Bed and Breakfast they'd all been making their home. It was where the cows were kept. The female was pregnant, or at least Willard suspected she might be. Mal was there to keep an eye on things.

to Kelly

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:13:55 GMT

Kelly and Marin were discreet, but they lived in tight quarters and it was getting more and more difficult to make sure that no one knew what they were up to. Marin didn't realize that Mikey had caught on, and Max as well. Even Lorne had. It was late and he was reading alone in his bed. After midnight, most nights, Kelly would show up. The nights when he didn't were lonely and Marin hated how he was growing so intertwined with the other man - but at the same time, it was nice. Comforting, even.

As the hour grew later, he sighed and glanced at his watch on the nightstand before he turned onto his side and closed his book up. Tonight was probably not good for Kelly. Something had happened with Mikey, and since then Kelly had been scarce. A part of Marin was afraid that he was being avoided, even. Maybe this was it, maybe they were over before they even really started. Closing his eyes, he set the book aside and reached up to blow out the candles he had lit. He saved the light for nights when he particularly needed it, and chose to use candles during the other nights.

To Mikey

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 07:22:54 GMT

Things kind of sucked. Booting Terry and Lawrence hadn't been the high point in Max's life. If he had any sort of nobility left, a certain amount of loyalty to his friends had been part of it. Now that was gone. But he countered that with the idea that he had been protecting Mikey. But a couple of days later and he hadn't even talked to the kid and Kelly kept giving him the evil eye when he thought Max wasn't looking. So he assumed he'd been sufficiently outed and Kelly had put the kibosh on it. Great.

So now he was making the rounds and then going back upstairs to an empty bed. What annoyed him the most wasn't the fact that he was alone now but the fact that he wasn't with Mikey. The kid shouldn't have been this important to him. He was just a fun little fuck after all.

open to max

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:07:52 GMT

It had been a few weeks since Cash and Kalen had arrived and things were going smoothly. It was shocking how much having your hair cut nicely by a professional could make people so happy, and Kalen was very good at locating things that were hard to find and bringing them back to the camp. A week prior, the few friends of Max's that they'd initially been travelling with showed up at the camp, and with Max's convincing they'd been allowed to stay. They helped him out with patrolling the perimeter and with the more manual labor sorts of things. Everyone was settling in - well, for the most part. There was a part of Ashley that couldn't really trust Max's new friends as much as he trusted Max. And Murielle and Mal were entirely against the idea of them being there at all, as was Cash and Kalen. And with Murielle and Mal's dislike came Whitney's, Kelly's, and Smith's. Mikey's, too. While things appeared smooth, there was a bit of clear division in the camp.

It was cold out, and it had snowed a bit. There was a little storage place down the street where the camp kept non perishable supplies and Mikey had offered to run down and get some cans of food for Addison to use with dinner that night, as well as a bottle of alcohol since it was Friday. The kids never drank, but the adults usually shared a glass and chattered away while Marin played guitar and sang.

Mikey had gotten the key from Ashley and he was unlocking the unit closest to the street so that he could fill up his backup - taking care to look over the little list that Addison had given him. He was bundled up in a peacoat, scarf, hat, and gloves since it was so chilly out.

He had seen Lawrence and Terry coming back from checking the fence on his way in, but he honestly paid them no mind as he had grown to believe that no one that awful was with them in the camp.

"There goes that kid," Terry said with a faint nod in the direction of the storage units.

to cash

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 12:31:26 GMT

It had been a long journey to Colorado, and both Cash and Kalen were exhausted. Splitting from the group had made things difficult, but at the same time easier in some ways. They didn't have to deal with the guilt and worry that something awful was going to happen to someone just so that they could survive. They were able to survive on their own terms, and it had been hard, but they'd done it.

They even arrived at camp with lots of medicine they'd taken from a pharmacy, and alcohol as well. Clothes, blankets, and other supplies. Cash insisted that they shouldn't show up empty handed and just expect things - especially if this place was real. If the rumors and whispers had been true.

The moment they saw the fence, they had a feeling the rumors were very true. Why else would everything be blocked off, if not to keep something safe? After locking up their truck and making sure it was hidden as best as they could manage, they made their way around to try and find a way inside the perimeter. That's when Ashley and Lorne were heading out to go on a supply run and saw them.

Kalen was a bit nervous as the truck came to a stop outside the fence that the men had just opened up, and when Ashley stepped out, he glanced at Cash then looked back to the older man. He hoped they hadn't heard wrong, and that they hadn't just walked into a very bad situation.

to grable

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:51:35 GMT

They were nearly to Colorado, but the snow had them holed up in Wyoming. They were in an empty little house, the fire going, and they were huddled up in a makeshift bed on the couch which Harlow had pushed closer to the fire. It was a small fit, snug with the both of them on it, but it was warmer that way and they definitely needed the warmth. Harlow had an arm looped around Grable's shoulders, and a book in his free hand. He was tired, though, and he put it aside so that he could turn to face his brother and he pulled Grable closer to him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, because though his twin's eyes were closed, he knew that Grable was awake.

It was difficult not to worry about Grable.

He'd gotten better, but he still got sick every now and then - and very tired. The cold wasn't helping, and Harlow was intent on making sure that the traveling didn't overload Grable too much. Lifting his hand up, he pressed the back of it against Grable's forehead, then he leaned forward to press a kiss to it. Now that they'd broken the ice about how they felt, and slept together, Harlow's affection had definitely changed a bit. He wasn't afraid t hold back anymore, and it felt insanely liberating.

to kelly

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:44:27 GMT

From the moment that Kelly, Whitney, Smith, Mikey, Court, and Wade had arrived Marin had been immediately intrigued by Kelly. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the time he spent with Lorne - he did, very much so, but he knew that what he and Lorne had going on was just flirtatious fun. And yes, they had slept together but mostly what they did was make out and just... Well, flirt. And lately that had been dwindling down, and now it was non existent since Jack and Lorne appeared to be, well, whatever it was that they were. It was serious, Marin could tell - and as long as Lorne was happy, then that was good for him. Marin had been growing more and more interested in Kelly anyway, so it was all probably for the best.

Of course, Kelly wasn't exactly the easiest person to get alone. Or to grab the attention of. He had three kids, a sort of... nephew in Wade as well, and Whitney. Plus he was the one with the medical experience so he was often needed for other things. But he had managed to catch Kelly's eye every now and then - Marin wasn't the oblivious type - and he noticed that sort of thing. He noticed when he was being noticed, he just didn't know what it meant. Kelly was difficult to read, plain and simple.

Marin had been out, trying to help repair a hole in the fence when he'd sliced his hand open pretty good on some barbed wire. Of course, in true Marin fashion he saw the good in the misfortune - he now had a reason to go see Kelly and maybe the man would be alone for once since it was the middle of the day. Naturally, he Marin probably wouldn't be able to play his guitar for a week or two - but he wasn't going to think about that at the moment. He headed up to the house with a bandana wrapped around his palm to stop the bleeding as much as possible, and when he headed upstairs he noted how quiet it was. He went over to Kelly's open door and poked his head in the room and was surprised - but happily so - to see the man on his own, reading.

"Hi," he greeted, keeping his tone soft so that he didn't startle the older man. "Do you have a moment?"

to will

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 06:28:22 GMT

To say that Ashley was hopelessly attached to Will was an understatement, but of course the only one who really knew how he felt was Lorne. Ashley was a very private man, he always had been, and even with the world barely functioning that hadn't changed. When in public, he was level headed, always a bit serious. He needed to be. Of course he'd steal little glances at Will, touch him in subtle ways, or give him a kiss when no one was looking. Everyone knew that they were together, but Ashley was still private about his affection and emotions. So far that didn't seem to bother Will, andhe hoped that it stayed that way.

The past few days had been insanely busy. First, they'd had that haggard drug user breach the fence line and ask to buy Mikey, and then not even two days later Jack had gotten hurt. And they were still on edge from the men who'd shown up that had hurt Murielle and Malachi. Ashley was exhausted, but of course he never let it show. Lorne could tell because he was Lorne, and Ashley had a feeling that Will was honing in on him as well. He kind of liked that, though - liked that his lover had a handle on him so well all ready.

After a shower, he slipped into their room - because it was definitely their room now - and went over to fall face first onto the bed next to Will. He had on only a pair of sweats, and they were hung low on his hips. After a moment he lifted his head and leaned over to press a kiss to the back fo Will's neck.

to lorne

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 07:15:45 GMT

Max was a nice distraction, but he was just that - a distraction, and Jack was well aware of it. In fact, if anything, he was using Max just as much as Max was using him. They were both getting something out of it. Jack was getting attention, and Max was being entertained - saved from boredom. And they both were enjoying the benefits of the sex, obviously.

Still, it had made things even more strained between Lorne and Jack. In fact, Jack did his best to avoid Lorne at all costs these days. He barely spoke a word to the other man when they found themselves together. Jack could be stubborn, and Lorne was getting a taste of that stubborness in full.

Jack always went for walks on his own in the afternoons, and the snowy weather didn't change that. He got bundled up and was on his way. He never left the perimeter, though. He stuck inside the fence that Ashley, Max, Smith, and Mac had been putting up. Tonight, though, he'd wandered a little too close and he'd ended up slipping down a hill and hit a few trees along the way. He'd hurt his ankle and some of his ribs, and he had a bit of blood trickling out of his mouth from where he'd bit his tongue. When he didn't come back after thirty minutes, Ashley set out to find him along with Lorne. Smith and Court let them take Scout as well, since the dog was good at tracking. It had been over an hour and the cold was getting to Jack, and it was starting to get dark. He was tangled up in the fence line or else he would have tried to crawl his way back up the hill and towards the main house, but now he was just sort of giving up.

to max

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:58:38 GMT

Having his family back together was all that Mikey'd wanted. And having them together for Christmas was the most amazing gift that he could have ever gotten. They'd shared little silly gifts, they'd had a great meal, and they'd talked about the way things use to be. It had been a little sad, but it'd also been good - carthatic, even. Now the new year was approaching, and Mikey wasn't sure what it had in store for them all. There was just no telling. He was sitting outside on the porch, all bundled up because of the cold. It had snowed a bit, and he liked how muffled and quiet everything was. The sun had gone down about an hour ago, and he was just sitting alone, letting everything sort of sink in for the fist time.

to Smith

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:07:04 GMT

It was late, but Whitney couldn't really sleep. He'd always been a private person, so he'd acquired his own room after a few days, though when Wade was feeling a little clingy he'd end up in it. Whitney didn't mind that, though, and the boy had his own little bed in the corner of the room for those nights - even if he usually ended up crawling in bed with Whit. Tonight, though, he'd fallen asleep with Mikey and Court. Murielle was still attached to Kelly's hip, and she was with him. Mal and Cade were together. That left Smith alone and Whitney alone, which wasn't something that happened all that often.

The house was quiet, and the fact that it was December was making Whit feel a little melancholy even if he'd never really been a big holiday person. The kids had gotten a tree and decorated it, it didn't have any lights but it still looked pretty adorable with all of it's makeshift decorations. Murielle was set on getting something under the tree for everyone, no matter how silly.

Since he couldn't sleep, he'd gone downstairs to get a drink of water. He was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the sink as he sipped at his water and stared out the window that pointed out towards the backyard. When he heard the back door open up, he tensed and his eyes narrowed in the direction of it. When he saw Smith, he relaxed, but canted his head to the side.

"What're you doing? Did you for a walk?" he asked casually.

to mal, kelly, and probably others for this is bound to get messy

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:57:49 GMT

When Terry and Samuel had shown up, Ashley had gotten a bad feeling from them right away. It was the first time where he didn't feel inclined to offer for anyone to stay, and instead offered a hot meal and the chance to clean up. That was it. He'd even gone to find Max and Lorne to warn them both about the two men and told them to keep an eye on them, and to make sure that they left after a few hours. They weren't, unders any circumstances, going to stay.

Terry was a little disgruntled that they were being pushed out. They'd come all this way to find this supposed safe haven, and they weren't welcome. But whatever. They'd find their own place. Free food was good enough for him, and he was busy sitting at the table shoveling bite after bite into his face while he talked with Samuel.

That was about the time when Murielle and Malachi had come downstairs with Mikey. Cadence was napping, tucked in next to Wade - which was undeniably adorable. Whitney was helping put together a real fence with Max, and Kelly was with them helping as well.

to mal + kelly

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:30:50 GMT

Maybe it was a little silly for Murielle to want to pile into bed with both of her brothers and her father, but she just couldn't help it. Being reunited with them made everything feel almost normal again, and she was completely passed out as she laid tucked at Kelly's side, one hand clinging tightly to his shirt. While Murielle was dead asleep, Mikey couldn't seem to fall asleep at all. He was watching both Muri and Mal, trying to figure out all of the terrible things he knew that they'd both been through. It made his heart ache and his stomach drop down to his feet. Wetting his lips, he cleared his throat and rolled over onto his back, pulling Malachi with him as if he was afraid his brother might just up and disappear on him.

harlow

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:36:36 GMT

Harlow couldn't sleep. Any time that Grable was out with someone else, especially someone of romantic interest, Harlow just couldn't sleep. Whenever one of them had an interest in someone, it threw everything off between them, like they were a planet spinning out of its usual orbit. And they were a planet. They were one, just split into two halfs. Harlow had always felt that way, and he'd always wanted to just put them back together, like puzzle pieces. Of course, the only way he could think to do that was by imaging himself being with Grable in ways that he knew just weren't right. If anyone knew the way he thought about his twin, they'd be disgusted with him - he was sure of it. But he couldn't help himself.

Tonight was no different than any other night, well, except for the tension. Grable had been seeing a guy for a few weeks, and Harlow had been growing distant. Eventually Grable called him on it, and a huge fight erupted between them. It was all silly stuff - Harlow claiming that Gray was selfish and abandoning him, and of course Grable shot back with the line that Harlow just didn't want him to be happy. They screamed at one another until Grable left, storming out and slamming the door behind him. And like after every fight they had, Harlow was laying in bed and staring at his cell phone, hoping to get a text from his brother.

Closing his eyes, Harlow rubbed a hand against the side of his face before he rolled over onto his back and swallowed hard. He hated this part - the waiting part. He hated imagining someone else's mouth on Grable's. The thought of someone else's hands against his twin's skin made him feel sick inside, and the idea that they might be fucking? That drove Harlow absolutely mad sometimes.

It should be me, he couldn't help but think.

They'd had moments where they'd gotten close. Harlow could feel it, and it was in those moments that he knew deep down that Grable felt the same way. The closest they'd gotten had been two months ago. They'd gotten drunk, and instead of sending Grable back home to his tiny apartment they'd piled into Harlow's bed, nearly naked but not quite. Harlow allowed his hands to wander a bit, and he felt his heartrate pick up and he could hear the way Grable's breath hitched. There was an almost kiss, to the corner of Grable's mouth, and then Harlow had pulled away. He'd rolled over and pretended to be asleep.

Now he was wishing that he hadn't. Swallowing again, he cleared his throat and decided to just give in to sleep, but right as he was drifting off he felt his phone buzz against his chest. Picking it up, he opened his eyes and saw the words lit up on the screen.

I'm sorry. Love you, to which he wrote back, Love you, too.

open to kelly and co

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:59:31 GMT

The drive to Colorad had been long. Whitney felt anxious and hopeful, though he'd never admit it. He didn't want to admit that he had his hopes up of finding Malachi and Murielle. That he had his hopes pinned on a dream. He hadn't been unsupportive, but he hadn't been supportive, either. Mostly he'd just drove, taken care of Wade, and gotten to know Smith a bit more. There was something about the younger man that Whitney liked, a lot. A lot more than he liked about most people. He couldn't put his finger on it, though, and it was driving him absolutely nuts. He knew that he was attracted to Smith, but that was easy - of course he was attracted to Smith. Smith was attractive. But there was something more that drew Whitney in, and he didn't know what.

As they drove into the town, Whitney shifted in the front seat to peer out the windows. Mikey was practically climbing up front, in the middle as best as he could, and he looked the most anxious out of everyone. He believed they were close. He could feel it.

"D'you see anything?" he asked his Dad softly.

to grace

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:47:11 GMT

When Weston had the cornea transplant, he really hadn't known what to expect. His doctor had told him to get a therapist so that he could adjust to the big change, and being a psych major, he agreed. He wondered so many things. What would Grace look like? What would his boyfriend, Ethan, look like? What would Grayson look like? What would the sky look like, and the grass? His own room? He always longed to be able to see the world, to see what others got to see every day but despite the fact that he couldn't, he'd never been bitter about it. He'd been outgoing and happy. Most people called him a joy to be around. He expected the world to be beautiful.

He went home with Grace to recover after the surgery. The doner's eyes were striking, at least that's what everyone else said. His eyes had been a dull blue, and now they were a bright blue-green color. Of course, he wasn't sure what the difference was.

He'd been excited to see everything, but he had to be careful. He had to heal up first. Eye drops and ridiculous sun glasses and a sleeping mask when he slept - it was annoying but worth it. And then everything had gone to shit, and the world he'd been hoping to see had been destroyed. No Kansas scenery for him. Everyone said Kansas didn't really have much scenery anyway... right?

If it hadn't been for Grace, he was sure that he would have died. Not that he would have given up - no he would have tried, but Grace had a way of getting things done. She was fearless that way. And now they were in Colorado, hiding out and watching the makeshift town become a real one again. Grace was out, and Weston was with Grayson. They were holed up in a little house a few blocks away from where the men were staying. Grayson wasn't feeling well and he'd thrown up twice that morning. He had a fever. Grace had gone to look for tylenol and other supplies in the surrounding houses. Weston had Grayson on his lap and he was rubbing the little boy's back gently.

open to smith, wade, and kelly. (i combined threads here i'm being lazy haha)

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:05:18 GMT

They didn't often stop off in the little trading towns, but everyone was exhausted and a really good rest for all of them was needed. That, and they needed to trade for some gasoline as well as food. Whit left Kelly in the van with Mikey and Wade, and the two younger ones were dead asleep. Kelly insisted on staying awake, just in case anything happened or anyone came up on them.

Mikey had been sleeping soundly, too. He was in one of those deep sleeps, and he was having a dream about Murielle and Malachi that felt more real than dream like. Those dreams usually always meant something when it came to the three of them. They were in a truck of some sort, with another boy close to their age and they were talking about going to some supposed safe place in Colorado. Some place not too far from Denver, some place called Fort something. He was struggling to put away as much information as he possibly could because he wanted to remember for when he woke up. Mikey was excellent at lucid dreaming, he liked to analyze his dreams so he'd sort of been able to train himself to remember what was going on in hem when he realized that he was asleep. He was mumbling in his sleep, though, talking to them - or trying to. Now things were getting weird because Malachi was asleep in his dream, too and it was like their brains were almost connecting. He kept asking Mal what had happened to him, but Mal wouldn't say, instead he was just telling him to go to Colorado.

"Tell me what happened to you, tell me," Mikey mumbled sleepily.

Outside of the van, which Whit and Kelly had hidden away as best as they could, Whitney headed into town on foot. He had a few books to trade, which surprisingly lots of people coveted because in a world with no TV, books were essential. He also had some batteries, since they were pretty stocked up on those, some snack food, and a few other random items. After trading, he ended up with two cans of gas, some canned goods, and oddly enough some crayons and a notebook - those were for Wade. He was attached to the kid, but he wouldn't admit it.

While heading back, he spotted Smith and Court sitting off to the side. Smith seemed like he was in pretty bad shape, though he was trying to tough it out and Court was sitting next to him, their things beside them. Someone had tried to steal from them, and Smith had managed to keep that from happening but he was looking pretty bad. He was about to just pass them on up, but he spotted Wade talking to Court.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked the kid, "Did you sneak out?"

Wade was sneaky. He'd probably made lumps of stuff look like him so that he could follow Whitney, and slipped out right behind him and hidden under the car until Whit was too far off to notice. Kelly probably thought Wade was still asleep.

"Do you know how dangerous these places are?" he asked, though he glanced at Smith and Court in distraction. "Hi," he said gruffly, quietly.

To Mal

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:27:16 GMT

It had been a few days since Cadence had made the decision to finally try and escape. Doyle and the others had settled down to camp for the night, off a main road and down a dirt one, hidden in the trees a bit. The two trucks were parked not that far from the little camp, and the men had even pitched tents and were laughing and drinking. It was the perfect night to do it. The trucks were far off enough that they probably wouldn't hear Cadence open the back of the cargo one up to let Mal and Muri out. And if they put the pickup in drive they could coast it to the main road and then start it once they were far enough. The pickups back was full of supplies. Gas cans, coolers of food, cased of water. It was too perfect. So when everyone finally passed out, and Doyle'd had his fill of Cadence, Cade waited another hour to make sure that everyone really was asleep, then he quietly snuck the key to the back of the cargo truck out of Doyle's pants pocket. Slipping from the tent, he went to find the other man who had the key to the pickup, and once he had that key, he tugged on his shoes and then went over to get the back of the truck open. He was slow, quiet, and once it was all the way open he turned on the flashlight he'd taken as well and waved Murielle and Malachi towards him. Muri was still dead asleep, completely out of it.

To Harlow

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:00:24 GMT

Grable threw up a lot. He still had a hard time keeping food down, even after so long after his original illness. He hated being so weak and unable to help much with the everyday job of survival. Their travels had taken them far from the dangers of New York, but not far enough to reach the hope of a camp they'd heard about in Colorado.

If they had been walking constantly at a good pace, it would have taken them 24 days to reach the place. But they were walking much slower than that with frequent stops that sometimes lasted days on end. They were only about half way, somewhere in Iowa based on some of the road signs they'd run across. Perhaps foolishly, they'd stuck close to US 24, but Grable had been afraid of losing their way if they couldn't at least see the road from where they were walking.

Having been holed up in a quickie mart for the last couple days, Grable was leaning up against an incap that used to house bags upon bags of Funyuns. He had his hand on his stomach and he was trying to keep the Butterfinger he just ate down his gullet. He hated that Harlow had to watch him be ill all the time and he squeezed his eyes shut so that he couldn't see his twin's concerned face.

To Mystery Creeper

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:12:40 GMT

It was the next day, and Cadence was feeling a little bit better. He still had a bit of a fever, but he didn't feel as achey or sick to his stomach. He'd slept most of the time, curled up in between Malachi and Murielle for warmth and comfort. It had helped a great deal, and he felt more at ease than he had in a long, long while. He was just on the edge of asleep and awake when he felt the truck stop, and he rolled over onto his back in between the other two as he opened his eyes and lifted a hand to rub at them. He sat up slowly, the blankets pooling around him a little bit as the door to the back of the truck was tugged open. The sudden stream of light caused his head to ache a bit, and he lifted a hand to shield the glare.

To Will

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:58:47 GMT

It had been about a week, and Will was still around. He was still sleeping in Ashley's room, too. On the couch because he insisted that Ashley should have the bed, but still. While Ashley wasn't an obvious person, Lorne knew him better than anyone and he'd been avoiding his brother's questions about the newcomer or simply answered them shortly.

Today he and Lorne had gone out far, past Denver and towards Ellicot. They'd actually found livestock there, and Ashley was able to use one the trucks on the farm to load up two cows and one bull. It had been a hell of a task and it was dark by the time they got back, having had to stop for gas in Denver which was dangerous but luckily they'd found an empty part of the city. In fact, passing through, it seemed as if most of the city was empty.

Once they got back to the house, Ashley was assessing the situation when Will came outside.

"I have no idea where we're going to keep them," he was telling Lorne. "I mean, down south towards the end of town there's a farmhouse, we could go there. I just hate having to move everyone. Fuck, I need a shower."

open to Mal

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:33:30 GMT

Cadence spent most of his time in the front of the truck, being a source of entertainment for one of the men in the cab. Maybe the guy liked the fact that Cade didn't talk or maybe he liked the way he looked. It was probably a combination of both, really. Cade hated being up front and he'd much rather be in the back of the truck with Malachi and Murielle. Today he was getting his wish because he was so sick that he'd thrown up and the men weren't too happy with him, even the one who favored him.

His head was pounding and his entire body ached as the truck came to an abrupt halt. He was pulled out by his hair and drug around to the back of the truck, and once the men had the door open one of them just hefted him up and tossed him inside in a heap. Cade just laid there for a moment, the entire world spinning beneath him.

Murielle had dozed off, but the stop had woken her up and when Cade was tossed into the back for a moment she was terrified he'd died or something. She quickly realized that the men would have just tossed him on the side of the road though, and she started to push herself up so that she could go and help him.

To Court

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:02:47 GMT

The trade towns were never safe places and if Smith had a choice, he would avoid them. But gatherings of people meant the need for entertainment and that meant that he could eek out a living for himself and his brother. People liked to bet and since the dawn of time, they liked violence. Smith got a fair amount of supplies from winning fights and he'd been able to keep up with their needs by traveling from town to town.

Bartertown was the biggest of these little settlements he'd seen so far. He imagined that as time rolled on, places like this would get bigger and meaner. For now, he felt like he could handle any of the dangers they presented. He'd paid for a room in an old farmhouse, good enough shelter for a couple days while he worked the circuit and won some bouts. Right now, he and Court were down at the barn, which had been turned into a cafeteria of sorts, canned food and freshly barbecued meat being sold for matches, tools, and the like. Smith had a plateful of beans and rice to split with Court.