Escaping the Blind

Status
Not open for further replies.
"Just pick up whatever you want to eat before we eat it all," Ezra said to Wayne. "You better hurry up, the loud girl might take your scraps..."

"It's rare to see these many non-infected people in one place, right Ezra?"

"Yeah, they aren't thugs or poachers either. Well, so far..." Ezra took a bite of his fish before staring intently at the fire. "But anyway, what are you guys doing here? Don't tell me you're stuck here..."

"Maybe they don't know vhere Oregon is." 

"I don't know Boris, they don't look that dumb to me." Ezra took another bite of his fish, spitting out tiny chunks as he spoke. "Where are all you guys headed to and what are your motives?"
 
"Well... I dunno. I hate being here 'cuz of how humid and nasty everything is, but I didn't exactly choose to get stuck here." Violet had no reason not to be honest about her predicament, and it had been so long since she had interacted with people who weren't trying to kill her like everything else was. "The last group I was in was hit real hard by a Blinder herd, so we all got separated. Next thing I knew, I was on the other side of the city, alone, with no way of going back to our camp. I ended up in Florida passing by some barricaded towny thing... think it's the only time I've seen a survivor town that big. Turned out I was passing through their territory and they thought I was sent by an enemy or something, my memory's real fuzzy. I just remember running for a really long time." Violet stopped eating with fervor, picking random bits off of her fish. "Guess things are pretty rough up north, if they were that willing to cut off my fingers for nothing." She brandished her injured hand.

"I found her right afterward. We're looking to head out West, but thought we could stay here a few days and resupply. That might not be a good idea anymore with how much 'activity' there was today. Right now, the goal is just to find a place that we can stay in the long-term. Where that is, isn't particularly an issue as much as getting there in one piece... I take it you two are aiming for Oregon yourselves? That's practically across the country from here in dinky old Florida. Unless you're visiting the Mouse over at Orlando?" Molly joked. "Admission's free, I hear, hehe."

Violet glanced between Ezra and Molly, looking perplexed, but kept silent out of not wanting to draw any negative attention to herself. She was a teenager 15 years prior, so her only awareness about how things were elsewhere came from what her group members would tell her. Why Oregon if they're over here? What was it about Oregon again?... been a long time since I heard anything about that place. Quietly, she took another bite out of her fish, pushing the rabbit left over at Wayne.
 
"I'm here to meet up with a friend." Wanye said, shoving meats in his mouth; pieces of it were dripping out of his mouth as if he had not eaten in days. Afterwards, to finished off the meal, he drink the entire bottle of water in one-gulp and toss it behind him. "My motives does not concern you. The real question here is your statement of going to Oregon."

Wayne chuckled. "Like the girl said, that's across the damn country; unless you're experts on the map and packing some serious gear. Don't tell me you're one of those people that think there's a place over there? It's been a few years since people talk a storm about it. What makes you think that place still exist? It's probably already in the shitter by this point."
 
"Ezra and I are trying to go to Portland, y'know, the safe spot." Boris turned to see a lonely child Blinder roaming the nearby area. He dismissed it casually despite it coming their way. "Hey Ezra, ve got a little one. Go and handle it."
 
"But I'm eating, you do it."
 
"I'm eating too!" 
 
Both stared at each other for a second and Ezra sighed before holding out his fist out to Boris. The child Blinder got closer and closer until the group was able to hear it gurgling. The two men remained calm as ever, playing rock-paper-scissors to see who would have to rid of the child. The game continued to end in draws while Blinder child was less than a few meters away. Finally, Ezra loses the game and growled at Boris’s cocky smile.
 
“Hah, I vin this time!”
 
Just as the child got within a few feet from the group, Ezra rose to his feet and finished what little remained of his fish before jabbing the stick right in the boy’s eye. The child staggered back and hissed at the attack until Ezra placed the boy in a headlock, careful not to put his arms near his mouth, and dragged him away from the group and into the shadows. The boy was heard gargling, hissing, and slurring incoherent babble before there was a sudden loud snapping noise. The noises from the child Blinder abruptly ended and the last thing heard was Ezra tossing the child into some nearby bushes followed by some thumping noises. After a few minutes, Ezra returned to the group with blood on his boots as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"Anyways..." Ezra began. "We're heading to Portland so we can reunite with our families. Rumor has it that Portland was the only city that wasn't hit by the chemical attack. They've been trying to develop a cure the last 15 years and have completely isolated themselves from the outside world. Everyone is going to Portland to seek protection from the Blinders."

"Yah, they got food and shelter and tons of beer!" Boris added in. "It's the only city that has all the up-to-date advances for humanity. By now, they must have flying cars or something!"

"As for why we're in Florida..." Ezra glanced at Boris who turned serious for a moment and shrugged. 

"Ve vere chased here by Blinders and the trigger-happy military..."

"All you need to know about those bastards is they are not here to protect you."
 
Wayne raised a brow, not from Erza’s actions of killing a child Blinder, but more towards their reasoning’s for going to Portland in the first place. “A cure!? You actually believe in that faux rumors so much that you honestly think they can developed a vaccine against these things?” Wayne stood up after finishing his meals. 

“You ought to leave behind such foolishness fantasies you cook up and think solely on survival.” Wayne headed back to the room and started to pack up his gear once he realized the time.
 
"Of course not. Especially after they were the first to come to my hospital and made us hand over almost all our supplies before the civilians could come and loot what was left. Though, I'm sure they ran out of their loot by now..." Molly said.

"You're lookin for a good route out of here then? Mind if me and Molly come with?" Violet asked Ezra and Boris. "I'm not saying we need to go to Portland with you, because I have nothing waiting for me there... we just need to get the heck out of Florida. I don't care where. After that, we can part ways and be out of your hair. It can't hurt to have a doctor with you for a while at any rate, and more hands to bash in some skulls ain't a bad thing these days."

"Violet..." Molly scolded under her breath at Violet's unwarranted request.
 
"I could care less about a cure. I just want to be with my family again," Ezra growled at Wayne. "And don't you tell me how to survive old man, I've done it long enough to be where I am now."

"Don't pick fights now Ezra," Boris scolded. "Anyvay, the young ladies said they'll come vith us. The more the merrier, I alvays say. Besides, the loud one is right. Having a medic on hand isn't such a bad idea."

"And with more hands on deck mean more possibilities to kill Blinders."

There was a small pause before Ezra and Boris stepped to the side to consider their options. The two men were heard mumbling things and occasionally looked back at the girls as they talked amongst themselves. After a few minutes passed by, Boris was seen with his usual dumb smile while Ezra spoke directly to the girls.

"You can tag along only if you can pull your own weight and follow our rules."

"Ve also agreed to protect the Doc! There aren't too many Docs out there so ve think it's best for you to go to Portland, yah? They could really benefit from someone like you."

"But you can leave at any time... Just know that we won't hold your hand in anything so you two better be ready for anything, even killing each other if one of you gets infected."

Ezra then turned to Wayne again and crossed his arms. 

"You can tag along too but you will follow the same rules and will not be allowed near the girls. You said you were here to find a friend, so I think it would be wise to stick with a group until you find that person. Like the girls, you are free to leave any time."

"So vhat do you guys think? Are you going to tag along?" Boris said as he tossed the fish bones to the side. "Ve are vanted men, after all."
 
Wayne was placing all the necessary items into his backpack: his gear, his weapon, some minimum nutrition foods, and minor medical supplies. Before he finished placing the last bits of items into his bag, Ezra called him out—annoyed by the fact that he referred him as an old man.

He turned around, with his backpack in hand, and stares down Ezra with his old dead eyes. “Don’t order me around, boy. We just met and you are already fishing for an alliance? Give me a break.” 

Wayne tossed his backpack over his shoulder and started at the group once more. “I personally don’t care what you two are known for nor your intentions. That’s something I don’t want to be involved in.” His tone was raspy, harsh but straight to the point. Wayne considered the causal nature between the two as sickening, thinking that they are making light of the situation because of some experience. 

“I got my own goals; if you feel so inclined to join me, do it, otherwise, stay out of my sight.” Wayne checked his watch once more, realizing the time. “Don’t have the time to be spewing out nonsense anyways.” Wayne went out a few feet away from the porch, noticing a dead child blinder on the floor.

“Tsk…” He mumbled. The sight of it disgusted him, but continued walking, but still in close proximity for the others to see him. “No sight of them…” He scans the area as far his eyes can see for any visible sighting. "Just a hour away from here... hen I can get the hell out of this state."
 
"If you say so," Molly said as she leaned against the wall. She watched Wayne wander out of the area she considered to be safe. But made no move to stop him or call out to him. Portland, huh... I'll think about it.

"Well, like you said, we can leave when we want. So if things get too hairy, I'm dipping." Violet affirmed while dusting off her hands. "As long as it doesn't get to that point, I'll stick around. I'm guessing you guys won't do any travelling until early in the morning-- any idea of where to go outside of Florida?" She asked.
 
Ezra rolled his eyes at Wayne and called out to him.

"Don't worry so much about what's out there. In case you never figured it out, the Blinders are least active at night. You'll find very few of them roaming around at this hour so it's relatively safe to sleep." Ezra yawned slightly as he began to beat the fire out with his boot and toss dirt to help put it out. "But if you want to tag with us until you find your friend, you follow the same rules as the girls. Once you find your friend, you can leave."

"Yah, safety in numbers," Boris added in. "No need to be a sourpuss! Ve don't bite! Ahahahaa!"

"And to answer your question..." Ezra finally put out the fire, recollecting any usable materials. "We are planning to head north until we reach a certain popular tourist attraction known as Stan's Boat and Gator Tours. The plan is to nab a boat and cross the Floridian-Georgian border through the swamp. The military is less likely to see us there."

"Hope you ladies don't get seasick." Boris joked. 

"One more thing..." Ezra pointed at the Wayne. "If that guy tries to do anything funny... you let me know. No one touches anyone here."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom