Rapture

[Avialae]

By the time Erin spoke to him, Micah had recovered enough of his wits to be able to answer her. "I'm fine, don't worry," he told her brusquely, his voice a bit rough with emotion. The truth was that he was still upset, not knowing if he would be able to reconcile himself with God or not, but Erin wouldn't understand that, so there was no point in telling her. Seeing the others begin to carry their luggage into a house, he grabbed about four of the larger boxes and followed them. Having something to do might make him feel better right now.

 

Micah headed into the house that the others were going inside of and set his boxes down in the rapidly growing pile. As he turned around to get another load, he saw Erin heading inside. Realizing he might have seemed discourteous earlier, he walked towards her and said told her, "I'm sorry if I seemed rude earlier, but I really don't need any help. I hope you didn't need any help with Charles, but you and James looked like you had everything well in hand and I didn't want to leave Emily alone. I'd be very grateful if you showed me where you buried him later - I'd like to say a few words to lay him to rest properly."

[Quhanta]

Ezmerelda heard James and Wisperlee talking about going to get another survivor in Birmingham. 'That's dangerous. What if he's crazier than Jaune.' She thought. 'I like these people, I think. A smaller group would suit me better than a large one, though.' Ez walked back outside, quickly pet a wandering Caramel on her way by, and grabbed two small boxes under one arm and grabbed a third, larger one on her hip like a laundry basket.'Although I can shrink back into a group easier, I could help defend them on their trip. The man may be crazy after all.' Ez sat the boxes down in the large pile growing in the living room (OOC: Is it the living room?) She slid her backpack off and bent over to place it on the floor, under a key table by the front door. This way it would be out of the way, but still close to the exit. 'I may not even be invited to go, so I should stop thinking about it, I guess.' She was bent over searching for her water bottle in her backpack. 'Why the hell did I put it on the inside. Outside pouches are for water, stupid.' She thought, angry at herself.

[Fangirl05]

Clearly there was something wrong with Micah that he didn't want to fess up to. Erin let it slide, but she vowed that if she somehow ever found out that he was keeping mum for some stupid, "you can't help 'cause you're a girl" reason, she'd kick his ass to the top of his head.

 

She didn't expect him to talk to her again while she was unpacking food; the guy didn't seem to enjoy talking to her very much. But then, nobody did.

 

"I was wondering why you didn't tag along insisting on giving him Last Rites" she sort-of-answered. She dug the figurine out of her pocket and held in out to him. "I found this in the janitor's closet," she explained, "I thought you'd like it."

Edited January 6, 2015 by Fangirl05

[Fortune86]

((Considering James still has his backpack and the shotgun slung over his shoulder, I don't think he'll be raising any questions o3o))

 

When Whisperlee explained that the person in Birmingham had been active after the mass disapparation James nodded in understanding. Well that sounded a little more hopeful.

 

"Have you been able to make any contact with them since? It would blow if you went all that way and found out they had gone like our buddy Charles out there."

[Kestra15]

Mak could have throttled Juane.

 

The ambu-taxi was a sturdy vehicle to say the least, and for no reason the selfish idiot had kicked the window-screen through. Now, instead of having a good-sized people-carrier they would be down to the two other four-by-fours and the two motorbikes. The most frustrating thing was that the ambu-taxi was also the only of the three four-wheelers that could safely navigate the Busway that connected the small village to Cambridge, and right through the other side to the hospital. There was not a single good reason Juane could have simply opened the two front doors of the unlocked vehicle, and instead had now left broken glass all over their driveway.

 

Taking several long moments to contain the urge to simply toss the boy out of the building altogether Mak went back to coordinating removing all their supplies and bringing them into the house. With the new arrival Mak simply hung back and kept quiet, assessing who they were about to bring into their fold. He had no reason to turn away another lonely survivor and there was enough room in the building to take in another, and it could only add to the skill-set of their band - although quite what age had to do with anything was beyond him. It would be the height of paranoia to assume she was there to kill them for some crazed reason - but then again Juane was responsible for burning down an entire town just for the sake of it. However when there was mention once again of the Christian Rapture he silently went back to helping unload the four-by-fours.

 

Finally, with the help of others, their mass luggage was unpacked and Mak had even found the time to put the kettle on while the rest brought in boxes, crates and carrier bags of food and clothing and miscellaneous supplies. In the large kitchen where the food crates had been left Mak busied himself with mugs, a teapot, some milk and coffee, and a large pitcher of water and carried them through to the main room.

 

"Let's sit down for a drink and work a plan of action," he said, going round the various little groups of chatting survivors. The day was drawing in and quite aside from room allocations, tomorrow had the makings of a long day

 

((GM Note: Please have characters gather in the living room so we can wrap up Day Two and make a move into the next day - KM ))

[Marcus Pheonix]

((Hey Kestra, the windshield didn't shatter, I assumed ambulance windshields would be strong. The window was kicked out of its frame but it landed on the bonnet of the ambu-taxi, it didn't shatter, I'm pretty sure I wrote that in the post that it didn't break))

[Fangirl05]

Erin noticed the slight eye-narrowing Mak threw at Juane and smirked. Nice to know she wasn't the only one who wanted to ring his neck.

 

She jerked her head toward the living room at his suggestion. "Let's go and grab the good seats" she told Micah with a small smile. She fixed herself a cup of coffee, spiked it with some milk and a cube of sugar and sank into one of the couches.

[Avialae]

Micah looked at the small figurine Erin offered him. He was unused to seeing figurines like that, with the exception of a crucifix, as the small church his family went to didn't use them, or most other religious imagery for that matter. Still, it looked nice, kind of like the nativity scene that would be put up on the church's lawn every winter. That being said, seeing it only served to remind Micah once again of his uncertain status with the Lord. He didn't even think he wanted it, as his family had always disapproved of small icons of this sort; his parents had always said it was a violation of the Third Commandment. But Erin likely didn't know that, and she had gotten it as a present for him, so Micah would feel rude refusing it. He could always put it away someplace else later.

 

"Thank you," he said slowly, reaching out to take the figurine from Erin. Turning it over in his hands, he then put it in his pants pocket, since he needed his hands free for the work that he was doing.

 

Before too long all the boxes were unpacked, and Mak was calling everyone to sit down in the living room. Micah helped himself to a cup of the coffee Mak had set out and made himself as comfortable as possible on the couch (I assume there is one) nodding briefly at Erin as she gave him a greeting of sorts, and took a sip of the coffee as he waited for the others to sit down, wondering idly if Mak had noticed Esmeralda yet.

[Fortune86]

((Most British ambulances have a slanted bonnet, so kicking the windscreen out would mean it would simply slip straight down to the ground. Kestra propably knows much about ambulances than me, but the force needed to kick a windscreen out would be enough to send it tumbling to the ground hard enough to shatter.))

 

Jame heard Mak suggest they all sit down and take a break. As his back was still aching from digging the grave James was glad for the chance to rest a bit more. He glanced at Whisperlee to see if she was coming and then started towards the living room.

 

Coffee wasn't really his thing, so James got himself a cup of tea and sat down in a chair in the corner.

[Salix]

Petra had immersed herself in helping the others with the unpacking and putting away the food. She had noticed that there seemed to be a new person in the group, and she had flashed the girl what she hoped was a friendly smile, but in truth what she really craved was some piece and solitude for a little while. The aches and pains that she had received from the crash were causing her some distress, and she just felt so very tired.

 

Mak mentioned that they should take a break, so making herself a large mug of strong tea she joined the others in the living room, lowering herself carefully into the welcoming softness of a wingback chair.

 

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily finished packing out some of the necessities like what they would eat for dinner. She figured to make something easy such as spaghetti with mince and a sort of a tomato sauces. It’s was easy to make and it was the easiest to make a big amount of.

 

When Mak said the group should have a talk Emily left all the ingredients on the kitchen table ready for when they done talking. As the group gathered Emily flopped down near the nearest seat she could find.

 

[Mistress of Whispers]

[Jaune] kicked out the windshield. [...] it fell on the ground, it was surprisingly undamaged and could probably be put back in... most likely his compatriots would choose to put it back in despite what it's done.

((Quoting MP at the top of page 38.

He DID say that the wind shield fell to the ground unharmed and was of a state to be put back (assuming anyone in the group has the repair skill for that, of course). If we felt that was unrealistic and the wind shield would have shattered, we should have spoken up sooner. To say it shattered several pages later, is retconning MP's post and I don't think we should do that.

/.02))

 

 

Wisperlee sat down on one of the sturdier crates in the living room. She wasn't sure what the wooden box contained, but she felt comfortable that it could hold her weight. She wasn't very tall or heavy.

 

Waiting for everyone to assemble, she spoke up. "I've told some of you already, but I had contact with a survivor from Birmingham. He messaged me after the event and though we haven't spoken since, he has been sending pings. The pings stopped a while ago, but the net has been crashing rather spectacularly so it could be that. I'd like to go check it out. All other survivors are much further away - the next closest is in Scotland. On an interesting sidenote - we're the only group I can find. The other survivors seem to be flying solo."

 

Her stomach growled at the sight of a pack of spaghetti and can of tomatoes left on a counter, but she figured they should talk first and eat later.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Mistress of Whispers

[Fangirl05]

It struck Erin as weird that Micah seemed so unhappy to see the model; didn't Fundementalists usually fall all over this kind of stuff?

 

Well, at least Wisperlee acknowledged that their being the only people left behind en masse was odd.

 

"I was thinking about going into Cambridge tomorrow to see if there was anything useful," she piped up, "Sundries, how-to library books, maybe some more food, that kind of thing."

 

((Hey MP, Juane's usually up all night, yeah? Wanna have him and Erin bump into each other on the roof later to come to a ceasefire of sorts?))

Edited January 7, 2015 by Fangirl05

[Kestra15]

((The reality is that kicking out windshields is nigh-impossible due to a combination of factors; the slope of the windshield to begin with means that most blows would glance and slide down. Such windshields are double-laminated with strong safety glass in the middle so the laminate would keep it all together and produce an elastic-like effect when first struck; they are designed so that, when struck, the glass shatters but is held together long before one can get it out of the frame. And ambulances are not designed with pop-out windows but instead secured on three sides. The end result? You can't kick out the windshield of an ambulance without heavy assistance, and destroying the windshield. Having done extraction work, and seen people attempt such things and come away with broken ankles/feet and barely any scratches on the window, I think it's generous enough to say that the window smashed after it slide off the bonnet and Jaune walked away from it safely. ))

[Marcus Pheonix]

((I just wanted to do something reckless and 'Jaune-y' without having everyone hate him... I could also re write it so he hits the side with his frying pan... that would probably do something))

[Quhanta]

When some guy, who was apparently their leader said to convene in the living room, Ezmerelda stood up straight with her bottle of water and threw her backpack back over her shoulder. Half following some others, she slid into the living room and stood quietly next to the entrance. The news of another survivor was not that big of a surprise to her because she had heard about it earlier. She took a sip of her water as Wisperlee spoke though and remained quiet. 'Solo survivors. Hmm... She is so familiar.' Ez thought. When Ezmerelda caught sight of the pasta, she looked at the food directly and got really happy with a visible smile. That was her favourite food. Perfect for today. 'I hope they don't mind sharing. I could trade some soup. I hope I can have some, especially today.' She thought, still visibly happy.

 

(OOC: It may not be my place, but why is everyone spelling Jaune's name wrong? You guys keep putting JUAne, but it's JAUne. Like the French word for yellow, I'm assuming. He's French, not Hispanic. Also, EZmerelda. No 's'. Sorry if this seems rude, I'm not trying to be. I promise.)

[DragonSpirit009]

“It wouldn’t hurt to go look for others plus if we are going to make this our new home we should kind of stock up.” Emily spoke sliding a bit down in her chair so she can stretch her body. “I mean we should stock up on more canned foods, medical supplies, get some farming equipment maybe gather some animals or so. And if we find more survivors then we could all work together to survive this.”

[Mistress of Whispers]

"How about we split into three teams then?" Wisperlee suggested. "One for Birmingham, one to scour for equipment and food, and one to set up camp here. I'm also willing to check out Birmingham myself - it's not that far and I have Cujo." At the sound of his name, the barrel-sized mass of muscle raised his head, then laid it back down on his paws.

((@ Kestra, since you're in the UK - how long would it take to reach Birmingham from their current location?

 

@ All, I'd be very happy to have another PC along to Birmingham. I can post once every day (once every two days when my work deadline draws nearer) so I'm not as fast as some of you, but I promise to reply and interact.))

[Kestra15]

"Birmingham is a good couple of hours away on clear road conditions; a return trip, including finding someone, would likely take the whole day," Mak said, frowning as he leaned against the door jam with cup of tea in hand. "If you want you can take one of the Land Rovers. As for gathering supplies I think we're fine for a few days in terms of food and there's two extra-large superstores within a few miles of here that we can scavenge from. But what I did want to do is get over to the hospital and raid that, and if anyone has any specific health needs that need to be attended to we can get that done. I propose to take the ambulance, swap it out for an undamaged one, and grab what we need. If anyone wants to join me for that venture they're welcome.

 

"Last of all; rooms," he said, pushing off the door jam. "We've got five bedrooms, four up and one down, and they're all plenty big enough for two people. Two of the upstairs rooms have double beds, two of them have singles but space for sleeping bags on the floor, and the downstairs one has two single beds. So...who wants to share with who?"

[Avialae]

"If it's all right, I'd like to go with the group that looks for equipment," Micah said, speaking up. "There are some things I'd like to get for myself as well. It might be helpful if someone showed me where to find things, though, since I'm not from this country." Micah wondered how easy it was to get a gun in England. He really had no idea, but assumed it couldn't be that much harder than it was to get one in America - but then, he didn't know that much about other countries. "We should probably also write a list out before we start looking, so we don't overlook anything. For instance, if we want to grow anything, we'll need some seeds." He knew Emily was trying to help, but that was a pretty serious oversight.

 

He frowned as Mak mentioned sleeping arrangements. "I think that it would be best, considering the circumstances and the fact that we're all single, if we avoided mixed sleeping arrangements." The emphasis on the word 'mixed' made his meaning clear. "Beyond that, I'm fine with anything . . . well, as long as I don't share a room with Jaune." He didn't envy the person who would be stuck with that job. Or were there enough rooms so Jaune could be by himself? Micah wasn't sure that that was a good idea either, though . . .

Edited January 8, 2015 by Avialae

[Quhanta]

Ezmerelda listened to the ongoing conversation. If Birmingham was a day trip, her car could easily do that. She wanted to talk to Wisperlee anyway, since she thought that she knew her name from somewhere.

"If you don't want to waste any of the gas in your group's vehicles, I wouldn't mind going with Wisperlee in my car. If no one objects, I mean. I know that I am new, but I think this trip would also help prove that I'm not a psychopath and that I deserve trust." Ez stated outright. 'Wow. Way to sound like a psychopath, Shawshank.' She stood up straight and tried to look confident and normal.

"It would also be good for her to not go alone, as the person that she is looking for is vastly unknown and has been by himself for a while. I could aid in her protection." Ezmerelda flashed an awkward smile and then returned to her serious demeanor. She then tugged down the back of her shirt out of nervousness. Usually Ezmerelda was on her game, but the entirety of the situation that they were all in was throwing her for a loop.

As sleeping arrangements were brought up, the idea of one of these poor people sharing with Jaune made her unhappy.

"As for Jaune, I wouldn't mind voulenteering to sleep in the same room as him, so long as we don't share a bed." Ezmerelda smirked. "I have had much worse roommates than him, I guarentee."

Edited January 8, 2015 by Quhanta

[Fangirl05]

"There's bound to be zoos or farms around the area we can raid" Erin agreed with Emily, adding with a smirk, "Personally, I've always wanted a camel.

 

And hey," she nodded at the new girl, "if Ez is willing to take that bullet, who am I to complain?" She drained the last of her coffee with a satisfied "Ah."

 

She glanced over at Micah. "Guess we're stuck with each other, kid."

[DragonSpirit009]

“Well the reason why we chose this town was because there were a couple farms surrounding it and large stores nearby. I can easily continue with the farming since most of it has been planted and have grown. I will just need help with it.” Emily spoke as she scratched her chin. “My main concern of raiding larger areas is because of that blast we experienced along the way. The larger cities or towns have bigger power stations and so on. Imagine those blasts and the loss of products.”

 

Emily’s mind went back to the incident when she remembered that she actually saw something out of the window. She wasn’t sure if it was her mind playing with her or the hit on her head that cause an extra “memory”. None the less she didn’t think mentioning it would be good right now. Maybe it will be a bit clearer once she felt better.

 

“I say we should plan our days out. For instance one day we will just do a bit of raiding the next we will look for people or do farming. But one thing I know is none of us should be left alone. There has been too many that disappeared because they were on their own. And sleeping arrangements I don’t mind were I sleep as long as we stick together.”

 

[Fangirl05]

"Maybe we should have two different away teams, then" Erin suggested, "Me and Micah can go into the city for supplies and some other people can go looking for animals." She raised an eyebrow in thought. "Maybe the teams should exchange numbers in case one of the animal one finds something they're not a hundred percent on how to take care of, then the supply team can look for some kind of guide in a library or something."

[Avialae]

Micah was about to voice a protest to Ezmeralda's offer to sleep in the same room as Jaune, when Erin blew all thoughts regarding that out of his mind.

 

"N-No!" he shouted, stuttering slightly in his incredulousness. "Didn't you hear what I just said? We shouldn't have people of d-different sexes sleeping in the same room! If we did that, who knows what might happen?" Micah was actually very nervous about sleeping in the same room with a girl. The only time he had ever shared a bed with someone of a different gender had been when his family had stayed in motels on family trips, and he hadn't done even that in years, when his parents had decided that their children were getting too old for that.

 

"Oh, wait," Micah then added as his brain suddenly started to work again with a lurch, "or did you mean gathering for supplies together? If that's what you mean, I'm fine with it." He then turned towards the newest arrival to their group. "And Esmeralda, I really don't think you should sleep in the same room with Jaune. Besides everything else, it's dangerous." If they absolutely insisted on it, Micah supposed he couldn't stop people in their group from cohabiting, but risking someone getting hurt because they slept with a firestarting psychopath was something he didn't feel he could allow.