"That was weak Mikey, you can't do a better wheelie than that!??" Tyler yelled out to the ATV in front of him as the dry air whipped his hair in all directions. The open desert was the only time they could really do such things in relative safety, and once they reached the heavily shaded forest a few miles ahead they'd have to be on higher guard for the rest of the journey home.
"I'd like to see you do better man!" Mikey yelled back, and without a second thought Tyler floored past him to take on the challenge. He'd pull his American flag bandanna up and over his mouth and his sunglasses down on his eyes as his speed increased to avoid any unpleasant encounters with insects. The dry air swirled around him as he easily topped 60MPH and the distance between him the rest of his men grew, but not so much they couldn't see when he reared up nearly three and half feet off the ground - much better than Mikey's measly foot and a half.
He'd slow down long enough to turn his head and wave back at a defeated Mikey who only felt worse the louder Mila whooped and hollered.
"Take two!" he'd think to himself before again increasing his speed. However just as he was approaching the velocity he needed to go even higher Tyler spotted something in the road ahead in the distance - causing his speed to quickly tamper off. "What is that?"
But the closer he got the more obvious it wasn't an object, an instead a person. There was a section of road clear for passage though, and weary of tricks from the bandits that plague the area Tyler decided to slowly ride past the body for an initial glance instead of stopping ahead of it. His bike wouldn't go far in front of the body before turning and coming to a halt, since as he passed by he couldn't help but notice it was a woman who looked pretty worse for wear
"This could still be a trap." he muttered to himself as he scanned the nearby area for any applicable hiding spots for other bandits to jump out from, to which he found none. That, and that alone, gave him enough comfort that the scene before him wasn't a trip, but he still got of his bike with his rifle in hand.
"What's going on!?" Mila yelled, as her and the rest of the group caught up to Tyler. She'd go to get off her bike but was quickly told to stay on it.
"Don't, I've got it."
The last thing any leader would want was his men to fall into harms ways because of their actions, and if this was by some off chance a setup he made sure he'd be the only one without a method to escape.
"Damn, she's out cold."
The worry of an ambush would completely leave his thoughts as Tyler swung his strapped gun behind him and then rolled the girl over onto her back. Despite being in the blazing sun she was white as a ghost yet incredibly hot to the touch, and coupled with the horrid black rings around her eyes came an extremely weak pulse....all bad signs. So without any discussion he slung her bag over his arm and swiftly picked her up.
"Mikey, switch with me, I can't carry her on my bike."
Without question the usually jokey man hoped off his ATV to make room for Tyler.
"What the-"
"She's badly dehydrated and possibly septic since shes paler than all hell but has a high fever, she'll die if we leave her out here."
"But what if she's a bandit? Or a spy?? We can't just take someone off the road without some thought going into it!"
In most circumstances he'd listen to his friend and Second Lieutenant, but time was not on their side at the moment thanks to the line of Mechs that had delayed them by more than an hour.
"We don't have time to sit here and discuss it Mila, times running against us. And besides, we've taken in bandits before, an if she's a spy she's a pretty bad one seeing that she's right at deaths door."
The young rebel sighed, she knew there was no changing his mind in such short time so instead of arguing she revved her engine and began to roll her bike back towards the others.
"Lets go"
Though the ATV had much more space than his Motorbike it was still a precarious balancing game with the young woman laying in front him. But for once luck was on the groups side, they had no encounters the rest of the way home and by 18:25 the Beverly Hills welcome sign could be seen ahead in the distance.
Sticking to as many back roads as possible to avoid the inner City - a spot populated no more by fancy cars and air-headed celebrates but patrolling Mechs and relentless Crawlers - it would be another sevearl minutes before reaching Holmby Hills, and what was once known as The Spelling Manor.
Over 56,000 square feet of house and several acres of land surrounded by a mostly intact concrete fence was as close to a steal as you could get in an Apocalypse for a group of 185 survivors, an even though Tyler's father Frank has every intention of moving from here as they have all their other temporary bases, most in the group were becoming rather comfortable with the idea of staying put.
"Home sweet home" Fin whispered as his speed gradually increased the closer they got to the front gate.
The men standing guard were in a jovial mood as the group approached, but the sight of the girl on Tyler's ATV caused the joking to cease.
"Open the gate!" was yelled ahead, and without stopping the group was able to zoom by and continue towards the mansion.
The front yard looked like military barracks to some degree with the several crudely made tents set up on the lawn for schooling - among other things.
But with dinner time approaching all children and most adults were inside.
"Who is this??" Colonel Ryan Phillips called out as he headed towards the group.
"Found her in the middle of the road, where's the Doc?" Tyler responded hastily as he began to walk towards Ryan with the girl in his arms.
"The middle of the road?"
"Not now Ryan, where's Hillary!!?"
Before Phillips could answer him the 5'1" Pediatrics nurse everyone called "Doc" came out from a nearby tent. "What's wrong?"
"We found her unconscious in the middle of the road. She's Dehydrated and has a pretty bad fever."
"And she's white as can be, poor thing....bring her inside."
The pair would push by the befuddled Colonel and head inside to the first floor infirmary they had set up only a few weeks earlier.
"Is here okay?" he'd ask as he approached a long table with a towel down as bedding.
"Yes yes, that's fine. Now let me see..."
Tyler would take a step back as Hilary began to check the girl over - starting with her pupils. However when she began to pull her clothing off he'd step back outside into the hallway out of respect, just to be greeted by his father and Colonel Phillips.
"What's going on son, I hear you brought a stranger you found in the middle of the road to our base?"
"Really Ryan? You go run and tell my father on me? Nice man, very nice." he'd spit out with a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture. His father however had no interest in the sarcasm.
"Cut the crap Tyler and just tell me what happened."
After a deep sigh and stretch of his arms he'd repeat the entire story from start to end - purposely leaving out the juvenile part about wheelies in front Ryan - a man always looking to remind his father just how young and immature he thinks his only boy still is.
"Sue me, I couldn't leave the girl for dead in the middle of the road. Besides, we weren't followed and no one was put at risk but me."
"You're one person too many in harms way."
"Well dad it turned out for the better, we're fine, and as a bonus we were able to get the parts needed to fix the generator - they're out on our bikes ready to be put to good use"
The two older men would share questioning looks within a brief moment of awkward silence before the Commander finally spoke up again.
"So be it, but I need you to go clean yourself up for dinner, I have an important announcement I'm gonna make."
"What about the parts?"
"I'll find someone else to get em, just go get ready."
"Well in that case, sir yes sir." he'd say with a forced smile, before turning around and heading back towards the grand staircase that lead up to the second floor - lit with candle light due to the malfunctioning generator.
"Everything okay?" a friendly voice would ask as he reached atop the flight of stairs.
"Yeah, Ryan just brought my dad up to question me like I'm an inept child, but it's alright."
"Seriously? What a douche bag."
"Tell me about it, I guess you've been sequestered to dinner too hmm?"
The two would begin to walk down the second floor hallway as Mila responded.
"Indeed I have. But I have no problem going, I'm starving."
"Well I'll see ya down there I guess."
And with that the two parted ways.
A bath or a shower would of been lovely but he was running late as it was, so he instead decided to just wash his hair and face at his bathroom sink and quickly brush the wash cloth over his torso to remove the visible dirt and grime before putting on a new fitted black t-shirt. He then elected to keep on the same pair of grey and green camouflage pants and boots since it was just plain easier.
He knew big announcements were rarely any good or fun when it came to his father, so after he pulled his hair back into a small ponytail Tyler took his leisure time walking to the dinning hall, which once was a lavish living room visited by some of the worlds biggest celebrities - royals included.
"Hey man about time you got here I was gonna eat your plate." Mikey said with a firm pat to the back.
"Well if ya did I would of had to kill ya my friend."
They'd engage in their usual verbal jostling as they made their way towards their seats beside Frank & Ryan.
Turns out the announcement was nothing new for Tyler, but perhaps a brutal realization to the rest of the group that Frank was serious about leaving the Manor. The commander spent nearly twenty minutes explaining why they should move base in the next couple of weeks and continue to head North - something more and more people were becoming opposed to over time, but things stayed relatively calm in terms of outburst and the speech would morph into a recap of the days events. But instead of explaining what had happened himself Frank had his son come up and do most of the talking, something he knew Tyler hated to do.
A guard would linger outside the laundry room turned infirmary with Hillary and the girl as the others left.
"You need any help there Doc?" he'd ask from within the door frame, and the short & sweet 47 year old nurse would turn and shake her head. "No no hun, you go on ahead to dinner I'm fine. Even if she wakes up harshly she's in no condition to put up much of a fight, so go."
Once he closed the door Hillary would pull down the blanket she had covering the girl and continue to undress her until only her under garments were left on. She'd then wipe the girls arm clean, begin an old fashion intravenous drip to help restore her fluids, and then shoot her up with one of their last antibiotic solutions. Hilary then walked around to the girls other side to clean the small bits of sand and dirt that had managed to slip past the girls cloth bandage. Once clean she'd pour Alcohol over the open wound and then wrap it with a proper bandage, an once done with that she'd commence with wiping the girls entire body clean.
"You remind me of a young girl I met years ago, bright red hair and blue eyes you could swim in." she'd whisper with a smile as she pulled the blanket up a few inches past the girls waist.
Ice packs were few and far between, but she knew a quick trip to the dinning hall could net her some ice so off she went.
"Doc! There's a lovely face to see." Hillary would be greeted with as she walked up to the resident chef Willy.
"Why thank you hunny, the food looks lovely. Can I get a to-go plate and a bucket of ice please?"
"To-go plate, sure. Ice? Unfortunately the last of it has melted, won't be anymore until that generator gets fixed."
"Shoot! Well if you have any of the ice water left I'd take that too."
Willy would nod before heading back to the kitchen area, leaving her alone with her thoughts. But she wouldn't be alone for long after being spotted by Tyler - who was looking for any reason to excuse himself from the podium.
"Hey Doc, how's the patient?" he'd ask after jogging over towards her. But before she could answer in full Willy rounded the corner will a plate of food and pale of ice water.
Tyler would take the bucket and Hillary the plate, an after a quick thank you the two would head back towards the infirmary - neglecting to hear Mila & Frank calling out their names.
During their walk the nurse would detail the girls condition out to him, and once back inside the room he'd offer to dip the towels in the water and place them on the girls forehead an arms. Once done he'd take a seat on the couch across the room from the table Hillary was eating at. They'd converse and snack for nearly an hour and a half before the exhausted Lieutenant dozed off where he sat, being a nurse however prompted her to stay awake and constantly change the girls towels for cooler ones, until eventually dozing off herself hours later.
"I'd like to see you do better man!" Mikey yelled back, and without a second thought Tyler floored past him to take on the challenge. He'd pull his American flag bandanna up and over his mouth and his sunglasses down on his eyes as his speed increased to avoid any unpleasant encounters with insects. The dry air swirled around him as he easily topped 60MPH and the distance between him the rest of his men grew, but not so much they couldn't see when he reared up nearly three and half feet off the ground - much better than Mikey's measly foot and a half.
He'd slow down long enough to turn his head and wave back at a defeated Mikey who only felt worse the louder Mila whooped and hollered.
"Take two!" he'd think to himself before again increasing his speed. However just as he was approaching the velocity he needed to go even higher Tyler spotted something in the road ahead in the distance - causing his speed to quickly tamper off. "What is that?"
But the closer he got the more obvious it wasn't an object, an instead a person. There was a section of road clear for passage though, and weary of tricks from the bandits that plague the area Tyler decided to slowly ride past the body for an initial glance instead of stopping ahead of it. His bike wouldn't go far in front of the body before turning and coming to a halt, since as he passed by he couldn't help but notice it was a woman who looked pretty worse for wear
"This could still be a trap." he muttered to himself as he scanned the nearby area for any applicable hiding spots for other bandits to jump out from, to which he found none. That, and that alone, gave him enough comfort that the scene before him wasn't a trip, but he still got of his bike with his rifle in hand.
"What's going on!?" Mila yelled, as her and the rest of the group caught up to Tyler. She'd go to get off her bike but was quickly told to stay on it.
"Don't, I've got it."
The last thing any leader would want was his men to fall into harms ways because of their actions, and if this was by some off chance a setup he made sure he'd be the only one without a method to escape.
"Damn, she's out cold."
The worry of an ambush would completely leave his thoughts as Tyler swung his strapped gun behind him and then rolled the girl over onto her back. Despite being in the blazing sun she was white as a ghost yet incredibly hot to the touch, and coupled with the horrid black rings around her eyes came an extremely weak pulse....all bad signs. So without any discussion he slung her bag over his arm and swiftly picked her up.
"Mikey, switch with me, I can't carry her on my bike."
Without question the usually jokey man hoped off his ATV to make room for Tyler.
"What the-"
"She's badly dehydrated and possibly septic since shes paler than all hell but has a high fever, she'll die if we leave her out here."
"But what if she's a bandit? Or a spy?? We can't just take someone off the road without some thought going into it!"
In most circumstances he'd listen to his friend and Second Lieutenant, but time was not on their side at the moment thanks to the line of Mechs that had delayed them by more than an hour.
"We don't have time to sit here and discuss it Mila, times running against us. And besides, we've taken in bandits before, an if she's a spy she's a pretty bad one seeing that she's right at deaths door."
The young rebel sighed, she knew there was no changing his mind in such short time so instead of arguing she revved her engine and began to roll her bike back towards the others.
"Lets go"
Though the ATV had much more space than his Motorbike it was still a precarious balancing game with the young woman laying in front him. But for once luck was on the groups side, they had no encounters the rest of the way home and by 18:25 the Beverly Hills welcome sign could be seen ahead in the distance.
Sticking to as many back roads as possible to avoid the inner City - a spot populated no more by fancy cars and air-headed celebrates but patrolling Mechs and relentless Crawlers - it would be another sevearl minutes before reaching Holmby Hills, and what was once known as The Spelling Manor.
Over 56,000 square feet of house and several acres of land surrounded by a mostly intact concrete fence was as close to a steal as you could get in an Apocalypse for a group of 185 survivors, an even though Tyler's father Frank has every intention of moving from here as they have all their other temporary bases, most in the group were becoming rather comfortable with the idea of staying put.
"Home sweet home" Fin whispered as his speed gradually increased the closer they got to the front gate.
The men standing guard were in a jovial mood as the group approached, but the sight of the girl on Tyler's ATV caused the joking to cease.
"Open the gate!" was yelled ahead, and without stopping the group was able to zoom by and continue towards the mansion.
The front yard looked like military barracks to some degree with the several crudely made tents set up on the lawn for schooling - among other things.
But with dinner time approaching all children and most adults were inside.
"Who is this??" Colonel Ryan Phillips called out as he headed towards the group.
"Found her in the middle of the road, where's the Doc?" Tyler responded hastily as he began to walk towards Ryan with the girl in his arms.
"The middle of the road?"
"Not now Ryan, where's Hillary!!?"
Before Phillips could answer him the 5'1" Pediatrics nurse everyone called "Doc" came out from a nearby tent. "What's wrong?"
"We found her unconscious in the middle of the road. She's Dehydrated and has a pretty bad fever."
"And she's white as can be, poor thing....bring her inside."
The pair would push by the befuddled Colonel and head inside to the first floor infirmary they had set up only a few weeks earlier.
"Is here okay?" he'd ask as he approached a long table with a towel down as bedding.
"Yes yes, that's fine. Now let me see..."
Tyler would take a step back as Hilary began to check the girl over - starting with her pupils. However when she began to pull her clothing off he'd step back outside into the hallway out of respect, just to be greeted by his father and Colonel Phillips.
"What's going on son, I hear you brought a stranger you found in the middle of the road to our base?"
"Really Ryan? You go run and tell my father on me? Nice man, very nice." he'd spit out with a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture. His father however had no interest in the sarcasm.
"Cut the crap Tyler and just tell me what happened."
After a deep sigh and stretch of his arms he'd repeat the entire story from start to end - purposely leaving out the juvenile part about wheelies in front Ryan - a man always looking to remind his father just how young and immature he thinks his only boy still is.
"Sue me, I couldn't leave the girl for dead in the middle of the road. Besides, we weren't followed and no one was put at risk but me."
"You're one person too many in harms way."
"Well dad it turned out for the better, we're fine, and as a bonus we were able to get the parts needed to fix the generator - they're out on our bikes ready to be put to good use"
The two older men would share questioning looks within a brief moment of awkward silence before the Commander finally spoke up again.
"So be it, but I need you to go clean yourself up for dinner, I have an important announcement I'm gonna make."
"What about the parts?"
"I'll find someone else to get em, just go get ready."
"Well in that case, sir yes sir." he'd say with a forced smile, before turning around and heading back towards the grand staircase that lead up to the second floor - lit with candle light due to the malfunctioning generator.
"Everything okay?" a friendly voice would ask as he reached atop the flight of stairs.
"Yeah, Ryan just brought my dad up to question me like I'm an inept child, but it's alright."
"Seriously? What a douche bag."
"Tell me about it, I guess you've been sequestered to dinner too hmm?"
The two would begin to walk down the second floor hallway as Mila responded.
"Indeed I have. But I have no problem going, I'm starving."
"Well I'll see ya down there I guess."
And with that the two parted ways.
A bath or a shower would of been lovely but he was running late as it was, so he instead decided to just wash his hair and face at his bathroom sink and quickly brush the wash cloth over his torso to remove the visible dirt and grime before putting on a new fitted black t-shirt. He then elected to keep on the same pair of grey and green camouflage pants and boots since it was just plain easier.
He knew big announcements were rarely any good or fun when it came to his father, so after he pulled his hair back into a small ponytail Tyler took his leisure time walking to the dinning hall, which once was a lavish living room visited by some of the worlds biggest celebrities - royals included.
"Hey man about time you got here I was gonna eat your plate." Mikey said with a firm pat to the back.
"Well if ya did I would of had to kill ya my friend."
They'd engage in their usual verbal jostling as they made their way towards their seats beside Frank & Ryan.
Turns out the announcement was nothing new for Tyler, but perhaps a brutal realization to the rest of the group that Frank was serious about leaving the Manor. The commander spent nearly twenty minutes explaining why they should move base in the next couple of weeks and continue to head North - something more and more people were becoming opposed to over time, but things stayed relatively calm in terms of outburst and the speech would morph into a recap of the days events. But instead of explaining what had happened himself Frank had his son come up and do most of the talking, something he knew Tyler hated to do.
A guard would linger outside the laundry room turned infirmary with Hillary and the girl as the others left.
"You need any help there Doc?" he'd ask from within the door frame, and the short & sweet 47 year old nurse would turn and shake her head. "No no hun, you go on ahead to dinner I'm fine. Even if she wakes up harshly she's in no condition to put up much of a fight, so go."
Once he closed the door Hillary would pull down the blanket she had covering the girl and continue to undress her until only her under garments were left on. She'd then wipe the girls arm clean, begin an old fashion intravenous drip to help restore her fluids, and then shoot her up with one of their last antibiotic solutions. Hilary then walked around to the girls other side to clean the small bits of sand and dirt that had managed to slip past the girls cloth bandage. Once clean she'd pour Alcohol over the open wound and then wrap it with a proper bandage, an once done with that she'd commence with wiping the girls entire body clean.
"You remind me of a young girl I met years ago, bright red hair and blue eyes you could swim in." she'd whisper with a smile as she pulled the blanket up a few inches past the girls waist.
Ice packs were few and far between, but she knew a quick trip to the dinning hall could net her some ice so off she went.
"Doc! There's a lovely face to see." Hillary would be greeted with as she walked up to the resident chef Willy.
"Why thank you hunny, the food looks lovely. Can I get a to-go plate and a bucket of ice please?"
"To-go plate, sure. Ice? Unfortunately the last of it has melted, won't be anymore until that generator gets fixed."
"Shoot! Well if you have any of the ice water left I'd take that too."
Willy would nod before heading back to the kitchen area, leaving her alone with her thoughts. But she wouldn't be alone for long after being spotted by Tyler - who was looking for any reason to excuse himself from the podium.
"Hey Doc, how's the patient?" he'd ask after jogging over towards her. But before she could answer in full Willy rounded the corner will a plate of food and pale of ice water.
Tyler would take the bucket and Hillary the plate, an after a quick thank you the two would head back towards the infirmary - neglecting to hear Mila & Frank calling out their names.
During their walk the nurse would detail the girls condition out to him, and once back inside the room he'd offer to dip the towels in the water and place them on the girls forehead an arms. Once done he'd take a seat on the couch across the room from the table Hillary was eating at. They'd converse and snack for nearly an hour and a half before the exhausted Lieutenant dozed off where he sat, being a nurse however prompted her to stay awake and constantly change the girls towels for cooler ones, until eventually dozing off herself hours later.