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Feeling fatigued, I decide to sit down on a rather large rock situated on the side of the path. I make sure to quickly scan my surroundings as I do so. One can never be too careful with the those infected who are desperate to pass on that horrible disease, they seem to have the unique ability to pop up out of nowhere. Some yell and charge forward, and other try to sneak up on unsuspecting victims. I had encountered my fair share of both.
I pull out my small, portable radio, and check for a broadcast from Ollie. "Nothing.", I declare sadly, placing the radio back into my bag.
It would be a shame if something happened to him..I truly don't know what I'll do.
I stretch out, and stand up brushing the hair from my eyes. I know of a place nearby where I might find some supplies. Usually I am reluctant to break from my solitary life, but I seem to have no real choice. I start off for The Inner Circle.
I had run into them a couple years ago when traveling to a supposed safe zone. As I recall, I was also in need of supplies then. They saw I was near starved, and had been kind enough to help. I had spent a month with them, they were a cautious people always fearing death or the concentration camps they would be sent to if rovers came across their settlement. Yet, this didn't seem to stop them from being decent people.
Yes, I will head back there. Hopefully, they will remember me.
Creeping loudly and in a terribly unsubtle manner through the gnarled plants, I keep assuring myself that I couldn't be seen by that person. My respect and confidence in other human beings has gone down, yes, but after what I've seen, your expectations would drop too.
Suddenly, a sharp blackberry bush finds itself into my pants leg, and I let out a very unrefined, "Son of A Bitch!" Standing now, like a deer in headlights, I stare right at the woman, now staring awkwardly at me. Aw crap. C'mon Dan, don't freak out now. You've got a damn shotgun in your pouch, what do you have to fear? Wait... Is it loaded? Shit, I don't remember. Did I pack my knife? She doesn't look like she has TAG... I continue to freak out, physically moving my hands about my face in confused positions to think better; it must have been quite a sight to see.
I manage to snap myself out of it, and attempt to pull out my black weapon from my bag in a badass manner to scare her off. But the gun gets caught on the zipper and, well, you can guess how this ends up. In the end I somehow end up with my butt a good foot higher than my head, my head stuck in a pile of prickly brambles, and my gun more closer to the woman than myself.
Last resort: Communication.
"Uh... Hello there. Nice weather today ey?"
I make out a blonde haired man in a somewhat awkward position among the leaves. I try to keep back a laugh when I realized he is in the middle of a failed attempt to pull his weapon on me. I take a few cautious steps forward, keeping my right arm poised, ready to strike if the man should prove dangerous.
"Uh...Hello there. Nice weather today ey?", the man finally gives up and addresses me.
"Fine indeed.", I state matter of factually, " I see you've got yourself all tangled up." I take a breathe trying to decide the best method of dealing with this unwelcome intruder. The position he was currently in prevented me from getting a good look at him, so for now I would have to consider him a danger.
"Let's dispense of the pleasantries. Why don't you stand, and come out into the open, slowly. I'm warning you any wrong moves and I will not hesitate to kill you.", I say this as threateningly as possible. Usually I don't give people the chance to prove they aren't infected, but this man's attempt at his weapon is a good sign that he isn't a threat. Still, one can never be too cautious.
"Okay, okay. No need for anyone to get hurt now." I slowly get up and brush the thorns off my blood-stained coat before tossing my bag off to the side. I don't worry, though, as the Inner Circle is only a quick dash away... Oh ya, I forgot that I have a freaking stump for a leg.
I'm gonna try to weasel my way out of it.
"Look, I'm no threat, hell, I can probably help you. Been feelin' down lately? Think you have the flu? Look no further, I'm probably the only doctor left in the entire country, and you don't even need to show me insurance." I feel that my attempt at making a joke isn't working. This chick obviously isn't here to joke around, although it'd be nice if she was, gets awfully boring nowadays...
"Ahem. Anyways, let's start with introductions shall we? The name's Dan, Dr. Dan Samson, amateur surgeon and researcher. You are?"
Slight limp, looks healthy besides that. Still...
I give him a mean look while he talks of being a doctor. "I don't need your sales pitch.", I state with a mean tone.
What am I to do with him? The only surefire way I can ensure my safety is to kill him, and be done with this. Yet, he seems almost trustworthy.
I take my eyes off him, and look over at his bag. It seems to be quite full; my stomach lets out a loud gurgle with the hope that the bag contained some sort of sustenance.
Oh hush, you nuisance of an organ!
I look back at the blonde haired man," Dr. Sampson, is it? I'll make you a deal. I will let you go, unharmed, if you can adequately cure my gastrovacuus."
I softened my expression, and slipped my knife back up my sleeve. If he truly is a doctor he will understand what I mean. I guess all that Latin my folks force fed me will finally come in handy. Of course, if he is lying I will have to kill him.
Oh my, bread has never tasted so good!
I clear my throat to respond, "Thanks for the bread. Yes, I am headed there." I walk over to the blackberry bush that he had been tangled in. I lightly take a branch in my hand, avoiding the thorns, and extend it towards him. "Take a look at this. What's missing from it? All the bushes have been picked clean. Damn birds!"
I let go of the branch and lower down to my knees. "I haven't had much luck in finding food lately, I figured I could ask them for supplies like I did a few years ago.." I pause for a moment looking over to the doctor with a confused expression, " Wait. How do you know of the Inner Circle? "
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I let out a sneeze and reply, "Well, I have been livin' there for a few months now. Nice folk, well, to fellow members anyways. I dunno though, things have actually been kind of hard lately. Might not want to head over there. They use guns too, ya know."
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A feeling of dismay begins to take hold of me when the doctor warns me about The Inner Circle. I let out a long sigh as I give up on my plan. After a moment, I respond to him saying," Things are hard all around. I guess I shouldn't burden them anymore." I let my gaze fall on the doctor's bag, " You said that you have been living with them? Have things gotten so bad there that you've decided to move on?"
I watch as the doctor checks over himself for signs of infection. I spot it before he does, the telltale brown mark of TAG.
Damn. I let my guard down for a moment, and some crazed devil manages to sneak up like that. Thank god it wasn't me he was closest to. Now what to do about the doctor?
I notice him glance at me after he finished looking over his leg. I point my knife at him, giving him as mean a look as I can muster. I tried to warn him against his actions with a threatening tone, "Don't you even-".
A loud bang cut me off. "Oh not them!", I managed to cry out before taking the doctor up on his offer to run. I decided it would be best to stick with the doctor as we fled from the bandits. If anything, I can always use him as a distraction. Maybe trip him if they get too close.
Nowadays, people call these bandit groups "Seekers" cause in this game of hide and seek, they're "it." They're really nothing more than a group of people with somewhat questionable morals, but with nothing to hold them back... Well, you can guess. Unlike your typical highwayman, these groups are more like moving communities, some even having TAG being passed around like a hot potato community, but these guys always make sure to dump the disease off at every opportunity. They slowly creep across the land and eat up every community in their path. Even the Red Rovers have had trouble dealing with them.
These guys are probably just a small scouting group, or a hunting group. Either way, they catch us, we're goners. I have TAG, so the barrel is practically already at my head. She'll be captured alive and, well, I don't want to get too into what'll happen to her.
I start to hear voices behind us; they're getting closer. "Shit, keep running!"
I look around, desperately trying to figure a way out of this predicament. As I glance to my right, a particular tree stood out to me. I veer off towards it, motioning for the doctor to follow, and quickly notice why it stood out. There were wooden planks leading up the tree, to a rather large branch. They were hard to make out due to the weathering of the wood, which made them almost blend into the tree. "This seems to be our only chance.", I whisper to the doctor as I grab hold of one of the planks, and begin to climb the tree. I make it up to the large branch, and move over to allow the doctor some room. I can hear the seekers, they are rather close by now. I pull my legs up close to my body, making sure to keep my balance by grabbing onto the branch, and hold my breathe as they approach.
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