Jim Andrews's Story

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I'm terrified of the day that I will welcome death with open arms.

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The only sound that could be heard was the sound of her boots crunching in the grass. This was a safe zone, not a single infected could be found for miles. Though the tidbit of information was consistently zooming through her brain, she couldn't manage to relax. She supposed it was for the better, getting too relaxed, too comfortable could easily lead to a lapse in judgement. Which, considering the situation, could be fatal. The lack of Infected did not make this place safe, it made it a trap. There could be any number of hostile refugees or bandits in the area and Adey knew she seemed like an easy target. With a shaky sigh, she rubbed her thumb along one of the pistols in her belt. A surge of confidence burned its way through her, renewing her steps through the abandoned part of the city.

In the passing years, nature had taken back the land in a major way. The large buildings were covered in vines and moss, the road was little more than an asphalt path. As creepy and dangerous as walking through the buildings was, she needed to find the old botanical gardens. Recently, Adey found a wilted brochure on the place and noticed that it had an extended stretch of medicinal herbs, something that would come in handy once the med packs ran out. Luckily, the ripped pages displayed the address proudly. Unluckily, most of the street signs were missing or far too faded to read. Hence, the lengthy search.

With a cheer of relief, Adelaide found the gardens. She almost hadn't recognized it with way the plants had overgrown the place. However, the dome-like roof stood proud, despite missing some panes of glass. A quick cursory search revealed that the only way in was climbing the vines and jumping through a window on the second floor because Adey was an idiot and forgot her knife.

She had managed the feat with little effort and soon found the plants she was looking for. For the most part, she only harvested what she recognized, but grabbed a few extra plants to experiment with when she got the chance. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the sky darkening, as the vines had blocked out most of the light as it was. When the familiar metallic voice filled the air, the first sound that hadn't been the crunch of her boots or her humming since the start of the day, she jumped with a fright.

"Shit!" Adey cursed as she quickly began loading up her back pack. With little ceremony, she practically fell down the side of the building and took off in a dead sprint. The announcement was still going, leading her back to the part of the city that still looked livable. She didn't slow until she saw the familiar face of Jim in the distance, but this had certainly taken it's toll on her. Her huffing and puffing was loud and hardly ladylike, but she was glad that she had actually made it home for curfew. For once, she didn't have to sneak in avoiding the soldiers.

"Hey Adey! Wana come help me with this?" Jim's familiar voice rang through the cool night. Once she had walked into his field of vision, she gave him a thumbs up, not trusting her voice to not betray her.

As she got closer, she dropped her bag away from the bloody mess and caught her breath. "Yeah, what do you need me to do?"

He had been walking south when he ran into the patrol. Too used to not seeing people and only avoiding zombies he had been surprised by them. He had been stalking when all of a sudden he was ambushed. He had been walking along when all of a suddne he was being tackled and pushed to the ground. People were yelling "GET DOWN, Don't MOVE, HANDS ON YOUR HEAD".

He complied knowing no good would come of resisting even as he was kicked a couple times. "ALL RIGHT, ALL! RIGHT!" he yelled.

"Take it EASY." Hell he hadn't even had time to draw his pistol. The grabbed him and rushed him hands behind his back towards the tunnel in. One of the soldiers said "Alright lads, I'll take him from here" From there he was marched through a series of tunnels.

"Listen, I'm taking you to an underground group of smugglers ok?" He shook him hard "I care about these people, ok? Take care of them and DO NOT screw this up for me."

He was tossed through the tunnel entrance full pack and all. "ok, OK! Fine." He let out an oomph as he was winded by his rifle being thrown at him and landing on his stomach. He lay his head down backwards quickly before he pulled it back up again to behold this gorgeous young blonde, The most beautiful sight he had seen in a year. All he could do was stare even as she came over to see what was going on. He was still staring as he stitched up his arm with the help of another girl who was clearly giving her instructions. He could tell he was making her uncomfortable but he just didn't know what to do, or what to say. It had been so long since he had seen another human being much less talked to one. As he finished all he could do was give her a quick silent nod, he still didn't trust himself to speak.

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I'm terrified of the day that I will welcome death with open arms.

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Being elbow deep in deer blood wasn't something that Adey enjoyed, but they needed to eat and she had to pull her weight around the place she called home. She felt immensely better once she had gotten cleaned up after being dismissed from organ duty. Settling in she began sorting through her finds of the day. A few of the exhibits had had cards that listed the common uses and names of the plants, but they all had large words like Adey had never seen before. Despite her father reinforcing the habit, there is only so much you can read while on the run. Some of the unnamed flora had strange aromas and she really wanted to get Winnie's opinions on what they could be used for.

"Hey Adey how was...." Speak of the devil, Winnie's voice broke through the silence only to be cut off by a loud commotion at the mouth of the tunnel leading to their little hideout. Unintelligible shouting was followed by Phillip forcing a large man into the clearing. His pained yell forced her too her feet and into "medic mode" as Winnie called it. She abandoned her bag, only grabbing the med kit, and approached the causes of the ruckus.

"Doc!" Adey shouted as she jogged towards the collapsed man. She was sure that Winnie had also heard the noise these two were making, she was standing right next to her, but calling out her name made Adey feel more confident.

She knelt next to the stranger and took in his appearance spotting various injuries, new and old. He looked worse-for-wear and as though he fought the entire way here. Despite her growing drowsiness, she put on her most calming smile and began to reach for his arm. "I'm just going to stitch you up. I'll only do what I absolutely need to. Alright?" He didn't reply, but he also didn't try to pull away.

Taking that for the go ahead, she stitched up the long gash on his arm and tried to ignore his intense gaze. His blue eyes were a little unnerving and she avoided the urge to squirm. She decided to break the silence by calling to Winnie, "Doc, some of these wounds look like they might be infected. Not infected infected, just gross." Turning her concerned gaze to the man's face, she added, "You may need to wash them pretty soon."

Almost immediately after finishing the last stitch, she was whisked away by Winnie's gentle grasp. Once she was positioned safely behind the older woman, she blushed, appreciative of the protectiveness that was shown to her. Listening to the exchange between Phillip and Winnie got her thinking about Xavier. It wasn't quite the same without him, but she had grown used to losing those she cared about. It still wasn't any easier.

She was pulled out of her reminiscing by Winnie's request to get the newcomer food. With a small nod and an encouraging smile to Blondie, as she'd taken to calling him, she ran off in the direction from which she'd come.

❂James Andrews❂Retired USMC❂Washington, D.C❂Healthy❂

☣☣
"Here's the deal: I'm not easy to get along with, and I'm sensing you're a bit of a bitch"

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"Yeah, what do you need me to do?" he could tell by how she was talking Adey had hurried back, "Just make sure the dogs don't mess with the guts and help prep the meat," by now Jim's large hands were covered in blood, he sliced through a hindquarter with his knife and severed the tendons from the rest of the body. The legs would have plenty of meat to feed the group for several nights, and the rest of the body he hoped to use to make jerky.

The three dogs all perked up at the same time, and before he heard her voice he knew Winnie was back home, "Hey Jimmy I'm back!" she called, "I think we are good now Adey," he said nodding to her, "I'll clean up," he dropped the final bit of entrails into the bucket and nudged it away with his boot. "Hey Adey how was...."

Jim glanced behind him as Winnie trailed off, curious to see why she did so, one of the tunnel guards Phillip had entered the room with a man. Jim gave him a quick once over before going back to his work, Winnie was perfectly capable of talking to the two. "She's a bit young for you buddy so stop fucking staring at her like that" Jim glanced to the stranger again, the man was looking at Adey as if he had not seen a woman in years. Winter made sure that stopped as soon as possible and moved Adey away from the stranger, he focused back on his work, still not saying anything as the conversation between Phillip and Winter continued.

"Don't know his name but we found him on the out skirts just kinda walking around, I brought him here cause he put up one hell of a fight and I know your missing a scout since Xavier got bitten"

Damn. He had to bring that up. Xavier had been a member of the group and often times was more so a therapist than a actual fighter, the man knew how to talk to people, and cook a meal with little to nothing. He died protecting Winter, not that she necessarily needed protection from being infected. "Whats your name? Tell me or else I'll just be calling you Blondie."

Adey went off to get food and water, while the food would probably end up being a military ration, the water was from a rain jug they used to collect it when they later boiled it to kill off any bacteria and such, it was better than drinking something from the sewer or using a precious bottle of water that the group kept for emergencies. "Winter," Jim said sternly slamming his knife down into the table so it stood up straight, "How about we let Blondie get some water first," he said grabbing a towel to wipe some of the blood off his hands, his hands now somewhat clean he adjusted his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He turned and placed a hand on Winters shoulder, "Give the man a chance to get his voice," he gently squeezed her shoulder before moving to the man who still sat on the floor. "Name is Jim," he said offering his hand to "Blondie". "Why the hell were you wandering outside the safe zone?" he added.

Still in a daze from having seen the girl Addie he at first didn't notice the battery of questions and talk directed his way. As soon as Winnie yelled at him though his eyes snapped up and, instinctively angry, but then as soon as he heard her words he had to look at the floor. He hadn't realized he'd been staring. He could understand their reaction now, you didn't know people any more, you didn't trust them. He held his hand out a little in front of him palm out to show he was harmless, well relatively. As soon as he did though he noticed they were shaking, How long had it been since he ate, he wondered, or drank, and when had he last slept more than 4 hours at stretch. He decided to stay sitting for now, it was the most non threatening position and he was in NO hurry to start a fight in his present condition

They wanted to know his name, though Blondie wasn't a bad nickname as things would go. He smiled a small mirthless sliver of a smile. "Erik, Erik Stone" he said with a slight Scandinavian drawl. His voice sounded strange to his ears, a dry cracked thing that seemed to come from someone twice his age, it had been so long since he'd used it. The older man, the one with a tough look about him interrupted her. In fact now that Erik had a half a second of peace his eyes flicked around trying to place everyone. Hierarchy was important, especially to a stranger, knowing it could keep you alive. The tall man, ex military if Erik was any judge was clearly in charge somehow, but the other girl showed sings of being up the pecking order, after that it was more of a loose collection.

Water, they were offering him water.

"Name is Jim," the big man said as he came over to give him a hand up which he had to rely on to an almost shameful extend. He didn't realize how weak he'd been. "Why the hell were you wandering outside the safe zone?". Erik just started at him for a second, how could he explain, so much had happened. He couldn't, he just mutely shook his head and looked down at his boots. "Nowhere to go" He said it so softly he didn't know if the man had heard at first, but when he looked up everyone was looking at him. Jim didn't say a word just mutely offered him a mason jar of water. He took it in trembling hands and drank it down greedily. It had been days since he'd drank and he did so with abandon, trying to get it all in his system as fast as he could even spilling some down his shirt.

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I'm terrified of the day that I will welcome death with open arms.

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With Jim present, Adey was a lot more at ease around the new man. He didn't seem to be in any condition to fight judging by the severity of his wounds, but she didn't know him or what he was capable of. She handed the water and food off to Jim, letting him maintain his control of the situation and took her spot at the back of the crowd. The back up position.

Erik was a nice enough name, but Adey still wanted to call him Blondie. She thought it was funny and made him seem less intimidating. She tried to maintain a stoic face, to fit the mood of her comrades, but her instincts were telling her that there was no danger here. Managing to relax a little bit, she returned back to her bag and began to pack away the forgotten plants.

She'd been distracted from the silence that had fallen over the group, but her attention was once again called to Blondie-er, Erik, with his haunting words, "Nowhere to go." It was common enough for people to wander aimlessly, to have nowhere to go. At least Adey had Jim and Winnie. Despite their losses, her father, Xavier, they were still together.

When he began greedily sucking down the water, she approached him again. "Hey, Bl-Erik. Don't drink so fast. You'll make yourself sick." She pinched her fingers together as she added, "Small sips."

❂James Andrews❂Retired USMC❂Washington, D.C❂Healthy❂/size]

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[size=70] "Here's the deal: I'm not easy to get along with, and I'm sensing you're a bit of a bitch"

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"Nowhere to go"

Jim just nodded and handed Erik the mason jar of water,"Phil if your hungry grab a ration pack, or you can wait till we cook the deer," the tunnel guard nodded and left the room. Erik was quickly emptying the jar of water, "Hey, Bl-Erik. Don't drink so fast. You'll make yourself sick." Adey said from where she stood behind the small group, she slowly moved past Jim to get closer to Erik, "Small sips.". It had to have been a couple of days since Erik had eaten, they had seen starving people before, it was one of the reasons why they did what they did. To prevent those who were left from going hungry. "We got plenty more water, and if this" he held out the MRE ration pack to Erik.

"Doesn't fill you up then we can get more food, Winter killed a good size doe today," He went back to the deer on the table, Lugnut was once again attempting to get a nibble, Jim nudged him away and picked up his knife again, "Where are you from Erik?" he asked as he started cutting the meat into strips, they would fit better on the charcoal grille when it was time to cook them.

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The Sun was setting; it was almost time to head in. Alex was coming back from the South side of the zone. His backpack was full, and in his cargo pant pocket was a wad of ration cards he received for handling a smuggling group's arms transport within the zone. Though, with his reward, he hardly seemed enthusiastic or even relieved that he had the cards. Every day seemed as shitty as the last.

Walking down the street, people were getting ready for curfew rushing back to their homes and apartments; the military's harassment was something no one wanted, and still something everyone got just a bit of. But Alex had ways around that. Turning the corner, heading to the West side of town, Alex continued walking. He recognized the street; it's where Winter Duke and her group ran, but that was way the hell down the street and past an intersection too.

"Drop the goddamn bag," someone said. Off in his peripheral sight, he saw his perpetrator. The man seemed out of breath, as if he was following Alex for some time now, aiming a handgun straight at his face.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked the gunman.

"Whatever ration cards you have, gimme em," he answered. Alex took a moment to think about his approach, but slowly walked closer to the mugger and went to reach in his pocket.

"Yeah, here, I got some for you-" cutting himself short, he quickly reached to grab the wielding wrist and punch straight into the kidney. Ripping the handgun out of the man's hand, he tossed the firearm backwards; sending shots off this close to curfew was a sure ride to the firing squad. Punching the man away, he raised his fists in a fighting guard.

"Aw, you bitch!" he yelled at Alex. With a few quick jabs, each one was dodged by back up a little and slapping the hand away. "You seem scared! Something wrong?"

With another punch just thrown out there, Alex ducked under it and planted his elbow in the man's stomach. His fist then connected with the criminal's face, and he slammed the man into the brick wall next to them. Grabbing the back of the man's head, Alex drove it down into his rising knee, and pushed him down the alley. Alex stood over him, looking down at the beaten and disgruntled individual.

"Here's a real quick lesson, you cunt," he said harshly, grabbing the many ration cards out of his pocket. "You don't screw with people who get these kinds of deals and jobs, you got that? You're screwin' yourself over. Now go home, military's gonna look at your beaten ass at curfew and shoot you." His lecture over, the mugger hardly knew what just happened. He began walking away, and spotted the handgun he tossed earlier.

"Oh, and you probably won't need this anymore," he said. Alex, not needing it himself, and not wanting to get hounded by the military for it, looked up at a glass window of an abandoned building. He chucked it up, and the glass shattered as it landed somewhere inside the building.

Now it was even later, and he began down the street once again. Even if the ex-soldier sprinted, he wouldn't make it home before curfew. In fact, the curfew warnings started as soon as he got up to the intersection to the other half of the street. Jogging along, he made it across the road and down towards his friend's place, Winter's place. To be lurking around after Curfew, even for five blocks, was not a risk Alex wanted to take coming out of a fight. Eventually, he came upon the building and knocked on the door, unsure of their, mainly Jim's, reactions.

Adey wasn't sure what to do. It was clear that there wouldn't be a shootout in the middle of their camp, but she wanted to observe Blondie for a short while. If she was going to be a medic worth anything, she needed to be thorough. He could have existing problems or a concussion from his violent entrance. Hell, he could even tear his stitches. Winter had taken off, so the likelihood of any of those things happening was small at best. But, Winnie was already the medic. She'd already proved herself and now it was Adey's turn to prove to Winnie that she knew what she was doing, even if that meant losing a little sleep now and again.

From the way he quickly looked away, she worried that she made him uncomfortable. To remedy the situation, she took a seat a little behind him. "Is there anything else you need?" Adey called out to Erik. She heard a new commotion coming from near the garage, but then again, she though she spotted Alex. Winnie liked to play rough sometimes, their relationship wasn't something Adey understood completely, so she just brushed off the though and focused on her hands. They were disgusting, Blondie's blood streaked across her skin.

Too tired to wash them, she settled for rubbing them fiercely on her pants. Before she'd realized, her head was back against the wall and she had settled in for a short nap before dinner. It'd been a long time since Adey had had so much action in one day, but if there was any more and they needed help, she would be sure to hear it.

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"Alex, long time no see!" Winter greeted warmly, hugging him. He was one of the few people she actually hugged, and the only person Alex new that had this level of affection for him.

"Hey" he greeted, hugging back then walking into the room. "I got a little bogged down getting back to my apartment, and I didn't want to risk getting shot for being out past curfew."

The dogs began to bark, and Alex pet them to try and calm them. He knelt down to push Bear down on his side and rub his belly.

"Down, Bear" he commanded, as he was pawing at him furiously a moment ago.

"Winter, we don't a goddamn boarding house!" Jim yelled. The expected reaction from a rugged leader just trying to manage his resources.

"Hey, hey" he said, trying to slow down Jim. He was acquainted with the man, though they hardly had a discussion. Alex wasn't exactly sure what the ex-marine, Jim thought of him. He wasn't even sure how much Jim knew of the times Alex has handled weapons for Winter within the city.

"I'm just not trying to get shot going all the way up town to my place. I got food and stuff, you don't need to worry about me Jim," he told the smuggler, trying to keep things calm. By the time he answered that, he noticed Winter hauling off some child upstairs she presumably found trying to steal stuff, and she announced she was going to give up a bath for her.

"Rule number two, Winter!" Alex called up to her as she ascended the steps. He still remembered the campfire the two had when they came up with the "Rules of the New World," as he liked to think of it. Yawning, not exactly having much to do with Winter's decision, he took a corner of the room he had just entered to set his things down and sit in. Like anyone else, he could use some sleep.

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I'm terrified of the day that I will welcome death with open arms.

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The wafting scent of meat and the quiet arguments roused Adey from her short nap. She hadn't really planned on sleeping, but it was good to catch what little sleep was possible in this day and age. She sat up and winced at the crick in her neck that had formed from her awkward sleeping position. She stood with a grunt and a popping of bones that probably shouldn't have started for at least another decade. The flutter of fabric caught her eye as she realized that she still had Blondie's bandanna. She quickly grabbed it up and tried to shake out the dirt, but it really made no difference with the blood that had dried onto it. She sighed and sneaked over to Erik's slumbering form, silently tucking it into his fist. She promised herself that if he ended up staying, she'd wash his bandanna for him.

Unlike Jim, Adey loved to cook. Her experimentation with the herbs and plants that she finds are not always 100% delicious, but she'd yet to make someone sick, so it still counts as a success. She slowly made her way to the stove, gently massaging her neck to offer her services to Jim and caught a glimpse of Winter carrying a young girl and Alex walking through the small house. Giving a slight pause, she glanced at Jim as he shouted, "Winter, we don't a goddamn boarding house!"

Hoping to ease his stress a little, she carefully grabbed his forearm, "I can take care of this if you want to go deal with... whatever that is." After a short silence she added, under her breath, "Hot damn." People were just coming out of the woodwork. When Adey had fallen asleep, there had been one extra member, now Alex was passed out in a corner and Jim was yelling about a stranger in the bathroom.

He had thought he was safe. These people had taken him in and fed him and given him a place to sleep and only a short while later people had come after him again. They had burst through the door Erik had been sleeping near. He'd woken almost instantly and in a daze had managed to squeeze off about five shots before he was rushed and kicked into submission. He wasn't sure if he'd gotten any but he hoped he had. After thinking it was ok to feel safe and then almost instantly being plunged right back into the cruelty of the world he was sinking deeper into himself, right back into a creature that was almost feral in nature. When they started tying his hands behind his back he started to buck and struggle again until one of the guards kicked him in the kidneys.

He had been captured once, it'd hadn't be exactly a barrel of laughs then, he was pretty sure it wouldn't have gotten any better. He had been tortured last time, you could see it , cuts and burns all down his chest and back. As soon as hey separated them and put them in vans he started hyperventilating, He and Jim got put in one van and Addie and another man got put in another. He started getting tunnel vision. All he could feel was this beast writhing somewhere deep in his stomach. It was there just seething and angry, spitting mouthfuls of hate through it's teeth like blood. All he could hear was it's voice 'Kill them, Kill Them, KILL THEM!'

He didn't know what was going to happen to them. What he did know was that if anyone hurt Addie he was going to kill someone and only god knew what happened next.

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I'm terrified of the day that I will welcome death with open arms.

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As soon as the sound of the door getting kicked in reached her ears, Adey abandoned her cooking and pulled a gun from her belt. She wasn't sure what was happening and her first instinct was infected, but something about the rounds of gunshots told her otherwise. On a whim, she pushed her pocket knife down her jeans, hoping that it wouldn't be visible to whatever invading force this was. Trying to keep both entrances in her field of vision, she called Alex's name. She tried to stay quiet so she wouldn't alert the intruders to their position, but she added force that she hoped would wake him up. Checking if Alex had heard her tore her eyes away from the doors for only a second, but it was enough.

A large man burst into the room and used his momentum to push her against the wall. In surprise at the air rushing from her lungs, she dropped her gun. Instinctively, she reached for the other, but was quickly stopped as the man twisted her arm behind her back and took the second gun from her belt. He kicked the pistol that she had dropped to the far side of the room. She attempted to twist out of his grasp, but only succeeded in setting her shoulder alight with pain.

The man's grip of steel felt as though it was crushing her wrist as he pulled her away from the wall. "ALEX!" she shouted this time as her panic was setting in. The short word was the only things she managed before she was forced to the ground. Feeling the weight of the man as he trapped her legs beneath him, she continued to struggle as he tied her hands, though, it was a lot less hopeful than it had been before.

As though realizing for the first time how much stronger than she this man was, she gasped as she was lifted and carried out into the darkness. Shots rang through the camp as the other people she had called friends were gunned down. Being thrown into the back of a truck reminded Adey of the pain in her shoulder. A few tears escaped her eyes, but they were indiscernible from the sweat that covered her skin.

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"Jimmy go suck an egg and Alex shove your rules up your ass alongside that 7 foot pole!"

Alex didn't bother with another witty remark. It was nice to just sit down for the moment. He closed his eyes though sleep had not taken him, and he could hear what everyone else was doing. The hustling and bustling to get dinner done and just go to sleep for the night, Kennedy moving to the garage, and Erik sleeping. All had passed rather peacefully now. For the moment, there was nothing to worry about, it seemed. Until the door was shot open.

Armed men piled through the door in front and back. His head shooting straight up, and his eyes wide, Alex could do nothing but stay there as a man approached with a gun aimed straight at his heart.

"Oh shit dude, hold the fuck up!" Alex yelled in a panic, holding his hands up much like a criminal being arrested. He was promptly yanked from his feet as Jim struggled to fight back in the kitchen. Being warded out onto the sidewalk, he was shoved into the wall of the building and onto his knees. He kept his hands clasped behind his head as he was held hostage at gunpoint; he could only imagine what sort of a stir this would cause with the military. Maybe this was the military. Some moments of suspense passed as he awaited their next move. He could here Winter's name being used by one of them. Alex picked his head up to look around, and he was shoved back down under the attacker's foot.

The invaders began putting some of the smugglers on the truck. How they even got the truck in the quarantine zone, if they weren't military, was but a mystery. It seemed they didn't recognize Alex, and wasn't sure what to do with him.

"Round up everyone, you all have the list of people to keep alive then rest not on the list just shoot them."

At that instant, he concluded this was not the military. The barrel of a handgun was put to the back of his head; now was the time to act, or never. Swiftly, he ducked his head just under the barrel of the gun as his executioner fired a shot, taking hairs off his scalp. Reaching back just slightly, his right hand met the one of the man behind. Pulling the joined hands forward and twisting his attacker's wrist, Alex forced him to let go and took the handgun as a weapon now. The disarming lasted all of four seconds, the yelp of the Firefly the only indicator that something had gone wrong.

Standing, Alex turned about face to fire a round into his executioner's head, then subsequently fired at a Firefly guarding the entrance to the back of the truck. Two more at the door of the building turned and picked up their assault rifles. Not having time for a prolonged engagement, Alex darted into the alley in the side of the building, hoping to run into Winter. There was no telling what these people were doing, or how they came to know the names and faces of the people in the building. All of it seemed... unsettling.

"Winter, where are you!?"

Jims words cut through the red haze filling his mind. slowing his breathing and calming him down. He stopped panicking, took a couple deep breaths and the beast peaked out from behind his eyes. It looked around, it took what it saw, it processed, information became ammunition. They were sitting down facing each other in the back of the truck. Two guards were in there also with them and two in the front seat. They had pistols and two had long arms. Their hands were tied in front of them. The Beast saw this and remembered, a time would come when it would be useful.

The grin he directed at Jim was feral, his teeth bloodstained from a split lip. "Have you been captured before?" Jim nodded once, just a quick jerk of the head. Erik nodded back, you didn't ask a man what went on, it was enough that you knew."Better hold fast"

The trucks stopped. Erik had no idea where they were, but they were here. The guards got out of the car pushing Jim and Erik in front of them. As they got out Erick pretended to stumble and when the guard leaned down to pull him back up Erik whipped his head back into the guards face breaking his nose and then rushed the guard in front of him. The guard was right in the middle of spinning around to see what happened. He was off balance, startled by the sudden yell from behind. Erik took advantage of this bull rushing him and aiming a stomping kick straight to the guard knee which promptly collapsed. There was no finesse to this technique, just sheer brutality and efficiency. As the man went down he kicked him in the face as he went by. About that time the guards by Jim had caught up and he felt a blow across the back. He went down hard, got kicked a couple times for his trouble and beaten fairly cruelly. That was how he came to find himself bloody, bruised and semi conscious tossed back between Addie and Jim