[b]Rudy - Outpost - Matt[/b] The room was in silence as the students processed what Matt had said. They had all listened in rapt attention but now were left in confusion. Rudy turned to Elliot and asked, "Did you get all that?" Elliot confirmed that he did and stepped forward to sign toward Matt. [i]'If this is true, all Reggie has done is manipulate us.'[/i] Samantha then stepped forward and placed a palm on the desk in front of Matt. She looked at everyone in turn, a determined gleam set into her eyes. "I'm in," she said. "I've never trusted that man anyway." "We need to find out the truth," Thomas said, stepping forward as well. The other students began to crowd around Matt's desk to give their confirmation. Soon, only Rudy was standing outside the circle. The group looked at him expectantly and he shook his head in frustration. "Fuck, guys. What if Matt's wrong about this?" "What if he's right?" Thomas replied. "All we're going to do is sneak into his cabin." Rudy rolled his eyes. If they were caught, Rudy had no idea what Reggie would do. Innocent or not, the man would likely dispense his personal brand of justice before the council even caught wind of it. Then the council... fuck, Myriah would be so disappointed. "I just..." Elliot shook his head and waved Rudy over. [i]'Don't make do this by myself,'[/i] he signed. He looked at Rudy with pleading eyes. They were friends and Rudy was abandoning him, those eyes seemed to say. Rudy hardly thought he was [i]abandoning[/i] anyone, but it concerned him that Elliot was counting on him for this. It seemed to him that Elliot was only doing this because he was angry with the community and it was motivation like that which tended to lead to trouble. Still... Rudy couldn't stand by and do nothing at all. "Fuck, fine. Whatever." Rudy stepped forward to join the circle and Elliot flashed him a smile. Thomas then spoke up. "Good. Then we're all agreed." He gave Matt a nod before continuing. "Rudy and I are aware of Reggie's schedule, but I think Rudy can give a better idea of Reggie's habits... All we need is about fifteen minutes to get in and search the cabin. I'd like to say we could do it in less, but I have never done something like this before and I doubt any of you have either." Everyone nodded but Samantha, who began to awkwardly look off to the side. "I can pick locks," she said, touching at a strand of her hair. "But it might take me some time. I'm not perfect." "If you take too long, then we just abort and try another night," Thomas said. "Just as long as we're careful." Elliot raised his hands. [i]'If we want to avoid making noise, why don't we just sign? I know no one ever hears me coming.'[/i] Well, Rudy wasn't so sure about that. Some of the students were slow learners. "Uh, well shit, we only need to say a few specific things," he said. "Like [i]go[/i] and [i]stop[/i]. We're still learning but it's easy to remember a few basic signs." Thomas nodded. "Sounds good to me. We'll just need a few of us to watch the perimeter and a few of us searching the cabin. Let's sort ourselves into who wants to do what..." --- [b]Shannon - Haywood - Jess/Riley/Daniel/Emma/Amelia[/b] Shannon shook her head. She was fearful of Lauren's state of mind. The woman had named Shannon responsible for the death of her lover, after all. "We just keep her close at hand and keep an eye on her." Emma then appeared at the doorway escorting a pregnant woman inside. Shannon found herself staring down at the woman's prominent belly and her mind filled with dread. There was a new life inside of this woman, a baby ready to be born into this awful world. Selfishly, Shannon hoped this woman would be leaving soon. If not, it was only fuel for what Shannon had to tell Daniel. "I'm Shannon," she said a bit coldly. She then quickly excused herself and joined Daniel and Amelia in the living room. Shannon was relieved to see Lauren still with her head buried into her knees as it seemed the woman had fallen asleep. Shannon gave Daniel a vexed look before sitting down beside him and resting her head on her good arm. Soon, Emma appeared and Shannon gave Daniel a small nudge. The four were now alone with Katie and Lauren fast asleep. "This is messed up, guys... really messed up." Shannon sighed shakingly, exhausted not just from the attack, but also from Lauren's verbal assault. She knew that Daniel and Amelia must feel even worse after being in the shootout. "I can't believe we lost so many, I can't..." She trailed off and rubbed at her bad shoulder. Shannon was finding it hard to focus her words and the slight pain from touching at it helped her concentrate. "... I don't think we can stay. Not just because this place is going to give us bad memories now, but because... well, we can stay for as long as it takes us to bury the dead, but after that we need to [i]go[/i]." She looked at Daniel, still touching at her shoulder. "This place is too big for a dozen people to defend, especially when most of us are sick, crippled, or just children. That's just how it is. That's reality." She then looked toward Amelia and Emma, talking to each of them in turn. "And it's also for that reason that I think we need to leave some people behind. We can't sustain so many injured people. You guys can decide who we can bring with us, but I don't think it can be everyone." There was a pause, and Shannon suddenly panicked. She worried what they were thinking of her. Maybe Lauren was right and she was heartless after all. "I know I've made bad calls before, but that's how it is now! We messed up massively here and we can't fix any of it. I saw Poly die [i]right before me[/i], and all I could think of was that it could have been any one of us. Everyone that died, it's a miracle we're sitting here at all. We've been handed a lucky break and we have to make the best of it." --- [b]Reggie - Outpost - Enrique[/b] Reggie stared back evenly. Perhaps Enrique thought himself amusing, or maybe even tough. Reggie was unsure if he was either. "I like to know who's working with me," he said. [i]With[/i], not [i]for[/i]. Happy now, Enrique? "But I can respect that. It takes a strong man to help rather than hinder. You don't find many people like that these days." Amusing or not, Reggie didn't think of Enrique as a liar. Reggie believed that this, at least, was the truth. "You have to understand that we're a wary bunch around here. You can't expect friendship just because the council's welcomed you." In the long pause that followed, Reggie turned toward the recruits and put his hands on his hips. "I'll need them ready in under a week. Do you think you can handle that? The safety of our community is at stake here."