[hr][hr][center][h1][i][b][color=steelblue]Ash Holloway[/color][/b][/i][/h1]
[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0d55b471-c5e5-4224-a6dd-f93f52f38ebd.png[/img][/center]
[hr][center][color=steelblue][b]Location:[/b][/color] Agriculture: Storage (West Side between Inner and Outer Wall) [/center][hr][hr]

	[i]Hello darkness, my old friend...[/i]

	It's funny what goes through one's mind when concepts like "Reality" take a nosedive. For Ash, it was Simon & Garfunkel. Which was odd, considering he was really more of a Rolling Stones kind of guy. But there it was. [i]...I've come to talk to you again...[/i] But it wasn't darkness that seemed to call him. 

	Thana was doing an excellent job of being coy, even playful. He even had to stop himself from reaching out to her once or twice. He just smiled quietly and shook his head. Oh, they would definitely be continuing the conversation later. It was a new beginning for Ash, and he didn't want to miss a minute of it. It wasn't just the fact that he had met someone with exquisitely striking looks, nor that she was fairly like-minded in her sense of professionalism. Nor was it the shared military background (even if she was [i]NAVY[/i]). Well, all of it helped immensely, but the greatest portion was that he had progressed so profoundly as to allow someone else near to his heart, and in such a short time. When it feels right, it just feels right, though. And it did. 

	Then the vision of Alicia came again. But closer, more vivid. Right in the room with them, taunting him. Sowing doubt. Trying to create fear and distrust. This was advice that she might have given a man who was having the wool pulled over his eyes, caught up in some honeytrap. His eyes hardened. A tiny flame of anger flickered through him, and for two opposing reasons: First, he hadn't even considered this. Even though he pursued her as much as she him, as he remembered it. But Second, he didn't consciously believe that. However, if he was hallucinating all of this, and this was not some kind of haunting, then part of him [i]did[/i]. Part of him was paranoid, jealous, angry, still bitter. Part of him did not trust. That bothered him. Was he trying to keep himself from being happy? Or was his brain trying to tell him something? All he knew for certain was that he didn't want to know. 

	When Thana came nearer to him, he heard something about the Distillery. [color=steelblue]"Yeah, distillery..."[/color] he spoke absently. Then he looked up at her. [color=steelblue]"Sorry. Um, yes."[/color] He shook off the moment as best he could. At least he knew he was seeing things, and that those things weren't actually there. It would have to do. Ash took in a breath and slowly let it back out. In a steady voice, he responded further. [color=steelblue]"Thana, when we're done with this, it's best if I speak with Doc. Don't worry, I'm all here."[/color] He gave a warm smile. [color=steelblue]"I'd just feel better if I did. Come on, as soon as I load up these bricks, I'll show you to the Distillery. One of my personal happy places."[/color] 

	Ash really hoped this wasn't getting worse. 



[hr][hr][center][h1][color=firebrick]Black James(!)[/color][/h1]
[img]https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/avatars/6AE78329E91063505631975227392_pic-r-1396533712688c4afde8ecf.jpg.jpg?versionId=ZnGOSit0zozlhxpJk0w6QVx4cSozVRdq[/img][/center]
[hr][center][b][color=firebrick]Location:[/color][/b]  Near 545 Corinth Rd, Newnan: In the woods. (Not far from the Coweta County Water Authority) [/center][hr][hr]

	James felt a sense of pride sweeping over him. It wasn't self-aggrandizing hubris more than a feeling that his little know of people, even if they all were jogging headlong into their own, immediate deaths, they were a unit acting for the interest of the group. They were coming together. He smiled a little more as he heard Beatrice's words, and offered some advice of his own. 

	[color=firebrick]"Fair 'nuff, Queen Bea. We all got a little dark in us, or we wouldn't still be breathin'. Understand, we gotta use it like a tool, okay? Take out that darkness when you need it, put that shit back on a shelf an' walk away when you don't. Can't let it eat ya, girl."[/color] He held out his hand to her. [color=firebrick]"Thanks, huh?"[/color] 

	Ryan and Gavin both got themselves ready in their own ways, Irish by making a light quip and Tex by assembling Alica's sniper rifle with gusto. It was the continuation of them getting settled in as a [i]team[/i]. Four survivors that never would have been grouped together if the world hadn't turned itself inside-out, now setting off to a spot very nearby, greeting the unknown. It was at that moment that James heard the voice of a certain old man, growling out a warning. It intoned a sentiment about Alicia's rifle that James himself repeated out loud, agreeing with the seemingly spectral presence of Caesar, [color=firebrick]"Better be good to that gun, hombre!"[/color] he nearly verbatim repeated. Though it was creepy as hell to have both seen and heard the massively respected Mexican, James oddly took the whole incident remarkably well. It was like the veteran of a thousand battles was riding with them, lending moral support and filling James's spirit. So what if he was threatening? It's not like he was particularly cuddly when he was alive. And they were going to meet his niece. At least, that's what he figured, seeing as this mystery woman identified herself as the cousin of his daughter. Made sense. 

	At the sound of two thumps, James shifted the truck into drive and rolled slowly out of the warehouse. He stopped, giving Gavin a moment to secure the loading door behind them, and was off again as soon as he righted himself back in he truck bed. He didn't want to move too quickly, owing to the tall Texan standing in the back, though he did have a mind to get to this meet just up the road before the other party arrived. That little detail would be dependent upon a couple of factors, namely their means of transportation and how well they could navigate the little roadblocks that occurred naturally when there wasn't a thriving population to tend to the streets. The path that James & Gang took brought them around to the front of the warehouse, past the building containing the associated offices, and around to the private street in front of the complex. It was a mix of grey-topped road and packed gravel, level, steady, and even (for the most part). 

	The moment they cleared the treeline, James spotted their meeting place. It was the three-way intersection nearest the old Water Plant, chosen for its visibility to incoming traffic, multiple escape points by vehicle or by foot, and an arm of low evergreen foliage that jutted out from the main woods, providing both secrecy and soft cover while giving plenty of things underfoot to tip one off in case indelicate feet shambled nearby. Gavin might find a nice, cozy nook from which to give them cover in there. He brought the vehicle to a halt, speaking out of the window, [color=firebrick]"We gonna be over there, where the roads meet, 'kay? You got this!"[/color] 

	Grim reality set in with James as he slowly pulled into the intersection. With a smile, he proceeded to drive farther up and them back the truck down the street so that it appeared he came in from the southernmost roadway, just to throw them off a little in case they had to run. James reached for his Barret rifle, and pulled it out with him as he exited the Silverado's cab. He inspected the safety and chambered a round, then leaned it against his door, ready for easy use if necessary. He hoped not. He hoped this would all go smoothly and this lady was on the up-and-up. He dearly would have liked to meet more of Alicia's family. For the moment, he stood and waited. 	
	

[hr][hr][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/e7de846f-30f3-4613-933c-40dce7104529.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/e4117d5f-65c8-4b8e-98df-5810a59267c5.jpg[/img][/center][hr][center][color=dc143c][b]Location:[/b][/color] Closer to The Meet - IN A TANK[/center][hr][hr]

	[color=dc143c]"Was that some kind of lesbian thing, Lola? Cause "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." Um... Well, you're not going to fool me twice, damnit."[/color] Thalia's end of the exchange was a joke, despite her general poor delivery. Her face didn't seem well suited for humor that didn't involve violence or extreme sarcasm. The attempt surprised even her, a little bit. Probably just nerves talking. Of course, what Lola proposed wasn't [i]entirely[/i] out of left field. Her sexuality was a touch toward the fluid side, even though she was the type to check off "Hetero" when the census came around. It didn't stop her from extending a one-finger salute to her Kiwi friend before popping her seat back up to check the tank's optics. 

	There was a brief moment of awkward silence as Alexander blurted his own touch of humor. The situation was obviously tense, ad everyone seemed to be attempting some form of joviality to combat the tension. Thalia herself wasn't well suited for humor. [color=dc143c]"I wouldn't get my hopes up yet, Gramps. Between now and mealtime, lots can fuck up. Lots."[/color] It was the best she could muster at the moment. Thalia didn't know this guy; she had met him just a little bit ago and was now forced to deal with someone she wasn't sure about in what was going to be a very stressful, very unsure situation. If gunfire broke out, would he panic? Freeze? Would he turn on the two of them while she was out of the tank? [color=dc143c]"[i]Fond[/i] is a stretch, Mugsy. I'll go for [i]tolerate[/i] right now. Don't let us down, huh?"[/color] 

	She had wanted to say more to the man, mostly about dropping him off at Newnan like he was initially planning or something equally dismissive, but the changing terrain outside of the tank snatched her attention. [color=dc143c]"Keep going straight. Road's going to wind a little through trees, but from what I understand, you cannot miss the meet site. Three-way stop across from a Water Treatment Plant."[/color]