[hr][hr][center][h1][i][b][color=steelblue]Ash Holloway[/color][/b][/i][/h1][img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/85b1d99e40c547d7e771e7688130f28a/tumblr_ojog8uNf9k1qdhps7o2_r1_500.gif[/img][/center][hr][center][color=steelblue][b]Location:[/b][/color] Hordebuster, Intersection of Sprayberry and Jackson St. (E8) -> Roscoe Rd. (E7)
[color=steelblue][b]Skills:[/b][/color] Engineering, Mechanic [/center][hr][hr]

	Oh, Ash heard the question that Riley had posed him, but he didn't answer right away. It was an interesting set of circumstances shaping up outside of the grated windows that held his attention just then, drawing the capacity of his brain to process and respond away like some manner of conversational highwayman, demanding that the Captain "Stand and Deliver", said delivery coming in the form of conscious thought. But one couldn't blame him, really. It was an odd sight. 

	A pane of ice held over the vast majority of the wide intersection and continued to the road beyond. Jackson St. was suitable for tobogganing, were one lucky enough to have a passable toboggan (the sled, not the hat), and the ice had the most interesting group of dead people atop it, trying like hell to stand back up in the middle of a continuing series of nasty tumbles onto the slippery and frigid road. Like, a LOT of them. It had all the makings of a beginner's Ice Skating class comprised of palsy-inflicted kindergartners. Except for the rot. And the mindless shuffling toward the pillar of smoke and despair that used to be Newnan. But it was definitely surreal. Ash kind of wished he could get video of it for a post-apocalyptic blooper reel later. 

	It did slowly dawn in him that he needed to take this next part nice and slow. It made no sense to floor it and pray that he wouldn't inadvertently run off of both sides of the road and take out a (living) family of four. Slowly, deliberately, Ash shifted into a lower gear and allowed the Hordebuster to crawl across the intersection, adjusting his direction in minute ways. And shoving away a small handful of them as the great plow wedge of the front did its job, but at slow speeds. 

	He finally allowed himself to respond to Riley. [color=steelblue]"Military..."[/color] Maybe she was trying to take his min doff of things for a little while and maybe she was just going for conversation. It really didn't matter. He appreciated the act and acquiesced to her seeming curiosity, though thoughts of long ago brought out a little more of his Virginian accent than he was trying for. [color=steelblue]"Dad had a good thing going with the Distillery... wait, we've never really talked, have we?"[/color] he paused, giving a look to the former music icon. A lot of what he would have said might as well have gone completely over her head, what with them not being particularly close outside of duty logs and guard details. [color=steelblue]"Okay, short version first: I blew away my ASVAB scores, and figured I could get a solid education though the Army. There wasn't anything else about the family business I didn't already know, and lots of my people went military. Easy enough, I enlisted and got into the Virginia Military Institute. I liked the discipline. I liked serving my country. And I liked helping people. So I went career. The family business would be there when I retired, and I would have owned ...oh, half of it by now."[/color] As far as he knew, he was the last surviving member of his immediate family. If the Distillery even still stood, by rights it was all his. But that was only by the law of a nation that, in all honesty, just didn't exist anymore. It made his heart wistful, thinking about the plans from Before. It seemed like so long ago. 

	Ash carefully maneuvered the Hordebuster into a shallow turn, hoping that the icy road would allow them to pass by unhindered if he took it gently. He was rewarded with a lack of wheel-to-blacktop drama, wherein he safely turned his truck onto the beginning of a new road. [color=steelblue]"Alright, Miss Ridgeway. We are officially on Roscoe now, headed northwest. One road down. Hopefully, some of these Dead will begin to clear, the more space we put between us and Newnan."[/color] And hopefully, the others found a safe way, too.  



[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=dc143c]Thalia Carmichael[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/e4117d5f-65c8-4b8e-98df-5810a59267c5.jpg[/img][hr][b][color=crimson]Location:[/color][/b] Eden, Corner of Tennis Courts -> Trees just North of Tennis Courts
[b][color=DC143C]Skills:[/color][/b] Stealth, Survival [hr][hr][/center]

	[color=DC143C]"[i]JesusFuckingChrist,[/i]"[/color] thought Thalia, wondering what the hell she just witnessed. The old man decided to play berserker with two men armed with guns. How he survived, she'd never be able to guess. Blind, stupid luck. Had to be. She surmised that she had better reaction than the man, more recent training, but living like they all had to for the past few years kept you sharp. What Thalia saw wasn't particularly sharp, though. Quite the opposite, Alexander looked like he just accidentally pulled off the biggest "Hail Mary" since the invention of the concept. 

	The dumbstruck young woman debated the possibility of remaining where she was and letting Alex twist in the wind for the next few moments all by his lonesome, or doing something useful though it may expose her to whomever was still lurking around out there in the open. A quick scan of the area told her that, with the exception of the two very recently dispatched persons nearby, the place looked clear. Unless someone was hiding within the treeline or underbrush elsewhere within a direct line of sight, Thana and herself were the only ones to witness the spectacle of inexpert axe murder. But the scream from that first one could be a problem. 

	Neither apparently had the time to use radios, if they had them. That was a good thing. But that yell might call others to their area. There wasn't much in the way of snow on the ground here. Thalia could make a grab for one of the bodies and drag it back under the trees and brush where they were with a minimally observable blood trail, but that would take time that they just might not have. Hope and luck as their allies, Lola's group was keeping them so busy that no one heard the minor skirmish out their way. Hope and luck. Yeah. Thalia was far happier that she brought along an extra gun. She had more faith in that than either hope [i]or[/i] luck. 

	As Alexander joined them and asked his question about contacting the TANK, Thalia really wanted to say something to the man. His execution was sloppy and haphazard, reminding her more of an enraged, blind woodsman than a warrior. But she could not fault the results. The men [i]were[/i] dead. More importantly, the three of them weren't. The mission would continue. [color=DC143C]"Okay Mugsy. Good on ya, but we can't count on JarJar-ing our way through the rest of them."[/color] She could tell that he probably needed a moment. They didn't have one of those, though, nor would they for a while. [color=DC143C]"From where we are now, we can cut around the court and the pool fences, come up behind that brick building."[/color] she motioned with a blooded machete, pointing toward what appeared to be a windowless poolhouse at the corner of the fencing opposite them. [color=DC143C]"As long as this end stays clear of assholes, we might be okay."[/color] Her Boston accent had faded to a trace, replaced with dispassionate, solid tones. She didn't live for this kind of work like others in her family did, though she did view it as a heavy responsibility. 

	The tree cover wasn't great from that point, but at least they had decent vectors of escape if it was needed. [color=DC143C]"Okay, I'll get this started."[/color] Thalia blew out a deep breath and took off for the next group of trees, sparse though it was. There was the option to cut through the tennis court directly; it surely would have saved them a minute or so, but that would mean being inside of a low fence in open terrain, literally a stone's throw from the Eden main building. No, while they were still trying at stealth, Thalia would not suggest it, no matter how clear it seemed.