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[i]Location and time undetermined, X miles away from Tranquilo[/i]
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Dallas had been running through a field of wild grass for some time to avoid the main road when he unexpectedly tripped over a hidden obstacle. The accident caused him to land face first on the ground, earning him a cut lip as a result. After shaking the pain off and swearing a few times the burly man was able to recollect himself. He brushed the dead plant matter away from his clothes and went about gathering some of his belongings that he’d dropped in the process of falling. As he did so, he found himself tracing back to the spot where he first stumbled.

[color=darkorange]”Oh…”[/color] It wasn’t a rock that Dallas tripped on. It was a corpse. An old one to be sure, it had clearly been baking in the sun for at least a couple weeks. The desiccated, nearly skeletal remains didn’t even have flies picking at it anymore. There wasn’t enough left to determine a sex, although the hair that was left on the skull was ambiguously long. 

[color=darkorange][i]Anything useful?[/i][/color] Dallas’s eyes were drawn to the stranger’s hands first. In their left was a smashed up hand radio. In their right, a snub-nose revolver. When he checked the cylinder of the weapon it turned out to be empty. This person had died fighting for their life. If they had communication equipment then they hadn’t come alone. Maybe they were part of a team that was investigating Tranquilo, which was now only a few miles away by Dallas’s estimation. There was a ragged looking backpack on the body too, which he spent a good minute or so looting in case the person was carrying valuables. Canned goods, some moldy juice bottles, a multi-tool... it was a very standard travel kit. Nothing worth wasting pocket space on besides some extra bandages and antiseptic he could give to Poppy later. 

A strange sense of melancholy came over him as Dallas pilfered the dead person's belongings. There were always bodies in the city. Hundreds of them in fact. But for this one to be all by itself with nobody to care... it was too sad. They had died recently too, so they weren't just a leftover casualty from the end of the world. With that feeling compelling him, the soft hearted man took off the shoulder straps and shrugged off his jacket, then proceeded to awkwardly clear some dirt away with his axe blade. If nothing else, he'd give the deceased something resembling a burial. The task took longer than it normally would have given the unsuitable tool he was using. 

[color=darkorange][i]But why are they this far away from the road, and what killed them? Did someone, or something drag them here?[/i][/color] With the overgrowth it wasn’t possible to spot footprints, and even if there were subtle clues they weren’t something Dallas had the capability of picking up on. Maybe Ajax or Akaia would have figured something out. 

The lone revenant wouldn’t need to answer the question himself though. He could hear the grass rustling in the distance. He could smell the stink of coagulated blood. Whatever man or beast was responsible for this slaying, they were still here, and they were stalking Dallas. He stood up from his kneeling position and squeezed his fingers tightly around his battle axe.