Atomyk

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Tyler - Motel - Scarlett

Tyler stood stiffly, feeling more than a little awkward in this situation. He shivered when Scarlett came at him with the shaving cream. "What, were you a barber or something?" Tyler asked, a little unsure if Scarlett was being sincere. She seemed to know what she was doing, so he guessed he wouldn't say anything on the matter, not unless she happened to cut his throat in two.

Silence stretched between them, only the sounds of water and blade upon stubbly skin breaking up the monotony. At the look on Scarlett's face, Tyler's brow furrowed. He couldn't tell if she was sad or just being focused. "... You know, Katie really likes you. And I see why. I've traveled with other women before, who got along with Katie... but she never took a liking to them as she has with you." A smiled briefly before resuming a straight face. "She was pretty adamant about having me apologize to you."

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Tyler - Motel - Scarlett

Tyler was feeling better, to say the least. Katie had finally given in and allowed herself to practice with the gun, if only for a little while. They still had a lot of work to do, but Tyler was happy knowing his little girl had taken the first step toward properly protecting herself. He left her in the care of George of Liam while he stalked the upstairs balcony, occasionally looking over the fence at the darkened city beyond. It was during this time last night that he'd had the argument with Scarlett, and he was worried now that he'd been too harsh with her. Despite only being a child, Katie probably had a point about needing to apologize.

So, when Scarlett ran into him, he was quick to shake his head at her apologies. "It's fine," he said, crossing his arms. "I shouldn't have been so... angry. My point still stands, but..." He sighed, stepping closer to her. "I get too angry sometimes. I think I was always like this... Never was one to properly handle stress. We still need to work together, Scarlett, so--"

"Can I shave your beard?" Scarlett blurt out, causing Tyler to pause. He guessed they were all cool again, or something.

"I could probably do that myself," he said, giving her a curious look. He wasn't sure he'd ever let anyone shave his beard before, and he wasn't sure why anyone would even want to. "... I mean, I guess you could. If you really want to."

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

??? - Streets - Emma

"Because I'm a friend," the woman said. She realized it wasn't enough, so she softly added, "A friend of a friend. Ru... Danny knows me." Stepping forward, the woman tucked the knife into a strap at her side. She removed the pack from over her shoulder and set it down next to Emma. "You can search my things if you'd like, so you can see I'm not hiding anything from you. I'm... Monica, by the way."

Moving to the side, the woman named Monica leaned against a car, idly touching at her side. She gritted her teeth, lifting the grey sweater to touch at bruised skin. "I came to help, but you didn't need it at all. Funny, huh?" Her voice lacked any real amusement. The woman just sounded tired. With a sad expression, she looked to Emma. "What do you plan to do now?"

---

Tina - Baton Rouge Streets - Abram/Turisa/Sam

She didn't move, even as she felt someone was going to pull a trigger sooner or later. This man looked ready to go down fighting, no matter the circumstances. "It doesn't sound like you plan to leave," she noted, a lump growing in ehr throat. "Why is that?"

To the side, Jace began to lower his weapon. "Tina, come on. There's no need to be on edge like this." Caleb agreed, lowering his weapon as well. Tina didn't directly look at them, choosing to just glare at the group ahead of her.

"Have you run into Tremblay's patrols?" she asked. "If you have, you're lucky to be here."

---

Becca - The Plaza - Jessalyn

Becca led her into the tent, giving a small wave to the men inside. One was nursing a hurt leg while the other touched at it. "KK will hook you up," Becca said, turning back to Jessalyn. "That woman is amazing once you get to know her. She takes no one's shit." She leaned in and quietly added, "Not even Tremblay's."

She turned away to grab a pair of keys from the desk. She mentioned to the man on duty that she'd be out for a few minutes before leading Jessalyn back outside and toward the Community Center. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said, before stopping and adding, "About your group, I mean. Usually we don't bring in strays, but I heard Kerry went against orders. Nothing unusual there." She wanted to ask a bit more, maybe inquire about the potential father, but Becca didn't want to seem nosy. Jackson was still tailing them, and Becca felt like that was enough of an invasion on the woman's privacy. She reached the building in question and held the door open for Jessalyn to enter. "Your group-- who was in it? Some of them might have been by here, for all you know."

---

Tyler - The Motel - Katie

He stared at her, gun in hand, for a long moment. George gave him a sidelong glance, but Tyler paid him no attention. His voice low so that George and Liam wouldn't hear, Tyler said, "No, honey, I don't like hurting people." It would have been easy for him to get made at her-- yell, scream, do any number of wild and irrational things. If anger management classes were a thing any longer, Tyler figured he would have needed them. Still, despite his many outbursts of the past, Tyler managed to keep his cool here. The last time he'd screamed at Katie, he'd lost her, and he never wanted that to happen ever again.

"What I did to Lauren was wrong. I wish it had never happened, but I-- she was keeping you from me, Katie. I need you, and you need me. Lauren would have died before I had you back, and so I had her die. I liked it, Katie, but only because it was necessary. You--" He paused now, feeling his pulse quickening. He was making excuses again, he knew. "Okay. I hurt a lot of people, but I didn't want any of it to go the way it did. I wasn't happy that Lynn died, or Bex, or Brad, or... I'm not asking you to enjoy hurting people, Katie. I'm not asking you to hurt anyone for no reason. But if a man or woman wants to hurt you like Berk, then you have to fight back. You have to."

"As for Scarlett, well..." Tyler watched Katie's kitten as it began to move cautiously around the pool. Damn thing was going to fall in at its age. "We just had a disagreement. We're still friends." He moved to grab the cat, keeping a strong hold on it as he moved back beside Katie. "Now, are you going to work with me here, or not?" In one hand he still held the gun, while the other held the kitten. Tyler was not offering a choice between the two, but to Katie, it might as well have been. All Tyler wanted was for her to at least try.

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Jon - Baton Rouge - Floyd/Aiden/Imogen

Jon punched the side of the truck to get the captive's attention. "All of you shut the hell up!" he cried, his voice snarling. "Anyone who tries to jump and make a break for it will be shot." He climbed into the driver's seat, glaring at the road ahead. Treis hadn't been too happy with the negotiation, and it had felt like an absolute mess of a deal. Who knows what would happen to those they left behind, but Jon had to put those three out of his mind. His two companions piled into the truck once everyone was secure, waiting for Jon to get moving. He couldn't wait to get out of there.

***

Tremblay was waiting for them at the receiving area, a pleasant smile on his face despite the proceedings. He was flanked by armed men and women, as usual. Jon shot him a dour look as he parked the truck and stepped out. He and the other two men got the captives off the truck bed and moved them to stand before Tremblay. One by one, their blindfolds were removed.

They were standing before what appeared to be a warehouse at first glance, but in actually was the receiving area for what had once been a large thrift store. Large cages and heavy machinery stood just inside the industrial garage door. Tremblay's smile was gone now as he looked upon the captives. "You're here for two reasons," Tremblay began, suppressing his French accent somewhat. "First is that my community needs people for manual labor. Not enough men and women to spare, so that's where you all come in. Second, and what I hope is obvious, I've taken you away from Richard. I stay out of his business for the most part, but you'll find that I'm a lot more pleasant than he is."

Jon shuffled a little on his feet where he was standing. Tremblay had always been a good public speaker, but Jon felt that these proceedings were a little condescending toward the captives. Tremblay waved at him and two other men to start removing the bindings, and Jon jumped to attention. "I'll assign you work," Tremblay continued. "And you're expected to do what I assign you. I'll have to waste men on watching you all heavily at first, for I know tensions are high so soon after leaving Richard's loving embrace." Slowly, the bindings were removed, though Jon always felt tense in these moments. Though they had the weapons, he always expected someone to flip around and sock him in the face.

"You'll be able to leave eventually," Tremblay said, nodding. "Keep your head down, work hard, and soon you'll be far away from Baton Rouge. This is a fair compromise, as I had to pay supplies for each of you to be here."

---

Tina - Baton Rouge Streets - Abram/Turisa/Sam

"Don't move any closer," Tina said, sounding more annoyed than anything. She had her gun trained on a group of people, though she was aiming in particular at the tall black man who seemed to be leading them. Tina guessed everyone seemed tall compared to herself. Jace and Caleb stood beside her, their own guns on the group.

"A kid," Caleb said, though more to himself than anyone. Indeed, they had a child with them, and that made Tina's mood even worse.

She stuck out her tongue unconsciously, her mind reeling. She didn't think she'd seen these people around before, so she imagined they must be new to the area. "You all should leave Baton Rouge," she said. "It's not a kind place to newcomers."

---

??? - Baton Rouge Streets - Emma

Not just a walker was lurking amidst the darkness. From somewhere out in the cold night air came a feminine voice. "Emma," it called out, barely above a whisper. A walker growl interrupted whatever she was about to say next, and a scuffle was heard momentarily. After a soft thud was heard, a woman stepped out of the darkness, her hands in the air, a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. She could only hope that knowing the young girl's name would dissuade her from shooting on sight.

The mysterious woman hardly looked imposing-- dirt and grime stained clothing fit loosely on her relatively small frame. She was middle aged, with brown hair and a pair of round rimmed eyeglasses. The right lens had cracked at some point. "I'm just here to talk," the woman said, offering Emma a small smile.

Woman

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Okay, soooo, for those in Andrew's group/Danny's group, we'll be timeskipping in a bit. Just once the current Enrique stuff is done, we'll jump to there.

@Horonir
@Zaxter996

So, you guys need any help? :)

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Tyler - The Motel - Liam/Katie

The man looked unconcerned with what his daughter wanted. "She'll be back later," he said, watching as George stepped out after Liam. "We're going to be doing a bit of training, okay? You have to do this, Katie." He looked to Liam and nodded. "Liam is ready, and so are you."

He handed a silenced pistol to George before leading the group to the ground floor. Tyler gave the pool at the center of the motel's grounds a disgusted look before gesturing to the ramshackle targets he'd set up in front of it. Made out of brooms, rags, and a bucket or two, Tyler had clearly made them out of whatever he could find around the motel. "I've already taught you both how to safely carry a small gun, but we've yet to shoot anything. You guys will have a harder time with the silencers, but we don't want to be attracting anything here."

George stepped behind Liam, handing him the gun. "Remember," he said, grabbing at Liam's arms to adjust his stance. "You shoot for the head."

"Unless it's impossible, you never do otherwise," Tyler added. "Only then should you aim for a walker's legs. Never the body. Never." He knelt down next to Katie and whispered into her ear, "Even if it's someone living." He placed a gentle hand on her arm and held out a gun in the other, waiting for Katie to take it. "You have to do this, honey."

---

James - The School - Rob/Danny

In the doorway, James cradled the knife, not really listening to Rob at first. He found that Rob liked to ramble, and James sometimes didn't listen to everything he said... He did that to Shannon too, sometimes. Still, James eventually looked at Rob and registered what he was saying, though he only gave the older man a blank stare at the Pokémon reference. "I'm fine," James responded, moving to stand by one of the desks. "But I don't know about everyone else. I'm probably cursed." Looking to the side, the boy shrugged. "Maybe that's why all those people at Haywood died. Because of me."

Danny then stepped into the doorway, giving the pair an annoyed look. "Time's up," he said. "We're done with this shit place. Hopefully the other group had better luck." With that, he promptly left.

James gave Rob a small frown before following Danny out of the room.

---

Jamie - Baton Rouge - Enrique/Magnus/Kerry/The Pack

This was probably how this was always supposed to go, Jamie figured. Having always felt out of place his whole life, how appropriate that he'd be taken in by the nomads of this world. Even better, he got to work on finding a cure. Magnus had big ideas, and he had told Jamie of them at length. He'd seen potential in Jamie, which the boy liked very much. It wasn't like Reggie or the scouts had ever seen much in him.

Especially Enrique, and now Jamie would be integral to the capture of that very man. With him and the pack, a new step in the development of a cure would be underway, and soon Jamie would be known as someone in this world. All it would take is a few simple steps-- a plan that Magnus had laid out carefully. In addition to being a doctor, Magnus possessed advanced knowledge of homemade pyrotechnics. Jamie didn't bother to judge that the man had a strange hobby, he just appreciated Magnus' sheer knowledge.

After the bombs went off, the building would catch on fire, ushering the men out into the waiting arms of Magnus' loyal men. Tremblay didn't even know-- the man didn't appreciate Magnus' ideas like he should. He'd be on his knees thanking them soon enough when the cure was a reality.

Smiling, a rifle tucked next to him, Jamie looked down at the building from across the street. Kerry pressed the button to set off the explosion, and the dawn of a new era was underway.

---

Becca - The Plaza - Jessalyn

Stepping out from the first aid shelter, Becca sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was just as cold out here as it was in the shelter, and it was putting the brunette into a foul mood. It was an irregularly cold day, something that Becca found a little foreboding. She wasn't the most superstitious, but after the world flipped over on itself, Becca found herself believing a bit more in the crazier things in life.

She spotted a woman walking cautiously toward the tent, baby in hand. Becca was mildly confused at the sight of her, but her interest was immediately piqued. It helped that the woman was easy on the eyes. "You look lost," Becca said, stepping up to her. Her eyes briefly looked behind the woman, toward Jackson lurking not far off. Becca imagined that Tremblay had the man watching her. She tried to pretend she hadn't seen anything irregular, and smiled at the baby. "But if you have a baby, I imagine Tremblay wants you introduced to KK. Am I right?"

But before the woman could answer, Becca gestured toward the first aid tent. "One second, let's get under a roof. Not much warmer, but... I'm Becca, by the way."

Becca

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Jon - The Trade - Richard's Men

He stepped out of the truck, the two men accompanying him giving him a reproachful look as they moved to follow him. In the few minutes it took them to drive on over to the agreed upon receiving area, they'd gone over the standard-- they had to leave their sympathies behind. The three left behind would have to be the ones who appeared to be least suitable for the community. Tremblay had made the mistake of choosing the battered captives over the more healthy ones before and paid for it. It was simply not viable for them.

With that in mind, Jon's eyes locked on the line up of chained captives Treis' men had brought out before them. They were in another parking lot, this one largely secluded behind a trio of office buildings. While it was unlikely anyone not affiliated with either group would be in this area, it was best to have these trades done away from potential prying eyes. He stepped up to the group, his eyes rolling over the captives before speaking up. "There's an issue with the trade. We can't spare the supplies for all of them." Looking toward Treis' men, Jon tried to make this sound as dry as possible. Procedure as usual, and all that. "We'll be taking the two you left behind for double, but we'll have to leave three of these with you. Tremblay's tasked us with choosing which three we'll leave behind."

Jon moved to examine the blindfolded men and women while his two companions worked on transporting the supplies to Treis' men. The captives had noticeably been through the ringer, and Jon couldn't help but stare a while longer at the blonde woman barely keeping it together. One that stood out to him was a pretty brunette woman who seemed to barely move at all. Jon thought she wasn't breathing at first, before noticing only the smallest indication of life. If he'd removed the blindfold, he was sure he'd see the blank eyes of a woman too far gone. Jon knew she'd have to be one of thew few left behind.

He moved down the row, pointing to the ones he wanted. He spoke briefly with his companions before making the final decision. The brunette would be left behind, as was the blonde woman who tried desperately to stifle her tears. Of the men, they decided to leave the hurt one who'd likely been the most rebellious of the group. Jon figured that he'd be able to bounce back eventually by the look of him, but Tremblay didn't have time for rehabilitation. After the three in question were detached from the others, Jon began ushering them into the truck bed, their hands still bound behind their backs.

"Tremblay would like you to bring the other two here tomorrow," Jon said. "Same time. I'm sure you'll be happy to have them off his hands."

---

Tremblay - Plaza - Jessalyn

He smiled at Jess. "Ah, you caught me. You're essentially worthless as you are, especially if you have to take care of your little one, but that doesn't mean I can't find you a place here. Don't worry about the sex drive of my men-- I assure you that no one will touch you in such a manner." He stood up now, moving closer to Jess. He kept his distance, but he found his height and smile was particularly disarming to others the closer he got to them. "We have other children here. None as small as Ben, but children nonetheless. They serve their own purpose, in a way. People find children calming. It presents an atmosphere of community. Most of them don't have parents, and few of my men and women have time to take care of them..."

A slight tilt of his head and a casual lean against the bookcase. "You'll fit in with the other caretakers, I believe. It won't be permanent-- just until I can figure out away to let you leave in a safe manner. Maybe a group will come around and take you under their wing." He moved, placing a hand on Jess' shoulder to lead her out of the book store. "But for now, I can tell that you're hungry." Once they were back outside under the gloomy sun, Tremblay pointed to one of the tents set up in the plaza parking lot. "First aid station. We have a proper medical facility across the plaza, but I prefer Becca's company over Magnus'." He then pointed to a small building that could have been a restaurant at some point. Any signs on it had been stripped away. "And step in there with Ben. It's sort of like our community center. The other caretakers will meet you there."

He stepped away from her, but turned back and smiled. "Tell KK I sent you. A big woman, and harsh. I have a matter to attend to for a moment, but I'll be around soon to have you properly settled. Just relax while you're here."

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Hank and Dylan could meet up?

@Horonir
@Zaxter996

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

Appearance : Dylan has dark brown eyes and shoulder-length sandy blonde hair that is usually in a ponytail and covered by a beanie. He stand at about 5'8" and has a slim yet slightly muscled build. He wears a simple T-shirt and pair of shorts and has lightly tanned skin. Name : Dylan Mayworthy Age : 22 Skill : Skateboarding, basic survival techniques, high stamina. Preferred Weapons (up to three) : 9mm pistol, his skateboard, skinning knife. Personality : Dylan is all round a very chill dude, even in the midst of a hellish apocalypse he keeps his head up and shrugs everything off. He doesn't let anything bother him and can come across as slightly apathetic at times. He is never rude, but simply never shows too much emotion, rarely giving more than a smile and a nod. He doesn't talk much either. Brief Bio : Before the zombie outbreak all Dylan really did was skate, and still that's most of what he does. Before the outbreak he was out of town looking for good downhills to skate, and when he returned all his family and friends were already gone. He doesn't let that bother him though, or claims as much at the least. He now uses the survival techniques his dad taught him on childhood camping trips to survive in the apocalypse, and skates around the empty streets, scrounging for supplies and finding safe places to stay each night. He has no plan to speak of other than to take each hurdle as he approaches them.

@Zaxter996

Looks good to me. Feel free to add it to the character Tab. Usual question, where do you plan to start? I figure he'd be a solo guy to start off, so he could run into Abram's group in Baton Rouge, or Danny's group at the school.

The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

@Horonir, all right, Abram's group are in Baton Rouge, held up in a suburban home. They're planning on leaving in search of their friend. @Roran Hawkins, you didn't miss too much, I don't think. The group found a clue Emma left behind that indicates Enrique went to Baton Rouge, so they'll just about be going there now.