Bird

Spiderweb city

---Jean---

It was the second meeting already, where we were supposed to pick who went where; either out with the scouting group, or staying to help fix up the farm.

The day was still young as I walked up the gravel drive toward the farmhouse. The place immediately made me skeptical, wondering if this little run-down farm was really going to be some sort of strong hold. I kept my opinions to myself as I joined the growing crowd. Roscoe and Akira were still stupid as ever, and took off after some squirrel or something. At the last second, I was able to catch Roscoe by the collar, but Akira was already gone. He ran across the field, barking like an idiot, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to call him back. Cursing under my breath, I tied my make-shift dog leash to Roscoe's collar and drug him with me. Hopefully, Akira would come back when he found whatever it was he was so determined to catch.

I had decided the night before that I wanted to go with the group to Florence. I didn't want to stay bound to the farm, especially after I had seen what kind of condition it was in. No, staying still was not my thing. Regardless, I listened to Jed's little speech. I didn't dislike him, but he didn't give me any sense of confidence in his capacity to be a leader. Maybe it was just because I was a horrible, cold-hearted person, but I didn't like his sentiment. At a time like this, compassion had to be kept in check. We couldn't allow ourselves to make decisions based on emotion, and instead had to chose what would help the greatest amount of people survive.

Say someone were to steal from our food source, or god forbid, murder someone. We had no prison, and even if we did, could we afford to waste resources housing and feeding a criminal? Where do we draw the line? Do we forfeit our humanity for the sake of survival? I worried Jed was too nice, and would be unable to hold everyone together in one of those sticky situations. Even if no one had clearly stated he was going to be our leader, right now, everyone's logical choice would be to turn to him, since he was running these meetings.

On the other hand, there was Morganna. Now, she was something. I didn't particularly like her either (and I was starting to consider that maybe I was just a pessimist) but she certainly gave the impression of being able to hold her own. I was concerned she would maybe act for her own gain, instead of for the good of the group, but I had more confidence in her leadership then Jed's.

She already looked annoyed by time I joined her and the rest of the group. She sat in the drivers seat of the truck, arms crossed. I didn't want to set her off like I had seen that other kid do, so I made a mental note to watch my attitude around her.

“Hey there,” I said, raising my hand in a simple greeting. “I'm Jean; I'm gonna be tagging with your group.” Roscoe growled softly, but I silenced him with a sharp jerk of his leash.

Spiderweb city

Sorry - holidays and everything. I'm still here, just busy

Spiderweb city

I just had some RL stuff.

Spiderweb city

You guys still here?

Spiderweb city

The commotion in the hall quickly picked up, with people inserting their opinions and concerns into the conversation. I listened to each argument, paying close attention to the people who spoke up and making a mental note of them. They all brought up good points. Some of them voiced things I was thinking myself - like the guy who was talking about 'needing to see a plan' - but some people brought up things I hadn't considered - like the girl talking about midwives. That part kinda hit hard, making me realize we had no idea how many people were left in the world. Maybe this tiny little group of 25 strangers was all that was left. We had no idea.

I noticed the book being passed around, asking for everyone's name and skills. It wasn't a bad idea. When the book was passed to me, I skimmed through it real quick, trying to match some of the skills and names with the people who had spoken up. Andrew had already written his name and skills down, so I looked over them before I jolted some things down.

Jean:
-First Aid
-Pilot
-Navigation/Planning/Mapmaking
-Martial Arts (hand-to-hand/weapons)
-Basic engineering skills (very basic, really)

I couldn't think of a whole lot of things relevant to our current predicament, but I put down a few things.

Spiderweb city

I just got swamped with some school stuff, so sorry if I'm slow.

Spiderweb city

Cool people like martial arts.

Spiderweb city

Namelos-mann said
I chuckled a bit and smile held out my right hand and said "oh just wonderful, My name's Andrew."

---Jean---

I smiled - genuinely - and took his hand in mine. "Nice to meet you, Andrew. I'm Jean." Akira whined and interrupted me. "Yes, yes. These are my dogs, Akira and Roscoe. Attention hogs."

I jumped slightly when I heard a loud crashing sound behind me. Akira's pulled his ears back and growled, but I quickly soothed him with a pat on the head. I turned to see some guy, who had dumped a few things on top of the pile of weapons. He spoke clearly, though quietly at first, drawing everyone in and making the crowd quiet. I listened to his story, letting it sink in. I wasn't sure I liked how he accused us all of just fending for ourselves - I mean, what did he know? - but I wouldn't hold it against him. He seemed to have good drive, and a goal in mind. I thought maybe he was being a tad sentimental, but it was a good speech nonetheless. I was just never good at the whole sentiment thing.

He mentioned an abandoned farm, and my heart sort of did this weird little flip-flop thing. Nah, there are lots of farms in Italy. I thought to myself, pushing the idea from my head before I even knew what I was thinking about.

He finished his speech strong, asking who would join him on his quest. Immediately, people started to raise their hands and speak up, offering their support. I was still standing next to Andrew, and glanced over at him. He seemed nice. So did the guy who gave the speech, as well as a few others I noticed. This group would be good for us, wouldn't it?

I raised my hand and spoke up, loud enough to be heard over the quiet murmur that had risen in the crowd. "I'm in."

Spiderweb city

---Jean---

I watched as people slowly trickled up to the table, placing down an array of weapons. I tried to tell myself it should put me at ease, but then I would think about the knife in my boot. Just how many others still had weapons tucked into clever hiding places? The whole disarming thing was obviously meant to signal peace, but how can there be peace if nobody trusted the person standing next to them? Everyone's survival instincts were in play; and if you want to survive, that usually means you don't trust a group of complete strangers.

Of course, I made sure my expression revealed none of my unease. Instead, I leaned against the wall, twisting the end of my braid in my fingers. Akira sat patiently by my feet, but Roscoe was starting to become restless. He wagged his tail and barked playfully at the other dogs, then would quickly pull his ears against his head and look over his shoulder at me, waiting to be scolded. I let him be for the most part, so long as he wasn't running about and acting like an idiot.

He woofed excitedly and nudged my leg, wagging his tail as some guy walked towards us. I had noticed him reading on the other side of the room, and had briefly wondered how he could be so laid back about the whole situation, but hadn't given it any more thought then that. The guy was maybe just a little older then me, and around five or six inches taller, but that didn't bother me much. Besides, he looked relatively friendly. Maybe it was the glasses.

"Hi." The guy said simply, and I smiled. It seemed so weird, talking to people. I mean, the world was ending, probably over half of the people in the world were dead. Such a simple, friendly greeting just seemed so out of place it was almost funny.

"Hi there. Nice weather we're having, huh?" She said with a hint of friendly sarcasm.

Spiderweb city

---Jean---

As the activity in the hall began to pick up, my nerves started to fray. I didn't like being in closed quarters, and although the building was a reasonable size, there were far to many strangers around, all who were probably just as nervous and edgy as I was. The dogs picked up on my emotions and stuck close, despite the temptations of the other canines in the town hall. Akira sniffed my cheek sympathetically, while Roscoe sat with his fluffy tail curled around his forefeet, eyes darting about with nervous excitement.

The building was starting to fill with a mixture of people. Some were around my age, while others seemed to be in their twenties. Some had dogs with them, and I noticed some even had horses tied out in the grassy area next to the hall. I felt a pang of guilt at the sight of them, remembering poor old Sugar. I shouldn't have left her behind, but I was scared and thought I wouldn't be able to take care of her.

A girl approached me. She looked about my age, though her face looked like she had gone through a lot. Although she looked tired, and her hair and face was a mess, she still had a certain look to her that I respected. I wasn't sure what it was, but most of the people in the building seemed to have it, save a few. It was something in the eyes, a glint of defiance that told people they weren't willing to go down without a fight.

I stood up as she came closer and stuck my hands in my back pockets in a non-threatening way. Roscoe stood up and wagged his tail, woofing a soft greeting while Akira sat calmly at my side. The girl asked me to put any weapons I had on the table. I looked around and spotted the table, which was slowly gathering a pretty pathetic collection of make-shift weapons.

"Okay, sure." I said, though I wasn't crazy about the thought of disarming. I took the machete I had hanging from my belt and walked over to place it on the table. I made a mental note of which one was mine, because there were already two other machetes on the pile. I hesitated for a moment, then decided not to reveal the knife in my boot. I walked back over to my spot by the wall, keeping my eyes peeled for any suspicious figures.