More serious than upset this morning, perhaps ready to finally get help searching, Addie listens to Dominic.  She takes in his advice on the matter.  "Sure.  Do you want to drive or walk?  We walked there ourselves."  Before anyone can respond she comments on Dominic's well-meaning bit of mental doctoring.  "Everything happens for a reason.  She may be lost, but she's not lost.  She was placed in my care the moment I found her.  Of course it's my fault, but here you all are in my hour of need.  Someone watched over me that day to keep me safe.  I'm certain Susie is being watched over until we bring her back."  The silver cross around Addie's neck dangles in the sunlight.  For the first time since meeting she gives off a sense there is more to the jewelry than just another piece in her goth getup.

Raising a single eyebrow in response to Addie's comment about them arriving during her hour of need, Dominic briefly glances down at the crucifix hanging about the girl’s neck. His step-mother had spoken like that on occasion...his half sister Marie too come to think of it. They had both bought into the whole Christianity thing whilst Dominic had fervently held onto his own rather agnostic beliefs that had steadily waned with every passing day within Zombieland, She has her beliefs, I have mine...lets leave it at that Dominic quietly mused before addressing her first question "we'll walk, the fresh air will do us good and we're less likely to miss something this way" he stated; raising his arm to signal the others to follow him as he started walking down track that would lead to the crossroads where they'd seen the sign the previous day.

Once they reached the crossroad he’d await further direction from Addie before continuing on, his eyes scanning the countryside for any signs of Susie, the Lost Boys or the walking dead.

Katherine mostly kept to herself as the members of the Caravan arrived. She didn't have much to say to the group, she didn't know them but Addie seemed to trust them and that had to be good enough for now. Kat shouldered her gear, keeping her rifle accessible, and was ready to help the group search for Susie.

Looking around at their search party Hank was surprised Dom hadn't taken a swing at the girl who had joined them. She seemed about Tom's age, which probably put her in the range the it sounded like made up the Lost Boys. Well, if she was one of them nobody else seemed to know or at least hadn't mentioned it. Either way he had no doubt they'd have need of her formidable arsenal before the end of the day.

Taking a final look he hoped she'd stay around long enough for them to pick up the others. Aside from Wyoming and whoever in the Lost Boys was only following Kaiden out of fear kids around Tom's age were scarce nowadays. Heading up the line he caught up to Dom. So, how's the hangover? He kept his tone light, making sure none of the outpost people were within earshot before he'd bring up the Lost Boys.

With a head that felt like it had taken a few good hits from a bat and his mouth tasting like it had been swilled out with the contents of a drain, despite the amount of water he'd drunk this morning, Dominic paused for several moments as he tried to figure out whether Hank was taking the piss or not.

After deciding that the guys question was genuine he'd shrug his shoulders before responding "The drugs should be kicking in soon so I'll live...so how was the lovely Shaella?" he responded in an equally low voice, a mischievous smile briefly touching his lips as he asked his own question, just daring the other guy to deny that he'd not gone off with her last night. He may have been drunk but he hadn't been that drunk.

The search for Susie was underway. the search party set out from their base on foot, traveling down the road and off the trail to the last place Susie was seen. Here, they turned to both their guide Kat, and Susie's guardian Addie for guidance and familiarity.

"Where to now?"

Karen was the last to catch up. She lagged behind the whole time. It was clear to see even through her dark glasses that she was struggling. Maybe last night had been rough on her as well.

Her hair was glued to her face with sweat. (It wasn't really that warm this morning.)

(out of breath) "What happened here, when she went missing? Go over it one more time for us?"

In reply to Dominic Dubreton (msg # 190):

About as clueless as the rest of the group about the change in leadership among the Lost Boys. Hank sighed, fighting to roll his eyes at the other man's smile. That or Kaiden's just bouncing between names. He barely gave the bodies they must have rolled over yesterday a glance, just enough to make sure there wasn't any residual twitches. Though she had met Kentucky and a blond girl, my guess the same one from the town. His tone quieted even more at the last part. Think what you will of them, but I bet if they weren't led by a psychopath, I think we could work with the Lost Boys, like these people have. It wasn't that he was particularly afraid of Karen overhearing him call her son a psychopath given how far back she was, or the fact she had basically called him out earlier, but they didn't need her overreacting at the moment in her most likely drugged out state.

Once the group seemed to be all together, Addie thought she heard them say yesterday that more were in the RV, she started to explain.  "There's an old farm, maybe two miles, down the road."  She points down one of the routes.  "Wild bushes took over the land behind the farmhouse.  You can't see it from the road."

Addie began to walk along the edge of the road.  With no one to maintain yards and plantlife the sides of the road had become overtaken with grass and weeds.  She kept to the center of the road.  "I'm not sure if it has a name.  I'm actually not from around here.  Susie and I just found our way north."  Her slight hidden accent gave this information away already, maybe a touch of southern creole.  "Susie was my parent's neighbors daughter.  When the world stopped I headed home to check on mama and daddy.  There were already gone, but I found Susie home."

She pauses, remembering something she'd rather not.  "Some men had found her.  People from up north might call them good ol' boys.  Their intentions were not good.  Susie's guardian angel must've been watching over her.  A gator snatched one and distracted the other two long enough for me to grab Susie and get back to my old junker."

Addie continued to ramble on as the group walked, most of it had no real importance.  About a mile and a half later a faded red barn came into view.  Past the barn sat an old rusting silo and a large farmhouse of newer construction.  It looked like the farmers had upgraded the home shortly before the world stopped turning.  A metal rooster weather vane topped the house like a hat.  An old TV satellite dish was still attached to the side by half the bolts.  "She got so excited about that weather vane."  Addie mumbled to herself.  "Must've remembered her chickens back home."

"Well unfortunately they are, so working with them isn't an option" Dominic responded rather irritably, wondering why the guy was so intent on bringing them up at every opportunity "...also I have a score to settle with that blonde " he added, gingerly touching the long horizontal scar upon his cheek, another inch or so to the side and I'd be a dead man he thought to himself Maybe there really is somebody looking out for me? or just as likely the girl just a really bad shot, not that it would stop him from evening the score next time they met.

With Addie now telling her tale of how she came to be Susie's guardian, Dominic turned his attention away from Hank for the time being; though he'd resume speaking to the guy should he decide to continue talking.

By the time the red painted barn and farmhouse came into view Dom's head had all but cleared with only a slight twinge reminding him to take it steady next time alcohol was on offer.

After checking that his gun was cocked and loaded Dominic would draw his sabre from out of its scabbard; the curved blade flashing in the early morning sun as he did so "D'accord...we split into two groups, one searches the house, the other checks out the barn and silo, Karen your with me" Dominic said in a firm commanding voice, making it clear that his instruction for Karen to follow him wasn't a suggestion. As much as he thought the woman was a liability he wasn't about to inflict her on either of their guides, especially in her current state causing him to wonder whether her infection was getting worse again.

Beckoning for Karen to follow, Dominic would start heading towards the barn figuring that Addie would prefer to check the house "Karen do you need something for your head? Because you're looking seriously rough" Dominic quietly asked wondering if it might not be better for all concerned if she sat on the grass and rested whilst the rest of them looked for the missing girl, and I thought I’d drunk too much!

In reply to Dominic Dubreton (msg # 194):

Karen followed Dominic, as requested. The two approached the barn perhaps not as stealthily as they should.

"Have you seen yourself Dominic? You look like horse shit too." She turned up her middle finger at him and produced her club, hand shaking noticeably.

They approached the door, now focused on the task at hand. Dominic pulled the door open, Karen slipped inside, him following. They cleared the barn quickly then paused to search for any signs of the girl.

"I fucked up last night..." Karen's words were reluctant, like they were fighting not to come out. But, like it or not, Dominic was basically her doctor, and she needed help. "Emerson gave me heroine last night... and I don't remember what happened after that... but I woke up in his bed... my clothes were on the floor... and I can't find my pills... So I'm gonna go through withdrawals here pretty quick."

She avoided eye contact with Dominic, kicking at the straw on the floor.

Addie nodded at Dominic's instructions.  She seemed comfortable following orders.  Part of it was her upbringing, part of it her former vocation.  Strong male personalities often filled the leader role in Addie's life.

With little experience trying to be stealthy Addie looked the part in her black attire, but certainly didn't succeed in keeping quiet as she approached the house.  She glanced back to see who else would come with her.

"Well luckily for me the apocalypse is short on mirrors" Dom replied with a grin as Karen pointed out that he wasn't exactly looking his best either.

Taking a firm hold of one of the large barn doors Dominic silently counted down from three with his free hand before hauling the door open and following Karen inside, however with the large doors being the only easy way into the barn it was thankfully devoid of zombies with a quick sweep by the pair of them confirming as much.

With much of the ground floor filled with the rusting remains of some kind of farm machinery along with several sacks and boxes it was clear that unless she was hiding up in the hayloft that the girl wasn't inside. Before he was able to voice as much though Dominic was interrupted by Karen's reluctant confession as to what had happened to her last night along with the fact that she was an addict and was in serious trouble.

Part of him said that he should be furious at her, especially after all of the trouble that she had caused them since joining the caravan, and yet he couldn't find it in him to scream at her, to tell her how stupid she'd been and generally vent his anger and frustration upon her. Instead, with a heavy sigh Dominic sheathed his blade and sat down upon a pile of what he assumed were old sacks of grain or fertiliser or...something, indicating that Karen should do likewise "how long?" he asked in a low, calm voice before deciding that it didn't really matter when Karen's addiction had actually started, only that she had a problem and he needed to find a way of dealing with it "I haven't got anything to give you Karen, Bohannon's got all of the serious meds...though you know that already don't you?" he said, waiting to see if she would confirm his suspicion that the Cowboy was the source of her previous stash before pressing on "Right...well...we need to head back and get your stash off of Emerson, unless you have a better idea?" he asked already figuring that unless the farm had a very well stocked medicine cabinet that it was their only option, and that he had to deal with Emerson. One way or another.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:58, Sun 08 Oct 2017.

Karen joined Dominic on the fertilizer sack sofa. "I've been an addict for years. But this relapse... Since just after the hurricane. Also, that was the first time I tried heroine, for the record." Karen was surprisingly nonchalant about discussing her addiction. "Bohannon stole the pain meds from the DEA van. I stole them from him. Emerson stole them from me. But we can't kick down the door to his container and go looking for drugs. We just meet these people, and I still don't know what happened last night. If he... y'know..." Karen didn't want to say the words. "Just, we don't know. Okay? We need to press on, find out about the little girl and go from there. I'll be alright. I just won't be happy about it.

Let's join the others in the house?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:39, Tue 10 Oct 2017.

Reluctantly admitting that she was right about kicking down Emerson's door being bad idea, especially considering their current predicament Dominic would give Karen a level look as he continued speaking to her in a low, calm voice "D'accord, we'll keep this between the two of us, but if you start feeling really bad you need to tell me ok?" he stated, not liking the idea of her suffering from withdrawal symptoms whilst they were in Zombieland but knowing that they had little choice in the matter "oh and Karen...Emerson will be dealt with...no one fucks with my group and gets away with it" he quietly snarled before getting up and heading for the open barn door with his hand once again gripping his sword as he strode outside.

Upon finding a reluctant and rather uncertain looking Addie still standing outside the front door, Dom would clear his throat so as to attract her attention from a safe distance, because after all the last thing he wanted was to spook someone and wind up getting himself stabbed, he would offer the girl a questioning look before asking "Is there a problem Addie?" in what he hoped was a friendly voice, though after Karen's little piece of news could you really blame him for feeling just a little pissed off?

In reply to Adalaide Legrande (msg # 196):

Hank let Dom and Karen deal with whatever was going on as they went toward the barn. Following their guide to the house, her relative lack of stealth only an issue if there were living laying in wait, though any one lasting this long should have spotted them from upstairs by now. I'm going to take a look around the house, see if there's any sign we aren't the first ones here. He told her, looking over the side of the house as they approached. Most of the time if it was a supply raid people only cared about getting in as quickly as possible and you'd find smashed doors and windows. If the house was being used as a shelter...things could get tricky.

Keeping to the side of the house he ignored windows with the curtains closed. Finding a kitchen window he could look into he rubbed a spot as clean as he could get. His gaze stopped at the bodies sitting at the table. Giving the window a slight tap he waited a moment for any sign of movement. That's something, at least. He murmured after they didn't rush the window. Continuing on he looked for any more glimpses into the house.

The search party gathered around the house. Splitting up, they were able to make their way inside.

Once inside they cleared the main floor finding there were no signs of zombies there. Kitchen cupboards contained an abundance of spoiled food, with a maybe a couple of items possibly still edible.

The stairway was discovered to be barricaded. The living room couch had been pushed in front of the stairs, and the coffee table, lamps, end tables, even the throw rug were tossed in behind it. The door leading to the basement was found sealed. The searchers could open it only a crack, just wide enough to see an orange extension cord wrapped around the knob and the railing, tying it shut.

Suddenly, a noise is heard upstairs.

Receiving a mute shaking of the head in response to his question Dominic would cautiously open the farmhouse's front door and step inside with the two women hopefully following him.

The interior was pretty much like every other farmhouse they had encountered; thick layers of dust and litter, and a kitchen full of what looked to be mostly spoiled food judging by the ghastly smell "Someone have a quick poke around in the kitchen and see if there's anything worth having whilst I check upstairs" Dominic said as he headed for the stairs only find that they had been blocked by the couch.

It was just as Dominic was considering how best to dismantle the barricade so that he could get across that he heard a noise coming from upstairs. Crouching down low behind the couch he would hold his sword ready to strike "Susie? Is that you up there?" he called deciding that even if it was a Zed up there that it would be easier to dispatch from behind the barricade "Susie, I've got Addie with me...she's come to get you" Dominic continued, bracing himself to meet whatever came down those stairs.

Making his way back around to the front of the house without any further incident Hank gave a small frown at the open door. If it had been unlocked then anyone could be waiting inside, for good or ill. Following the others inside the level of fortification seemed to confirm his suspicion they weren't the first ones to have shown up at the house.

Turning at the noise and Dom heading up stairs he decided to try the other locked route. I'll check the basement. Whoever tied the door may think we want to hurt them. Not that he didn't trust Dom's fatherly instincts but he didn't need him or Karen getting stab happy if whoever was down there looked pubescent.

Standing to the side of the cellar door he used his crowbar to push the door, just in case someone took a couple pot shots. Hello? We're just looking for someone, her name's Susie. She got separated from her friend during the storm. We came from the trading post to help find her.

Taking note of the level of fortification Karen pocketed her club and drew her pistol. Hank and Dom had the "front lines" as it were, so if a decomposing face jumped out of any one of the barricaded spaced they'd have first crack at it. If shit got seriously dangerous, Karen could lay down suppressing fire to buy one of the boys an opening to withdraw.

Karen, in tactical fashion, silently directed Addie to stay put near the front door, and for the quiet "guide" Katherine to watch Hank's six.

Karen joined Dominic at the side of the couch, placing a hand on his back to let him know she was there.

Suddenly the noise upstairs grew closer. It was definitely movement. The old wood creaked and groaned under the shifting weight of a person walking. Karen moved around the back of the couch, leaving Dominic in his striking position. She popped her head out of cover briefly, trying to determine if the person upstairs was dead or alive. Thankfully, there was no loud pop of a gunshot as she did so. Karen stood and moved backwards, gun aimed.

"He's dead Doc. When he gets down here, start swinging."

Karen started whistling. and becoming the zombie to come down the steps.

The walking corpse managed the stairs surprisingly gracefully, for a corpse. He steadily planted each foot on the steps and used the wall to support his unsteady upper body. It was the slowest descent in the world, but eventually the zombie found the barricade and stood in Dominic's kill zone, trying to figure out how to get around.

***

Meanwhile, at the basement door, Hank was greeted by the relatively safe sound of silence from the basement. Either whomever was down there was keeping quiet, or the basement was empty. But why was it wired shut?

The zombie took an age to slowly descend the stairs, one faltering step at a time causing Dominic to wonder whether he'd be better off climbing the barricade to meet it, then again why make things difficult? And so he waited until the thing was at the barricade before springing from behind it to spear its head with a well placed lunge. A quick twist and a pull followed the move as he ripped his blade free with a repulsive sucking noise causing a part of his brain to note how much easier it was to kill the dead than it was the living, with the other part feeling mildly disgusted that he was capable of such thoughts "D'accord...let's go check upstairs" Dominic quietly stated as he wiped the gore from his blade onto the couches worn upholstery, deciding to leave the rest of the building to Hank and their silent guide.

It would take a few minutes to dismantle enough of the barricade for them safely cross; with Dominic signalling for Karen to watch his back as he cautiously ascended the creaking wooden stairs.

Something told him that they wouldn't find Susie up here, not with a Zed roaming around anyway, but it wouldn't hurt to see if there was anything worth taking with him placing especially high hopes on the medicine cabinet as he still wasn't sure how he was going to deal with Karen's addiction at this point in time, Jesus, If i'd known sooner I could have beaten some pills out of the Cowboy or traded for a few in town! But he hadn't known and so he would have to deal with the situation the best he could.

Once they had reached the top of the stairs Dominic would point to the nearest door with the tip of his sword "Let's check this one first, then we'll move to the next one ok?"

Kat drew her pistol as she walked behind Hank towards the locked basement, keeping her finger off the trigger but ready to shoot if something proved aggressive. With Hank's call out receiving silence, Kat drew her knife in her off hand and cut the extension cord, pistol still aimed down the basement steps. Once cut, she kicked the door aside and stepped with the swinging wood, bracing herself against the wall opposite Hank so the now open basement was between them. "We're just a couple of kids trying to find our friend. We don't mean you any harm. If anybody's down there, now would be a good time to say something before you startle us. Don't want to mistake you for one of those dead creeps shambling about." Her voice sounded innocent despite her drawn weapons.

Hank didn't know what to make of the silence that greeted them from the locked basement. He just hoped it was fear that kept whoever tied the now cut cord quiet. When the girl who came with them kicked the door he finally had a chance to see her close up. About the same age as Tom to have lasted this long he didn't doubt she could handle herself in a scrap. Which with any luck wouldn't be needed in this situation.


He'd give anyone a couple moments to respond to her before steeling himself to go down. Cover me. He whispered, ducking slightly to reduce his outline and give her a better line of sight. Each step was deliberate as old horror movie clips flashed through his head of hands reaching out from behind the stairs to trip him. One hand held his crowbar ready, the other just brushed the railing ready to grip it if he had to hit the deck.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:19, Thu 30 Nov 2017.

The basement was cool and dusty. the only light was that that came through a small basement window with a well. the glass was shattered, from the inside out. A teddy bear hung snagged on one of the jagged pieces of glass.

There were obvious signs that a person had been hiding down here for a while, but that person was now certainly gone.

***

Meanwhile, the upstairs was clear. the zombie that haunted the top floor of the house was dead. Someone trapped the dead man upstairs and then sealed off the basement door to hide down there.

Now as the hunters re-grouped the question was "Was it Suzie?"

When shown the teddy bear and asked the question at hand Addie simply nodded and began to cry.

Now the hunters needed to figure out which direction she headed and pursue her, hoping against hop to find her alive.

Dominic's hopes of finding the cache of a long dead dooms day prepper were once again dashed as he opened the door leading into the master bedroom with a quick search failing to reveal the piles of food and automatic weaponry the heroes from those old Zombie movies always seemed to find with him instead having to settle on some relatively clean clothing and an old Stephen King paperback that he hadn't read, though seeing as the dead roamed the earth did he really need another horror story?

The next room along would provide just as slim a pickings as the previous one, this one appearing to be some kind of an office with the desk and computer covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs that even he was reluctant to disturb. The stationery was useless as was the stack of CD's, the guys taste in music had been terrible anyway, though the half bottle of Bourbon and battered packet of cigarettes in the bottom drawer however were a welcome find "would this do anything to help?" Dominic asked holding up the bottle for Karen to see whilst stuffing the cigarettes into his top pocket, though whether these were to trade or personal use was anyone's guess, and in the event that Karen didn't want the Bourbon then Dom knew a certain brunette that he'd be more that happy to share it with.

The final door was located at the end of the hall and was unsurprisingly the bathroom, with the old cast iron tub half filled with stagnant water that the previous occupant had no doubt been drinking up until his demise and subsequent zombification. The small bathroom cabinet was mostly empty with a full bottle of shampoo being the only thing of any worth, granted it would be useless to him but the Trading post had working showers so no doubt someone would be willing to trade for the luxury of silky dandruff free hair! It was only as he was retrieving this wonder of a bygone age that Dominic would catch sight of the small orange container that had been lurking behind it, revealing the find that he'd been hoping for “And we have a winner!” Dominic called excitedly, snatching the small pill bottle from out of the cabinet so as to examine the label “it would appear out friend Mr Carter suffered from Migraines…now can I trust you not to knock them back like sweets or do you need me to look after these?” Dominic asked, giving Karen a level look that said that if she did indeed knock them all back like sweets then things would go very badly for her.

In reply to Dominic Dubreton (msg # 209):

Karen took the orange bottle and shook out four pills into her hand. This migraine medicine wasn't exactly the kind of narcotic painkiller that had caused an opiate crisis to sweep across the nation, but, it might just take the edge off...

Karen swallowed the pills with a quick swig of Dominic's bourbon. According to the label on the pill bottle, this was a bad idea, but considering that Karen had shot heroine into her arm last night, a little bit of whiskey and headache medicine was probably not a big deal. She took another swig and gave both bottles back to Dominic.

"Little girl wasn't hiding up here..." that was obvious. "What's your take on the babysitter?" Karen posed to Dominic, her days as a cop coming back to her. "I remember this one time, I responded to a missing persons. The parents were devastated, but the neighbour, he was way too interested. He volunteered to coordinate the search party and everything, only he knew we wouldn't find her since he had the body in his shed."