Experience taught Ramona that pointing a finger in someone's face was an excellent way to get it broken, and in the heat of the moment, Malcolm nearly learned that lesson too. She relented, as he had every right to be upset with her, and she didn't want to hurt him. His accusation hit closer to home than she'd admit; no, Ramona didn't want to be anyone's problem.

Then why did you go and make things hard for everyone?

Sometimes, she hated making sense.

Everyone's shouting was starting to grate on the ears, and Ramona took Malcolm's order as an excuse to remove herself from the situation. Walking with haste to Tamara's room, she banged on her older sister's door until she answered. Pissed a lot of people off, she signed; there was no use hiding what would be explained in a moment. Malcolm wants to talk to you, she gestured to their irate leader.

In reply to Riley (msg # 461):

"Not what I meant..." he replied while carefully pinching off his bleeding nose. He realised all this was a distraction from what he came here to do In the first place.

He looked over at Dahlia. "Zoey wont let me in to check om Thomas. You need to see how he's doing...and how long he's got."

He had pretty much given up any chance of Fran or Thomas recovering. Hopefully Zoey was in there quietly sitting with Thomas, but it had been a little too quiet. Of course, Juan was feeling a bit extra paranoid right now. With any luck that's all it was.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:37, Sun 09 June 2019.

With Ramona gone he turned his attention over to Juan. Walking up to the group that had pulled him back.

"Lemme see what you fucking got." He watched Juan pinch off his bleeding nose. "That ain't bad you're fine. Now lets get this straight."  He said, glancing to Chris and the others as he talked.

"I'm gonna have words for both of you later but for now I need results. Chris, and..." His eyes met Riley, happy to have seen her play in active part in calming things down.

"Riley. Chris and Riley you're coming with me, we need medicine for Fran and I figured the school might got some. I don't know about Thomas yet Diana needs to check on him." He looks back at Juan.

"You, you're digging Juan. six feet long and six feet deep get it? Both of you better hope it's only one grave." He glared at the biker and then to Chris as he spoke.

In reply to Malcolm (msg # 464):

"Ok...any place I can get a shovel?" He asked. He planned on looking. Failing to get such a tool he planned on going back to using the plastic jug often found in the nearby motels. Granted not the best tool for digging, but if he could not find a shovel it was the next best thing. He headed off to look. Assuming no one here had one that is.

(ooc: 11:58, Today: Juan rolled 16 using 2d10+6.  Looting for survival units to get shovel. I figure the nearby hotels did have a guardening section for the grounds around the hotel and any interior plants they had.)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Mon 10 June 2019.

Chris nodded as Malcolm spoke. HE raised an eyebrow when he made a threat, but said nothing, The kid was understandably angry, hell Chris was angry with himself, but it was distraction, now they had to focus on trying to sort this.

"Ready to move when you are Malcolm" Chris said

To Juan he said "Laurens outside on some grass, I came for a shovel to bury her. Rose knows where she is."

Malcolm, Diana, Juan, Chris K, Riley

Dahlia raises an eyebrow at Juan's demand that she check Thomas, then looks over at Diana. She says nothing.

"Uh, didn't you dig something yesterday?" Rose asks Juan. "I guess there's probably a shovel in a maintenance closet or something..."

Just about the time Juan leaves, Ramona returns with Tamara in tow.


Ramona

It takes a sustained hammering on the door before Tamara answers. She looks disheveled and clothes crooked, as if she'd pulled them on just before opening the door.

"What, what is it?" she asks immediately, her eyes wide. She watches Ramona's hands, then looks back up at her face. She opens her mouth to speak, then leans in, staring at the spot where Juan had hit Ramona.

"What did you - " Tamara closes her eyes and sighs through her nose, then scowls at Ramona. "Just take me to Malcolm. I'll fix this. Then I'll come back and kick your ass."

In reply to Snicker (msg # 467):

Juan almost guessed no one had a shovel. Which was weird, because it was a handy tool for people basically forced to camp for the rest of their lives. It was fine however, as shovels where fairly common place. Sure enough, he found one in the matenice shed of where the hotel staff had stored such things.

He headed back to where Chris had told him Lauren would be. He supposed this would be a good as place as any to bury her. It would not be the last time he would end up digging a grave he was sure. Maybe even two more in the next few hours...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Tue 11 June 2019.

"I'll be ready to go in a sec Chris if you wanna get the car running." He says, looking to Diana. "I'll be gone for a bit, no one but you is allowed to Fran. Kale and the rest should be back eventually with food. If you need anything use Cody and Malik." He said, turning away and walking over to Tamara and Ramona.

"Tamara, right?" He said, trying to remember her name. He hadn't really talked when they joined despite being clearly more communicative than Ramona.

"Your sisters got a helluva attitude. Shes been here less than twenty four hours and shes beaten up two of my men already." He says, making a careful effort not to come off as angry. Preferring to see how she would react which in turn would tell her alot about Ramona in itself.

Chris was about to ask Malcolm which car, but he moved off to quickly.

Turning to who he presumed was Riley he said "I'm Chris. You Riley? Do you know which car he meant?"

""Yes, that's right." Still fuming from the display of a brawl, she answered Chris. She realized the man she was speaking to was someone she hasn't introduced before. Riley adjusted her tone. "Nice to meet you Chris. I'm still new here, I'm not sure which car he's referring to."

Sighing at the obvious joy everyone appears to be gleaning from the social gathering, Diana throws her hands up animatedly and walks the three feet to the room Thomas and Zoey are occupying. Diana struggles to quash the blush she feels creeping up on her, suddenly feeling horribly unprofessional. How was she supposed to broach this subject? Who hadn't heard that loud argument?

Diana raps her knuckles gingerly against the door.

"It's Diana," she announces, "I believe we have important things to discuss," she says evenly.

Malcolm, Ramona

"Good morning, Malcolm," Tamara says. Like Malcolm, her voice is cautiously even. "Before we get started, thanks for taking us in. When Ramona and I protected Juan from that mob yesterday, we weren't sure if we'd be safe, but I'm glad we went with you. It was the right decision."

She raises her hands, palms facing Malcolm. "I just wanted to get that out of the way. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Diana

The door opens almost immediately after Diana's knocks. Standing there is a spectacularly frazzled-looking woman: her clothes and hair are in disarray, and her eyes look haggardly stressed.

"You're the doctor, right?" she asks, then continues without waiting for an answer. "You have to take a look at him. Check everything. I have to go, our son's all alone and he's...I have to go."

She sidles past Diana, then heads towards one of the nearby hotels. If Diana has anything to discuss with her, she's still in earshot, but if she's not stopped it's clear she'll leave Diana behind.

Juan

It's easy for Juan to find what he's looking for once he gets close to the right spot. A human-sized shape is wrapped in two garbage bags and lying on the ground off the parking lot. Though he's technically visible from the motel, it'll be hard for anyone there to see what he's doing without binoculars, but if he wants to be completely out of sight there are a couple of churches in this direction that can block people's view.


Chris K, Riley

"Wait, car?" Rose looks over at Chris K and Riley, then hurries after them. "I think I know what he meant! A few of us were exploring yesterday, and they found the keys to a car. I can show you."

Rose guides Chris K and Riley to a very ordinary-looking economy car parked alongside the van Chris K took from the school. The doors are unlocked and the keys are sitting in the cup holder. The trunk is slightly open, but there's nothing in it.

"Can...I ask you something?" Rose asks while Chris K and Riley look at the car. "Yesterday, why did you come back covered in blood?"

Chris checked over the car as he replied to Rose "It was to confuse the zeds. Ive seen it done once before, and Juan seems to get it working for him. If you get the blood from one of them, they can't smell you. They can still spot you if you don't move right, but it was to try and camoflage us for an escape from the school."

Having checked the car, Chris sits on the bonnet and waits for Malcolm.

In reply to Snicker (msg # 473):

Juan did not see the need to hide Lauren's eventually burial site. Hell, he expected a lot more to join her here soon enough. There was just no other way about it. Besides, this seemed like a nice enough spot.

He had brought his duffle of gear with him, including the hooked chain. Just in case. His nose pulsed with a bit of pain, and he felt safer knowing his primary weapon was on hand.

In any case, he had a shovel now, and proceeded to get to work. All he wanted to do was find someplace to rest until his nose stopped hurting. He doubted the camp had any extra meds they could spare, and was not planning on wasting them on his nose. Still, his nose and face had been through far worse, and he had healed from such injuries.

So he started digging. Six by six, and more to come... He thought gloomily. He really believed for a hot second that his plan had gotten eveybody out safely. It had at the time. The three injuried had to spend thier last moments here, surrounded by friends and loved ones rather than the hungry dead. That had to mean something...
This message was last edited by the player at 11:49, Wed 12 June 2019.

The kid shrugged. "I'm trying to keep everyone safe, Tamara. Even though I think I'm failing at that I appreciate what you're saying." He said, before glancing at Ramona for a moment, mulling over how much he should say before looking back at Tamara.

"The incident you heard earlier. I, uh... it was the result of incompetence from some of my men and Ramona took that personally and slugged the guy. broke his nose." Mal smiled at them.

"I'll be straight Tamara I don't care about that fact. Breaking a nose wont kill a man I know that more than anyone. What is the problem girls, is that Juan is to be punished by me. I can't have people fighting each other. These people," He raises his hands towards the motel. "are scared, this is all new to them still, and if cracks start to show then this chance we have is over before it begins." He looks at Ramona before continuing.

"Now I gotta go get medical supplies or my friend dont got a chance in hell of surviving." He said simply.

Riley stood by the vehicle, waiting for the others to join them. In the meantime, she listened to the conversation.

"That sounds disgusting, does that really work?" She expressed her skepticism on the idea of  coating in rotting gore as camouflage. Then, she realized the implication. "I'm guessing that's how that woman got sick."

"If he's in one of the hotels then he's safe," Diana says assuredly as she strides to match the woman's pace, then moves to block her path completely.

She bites her lip, caution laced through the sound of her voice. The situation required delicacy and the panic. Suddenly, abruptly, Diana shies away from laying it all out, because she doesn’t operate on those terms when it comes to vulnerability. Ever.

Diana tries to smile. Succeeds, probably.

"Let us collect him together. You can provide me with some background as we walk. Agreed?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:50, Fri 14 June 2019.

Chris looks at Riley but says nothing, his jaw tight, and nods slightly, before looking away.

Malcolm, Ramona

"I see," Tamara says, giving Ramona a pointed look before resuming eye contact with Malcolm. "I'm sorry about that. it's hard for Ramona to communicate, so she tends to take things into her own hands, and part of the reason we're alive is because we trust our gut and make quick decisions.

"She knows she stepped out of line," Tamara continues, placing a hand on Ramona's shoulder. At the word knows, she squeezes down hard. "And she knows you can't just let it go. You have to set a precedent. But - remember her situation, that she's new here, and that she'll know better than to do this again when you come up with her punishment."

Diana

"No, let's not collect him!" Zoey snaps. "You think I'm bringing him back here? I'm keeping him there while you check my husband, which you should already be doing? Or are you going to let him die like the other two?"

Zoey seethes for a moment, glaring at Diana, then looks away shamefully. "That was...look. You've got all the background you need, and you've got nothing to do with our boy. He's safe, but he's been alone all night on account of I've been taking care of by husband. I've got a responsibility to him...and you've got a responsibility, too."

Juan

The land around the gas stations is dry and hard-packed by wandering feet. Digging a grave is never a fast process, and this grave is particularly slow going. Juan has barely even broken the earth when he starts to sweat under the summer sun, and the day will only get hotter from here. Juan is about five minutes into his digging when a shadow passes over the ground beneath him.

"I can help with that if you've got a second shadow," Heather says, beside him. "Or maybe we can just trade off."

Chris K, Riley

"Really?" Rose asks. She thinks for a moment. "I guess they smell you? That's weird. Everything else about them seems to get worse. How do their noses get better?"

She sits on the hood of the car and puts her hands between her knees, looking at Riley. "I guess you and the other new people met them after they put it on, right? That's why you didn't have any blood on you."

She looks at Chris K. "But Lawrence, his kid, Vivian, and Gloria didn't have any blood on them either, and I knew they went out with you. Why weren't they wearing it?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:28, Fri 14 June 2019.

Ramona took Malcolm and Tamara's dressing-down with the familiar annoyance that only a seasoned troublemaker could muster. They were hitting the exact same beats: trepidatious condemnation, assurances that similar incidents wouldn't happen again, and a plea of understanding. Knowing how serious the situation was, Ramona endured it without so much as an eye-roll. However, Malcolm broaching the topic of Fran and a scavenging run snapped Ramona back to rapt attention. She faced her sister and quickly signed: Tell him to let me come along.

Chris sighed, and spoke tiredly. "Lawrence didn't like the plan, so took his son and left us, and the injured, to save his own ass. Vivian and Gloria I think went too coz they were worried about the kid, I dunno for sure. I was in a classroom trying to see out, they were in the hall getting ready. Anyways, they managed to get out ok without the "make up". So maybe Lawrence was right." he breathed out hard "but hes still a fucking prick"

In reply to Snicker (msg # 480):

Juan looked up at Heather, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Sure. Why not?" He said after a second. He climbed out of the partially hole he had dug, and stuck the shovel in the ground. "One sec." He said.

He headed off, and came back about a minute later. He was holding large plastic jug, the one he had used to bury his soiled clothes not just half a day before. He handed it to her, got the shovel and went back to work. "Thanks." He said as he moved another clump of earth. "Have we met? I'm Juan."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Sat 15 June 2019.

Diana's back stiffens and her eyes narrow dangerously. She can feel her mouth tugging into a scowl before she can properly school the emotion.



As she catches on to what the woman is suggesting Diana purses her lips and pushes the thought of her charm back. "The appeal to the Hippocratic oath. I see we have the 'A game'. However could I resist," she deadpans, looking off into the distance to her sister for a brief moment, both trying and failing to let this go. She then levels her gaze at the disheveled woman.

Diana sighs, and then gestures irritably before turning toward the door. "Move as quick as you can."

Diana opens the door, revealing an near-identical interior to the one Fran occupies, morning light spilling into the stale darkness. Stepping inside she finds the lights and flicks the switch out of habit, to no obvious effect. Force of habit. She walks towards the bed and stops just short of reaching distance, clearing her throat.

"Thomas, dear God," she whispers. "Thomas," she says more urgently, suddenly desperate to have him understand her.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Sat 15 June 2019.

Malcolm, Ramona

Tamara doesn't skip a beat. "And, since Ramona and I are new here, what she did will set a bad first impression. We need to show that we're useful. That'll make it easier for people to accept what she did.

"We can do that, and show your authority if you make her work off her debt. Punish her by making her come along. I'll come too - it'll show you're serious if you punish us both."

Diana

"Thank you," says Zoey she and Diana part ways. Her tone is brisk, but heartfelt.

Diana's reflexive attempt to turn on the lights is well warranted. After the morning sun, the room is nothing but a mess of black shapes. After a few seconds, her eyes start adjusting to the darkness, but even then there is little detail to be seen. She is able to discern the figure of a man sitting up in bed, but his face is indistinct. At the sound of her face, his head in her direction, the whites of his eyes just barely discernible, and a hand reaches out for her.

"Hey, Doc!" Thomas greets her. His voice is friendly and stronger than yesterday. Immediately, he cringes slightly and she hears a noise from within his throat, but he manages not to start coughing. His hand stays extended towards her, turned for her to shake. Once he wins the battle to contain his cough, he speaks again, this time in a softer voice less provocative of his irritated airways.

"I bet my wife sent you in, right?" he asks. By now, Diana's eyes have adjusted enough to see him give a smirk of camaraderie, as if the two of them are sharing a private joke. "If you've got to look me over, alright, but you should know she just did and didn't find anything."

His smile fades. "What's going on out there?"

Juan

After five minutes of digging, Juan does not need to step out of his hole; indeed, he's barely cleared enough ground to step into. Digging this grave is going to be a lengthy endeavor. When he hands the jug to the woman beside him, she looks down at it skeptically for a moment, then up at Juan with a cocked eyebrow, then simply lets it hang from her hand at her side.

"Heather," she says. "Malcolm's got me on medical detail, but I'm sick of sitting around. This has been one boring fucking apocalypse for me. I want to take over the digging when you get tired. I gotta keep strong, and anyway..."

She looks over at the shape in the garbage bags. "...she ain't going anywhere."

Chris K, Riley

"Maybe he thought he was doing his best for his son?" Rose asks. "We should try to see it from his perspective. Kids get sick more easily than adults, right? Maybe if his son had put that make-up on, he'd be dying too."

Her eyes widen. "Uh, I mean...whatever is happening with Fran. We don't know yet, it could be anything. A-anyway, I guess we can't know unless we ask him. Or maybe Vivian and Gloria? Well, Vivian's asleep, because she was on night watch, but I don't know about Gloria. I haven't seen her today, but she's probably already up. I mean, how much sleep can she need?"

In reply to Snicker (msg # 485):

"Boring?" Juan snorts as he hands her the shovel and he takes the plastic jug and gets back to work. "Trust me, I would love a nice boring end of the world."

Assuming she does not hand the shovel back, he scoops a clump of dirt and moves it out of the small hole he has made. "Besides, if you have medical skills, you are the most valuable person in the camp. The rest of us are sorta...well, expedible." He shrugged. "You can get your adrenaline fix by hearing how the rest of us have to risk our lives just for some damn water."

He paused for a moment. "By the way, you know of anyone in camp who used to work with water? Like plumbing or sewer maintenance? I was thinking as soon as I was up to it heading out and reclaiming the nearby water filtration plant on my map. It might solve our lack of clean water problems."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:04, Sun 16 June 2019.