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12:39, 24th April 2024 (GMT+0)

Chapter 4 - The Caravan - The Greenhouse.

Posted by GMFor group 0
GM
GM, 739 posts
Sun 29 Mar 2015
at 03:51
  • msg #1

Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

Here stands a makeshift greenhouse for the Caravan's uses. The soil of the chemical compound is presumed toxic, so any gardening must be done in pots/other containers. The greenhouse was built by the thrifty survivors using plastic instead of glass. There isn't much space as the Caravaneers assumed they wouldn't be staying long.


Sarah Mills
player, 11 posts
test
Sat 4 Apr 2015
at 00:25
  • msg #2

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

It took awhile to break the gravel from the ground and pull up the slabs. They weighed a lot, so much Sarah had to use a wedged pipe off some rocks and even that didn't help. She balanced on the pipe and bounced on it playfully a bit to get the slab to release itself from its dirt grave.

Eventually it became loose. Sarah and a few others created what looks kind of like a greenhouse today.

"Alright, so we currently have... this" Sarah motions to the hardwork they put in, trying to think to herself how to make it work. "I have some seeds, some may be good, some are obviously not so well. Most of the time, depending on the seed you have to be in a generally dry environment." she looks through her small packets, picking out which ones may still be viable "But, we've been walking and running so much. I don't know their condition at this point, that is I don't know how the ones that look good will fair. Whether they will germinate correctly or not." she says kneeling down sifting through the dirt, and it was just that pretty much. Dirt. "We need to ensure their success. I wonder how we can get some sort of soil or compost going... given we would just as soon eat an apple core or a banana peel at this rate then use it for compost, something tells me those aren't available.."

Sarah stays kneeling for awhile before joking to herself under her breath "That Janice woman would make good compost" she says with a dark, but obviously jesting tone.
Lorenzo
player, 7 posts
Sat 4 Apr 2015
at 04:07
  • msg #3

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse


Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
---> From Big House


It was a little disappointing Lorenzo wasn't going to be able to do any heavy lifting by the looks of things. A lot of the most strenuous work had been done already, prying up the asphalt and scouring surrounding areas for usable soil and seeds had been the bulk of his involvement. It would be nice to do something stimulating, even if it was as... Wimpy as gardening. He didn't know much about plants and crap, and would have been completely lost when gathering supplies without Sarah's instructions. He'd never really been much more involved with this project other than doing the physical labour, and looking at the cramped greenhouse filled with make-shift containers made him feel even more lost.

He maneuvered into the doorway, watching Sarah as she busied herself and soaking up her advice like a sponge. An annoyed looking sponge. Janice had clearly gotten on his nerves, and it took him several strikes of his lighter before managing to get his cigarette ablaze with his shaky hands. He'd been filled with adrenaline, and if not for Ricky would have likely finally had a physical altercation with Janice.

Sarah Mills:
"That Janice woman would make good compost."


That actually made Lorenzo laugh, a short, harsh noise that sounded like a bark.

"Don't tempt me, girly," he scoffed, crouching down next to Sarah and watching her mess around with the dirt. If cigarette smoke is something those in the greenhouse don't want to be around, he is either oblivious or doesn't care. "So, this stuff's no good, huh," he said sourly, looking at the soil like it was responsible for its uselessness. He prodded the dirt beside Sarah, drawing something that looked like a smiley face then stared back to the woman expectantly.

"Now that winter's over, we could get dirt from that forest. Better dirt," he suggested sheepishly. "I mean, trees and stuff grow there, right? Maybe it will help our seeds, ah... German-nate," he concluded, trying to pronounce what Sarah had said and clearly not knowing what it meant.
Sarah Mills
player, 12 posts
test
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 00:46
  • msg #4

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

In reply to Lorenzo (msg # 3):

Listening to Lorenzo trying to keep up was slightly entertaining. He was good help for Sarah to move the concrete slabs that she couldn't. Hell, the wooden beams and other structured tended to be annoying without the help of a second person. She listened to him closely as he lit his cigarette "You are going to run out of those you know? You don't want to save them?" She smiles jokingly "One day you are going to reach down habitually and bam.." she makes a jazz-hands gesture playfully "they will be gone."

As Sarah listened to his remark towards Janice she couldn't help but agree "Yeah, I don't know what her problem is. I mean, she doesn't even know us..." there was sort of an awkward air around them, at least for a time Sarah felt it. "So.... do you always lash out at people like that?..." Sarah asked hesitantly "Or do you save that just for bigotry?"

She continued to work the dirt like an expert. Well, that is compared to the rest of the group. Sarah could still remember the days in college, learning about all the plant life. All the cellular level shit. It made her head spin sometimes the amount of days she spent simply studying. Now, with a degree barely, she is unable to use it...

Sarah lets out a sigh in frustration, years of study... lost to this Zombieland.
Lorenzo
player, 9 posts
Fri 10 Apr 2015
at 20:54
  • msg #5

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

In reply to Sarah Mills (msg # 4):

The mention of eventually running out of cigarettes didn't make Lorenzo extinguish the smoke in order to preserve it. However, he did slow down slightly as he inhaled it, flashing Sarah a very deliberate, cheeky sideways look as he did so. Running out of the things was definitely a possibility, and definitely an eventuality assuming he lasted longer in Zombieland than the pack of cigarettes did. He'd already had to scrounge up a fair number of them, and the more time that went on the more dry and stale each find was. With the exception of this really great kit he'd "found", the kind that he could roll himself, but of course that was back at his old camp... There wouldn't be any going back there. It had been months.

He cast the notion aside, his dark eyes seeming to have a very deliberate focus on Sarah's actions. As someone who hadn't really had a proper, formal post-secondary education like Sarah he's obviously interested in the tasks she's performing though he doesn't quite understand the significance of them all. That said, his face doesn't reveal any confusion he may be feeling and is pressed into his usual scowl. Though all in all, he was feeling fairly content compared to moments ago. He was usually pretty up and down.

Sarah Mills:
"So.... do you always lash out at people like that?... Or do you save that just for bigotry?"


For a second it looked like Lorenzo wasn't going to answer. He remained crouched beside Sarah in the cramped greenhouse, appearing to be more interested in surveying her work than talking about himself.

"Mmm... I don't know," he replied lowly, focused on the soil and seeming to be somewhat serious for a change. It was short-lived. A crooked grin was expertly plastered to his face once he looked back to Sarah."I just don't like taking shit from anyone. Never took any from my family, from teachers, from cops... These days I don't even take any from those walking corpses. So I'm definitely not gonna sit back and listen to some racist, old, white bitch who don't even have two glasses frames to rub together run her mouth," he growled. He went to tap his smoke out over the soil, before realizing what he was doing and immediately retracting his hand.

"And I sure as fuck wasn't gonna let her spout off to you- or Ricky- with me standing right there. I'm getting real tired of that old cow. It's about time someone taught her a lesson," he concluded, a dark look colouring his face. Talk clearly did nothing to affect Janice, and to him it was high time more... Direct measures were implemented.
Ricky Robes
player, 77 posts
The Journalist
Sun 12 Apr 2015
at 12:43
  • msg #6

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

Ricky took a knee next to Sarah, helping her loosen the dirt into a more workable planting surface as she made small talk with Lorenzo. Ricky groaned under his breath when the two brought up Janice again. "It's best to just avoid her if you can. That's what I try to do. For as long as I've been with this group, she's the only member I've seen consistently butt heads with everyone. Honestly, I don't think she has a single real friend among us. But she does have seniority. Everyone else just puts up with her, so it's not like we can do anything about it. Not yet." He looked up from his work for moment, a blank gaze lingering on his face before he turned his attention back to the dirt. "Forest dirt would work. At least it would be better than this. But we'd need a shovel and a wheelbarrow or a cart." He stated, trying to change the subject back to the current task at hand. "If the others are making a run to town soon, they might be able to pick up some bags of gardening soil at a home improvement store or something. Not a lot of people would have raided things like that, at least not at first."
Sarah Mills
player, 14 posts
test
Tue 14 Apr 2015
at 06:07
  • msg #7

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

Sarah looked at the other two after both speaking, she nodded towards Ricky in agreement "True, we could ask them to grab some soil bags. We could however look for sacks around here and haul it little by little back and forth. You know, cardio." She smiles and flexes jokingly "Alright, so what do you say?"

Sarah sat there and listened after wards, her frown turning into a questioning look towards Lorenzo. She wasn't sure how to interpret those commands, perhaps it was best to avoid his anger and venom he was clearly upset. "So, I mean. We can't just teach her a lesson without backlash. To be honest, we will work on these plants here and she will get no food or very little. Those who work will get the food. That is how it'll be. If she wants actual food from the ground, then she needs to contribute somehow."
Lorenzo
player, 10 posts
Wed 15 Apr 2015
at 12:18
  • msg #8

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

"Sounds good enough to me," Lorenzo grumbled. Not really a man of forward thinking, he hadn't considered any backlash for taking action against Janice. For now he was willing to let Sarah's answer placate him. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to find himself thrown out on his ass all alone for doing something "reckless" or "impulsive." Things never seemed to play out the way he wanted when he was on his lonesome.

Feeling a bit crowded with both Ricky and Sarah nearby, he rose abruptly and shuffled off to lean by the rickety table. He looked at the two of them, appearing to be a bit zoned out and considering what Ricky had said. Ricky's suggestion was reasonable enough, soil was probably not on everyone's top list of priorities when it all went to shit. They could probably snag some.

"I haven't heard anything about no run," Lorenzo said, looking to Ricky. "But it's about time someone headed out, we don't have any food hardly. We should probably mention it to... Who's it, that french fry. Dom," he suggested. Dominic seemed to have the most medical experience here. It made sense to Lorenzo that he would go out on runs if he had an eye for those kinds of supplies, and would know when the next trip would be scheduled for.

"If there's a run gonna happen though, I want to go. Anyone else down?" he inquired, looking between the pair. He was fully expecting a resounding "no", neither of them struck him as having the heart for confrontation, whereas he relished in it. He glanced to the door, seeming eager to leave already.
Sarah Mills
player, 15 posts
test
Wed 15 Apr 2015
at 23:13
  • msg #9

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

In reply to Lorenzo (msg # 8):

Thinking for a while about Lorenzo mentioned about going to town, it all made sense to Sarah. They needed more equipment and frankly soil would be better from the store then the forest. "Ok, count me in, I think we can form our own group. I believe if anyone wants food in the long run, real, constant food. Then they would be in too. Should we just go alone or take a few others from the compound?"
Ricky Robes
player, 78 posts
The Journalist
Wed 22 Apr 2015
at 05:31
  • msg #10

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

Ricky was glad that he wasn't the only one going a little stir crazy. "If we want to go on a run to town, we gotta talk to Cookie and Dom first. Ain't no one leaving anywhere without their say-so first." He stood up, dusted off his knees, and stretched slightly as he spoke. "Don't think of it as asking for permission, more like giving them a heads up. Plus, we need an actual plan. Gotta check the maps for which buildings we haven't hit yet, gather up supplies and gear for the trip, and of course make back up plans and rendezvous points if something happens or we get separated." He headed for the Big House, talking through most of the short walk.

>> To: The Big House >>
Lorenzo
player, 11 posts
Wed 22 Apr 2015
at 23:40
  • msg #11

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

The reaction from Lorenzo was akin to a dog being told it was going for a walk. Going out on runs was almost a game to him, and it didn't occur to him that Ricky and Sarah may be volunteering only out of necessity. Personally, he enjoyed going even if they didn't manage to score anything.

"Sounds good, man, we're gonna have fun," he grinned, beckoning eagerly for Sarah to follow him and Ricky. Ricky's serious talk of "rendezvous points" and "back-up plans" largely had gone in one ear and out the other as far as Lorenzo was concerned. To put it lightly, he could be a bit short-sighted.


Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
---> To Big House

Sarah Mills
player, 16 posts
test
Thu 23 Apr 2015
at 17:06
  • msg #12

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

Sarah wasn't in need of fun in the sense of going out and possibly getting eaten, but she kept that to herself. "Alright, then lets do it, I'll come with.."

--> To Big House
Janice
NPC, 26 posts
Caravan Member
Mon 11 May 2015
at 03:31
  • msg #13

Re: Chapter 4  - The Greenhouse

-from the Big House

The moral compass of the group entered the greenhouse hoping to find it empty and indeed achieving that goal. She was pleased that Sarah had left on raid for Janice would not frequent the greenhouse when the minorities were tending the soil, not that they had produced anything of consequence that would sate the hunger of the Caravan. Sighing to herself, she cast a narrowed gaze around her, as if doubting she were truly alone, before turning to the soil bed she often saw Sarah trying to cultivate. Her sinuses contracting a strange sound, she summarily spat a gob of chunky saliva into the soil, sneering down at it with a toothy grin. "Maybe that'll help grow yer tomatoes, bitch." Janice felt pleased with things in that moment, contemplating the unsavory elements of the group being lost to the biters while on the raid, leaving more rations to the rest of them. It was unfortunate, but true, that not all of them could eat, and it was only fair that the most important members of the Caravan, such as herself, could continue to live in order to build the new world order, hopefully upon THE LORDS word.
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