Crossroads

Dwayne looks to Mary and shook his head. "I meant Miss Carter and everyone else stayed back at the house."

Mary's brow furrows in confusion. She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing through her nose.

I hate dealing with children.

"Which house, Dwayne?" Mary asks patiently, before turning to Trisha and the others. "Do you know anything about this?"

Buford once again felt more comfortable being a wallflower than an active participant in a situation he ultimately didn't understand. While e had experience in tracking, especially in doing so undetected it would invite too many questions. He didn't need that, the others could figure it out.

He observed the child, looking to see how the others reacted.

"I don't wanna talk about it right now." She tells him firmly, though she seems uncomfortable and anxious about the question. "We ain't got time anyway."
Trisha stands up and grabs the boy's hand, trying to hurry him along as he answers Mary's question.
"It don't matter what house they're in. We left on purpose so we don't have to see them again." She announces, eager to move on from the subject. Squeezing Dwayne's hand, she smiles at the boy, hoping he will be an easy sell.
"We gotta get movin' at get Mina back. You'll help us, right?"

Crossroads

"Oh... Okay." Dwayne doesn't seems to be satisfied with the response from Trisha. Ashley passes a look to Trisha. She appears to be just as uncomfortable with the topic as well. The child's eyes glitters with hope when she asks him to tag along. "Yes!" He immediately replies and accepts the invitation to search for Mina.

The child steals a few glances at Buford at every chance he gets when the man is not paying him any attention. His wariness of the stranger soon fades when he sees Antonio in the group.

"What's up little man." Antonio greets the boy.

Dwayne quickly side steps to Trisha's side. "Why is he with us?"

"I thought he might come in handy," says Mary. "What can I say? Everyone makes mistakes."

She waves her arm, motioning for the others to follow her. "Come on! We have to move quick if we want to follow them. We can talk on the road."

Intersection of Route 1 & 8

Following the road out of the state park, the group noticed tire marks off the road that weren’t there last time. They tracked what little marks they can find on the road until they came across the intersection between route 1 and 8. Antonio decided to be useful and suggested they were considering heading West, to Arkansas. He pointed out the way to go would be either going North or South on route 1. No one could determine whether he was telling the truth or not with this information. Based on his estimation, its around fifty miles to get to Mississippi river’s crossing. It will no doubt take an extraordinary amount of time to get there on foot, especially with Antonio and Ashley's current condition.

Everyone briefly stopped at the crossing, in the parking lot of a small grocery store, Dino’s. They’ll need to re-evaluate their plan and figure out which way the raiders might have went. There’s an elementary school, and a middle school just up North of the intersection. They also see a larger grocery store down route 8, within walking distance. If the group wanted to prepare for their journey, now would be their chance.

“I didn’t have the chance to take anything with me when shit went down. We should check those stores for anything we need.” Natasha gazed at the Dino’s grocery store. “It’s probably scavenged, but we might find something in there. Or maybe the schools.”

“I’m so done with schools.” Ashley exaggerated her tone to mimic a spoiled school girl. She cleared her throat, regretting her decision for doing that. "Sorry."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 22:49, Thu 21 June 2018.

Mary surveys the buildings with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Of course, she has to leave Rosedale. Of course, she has to go running across state lines in pursuit of a girl she doesn't even like and has no obligation towards. Of course, she still doesn't have a goddamn rifle. Of course, Antonio is providing just enough help not to be dumped immediately.

The smaller grocery might have a few scraps left over, if it was overlooked, Mary thinks. The larger one is probably empty of everything but ghouls. But the schools?

Mary turns to face the group. "It's been a long time since I attended a public school, but back in my day, they didn't stock much in the way of perishables and ammunition. What do you expect to find in there?"

Trisha can see the boy is uncomfortable, so she wraps her arm around him and pulls him away from Antonio as they walk.
"Y'ain't gotta worry about him. I can't get rid of him just yet. I ain't decided how mean I wanna get. I'm still mad about a lotta stuff."

She keeps Dwayne close to her as they approach the store, but splits off once she feels the area is clear. Watching Mary survey the building, Trisha runs up to the window to get a look inside.

Trisha finds the joke very amusing, laughing along even after Ashley resigns from the joke.
"Hah! Totally me too! Ain't nothin' good ever happen in no school."

Pulling her head away from the window, she turns to Buford, curious to hear his take on the matter.
"Hey, guy!" She skirts around the fact that she has already forgotten his name. "You know about schools? Ever find somethin' good in one lately?" Her head turns back to look in the window as she continues talking. "'Cause I was kinda wantin' to go in here, but now I don't know."

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

05:27, Today: Trisha rolled 20 using 2d10+5 ((10,5)).

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This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Sun 24 June 2018.

Intersection

"I was thinking we raid the vending machines and the nurses office for any medical supplies. I'm pretty sure we can find water in there too." Natasha answers while squinting at the school signs. "Middle school... and an elementary school."

Despite Trisha's words, Dwayne remains wary at the presence of Antonio. His eyes constantly gazes at the man as if expecting him to suddenly attack one of the group members. Dwayne follows Trisha up against the store windows and peek inside along side her. The windows are boarded up by sheets of metal and wooden boards. Looking underneath them, Trisha can tell the windows were shattered by whoever made these modifications.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:02, Mon 25 June 2018.

"It's worth a shot," Mary says. Despite her earlier skepticism, she finds herself warming to the idea of searching the school. "Schools are often pressed into use as crisis centers, aren't they? If we're lucky, there may be aid supplies in there. Lord knows they must be somewhere."

She looks over at Trisha, watching the boy beside her for a second before speaking. "Do you see anything interesting in there? A decent rifle, perhaps?"

Buford was lost entirely in thought, looking at the maps and wondering just exactly what they could hope to find at either site. A woman with a southern accent had spoken to him, and his eyes opened just a little more than usual, as if he was now taking care to watch and memorize everything around him, including the woman.

"Well miss it's been some years since I've been a student. But 'round here sometimes the only landmark is the local school. Lotta times they used as evac shelters, when I was a  kid ours was a bomb shelter. Cause of the Russians." He said, quickly finding himself droning on about nothing.

"I'm partial to the school. In times of crisis the first place sacked is the grocery mart, I'm assuming someone in this little bandit group got the sense to know that, and head away from it." He shrugs.

"Then again, if'n he a bandit he can't have all much sense in the first place." He looked at the blonde woman again. "You a local here?" He asks.

She peers through a slot in the boards, relaying what she sees to the group.
"Don't look like it got too much in here. There's some dead guys walkin' around and a bunch of boxes and shit all on the floor. Nothin' good, like guns or whatever."

Stepping back from the store, Trisha glances at the school in the distance.
"I guess let's take the school, then." She agrees, happy to follow along with the majority.

"Nah, I ain't never been 'round here." She perks up at the question, as if surprised that he would ask about her life. "We used to live in Canton, near the big chicken plant. There was a school there too, but I didn't go much."

Fernando waddles up to Trisha and she greets him by scratching his neck with both hands.
"How bout you, though?" She asks Buford as she lifts her hands away from the dog. "I know you ain't from someplace like this, you use too many big words."

"What, don't I use big words?" Mary asks Trisha, in a tone that makes it hard to tell if she's joking or not.

You have to give her credit, Mary, she thinks. You're not from here, either, even if you did come here decades ago.

"Let's make a note to remember this store," Mary says, walking with the others towards the school. "I don't put much stock in any groceries nowadays, but if it's full of ghouls, that's a sign that no human being has been in there recently. It just might be possible there's some merchandise forgotten near the back, if we can get past the security."

She glances down at her shoulder holster with a frown. "Of course, that's a big if. I'm well and truly sick of this sidearm being my front line. My kingdom for a decent rifle!"

"I'm from Texas, Miss. Born and raised, since then I've ah, moved around the country alot for work. Is Canton a nice place?" He asks Trisha.

"Yeah you do." Trisha giggles, amused by Mary's reaction. "You, like, went to school and stuff, you're super smart."

Trisha prepares herself for the walk to the school. She calls Dwayne over to her, though her attention is on Buford as they continue to talk.
"That's cool, you been all over. I ain't never even been out the state." She seems genuinely impressed by his worldly travels. "Canton's a shitheap. It stinks like dead chickens and everyone's an asshole. That's why I ain't goin' back."
With that, she pulls herself away to tend to Ashley, content to have the conversation stop there.

"Well look at you," Ash began as her friend bounced over.  "Makin' plans and makin' friends.  Almost be proud of us, if the situation weren't so fucked-up--"  Her voice cracked and crooned, drained of the adrenaline that had sustained her earlier, but still doing her level and self-destructive best at putting on a good face for everyone else.

"So tell me the tru tru, you're dragging me back to school?  Shit place for a delinquent like me to be, y'know."  God though, she sure could crack a smile, could and would and did -- even with a bullet hole not inches from her heart, that same Easy Ashley Charm glowed right on through with scarcely even a hint at the pain, looking like she believed for all the world in the girl standing in front of her, like she could do nothing wrong and most things right.  Until she got her wits about her and her feet under her a bit better, Ashley was all aboard for tagging along on whatever plan Trisha might concoct.

Or maybe that's just the gradual blood loss talking.

Buford chuckles lightly at the young kids spunk. Stating each opinion like it was the truth. He remembered a time when he was much the same. "I hate to disappoint you Trisha. I'm 'fraid there are assholes all over the place, in fact you cant escape them." He jokes with her.

Intersection

"Any of you got a smoke?" Antonio asks while sitting against the hood of a broken down vehicle. "You see any cigarettes in there, little man?"

"Yeah, I hear you." Natasha ignores Antonio's question and comments at Buford's remarks. "Assholes everywhere." Its clear whom her implication directs.

Dwayne shoots Antonio a quick glance before shifting further down the windows to distance himself from him. Something seems to pique his interest in the store. The child reaches his hand through the window cracks as an attempt to grab something...
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:29, Tue 10 July 2018.

"I'd expect you to be grateful, Ashley," Mary says, giving the teenager a slight smirk. "I raised some hell myself when I was your age, and I'd still like the chance to go back to my high school and shoot anything that moves in there."

Hearing Antonio's voice, she scowls over at him. "Now you're sending children to fetch you cigarettes? I appreciate your creativity in finding new ways to make me disli - Dwayne!"

Breaking into a rare run, Mary crosses the distance to Dwayne and shoos him away from the broken window, fighting to keep her voice calm. "Don't. Do. That."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:31, Wed 11 July 2018.

Intersection

Panic sparks in Dwayne's eyes like a child caught stealing when Mary yells his name. He retracts his hand immediately from the window and looks to Mary. A few undead inside the store turn their heads to the windows, two of them shambles toward where Dwayne's hand was.

"Sorry..." Dwayne looks down then points to the window's cracks. "I saw a binocular inside, I thought I could reach it." There is indeed a binocular resting on top of the shelf through the windows. It may be just out of reach for a child, however, an adult may be able to reach it.

"Yeah but these assholes ain't family." She replies, though the statement is more for herself than anyone else. "I'd pick Wilson over my shithead brothers any day."
She smiles at Ashley, happy to see her regaining some of her snarky attitude. It means a lot to know that she has not yet lost her best friend; the one friend she knows she can relate to more than anybody.

"Hah! You know it, girl! I just decided I finally wanna learn how to read." Even with the stress of finding Mina hanging over her head, it has not tainted her ability to lavish in the fleeting moments of happiness that happen to come her way.

The sharp, sudden yelp shocks Trisha into attention. She grabs Dwayne's arm and yanks him back even further from the window.
"Don't be an idiot! That's my job."
Stepping in front of the boy, she crouches down to look, spotting the binoculars Dwayne had mentioned.
"I could maybe reach 'em. But now all these guys know we're over here, they might get me. D'you guys want 'em? Should I go for it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:38, Sat 14 July 2018.

Mary looks over her shoulder towards the window, then back at Dwayne.

"What if those ghouls got their hands on you?" she asks. Her voice isn't chiding, instead more like she was asking him out of curiosity. "Or forget them - what if you cut yourself on the broken glass? That could kill you just as easily."

Mary looks around until she finds an appropriate stick on the ground. Picking it up, she taps it against her hand to test its sturdiness, then steps over to the window, carefully poking the stick through to catch the neck strap of the binoculars.

"Awareness, caution, and innovation, Dwayne," she says, not looking at him. "That's what separates us from them."

Though she isn't spoken to directly, Trisha's question is answered when Mary picks up a stick to poke through the window, instead of using her hands.
"Wow that's clever." She announces, looking over to Ash and Terry, hoping that they had also seen it. "I ain't never woulda thought of that, huh?" She asks them with a soft chuckle.

Eyeing Trisha out of the corner of his eye, he scoffs. "If we ain't doin' this the safest way then we ain't doin' it at all," he says tacitly. His words are complimentary, but his tone is aggressive, belying his growing frustration.

He sighs, refusing his allow his temper to chafe the moment. His eyes roll over the pair in contemplation.

"I woulda given anythin' to have a mom like Mary." he says, at once impressed and troubled. "She doesn't cloud the mind with, I dunno...issues."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:32, Thu 19 July 2018.