Kea watched the mistrust in the group start. She looked down at the boy and shakes her head. "No, I was chosen to be eaten. They do a vote every week I guess. I had just gotten refuge with them. There was no hint, I had no idea they were cannibals." She shakes her head again, wanting to dislodge those thoughts from her head.

"Do you think you could give me my gun back, honey." She asks the boy.

Wren nods in acknowledgement. "I understand. I'll wait here if you go." She shifts her attention back to the conversation between the adults.



Mike glances over at Charlie and Wren. He nods slowly. "I'm sorry, I should have." He admits. "I came across them before. They won't be a danger to us if we steer clear from them."

When Kea asks for her firearm, Rufus quickly grabs the pistol off his belt and hides it behind his back with both hands. Mike turns his attention to the child, confused.

"Gun?" He asks. "Rufus, did you take her gun?"

"No." Rufus replies, he looks away from Mike's scrutinizing gaze.

"What's behind your back?" Mike asks, Rufus doesn't answer and steps back when Mike reaches out his arm. Mike stares at the boy for a brief moment. "What did we say about stealing?"

"Its not stealing, we saved her." Rufus argues. "I was just borrowing it." The child reasons did not amuse Mike. Who stretches out his hand, palm up.

"It belongs to her, we don't take other people's belonging without their permission." Mike's hand hangs in the air. He then crouches down, waiting for the boy to hand over the gun. Slowly, and with great reluctance, Rufus sets Kea's revolver on the giant's hand. "You have to apologize to her for stealing."

"I said I borrowed it." Rufus ignores Mike and turns his head to the side.

Mike looks to Kea with an apologetic smile, handing the revolver back to her. "Sorry about that." She sees Rufus sticking his tongue out at her the moment Mike looks away from him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:33, Fri 19 Apr 2019.

Kea exhales a deep breath. Calming herself down, these weren't bad people.

"Thank you, thank you." She opens her eyes again. "Some people put a truck through the front gate, music blasting. Horde came in and I think they cleared the place out." She reveals. "They're all either dead or scattered in the forest. Some weren't bad people, a couple of them I think are going to be at the church." She looks to the native American man.

"I don't have anything to offer. You're right I'm not good enough to travel on my own. But I need to find my people and if they're still around they are there." She says, focusing her tired eyes on him.

"If you bring them here I'll be out of ya'lls hair in a night. I've already burdened ya'll enough."

Charlie's glare doesn't relax with Mike's explanation and apology. "If this woman is right and they're scattered throughout the forest, we'll just have to hope they can't make it up here," he let out a huff -- Wren would know this to be one of his "angry tics" that signified his attempts to calm down. However, it was clear Mike's omission had shaken some of Charlie's trust in the man. Kea's dialogue became a welcome distraction from his annoyance.

"Having you out of our hair is all I want," said Charlie, there was no malice in how he said this. "If you're rested up, I'd like to leave now," he waited for her by the door. "And just so you know -- good people or not, if I see one of those cannibals in the woods, they're on their own." On this, he was firm and unmoving. Any community with a cannibalism voting policy was nothing but evil in his eyes.

Wren stares at the crackling fire. She seems to be deep in thought after Kea's tale. Kea also notices Rufus stealing a glance at the giant when she re-tells the story.

"You should keep your hunts closer to the shack for a few days, Rufus." Mike comments to the boy.

"Its no trouble, you can stay here as long as you want." Mike smiles at Kea, gesturing both of his hands in front of him. "If... that's okay with you, Rufus." The giant asks.

"Yeah, whatever. I don't care." Rufus dismisses him and sits by the fire. He resumes his work on skinning the small critters before Kea's previous sudden interruption.

"I still think you should stay in bed. Please, at least take something to eat for the road." Mike waves his hand at the wall behind him. There's several strings of meat jerky hanging.

"Those are safe, they're not people meat." Rufus comments while gutting a squirrel carcass.

"Charlie, follow the creek North, you'll see the town in two hours or less." Mike instructs. "Its still bright outside, you should have enough time to make it back before night."

Wren stands, walking over by Charlie. "Don't worry about me, I will be safe here." Charlie sees her looking up to him in the eyes. "Be careful." She adds.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:19, Fri 19 Apr 2019.

Kea looks to Charlie. "Are we going to ride that horse outside to get there? I've never ridden a horse before."

At times, it helped to be reminded why Charlie continued to survive; Wren's reassurance soothed the edges of his cagey mood and looking into her innocent eyes thawed his cold demeanor somewhat. "I always am," he lied, patting his niece on the top of her head affectionately. For the longest time, the pair of them had been inseparable; they were the last of their family, maybe even the last of their tribe. Leaving Wren alone with relative strangers of all people felt dangerous. Mike's omission of their neighbors reared up nastily, as all ugly truths did. Would she be safe here with him and Rufus?

Leaving things to chance had never worked out for Charlie. "Actually... Wren, grab your coat, learning the lay of the land would do you some good," he said to his niece, "We are," to the woman. "Get ready soon, the both of you -- I want to be back as soon as possible." The door was opened and shut as he passed through the threshold, leaving a gentle waft of snow lingering in the air.

Outside, Charlie picked up his ax and trudged through the snow to Bitters, whom he'd tied to a distant tree, and was still pawing at the snow without making any progress. "Here," said Charlie, kneeling and clearing out a small square-shaped hole of frozen -- but still green -- grass. Bitters expressed her gratitude with a huff before chomping at her new patch of greenery. "We'll be saddling up in a little bit," Charlie walked a short distance to another tree, where a saddle rested -- its age showing through the cracked leather on the harness. Fortunately for him, Bitters was too concerned with a feast to protest against Charlie fastening the saddle on this time.

Small miracles did exist after all.

Wren stares at Charlie blankly when he refutes his previous decision of her company.

"Okay." He sees a faint smile surfacing on Wren before she turns away to fetch her coat. She wastes no time getting herself ready to venture out. Within a minute, Charlie sees Wren coming out of the shack, standing by Bitters, all prepared.

Kea's eyes anxiously follow Charlie out the door. "Riding a horse, huh?" She says to herself. She had never ridden a horse, the only time she had seen a horse were on police mounts in the city.

She takes another deep breath to calm herself and goes to grab the rest of her things under her bed. "Are you guys family?" She asks Mike, slipping her backpack on.

Mikes slowly shakes his head at Kea's question. "I stumbled on this shack and found Rufus here. I asked him if I could stay for a while, he said okay." Rufus seems to be listening to the conversation but does not make any comments.

Mike stares out of the door. "We met Charlie and Wren a few days ago wandering in the mountains. I brought them back here."

While he waited for the woman, Charlie continued to sift the snow covering precious grass -- Bitters desperately needed the energy. "If you get spooked with Wren riding, I swear to God you'll be put to pasture," he said, patting the horse's neck with a grim smile. It was an empty threat; no matter how much grief this testy mare had given him in the past, she'd saved what was left of his family. Bitters, by and large, seemed unconcerned with her rider, instead single-mindedly gobbling grass with the greed of a starved animal.

When Wren joined him, Charlie's gaze remained fixed on the cabin. "That woman. What do you think about her?" he asked, as was his habit whenever he and Wren were alone. In the past, Wren had been highly opinionated, and Charlie's half-hearted, sarcastic requests to hear her thoughts gradually became sincere as they bonded. She was less talkative these days; Charlie was hoping to change that.

Wren looks up to Charlie when he expressed interest with her opinion. She double checks the door to make sure the woman is not within audible range for the conversation before she speaks.

"She's very scared." She say. "Like a deer that's caught in a trap." Wren brings up her index finger at the analogy. "People like her get in trouble by lying about being okay. I don't think she understands the danger out here when she's not feeling well. And I think..." She glances at the shack door again before looking back to Charlie. "I think Rufus is mad that she's rude."

"Rufus, the boy?" She asks, surprised to here this wasn't Mike's home. She looks at Rufus with a surprised and then sad expression. He must have lost his family, the fact that he's alive and running the place shows resiliency, and for Mike to defer to the boys wishes showed mercy.

"Thank you then Rufus, for saving me." She tells the boy.

"That's right." Mike affirms Kea. He doesn't appears to be surprised at her reaction.

The boy turns around to look at Kea. "You're welcome." Rufus replies and quickly shifts his attention back to the animal carcass in hand. "I'm sorry for taking your gun." She hears the boy apologizing with a barely audible voice.

Mike places his large hand on Rufus' ushanka hat. A satisfied smile surfaces across his face. He is pleased with the exchange between the two.

(!) They will remember that.

There was a soft chuckle from Charlie, who couldn't stop seeing his brother's influence on little Wren with her empathetic insights. "I think you're right," he said, tightening up the last saddle strap to Bitters's slight discomfort. There was an unspoken understanding between the two of them; people like Kea, the stubborn and the prideful, had never met with happy ends. "Rude or not, at least we know her limits -- maybe more than she does." The giant hoisted himself atop the saddle and scooted back, making room in the front for Wren.

"Well, I'll be back, hopefully with my friends. Thank you again." Kea didnt know what to say to excuse herself so she repeated her thanks. Fixing her clothes and taking a deep breath before going outside.

Walking over to Charlie and the small girl. Kea looks at the horse with fear.

"Can it really hold three people?" She asks.

"She," corrected Charlie, patting his horse on the neck. He sized the woman up; she was curvy, but not nearly big enough to be a burden. "Yeah," he nodded, "She can handle you, we're not going too far anyway," comments on her weight were left unspoken, as nothing good had ever come from sharing opinions like that. Charlie held out his hand for her, "Don't think I caught your name."

With assistance from Charlie, Wren climbs onto the horse's back in front of him.

At the unfamiliar scent and sight of the woman, Bitters rears out of agitation. His front hooves kicks the air, threatening the woman.

Wren grabs hold of the horse's neck. "Bitters! Stop it!" Her words have no effect on the horse.

Charlie held a faint hope that Bitters wouldn't act up around this stranger, but past experiences made him expect the worst. True to the native man's pessimism, Bitters was predictably spooked. "Easy, easy!" said Charlie, patting the horse's neck. "You -- woman," he pointed to the stranger, "Grab a handful of grass, approach her slowly, let her eat it." He then pointed to the patch of frozen grass he'd cleared for the horse. Food was the fastest way to winning this troublesome steed's trust, in his experience.

Nearby Down - Grimur

This peaceful town was the ideal location for a brief respite. Most of its inhabitants either abandoned their homes, or are now struggling to maintain balance walking on the empty streets. Even so, there's never a time where a crowd of ghouls traveled in groups. Its as if the serenity of this town remain undisturbed when the world ended.

Until last night.

Grimur's recalls the absurd noise he heard last night in a second floor apartment he had chosen as a safe house. A song was playing on the streets. He couldn't make out the lyrics, but he was able to identify its genre. Someone must have had a death wish playing hardcore metal through speakers that loud in middle of the night. The music lasted for a long period of time. By the time Grimur decides to check it out, it was gone. Aside from the music, he was sure he also heard series of moans originating from a hundred ghouls outside. As a result, he leave the mystery unsolved until morning.

And so, the sun rises.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Your character has been spawned!
This group is an experimental group, as such, some additional mechanics are added. Please refer to the group G compendium for more details.

Its up to you to decide how long your character stayed in this town. Or why he decide to come here. As of now, you are free to post, and some supplies are added to your inventory.

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 02:40, Mon 06 May 2019.

Kea takes steps backwards as the horse rears back. "Oh god, oh Jesus is this a joke?" She asks, how bad could her luck be to go from being lost on the Mountains to cannibals to stranded on old Mcdonalds Farm.

She looks to the Native incredulously yet she bends down to try to grab as much grass as she can. When the horse calms down enough to stand still Kea slowly moves forward with her hand outstretched, trembling.

The horse nickers when Kea attempt her second approach. It takes a few steps back away from her before slowly advancing towards her hand. The horse seems as frightened as the woman and her trembling hand. The wild look in its eyes are no longer present when it finally nibbles the grass off of Kea's hand.

Bitters appears to be docile. For now.

It was impressive that the woman managed to stay calm despite her fear; Charlie didn't want to let it slip that their wellbeing in those crucial moments relied on Bitters staying obedient. "Good job," he said, letting out a low sigh he'd held in for an uncomfortably long time. "Come on then," once again a hand was proffered, Charlie seemed confident in his ability to heft this stranger up with one arm alone. "You'll wanna hold on tight."

Whenever the woman decided to mount up, he planned on setting Bitters to a brisk canter as best suited their forested environment and the urgency of the task at hand.

Nearby Town

Grim woke with the sun. As usual. Since the power grids died, along with most everyone he knew, when to sleep and rise was largely dictated by the sun. He didn't eat breakfast because he didn't have food. Or water. But that wouldn't dampen his mood. The town was downright sleepy and that is what he preferred. It would make scavenging easier. Or holding onto his spoils easier, rather. He had already been robbed three times; losing all his non-perishable goods, water, and a policeman's service pistol he did not know how to use anyway.

He'd rolled out of the corner he'd taken refuge in and crawled into the hodgepodge of clothing he had the gall to call an outfit. Meticulously he redid his leg and arm wrappings (slowly winding the fabric  was the closest thing he had to a morning routine now) laced his clunky boots, and lastly secured the helmet over his head. It was black with a tinted, blue reflective visor that obscured his features and there was some viscera spattered across from yesterday. He scraped it off, took up his spear, and peeked out into the hall of the apartment.

He was fairly sure the first and second floor was clear. Today he would go through the rooms and see if he could find food and water. First he wanted to go to the roof. Some rotna fólki had been drawn by the music last night. He was a little jealous of whoever still had such good speakers. He looked both ways then stepped into the hall with a bouncy step, making his way to the roof access. He tried to whistle the tune from last night while he walked.

On the Roof - Grimur

On his way towards roof access, he finds no traces of any inhabitants in the building. At least, the second floor seems vacant to Grimur. A burst of sunlight assaults Grimur when he opens the door leading to the roof. The sun is shining bright. Even the broken bottle pieces on the ground are glittering in the corner of his vision.

When Grimur approach the edge of the roof railings, he notices a large crowd gathering in all directions around a white cargo truck in the distance. It looks like it crashed into an electric pole. The front of the truck is damaged beyond repair. Grimur can't be certain, but it looks like the windshield of the truck is missing. Possibly shattered into pieces from the frontal impact to the pole.

On top of the truck sits a lone person. He is sitting on the edge of the cargo and drinking something out of a bottle. His feet are dangerously close to the crowd. Their hands are just barely out of reach.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:51, Mon 06 May 2019.