Zack threaded the RV through the remaining undead roaming along Highway 411 as they continued towards highway 75.  Kayla was sitting up front next to him in the passenger taking scenery along the road.  There will still pockets of undead but their numbers seemed to diminish the further they traveled away from the large horde.

Zack had managed to swerve the RV around the large group of undead at the last minute, doing his best to avoid colliding with them.  Even though the RV was bigger than their SUV, if enough got stuck underneath they would have been forced to stop.  The SUV was more nimble and offered better ground clearance, but the RV offered more space and even a few small creature comforts of home.  Those things made Dani and Kayla happy, and if they were happy so was he; after all there were worse ways to spend the apocalypse then traveling with a stunning redhead.

(OOC: pick up there as you like, no hurry, just bringing the lawdog duo into range of the others. thanks for working with me to do so. looking forward to what may come.)

A young cop in the prime of his life and a hardened detective turned single mother; they were far from the perfect team, but for the past few months they hadn't done too bad all things considered. The mother in Kayla hated not having a plan, but despite nearly empty roads, with Zack taking care to avoid the abandoned cars, trucks, and gatherings of walkers, the trip would take much longer than usual.  Taking care to avoid the likely chaos that had taken place in Dalton, they initially traveled southwest along highway 411 before being forced to turn Northwest which, as bet she could figure put them somewhere between Chatsworth Calhoun.  It wasn’t a perfect plan and it was rife with unknown variables, something she hated, but at least it was plan and for the moment her motherly instinct was satisfied.

The sun was setting when Zack found a nice secluded spot to pull into. A tall barn near a two story farmhouse. It offered good concealment from the road unless someone drove up the driveway and circled the house. The air was fresh and there weren't signs of undead inside the house. It was almost perfect. Almost.

A row of sixteen graves. All dug and filled in recent weeks. A sign that something had gone terribly wrong here recently. It was both heartbreaking and terrifying. Zack sighed. Kayla resigned herself to accepting their new reality for what it was. Dani just wanted dinner.

Dani’s safety was not something Kayla trusted just anyone with, but she knew Zack would do his best to keep them all safe; so with the RV concealed out of sight, and seemingly safe, for the night Kayla had a brief moment to focus on herself.  She walked into the shower and washed her hair and even shaved her bits and legs, taking care to conserve as much water as possible.  It had been a few days since they had been able to shower and as Kayla stepped from the shower and stared in the mirror, she looked almost twenty-five again. Ok, thirty.  The last few months had been hard and at her age they certainly weren’t going to get any easier.

Kayla finger combed her wet hair and throw on some clothes including a very short pair of nylon shorts and a tank top without bra.  She hadn’t worn the top since finding it in an abandoned clothing store over a month ago for one simple reason; it was rather low cut and at least one size too small, but one couldn’t be too picky when scavenging to survive.

She then gave Zack some privacy and allowed the young rookie an opportunity to clean up while she prepared some of the food they had found in the RV.  She was a fantastic cook, and it would be a real treat, and just the thing they needed after the last few days. With her little makeshift family all inside the RV Kayla closed and locked the outer door before she sat down around the RVs small table.

Kayla smiled at Zack and once he sat, she pushed Dani's plate close to the child and the little girl grinned as she took her first bite.  "Ummmmmmm good mommy." Dani's little voice piped after the first bite.

Kayla chuckled, "Well... thank you baby." she ate a bite and looked to Zack.  Leaning forward to make sure he could see a good deal of cleavage she cleaned a bit from her daughter's mouth and cleaned up a tiny spill.  Kayla chuckled, "The joy of children." she looked on her daughter with such love and devotion.

“Moar mommy?”

Zack knew they had to be careful and ration their food and giving Dani more to eat could create an unexpected burden on their supplies, but instead of letting Kayla try to explain why a little girl could not have more to eat he slid the rest of his plate towards the young girl.  Over the past few months he had come to learn that the little Dani could be quite the voracious eater.

Kayla had to smile and then a blush stained her cheeks. "Thank you Zack." she looked at him with that pretty blush.  Just a year or two out of college and fresh to force, Zack needed all the calories he could eat, she wasn't used to men doing things for her daughter.  There had been a lot of men in her life since Dani was born and most of them saw the girl as nothing more than an obstacle they had to overcome to get in her pants, but somehow Zack was different.

Her eyes smiled at him.  He could have just walked out on the job like so many of their colleagues had done, but he saw the danger and helped them. It wasn’t just helping her fight off the undead or marauding lunatics, even as nomadic survivors her years as a detective told her things would have been different if she had been a woman traveling on her own. Zack didn’t have to stay but he did.  She reached over and took his hand a moment, squeezing.

Dani looked at him, "Fank You" she offered; her mouth full of food behind a toothy little smile.

“Would you mind cleaning up?” Kayla looked at him.  "I'll bath Dani and get her to sleep.  Maybe we can find something good in the wet bar when I get back.” She gave him a wicked smile then rose, scooped Dani into her arms and took her to the bathroom, leaving Zack to clean up and secure the RV for the night.

As she walked into the bedroom to put Dani to sleep she realized she had never discussed sleeping arrangements with Zack, although it made sense that Kayla and her daughter would get the bedroom, leaving Zack to sleep on the RV’s small pull-out sofa bed.

Dani did not go to sleep easily, it had been a nerve-wracking day and the little girl had insisted her mother snuggle with her for awhile leaving Kayla to rest her hand on her daughter's back. She truly loved her daughter. It was easy to see she was utterly devoted and begged the question if there had ever been a man in her life would she have been as devoted to him.  She fell asleep like that.  She dreamed of a young man with lean muscles and kind eyes. Zack, and her dreams got racy.

Kayla woke sometime later, and it struck her she had promised the young man a drink. She padded out to the RVs small living area. Her hair was mussed from sleep and her full breasts pushed against the fabric of her very fitted tank top.

Why was this so damnably complicated? He was so young and inexperienced; but he had potential and was a fast learner, she knew she could teach him and she revealed in that.  He was also a very caring person and she needed that in her life now more than ever.

The small sofa-bed would be cramped but she knew they both needed a good night’s sleep.  "Move over rookie," Kayla ordered and after removing her tank top and placing it on the ground she climbed in next to him, spooning him. She fell asleep again and had to admit it felt safer with Zack laying next to her. She wondered briefly why that was, what was about this younger man that made her feel so safe, and her detective brain was already picking it apart and trying to get to the reality.  She slept so well that her body had curled even closer to his.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:18, Fri 30 July 2021.

“Kayla?” Surprise overtook Zack for a moment.  She was breathing in even soft breaths. It raised and lowered her breasts in a gentle slow pattern. She was beautiful, her body in the skintight clothing showed that she was in good shape, not really any fat on her but the full firm breasts. Her body was actually better than most younger women half her age.  It took him a moment to collect himself when she slid into the bed next to him, Kayla’s arms wrapping around his waist gently.

He would dose peacefully for a few languid moments at a time, but the thought of Kayla next to him, and the feel of her against his back pulled him from his slumber again and again. He spent much of the night silently watching the RV door and glancing out the windows onto the open farm land outside just in case.  He was surprisingly relaxed and alert as morning approached.

He crawled out of bed, letting Kayla and Dani sleep as he sat on the steps to the RV, checking the area around them.   He wanted to know more about this place, a two-story farmhouse, a tall barn.  Was it safe?  Would it be safe for Dani? He could almost see himself starting a new life here with Kayla and Dani, at the very least using it as a place to lay low for a few days.  But like almost everything over the past three months…everything but Kayla…it seemed almost too good to be true.  The row of graves a harsh reminder of their reality, a series of false promises and uncertainty.

(OOC: roll Perception for Zack please.)

A faint odor came along with a pleasant breeze. It was familiar but not troubling. But, there was something to in. In the back of his mind he knew that smell. He just couldn't place it.

Zack Matthews rolled 7 using 3d4.  Perception.

It was on the tip of his tongue. He knew that smell. Like that day when he escorted the SWAT guys into those project apartments. It was a meth lab raid. It had been a clean entry but one of the bad guys had discharged a shotgun into the concrete floor out of panic. The ricocheting shot had struck a senior SWAT officer in the thigh, severed his femoral artery.

Later, as they cleared the civilians away he was helping catalogue the evidence. It was in a spice rack that held stuff some of the gang who ran the lab has used to seize woman for sex trafficking purposes. It struck him like a ton bricks.

It was chloroform. An old and devious trick. Someone was seeding the breeze with chloroform. No doubt trying to keep them asleep. But, why?

Chloroform, it seemed odd and rather ineffective.  He knew enough from the boys over in narcotics that chloroform didn't always work like in the movies and took large amounts of continued exposure to be effective, thankfully that meant that if he acted fast they still had time.  Zack quickly pulled his shirt over his head and ran back into the RV, locking the door behind him.  His dream of starting a new life here with Kayla and Dani might have temporarily come crashing down, but his resolve to protect them remained resolute.  As the morning light spilled into the small RV Zack saw Kayla’s half naked body under the thin sheet, there was no denying how beautiful she was, but there would hopefully be time to reflect on that later.

He quickly ran his now discarded T-shirt under running water from the RV’s sink, a little trick they had been taught as part of their counter-terrorism training.  Ever since 9/11 the Atlanta Police Department, like all major cities, had spent resources preparing and training its officers for an unplanned terrorist event.  One of the scenarios that nobody like to talk about was the use of chemical or biological agents by radicalized non-state actors, and one of the most common agents was Chlorine gas, which given the name Zack assumed was a similar yet much more deadly compound than chloroform.  The water would help to absorb some of the airborne particles, it wasn’t the best solution, but with any luck should by them some time.

With his makeshift filter in place, Zack quickly grabbed the tank-top Kayla had discarded next to the sleeper sofa the night before and ran it under water as well.  “Hey, wake up.”  He whispered in the older detective’s ear, shaking her gently.

The next morning Kayla was awakened by Zack.  What had happened, she remembered putting Dani to sleep than not much else after that, she had promised Zack a drink, and perhaps something more.  She remembered falling asleep in his strong arms, but couldn’t remember anything else happenin;, given that she was only half naked, she assumed nothing had.  “I’ll say one thing,” Kayla quipped, looking at Zack.  “I could used to waking up to this.”  Her eyes moved slowly over his face, down to his bare chest, “You look good in the morning.”

“Wake Up! Wake Up!” Zack exclaimed. “Something is wrong.  We need to go!”

“What? What is it?” Kayla mumbled.

“Chloroform! Come On! Come On!” Zack shouted, tossing Kayla’s now water soaked tank top to the woman. “Go get Dani,” he said tossing Kayla a clean dish rag he had covered in water.

Startled, Kayla rose immediately.  Wiping the sleep from her eyes she immediately covered her face and went to go wake her daughter.

There was the sound of crashing glass just outside the RV.

A moment later a thick gray mist was forming near the front of the vehicle. They would have to stay clear of the front of the RV until the gas cleared. There was the sound of feet on gravel, but it was a fast moving sound like someone trotting around. Or several people trotting around.

Though they couldn't see anyone outside the RV, they could hear the movement. And the occasional whispered phrases.

"They may be out already."

"Can we slip in through a window."

"What if they are raiders?"

"Are we just going to kill them?"

"I hope they have beer in there."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:12, Sat 14 Aug 2021.

His initial plan had been to drive off, but with the front of the RV more of a danger than a resource, Zack quickly huddled in the back of the RV with Kayla and Dani, so the two of them could formulate plan while they all covered their mouths and noses with wet shirts.  Unsure of if they could escape through a window Zack looked around while quickly formulating a plan.  "Get the fuck back, we don't want to hurt you," It may have been brash and fool-hearty given he had no idea what they were up against, but he sure as shit as wasn't to just sit here. Hopefully his impetuous and reckless display of defiance would catch their unknown assailants off guard.

15:37, Today: Zack Matthews rolled 8 using 3d4+1.  Serendipity.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:42, Mon 23 Aug 2021.

"Hold this to this tight to your face sweetie" Kayla said holding a water soaked T-shirt against Dani's face.  Once she was certain the little girl knew what to do, she went back to holding her own wet tank-top against her face, giving her a moment to both retrieve her own side-arm and help Zack formulate a plan.  Given that she was still topless she wasn't exactly in the best position for a fire-fight, but right now she had more important things to worry about then her own half-naked state. "Maybe they just want some beer," she mumbled to Zack having overheard their hushed phrases.

"We aren't raiders, we were just looking for a place to sleep for the night."  She shouted back, hoping whomever was outside could hear her through the walls of the RV.  "if we wanted to steal your shit do you really think we would have waited all night, and skipped the cover to darkness to it?  You can't be that stupid" Over the past few months she had come to learn that survival was a lot like interrogating some suspect in a high-profile crime.  Both were forms of high-stakes business negation, and just like in business whichever party blinked first usually ended up negotiating from the position of weakness.  Thankfully, interrogation, and people, were two things Kayla understood very well!  "And yes we have beer. Leave us be and we might even be inclined to share some.  It be would be a damn shame to shoot some strangers over a couple cans of beer."  She also knew it never hurt to extend the olive branch on occasion.


15:46, Today: Kayla Redding rolled 12 using 3d4+2.  Eloquence .

"Hey they can hear us!" A man said.

"Shut up, Fred." Another man said immediately. "Listen, inside the RV, we." He stammered incoherently for a moment and seemed to be at a loss for words. "Shit, look, we have been holed up here a for a week now. We like this place. I'm leaving a guard to watch the RV, just make sure we can trust you."

He didn't wait for a reply. Low voices and some swearing followed. And then, "And sorry about that gas. It was all we had besides pistols and we didn't want to come in shooting if you were survivors like us. We can talk more in the morning."

Something didn't add up, if they were sorry about the gas why would they just up and leave? Causing someone a great deal of difficulty, apologizing and then just walking away didn't seem like normal behavior, besides why let on that you were armed.  She couldn't help but wonder if these people were trying to conceal something more nefarious, or if they were just borderline incompetent.  Confusion wrinkled her brow, she sat up off the floor and remembered she was still topless, her tank top having served as a makeshift filter for the gas.   She sat up, holding the make shift filter tight to her nose and mouth. She looked around the RV to see if she could she signs of anyone moving around outside.

She certainly would not be ungrateful for any help their supposed benefactors might be willing to offer, but she still couldn't understand why anyone would have taken the time, effort and supplies to do what they did only to apologize and walk away. It would have been easier to rob them at this point. She scratched her read hair in consideration.  Kayla called out to anyone outside the RV on the chance the person left behind was still in ear shot. "Any chance you can do anything about this gas. We're not going kill you." She waited a moment.  She held Dani close to her wondering at the strange circumstances of their predicament.  It was weird, even for the end times.

(OoC: 17:34, Today: Kayla Redding rolled 13 using 3d4+2.  Perception reroll.)

(OoC: Today: Kayla Redding rolled 10 using 3d4+2.  Eloquence reroll)

Kayla caught a glimpse out a side window and saw one of their assailants. He looked to be around forty or so, thin but not in particularly athletic shape, he had pale skin and bushy brown hair. The man was wearing golf shoes, khaki slacks, one of those blue 'scrubs' type shirts, and generic holster holding a small framed revolver. He intuition said doctor, but chloroform said no. Then it hit her, he was a dentist.

Chloroform was used in mixing 'laughing gas' compounds used to anesthetize dental patients. Khakis and generic holster, to her, said he was not an overpaid medical professional. The scrubs made her think he came from a hospital setting, probably before he could afford his own practice. Forties and thin, he worked too much to get much exercise, hence the golf shoes. And then there was the small frame revolver, he would have had enough experience by now to know he would want a higher capacity and faster reloading automatic pistol, but he still carried the little revolver. So, it was his from before. Keeping it made her think he was good with it, good enough not to part with for something less familiar.

To keep herself and the young rookie from getting swept away in a current of panic, Kayla clung to her training. Fright wouldn’t get either of them out of this alive, flight wasn't an option, and without knowing everyone's true intentions fight would have to wait. They needed to be opportunistic and aggressive, but also cautious. Kayla pushed her fear away and focused on action. She repeated silently to herself: Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

Her hand on her holstered Glock, Kayla kept her eyes on assailants outside as best she could.  "Stay with Dani no matter what," she told Zack, wanting the rookie to focus on her young her daughter regardless of whatever happened.

"Any chance you can do anything about this gas. We're not going to hurt you." She shouted to the scrub clad man she knew was outside the RV, waiting briefly for a response before continuing.  "I have a little girl in here." If he was in fact in the medical profession at one time, perhaps pulling on the heart strings a little bit would help her cause.

"Ma'am, the days of sympathy and understanding are over." A an said. "If you are still here in the light of day we can talk. Stay in the vehicle until then. Don't make us take action. Please, just be patient."

With that the people seemed to edge away from the RV and slip around the farmhouse. She was left to assume that they had set up living quarters inside.

Something about the stranger's commands didn't make sense, he said they would take later if they were still around, but then also asked them to stay inside the RV or risk violence.  She didn't either option, but she wanted to know more before she decided what to do.

Kayla Redding rolled 12 using 3d4+2.  Perception reroll.

The more she mulled it over she could only come to two conclusions. The first, and the one that made the most since was that the people outside were very frightened and lacked the necessary skills to be confident of an outcome of fight. The second, and the more worrisome of the conclusions, was that the people outside were tweeking on the same gas that they had used against the RV.

Shutting down her motherly instinct was impossible for Kayla. Over the past few months she had gone from decorated detective to over-protective mother responsible for the safety of both her daughter and young partner, and she had seen up close and personal what some people were capable of. So when they told her to stay put in the RV as it filled with some strange gas, she gasped once, then stepped toward the door to fling it open as she stepped outside.

She knew Zack would look after Dani, the young cop was too enamored with her not too.  Later, if they both made it out of here, she'd make sure she thanked him in that way only she could. For now though, she tried one last time to negotiate, but alsomade ready to defend herself and her makeshift family to the end. No way these guys were taking taking them that easy.

Her many years as detective had given Kayla a knack for reading people, especially men; she could tell when they bluffing, or pretending to be macho, and she hoped this was the former.  “Look just do something about this gas and we’ll be on our way.”  Kayla had a look about her that she was serious, but also one that silently said ‘I’ll fight if I have to...’

22:47, Today: Kayla Redding rolled 10 using 3d4+2.  Eloquence reroll

There was a debate of hushed voices not far from the RV. A trio of people, a man and two women, seemed to be berating each other over something not related to the RV. Then, out of nowhere, the man just yells 'Fine!'. Stomping off the women were left to stare in his wake. He reappeared minutes later with a fan and long extension cord.

Waling over the RV, the man unceremoniously opened the side door near the pooling gas and placed the fan on the ground facing away. He then plugged the fan into the cord and looked around the front of the RV.

"Hit it, Charlie." The man called. A generator started in the house a moment later and the fan whirled to life. Kayla could feel the air flow from the window near her into the RV as air, and the gas, was drawn out the side door.

"Best we can do." the man grumbled as he walked away. He past the other women and said. "And you two can sleep somewhere else tonight. I don't want you in my room."

The morning sound was eerily silent. The only sounds were the rhythmic thumping of the generator and the light whirring of the fan blades,  as it whisked a breeze over RV.

With the fan blowing the gas away from the RV, Kayla cautiously stepped closer to the other women.  The whole gas thing was a bit weird, but the fact that they hadn't immediately tried to kill them was a pleasing prospect, at least for the moment.  Slowly stepping closer Kayla carefully addressed the women, "Hi, I am Kayla," she said, "thanks for helping get rid of that gas."  She was curious as to the women and their whole situation, but was reluctant to push them too aggressively for information at the moment, so she continued checking around for anything unusual while talking to the women!

Zack stayed in the RV, obviously keeping an eye out for the safety of the gorgeous older detective.

OoC: Not sure what, if any rolls Kayla might have needed so I made a couple.  Feel free to disregard if they aren't necessary.
09:16, Today: Kayla Redding rolled 10 using 3d4+2.  Perception
09:16, Today: Kayla Redding rolled 12 using 3d4+2.  Eloquence

The woman roamed off to find a place to sleep leaving Kayla to wonder about their situation for a while. Sleep finally called to her. Curling up to an AR15 in a chair with a sheet for cover she slept until the sun came through the window in front of her and lit up her eyelids.

The morning was a grand, bright affair. Birds chirped. The sky was cloud free. The air was fresh and free of the smell of death and decay. Zack was sitting in a corner of the bed where Dani slept half in and half out of the covers. He had a pillow tucked under his arms and chin to hold him upright. To anyone peeking into the night dark RV he would have seemed awake and on watch.

There wasn't anyone outside. There was a faint odor of smoke and seared meat coming from the farmhouse. It smelled of sausage. Her stomach growled reminding her of just how light their diet had been in recent months. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked. It sounded like it was in the treeline to the east of the farm, maybe two hundred yards away. She watched for a moment, just be sure a horde of undead didn't come shambling along.

Life was so strange now.