The Best Laid Plans || Closed

[seehearspeak]

Three Days Ago…

Baden poked his head around the corner of the building. The streets were… absolutely packed with the walking dead. That was highly irregular for this small part of the city. Normally it was a darn sight clearer than this. The Jahir family were normally very vigilant in keeping this street dimwit free. Leaning a little further out, he noted that the store where they had settled had the heavy metal shutters up. This sent a jolt of anxiety through him and he lurched back into the back alley he was taking refuge in, his heart pounding hard.

The Jahir place had been overrun! This was… well, unlikely barely covered it! They had weapons, a fortified building and they were always extremely careful. The dimwits alone could not have achieved this. His throat went dry as the simply acknowledgment went through his mind… I have to check it out and see what happened here…

It took him a few minutes to clamber his way up to the roof, where the only exit and entrance was. He remembered that he had pointed them in this general direction when he had first encountered them on the road; cold, shivering and scared, they had no idea what to do. Normally he was not one to approach a group (or allow himself to be approached by one), but that rule went out the window when he saw the child. A little girl, no more than nine at the most.

Baden was many things: a coward, an isolationist, anti-social even. But even he could not allow a child to live like that. So he gave them directions towards an army surplus store he knew of that might make a good place to stay for a while. Not long after that, they had this place completely sorted, and had even cleared up the street. When he next saw them, they had thanked profusely and given him all sorts of useful stuff, as well as a hot meal. They were friendly people, good people.

With a sigh, he lifted the panel that dropped down into the flat above the shop and went down.

There was no immediate sound below. Something dripped nearby and a tiny squeak betrayed the presence of a mouse, but other than that it was utterly silent. When his feet hit the floor, however, he smelled it. The smell that he had grown far too much used to than he would like.

Death.

A look of sadness flickered across his face as he surveyed the room. Three dead bodies. Azad, Heydiyeh and Soroush. The first two had been the father and mother. Soroush had been the father’s brother. All had been shot in the head. Unbolting the door and moving out of the bedroom, he saw the remains of several others, but they had been eaten by the dimwits and it was too difficult to tell who they were. All of them were too big to be Farah, the little girl. A tiny spark of hope lit up in his heart. Maybe she got away! Hopefully her dad had made it out with her.

The bullet wounds concerned him, and a swift inspection showed that each of the eaten remains had been shot too. Frowning, the dreaded moaning sound of the animated deceased floated up the stairway and Baden froze, glancing around. No, it was not coming from upstairs. It was coming from the shop below.

Treading very cautiously, the nervous scavenger crept his way down the wooden stairs to see the lay of the land. Peering down into the store, Baden’s eyes widened in horror. The shop was filled up with dimwits, literally packed shoulder to shoulder, but all the stuff was still around. Sleeping bags, backpacks, boots, weatherproofs… it was all still just laying there. And he knew for a fact that they had a weapons locker down… Yes! It was over there, unopened!

Silently making his way back up, thoughts sped through his mind. Whatever happened to them, they are gone and the Safe Lands need this stuff. But there are way too many dimwits down there to deal with on my own… oh no… I’m going to need help. Which means I need to see people and… Wait! Maybe… maybe Melissa could help me out! She could gather a few people and do all the talking stuff and I’ll just show the way! Nobody even needs to talk to me!... I hope… But I’ll need proof that this is on the level. If I remember rightly, there should be some spare .303 ammo in the bedroom, hidden away…

A few minutes he was back on the roof with a bag full of ammo and heading out to the Safe Lands. Hopefully I’ll find Melissa without having to get into a crowd or something…[/i]

Present Day…

Baden glanced up worriedly when he heard a noise, eyes narrowing as he tried to see what was out in the rubble. Nothing made itself known, so he went back to loading his rifle. He had not been able to use it in a while. He had run out of bullets for it some time ago. But with the Jahir surplus store ammo he took he was fully loaded, if the expression could be excused. He had his kukri strapped on his right thigh and a steel bat lashed to the side of his pack in a black cover to prevent any glinting. A couple of pills rattled about in a bottle inside his bag, along with some bandages and four newly purchased flares.

Those last things would be very important if they were to clear out the store without too much incident. If the shutters still worked, they could lock the place down and finish off any stragglers before looting the place. If the shutters did not work…. Well, they would just have to be as fast as possible. Melissa… please, please, please have brought people who aren’t too chatty…

Glancing up again, this time he was certain he had heard something. Slipping the now full clip into reliable Lenny, Baden melted into the shadows of a broken wall, hoping that the noise was nothing more than a hungry cat looking for scraps and something of that sort.

[MELISSA FRANCIS CLARK]

[atrb=valign, top, true][atrb=cellpadding, 5, true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=cellspacing, 0, true][atrb=width, 400, true][atrb=border, 0, true] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px;][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style]

[atrb=style, text-align: justify; background: #191919; color: #787883; padding: 10px; border-radius: 0px 0px 20px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 10px 10px 10px 10px;][style=height: 302px; overflow: auto; padding: 4px;]Melissa had been more than happy to oblige when Baden had come to her asking for help. Being the chatty woman that she was, she had immediately thrown Baden his hat back and scurried off to find people that she knew would be willing. She already had a few people mind, and a few others seemed willing to join in the group, and with that the trek had begun. Though it seemed, unfortunately, that they didn't have very many specifics. The man Melissa had mentioned to the others hadn't seemed all that well recieved, but she had tried her best to make him sound like a believable, if slightly odd, character. She described his traits and his trustworthiness, and pointed to the scratch on her head and explainde that he had helped her. But when she was greeted with questions such as 'how long will this take?' and 'is it dangerous?' she wasn't sure how to answer. So as a result, a lot of had decided to come extra packed and extra prepared. Melissa, for example, had both of her hoodies in her bag, a hockey mask over her face, and had taken the precaution of wearing knee and elbow pads to be extra safe. Bandages were rolled up in her bag, as well as comics and food. She didn't know how long this would last, and needed to be sure she was prepared. Though for the most part things seemed to be going well. Melissa, with a good friend of hers, Seth, were walking together, accompanied by a few other Scavengers she didn't know so well. A crowbar hung from her hand and she came to a stop. This was where Baden had said to met, wasn't it? She tucked her crowbar under her arm and whistled, continuing to call the man's name a moment later in the hopes that she didn't look crazy and hadn't just dragged a bunch of people out for no reason.[/style]

[SETH ADAM CHAMPION]

[STYLE=font-family:vrinda; font-size:15px; color:#000000;][/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=background-color:#000000; width:350px; height:100px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; letter-spacing:8.5;] [/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-family:terminal; color:#CCCCCC; letter-spacing:2.5] I JUST FEEL ALONE IN THE DARK[/style][STYLE=border:5px #120A8F solid; width:330px; font-size:10px; color:#CCCCCC; text-align:justify; padding:5px; background-color:#000000;]

Seth was always up for a bit of an adventure. Not one to take things too seriously - which was not necessarily a good thing in some cases - he'd been more than willing to agree to go with Melissa and a few of the other Scavengers on a trip. He knew not how safe it was going to be, nor how long it was going to take, and he didn't really care. He seriously loved the Safe Lands, considered it his home now, but it was always nice to just get out there for a while and be able to breathe a little more freely. He swore that all he had to do was yawn and suddenly the whole population of the sanctuary would suddenly know that he was tired. Not to mention that they'd probably all start yawning right back at him.

Seth wasn't giving much thought to the new friend that Melissa had made outside of the Safe Lands just yet. Instead he was chewing at the ears of two of the other Scavengers that had agreed to come along. He didn't even know their names, but when had that ever mattered? He talked hurriedly, enthusiastically, the fingers of one hand tapping away at the skin of his other arm without him realising, as he talked about the bass guitar that one of the other Scavengers had found for him for Christmas.The two women he was speaking with looked decidedly bemused. Seth shrugged to himself. "Anyway, I'll catch you later," he said, and with a waggle of his fingers he was hurrying up to fall in step with Melissa.

"Feels good to get out again," Seth announced, even though he'd only just been out yesterday morning. For now the bandit's scarf he was wearing was simply hanging around his neck, along with the driving goggles, so his face was still recognisable. He was well wrapped up against the cold, with a hoodie under his toggle coat and a beanie hat covering his chocolate coloured hair. His hockey stick occasionally bounced against the back of his thigh, reminding Seth of its presence. He loved that weapon a lot. He loved the way it felt when he swung it, even though he'd always hated PE when he was at school. That had been the lesson he'd most commonly bunked off from.

He came to a halt besides Melissa and looked around expectantly, blue eyes alert as he searched for her guy as well. Seth hoped for her sake that he was going to turn up, because while he believed her, he thought that some of the other Scavengers had looked a little sceptical.

[/style][STYLE=font-size:10px; font-color:#000000; font-family:verdana;]shiki @ ote[/style]

[CECILIA BIRDIE BEDLYN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 350px; padding: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/w6MZf.png);] - Cecilia had been getting a bit bored in the safelands. It’s not that she didn’t like feeling safe for the first time in a long time, but she didn’t really know anyone and generally she felt rather ignored. She was always good at going unnoticed and that normally did her well, but she was still young and pretty lonely lately. So the second Melissa brought up a trip to the outside, Cecilia was following her around like a puppy. She was dying to get out of the safelands and back to her home. Oddly, it still felt like home to her out there, just a home where you risk getting eaten daily. It was clear looking at the group in front of her that Cecilia did not blend in very well with their ways. She kept tripping over her over sized jeans, and her coat didn’t conceal any weapons that her group was holding. Cecilia had bought anything, Cecilia didn’t even know what she would do with a steel bat, or a crowbar. Items like that just weighed her down and held her back. Also, Cecilia didn’t have much strength to use anything like that. Most people would call her wandering out with nothing but her clothes would be dangerous and stupid. It probably was, but Cecilia survived a lot longer than most out there in this. Cecilia trailed closely behind Seth and Melissa. Though she hardly knew Melissa, she had been having a few good conversations with Seth, and he seemed to have a similar disposition as herself. She had just been so used to being by herself for so long, she seems to have forgotten how to really talk to people. Cecilia had a bit of a smile on her face as she always ran into the back of them as they stopped suddenly. Her bright eyes peered around their surroundings, trying to look in every spot. They were supposed to be looking for someone named Braden, but Cecilia’s instinct was to look for any shadow, or hear any noise. She bounced on her toes slightly, prepared to run at any second. words: 361 - outfit: link

[seehearspeak]

So. It seemed that Melissa had not let him down when it came down to the numbers. He had asked her to bring four, five at the most. The nervous scavenger was relieved that she seemed to have stopped at four. One person was too much for him, but they would need the numbers on this job. He would just… have to suck it up. With a deep breath, Baden poked his head from around the corner and had a good look at who she had chosen.

Melissa herself, he knew, was solid enough. She could handle herself well enough, something which he had witnessed in person. The fellow with her, however… he looked a bit odd. He just seemed… a bit too at ease. This was going to be dangerous, they did not need some airheaded guy tripping over his own feet because he was too busy looking at the fluffy clouds. Still, Baden himself was more comfortable out here on the outside of the Safe Lands, so he was not one to judge.

A flash of red hair caught his attention and Baden felt his heart skip a beat. His mouth went dry and he did a double take. His amazement was short lived however; the girl with the red hair was too young to be her. She looked very young, in fact, still in her teens unless his eyes were failing him. Baden could not help but wonder why Melissa would bring someone so young on such a dangerous mission. Perhaps not a lot of people believed her.

Knowing that if he delayed much longer they would probably just go home, Baden gave a sigh and slowly made his way over to them, sticking close to any walls or rubble he could hide near so that they would not notice him until the last second. He really, really did not want all of them to look at him. Maybe you could wait until they are looking in the other direction? He was getting closer now, so he lowered Lenny in his hands so that they would not think he was going to attack and finally moved in close.

Cradling the rifle in the crook of his arm, Baden tapped Melissa gently on the shoulder, ready to leap back should the sensation cause her to lash out in self-defense.

[MELISSA FRANCIS CLARK]

[atrb=valign, top, true][atrb=cellpadding, 5, true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=cellspacing, 0, true][atrb=width, 400, true][atrb=border, 0, true] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px;][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style]

[atrb=style, text-align: justify; background: #191919; color: #787883; padding: 10px; border-radius: 0px 0px 20px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 10px 10px 10px 10px;][style=height: 302px; overflow: auto; padding: 4px;]Melissa was happily chattering with Seth as the two of them walked. Her feet had a leisurely atmosphere about them as she strolled, and she was very tempted to link arms with the other man and begin skipping with the two of them. "Yeah,"

[/b] she said, as Seth mentioned how good it felt to get out and about. "We still need to get to the gym some time soon together. I'll start stockpiling on booze if you give me a date to meet you."[/b] The woman laughed a light laugh. She looked up at him, one hand in her pocket and gave him a persuasive wiggle of her eyebrows.

It did, however, occur to the light haired woman that there was another person in their group. She hadn't met this girl yet, but she seemed so timid that all ready Melissa felt like an invading force before she said anything. "You all right back there?"[/b] She asked with a friendly smile. Mel knew how it was to be nervous, but she also knew how it was to be wrong when it came to judging a person. Maybe she wasn't nervous at all and simply had that sort of demeanour about her. "I'm Mel. Hi."[/b] She waved just once, and turned back to get her head back in the game. She couldn't spend too much time chatting away when they were all out in London. Nothing was worth your life, which included friendship.

By the time the blonde was searching for Baden, she was feeling increasingly aware of how she must look right now. She turned to apologise to both of the people that had come upon her request with so little information to go on. She grabbed at her crowbar as soon as she heard the scuffling footsteps she always associated with the undead and went to turn. Arm half raised, point end of the crowbar pointed outwards, she was greeted with the face of the man she had come to see. A relieved sounding sigh left her and she smiled brightly. "Baden! Thank God! I thought you weren't gonna show."[/b] She looked as relieved as she sounded, and stepped back to introduce the man. "Guys! This is Baden! From what I gather, not much of a chatter, don't spook him. This is Seth,"[/b] she gestured, and then let her arm sweep towards the other Scavenger. "And this is.. Erm.. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."[/b] An apologetic smile as she slapped the man beside her on the shoulder. "Let's call 'er Ginge. Suits her, right?"[/b] Melissa smiled brightly, and turning once more to face Baden said. "Where are we headed?"[/b][/style][/size][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[SETH ADAM CHAMPION]

[STYLE=font-family:vrinda; font-size:15px; color:#000000;][/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=background-color:#000000; width:350px; height:100px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; letter-spacing:8.5;] [/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-family:terminal; color:#CCCCCC; letter-spacing:2.5] I JUST FEEL ALONE IN THE DARK[/style][STYLE=border:5px #120A8F solid; width:330px; font-size:10px; color:#CCCCCC; text-align:justify; padding:5px; background-color:#000000;]

There seemed to be a seriously tense atmosphere hanging over the small group of people that Seth wasn't all that fond of. Surely being so nervous was more likely to result in some sort of mistake. Anyway, from what he gathered, this definitely wasn't the worst part of the trip. They were just walking right now. He felt the atmosphere relax the moment he caught up with Melissa. It was great to be able to spend some more time with her. "I forgot about that!" said the man with a quiet laugh. He scratched the side of his freshly shaven chin as he considered a date. "Once we're back home I'll let you know," said Seth with a nod. That promise meant that so far, he was certain that they were all going to make it back home, very much alive.

Seth looked over his shoulder as Melissa began to talk to someone else, and he grinned. He felt kind of bad for not noticing Cecilia before now. "'Ello, CC," said Seth with a smile once Melissa had taken her attention away from the redhead once more. He'd been getting to know Cecilia a bit more recently, and she seemed cool. As of yet they seemed to have gotten on well. Seth smiled at her once more, an invitation that she was welcome to walk with them if she wanted, and then he looked ahead again as well. Like Melissa, Seth was keeping an eye out for any threats. It took a lot of effort for him to concentrate on doing that, so for a while he went quiet. Maybe he was being too relaxed about all of this.

Seth detected movement just as Melissa stopped and turned around. Hands stuck in his pockets, he watched Baden approaching her with a - hopefully - harmless looking expression on his face, his mouth curving ever so slightly the way it always did unless there was a reason not to. He'd gathered from Melissa that this guy was a bit nervy or something, so Seth was on his best behaviour. For now. He didn't even point the other man out, instead letting Baden make himself known by himself. Seth's smile grew into a toothy grin once Melissa was introducing them all. "Hi!" said the bassist. It took an awful lot of effort for Seth to just leave it at that, and not start rabbiting on some more. Melissa had told them not to spook the other man, and Seth had had the strangest notion that that might have been directed at him. He could have been wrong though. The Scavenger stared at Baden expectantly, blue eyes wide, when Melissa asked him where they were off to.

[/style][STYLE=font-size:10px; font-color:#000000; font-family:verdana;]shiki @ ote[/style]

[CECILIA BIRDIE BEDLYN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 350px; padding: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/w6MZf.png);] - Cecilia boots weighed her down slightly, or maybe it was her short legs, but she found herself having to skip a few steps to keep up with them. It also might look odd to an outsider that Cecilia was walking alone behind the small group. But it was simply nature for her. Years of having to pickpocket money, or valuables made her pretty conditioned to be quiet, quick, and to always walk behind your target. Not that she was specifically planning on taking anything from Melissa or Seth. Well, the thought was always in her head. She didn’t know what they had, or if she had a need for it, but it was like having a mosquito bit. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it. Seth would be easy. He didn’t seem like the type to be that aware, but his hands were in his pockets. So Cecilia reached out slowly to Melissa’s unwatched pocket. Unfortunately, Mel took the break in her conversation to turn back to Cecilia. Not that she hadn’t dealt with similar situations before. Cecilia took her reaching fingers and effortless turned them into the natural sway of her arms as she walked. Melissa’s smile was almost infectious, not that Cecilia wouldn’t have smiled back, but a warm light feeling filled her stomach as she finally made a small step to meeting someone. Cecilia’s mouth was open and ready to answer, when Seth turned and said hello loudly. Cecilia chuckled slightly at them both, and waved, with a new bright smile on. Cecilia’s eyes moved rapidly around their surroundings, she definitely felt uneasy standing so still. Her strategy for survival was to always keep moving when outside, never stand still, never hesitate. And this group was doing all of them. Cecilia jumped when Melissa spoke, and spun around to see a new face to the group. She assumed that is who they were meeting, he certainly did seem jumpy. Cecilia hardly relaxed when she saw him, and didn’t even meet his eye much. She looked around a few more times and backed up, pressing her back against a wall, just to feel safe. Cecilia was about to tell Melissa her name, when she was given the name ‘Ginge.’ She smiled, giggled lightly, and felt her cheeks flush red. “I don’t have freckles” She chose as her first words to this group. Cecilia knew she had to be kind to Baden, since apparently he was a nervous boy. “I-I like your beard” She said kindly, flashing him her kindest smile. words: 361 - outfit: link

[seehearspeak]

Thankfully, Melissa did not jam her crowbar into his eye socket when he made himself known. She did, however, introduce him to her two companions, which made his stomach feel as if someone was squeezing it really tight and make him wish she had just decked him with the metal tool. The perky young scavenger did ask the others not to “spook him” though and he appreciated the thought.

Baden nodded a greeting and grunted, which was about as social as he got with people he just met most of the time. The redheaded girl made an extra effort, though, by complementing his facial hair. Running his fingers along his jaw and feeling his hairy face, he realised that he did indeed have a nice beard going on. It had been so long since he had thought about grooming that he had almost forgotten that he could grow one.

“Err… thanks?” Baden mumbled uncertainly. When Melissa asked where they were heading, the nervous man jerked his thumb over his shoulder and turned around to move out. He waved at them to join him, glad that he would not have to look at any of them while they walked. It was a false sense of isolation, but it was better than nothing.

“There’s a shop… A family used to live there that I traded with. They, err… they died recently”, Baden explained as he walked, keeping his voice close to a whisper and speaking quickly. “But the gear is all still there. Sleeping bags, boots, waterproofs, survival equipment, weapons. Stuff the Safe Lands needs. Too much to move on my own. And there’s also a lot of dimwits packed in there that we'll need to deal with.”

Luckily, the nervous scavenger had a plan to help disperse that crowd a little, but that could wait until later. He slipped his hand into his coat and coaxed out his pocket watch, popping open the brass cover and looking inside at the mechanism.

“By the time we get there, it’ll be getting dark. We’ll need that to keep ourselves hidden… but we’ll only have about one hour to move as much out of the store as we can and pack it up before it gets too dark to hoof it back to the Safe Lands safely.”

Reaching a corner, Baden stopped and pressed himself against the wall of the building they had been walking besides, poking his head out to make sure there was nothing moving about. The area appeared clear for now so he carried on moving, holding his rifle tight to his body to stop it catching on anything he may have overlooked.

[MELISSA FRANCIS CLARK]

[atrb=valign, top, true][atrb=cellpadding, 5, true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=cellspacing, 0, true][atrb=width, 400, true][atrb=border, 0, true] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px;][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style]

[atrb=style, text-align: justify; background: #191919; color: #787883; padding: 10px; border-radius: 0px 0px 20px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 10px 10px 10px 10px;][style=height: 302px; overflow: auto; padding: 4px;]Melissa, now standing by Baden, she looked at the other two Scavengers in front of her. They formed a group of two men and two women, and Melissa hoped that those names would not be dwindling by the end of the journey. She smiled half heartedly, trying to keep the spirits high as she looked around at all three of them. Melissa shrugged in response to Cecilia's objections. "Never said you did, kiddo."

[/b] For alll Melissa knew the girl in front of her was years older, but her behaviour screamed 'child'. She couldn't help it.

But the time for jesting and getting on was over, and Baden introduced them to the reason they were out here. Melissa knew the vague details, but that was it. She watched the man beside her with interested eyes as he spoke, head bobbing slightly as he did so, agreeing with and taking in what it was he was saying. "How do we know it isn't a trap? What about the Bandits?"[/b] Asked Melissa, frowning. Her arms crossed over her chest and her crowbar looked as daunting as ever. Her eyes were serious, she didn't want to be caught out because she knew how easy it was to die that way. "Why are there so many in there anyway? What's their attraction to this one building?" Melissa realised that the words leaving her mouth were sounding doubtful, and she looked to the two people she had brought with her to see how they were taking it.

Melissa's eyes widened as Baden continued talking. Her hands coiled into fists to hide the nervous shaking and she looked at the man beside her with two cautious eyes. "Why are we doing this at night?" Her voice had warped from doubtful to worried. She gestured to Cecilia. "Does she look like she's equipped to be working in the dark? Is there any power in this building we can use?" Mel was beginning to wonder if she should have agreed to this. Her footsteps were almost immediate beside the man with a plan. She didn't feel right about this any more, and her confidence was draining. She looked to the other two survivors, checking on them both like an anxious older sister. Melissa didn't like that regardless of what had been said they still seemed to be going on ahead with this. The Scavenger chewed on her tongue nervously, feeling much less sure that all four of them would make it out alive. There were too many 'what if?'s and 'maybe's for her liking.[/style][/size][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[SETH ADAM CHAMPION]

[STYLE=font-family:vrinda; font-size:15px; color:#000000;][/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=background-color:#000000; width:350px; height:100px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; letter-spacing:8.5;] [/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-family:terminal; color:#CCCCCC; letter-spacing:2.5] I JUST FEEL ALONE IN THE DARK[/style][STYLE=border:5px #120A8F solid; width:330px; font-size:10px; color:#CCCCCC; text-align:justify; padding:5px; background-color:#000000;]

Seth looked between Melissa and Cecilia expectantly, as he waited for the redhead to introduce herself. "Her name's Cecilia," Seth murmured to Melissa, as the youngest of the group complimented Baden's beard. They all needed to know one another's names if they wanted to work together properly on this trip. Seth's eyes moved back to Baden,and he watched the newcomer curiously. He wasn't sure how he was meant to act, so it was almost a relief when the man turned his back on all of them. Seth hadn't worked with another man for an age, it felt like. He would never admit to already knowing that the Scavenging team seemed to be female dominated when he'd chosen his role in the Safe Lands, but he probably had noticed it. Hands still in his pockets to keep them out of the cold, Seth eyes explored their surroundings, trying to work out where they were being taken.

Never one to think things through very much unless he absolutely had to, Baden's plan sounded legit to Seth. It was then that his blonde friend started firing out the questions, and Seth realised how glad he was that she was there. He would probably just have gone along with all of that without a seconds thought. The issues that Melissa was bringing up, however, made Seth feel a little more cautious of what it was he'd been walking into quite blindly only moments ago. He hurried up, now walking on the other side of Melissa. "What do you mean, dimwits?" he asked in a stage whisper, craning his head to look over at Baden with a quizzical expression on his face. It was hardly relevant any more, but Seth wanted to know.

He let out a long breath at the mention of the dark. Maybe it was because Melissa was beginning to look a little more anxious herself, but Seth could feel the relaxed atmosphere quickly fading away and even he was starting to feel a bit anxious. He bumped against Melissa's shoulder reassuringly as she checked on him, and then he looked at Cecilia briefly, wondering what she thought of all this. "I'm just sayin'," he started, "but maybe we have to think about whether the cost is going to outweigh the benefit of this trip. It'll be kind of pointless if we're all too dead to bring stuff back to the Safe Lands, right?" If even one of them died, the cost would have definitely outweighed the benefit in Seth's opinion. He was still trying to be sparing with his words, however, so he didn't say this out loud. He could have gone on to start listing all the potential advantages and disadvantages of the Scavenging trip as well, but he didn't. Not for now, anyway.

[/style][STYLE=font-size:10px; font-color:#000000; font-family:verdana;]shiki @ ote[/style]

[CECILIA BIRDIE BEDLYN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 350px; padding: 10px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/w6MZf.png);] - Cecilia actually smiled a bit when Melissa called her a kid. It had been years since Cecilia saw herself as a child, thought most people always seemed to treat her like one. But around this group that towered over her, carried heavy weapons, and discussed plans, Cecilia did feel like an immature little kid. As they set off into the night, Cecilia hung on every one of Baden’s words, listening carefully to his plan. Though she thought most of this was bologna. The entire group just suddenly seemed to start stressing themselves out. Call her insane, or niave, but Cecilia wasn’t afraid of Zombies or Bandits. She hardly even had a concept of death in her mind. The group moved faster than her once again, and Cecilia trailed along behind them, staying quiet for the most part. The redhead had to bite down hard on her tongue at Mel’s comment. She certainly felt a bit offended by it. “I might be more prepared than you. Hell, make it darker. Easier to sneak away” She said, with only a hint of her teenage angst. She didn't sound angry since she wasn't, only a bit anxious to see some action. The Safelands were dull and Cecilia hadn't been around that little of entertainment in years. Bandits and braineaters sounded like a good television program she wanted to be a part of right now. However, Cecilia’s opinion was obviously not widespread as the group’s nerves became more clear and obviously with Melissa’s questions. Cecilia stumbled over her boot and her feet scuffled to catch herself. She stopped paying attention for a few moments, as she blushed deeply and prayed they didn’t notice her. They obviously felt she was enough of a burden on them already. Seth comment was the first thing to get an actual eye roll out of her, a pretty rare occurrence. “No, we aren’t going to weigh anything. I hate math” she joked, and skipped, yes skipped up ahead of them. “Lets just go in, keep the gun fire to a minimum, pillage and plunder, and get out.” Cecilia turned and skipped backwards so she could look at them all. “Fast and quiet, and stay out of anything’s way.” So in reality, Cecilia’s strategy would end up in a few deaths, but theirs was taking too much time. words: 361 - outfit: link

[seehearspeak]

Hearing people start to question his plans, Baden felt his own confidence in his idea starting to crumble. They probably think you are stupid. They are probably wondering if you are trying to get them all killed. Give it a few more minutes and they will turn around and go back to the Safe Lands. Melissa will probably never want to see your ugly face again after this fiasco! The thoughts swirled around in his head, stabbing at his already deflated self-confidence. But when the redhead, Cecilia, seemed happy enough with the plan, he gave her a glance of interest before taking a deep breath. If he just looked at this objectively, he would be able to answer their questions.

Without turning around, Baden addressed Melissa’s worries first. “I’ve been in there. Checked it out. If there was a trap, I wouldn’t be here”, he started, keeping his eyes fixed in front of him, looking out for any trouble. “As for why the dead are in there… the family living in the shop were shot. There’s some heavy shutters installed at the entrance, and they had been opened for some reason. It’s just a guess, but it’s plausible that bandits attacked and killed them. Any gunshots would have drawn dimwits in the area into the store to feed.”

Funny though… there did not seem to be that much damage to the internal area of the store and the Jahir’s did not look like they fought back, which I’m certain they would have… and Farrah and her dad were missing too… something doesn’t add up…

“It’s just a guess”, he repeated, in a voice so low he was probably talking to himself.

Switching his attention to the man called Seth, he answered his questions in his persistent whispering tone. “It’s an army surplus store, mate. Too much good stuff is in there just to leave it. Either we get it for Safety, or the bandits get it. I know where I want it to go. And… I don’t like using the Z word,” he added with a mild shrug.

Nodding his head to the side to indicate the redheaded teen, Baden went on.

“Sneaking is part of it, but it’s also because I want to get the most use out of these”, Baden said, shouldering his rifle and reaching his hand backwards and into his pack, pulling out a tube that was obviously a flare. “Once I chuck a couple of these out, it’ll get most of the dimwits out of the store and into the streets”, he explained, putting the flare back and holding his gun at the ready once more.

“Once they move away, I can get the shutters down and, hopefully, the lights operating. Then we can get to work without too much bother. Once we make sure the shop is completely safe, we can take as much as we can carry and get out while there is still a little light to see by. This is happening at dusk, not at night. Sorry”, Baden mumbled, embarrassed for mot making things clearer.

“There’s a hidden panel on the roof that will let us in without much issue. It was the only way in until the shutters were opened”, Baden concluded, feeling his face burning after all the talking he had to do.

[MELISSA FRANCIS CLARK]

[atrb=valign, top, true][atrb=cellpadding, 5, true][atrb=valign, top][atrb=cellspacing, 0, true][atrb=width, 400, true][atrb=border, 0, true] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px;][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style] [style=border: 7px solid #191919; width: 80px; height: 80px; margin-top: -7px; -moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px][/style]

[atrb=style, text-align: justify; background: #191919; color: #787883; padding: 10px; border-radius: 0px 0px 20px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 10px 10px 10px 10px;][style=height: 302px; overflow: auto; padding: 4px;]Melissa frowned. Perhaps she was being too pessimistic. Perhaps she wasn't putting enough trust in Baden. But she had, after all, only met him once before, not to mention if you weren't careful about things you could end up dead. Her frown deepened and she was suddenly leaning towards backing out of this idea all together. Her lids slid down her eyes, stopping before they closed and she looked down at the ground as they walked. The sounds of footsteps were comforting, but just as misleading. She checked over her shoulder quickly to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them. The coast was clear for now. Baden kept talking, which surprised Melissa but she didn't dwell on it, she looked to him, brow furrowing. "We can't work on guesses. If we go in there and something jams behind us or we lose someone I am going to hold you responsible." The threat hung heavily in the air as Melissa's big blue eyes steeled over and became deadly serious. There was always something different about Melissa when she was working. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped her crowbar and she kept walking, shoes light on the ground. Perhaps she shouldn't have blindly agreed to this man's proposal. Seth and Carrie's (that was her name wasn't it?) lives were in her hands because she had brought them out here. She looked away from the rest of the Scavengers and to the other side of the street. A zombie was impaled on a fence's pike, squirming unhappily. She grimaced and looked ahead. The woman's pace didn't increase or slow as the four of them walked, but it was clear her mood had done the decreasing. Every word that left Baden's mouth had a salty, sarcastic or mean remark hanging on her tongue waiting to come spilling out. She didn't, however, but there was no doubt that it was definitely building up. Melissa's eyes had half closed as she waited for the man to tell them they had arrived when Seth spoke. She looked at him, and she nodded her head, agreeing with him. "Seth's right. Nothing is worth your life. So what if the Bandits get it? If I were you I'd wait for someone to take it and then take it from them."

[/b] Her words were breathy, as if she had struggled to make them sound less venomous. It was uncharacteristic for Melissa, but she wasn't good in groups of people.

And it seemed they would all discover that. Just as Cecilia darted forward. Melissa didn't like that. Who was this noob? Cheeks puffing up in a momentary huff, Melissa stomped forward in front of the red haired girl. "Why are you even here? You haven't got a weapon, you aren't even protected! If you think you know what you're doing, you go in there on your own and show us how it's done." Melissa snapped, jabbing a finger in the woman's direction, and then in the direction of the building Baden was taking them to. "Go ahead and jump in completely unprepared." Snarled the woman, knuckles burning a horrid white as she gripped her crowbar. If Baden didn't see now those same anxieties she had spoken about the first time they met he likely would see them now. When Melissa got anxious it wasn't good.[/style][/size][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[SETH ADAM CHAMPION]

[STYLE=font-family:vrinda; font-size:15px; color:#000000;][/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=background-color:#000000; width:350px; height:100px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; letter-spacing:8.5;] [/style][STYLE=border-top:5px #120A8F solid; width:350px; padding-left:-100px;] [/style][STYLE=text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-family:terminal; color:#CCCCCC; letter-spacing:2.5] I JUST FEEL ALONE IN THE DARK[/style][STYLE=border:5px #120A8F solid; width:330px; font-size:10px; color:#CCCCCC; text-align:justify; padding:5px; background-color:#000000;]

Seth wasn't the most trusting person. He was generally a little unsure of people's motives when he was first meeting them, and normally that was quite easy to deal with. This Baden, however, was unlike anyone Seth had ever met - at least since secondary school. Blue eyes focused on the other man in the group and he scrutinized him, the expression on his face neutral. How were they going to know that he wasn't lying about it being a trap? "How do we know we can trust you?" asked Seth, raking a hand through the hair on the back of his head. His face was open, the expression on it not unfriendly. He just wanted to know, and it didn't even cross his mind that what he was asking might cause some offence the other man to take offence.

By this point, even Seth was beginning to feel a little stressed. He probably would have turned back now, but he wasn't for leaving Melissa, or Cecilia for that matter. If anything happened to either of them while he wasn't there he probably would never shake it off his conscience. So he stayed, and watched an argument beginning to unfurl before his eyes. "The Z-word?" Seth asked with a hurried laugh. "Zombie?"

He felt just a little disheartened when both Cecilia and Baden seemed to disagree with him. He looked at Cecilia and allowed a smile to flicker over his face at her comment, though it was a little forced this time. He just wasn't going to respond to that, because he knew that he was going to sound annoyed. The last thing he needed was for everyone know that he was irritated. The man's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly when Melissa agreed with him. Seth was constantly seeking approval. "Honestly, I think that sounds like a better plan," he murmured. Letting someone else do the heavy lifting definitely sounded like more of a plan to him. Seth found himself going quieter by choice, simply because he didn't want to slip up and say the wrong thing, causing the tension to rise even more.

Hands clasped around the back of his head when things started to kick off, and he glanced over at Baden to see if the other man was going to do anything about the argument that was beginning to break out between Melissa and Cecilia. "Shall we all just-" he paused for a moment, looking at each member of the group in turn, whether they were listening or not. "Just stop for a moment and breaaaaathe."As Seth spoke, he exhaled a long sigh. His arms spread out from his sides, and his eyes closed. For a moment he was in his own little world, not noticing if anyone else was doing the same thing or not. It was a relaxation technique that he used to use when he was nervous before a gig, and it always worked. As Seth opened his eyes, he realised that it still seemed to work in this situation as well. He looked around, acclimatising once more to what was going on.

[/style][STYLE=font-size:10px; font-color:#000000; font-family:verdana;]shiki @ ote[/style]