[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
This is just a suggestion by the way, but could you make a lost of characters that have been introduced and characters still waiting to come in? You don't have to if you don't want to, just a suggestion.
[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
[We can't risk it. These guys could have killed Markus - or they could be part of the bandit group that attacked us earlier. Let's take them back to Thalia and let the group decide what to do with them.]
[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
[No, Stephany. Jack's right; you're too young.]
"You're too young, Stephany," you tell her gently. "I'm sorry. You need to stay here."
… more "But I--" she starts to say, but Alice puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Stephany, why don't you come inside with me? You can help me count out supplies. I really would like your help," she says softly.
"Okay...," Stephany says sadly, looking utterly dejected as she turns to go back into the house with Alice. Jack sighs but says nothing before he, you and Rema head off into the woods.
The three of you start to backtrack towards the area where the traps were set, since it was where the bandits attacked - hopefully Markus would be somewhere on the way.
It isn't long before Jack, who's leading the way, suddenly raises a hand to signal you and Rema to stop. Clearly he's seen something - so, carefully, the three of you start to creep forward among the trees, until you stop, spotting what Jack has seen.
… [view original content]
This is just a suggestion by the way, but could you make a lost of characters that have been introduced and characters still waiting to come in? You don't have to if you don't want to, just a suggestion.
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have to say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear that you're not bandits?"
"We're not," glasses guy tells you, voice unwavering. "I'm Devin, and that's my sister Devyn." The short-haired girl gives a half-hearted wave as she's introduced.
"Devin and Devyn?" Jack asks, somewhat incredulously.
"Don't ask," says the boy. "I'm Devin with an I, she's Devyn with a Y. If it's easier, you can call her Dev."
"And I'm Lizzy," undercut girl says.
There's a pause, in which no one says anything for a moment, before Jack speaks up, still somewhat hesitantly - "... Nice to meet you, then. I'm Jack."
"Elias," you tell them.
"Rema," Rema says softly.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Dev tells her quietly, probably sensing her lingering sadness. "Are you okay?"
"It's alright," she replies, looking away and refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I'll be alright."
"I'm sorry, Rema," Jack says to her quietly, so quiet that you almost don't hear him. He stoops down next to her, putting one hand on her back in what's probably meant to be a comforting gesture. She simply closes her eyes, sighing deeply.
You look down at Markus's body, feeling a deep sense of guilt wash over you. You silently apologize to him for being too late; you're not even sure what it might have changed, if he had really been shot in the lung, but... maybe, at the very least, he wouldn't have died alone.
After a moment, you turn back to Lizzy, Devin and Dev, noticing that the three of them are still standing there sort of awkwardly. You look to them expectantly.
"Look," Devin says after a short pause. "I'm sorry to ask this now, but... do you think we could stay with you guys, for a while at least? You're the first living people we've seen in ... well, a while, and we're... kind of tired of running."
"And you guys do look like you could use some food," Dev adds. "We have lots, if you need it..." While she doesn't know just how many people you actually have to feed, three whole bags of canned food - that look pretty well stuffed full - is still quite a lot, you think.
Jack stands up from where he had been crouched by Markus's corpse, looking over at you silently.
[Okay. You can stay with us. Come on.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[No. We don't need anyone else. Go back to where you came from and leave us alone.]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
I just feel kinda self-conscious, hahaha! I feel bad when I only post something this long because I feel like I'm being unfair to you guys, who waited so long ;_;
How many times I have read that "sorry this part is short" xD Let them be as long as you like! Relax!
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
How many times I have read that "sorry this part is short" xD Let them be as long as you like! Relax!
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
Just saw them both now! BTW, this is easily one of the best fanfics on the site. Most I've seen are either extremely cliche or just an action-packed gorefest, but this is definite quality. ^_^
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
Okay! I submitted Gia twice by accident. I gave her a bio on the second one since it's two months into the apocalypse. And I just read the entire thing and it's great. I can really visualize everything in the story.
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have … moreto say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear… [view original content]
Just saw them both now! BTW, this is easily one of the best fanfics on the site. Most I've seen are either extremely cliche or just an action-packed gorefest, but this is definite quality. ^_^
Okay! I submitted Gia twice by accident. I gave her a bio on the second one since it's two months into the apocalypse. And I just read the entire thing and it's great. I can really visualize everything in the story.
"We aren't the ones you should be asking," you tell them. "But we can take you back to our group and ask the others."
"We'll take it," says Lizzy.
"Yeah, fair enough," Devin says.
"In the meantime," you sigh, turning back to Rema, "We... we need to get Markus back home. It'll probably take both me and Jack to carry him. Rema can't do it, not with her shoulder injured." You're worried about having to be vulnerable like that, but you also definitely have to take Markus back to camp and give him a proper funeral - there's no way you'd leave him out in the woods.
"We'll watch your back while you do that," Devin suggests, and you nod gratefully. "Yeah, thanks." You aren't quite sure you trust them enough yet, but you know you've got Rema, too, and she silently takes your hint as you glance over at her and stands to move behind the newcomers. She'll take up the rear, behind them, and be ready to attack if anything goes sideways.
You and Jack stoop to lift Markus's body, slipping his backpack back onto his back before you do. Jack grabs his rifle gently and slides it into his own bag before you start off through the woods back towards the farm.
The walk is long and awkward. No one seems willing to speak up and break the silence, so instead it just hangs over the six of you sort of uncomfortably as you go. You aren't sure, but you might be grateful for it - at least they seem to be respecting your group's loss in allowing you silence to quietly grieve on your way over.
Eventually, you emerge from the woods, and Thalia immediately spots you. She climbs down from the roof again, looking somber, and meets you guys halfway as you walk towards the back house.
"You were... too late?" She murmurs softly as she stares at Markus's body, splayed out between you and Jack.
"Yeah," you reply just as quietly, not meeting her gaze.
"I'm sorry. I should have asked you two to go earlier... If I hadn't left it up to you..."
"It's fine, Thalia," you sigh. "It was my decision... so it was my fault."
She shakes her head, as if she wants to disagree with you, but doesn't argue with you just yet, instead turning to the new arrivals. "And who are these three?"
"They wanted to join us," Jack explains. "So we told them the group could make a decision. They have a lot of food with them, so they could help us out that way. That's Lizzy, Devin and Devyn - but call her 'Dev.'"
Thalia raises an eyebrow, but refrains to comment on the two Devins. "Well, it's nice to meet you," she tells them. "I don't have a problem with you staying, but we'll be sure to make sure no one else does before making a decision."
"That's fine," Dev says with a weak smile. "We understand."
Thalia turns to you and Jack. "Why don't you two go and round up the others and have them all meet right here?" It wasn't your usual house meeting spot, but you got the feeling that she wasn't sure if she should let the strangers in yet without consulting the others. "We need to talk about these three... and about Markus's funeral. You should... break the news to them." You nod.
"Okay," you affirm. As you Jack head off, you see Thalia move to Rema's side and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, speaking quietly to her in a gentle tone - though you can't make out the words.
You and Jack split up, him heading into the main house and so leaving you to go around front to get whoever's on watch. As you make your way around, you see that Jen's still there. You wave at her to come down wordlessly, and she does, moving to you.
"Eli? What's up?"
"House meeting," you tell her. "Around back. Markus... he..."
Jen's eyes widen as you trail off. "Is he...?"
"Dead," you answer hoarsely. "Because we didn't get there in time."
"Eli, don't blame yourself--" she starts to say, sadly, and reaches for your shoulder, but you shrug her off, continuing.
"There are three strangers who want to join us. Thalia wants the group to all agree before we let them in."
"Okay," Jen says softly. "Let's go, then." The two of you walk silently back around to rejoin the others, where Jack is not yet back. Rema and Thalia are laying Markus out on the ground carefully, while the three newcomers stand patiently back, staying out of what really isn't their business.
"Elias, Jen, will you go get our shovels?" Thalia asks you as she sees you come up. You both go to fetch them - each stored in the cabin right now - and by the time you're back, Jack is walking up, Alice, Stephany and Pun in tow.
"First things first," Thalia sighs. "We should... bury Markus. Is there... anything you'd all like to say before we do?" Everyone nods, and as they each say a small piece, there is a short silence in between each.
Jack speaks up first. "I'm sorry, Markus."
"I'm sorry," Stephany echoes in a small voice.
"You were one of the smartest men I ever knew," Pun says. "I'm sorry you had to go like this."
"I hope you're somewhere better now," Jen murmurs. "You deserve it, Markus."
"You do," Alice agrees. "You were always so moral and so selfless... I wish things could have been different."
This time the silence drags on a bit, and you realize they want you to speak next.
"Markus," you say softly. "I'm so sorry. It's my fault... If I hadn't been so concerned for myself, if I hadn't waited... maybe you would still be alive. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this."
Rema looks at you sadly before speaking. "My cousin was ... a good man. One of the best, I think. He was kind, considerate, and generous... and he was never a man to hold grudges, or to be angry with people for very long." You aren't looking at her now, but you can feel her gaze on you at the last bit. "I'm sure wherever he is... he would want us to be happy. I think he'd tell us to keep our chins up."
After another short pause, Thalia steps forward. "Goodbye, Markus. You were a good friend. I'm sure none of us will ever forget you." She picks up a shovel, and Rema picks up the other. You move to stop her, on account of her shoulder, but Alice gets to you before you manage to say anything, grabbing your shoulder.
"Let her," she says, quiet enough that it's just for you to hear. "She needs to do this. Her wound wasn't too bad. She'll be fine, Elias."
Before Thalia and Rema can start digging, Devin speaks up from off to the side. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," he says. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Thalia nods in acknowledgment of his words, then goes back to the task, she and Rema beginning to dig.
It's a long, grueling task, and it's a while before they're finally finished; the day is coming closer to an end now, and as they put the final few shovelfuls of dirt on the grave, which Alice has procured a small, somewhat squared white stone to mark, you glance around at everyone. You've all sat in silence throughout the ordeal, though Devin, Dev, and Lizzy are off to the side, probably whispering to each other.
Finally, Thalia stands, wiping at her brow and standing in silence for a moment before turning to the rest of the group, looking at the three newcomers in particular. They seem to notice, and seem to be wondering if it's time for them to bring up the reason they are here - though since no one acted very surprised to see them, you can assume Jack filled the others in just like you filled in Rema.
"Jack and Eli said that these three have asked if they can join us," Thalia announces. "But I wanted to make sure no one had any major objections before I told them they could."
No one says anything for a moment, still somber from the funeral, before Jen finally shrugs. "It's fine with me," she speaks up.
"Me too," Alice says softly. "It'd be nice to have some more friendly faces around here."
"Yeah, I don't see why not," Uncle Pun says with a nod.
No one else speaks up, so you assume that their silence either means their agreement, or that they don't want to bring up that they disagree, if they do. Either way, Thalia takes it as assent, and nods to the three.
"Then it's settled. You can stay here with us if you'd like. We could always use the help."
"Thank you," Devin says.
"Yeah, thanks," Lizzy adds.
"Come on," Jack says. "I'll show you where you can put that food you're carrying."
As he leads them away, you can't help but still feel a sense of worry. You still aren't sure you trust these people completely - but if the group does, then you're willing to at least give them a chance.
Oh, and one thing I want to ask you. Can you put characters that haven't entered yet in a small list, as a "Characters who haven't been introduced" sort of thing. This maaayyyy be because I want know when my characters will get into the fanfic.
I'm not sure ;_; One - I'm afraid to try editing the main post again, because I think it did make a few people unfollow this thread (responses have gone way down.) Two ... I have like 80 characters submitted xD That'd be a long list!
Maybe I'll make it and just post it as a regular old post, instead of editing the first? and then update it with a new post every now and then?
Oh, and one thing I want to ask you. Can you put characters that haven't entered yet in a small list, as a "Characters who haven't been introduced" sort of thing. This maaayyyy be because I want know when my characters will get into the fanfic.
[The whole group should decide.]
"We aren't the ones you should be asking," you tell them. "But we can take you back to our group and ask… more the others."
"We'll take it," says Lizzy.
"Yeah, fair enough," Devin says.
"In the meantime," you sigh, turning back to Rema, "We... we need to get Markus back home. It'll probably take both me and Jack to carry him. Rema can't do it, not with her shoulder injured." You're worried about having to be vulnerable like that, but you also definitely have to take Markus back to camp and give him a proper funeral - there's no way you'd leave him out in the woods.
"We'll watch your back while you do that," Devin suggests, and you nod gratefully. "Yeah, thanks." You aren't quite sure you trust them enough yet, but you know you've got Rema, too, and she silently takes your hint as you glance over at her and stands to move behind the newcomers. She'll take up the rear, behind them, and be ready to attac… [view original content]
I'm not sure ;_; One - I'm afraid to try editing the main post again, because I think it did make a few people unfollow this thread (respons… morees have gone way down.) Two ... I have like 80 characters submitted xD That'd be a long list!
Maybe I'll make it and just post it as a regular old post, instead of editing the first? and then update it with a new post every now and then?
Comments
[Let's hear them out. They don't exactly outnumber us, and we shouldn't make any rash decisions before listening to what they have to say.]
[Let's hear them out.]
[Let's hear them out. They don't exactly outnumber us, and we shouldn't make any rash decisions before listening to what they have to say.]
This is just a suggestion by the way, but could you make a lost of characters that have been introduced and characters still waiting to come in? You don't have to if you don't want to, just a suggestion.
[We can't risk it. These guys could have killed Markus - or they could be part of the bandit group that attacked us earlier. Let's take them back to Thalia and let the group decide what to do with them.]
I think I already regretted of my decision xD
[Let's hear them out. They don't exactly outnumber us, and we shouldn't make any rash decisions before listening to what they have to say.]
[Let's hear them out. They don't exactly outnumber us, and we shouldn't make any rash decisions before listening to what they have to say.]
Hey Devyn, honey, can you see which character I submitted? Eh.. I can't remember if I did so.
I actually almost made a post last night asking if you guys wanted me to do that. :P I probably will do this later, then.
Well I'm assuming you're the one who submitted Turpster, lol, but you also submitted yourself :P
Fuwck, didn't remember submitting myself! Sorry! Also check out Tales of European.
(Sorry, this part is pretty short!)
[Let's hear them out.]
"Calm down," you say quietly, to Jack and Rema. "Let's hear what they have to say." Raising your voice, you address the three strangers - "Explain, then."
Glasses guy and undercut girl both look at their short-haired friend, and it takes her a moment to realize that they're expecting her to explain. "What? Why me?" she mumbles, to which the guy simply replies, "It was your idea."
"Okay," she sighs. "Um, the blood... It's not... people blood. It's ... dead. When you cover yourself in their smell, they don't attack you."
Glasses guy nods. "It's how we could sneak right on up on this guy here -" he points to Freddie's corpse - "without him noticing."
Jack glances at you at the same time you glance to him, and your eyes meet for a moment; he doesn't speak, but he's looking a little less uneasy, maybe. You look back at the strangers. "Fair enough," you say. "And you swear that you're not bandits?"
"We're not," glasses guy tells you, voice unwavering. "I'm Devin, and that's my sister Devyn." The short-haired girl gives a half-hearted wave as she's introduced.
"Devin and Devyn?" Jack asks, somewhat incredulously.
"Don't ask," says the boy. "I'm Devin with an I, she's Devyn with a Y. If it's easier, you can call her Dev."
"And I'm Lizzy," undercut girl says.
There's a pause, in which no one says anything for a moment, before Jack speaks up, still somewhat hesitantly - "... Nice to meet you, then. I'm Jack."
"Elias," you tell them.
"Rema," Rema says softly.
"I'm sorry about your friend," Dev tells her quietly, probably sensing her lingering sadness. "Are you okay?"
"It's alright," she replies, looking away and refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I'll be alright."
"I'm sorry, Rema," Jack says to her quietly, so quiet that you almost don't hear him. He stoops down next to her, putting one hand on her back in what's probably meant to be a comforting gesture. She simply closes her eyes, sighing deeply.
You look down at Markus's body, feeling a deep sense of guilt wash over you. You silently apologize to him for being too late; you're not even sure what it might have changed, if he had really been shot in the lung, but... maybe, at the very least, he wouldn't have died alone.
After a moment, you turn back to Lizzy, Devin and Dev, noticing that the three of them are still standing there sort of awkwardly. You look to them expectantly.
"Look," Devin says after a short pause. "I'm sorry to ask this now, but... do you think we could stay with you guys, for a while at least? You're the first living people we've seen in ... well, a while, and we're... kind of tired of running."
"And you guys do look like you could use some food," Dev adds. "We have lots, if you need it..." While she doesn't know just how many people you actually have to feed, three whole bags of canned food - that look pretty well stuffed full - is still quite a lot, you think.
Jack stands up from where he had been crouched by Markus's corpse, looking over at you silently.
[Okay. You can stay with us. Come on.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[No. We don't need anyone else. Go back to where you came from and leave us alone.]
... I made a "characters introduced" list, but I'm pretty sure now it made everyone unfollow the discussion. ): Uh oh. This was a bad idea.
How many times I have read that "sorry this part is short" xD Let them be as long as you like! Relax!
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
I just feel kinda self-conscious, hahaha! I feel bad when I only post something this long because I feel like I'm being unfair to you guys, who waited so long ;_;
Alright, cool! Can't wait to see it.
There's a tentative one in the description! Also, have you seen there is a new part? :P only one person has voted so far
I think it is a bad idea because if they are with the bandits we are taking them to our shelter and they can attack the whole group in a momment...
[No. We don't need anyone else. Go back to where you came from and leave us alone.]
how many months or weeks is this into the apocalypse?
2 months in.
Just saw them both now! BTW, this is easily one of the best fanfics on the site. Most I've seen are either extremely cliche or just an action-packed gorefest, but this is definite quality. ^_^
[The whole group should decide.]
Okay! I submitted Gia twice by accident. I gave her a bio on the second one since it's two months into the apocalypse. And I just read the entire thing and it's great. I can really visualize everything in the story.
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.] You don't wanna tell them yes, without knowing for a fact.
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
[The whole group should decide. Come with us and we'll ask them.]
Thank you so much! ;v; Your kind words really do mean a lot to me, I'm glad someone likes this fic!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! That's fine, I'll just use the second one!
[The whole group should decide.]
"We aren't the ones you should be asking," you tell them. "But we can take you back to our group and ask the others."
"We'll take it," says Lizzy.
"Yeah, fair enough," Devin says.
"In the meantime," you sigh, turning back to Rema, "We... we need to get Markus back home. It'll probably take both me and Jack to carry him. Rema can't do it, not with her shoulder injured." You're worried about having to be vulnerable like that, but you also definitely have to take Markus back to camp and give him a proper funeral - there's no way you'd leave him out in the woods.
"We'll watch your back while you do that," Devin suggests, and you nod gratefully. "Yeah, thanks." You aren't quite sure you trust them enough yet, but you know you've got Rema, too, and she silently takes your hint as you glance over at her and stands to move behind the newcomers. She'll take up the rear, behind them, and be ready to attack if anything goes sideways.
You and Jack stoop to lift Markus's body, slipping his backpack back onto his back before you do. Jack grabs his rifle gently and slides it into his own bag before you start off through the woods back towards the farm.
The walk is long and awkward. No one seems willing to speak up and break the silence, so instead it just hangs over the six of you sort of uncomfortably as you go. You aren't sure, but you might be grateful for it - at least they seem to be respecting your group's loss in allowing you silence to quietly grieve on your way over.
Eventually, you emerge from the woods, and Thalia immediately spots you. She climbs down from the roof again, looking somber, and meets you guys halfway as you walk towards the back house.
"You were... too late?" She murmurs softly as she stares at Markus's body, splayed out between you and Jack.
"Yeah," you reply just as quietly, not meeting her gaze.
"I'm sorry. I should have asked you two to go earlier... If I hadn't left it up to you..."
"It's fine, Thalia," you sigh. "It was my decision... so it was my fault."
She shakes her head, as if she wants to disagree with you, but doesn't argue with you just yet, instead turning to the new arrivals. "And who are these three?"
"They wanted to join us," Jack explains. "So we told them the group could make a decision. They have a lot of food with them, so they could help us out that way. That's Lizzy, Devin and Devyn - but call her 'Dev.'"
Thalia raises an eyebrow, but refrains to comment on the two Devins. "Well, it's nice to meet you," she tells them. "I don't have a problem with you staying, but we'll be sure to make sure no one else does before making a decision."
"That's fine," Dev says with a weak smile. "We understand."
Thalia turns to you and Jack. "Why don't you two go and round up the others and have them all meet right here?" It wasn't your usual house meeting spot, but you got the feeling that she wasn't sure if she should let the strangers in yet without consulting the others. "We need to talk about these three... and about Markus's funeral. You should... break the news to them." You nod.
"Okay," you affirm. As you Jack head off, you see Thalia move to Rema's side and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, speaking quietly to her in a gentle tone - though you can't make out the words.
You and Jack split up, him heading into the main house and so leaving you to go around front to get whoever's on watch. As you make your way around, you see that Jen's still there. You wave at her to come down wordlessly, and she does, moving to you.
"Eli? What's up?"
"House meeting," you tell her. "Around back. Markus... he..."
Jen's eyes widen as you trail off. "Is he...?"
"Dead," you answer hoarsely. "Because we didn't get there in time."
"Eli, don't blame yourself--" she starts to say, sadly, and reaches for your shoulder, but you shrug her off, continuing.
"There are three strangers who want to join us. Thalia wants the group to all agree before we let them in."
"Okay," Jen says softly. "Let's go, then." The two of you walk silently back around to rejoin the others, where Jack is not yet back. Rema and Thalia are laying Markus out on the ground carefully, while the three newcomers stand patiently back, staying out of what really isn't their business.
"Elias, Jen, will you go get our shovels?" Thalia asks you as she sees you come up. You both go to fetch them - each stored in the cabin right now - and by the time you're back, Jack is walking up, Alice, Stephany and Pun in tow.
"First things first," Thalia sighs. "We should... bury Markus. Is there... anything you'd all like to say before we do?" Everyone nods, and as they each say a small piece, there is a short silence in between each.
Jack speaks up first. "I'm sorry, Markus."
"I'm sorry," Stephany echoes in a small voice.
"You were one of the smartest men I ever knew," Pun says. "I'm sorry you had to go like this."
"I hope you're somewhere better now," Jen murmurs. "You deserve it, Markus."
"You do," Alice agrees. "You were always so moral and so selfless... I wish things could have been different."
This time the silence drags on a bit, and you realize they want you to speak next.
"Markus," you say softly. "I'm so sorry. It's my fault... If I hadn't been so concerned for myself, if I hadn't waited... maybe you would still be alive. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve this."
Rema looks at you sadly before speaking. "My cousin was ... a good man. One of the best, I think. He was kind, considerate, and generous... and he was never a man to hold grudges, or to be angry with people for very long." You aren't looking at her now, but you can feel her gaze on you at the last bit. "I'm sure wherever he is... he would want us to be happy. I think he'd tell us to keep our chins up."
After another short pause, Thalia steps forward. "Goodbye, Markus. You were a good friend. I'm sure none of us will ever forget you." She picks up a shovel, and Rema picks up the other. You move to stop her, on account of her shoulder, but Alice gets to you before you manage to say anything, grabbing your shoulder.
"Let her," she says, quiet enough that it's just for you to hear. "She needs to do this. Her wound wasn't too bad. She'll be fine, Elias."
Before Thalia and Rema can start digging, Devin speaks up from off to the side. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," he says. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Thalia nods in acknowledgment of his words, then goes back to the task, she and Rema beginning to dig.
It's a long, grueling task, and it's a while before they're finally finished; the day is coming closer to an end now, and as they put the final few shovelfuls of dirt on the grave, which Alice has procured a small, somewhat squared white stone to mark, you glance around at everyone. You've all sat in silence throughout the ordeal, though Devin, Dev, and Lizzy are off to the side, probably whispering to each other.
Finally, Thalia stands, wiping at her brow and standing in silence for a moment before turning to the rest of the group, looking at the three newcomers in particular. They seem to notice, and seem to be wondering if it's time for them to bring up the reason they are here - though since no one acted very surprised to see them, you can assume Jack filled the others in just like you filled in Rema.
"Jack and Eli said that these three have asked if they can join us," Thalia announces. "But I wanted to make sure no one had any major objections before I told them they could."
No one says anything for a moment, still somber from the funeral, before Jen finally shrugs. "It's fine with me," she speaks up.
"Me too," Alice says softly. "It'd be nice to have some more friendly faces around here."
"Yeah, I don't see why not," Uncle Pun says with a nod.
No one else speaks up, so you assume that their silence either means their agreement, or that they don't want to bring up that they disagree, if they do. Either way, Thalia takes it as assent, and nods to the three.
"Then it's settled. You can stay here with us if you'd like. We could always use the help."
"Thank you," Devin says.
"Yeah, thanks," Lizzy adds.
"Come on," Jack says. "I'll show you where you can put that food you're carrying."
As he leads them away, you can't help but still feel a sense of worry. You still aren't sure you trust these people completely - but if the group does, then you're willing to at least give them a chance.
[CONTINUED IN NEXT PART]
(Sorry, no choices this time!)
Oh, and one thing I want to ask you. Can you put characters that haven't entered yet in a small list, as a "Characters who haven't been introduced" sort of thing. This maaayyyy be because I want know when my characters will get into the fanfic.
I'm not sure ;_; One - I'm afraid to try editing the main post again, because I think it did make a few people unfollow this thread (responses have gone way down.) Two ... I have like 80 characters submitted xD That'd be a long list!
Maybe I'll make it and just post it as a regular old post, instead of editing the first? and then update it with a new post every now and then?
R.I.P Markus
That sounds fine! And it's really 80 characters? Holy shit.