The Walking Dead IC

[JadeKnight]

Jack smiled back at Mathilda as she looked over her shoulder, blushing at words. He watched her bend over for the apple, wondering if she was trying to flirt a little. Even if she wasn't, he enjoyed the view.

He continued to keep watch as the three ladies went about picking up fruits and vegetables for their meals. He could do a bit of cooking for himself, but he had not fixed for other people in a long time. He wondered if he would get the chance to try, but Mathilda had taken it upin herself to be the cook.

The garden and surrounding area was quiet, the only sounds he could pick up were them and the sounds of nature around them. If walkers were near, things usually got very quiet. His guard relaxed a little, but not too much. He did catch Rachel looking at him from time to time, giving her a smile.

Jack heard Mathilda talking about the boarding of the church, looking towards her to see her pick up her spear. He frowned for a moment, moving to one of the boarded up windows.

"I'm sure there's any number of reasons for boarding up a church, and not just because of the walkers."

He found one of the boards was loose and pried it out some, trying to peer into the church darkness.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda
At the Vicarage Garden

Mathilda watched Jack as he walked over to a church window.

"I'm sure there's any number of reasons for boarding up a church, and not just because of the walkers."

"Yes," Mathilda hissed, "they could have boarded it up because no-one in the town felt religious enough to go to a service anymore."

She came out of the corner of the garden and went to the gate. Only the cemetery lay between her and the girls and Jack at the window. Her eyes and mouth opened wide when Jack pried away a board. The shrieking sound made her cringe and she clenched her hands around the spear.

"Fleur, Rachel, do you know how to shoot a pistol?" She suddenly remembered the pistol Jack had given her last night. "In the kangaroo pocket on the back of my jack. get it out. Don't use it unless it is absolutely necessary, there is no silencer on it."

She watched Jack turn his head this way and that way as he tried to look into the certainly pitch-black interior of the church. Mathilda put her hand on the gate, not knowing if she should pull it close or step out to help Jack if a walker pushed his fist through the window pane.

In the far distance the motor of a car sounded. Mathilda only registered the noise in the back of her mind though.

 

[JadeKnight]

The church seemed to be one of the old-style churches, built as a rectangle. Three-fourths of the church was devoted to the congregation area, with the rest set into a sub-basement at the rear of the building. There was no bedroom for the priest to live in. The sub-basement consisted of five classrooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. The stained glass windows were set in a recessed window frame, four inches back.

Jack took a deep breathe for a moment as he reached his free hand into the hole, taking a mental calculation of the distance. He released a sigh of relief when he felt the tempered glass of the window. He paused for a moment as he whispered.

"I feel glass, give me a moment to see if it's broken."

He pushed his hand further in till his palm was on the glass. Still feeling a solid surface, he glided his hand back and forth slowly. The glass felt a little cool beneath his touch, but he could also feeling heat as well. A couple of minutes of investigated determined the glass had not been broken, at least in the area he could feel.

"Not broken."

He pulled his hand away from the church before stepping towards the left side of the building, looking down it's length. A door was mid-way down the side, but unboarded. Stepping around the side, he made his way towards the door, looking towards the ladies for a moment. He took a moment to check the doorknob, but found it locked.

"I'm going to kick the door open, so be prepared for anything the noise brings."

 

[feistyphoenix]

Rachel was getting concerned, even moreso than usual. Why were these two hellvent on finding trouble, if it was boarded up why not let it alone.

Jack mentioned kicking the door open and she started to panic.

"Don't! Please..."she blushed when she realized how cowardly it sounded, "I mean what if there are a lot of them? There's only four of us, we'd never get out alive."

Jack wasn't just risking his own life, he was risking all their lives. Rachel didn't like it.

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron - back to the motel

As Aaron got closer to the motel he took his headphones out, stuffing them in his pocket. Rolling the cart close to the door he lifted the bin of goodies, tossing the non-food items into the cart, and then carrying the bin into the makeshift kitchen area. Afterwards he rolled the cart of books, magazines, pens, pencils and notebooks towards the main area outside the motel rooms, seeing a horse come barreling out of a room and into the field nearby. He looked around to see if anyone was around and waved up to Jessa.

"Hey, you need a break? Maybe a book or magazine to read while you are up there?"

He smiled, looking in the room and seeing Shadow moving, gingerly but better than the last time he saw.

"Hey Nikki, just grabbed some random things while I was at the store, pens, pencils, notebooks, books, magazines. Welcome to whatever if you like. I dropped off some food at Mathilda's makeshift kitchen too."

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda
At the Church

Mathilda hadn't noticed the smaller door, only the big doors of the main entrance, which were boarded up just like the windows.

"I'm going to kick the door open, so be prepared for anything the noise brings."

Mathilda nodded. "Just a moment, let me check if there is another entrance to the garden, and if it is closed."

"Don't! Please..." Rachel blushed. "I mean what if there are a lot of them? There's only four of us, we'd never get out alive."

"Don't worry too much, Rachel." Mathilda soothed Rachel, it looked as if she was close to panicking. "I don't think they used it as a quarantine station, then they would have boarded that door too. I'll check if there is another gate here, you step back inside, behind the wall, and watch Jack. Don't close this gate in case he needs to run for it though."

Mathilda ran to the other side of the house, and yes, there was a second gate. Much bigger than the one they had entered the garden through. It was a two part wrought iron gate, both wings wide open, and a walker getting near. First she closed the gate closest to the walker, then she pulled at the other one. It was jammed. Her moves had caught the walker's attention, and it started to lurch towards Mathilda.

She cursed under her breath. With a few quick steps she sheltered behind the closed gate, it was safe enough. Waving her arms she attracted the walker, and stabbed it through the head when it was close enough. She sighed as she pulled her spear out off its head. Exactly this way she had broken her spear once.

Back at the other gate wing she discovered she had to lift it from the ground to close it. It was heavy, but with a few heaves she managed to get it out of the deeper part and could close it as easily as the other part. She checked if the bolts had snapped in the holes in the cement around the middle post, and went back to the girls.

"I closed the big gate," she said loud enough for Jack to hear it, "go ahead. We are safe here, girls, whatever comes out off the church."

 

[JadeKnight]

Jack had taken up position near the door to kick it in when Rachel began to panic. Then Mathilda told him to wait while she went off to find another gate. Waiting on Mathilda, he turned his attention to Rachel. The young lady was frightened and he needed to get her calmed down. He walked over to her, laying a hand gently on her shoulder.

"There's no need to panic so needlessly. I've seen this setup before and dealt with it plenty of times. The church was mostly boarded up not to keep people in, but people out. There's probably not any walkers in there, just a bunch of religious zealots who killed themselves."

He glanced towards Mathilda when she came back, letting him know she had shut the gate. He looked back to Rachel and smiled, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Trust me when I say everything will be alright. I've raided a few places like this by myself without any problems. Just stay back and you'll be fine."

He moved back to the door, taking a deep breathe. It took him a couple of hard kicks to bust the door open, causing it to slam open with a bang. The door swung inward, hit the wall and swung back close with a slam. As it swung back open slowly, Jack knelt down with his rifle at ready to peer into the darkness.

He almost gagged as a rush of warmth hit him, carrying the sickly sweet smell of death, decay, and flowers. It took a second before he heard high-pitched squeaks heading for the door from the darkness. He dropped it the ground as a swarm of bats came flying out of the doorway like a black cloud and off towards the forest.

Once the bats passed, he rolled over on his back, pulling off a strip from his shirt and wrapping it around his face. He listened for a few more moments before speaking.

"I think it's all clear."

He pulled out his flashlight and attached it to the side of his rifle before walking into the congregation area slowly. Sweeping the light around the room, he picked out several skeletons hunched over the pews. At the pulpit laid another skeleton, a spent 9mm pistol beside it. Words were painted all around the walls, "We're Coming Lord." Jack counted fifteen skeletons in total, shot in the head and partially clothed in bug-eaten clothing. A couple looked like they had been local police.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

Nikki with a load of...

Nikki pulled the garbage can out of the room and wiped her sweat off on her sleeve. Finishing teh last of her water, she knew that would become a problem very quickly with the number of people they had in this group.

Remembering hear ing something about notebooks and pencils, Nikki took one and sat down where she could watch Clip Clop and Shadow she began to sketch out some ideas for ways to transport large amounts of water. Her sketches ranged from a simple travois to more complex wagons.
The travois was limitied in it's ability to carry a load, and it would take time and resources to build the more complex designs.

Remembering she promised to contact her parents she checked her solar charger and found it was almost full. She plugged her radio and her iPod into it, and left them to charge, then decided to check a few nearby buildings for something more suitable for Clip Clop to sleep in.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda
At the Church

Jack's kicks at the door sounded through the air. Mathilda looked around alarmed, afraid the loud noise attracted more walkers. She waited a few minutes after the door had slammed against the wall, and seeing no walkers near the cemetery she looked at the girls, just as the bats fled the church.

"Wow," she whispered, her head in her neck to watch the bats' flight to the forrest.

"I think it's all clear." Jack's voice drew her attention back to him. She gasped as he tore a piece of his shirt and bound it around his head.

Instinctively Mathilda's hand went to the bandana she wore around her neck and she pulled it up to cover her nose and mouth. She knew it made her look like a third-class villain in an old western, she also knew it wouldn't help against whatever stench or whatever bacteria, but nonetheless it did make her feel protected against whatever stench and whatever bacteria.

"It is all in the mind," she remembered herself.

"Girls, stay here. I am going over to Jack."

A stench started to spread through the cemetery as Mathilda neared the open door. She saw Jack's flashlight throwing eerie shadows through the room. "Oh my!" She said under her breath as she passed through the small hall and entered the congregation area. Everywhere there were skeletons. Adults. Only adults, as far as Mathilda could see. Her eyes kept going back to the door. Nothing entered the church after her.

"Jack," she said softly, "we need to check if there is a Sunday School classroom."

 

[SimplyJessi]

Jessa - on the hotel roof

Jessa waved down at Aaron, and smiled when he mentioned a book. Books had always been the best gift that anyone could give to her, even more so now.

"You'll have to show me your book collection later," she called down. She has been known to get so engrossed in books that she basically leaves the world behind. That would not do when she was suppose to keep watch....not when so many people depended on her.

"I'm alright for now.. but I wouldn't say no to some company." She yelled. Her throat hurt from the force of her yelling. Her voice was soft and smooth, not really meant for yelling for too long. She always hated her voice, wishing for a louder more forceful one.

 

[feistyphoenix]

Rachel was almost ready to recoil from him when he walked up to her but he was faster. His hand on her shoulder was comforting but it stirred something else inside her too. It was the first time another person had touched her even as a friendly gesture in a very long time. It made her ache. Her worried blue eyes met his gaze straight on.

Trust me when I say everything will be alright. I've raided a few places like this by myself without any problems. Just stay back and you'll be fine.

She didn't have a choice but to trust him. So she stayed back. The human curiosity got the better of her and just as Jack kicked the door in she climbed to the top of the garden wall, she told herself it was to keep watch for him. It was the least she could do.

When the bats flew out of the church doorway she mumbled, "Myotis Lucifugus" before smiling. It was good to see nature surviving. It meant she could too.

The faint stench of death filled her nose and she wrinkled it at the realization, Jack had been right. Rachel had no desire to enter the building and see what was there. Her ears strained trying to keep track of Mathilda and Jack's voices but they were soon unintelligible to her senses after they entered the building. She stayed put where she was, dangling one leg off the wall and relaxed but alert.

 

[JadeKnight]

Jack glanced at Mathilda for a moment before he picked up the spent 9mm and released the slide. He shoved the gun into the back of his pants for the time being.

"Don't be surprised if we find any kids down there, like this. These people weren't exactly thinking of anyone other than themselves."

It didn't take long to clear the classrooms and kitchen. Like he had suspected, they had found two skeletal remains of what could have been teenagers and three children in one of the classrooms. Dust covered everything, indicating it had been quite awhile since this little incident happened. Only one room had anything in it, mostly just bibles, songbooks, and misc. supplies. The kitchen did seemed to be stocked with provisions, but Jack was going to leave that to Mathilda.

"I'll check on Fluer and Rachel to make sure they're ok. Take what you want, but we can always come back for more."

He gave a smile for a moment before heading back outside, taking in the fresh air. They would have to open more than just the door if they were going to use the church for anything. He saw Rachel sitting on the cement wall, walking over to him. He pulled out the empty gun and offered it to her.

"You might want to take this for protection. I can give you ammo later and teach you how to use it later, if you want."

 

[feistyphoenix]

Rachel slipped down the side of the wall easily and headed over to him when she saw Jack walk outside. She wanted to ask him what was in there but she hesitated. He tried to hand her a gun, she looked at it and then back in his eyes, very expressive eyes she noticed.

"You might want to take this for protection. I can give you ammo and teach you how to use it later, if you want."

"Thank you, I should probably learn," she flashed him a half smile in gratitude.

She reached for it and brushed his hand as she took it from him, it was heavier than she thought it would be. The metal was cool in her palm, the textured hand grip fit her grasp well. She knew that if she was going to survive or be a productive member of any group she needed to learn to defend herself. A group would depend on her to defend others too, a heavy responsibility. She turned it over in her hand, inspecting it. Rachel never would have picked up a gun unless she had to, although she imagined one would have come in handy several months ago. She shook her head lightly, dislodging the memory.

"I would like it very much if you taught me," she said to him, meeting his eyes again.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda
At the Church

"Don't be surprised if we find any kids down there, like this. These people weren't exactly thinking of anyone other than themselves."

With a grim face Mathilda followed Jack through the church. When they opened the first classroom she clenched her spear harder and lifted it. Without saying a word, she looked at the skeletons of the teenagers and children. In the kitchen she opened a few cupboards, found them still quite well supplied. She shook her head. They hadn't even waited until their food supplies had run completely down. Longing to be outside again, and not feeling at ease in the spook church she grabbed a bottle of olive oil, vinegar and a big tupperware full with flour. She wasn't sure if she wanted to enter the church again at all, not even for the food.

"I would like it very much if you taught me," she heard Rachel say when she walked up to her and Jack.

"It would be good if you learned," Mathilda said sternly, seeing the gun in Rachel's hands. "It also would be good if you made yourself a spear, you won't always have munition. Now lets go back, I want to clean myself before I start cooking, I feel darned filthy. Luckily those kids were shot in the head, and not killed with sleeping pills, like the ones we once found in a classroom in a church."

Mathilda picked the bag with apples up, and started to walk.

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron - the motel

Aaron made his way to the roof, looking around and then just finding a bit of roof to sit on.

"I grabbed a few books from the library before the snow got bad, books are a bit of a habit for me though I will admit that I took all their graphic novels before grabbing anything else." Aaron smirked "I was a big comic nerd back in the day."

Aaron smiled slightly, then reached into his bag, grabbing two pieces of jerky and offering Jessa another.

"Hopefully this time we don't have anything to interrupt a quite bite to eat." Aaron said before chuckling slightly.

 

[JadeKnight]

He watched Rachel take the gun and examine it for a few moments. He wasn't sure if she had any e perience with a firearm, but he was sure they would have time later to figure things out. He gave a smile and nod to her when she agreed to learning the use of the pistol. He looked over as Mathilda spoke up about about getting cleaned and heading back. He chuckled softly for a moment.

"A nice hot shower would be good, but a cold one would probably be the best we can muster. However there are plenty of things that need to be done before we can settle down and relax."

He letting Mathilda walk ahead a little before motioning for Rachel and Fluer to go ahead of him. The walk back to the gas station wasn't far, but he wanted to make sure they stayed safe all the way there.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda
Walking back

Trying to get rid off the images popping up in her head Mathilda marched back the way they had come. She was aware off the girls following her, and Jack following them, but her eyes roamed around as she thought of the time they found eight dead adults in a living room adorned with crucifixes and icons. They all were shot in their heads. Only one hadn't killed himself, but did enough damage to his brain to be paralyzed. He was quickly dealt with. Then she and two other women of the group went up the stairs to see if they could get bedding, bedlinen, towels, clothes. Mathilda and Laura had left their spears at the foot of the stairs. Only Sandra carried a big hunting knife. The first bedroom was the master bedroom, and Mathilda and Sandra emptied the wardrobe onto bedsheets while Laura went to another room. A while they had worked silently. At one point Mathilda heard Laura throwing bundles down the stairs, and entering another room. Suddenly they had heard Laura scream.

Frightened Mathilda and Sandra had looked at each other, and stumbled over the bundles they had made in their haste to get to Laura. At the same time one of the men climbed over bundles blocking the stairs. Grunts, moans and screams filled the air.

When they arrived to help Laura, she was buried under what seemed a herd of little walkers. Mathilda had crushed the heads of some toddlers by stamping on them with her feet, kicked other walkers away, Sandra puked in a corner, slashing the air in front of her with her knife.

When Mathilda managed to get hold of the knife, two of the men had arrived and together they dealt with the furious little walkers. Ten they counted later. The eldest a maybe six year old girl and the youngest a few months old baby still in its cradle.

On a shelf in the room they had found six empty packs of sleeping pills.

Suddenly Mathilda stopped in her tracks. She pointed to her left, to a shed-like building with a small cross on top of it, on a field with blooming fruit trees.

"That might be the church Aaron talked about. He never mentioned it being boarded up. We went to the wrong church," she added bitterly. She looked back, caught Jack's eye. "I am sorry. Give me that shirt later, I'll mend it. Or make it into bandanas." At that moment she realized she still wore hers pulled up over her nose. With a sigh she pulled it down and continued her way. Seeing a new truck standing beside Jack's she stopped again.

 

[feistyphoenix]

Rachel could feel Jack walking a few strides behind her, she checked over her shoulder a few times. She was starting to feel a little more comfortable around these new people. She tucked the gun into the top of her pack, noting it was unloaded. She remembered to grab her new blanket where she'd dropped it outside the wall when the stray walker startled her and revealed her to her new friends.

She stayed alert on the way back, she alteady knew where they were going but noticed less people this time.

It would be easier to meet them this way, too many people would overwhelm her.

 

[SimplyJessi]

Jessa - Hotel Roof

Jessa smiled and took the jerky. She broke off a little bit and ate it. She took the rest and wrapped it in a clean napkin that she had in her pocket. This she put in her backpack. Her eyes lit up when he mentioned the books at the library.

"You'll have to show me the library sometime. I'm always looking to add to my collection. I stayed in a library in the town over for atleast a month. Loved every minute of it.. but a couple of those darn walkers found their way in.. that's when I thought it was time to leave.. if one or two can find a way in, then more are sure to come." She said.

She tucked a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear and looked off into the distance, still keeping an eye out for anything. She then turned her attention back to Aaron for a moment.

"I was actually hoping to get a chance to talk to you. Being up here by yourself does wonders for planning," she said and smiled, "I actually have two questions for you. The first.. I was wondering if you went looking for a generator. This hotel is alot like the ones I grew up in, and they usually always had a generator. If I can get that to kick on, we may have some power by the end of the day. The second thing.. I know you've searched around here, so I was wondering if you found any two-way radios. Maybe some of the police officers that had to be ..... 'put down' had some on them? They would come in handy when needing to communicate with each other.. especially when something looks off from up here."

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron - Hotel Roof

Aaron smiled slightly as Jessa looked off in the distance before asking her question.

"To be honest, by the time I got here I focused on supplies, making sure I was stocked up on food with backups and a few things to stay protected. By the time the thought of a generator popped in my head it was probably too cold to go searching and I can honestly say I've forgotten it since then. I'll gladly go with you and watch your back though. As for two way radios, having been on my own I didn't think about grabbing any, and I couldn't tell you where any of the dead police officers would be specifically at this point."

Aaron leaned back, enjoying the view on and from the roof. Things felt... safe. Relaxing. Weird in this world these days, but a nice reprieve from the norm.

"A fresh cold soda and a good hamburger would be perfect for a time like this. There are definitely a few things I miss about the good old days."

 

[SimplyJessi]

Jessa - Hotel Roof

A wry grin came across Jessa's face, and without a word she opened the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out two mini cans of soda. She offered one of then to Aaron and opened the other one. After taking a sip, she wrinkled her nose. She was never really much of a soda drinker before things started falling apart, so the burn of the caffeine and carbonation always took her off guard at first.

"I found these on my way here.. maybe a week ago. I was saving them for a special occassion.. guess this is as good a time as any. Not ice cold.. but could enough, right?" She asked.

"Afraid I can't do anything about the hamburger though," She said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"I saw ... Nikki..," she said with a bit of uncertainty since she wasn't very familiar with everyone yet, "coming back driving what looked like a police vehicle. Maybe she came across some radios while she was scouting for supplies. I'll ask as soon as I get relieved.. but that can wait until after we check out the generator. I'd be happy to have you watching my back. I may need you to manhandle the generator a bit for me."

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron - Hotel Roof

Aaron took the soda, an off brand regular cola, and popped the top, taking a small sip to test it.

"A little on the flat side, but amazingly okay. Ma'am, you are the shit."

Aaron chuckled slightly taking another sip.

"If we're lucky she found a few radios. I'll do my best to 'manhandle' the generator if needed."

Aaron smiled.

"Its kind of nice to have a few people around... someone to talk to." Aaron raised his can slightly "Share a drink with. Thanks for the soda."

 

[Ldy_Sea]

Nikki checked out three houses for a decent size shed and found nothing suitable for a horse. 'Just one more, she muttered to herself as she continued walking down the street keeping an eye out for walkers.

She thought she heard Mathildas voice on the other side of a wall and then she definitly heard an indistinct mans voice. Giggling she pictured Mathilda hooking up with one of the guys. Well at least someones gettin some, she thought ruefully, regretting hse hadn't made a move on Sarah before they left...

She got to the last house in sight and saw it had a big piece of land and what looked to be a barn. She walked towards it hoping it would work for Clip Clop.

 

[SimplyJessi]

"You're right. I guess it is nice to have someone to talk to. A whole winter without any contact.. I don't know, it could be nice. With some books, an imagination, and no walkers to keep you company. I haven't really made any opinions about this group yet. Some of them seem really interesting. It was really nice of you to share your hideout with all of us," she said.

Jessa stood up and walked to the edge of the roof to get a better look around. Everything still looked pretty clear. She let out a sigh and slid her thumbs into the pockets of her pants as she stood there.

"I guess this would be a good place for us to stay for a while if we managed to secure it a little better. Especially if we're able to find, and repair, the generator." She turned back around and looked at Aaron.

"So what do you think of this little group?" She asked.

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron - Hotel Roof

Aaron thought a moment to the question Jessa gave him, loaded as it may be. Considering his thoughts and his words carefully he looked at her.

"Honestly, nothing seems off for the moment. Odds are... decent that if we worked together we could make it a fair bit wherever we stayed or went. However, if we were to go somewhere the question is where. You and I have been solitary survivors for a bit and it seems like more than a few of the people who came into town yesterday were too. Being alone, in this environment, makes it hard to trust people. Harder to be trusted some times because you can't be sure of the history of someone just by stories and a chat. We are a group now for all of a few hours, and if the group is to continue then trust is something we are going to need in each other. I trust me. I feel I can trust you. There are a couple more people I can see as probably trustworthy, but I haven't gotten to talk to them, to know them."

Aaron took a sip of his soda and then set down the can on the roof. "I was going to school to be an engineer. I've always had an innate ability to see things and find the balance, whether its needed, failing or sturdy. The balance here is steady, but not stable yet. Only time can make that happen. I hope for stability, I will try to aim us in that direction, but I prepare for destruction in case it comes to that. I would rather it doesn't."