The Walking Dead: False Paradise / Episode 5 [IC - OPEN]

[Monfrox]

"Yeah, I just can't keep up with it all." Allison said back, yawning again. She was about as out of it as Gabrielle, but she was still managing. What she was going through wasn't that new to her. She stopped and followed Gabrielle's finger with her eyes to the glint that she was pointing at. She squinted hard but didn't really see it. She slung her rile into her hands and checked her magazine. "Make some noise, I got your back." She said, going into a half-crouch and holding the rifle down.

[Stormhound]

"No point starving to death if I'm going to die anyway," a tired Gerry muttered to himself, opening up his pack and pulling out the first thing he grabbed a hold of, which happened to be cheese & crackers amusingly enough. He reckoned it was ridiculous taking them with him, but they reminded him of home, before he ended up being sent to prison. He opened them and began eating, and at the same time, remain aware. Luckily, he had regained some clarity, and realized sitting on the side of the road about to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion was one of the worst places to be in. As soon as he finished, he would go back to that car and fall asleep inside.

[Phonencia]

Kenny
Shelton's Cabin

"Hehehe..." Kenny cracked up at the Shelton's rage. "Civilized? Now that's a word I haven't heard in a while."

Kenny took a seat on the living room couch and immediately swallowed a mouthful of whiskey. A stinging sensation pulsated down his throat. "Shit..." Kenny lightly coughed "...that burns."

"Anyways, I'll go ahead and apologize for all the noise. I just wanted to make sure you heard me." Kenny smirked before changing to more sincere tone. "Look, I know I have Zoe to take care of and trust me I want to keep that girl safe, but lately I've just been feeling like there's more I could doing for her and the people here. I want to make this place safe. Besides, if worse comes to worse, I've made arrangements for Scott and Gabrielle to watch over Zoe."

"I just need something to do." Kenny stared deeply into the flames of the fireplace before saying, "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you plan to deal with Stryker?"

"We're going to meet him at a neutral place like we agreed, and we're going to talk things over and come up with an agreement on land boundaries and then stay the fuck away from each other. Forever."
The Captain replied, leaning against the wall next to the fireplace and glancing at Nick.
"And if he decides to pull a fast one we're going to fuck up his shit."

Kenny's loyalty and silence couldn't be counted on, at least not from The Captain's end. But, he was by no means useless either.
"If you want to help out, just go to the militia training days, pay attention and learn to fight, then we'll start putting you on patrols. In the mean time, you can work in the gardens and the animal pens."
He offered.

[Nexeria]

Kenny
Shelton's Cabin

"Militia training, eh? Not a bad idea. I can safely say I know how to handle a walker in close quarters, but fighting people is another thing, so I should probably brush up on my combat skills." Kenny replied, resting the whiskey glass back on the coffee, before standing back up and making his way toward the door. "Guess I'll go take a walk around The Compound."

Just as Kenny reached for the door handle, he looked back at The Captain and said, "Hey, Cap', try to make a peaceful deal with Stryker. There's no need to risk lives for a war that could have easily been avoided." Kenny then nodded a goodbye and departed from the cabin.

A few minutes after leaving Shelton's place, Kenny ran into Curtis Barkley, the father of Zoe's friend, Nathan Barkley. "Oh, hey there, Curtis."

"Kenny, right?" Curtis replied, eyeing over Kenny's scarred face.

"Yeah. Nice morning, isn't it?" Kenny asked in a calm, pleasant tone.

"Better than most, but then again it is all just a facade, right? We're over here watering daisies while the rest of the world feasts upon itself." Curtis replied in grim, cynical tone.

"I suppose you're right about that, but it's better than being out there."

"Not if it makes us weak."

"You believe that?"

"Strength is one of the most important things in this sick new world, Kenny boy. You have to be stronger than everyone, if you want to survive. I'm not just talking about physique, either. I'm talking about will. The will to do whatever you have to in order to survive. In order to protect the ones you care about. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, Curtis, I completely understand." Kenny replied, suffering some unsettling flashbacks.

"So, where you off to, Kenny?" Curtis changed the subject.

"I was going to drop by militia training and brush up on some hand-to-hand combat."

"You box?" Curtis asked, intrigued by his answer.

"I used to. My dad forced me into some matches when I was younger, but I haven't put the gloves in long time."

"I got some gloves back my place, if you wanna do a quick sparring session?" Curtis replied in a more lightening, friendly tone.

"Well, shit, I suppose I could do that. Zoe's probably still sleeping anyways, so I got time to spare." Kenny replied before proceeding to follow Curtis back to his house.

Zoe
Kenny's Cabin

After awaking from yet another restless night, Zoe took short walk around the cabin. To her surprise, Kenny was nowhere to be found.

"He must have went out." She said to herself. Zoe didn't bother to wake Johnny. Instead, she slid into her puffy, pink jacket and donned a pair of white snow boots before exiting the cabin.

[Verkaria]

Emily rubbed the back of her neck, blinking in surprise. "That's it? That was easier than I expected. Who else is going, if anyone?"

Stryker
The Church

"Five people... you and me is two. Jess is someone else I trust to not fuck things up. I suppose that I can bring Grimm and Lyle and that'll be it," Stryker looked off into the distance for a moment and his eyes glazed over in thought. "We're taking the HUMVEE," he said after a while. "Go get the others and make sure that the truck has enough fuel for the trip."

[Nexeria]

Kenny
The Compound - Curtis Barkley’s Cabin

Upon entering the cabin, the first thing Kenny noticed were three high school football trophies, among photos of family and friends, resting on the mantle above the fireplace. “Quite a collection you got there, Coach,” Kenny said. It was evident that the man must have lived close by.

“Yeah… those were far better times,” Curtis replied as he stepped up to the fireplace to admire his achievements. “After this place was established, I went back to my house to gather this stuff, so I could remember how things used to be. I needed to remember. It’s not good to forget the people that built you. You know what I mean?”

“I do. My group lost a lot of good people before we settled down here. I try to remember their names every day. Johann Steele… Rick Fong… Xia Chan… Li Chan… Yoni Kurliss… Jacob Dwyer… so many others…” Kenny somberly replied before leaning in to get a closer look at the Barkley family portrait. The image shows Curtis Barkley standing next to his beautiful, light-skinned wife as the both of them rests a hand on Nathan’s shoulder as they all smile happily towards the photographer. Obviously, it was far better times.

Catching Kenny eyeing the portrait, Curtis began speaking about his wife, “Her name was Samantha. She didn’t like it when people tried to shorten her name to Sam or Sammy. No, for her it was always Samantha. I always thought that was funny,” Curtis grabbed the portrait from off mantle to closer examine it. “I met her my junior year of high school. She was an artist and a cheerleader. I first noticed her during one afternoon of football practice. She had shiny black hair, pearly white teeth, and beautiful brown eyes. The moment I saw her and just how stunning she was, I got pounced on by a two-hundred and fifty pound linebacker. Knocked the wind right out of me and broke my goddamn ankle. So, in a way, she literally took by my fucking breath away. After I got out of the hospital, I asked her to go to the prom with me, even though I was still on crutches. Hell, we didn’t even get to dance that night with how much I was complaining, but she just thought the whole thing was funny. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to marry her,” Curtis let out a sigh of anger before saying, “I fucking loved her so much.”

“I’m… uh… sorry for your loss,” Kenny responded, unsure of what else to say, as he glanced away towards the window.

“You ain’t got nothing to be sorry about. Not like you started this shit. That’s one of the most annoying things about this whole damn mess, we don’t have to anybody to blame. A bunch of fucking dead people rising up to eat our flesh, now that’s gotta be somebody’s fault. Sometimes, I just wish I had somebody to hate,” Curtis replied, resting the photograph softly back onto the mantle, before snapping back into his previous determined mood. “Alright, enough of this shit. Let’s head down to the basement and duke it out a bit.”

“Sure. Lead the way,” Kenny replied, scratching the back of his head, before following Curtis downstairs. “Shit!” Kenny exclaimed as he was suddenly thrown off his balance by a wobbly step at the very top of the wooden staircase. He quickly grabbed onto the railing and planted his foot onto the next step before centering himself.

“Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you to watch your step. I’ve been meaning to fix that for a while now,” Curtis apologized.

“It’s cool, man. Mind if I take a look at it?” Kenny asked, already kneeling down to closer examine the problem. “Maybe, I can fix it before someone hurts themselves.”

“Sure, go for it.” Curtis replied as he began rummaging through a cardboard box.

Upon closer inspection of the plank, Kenny noticed a few loose screws and that one of the planks had been slowly cracking down the middle. “Well, some of the screws are popping loose and the step itself appears to be splitting in half. I suppose it would be best if we just replace the board.”

“Uh… I wouldn't worry about it right now. I invited you over here so we could blow off some steam. Now put these on,” Curtis responded as he tossed Kenny a pair of white boxing gloves.

Kenny simply shrugged before sliding the gloves on. There was a clear enough space in the basement for Curtis to outline an imaginary ring with a piece of chalk before sliding on a pair of blue boxing gloves. “Did you ever get a nickname, Kenny? Me, I’m Curtis “Barraging” Barkley.”

“Nice… but no, I never got a fancy boxing nickname like that.” Kenny replied as he readied himself in his corner of the ring.

“What’s your last name?” Curtis asked.

“Fountain. It would’ve been Fontaine had my father not changed the name. He never did give me a good explanation as to why he did that,” Kenny answered.

“Maybe, you should start going by Fontaine instead. I think it sounds cooler,” Curtis honestly responded as he warmed up with some stretches.

“I’ll think about it,” Kenny replied as he loosened up his right arm.

“How about Kenny “The Flaming” Fontaine?” Curtis replied with a mischievous grin running across his dark, rugged face.

“Is that some sort of joke?” Kenny lightheartedly asked motioning his hand across his own scarred face.

“That’s exactly what that was, Kenneth. Now, you can rest assured that I was not calling you gay. You’re not gay, are you?” Curtis inquired in a calm, curious tone.

“No, but what’s it to you anyhow? Are you looking for a boyfriend, Curtis?” Kenny joked back before stepping closer into the ring.

“Oh, shit! Young Kenneth’s trying to start some shit up in here!” Curtis shouted as if he had his own imaginary entourage standing behind him. Curtis then stepped up to Kenny before raising his fists and positioning his legs correctly on the ground. “Well, hop to it young buck! I ain’t got all day!”

Kenny began with a swift right hook that Curtis easily dodged before delivering a counter punch into Kenny’s stomach. “C’mon, man, a five-year-old could have seen that swing coming!” Curtis stated before backing up to allow Kenny to recuperate. Kenny quickly regained his balance and resumed the training session. As the two of them sparred, Kenny remembered something that slightly unnerved him. “Say, Curtis, I remember seeing your son, Nathan, the other day with a black eye and I was just wondering how he got it.”

“Huh? Oh, that! It was stupid. A few days ago, I accidentally elbowed the boy while I was cooking dinner. He just snuck up on me and near about scared the shit out of me, so I instinctively swung my arm back and accidentally popped the boy in the eye. He started crying, I told him that I was sorry, he kept crying, so then I told him that he should act like a man, and then he ran off and cried some more. He’s a sensitive kid. I’ve been trying to toughen him up, but you know how kid’s can be,” Curtis honestly replied almost without any hesitation. “Why? You didn’t think I beat my kid did ya?”

“What?! No! I assumed it was an accident. I was just wondering how he got it.” Kenny skittishly responded.

“Sure you did,” Curtis sarcastically replied, his happy mood remained unchanged, as he continued on with the fight.

Zoe
The Compound

As Zoe walked around the Compound looking for Kenny, she spotted Nathan Barkley standing on the front porch of his father’s cabin. The boy was sitting in
a rocking chair while polishing something shiny and silver. Intrigued, Zoe approached the cabin as she called out to him, “Hi, Nathan. Have you seen Kenny anywhere? I haven’t seen him all morning.”

Surprised to see Zoe standing in the front yard, Nathan tucked the object he was fiddling with into his coat pocket before saying, “Yeah, I saw him and my dad go down into the basement.”

“Oh! Well, that’s good. So what are you doing?” Zoe asked as she walked up the porch steps and approached Nathan.

“Uh… I wasn't doing anything. I was just… daydreaming,” Nathan responded, scratching at his left ear, while keeping his right arm tucked in close across his stomach.

“I know your hiding something in your coat, Nathan. I saw you holding something before I walked over here. You might as well show me what it is,” Zoe replied, pointing toward his coat pocket with her prosthetic hand, as she leaned against a wooden post.

“I’m not supposed to show anyone. My dad told me not to,” Nathan replied.

“Well, you could show me. I mean we are friends, right?” Zoe asked as she glanced at a woodcutter’s ax resting in a tree stump in the front yard.

“Yeah… okay. Just don’t tell anyone I showed you this,” Nathan said as he pulled out a Walther PPK before unintentionally pointing the barrel directly at Zoe.

“What are you doing?!” Zoe exclaimed as she immediately jumped to the side and away of firearm.

Nathan quickly pointed the gun away from Zoe, placing it on the chair next to him, before apologizing, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“It’s fine. It’s okay. Just be more careful next time. It’s not very smart to point guns at your friends,” Zoe replied as she readjusted her posture.

“I know. I know. Sorry, my dad just gave me it yesterday. He said it’s to protect us from the monsters and anyone else that tried to hurt us,” Nathan explained before picking up the Walther PPK and placing it back on his lap.

“I get what you mean,” Zoe responded before unzipping her jacket and removing her Sig Pro handgun from its holster. She held the firearm up high and away from Nathan whilst making sure the safety was on. “Kenny gave me this. He’s been training me on how to shoot. He’s really been freaking out about safety lately and he thought that I should have gun just in case something bad was to happen.”

“Oh, cool,” Nathan responded. There was then an awkward, long, strung-out pause that lingered on between the two, until Nathan suddenly hopped to his feet and asked, “Hey, do you want to see something cool?”

“Sure,” Zoe answered, shrugging ever so slightly, before moving aside to let Nathan pass around her.

“Follow me. It’s in the backyard.” Nathan stated, setting his pistol back into his coat pocket, as he started down the porch steps before circling around the cabin. Zoe made sure to tuck her handgun back into its holster before proceeding to follow Nathan.

[Nexeria]

Kenny
The Compound: The Barkley House

"So, how long have you lived around here, Curtis?" Kenny asked as he strafed left to right preparing to counter Curtis's next swing.

"About my whole life. This cabin here actually belongs to me. I've owned for about... uh... twelve years now. Yeah, twelve. Guess I got lucky when those soldier boys came round and began stacking up those walls outside. Only wish they showed up sooner," Curtis responded, thinking about the ones he lost, as he leaned in for a quick, left jab.

Kenny kept his guard up as he replied, "Yeah, I can understand what you mean."

"So just how bad has it gotten out there?" Curtis inquired.

"From what I've seen, it's nothing good, and I can't say it's getting better or worse. There's just no way to know for sure. All I know is, the living keep dying and the dead keep living," Kenny answered in somewhat somber tone.

"That's not a very comforting thought," Curtis replied.

"Didn't expect it to be," Kenny stated. "As long we're inside these walls here I think-"

CRACK! CRACK!

The sound of a two gunshots is heard being fired from the backyard and is quickly followed by frantic shrieking. Kenny and Curtis glance at each other before throwing off their boxing gloves and bolting upstairs. Curtis barrels through the backdoor as Kenny stumbles behind him. The two are quickly thrown out of balance at what they discover. Nathan is lying in the snow covered in his own blood crying as Zoe kneels heaped over in a terrified state of panic.

"NATHAN! GOD, NO!" Curtis bolts over to his son's side as Kenny rushes over to Zoe. To Curtis's dismay, Nathan has been bullet hole going through his chest. The boy's crying is heart-wrenching as his father tries to stop the bleeding with his bare hands. He looks his son in the eyes, holding pressure down on the wound, while saying, "Everything's gonna be okay, Nate! Just stay with me, Son! Just keep breathing! Please! Don't do this to me! Not again!"

Kenny fell to his knees and gripped Zoe by her shoulders desperately asking, "Are you okay?! Zoe?! Look at me?!" Kenny looked down noticing that she was perfectly fine, until he looked at her shaking hand latched onto her Sig Pro. Kenny glared into her shell-shocked eyes as he quietly ordered her to let go of the gun. She then released the handgun into Kenny's hands. "It's okay, Zoe. Everything's gonna be alright, Kiddo."

Kenny knew what a lie sounded like, but it what was all he could say.

Noticing Curtis's hunched over hugging his dying son, Kenny slowly approached the grieving man. The boy's cries had grown fainter. Setting his palm on Curtis's shoulder, Kenny said, "Curtis... he's-"

"Don't fucking touch me and don't fucking say it!" Curtis released his son as he bounced up and smacked Kenny in the across the chin. Kenny fell flat on his back as Curtis glanced over at Zoe. "This is all her fucking fault," Curtis said in a grim tone, tears streaming down his face, as he began marching toward the little girl. "You little fucking bitch!"

Zoe remained unresponsive and unfazed by her surroundings as she stared blankly into the red snow surrounding Nathan's corpse. Her mind warped in a clutter of confusion and guilt.

"Don't!" Kenny yelled as he tackled the former football player to the ground. The two men began rolling back and forth violently striking each other.

The former linebacker then kneed Kenny in the stomach before elbowing him across the cheekbone and pinning him to the ground. Curtis then proceeded to choke the life out of Kenny while screaming, "You motherfucker! He was my Son! That girl means nothing to you! You piece of shit!"

Using his left hand, Kenny quickly slid the Sig Pro up to Curtis's throat before pulling the trigger. In one rapid second, the entirety of Curtis Barkley's life, every accomplishment, every person he ever knew, every single cherished memory tucked away safely inside his mind was sent flying out the top of his skull in the form of a red mist. The blood spattered against the side of the cabin and down upon Kenny and the snow.

Kenny then threw the man aside before hopping to his feet. His heart was in flutter of immediate regret and fear. Realizing that it would be only moments before somebody came around to investigate, Kenny rushed back to Zoe's side and began ordering her to return the cabin. Noticing that she was still unresponsive, Kenny swiftly slapped her across the face before pulling her close and clearly saying, "Zoe, you have got to listen to me. Go back to the cabin. Go around through the trees over there. Go. Right now. You were never here. You didn't see anything. You didn't do anything. You were never here. Do you understand me?"

Zoe gave slight nod before darting into the forested-area of the compound as she made her way back to the cabin. As soon as she was out of sight, Kenny walked over to Nathan Barkley's still body knowing full-well that the child was going to turn. With an uneasy feeling brewing in his stomach, Kenny raised the Sig Pro yet again before aiming it at the boy's head and looking away.

CRACK!

With much remorse and the ever-present thought that someone would be coming to investigate, Kenny took off into the woods behind Zoe.

[Tiltjuice]

"Yeah, I just can't keep up with it all." Allison said back, yawning again. She was about as out of it as Gabrielle, but she was still managing. What she was going through wasn't that new to her. She stopped and followed Gabrielle's finger with her eyes to the glint that she was pointing at. She squinted hard but didn't really see it. She slung her rile into her hands and checked her magazine. "Make some noise, I got your back." She said, going into a half-crouch and holding the rifle down.

Footsteps crunched through the foliage and snow as Gabrielle took Allison literally in her state.

Then...

BANG. BANG. BANG as she slammed the butt of her Surefire flashlight against the car's wheel well. "Hey, wake up and put your hands where we can see them!"

[Stormhound]

"Yeah, I just can't keep up with it all." Allison said back, yawning again. She was about as out of it as Gabrielle, but she was still managing. What she was going through wasn't that new to her. She stopped and followed Gabrielle's finger with her eyes to the glint that she was pointing at. She squinted hard but didn't really see it. She slung her rile into her hands and checked her magazine. "Make some noise, I got your back." She said, going into a half-crouch and holding the rifle down.

Footsteps crunched through the foliage and snow as Gabrielle took Allison literally in her state.

Then...

BANG. BANG. BANG as she slammed the butt of her Surefire flashlight against the car's wheel well. "Hey, wake up and put your hands where we can see them!"

Despite his sleep deprived state, the loud sound set Gerry awake. He yelped loudly, clutching his head after accidentally banging his head against the door. Slowly, the sleep deprived man opened the door, arms held up like the woman ordered, and walked around the car. "What do you want?" he asked gruffly, suspecting they were going to demand any supplies he carried on him.

[Monfrox]

"We're asking the questions, boyo." Allison said, walking around with her rifle aimed squarely at the man. "Let's start with the easy ones. What's your name, where you from, who else is in that car, and what weapons ya got on ya." She said, blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face. She was enough away to be able to react should be break for it or come at them, and she hoped he wasn't stupid enough to try anything with two others outnumbering and outgunning him.

[Stormhound]

"We're asking the questions, boyo." Allison said, walking around with her rifle aimed squarely at the man. "Let's start with the easy ones. What's your name, where you from, who else is in that car, and what weapons ya got on ya." She said, blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face. She was enough away to be able to react should be break for it or come at them, and she hoped he wasn't stupid enough to try anything with two others outnumbering and outgunning him.

Gerry had to take a second glance at Allison after noticing her pink hair. "What crazy new fad are you kids into nowadays?" he asked, before realizing that it was probably best to try and keep his prison life secret. "My name is Gerry, last name ain't important, and as for weapons." he reached for the razor from it's hold and tossed it over to the two women. "I have a chain inside my car. If you want anything to eat, I'm nearly out, but more than willing to spare what I got for the poor and needy."

[Torrocca]

Outside, somewhere away from the compound...

"Ah, goddammit," James muttered as he slowly stepped over the decayed, rotted corpses of walkers and humans, indistinguishable from one another. Several were charred, indicating that they were deliberately put here. A few of the remains still moved, which James avoided entirely, despite whatever it was that was still alive being far too weak to actually do anything to him. "Hey, Frankie! Why don't you get over here and check out this car, eh?" he said to a fellow survivor, who trailed cautiously behind him. "Huh? Yeah, right away, boss," he replied, semi-sarcastically, hustling over to the camouflaged, dusty car that sat there in the field. Looking inside, he caught glimpse of a hefty amount of blood, staining the seats and the windshield, as well as the driver's window, which had cracked and shattered open from a bullet.

"Hey, you wonder why they brought all these corpses out here into the middle of this field?" James asked, keeping a watchful eye on the trees as Frank smashed open the driver's window and searched the military vehicle. "Probably so that they didn't scare anyone they were taking these things away from?" the youngster asked, pulling junk and non-valuables from the glove compartment. "Could've been any reason, really. Probably surprising to whoever else stumbled upon this mess," he added on, pulling a handgun from the compartment, while muttering, "nice..." "Y'know, I'm surprised no one looted this thing yet," James replied, checking his watch as the search continued on, "I mean; a vehicle, sittin' out in the middle of nowhere, and no one had any sort of luck finding this thing? Not even the military guys bothered to take much from it."

"Nope, not at a-" the distant echo of two successive gunshots, coming from the direction of the compound, alerted James and startled Franklin. "You hear that, Frankie?" James asked, wondering what the hell happened. "Yeah, I definitely heard it, James!" he replied with anger in his voice, shutting up as James shh'd him. "No one from the Compound would'a just done that without a good damned reason, Frankie... now, why wo-" "AAGGH!!!"

"Frank!" James spun around, rifle aimed right at the poor boy, who found himself assaulted by an unseen lurker, which was stowed away beneath the car they searched. Biting into his ankle, the starving beast pulled the man to the ground and began to tear into his leg. It was quickly dispatched by James, who put it down with a bullet to the head, but the damage was already done. The screams of the poor kid and the gunshot alerted walkers in the forest opposite of the compound of their whereabouts, and out they came. James tried to pull the boy up, but a struggling, charred hand from the pile of corpses grabbed the boy's arm and held him tightly. The horde grew ever closer as the man struggled to save his comrade's life.

"Agh, goddammit, Frankie!" he shouted, tugging on the boy's arm to get him away from the corpses. He glanced under the car, and simply spotted feet of shuffling corpses, dangerously close to him and the car. He tried in vain once more to move the boy, then simply let him go, running for his life as the boy reached out to him and yelled, "JAAAMEEEEES!!!" The blood-curdling cries of pain came immediately after, as the beasts fell upon him and feasted on his flesh.

[Nexeria]

Kenny
The Compound: Kenny's Cabin

Kenny stumbled up the trail leading to his cabin before barging in through the front door. He immediately slammed the door shut behind him and locked it before pulling out Zoe's Sig Pro and checking the magazine. Counting the individual bullets and the shots that he heard fired, he quickly realized that Zoe had only fired one shot meaning that Nathan may have shot at Zoe. Jesus Fucking Christ, Zoe. What the hell happened out there? Kenny thought, putting the magazine back in the gun, before resting gun on the coffee table in the living room.

Kenny hurried into Zoe's room, where he found her resting against side of her bed watching the snow fall outside the window. Stepping around the bed, Kenny knelt down next to the girl, resting a hand on the bedpost, before asking her, "Zoe, you alright?"

Zoe kept her eyes fixed on the window, focusing on the falling snow, as if the entire world around her did not exist.

"Zoe, what happened? He shot at you, right? That's why you shot him?" Kenny asked as he moved directly in her line-of-sight.

Zoe glanced at Kenny's disfigured face, then at the blood splattered across his coat, before squinting her eyes and replying, "I... I didn't shoot anyone."

"What? What are you talking about, Zoe? At the Barkley's house, why did you shoot him?" Kenny repeated the question.

"Shoot who? I didn't shoot anyone. I was never there. I didn't do anything," Zoe responded in a puzzled tone as if she actually believed what she was saying. "Kenny... why... why do you have blood on you?"

"What the fuck?" Kenny whispered to himself as he backed away from the girl. She completely blacked the entire event out of her mind. Why? The situation was not looking good. Kenny rushed into his room and quickly changed into a clean plaid red-and-black coat. As Kenny ran back through the living room, he paused and looked at the lit fireplace before remembering that he had just killed a man. "Fuck... I... I... I don't know what to do."

[Monfrox]

"How 'bout you mind your own business and answer those other two questions, Gerry?" Allison retorted in a low tone. She slid the rifle off her shoulder and under her armpit in a more relaxed position with it still pointed to the man. She figured the pink hair took the seriousness away from being fully clad in woodland camo BDUs. Still, she hoped to play the "poor and needy" part for as long as possible since she didn't exactly trust this new guy.

[Kassaran]

He'd been sitting still for long enough, the girl seemed to have spaced out and now he just needed to get the hell out of dodge and so, taking to his feet, he began to lope towards the door of the church, and bursting through the door, he felt yet another stab of pain in his lungs as he stumbled through the threshold. For a moment it appeared he was going to stumble, but regaining his balance, he found himself suddenly outside the church and running for the nearest wall. While most of the church appeared to be just getting up around the area, as he moved through the camp, he could hear whispers of something about "walkers" and an "ambush" of some kind. Then the memories from the night before began to come in and remembering what had been said, it apparently had been this "Compound" that they were speaking against. Not one prone to flights of fancy, he however had surmised through his rather short introduction with the leader that this place was not a nice place to be, and while it was against his plan of heading north, something the other man from the car had said had him thinking. He knew what cold could be, but he'd never been forced to actually be out in it for longer than he could bear.

Thoughts of the tale of "Valley Forge" and the "Donner Party" began to file into his mind's eye as he made his way up on top of the wall between the vehicles making up the main sections of the barrier. Taking a quick look over the other side and making sure he had no unpleasant surprises waiting in the forest for him, he dropped down and let himself over the side and hit the ground running back in the direction he'd come from, seeing the road curling up and into the distance beyond. While the impact hit him hard, he no longer had his pack, or his supplies, and that meant worst of all, he had no weapons to think or speak of. Just like Orleans, he thought bitterly as he reminisced on the city-turned-wasteland by the coming these ghoulish nightmares that now infested the world. He couldn't stop now though and worry about that; these new people were plotting against this "Compound", and all the while he had been sleeping, they had been enacting some sort of plan. Now he needed to make best speed, against whatever his body was telling him, and get to them before whatever consequences of this barbaric group calling themselves a "Church" did.

[Stormhound]

"Bite me, you've probably never heard of it." Gerry spat back, although he was certain that being snarky might not be the best thing to be at the moment. "My last name is Johnson and I come from up north." he answered a bit more helpfully. The last thing he needed was to piss these people off, anymore than he already had. Being a little more cautious, he tried to stay calm. "Why don't you just let me go? All of my stuff is in the car, I've never seen you before a day in my life, there'd be no point in killing me."

[Cylarn]

The gunshots echoed throughout the Compound, and while the residents and guards in other areas of the Compound regarded the shots as being the result of a nightly culling of the Walkers below the wall, the residents and soldiers in the area immediately reacted. Civilians came out of their homes to investigate, while a team of soldiers swooped in to secure the area around the bodies of the deceased father and son. A small crowd gathered as the soldiers closed off the area and draped tarps over the bodies in order to protect them from the elements until they were ready to move the remains. As this went on, a stoned Scott happened upon the scene, making his way through the crowd up to the security line. being a recognized member of the security force, he was allowed entry into the scene. His eyes made contact with the veiled corpses, the blood on the ground, the heavy pile of disruptions in the blanket of snow, and he began to analyze the scene. He was no Detective, but the ex-cop began to analyze the scene.

He approached the smaller blanket-bulge first, and a feeling of dread rose in him. Please don't let this be what I think it is... he repeated in his head as he slowly stepped forward and knelt down by the corpse of the boy. He could guess what was under the black tarp; he had seen enough corpses of children to know. Did that null the effect of knowing that a dead child was lying in front of him? No. Although the apocalypse had increased the amount of dead children that he encountered, he wasn't enough of a cold monster to completely put aside his disgust at the death of a child. His hand slowly lifted the tarp up and tossed it back, greeting Scott with the bloody corpse of the child. He winced as he looked at the corpse, but his eyes moved on to analyze the wounds on the corpse as his left hand reached into his jacket and produced a small taclight, which he used to illuminate the corpse and further increase the sadness in his heart for the deceased child. With his gloved hand, he touched the hard corpse, feeling the stone-skinned chest of the boy through the bloody shirt until he came into contact with some soft, and a bit slimy. His eyes, having followed his fingers, located the wound as well, with the help of the bright beam of light coming from the taclight. It seemed that the boy had been shot in the chest and head, and took solace in the fact that the boy had been spared the burden of undeath.

The deed done, Scott looked up towards the soldiers and civilians as the bodies were wrapped up in the tarps and carried away, giving a breath of relief as he watched the bodies being carried off to be disposed of. Scott then looked down at the crime scene, and he began to analyze the scene, with his eyes locating the bloody trail leading away from the scene. Looks like there was a physical struggle that turned lethal, but the victor didn't manage to get away unscathed. He pointed his flashlight at the trail of blood and began to follow it, just as another squad of men arrived to begin patrolling the area, starting their tasks by moving the civilians back into their homes. Word was most likely radioed in to the command, warning of the shooting situation. Scott continued onward, his pistol and flashlight in hand, pursuing the end of the blood trail, so that he could put an end to the sick fuck that murdered the child.

The trail of blood soon brought him to an unexpected location: Kenny's house. For Scott, this meant one of two situations was playing out. Either the gunman had wandered into Kenny's house and taken him and Zoe hostage, or it had been Kenny who had killed the kid and the man. Scott didn't want to believe the latter; Kenny was a great guy, and he would never kill someone without a proper cause, and Scott would never think that Kenny would ever harm a living child, considering his reaction when Scott doubted that amputation could save Zoe from the infection. However, the blood led to Kenny's, and Scott had no idea what was behind the door. Slowly, he lifted up his fist and gave three loud knocks on the wooden door, keeping his pistol lowered down by his side, ready to pull it up and take aim, if he had to. He took a deep breath, and waited for Kenny to react.

[Nexeria]

Kenny
The Compound: Kenny's Cabin

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Kenny shuddered at the sound of the beating as he glared at the front door. Kenny began panicking as his mind raced nervously. Someone knows what happened. Someone saw what happened. That's why they're here now. They're gonna kill me. They're gonna kill Zoe. Maybe, maybe they'll understand how it went down and everything will be alright... or maybe they'll think I murdered that boy and kill me on the spot. They'll probably just shoot me and Zoe dead with no questions asked. I... I can't let that happen.

Kenny raised Zoe's Sig Pro as he very carefully crept towards the door. He couldn't risk losing his own life over an accident, and he especially couldn't risk losing Zoe over it. Whoever was behind that door had to be taken care of. No matter the cost, Kenny had to keep Zoe safe. Just as he reached for the door handle, Kenny realized what he was about to do and holstered the gun, as he whispered to himself, "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Opening the door, Kenny was more than surprised to discover that the man standing on his front porch was none other than his friend, Scott Sheridan. "Scott," Kenny said in low voice, tilting his head to see if anyone followed the former police officer, before continuing, "Of course it'd be you. It's... uh... really good see you."

Taking a step back, Kenny asked, "Would you like to come in? I assume you have something you want to talk about, right?"

[Cylarn]

As the door opened, Scott holstered his pistol and put away his flashlight. He made direct eye contact with Kenny, listening to the man as he spoke and making note of his body language, the way he articulated his words, and any other indication that Kenny was aware of the situation. Kenny seemed extremely nervous and distraught, what with how he checked behind Scott as to see if he was being followed, the way he spoke as though he was under duress, and ultimately, the blood trail leading from the crime scene, would show Scott that his friend was involved in the killings. Scott gave Kenny an intense glare, silent for a few seconds before he decided to speak up.

"Don't fuck me about, Kenny!" he said in a firm, menacing tone of voice, before lowering the hostility in his voice a small amount. "There's a trail of blood leadin' here, you're tense, and the soldiers are draggin' away the corpses of a boy and who I presume was his father. I'm not gonna beat around the bush here; you tell me exactly what happened, so that me and Gabrielle can try to fix this. Don't lie to me; we've been through more shit in the past year than I've been through with the Corps, so you need to forward me the luxury of honesty."

Scott took a deep breath, and maintained his glare as he waited for Kenny to explain the situation. He didn't think that Kenny would try to assault him, but he maintained his peripherals, in case Kenny attempted to assault him.

[Nexeria]

As the door opened, Scott holstered his pistol and put away his flashlight. He made direct eye contact with Kenny, listening to the man as he spoke and making note of his body language, the way he articulated his words, and any other indication that Kenny was aware of the situation. Kenny seemed extremely nervous and distraught, what with how he checked behind Scott as to see if he was being followed, the way he spoke as though he was under duress, and ultimately, the blood trail leading from the crime scene, would show Scott that his friend was involved in the killings. Scott gave Kenny an intense glare, silent for a few seconds before he decided to speak up.

"Don't fuck me about, Kenny!" he said in a firm, menacing tone of voice, before lowering the hostility in his voice a small amount. "There's a trail of blood leadin' here, you're tense, and the soldiers are draggin' away the corpses of a boy and who I presume was his father. I'm not gonna beat around the bush here; you tell me exactly what happened, so that me and Gabrielle can try to fix this. Don't lie to me; we've been through more shit in the past year than I've been through with the Corps, so you need to forward me the luxury of honesty."

Scott took a deep breath, and maintained his glare as he waited for Kenny to explain the situation. He didn't think that Kenny would try to assault him, but he maintained his peripherals, in case Kenny attempted to assault him.

Kenny
The Compound: Kenny's Cabin

"What happened?" Kenny replied in startled tone, extending his palms out to Scott in order show he posed no threat, as he stepped back further into his home. "What happened was really fucking bad, Scott! Really fucking bad!"

Kenny grazed his fingers through his cold, greasy hair as he tried to think of the best way to explain the situation. Realizing that Scott was just about the only person that could help him now, Kenny began speaking very rapidly, "Okay, I- I went over to Curtis Barkley's house because he invited me over. We started chatting. I told him I used box a little back in high school. He gets excited and wants to spar with me. So I agreed and we went down into his basement for the next 40 or so minutes just throwing punches back and forth. Then, out of absolutely fucking nowhere, we hear two gunshots go off in his backyard! We both storm out of the house to find Curtis's son, Nathan, bleeding all over the fucking place and Zoe sitting in the snow about 15 feet away from him! I don't know why she was even there! I run up to her to see if she's alright and when get to her I see... I see... I see that fucking gun we gave her. You know the one, the fucking Sig Pro. I checked the gun, I checked it, Zoe only fired one bullet meaning that the boy may have shot at her first, but I don't know!"

There was brief pause as Kenny gathered his thoughts before continuing with the story, "Anyways, Curtis's son... he... uh... he stops moving. I walk over to Curtis and when I get to him, the boy's already gone. Curtis gets furious and tries to attack Zoe. I get in his way, so he starts attacking me instead. He pins me on the ground and starts choking me, trying to fucking kill me and Zoe, Scott, so I go for my gun and... and you know the rest. I didn't want to kill him, Scott. Believe me, I didn't want to hurt that man. I just... I had to do something."

[Khelshar]

Infirmary
After several hours in the hospital bed, Thomas started thinking clearly again, and not just random thoughts. He started to analyze what had happened.

"Ok, so I had a blackout, and wakes up here with a fractured rib and slight cut wounds along my wrist. Cutting the wrist is the same as cutting the pulse, and that always done as suicide. So in the blackout I must have attempted suicide. Why would I do that, out of nowhere?"
Out of nowhere, he heard two faint gunshots. He looked at the guard in the corner. His job was rather cynical, waiting for people to die so he had to shoot them. When that idea struck him, his eyes looked down towards his feet, and saw them being cuffed to the bed. As a safety measure in case of death. His eyes turned to his hands, and not before then he realized they were cuffed to the bed as well.

He started thinking about what had happened. He always did that, but now he wanted to think about what everything had done to him. The conclusion was that he had was mentally fucked by the entire apocalypse, which made sense. He had become mentaly unstable, which manifests itself with mental breakdowns, blackouts and bursts of extreme aggressive behavior in dangerous situations. He ended up viewing it as his inner Viking being released, just not under control and much more dangerous. So then he decided that was stupid.

Since Thomas has a very common blood type, they had plenty of blood supplies, so it did not take all to long for them to stabilize the amount of blood in his body. His blood-flow was stable, and he felt tired of being tied to the bed. He asked the guard if he could release him, and since he was in the mental state to ask about something, the guard though he was good enough and let him go.

The guard gave him his equipment back, which was mostly his clothes and a half-empty canteen. He strapped on his boots and walked outside to the common area. The first view that met him was a group of stressed people stressing about. He was the security guards closing off a house, so it seemed like something bad happened. He knew he had nothing to do with it, so he just kept on walking.
The commotion did however gain his interest, so as he passed a random woman, he asked what had happened. “The football guy and his son has been murdered.” The woman said. He did not know about any football people around here, so it did not scare him as much as it should. He proceeded towards his cabin, which he shared with Kenny, Johnny and that little girl.

As he entered the porch, (I assume you have closed the door) he could hear people talking from the inside. It did not sound like a very pleasant conversation, being the one person sounding a little desperate. He did not wish to get involved in anything, so he sat down on the porch stairs and just sat down. He lit a cigarette and waited to the people were finished.

[Cylarn]

Scott listened closely as Kenny recounted the events from earlier, his intense eyes holding onto those of Kenny's. It seemed that he and Curtis had left Zoe and the other kid unattended, and from Scott's perspective, it sounded as though Zoe had accidentally discharged the weapon and fatally wounded the kid. With the disturbed snow back at the crime scene, Kenny's testimony, Kenny's facial injuries (given to him by Curtis), and Scott's bond with Kenny and Zoe, Scott had to take Kenny at his word. It was an accidental discharge, but this incident would further the dissent growing between the Ann Arbor Group and the rest of the Compound. Scott sighed and looked away from Kenny, toward the stairs of the house, before looking back at Kenny.

"Take a deep breath, go grab us some whiskey 'cause I know you have some, get Zoe down here, and let's sit down and think about what we're gonna do," he said, his tone much calmer. "I believe you, man, but you shouldn't have left them kids unattended with a loaded fuckin' gun, man. They should've had someone watchin' 'em, but we can't point fingers and think about what should've happened. But first, take a puff of this guy to clear your thoughts up."

Scott reached into his pocket, and held out a joint and his lighter. The high that he had from his previous encounter with his loving wife was long gone, and he needed to kill the stress for a second and think about how exactly they were going to play this. Kenny and Zoe were going to have to report the incident themselves, but that was just the easy part.

[Nexeria]

Kenny/Zoe
The Compound: Kenny's Cabin

"Yeah... alright. Just... just a minute. I'll be right back," Kenny responded, taking a puff from the joint, before walking into the kitchen and grabbing two bottles of whiskey. He walked back into the living room and rested the bottles down on the coffee table before saying, "That one's bourbon and the other one is scotch."

Kenny then walked upstairs and into Zoe's room where he found the girl laying on the floor staring at the ceiling. Kenny approached the child, glancing over her blank face, before saying, "Hey, Zoe. Scott's here and he wants to talk us. C'mon, kiddo, we shouldn't keep him waiting."

Zoe looked at Kenny for brief, silent moment before standing up and following him down the stairs. Sitting down on an old, brown sofa, Kenny poured himself glass a of bourbon whiskey. Zoe circled around the couch, before sitting down on the far left end, while avoiding direct eye contact with Scott. Instead of greeting the man, Zoe just stared at the burning fireplace. Kenny took a quick shot, nervously tapping his right foot, before saying, "Alright, let's figure this out."

[United World Order]

Johnny had been gone for quite some time. Three days to be accurate as he had gone off to complete a variety of menial tasks and even go on a supply run with several other compound residents. He had been sleeping some where else and not in the cabin with Kenny and Zoe. Now he was back within the confines of the compound, he had heard several shots which he waved off as someone practice shooting on walkers but then he found a blood trail. A blood trail that led right to the door step of his own cabin which he shared with Kenny and Zoe, Johnny upholstered his Colt Anaconda .44 magnum as he kept it by his side. He then calmly opened the door and stepped inside shutting the door after wards and walking into the living room. He then saw Kenny , Zoe and Scott sitting together and it seemed something was wrong and would explain the blood trail.

"What's going on..?" Johnny questioned the trio as he scratched his growing beard and looked back towards the door. "There's a blood trail leading to this house" He added as he looked back to the trio and placed his side arm back into his holster.

[Khelshar]

Johnny had been gone for quite some time. Three days to be accurate as he had gone off to complete a variety of menial tasks and even go on a supply run with several other compound residents. He had been sleeping some where else and not in the cabin with Kenny and Zoe. Now he was back within the confines of the compound, he had heard several shots which he waved off as someone practice shooting on walkers but then he found a blood trail. A blood trail that led right to the door step of his own cabin which he shared with Kenny and Zoe, Johnny upholstered his Colt Anaconda .44 magnum as he kept it by his side. He then calmly opened the door and stepped inside shutting the door after wards and walking into the living room. He then saw Kenny , Zoe and Scott sitting together and it seemed something was wrong and would explain the blood trail.

"What's going on..?" Johnny questioned the trio as he scratched his growing beard and looked back towards the door. "There's a blood trail leading to this house" He added as he looked back to the trio and placed his side arm back into his holster.

"Hey, I don't think you should---" he tried stopping Johnny from going inside, but it seemed like he ignored him. They went inside. Not much was happening, more than Kenny, Zoe and Scott sitting and talking. There was a slight smell of some sort of tobacco and the typical smell of sweat. Johhny asked what was going on, and not before did Thomas notice a trail of blood leading into the house. "What the---" he said quietly to himself. "There is a trail of blood leading to the house, what the hell?!" He exclaimed. He stopped to think a little. "What have you guys done?"