OUTBREAK: A Survival RP (IC/ENDED)

[Charlia]

"Alright, just be careful with her, she's worth quite a bit." he said, handing over his AR. "Her too" he motioned to Charlotte. "So, I noticed a bit of a commotion, everything alright here? Looks like someone went and built a... radio antenna... Okay..." he said, trying to contain his hope. If they could make contact, he could know. He could hope. He first decided to head to one of those medical guys. The Belgian, or the Marine? Eh, he'd look for both. Of course, finding a Marine would be easier than a Belgian. Marines had a way of... walking or whatnot. You could tell who was in the service or not. He had no idea if a Belgian walked any different. "This place will work. It will have too. You alright?" he asked to Charlotte.

He walked up to one fellow, a man with a rather bushy beard.

"You the Marine?" he asked, noticing the "recruits" nearby, doing exercises.

She turned red slightly and smiled, then nodded. "I think so... not as much pain as before, I think it's getting better over time. Whatever that stuff was that you used, I think it worked." Then he walked over to somebody, and she followed him. Why not?

[The United Federation of Terrans]

Eddie and his friend Duke had been sharing a ciggarette on guard duty when the newcomers arrived. The pulled their rifles, trained on each of their chests "Who the hell are you?" Duke sneered, then remembered the new leadership's rules "You need a place to stay?" his tone softened "All we ask is that you remove any weapons, just find a bunk to crash. If you need medical treatment find either the Marine or the Belgian, they both know first aid. Go right on in"

---

Vincent collapsed after he'd read Sam's note. Each word stung like a thousand wasps, all aimed at his heart. She had left in search of the very woman who'd killed a Preacher, who beat a man for trying to survive, who threatened himself for brushing off a little sprained ankle. A monster in every sense of the word. Picking himself up off the ground, the first rays of light shining through the window. Morning already. Had it really only been a month since everything went to shit? Then Vince got to thinking, there was a radio in his new house, as well as a CB in the semi. Probably the rural states like North Dakota and Montana would still be mostly intact. Putting as little weight on his bad ankle, he dashed to the semi, grabbed the CB, then ran back to the house. Getting to work, he crossed, cut, and spliced wires until he had a two way radio made, able to both receive and now transmit. Giddy as a school boy, forgetting about his pain on loosing Sam for a moment, he quickly built an antenna and hooked it up outside where a group had gathered, fascinated by their new leader's ingenuity. Murmurs spread through the crowd, each both wondering and fearing what was being built. Their past leaders hadn't exactly set the bar high on niceness. Finally, Vincent was done. He cranked the volume and hit the transmit button "Hello, anyone out there?"
After a few moments, a voice boomed from the speaker "This is a restricted Government channel, please state your business"
Vincent's face was one of many emotions, happiness, fear, relief, and hard thought "This is the Republic of New Evanston. 9 clicks northwest of Chicago. There are barely any survivors here. Where is the U.S Government operating out of currently"
The man on the other end took a moment to respond "I'm not supposed to say this, but we are currently Headquartered in Casper, Wyoming. You are in Chicago you said? Last I heard it was obliterated"
Vincent was taken aback by the man's wording, not that they obliterated it, but that it was destroyed "That's correct. The Green Berets tried to kill us, for almost two days they hunted us in the streets. Finally they gave up and blew it to kingdom come"
The man on the other end hesitated "That's above my clearance"
"Understood. Anything you can tell me about the rest of the country?"
"Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, the Dakotas, and the southern half of Idaho is under government control. There are scattered pockets of survivors over the country"
"Roger that. Any way you can get us supplies?"
"We'll have an airlift going over the area in two days, I'll make sure some of the cargo is 'lost in the turbulence'"
Vincent smiled as the rest of the crowd cheered "Roger that. We have generators running so there will be lights on to help you find us. Thanks"
"My name's Sergeant Dawson by the way"
"Vincent"
"Nice to talk to someone besides the usuals here Vincent. My guard shift is coming up, so I've got to go"
"Contact me next time you have a chance"
"Will do. Eagle 1-1 Out" then the signal went dead.

The crowd milled around for a moment, before getting back to work. Vincent just sat back in his chair, a dumb grin plastered across his face.

Corporal Dylan Gorman sat back at his console as he breathed out a sigh of relief. The guy on the other end hadn't even lasted a few seconds into their conversation before he started to talk.

Idiot The radio operator thought to himself as he looked down at his notepad where he had scribbled down the location of the man's position and the few other key bits of information the man had unloaded on him.

"New Evanston; Green Berets, and hunted were the key words he deducted from the page. Coincidentally he had heard of a Green Berets unit that had been operating in infested territory that had returned just yesterday with their heads down and their tails between their legs. I'm sure they'll find the location of these Sierras interesting the radio operator thought as he flipped the pad to a new page and adjusted the card that contained what he was supposed to "tell" any one he contacted. A burst of activity on the other end had the operator began his charade of the restricted channel, the location of the U.S. forces and that he would have a supply drop for them later down the road. It was as much a lie as "Land of the Free" and "One Nation".

[New Grestin]

// DAY 30 // 6:45 AM // INTERSTATE 55

The interstate ahead was a wreck, clogged with shattered cars and skeletal remains. Even through her mask, the stench of death was thick here. Most of the remains had been picked clean, bleached bones laid about like a macabre art installation. She sighed and kicked a skull across the ground in frustration. Of course, she thought, I'd have to trek through a city of dead cars to get out of this fucking place. She shook her head and plopped down on the hood of an old, burnt out Hyundai. Her thoughts drifted, wondering if the crew had actually left her, or if they were even still alive. Them being dead seemed the more obvious conclusion, as her optimism had drained from her long before she'd arrived here. She looked over her rifle for a moment. The polymer was scratched and beaten, mostly from her dropping it. The metal still shined, though, and the built-in scope was at least functional, if not particularly helpful. For the briefest of moments, she contemplated putting the barrel in her mouth and pulling the trigger, but she fought the idea away. There wasn't much use in killing herself at this point. Better to not waste the bullet.

She slid down from the car and prepared to clamber atop the hulking plain of dead cars when a voice called out to her. For the briefest moment, she thought she'd finally gone mad, but then she turned to find herself looking at the man from New Evanston. His dog sat beside him. She grasped for his name for a moment, only to find it out of her memory. She sighed, raising the rifle at him.

"What, did Vincent send you to finish the job?"

Her tone was angry, yet at the same time, she sounded incredibly tired.

---

Actually, found a nice alternative. Gonna stick with that for her appearance.

[Deramen]

Mr.Four Dog checked the radio making sure it worked,it did.He started broadcasting and started his shtick.
"Hello Chicago! Its Four Dog with the news and more!Well If you haven't heard Chicago's in ruins from military bombings!Big black bombs dropping on cool dead beasts!In other news a little birdy told me a new settlement in Evanston Is around!Supposedly its called New Evanston and its nice!but be careful people they might be dangerous because they are armed and ready to shoot!I'm not sure though!*Cough*Well thats news for the day!Now here's Istanbul by they might be giants! enjoy!"
He played the track and turned off the mic's."Shit this is rough Connor.I don't know how long I can keep doing this!".Connor responded "Ehh we can do it!"."Yea I guess.".

[Australian Antarctica]

1 Mile south of New Evanston
Captain Richards looked out the windshield of his Hummer, scanning for any infected. Since they'd seen Chicago go up in flames a couple days ago, they'd been in search of survivors. It still made the old soldier angry that his own countrymen had destroyed such a large town, full of survivors. Sure there were infected, but humans as well. His 'Platoon' was made of roughly 26 folks, only 12 of which were actual Guardsmen, and all from different units. The rest were either regular civilians, 4 cops, and 2 doctors. Their convoy was a Striker, a Medical Humvee, and an MG Humvee. All from a National Guard depot in southern Wisconsin. Finally, earlier today, they had heard other survivors over the radio, talking with the Remnants of America in the west. Now they were on a search for these survivors, hoping to settle down, or at least trade for more supplies.

New Evanston
Eddie had heard the convoy before he saw it. He'd alerted the rest of the defense force, as well as Vincent who'd been tinkering with the radio he'd built. Their new President had grabbed his Mk. 14 almost instinctively, and rushed to the defense of the compound. Finally the convoy pulled up to the gate, every gun in the compound aimed at it. The Captain hopped out, hands in the air "Nice day for a drive" he said to the man who seemed to be in charge.
"Beautiful, and you are?" Vincent responded
"Captain Samuel Richards, Wisconsin National Guard" The Soldier responded, lowering his hands and holding his right one out
Vincent shook it "Wisconsin eh? Me too. What brings you by?"
Richards smiled "Nice to meet you, Vincent right? We heard you over the radio"
"Yeah, so, what do you need?"
"Well, honestly we were looking for a place to settle down"
"Then this is your place" Vincent responded, almost assuming the roll of a realtor "All we ask is that you pull your weight and turn in your weapons to the Armory"
"Seems fair. Thanks" The Captain said, relieved. The convoy pulled in and parked in an orderly fashion, the men and women each stowing their weapons in the armory as they were told. Within minutes the doctors and their tools were sent to the medical tent while the rest each received a work detail. Under Sarah New Evanston had hardly grown, under Vince it had doubled in size. That thought made him smile. Next, while he was thinking of it, he found Luke and Jean "Get the Captain settled then work on fortifying the wall. We never know if Sarah or the Raiders will come back" Finally Vince retired to his house, tinkering with the radio once more..

[Alouite]

Jean nodded and said to Vincent. "I think it's time we talked about our settlement and it's view on the United States government, I believe we should reject recognition of it. Instead we should consider ourselves a NATO safezone, something I technically under these circumstances can do. That way if we ever contact a foreign nation, I can hopefully get them to pull their weight in to help us. That and it gives us some authority. I would recognize you as the head of the safezone and me, the captain and that Marine, Luke is his name? We can run the military forces here. I can raise the NATO flag over the area and begin radio broadcasts, I don't have the official NATO transcripts, but I know the general information I'd give, this was actually part of our mission if we arrived too late, of course we never expected it to be this bad. But with that I can help give our settlement a bit more of a substantiated claim to exist and continue doing so even if the Green Berets order us to stand down. Perhaps we could help hundreds or even thousands in the long run, and turn our settlement into several safezones that cooperate and work together to help keep as many people alive and uninfected as possible."

[Australian Antarctica]

Jean nodded and said to Vincent. "I think it's time we talked about our settlement and it's view on the United States government, I believe we should reject recognition of it. Instead we should consider ourselves a NATO safezone, something I technically under these circumstances can do. That way if we ever contact a foreign nation, I can hopefully get them to pull their weight in to help us. That and it gives us some authority. I would recognize you as the head of the safezone and me, the captain and that Marine, Luke is his name? We can run the military forces here. I can raise the NATO flag over the area and begin radio broadcasts, I don't have the official NATO transcripts, but I know the general information I'd give, this was actually part of our mission if we arrived too late, of course we never expected it to be this bad. But with that I can help give our settlement a bit more of a substantiated claim to exist and continue doing so even if the Green Berets order us to stand down. Perhaps we could help hundreds or even thousands in the long run, and turn our settlement into several safezones that cooperate and work together to help keep as many people alive and uninfected as possible."

Vincent pondered the man's offer. On one hand he still hoped that the country could rebuild. On the other he knew that was unlikely. Finally, he decided "Well, we can fly the NATO flag, the U.S flag, and Luke's confederate flag side by side. We'd be independent but still part of NATO, correct?"

[Alouite]

Jean nodded and said to Vincent. "I think it's time we talked about our settlement and it's view on the United States government, I believe we should reject recognition of it. Instead we should consider ourselves a NATO safezone, something I technically under these circumstances can do. That way if we ever contact a foreign nation, I can hopefully get them to pull their weight in to help us. That and it gives us some authority. I would recognize you as the head of the safezone and me, the captain and that Marine, Luke is his name? We can run the military forces here. I can raise the NATO flag over the area and begin radio broadcasts, I don't have the official NATO transcripts, but I know the general information I'd give, this was actually part of our mission if we arrived too late, of course we never expected it to be this bad. But with that I can help give our settlement a bit more of a substantiated claim to exist and continue doing so even if the Green Berets order us to stand down. Perhaps we could help hundreds or even thousands in the long run, and turn our settlement into several safezones that cooperate and work together to help keep as many people alive and uninfected as possible."

Vincent pondered the man's offer. On one hand he still hoped that the country could rebuild. On the other he knew that was unlikely. Finally, he decided "Well, we can fly the NATO flag, the U.S flag, and Luke's confederate flag side by side. We'd be independent but still part of NATO, correct?"

Jean nodded "Well, we can fly the US and NATO flag at equal height, the South Carolina flag goes below the US flag I believe, I know in Belgium all provincial flags go below national ones. If we're taking the position that the US is fascist and thus temporarily non-existant due to the contradiction with it's constitution we should fly the US flag upside down and they would be in height order of highest to lowest as such: The NATO flag, then the US flag then the South Carolina flag. I could easily teach some men to build what we'd need, learned to do that back in the Central African Republic. And with the guardsmen we could have daily flag details. If I send out the frequency we'd be an independent NATO protected safezone, if the US attacks us any other NATO nations that learn of such an attack would be compelled to declare war on the United States."

[Tayner]

1 Mile south of New Evanston
Captain Richards looked out the windshield of his Hummer, scanning for any infected. Since they'd seen Chicago go up in flames a couple days ago, they'd been in search of survivors. It still made the old soldier angry that his own countrymen had destroyed such a large town, full of survivors. Sure there were infected, but humans as well. His 'Platoon' was made of roughly 26 folks, only 12 of which were actual Guardsmen, and all from different units. The rest were either regular civilians, 4 cops, and 2 doctors. Their convoy was a Striker, a Medical Humvee, and an MG Humvee. All from a National Guard depot in southern Wisconsin. Finally, earlier today, they had heard other survivors over the radio, talking with the Remnants of America in the west. Now they were on a search for these survivors, hoping to settle down, or at least trade for more supplies.

New Evanston
Eddie had heard the convoy before he saw it. He'd alerted the rest of the defense force, as well as Vincent who'd been tinkering with the radio he'd built. Their new President had grabbed his Mk. 14 almost instinctively, and rushed to the defense of the compound. Finally the convoy pulled up to the gate, every gun in the compound aimed at it. The Captain hopped out, hands in the air "Nice day for a drive" he said to the man who seemed to be in charge.
"Beautiful, and you are?" Vincent responded
"Captain Samuel Richards, Wisconsin National Guard" The Soldier responded, lowering his hands and holding his right one out
Vincent shook it "Wisconsin eh? Me too. What brings you by?"
Richards smiled "Nice to meet you, Vincent right? We heard you over the radio"
"Yeah, so, what do you need?"
"Well, honestly we were looking for a place to settle down"
"Then this is your place" Vincent responded, almost assuming the roll of a realtor "All we ask is that you pull your weight and turn in your weapons to the Armory"
"Seems fair. Thanks" The Captain said, relieved. The convoy pulled in and parked in an orderly fashion, the men and women each stowing their weapons in the armory as they were told. Within minutes the doctors and their tools were sent to the medical tent while the rest each received a work detail. Under Sarah New Evanston had hardly grown, under Vince it had doubled in size. That thought made him smile. Next, while he was thinking of it, he found Luke and Jean "Get the Captain settled then work on fortifying the wall. We never know if Sarah or the Raiders will come back" Finally Vince retired to his house, tinkering with the radio once more..

Luke noded and looked at the concrete wall. It surrounded the compound, but anything could climb over it. And if a large enough horde attacked, they could breach the wall, but it would be an unlikely event. Luke looked at a guard tower, seeing that the only protection it gave was a little waist high wood barrier, Luke told his three soldiers to work on reinforcing it.

Luke meet the Captian of the unit that just arrived. He greeted him, and pointed to the dorms, and told him to see if he could get his group settled down there. He directed the vehicles to the garage, but the Stryker would have to remain outside. He collected the soldiers and civilians firearms. A few M4A1s, 9mm Pistols, M1911s, M16s, along with other random weapons from the civilians. Luke stored all the ammo and recorded the transaction in the log book.

Once he was done with his errands, the New Eviston Milita had mostly fortified two of the watch towers. Luke thanked them and dismissed them. Luke hadn't noticed Sam all day, and Luke went to Vincent to see if he knew anything about it. Luke entered the President's House and found Vincent tampering with the CB radio And talking to Jean. "Hey, boss, have you seen Sam anywhere?" Luke asked Vincen once he finished talking to Jean.

[Australian Antarctica]

Vincent pondered the man's offer. On one hand he still hoped that the country could rebuild. On the other he knew that was unlikely. Finally, he decided "Well, we can fly the NATO flag, the U.S flag, and Luke's confederate flag side by side. We'd be independent but still part of NATO, correct?"

Jean nodded "Well, we can fly the US and NATO flag at equal height, the South Carolina flag goes below the US flag I believe, I know in Belgium all provincial flags go below national ones. If we're taking the position that the US is fascist and thus temporarily non-existant due to the contradiction with it's constitution we should fly the US flag upside down and they would be in height order of highest to lowest as such: The NATO flag, then the US flag then the South Carolina flag. I could easily teach some men to build what we'd need, learned to do that back in the Central African Republic. And with the guardsmen we could have daily flag details. If I send out the frequency we'd be an independent NATO protected safezone, if the US attacks us any other NATO nations that learn of such an attack would be compelled to declare war on the United States."

Vincent had known all of these facts, and did not need Jean to explain it all, but didn't make a comment out of fear of being rude, instead he chuckled "What US? The one overrun with Infected and run by psychotic Green Berets? But I do see your point. We'll fly the US flag upside down, at the Same height as the NATO flag, with Luke's flag below and Belgium's flag below NATO's. Seem fair?

Then he turned to Luke, who'd mentioned Sam. He hadn't forgotten about her, but it wasn't at the front of his mind "Get a search party together now. She ran off. I thought she was just hiding somewhere in the compound, but she wasn't anywhere. Take one of the Hummers and 3 men, understood? Use the radios, I'll have someone monitoring them here at all times. Get going now"

[Beiarusia]

Samantha Tallow // Interstate 55

Sam had found the interstate with little difficulty and, with some thought, had decided it best to travel north away from the city, there being little rhyme or reason to traverse the ruins of Chicago without some greater purpose. Danger lurked amongst the wreckage, human and infected, and one would be foolish to enter alone even if armed. Sam was not foolish. Perhaps her ideals were never the most sound but hardly foolish. The girl understood her limits, and knew full well that should she enter the city it would be tantamount to willful suicide, though the same could potentially be said of her current actions, having left the safety of the compound on some doltish errand. At least the interstate was open terrain, the visually reliant girl having some minute advantage in any case. A small victory.

Cars and, disturbingly, bodies littered the roadway, abandoned and left to rot with little care to remove the obstructions and corpses. Some had been stripped by the elements and scavengers, while others appeared fresh. Recent. Sam was careful as she skirted pass the vehicles, afraid that something may lay in wait where she could not see, but for now she was alone. Nothing jumped out at her and no one threatened her life. Still, the handgun that had once been Foley’s remained clutched at her side, offering if anything a mental sense of safety.

Her mind wandered as she traveled, drawing first to Vincent and the compound before finally resting on the thought of Sarah, the sole reason as to why she had left the others behind in the first place. Maybe it was silly but the girl truly did feel a connection, seeing the good that lay hidden deep inside of the older woman, and she would be damned if she didn’t at least try to save even that little bit. They were both broken in some way and though Sam didn’t entirely understand the reasoning she wanted to be Sarah’s friend. She wanted her to survive.

Movement. Sam paused, ducking down behind a small car, back pressed against the sun-warmed metal. It could have been a trick of the light but the girl felt certain that someone else had been on the highway not fifty feet from where she now lay hidden. It could possibly be Sarah but events had taught Sam that sometimes it was best to err on caution, so with slow deliberate movements the girl looked over the hood of the car to scan the long row of abandoned vehicles. Sure enough there was someone else walking along, a ragged man with a tattered leather coat, face hidden behind a stained hockey mask, a large blade held in his hand as he moved from one car to the other, searching for anything of value. He ripped open the door of a crashed SUV, reaching inside to search the glove compartment, before moving on. Sam watched him as he went about, ducking as he looked over his shoulder towards her, hoping that she had remained hidden well enough. Tense seconds ticked by and when nothing happened the girl risked a glance, finding the man busy with a semi.

As quiet as possible, an insanely difficult feat for a girl lacking the ability to sense sound, Sam moved from her hiding spot and ducked down behind another car, intending to move pass and away from the man without being seen. Hopping the central median would expose her and with little else to hide her in terms of environment it would be best to merely take her chances where she was currently, and so she did just that, heart racing as she silently cursed to herself for never investing in the stealth skill. A crash course was fine and dandy but not when the failed result could most likely end in a very permanent death.

A quick dash across open ground to a truck, stumbling and catching herself as she awaited a response. The man continued on with his search of the truck, having heard nothing. Feeling confident, Sam made for the next vehicle, slipping into cover and further away from the man. So long as he remained preoccupied Sam would have little difficulty getting away. A deep breath and she moved on.

The car door burst open, an infected woman far older than Sam herself falling to the concrete in a flail of limbs, snarling as it reached for the girl. Sam let out a yelp as she fell back, scrambling away as the infected crawled after her, mouth open in a hungry grin. A hand latched onto her leg, the infected woman dragging closer. The man was there in an instant, taking hold of the woman’s hair and pulling her head up, three swings of the machete severing the neck completely in a spray of blood. The body went limp, the head biting at the air in a feeble attempt at life as it too went still.

Sam watched as the man tossed aside the head. He towered over the girl, dark eyes staring down at her with little caring, stepping closer after a long moment. Sam scrambled back, using the median to raise herself, handgun raised. The man paused, eyeing the weapon that trembled in the girl’s hands. He inched closer, free hand outstretched. Sam squeezed the trigger.

Nothing happened.

The man lunged, reaching for the girl who stumbled away, barely avoiding his grasp, the machete digging into Foley’s backpack, the swing very nearly cleaving Sam’s spine in two. The girl fell to her knees, pushing herself up and away as the man grabbed onto her. Falling again, she twisted and kicked with all she could, freeing herself and scrambling under a nearby jeep, almost escaping when she was again grabbed. Dragged back into the open, the man raised the machete with lethal intent. Sam raised the gun once more in a desperate attempt, inadvertently having hit the safety lock in the struggle. The recoil was much greater than it had been with the BB gun, the round tearing from the barrel and into the man’s shoulder. He stumbled and fell, Sam moving to stand as he once more struck out at her. Without so much as hesitation she fired once more and again after that, both rounds striking flesh. The first tore into his arm while the second found a place in his side.

Bleeding out, the man fell and after a long moment, went still. Sam watched him, weapon still raised, breathing heavily. She finally lowered the handgun after the man had expired, her mind racing at the thought of taking another life even if in self defense. She dropped the gun, hands clasped around her mouth lest she scream out, and for the next minute or so Sam stood still watching the lifeless corpse with nothing short of panic in her eyes.

I had to. He was going to kill me.

The argument helped little but it did allow Sam to compose herself enough to retrieve the weapon, her eyes darting away from the masked man. Stepping away she continued on down the highway, her mind running rampant but, at the same time, was blank, unable to process what had just taken place.

[Alouite]

Jean nodded "Well, we can fly the US and NATO flag at equal height, the South Carolina flag goes below the US flag I believe, I know in Belgium all provincial flags go below national ones. If we're taking the position that the US is fascist and thus temporarily non-existant due to the contradiction with it's constitution we should fly the US flag upside down and they would be in height order of highest to lowest as such: The NATO flag, then the US flag then the South Carolina flag. I could easily teach some men to build what we'd need, learned to do that back in the Central African Republic. And with the guardsmen we could have daily flag details. If I send out the frequency we'd be an independent NATO protected safezone, if the US attacks us any other NATO nations that learn of such an attack would be compelled to declare war on the United States."

Vincent had known all of these facts, and did not need Jean to explain it all, but didn't make a comment out of fear of being rude, instead he chuckled "What US? The one overrun with Infected and run by psychotic Green Berets? But I do see your point. We'll fly the US flag upside down, at the Same height as the NATO flag, with Luke's flag below and Belgium's flag below NATO's. Seem fair?

Then he turned to Luke, who'd mentioned Sam. He hadn't forgotten about her, but it wasn't at the front of his mind "Get a search party together now. She ran off. I thought she was just hiding somewhere in the compound, but she wasn't anywhere. Take one of the Hummers and 3 men, understood? Use the radios, I'll have someone monitoring them here at all times. Get going now"

Jean nodded, it was good enough, even if it was a bit unorthodox he could see the symbolism of the way Vincent wanted it, after all be was the Belgian leading a NATO safezone on foreign technically NATO member soil. There was no official protocol for that specific situation so Jean shrugged it off. Such specifics hardly mattered enough for him to continue pondering the specifics during a crisis. He walked over to a cleared area on a slight high ground and took out his knife. He carved four X's into the soil facing the entrance gate so that all the flags would be visible. Each were 7 feet away from one another to make space. He then walked back to his van. He got into the armored car and took a moment to sit in the driver's seat. He checked the glove compartment and found a slightly scratched up Smashing Pumpkins CD in a plastic covering. He said to himself "I guess this is alright, not my favorite but at least it's still rock." He kicked his boots up on the dashboard and pulled out his bourbon for a swig, there were only four or five swigs left he noticed as he held the flask. He shrugged slightly annoyed and took a swig.

[New Grestin]

// DAY 30 // 6:50 AM // INTERSTATE 55 //

Gunshots. Sarah's ears perked up and she looked around for a moment, then turned back to the man.

"Look, I don't give a shit, just stay out of my way."

She pushed past him and headed down the road towards the shots. Initially, she saw nothing more than burnt out cars and bodies, but slowly, a small form came into view. Sarah raised her rifle and looked through the scope. Her eyes went wide, her heart skipping a beat. She threw the rifle over her back and ran over to Sam. Before the girl could even react, Sarah threw her arms around her, crying. After a moment, she finally released her and knelt down next to her, grabbing a sharpie and her journal. She wrote quickly. Wiping her face off, Sarah handed her the note.

I thought you were at the compound. Why are you here?

[Tayner]

Jean nodded "Well, we can fly the US and NATO flag at equal height, the South Carolina flag goes below the US flag I believe, I know in Belgium all provincial flags go below national ones. If we're taking the position that the US is fascist and thus temporarily non-existant due to the contradiction with it's constitution we should fly the US flag upside down and they would be in height order of highest to lowest as such: The NATO flag, then the US flag then the South Carolina flag. I could easily teach some men to build what we'd need, learned to do that back in the Central African Republic. And with the guardsmen we could have daily flag details. If I send out the frequency we'd be an independent NATO protected safezone, if the US attacks us any other NATO nations that learn of such an attack would be compelled to declare war on the United States."

Vincent had known all of these facts, and did not need Jean to explain it all, but didn't make a comment out of fear of being rude, instead he chuckled "What US? The one overrun with Infected and run by psychotic Green Berets? But I do see your point. We'll fly the US flag upside down, at the Same height as the NATO flag, with Luke's flag below and Belgium's flag below NATO's. Seem fair?

Then he turned to Luke, who'd mentioned Sam. He hadn't forgotten about her, but it wasn't at the front of his mind "Get a search party together now. She ran off. I thought she was just hiding somewhere in the compound, but she wasn't anywhere. Take one of the Hummers and 3 men, understood? Use the radios, I'll have someone monitoring them here at all times. Get going now"

Luke was shocked to hear that Sam ran away again. Luke pondered on telling Vincent about her adventure at the hardware store, but decided against it. Now wasn't a good time. He noded to the guys and ran outside. He went into the dorm where his three recruits were. He gathered them, and asked the Commander of the recently arrived unit if he could barrow a Humvee, and informed him of the circumstances. The man graciously allowed him to use it. "It's the least we can do." He said.

The group all checked out AR-15s, riot armor, excluding Luke, the .50 ammo for the Humvee, and M1911s and proceeded to the Humvee with the mounted machine gun. Luke told the crew "Alright guys, we're going to the Old Eviston Police Department. I'm driving, who's gunning?" One of the recruits, Johnson said he'll do it, and with that they were off. The drive was short, and they arrived at the OEPD building. Before entering, Luke retired the U.S. Flag, because he didn't know if they have one back in the compound. "Search party to compound, were at the Old Eviston Police Department. Over."

"Affirmative, over."

The group sweeped the building, finding a campfire, and a pool of blood, which must've come from the person buried out front. Most likely Ian. The scavenged what was left from the armory, some ammo, one Beretta .9mm pistol, and a few suits of riot gear. Luke investigated the note Paulson left behind, and told the search party to mount up. Luke exited the building, and pointed down Interstate 55. It was the most likely course of action. Luke informed the people monitoring the radio at the compound of their route. Luke drove off near the side of road to avoid the masses of abandoned cars, when two gunshots were heard up ahead.

"Search party to compound, we've got sirrias up ahead, shots fired, not at us over." Luke told the crew to hold their fire, and Luke continue his course down the highway. They had to stop to move a car out of the way, and they continued down the highway. The group discovered the corpse on the ground, and Luke relayed information back to base. After a few minutes, they cought up to Sam, who had found Sarah. Johnson yelled to Sam, forgetting that Luke told her that she was deaf. Luke stopped the Humvee, told the group to watch his back from the vehicle, and he stepped out onto the highway. He walked to the two women, and spoke.

"Sam ran away looking for you."

[Beiarusia]

Samantha Tallow // Interstate 55

I thought you were at the compound. Why are you here?

Sam had been wandering forward in a near gaze and hadn’t noticed the approaching woman until she was already in a tight embrace. Startled, she soon realized that she had, against the odds, found Sarah, her mind slowly coming back into focus with her body following suit, arms wrapping around the woman and allowing the handgun to fall to the asphalt. Tears threatened to fall free but found it difficult to make the final push, a numbness having since washed over her and dulling her emotions like a worn blade. Sarah soon released the hold on the girl and knelt down, quickly scrawling a message for Sam to read. The girl had to read it twice before her groggy mind could make sense of the words. Taking out her pencil she wrote a reply, snapping back now that she had something to focus on.

I came to find you. Vincent said that you were a bad person but I didn’t believe him. She paused as she considered how to word the next part, her fists tightening. He said you hurt people. I needed to know.

She handed the note to the woman, spying the blood that stained Foley’s jacket, droplets of scarlet against the MARPAT design. She allowed her arm to fall to her side, eyes drifting lower towards her feet. Sam had killed someone, and the thought of knowing was slowly eating away inside of her. Sarah didn’t even have a chance to respond before the girl lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the older woman and burying her face into her jacket, the tears having finally broken through. She latched onto the nearest pillar of support, in this case her friend, Sarah.

[New Grestin]

Sarah looked at Sam's note, closing her eyes for a moment, sighing. She grabbed her sharpie and marked on it, her face saddened.

I hurt people. It was wrong, I wish I hadn't. I lost someone because of it. I don't know if I'm a bad person. I don't know much of anything anymore.

Luke's voice drew her attention upwards. He'd arrived with a small army, apparently to "white knight" Sam back to New Evanston. She looked at him, indigently, her hand moving for her pistol. She had every intention of killing him if he tried to take Sam back by force.

"What the fuck do you want, Luke?"

She held Sam close, ready to throw her behind a nearby car if needed. Even after everything, she'd rather die than let the girl get hurt.

[Tayner]

Sarah looked at Sam's note, closing her eyes for a moment, sighing. She grabbed her sharpie and marked on it, her face saddened.

I hurt people. It was wrong, I wish I hadn't. I lost someone because of it. I don't know if I'm a bad person. I don't know much of anything anymore.

Luke's voice drew her attention upwards. He'd arrived with a small army, apparently to "white knight" Sam back to New Evanston. She looked at him, indigently, her hand moving for her pistol. She had every intention of killing him if he tried to take Sam back by force.

"What the fuck do you want, Luke?"

She held Sam close, ready to throw her behind a nearby car if needed. Even after everything, she'd rather die than let the girl get hurt.

"You better not pull that pistol, I didn't walk over here reaching for my gun. All I want is to take Sam back to New Eviston, she ran away looking for you. Please Sarah, I don't want things to get ugly." Luke said. He didn't want to use force, but if Sarah tried to abduct Sam, Johnson would rip Sarah in half with the .50 cal.

[Cumberlanda]

The new doctor from the national guards was on hand, so he let the marine do whatever. Big whoop. Probably would've just cussed him out anyway. After getting patched up, he limped his way to a dorm, clise to the President's house. He took a seat in a bunk and looked out the window. He was hoping Charlotte would find some rest here. He would himself, but he felt that he needed to do one more thing, and that would be paying a visit to the "President."

After some time, he came up on the door of Vincent's place. He peered his head in, scanning the area. "Umm, hello? I'm assuming you're in charge here."

[Beiarusia]

Samantha Tallow // Interstate 55

>SNIP<

Something was wrong. Sam was suddenly held close, Sarah moving to arm herself. Infected? No, the woman would have already been on the move. The girl craned her head finding a military jeep behind her with Luke and several unknown men standing in the roadway. She wiggled around so that she was facing the men as well, Sarah’s arm still wrapped protectively around her. No weapons were aimed as of yet but a fear was building up inside of the girl. There was a chance of bloodshed, and Sam was very much afraid that harm would come to someone that she knew, whether it be Luke or Sarah.

Sam watched Luke, her eyes darting between him and the men who accompanied him, willing herself to do something to defuse the growing tension. Few options came to her mind and so she waited, hoping that the potential standoff would not come to fruition.

Luke said something, no doubt stating that he was here to bring her back to the compound. A hand inadvertently gripped tighter onto the sleeve of Sarah as she shook her head. Sarah had admitted to doing bad things but the remorse she felt was very much real. The girl couldn’t abandon her now no matter how much it pained her to choose a side if need be.

[New Grestin]

Sarah looked at Sam's note, closing her eyes for a moment, sighing. She grabbed her sharpie and marked on it, her face saddened.

I hurt people. It was wrong, I wish I hadn't. I lost someone because of it. I don't know if I'm a bad person. I don't know much of anything anymore.

Luke's voice drew her attention upwards. He'd arrived with a small army, apparently to "white knight" Sam back to New Evanston. She looked at him, indigently, her hand moving for her pistol. She had every intention of killing him if he tried to take Sam back by force.

"What the fuck do you want, Luke?"

She held Sam close, ready to throw her behind a nearby car if needed. Even after everything, she'd rather die than let the girl get hurt.

"You better not pull that pistol, I didn't walk over here reaching for my gun. All I want is to take Sam back to New Eviston, she ran away looking for you. Please Sarah, I don't want things to get ugly." Luke said. He didn't want to use force, but if Sarah tried to abduct Sam, Johnson would rip Sarah in half with the .50 cal.

Sarah paused, looking down to Sam, then back to Luke. She sighed and pushed her forward. Looking at the ground, she spoke.

"Fuck you, Luke. Let the girl decide for herself."

With that, Sarah released Sam and stepped back. She eyed Luke closely, her eyes now angry. Her hand dropped from her pistol to her side.

"Either way, I don't give a fuck what you do."

The wind blew across the highway, knocking a handful of dead leaves across the road. Everything was dead quiet for a moment. Sarah never moved, just waiting. If she had to die for the girl, so be it. She didn't have much to lose at this point anyway.

[Tayner]

"You better not pull that pistol, I didn't walk over here reaching for my gun. All I want is to take Sam back to New Eviston, she ran away looking for you. Please Sarah, I don't want things to get ugly." Luke said. He didn't want to use force, but if Sarah tried to abduct Sam, Johnson would rip Sarah in half with the .50 cal.

Sarah paused, looking down to Sam, then back to Luke. She sighed and pushed her forward. Looking at the ground, she spoke.

"Fuck you, Luke. Let the girl decide for herself."

With that, Sarah released Sam and stepped back. She eyed Luke closely, her eyes now angry. Her hand dropped from her pistol to her side.

"Either way, I don't give a fuck what you do."

The wind blew across the highway, knocking a handful of dead leaves across the road. Everything was dead quiet for a moment. Sarah never moved, just waiting. If she had to die for the girl, so be it. She didn't have much to lose at this point anyway.

"This isn't an old Wild West movie Sarah. You know what I found a few minutes back that way?" Luke said to Sarah, pointing back down the highway. "I found a fucking dead guy. Sam probably killed him because he attacked her. She fucking killed a man looking for you, Sarah." Luke pulled a notepad out of his coat pocket, and wrote 'Cmon Sam, let's get back to the compound.

[Beiarusia]

Samantha Tallow // Interstate 55

>SNIP<

Sam was pushed forward, suddenly finding herself standing uncomfortably between Sarah and Luke. She glanced back towards the woman with some confusion before returning her gaze forward, her eyes locking with those of Luke before breaking off towards the men, soldiers by the way they held themselves. A dawning realization came to the girl after a moment when no one on either side made to move. Clenching her fists she walked forward.

Luke was no more than fifty feet away if even that – she couldn’t tell distances well – but it felt as if Sam was crossing no man’s land with how difficult each step became. Finally she stood before the man who had, without needing to, protected her when so many times she should have died. He had a note awaiting her. Perhaps he wasn’t Vincent but Luke was very much important to her as was Sarah, which made what she did next very painful. Reaching into her torn backpack she took the paper pad and wrote a note, tearing it free and giving it to Luke to read.

I’m sorry. I understand how much trouble I’ve been and I know that you and Vincent want only what’s best for me, but I can’t leave Sarah here alone. She’s not a bad person and I won’t abandon her. I have to help her. I’ll come back when we’re both ready. I hope you understand. Please.

The man hadn’t even the chance to finish reading before Sam turned on her heels and trudged back across the stretch of highway, having made her decision and now willing to see it through to the end, no matter what happened.

[Tayner]

-SNIP-

Luke, being a slow reader wasn't near to the end of the note before Sam walked away. Luke, knowing what the note meant dropped the note onto the pavement and returned to the Humvee. He got on the radio.

"Uhh, compound, this is search party here, and uhh, we found Sam. But she wants to go with Sarah, she says she's not leaving Sarah alone. Uhh, please advise. Over." Luke said looking through the windshield of the Humvee. He waited for a reply through the radio. He was tapping his toe, nervous and waiting for an answer. Seconds felt like minutes.

[New Grestin]

DAY 30 // 7:00 AM // INTERSTATE 55

Sarah watched as the girl walked across and handed Luke a note. The two stood for a moment, then Sam walked back to her. Sarah's jaw dropped and, visibly confused for a moment, she looked over to Luke. Her gaze came back to Sam. Sarah hadn't expected her to actually come back. Sarah stood, dumbstruck for a brief moment, then hugged Sam. Her eyes teared up as she held the girl close. She knew that she couldn't hear her, but she still said "Thank you".

Then, she released her and stood, looking back to Luke. She wanted to smile, triumphantly, but she knew that'd only antagonize him. She patted the back of Sam's head, her motherly instincts kicking in. She held her close as she spoke.

"There. It's done, now go back and tell that fat fuck to blow me."

With that, Sarah started walking back down the highway towards the man and his dog, making sure Sam was close behind. She walked past the man and, without looking at him, spoke.

"If you want to come with, that's fine. The girl's with me, though."

Sarah fought every instinct to turn back and flip Luke the bird, but she did crack a wry smile as she walked.

[Wallenburg]

Hugh Garmany || Elryia, Ohio || Day 30

Infected shuffled through the streets, weak and starving, as a golden torch billowed out in brilliant flame in the east. Lauren was the first to wake, finding herself hanging halfway off of a crate as she yawned, climbing over to the back of the truck. Walking out onto the street and popping off a few infected, she entertained the idea of driving the UPS truck to Boston. But with no doors, it would leave the passengers defenseless against runners. At least the SUV had four doors and a couple windows left.

She grabbed a can of beans and a can of peaches from the back of the SUV and brought the food to the truck. Closing the door, she woke the others up and they quickly ate their breakfast.

"I hated peaches," said Hugh, smiling. "I couldn't stand them."

"Well I hated beans," said Rebecca, scooping a mouthful of shiny black legumes into her mouth. "They were slimy and tasteless."

"Beans are fucking fantastic, Rebecca," Hugh challenged, his grin widening. "Don't you ever insult my precious little angels."

Rebecca laughed and Hugh joined her, glad to escape the seriousness of the outbreak, if only for a moment. They finished their meal and headed to the SUV. Hugh stayed behind, siphoning gas from the truck. Lauren pulled the car over onto the road and Hugh jumped in, heavy gas jug in hand.

Pushing around Cleveland was a challenge. The infected clogged the interstate like cholesterol clogged a burger man's arteries, and they had to weave around surface roads to make any progress. A reaver spotted them as they refuelled and it nearly caught Hugh, but they sped away, leaving the beast howling into the air as its prey escaped.

"Exit 241" read a small green sign as the car galloped along Interstate 90. Lamar looked down at the map and smiled. "We're a couple miles from Pennsylvania." The car filled with light cheering as they left Ohio behind. "That puts us about halfway to Boston." Lamar drew an 'X' on the state border and closed the atlas.