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 Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 9:09 pm
 ~The irresistible joy of being behind the wheel of a brand new life... thats what I live for~
From all my heart and a little bit of my stomach, Chantler."I don't have to explain s**t to you." Chandler shouted almost immediately. "You act as if all everyone who isn't you wants to run around and kill. There is a whole lot of people out there who just want to get on with their lives and a whole lot more who won't kill if they don't have to." Once more Chandler rolled away from him and watched the birds flying around. His captivity annoyed him more than it did worry him. He had no doubt that he would get the chance to run free once more and felt that this guy was on the verge of letting him go. "I don't care whether or not you let me go." Chandler said as he rolled over onto his back. "As long as you have me back at my house by October 1st. I have family staying with me for the winter. Of course I am unaware of the date but I'm positive that it's less than a week from now." Chandler wasn't good with dates, but he was positive that it was almost October. He could feel it in the air.
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Posted: Fri May 10, 2013 10:58 pm
Danny & Charlie "Been awhile since we've been here." Ben sighed as he let his seat back some more to relax. Charlie was too busy behind the wheel of the Jeep. It was typical for the roads to be littered with debris, but the fire had created a tremendous amount and now that they were just entering Atlantis, the roads only got worse. "We are going to have to find another way or walk." Charlie said as she slowed the Jeep to a stop in front of an enormous shopping center sign that had toppled over into the street. "His house isn't too far from here. Just a few miles isn't it?" Ben said as he pulled out a portable GPS that was propped in a cup holder. "Yeah we can be there before sunset." He dropped the GPS into the cupholder and sat up to survey the surroundings. They were currently on a two lane road that ended just up ahead on Beach Boulevard. From here they could just barely see the ocean over the sign in the road. All around them was the charred ruins of the center of the town. A large hotel on their right appeared only as a pile of twisted metal that could topple over at any minute. "What in the hell caused a fire this big?" Charlie whispered after having begun to look at the surroundings too. She had been more focused on the road and hadn't noticed how bad the damage was. "Do you think Chantler's house could have burned down too?" she asked rhetorically. She knew as well as Ben did that there was a large canal that you had to pass over to get to Chantlers house. After a moment more of sitting there she twisted the key in the ignition to start the Jeep back up and pushed the gear shift into reverse. "We can probably find another route through this mess." Once more Ben leaned back into his seat and picked up the GPS. "There's plenty of other roads in this town. It's like a giant makeshift maze with all this s**t in the road." He sighed and closed his eyes. It might have been faster if they walked, but a nice working vehicle was hard to come by these days. Even though this town appeared to be deserted, he didn't want to take the chance anymore than Charlie did. he then remembered the piles of supplies in the back and quickly abandoned any thoughts of walking anywheres at all. There was no way that he would even take his eyes off of the Jeep.
_____________________________
After a little less than an hour of detours and wrong turns, Charlie and Danny wound up on a section of Beach Boulevard that left them stuck between the fallen rubble of an old hotel and a charred overturned light pole. Charlie was attempting to turn the jeep around when she had finally had enough and floored the Jeep over the sidewalk and off of a short concrete boardwalk. The jeep landed with a thud and Danny screeched as the bottle of water he was holding flew from his hand and poured out into his lap. Charlie merely glanced at him and sighed "Told you that you should wear your seat belt." Danny took out an old torn piece of cloth from under his seat and attempted to dry up some of the water. "Next time I'm driving." he mumbled knowing that Charlie didn't take well to the thought of anyone but her driving her beloved Jeep. She sighed and pulled some sunglasses from the overhead compartment and proceeded to roll down all the windows while fumbling with the disk changer on the radio. Surely they would find out if anyone still lived in this ruined town if they played music at a loud volume. Charlie and Danny had found many people, good and bad, that exact way. The Jeep kicked up sand as Charlie stepped on the accelerator a little too hard and took of in the direction of Chantlers house.
The ride was shorter than she had expected it to be. They pulled around the still-smoldering bonfire just as the third song was starting. Charlie was careful to park the Jeep within good distance of the house and at such an angle that if they needed to make a quick escape, they could easily make a quick escape around the side of the house and onto the road in front of it. Charlie did not hesitate to turn the key in the ignition and hop out of the Jeep. "Chantler!" she screeched in a manner that would raise questions about the tough front she usually put up. She ran towards the house and bounded up the deck steps. "Wow" Danny exclaimed after steeping from the jeep and looking up at the house. "How often do you find places that have been kept so nicely these days? That's gotta be a gay thing." Danny joked hoping Chantler would hear him. Meanwhile Charlie climbed the wooden staircase leading to the second floor of the house and called out for Chanter once more. After checking every room she bounded down the steps to find Danny already unloading the contents of the packed jeep into the living room. "He's not here. Must have gone for a walk." she sighed as she fell onto one of the oversized plush couches. "It's not like him to leave the house unlocked." Danny said in a low voice as he squinted his eyes and dropped the bags he was holding onto the growing pile by the door. "Well he has to be somewheres." Charlie said with a slight laugh and a gesture towards the door. "That fire didn't start itself." Danny shrugged and took his gun off safety anyways. Never could be too sure. "We will just wait and see. In the meantime, why don't we unpack. I'm sure we are going to stay in the same rooms that we always have." With that he was out the door and back down the steps and headed towards the Jeep when he stopped dead in his tracks. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the blood-stained sand and the tracks leading towards the ocean. "Charlie!" he shouted as he drew his gun and circled around. The world around him had suddenly turned to a deadly place. Every leave that was moved by the wind was now being scrutinized and double checked. He had learned that you could not take any chances in a life and death situation. Charlie came bounding out the house and jumped clear off the deck, knife in hand, ready for combat. She ran over and stood by Danny who was now more closely examining the blood trails. "This is from a human." Charlie stated eyeing the indentations from where the body was dragged to the ocean. "You don't think that..." Charlie trailed off as she looked Danny in the eyes. He immediately started to run back towards the house and into the kitchen. He flew open the largest cabinet and sighed with relief and confusion as he grabbed a dented can of water and waved it in the air so that Charlie, who had followed at a slower pace, could see. The can was the kind that was distributed after a hurricane and was kept in the cupboard as a sort of alarm system. The can would never be touched by Chantler or anyone else who ever stayed in the house. If a looter were to come along and possibly kill someone, the can would be taken by the looter and anyone who came back to the house would know that something has gone wrong. Either Chantler has become careless about locking the house and leaving doors wide open, or there is a very stupid person wandering around with one less can of water in his stomach. It's doubtful that that kind of person could ever even survive this long after the disease wiped the planet clean. "We will just have to wait." he stated softly as he slid the can back into place and closed the cabinet. "We have plenty of things to preoccupy ourselves with until he gets back anyways."   
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Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:40 pm
  Swen frowned a little. "Fine, whatever..," he mumbled and pulled his knees up to hug them. He rested his chin on them and sighed softly, staring ahead at the fire. It was a long while before he spoke again, seemingly entranced by the flames. "...If you don't mind us living at your house with you, I'll let you go now..," he mumbled softly. "I don't want Clare to live in this filth anymore...and it's safer for her than being out in this shack." He sighed softly and glanced over at him. "Plus, it'd be nice to have someone to talk to other than her...even though we've definitely gotten off on the wrong foot...and if you're really one of the people that just wants to get on with their lives...we are, too." He glanced at him once again and then reached over to one of the re-used bottles of water he had been drinking out of. "Lemme help you sit up, and I'll let you have some of my water," he mumbled in a quiet voice as he reached over to Chandler and helped him sit up. Then he unscrewed the cap and held the water up close to Chandler's mouth, almost as a peace offering.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:47 am
~The irresistible joy of being behind the wheel of a brand new life... thats what I live for~
From all my heart and a little bit of my stomach, Chantler.Chantler considered Swen's offer for a moment before agreeing to himself that it was a good idea. He had gotten to be so lonely and surely he needed some help. He couldn't even figure out that seagulls could make a good meal until it almost killed him. When Swen offered up the water bottle to him he looked up and studied his face for a moment. He had the features of a model. A face that could make you say yes to almost anything. As much as Chandler's throat burned of dehydration, he denied the water by tilting his head to the side and mumbling "Not thirsty." He couldn't stand the thought of someone else feeding him like a helpless child. The way he saw it though, he was going to be back at his house sometime soon.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 4:42 am
Danny & Charlie The duo went about their schedule of unpacking what they needed from the jeep and unpacking in their separate rooms. All the while in the background the Jeep blasted music that could be well heard from inside the house. The two never left each others sides the entire time they were unpacking. After they finished unpacking the loaded Jeep, Swen unfolded the back seat to reveal that the actual seat had been removed to make room for two large pad locked trunks. They unloaded the heavy trunks together and set them both beside a ladder that had already been set up. Individually, they both knelt down and used a key hanging around their necks to unlock one of two locks that hung from each chest. "Chantler is going to be so happy to see these again." Danny said as he opened a trunk to reveal several carefully packed solar panels. 12 in total, the solar panels were enough to power 2 average post plague homes. Danny mounted them on the tin roof while Charlie sat next to him untangling the giant mass of wires that they would run through the house in lieu of it's already functioning and well hidden electrical system. Instead these would be taped to walls and run along floors to provide lighting and air conditioning to necessary rooms, all connected to one central wire that typically ran down the side of a house and connected to a large battery that would be charged and used to provide electricity through the night. Charlie insisted on lugging around a small window unit that she rarely ever got the chance to use but would grow extremely excited when the opportunity arose. This was one of those opportunities. "Hey Danny." Charlie said moments after she stopped working and stared off at the horizon. "What is it?" Danny asked, locking the last panel into place. He followed Charlie's gaze to see a small trail of smoke over the treeline. "Do you think Chantler could've made friends?" Charlie said, practically transfixed by the smoke. "Well... maybe. Let's finish setting this up and go check it out." As he went through the motions of setting up the wiring and lights, the thought of Chandler's death began to consume him. The thought of the introverted recluse that he grew up with venturing out into the world and making friends didn't make sense to him. The moment they finished and powered up the system, the duo secured all of their belongings within the house and locked up. "So what do you think we'll find?" Charlie asked Danny as they climbed into the Jeep. "Well it can't be that bad." he nervously replied "I mean, ...well.. not everybody wants to kill everybody." Charlie considered that while she hastily backed the Jeep up and steered it in the direction of the smoke. Danny reached around behind is seat and pulled out Charlie's rifle crossbow and pulled the safety off of his gun. "Just in case." Danny practically whispered as he placed the bow in her lap.
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Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:21 pm
Swen frowned at him and re-capped the bottle. "Well...it's here for you if you need it." He was silent for a bit, eyes staring at the fire once more, the flames dancing in his eyes. "So...what do you say to the...I guess it would be an offer?" he asked softly, laying his cheek on his knee so he could look over at the other. He examined the teen's features, noticing how...beautiful he actually was. Even with the dirt and grime on his face, he really was a gorgeous person. "I think that if we three work together that we'd make pretty good housemates. Though, I dunno if Clare is gonna really trust you very much..." He studied him for a little longer. "You know what? I don't even see a point in having you tied up anymore. You're apparently not crazy, you just had an...odd moment of violence? If you kill me, well...shame on me. I guess my judge of character's worn down." He got up on his knees and moved behind Chantler. He pulled out a pocket knife and cut the rope from around him, setting him free after unwrapping it from around him. "There...now...what do you say about that pact?" he asked as he put his knife away and moved back beside him, facing him and looking at him expectantly, hoping he would accept it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:17 pm
~The irresistible joy of being behind the wheel of a brand new life... thats what I live for~
From all my heart and a little bit of my stomach, Chantler."I'm not sure." Chantler said while he tried not to look at Swen. He stretched his arms and dug his fingers into the sand in front of him. They sat in silence for a moment until Chandler heard the music being played by the Jeep that was barreling down the beach at them. As soon as he looked in the direction of the sound, the Jeep rounded the corner and became visible from behind the tree line. Chandler immediately jumped up and began to panic. His panic subsided as he realized that, except for a few scuffs to the body, he recognized the Jeep. He stood there in awe as he waited for the Jeep to slow and stop at where they were. As soon as it stopped, Danny and Charlie jumped out of the Jeep and ran straight for Chantler. The two smashed into him almost simultaneously and nearly knocked him over. Even though they hadn't seen each other in only 6 months, judging by the greeting, it may as well have been 6 years. After the general greetings and squeals subsided, Charlie exchanged an awkward glance with Swen and turned back to Chantler. "There's so much we need to catch up on!" she squealed. "Well... not really but you could start with telling us who your new friend is. Chantler smiled and turned to face Swen. "Well, we actually kind of just met yesterday," he directed back at Charlie. "but I made them an offer to come live with me. I obviously have the space and it would be useful to have some help. Being alone has driven me crazy. But enough about that. Please tell me you brought AC with you." At this point Chandler turned around to face Danny and smiled as big as he could. He was happier than he had been in a very long time. Even though Charlie and Danny are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, Chantler had grown to expect the deaths of the people he loved. They were the exception though. Danny smiled at Chantler again and then poked him in the stomach. "Okay, okay, okay, okay." Chantler practically squealed. He turned back to Swen and his facial expression hardened a bit. Even though him and Clare were still complete strangers to him, he still wanted them to join forces. He just wasn't sure if he could trust them. All he knew is what he was told, and that still didn't leave them with much. "We will load up the Jeep with whatever you guys want to take. Then we will bring it all back to the house." Chantler stopped on that note, clearly accepting Swen earlier offer. He just smiled an waited for a response.
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Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:08 pm
Swen about flipped his s**t when the silence was broken by the jeep racing up to them. He jumped up the same time Chantler did and instinctively pulled out his knife, flipping it open as he took a defensive stance. He heard a creaky door open and felt someone grab onto his waist in fear. "What's happening?" Clare asked him, voice shaky and tears in her eyes. Her hair was tosseled still from sleep, and her eyes were bleary and worn. "It's okay, Clare. Nothing's gonna--" "Why is he untied?!" she screeched, finally noticing Chantler being free from bindings. She gripped onto Swen tighter in fear. "It's okay... It's okay, Clare. Just...hold on a minute," he told her, watching the two jump out of the vehicle and race towards Chantler. He observed the interaction between the three and waited for them to address him. When Chantler was done speaking, Clare began a squabbled, confused protest at the suggestion while Swen observed the options now that there were more people involved and the new people. Upon a few moments contemplation, he turned back to Clare, grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Clare, listen to me. We can't keep surviving just with us like this. He has many more and much better resources than we do. Sturdy walls is the greatest one. We'll be safer in that house with three more people to band together with than just us two in this damn beach shack. Okay?" She flattened her hair a little and stroked her cheek, smiling a little at her. When she went to protest some more, glancing at the others, he shook her a little and interrupted with. "Do you trust me?" Startled, she looked back at him and almost immediately replied. "Of course I do, but--" "Then try to put a little trust in them, okay? I won't let anything hurt you." She bit her lip, looked at the others again, then nodded a little at him. He hugged her tightly. "Okay. Thank you, Clare," he mumbled before standing back up straight and turning back to them. "Anything that we can salvage from that shack is all we have to save," he told them and finally put his knife away. "Well..," he said with a clap of his hands, "I guess we should get workin'." He turned back towards the shed and directed Clare towards it to gather anything they had.
Fifteen minutes later, they had salvaged the shovel, two fishing poles, two five-gallon buckets, three bags of soil, a five-gallon tank of gas, some hedge shears, a watering can and a box with different types of seeds in it. After everything was loaded up, he threw the few water bottles they had in the back as well and looked up to the half-rubble house that lead down to the shack. The hedges right before the sand were dying and the yard was a mess with debris. "We could see if that half-of-a-house has anything. I don't know if anyone's in there, though. Clare and I didn't think it was very stable to live in, so we didn't really bother with it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:30 am
~The irresistible joy of being behind the wheel of a brand new life... thats what I live for~
From all my heart and a little bit of my stomach, Chantler.Chantler, Danny and Charlie all assisted Swen and Clare with gathering the remains of their belongings, all the while becoming increasingly aware that the two could use some help. When their attention was directed towards the decrepit house, they all subconsciously agreed that the house could potentially hold some useful supplies, seeming as how it obviously hadn't been touched by any raiders. "It seems a little odd that you guys haven't already tried to salvage anything from it, but I don't blame you. The house looks like it's on the verge of collapsing." Chantler directed at Swen, not feeling too comfortable communicating with Clare. Before anyone could respond, Charlie took a step towards the house and added in, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 11:10 am
"I mean, like I said--we didn't bother with it because we were scared it would collapse on us. I know it might hold some good tools and useful items, but I dunno if it would be worth risking our lives for," he told them, looking back at the house once again. "It was just a suggestion--I wasn't trying to make you guys feel obligated or anything," he told them, looking a little worried over the thought of trying to enter the decrepit thing. He reached behind him and pulled Clare into his arms, holding onto her tightly. He really didn't want her to get hurt, but he also didn't want her to stay outside by herself.
"Why don't...we just try to scour the outside and maybe catch a few glances as to what we may be risking ourselves for before we go marching in there. I think it'd be the safest bet. There's really no point of going in there not even knowing if it has anything we might even need..." He looked around at them all, waiting for one of them to respond to his suggestion that may save a life.
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Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 4:54 pm
Danny & Charlie "Well standing around here like a bunch of scared puppies isn't going to help." Danny said as he walked to the back of the Jeep and began shuffling items around. He came back with an axe and immediately headed towards the house. As soon as he climbed onto the porch, he swung the axe at a large wooden beam that supported a crumbling overhang that covered part of the porch. His swing was met with a loud bang and when Danny pulled the axe back, he gestured at the hole and turned back towards the group. "Any of you think someone would build a house on a hurricane pounded beach without using steel? And further more..." At this point he turned and walked a few paces until dropping the axe and kicking in the door. "Someone has already been here. The door was off his hinges and leaning on the frame. I have a minor in architectural history. Pretty lucrative though. Now why is it so important that we go in this house?" He stared at Swen and Clare waiting for a response. He had a feeling that something was odd about this house and it seemed highly unlikely that anybody would not raid any house, regardless of structure.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 7:59 am
Swen winced when the axe hit metal. He watched Danny drop the axe and begin to stare at him. He blushed a bit, embarassed that he hadn't thought of the house being sturdier than it appeared before. "Look, I didn't say it was important, I just thought it might be a good source of supplies! You're making it seem like a bigger deal than it is!" he told him, slightly frustrated with himself and at Danny for making him look stupid. "It doesn't ******** matter if we go in or not, it was just a ******** suggestion, okay? Don't turn to me for all the goddamn answers, because God knows I don't have any of them," he snarled out, glaring slightly at the male that seemed so damn confident and sure of himself. He felt a hand rubbing his back slightly and let out a sigh. Clare could always tell when he was on the verge of bursting into tears whether it be anger or sorrow. "I'm sorry... I'm just so fed up with what the world's come to and s**t...and I'm starving," he mumbled.
"Let's just go in and get it over with. Maybe the last people who raided it left something of good use," he added on and took Clare's hand, walking forward up to where Danny stood. He cautiously peered inside and stepped in. He was in a kitchen--a very large one at that. He could see straight into the next room and spotted dirty, stained carpet and a few very dusty picture frames on the mantle of a fireplace. He pulled his knife out again and flipped it open, just in case someone was hiding and waiting to attack. He would protect Clare whatever it took. Walking forward, he slowly moved past the kitchen, which he was sure someone else would check for supplies even though they were probably all gone, and into what he guessed was the living area. He scanned the place over once before moving over to the picture frames, each step he took lifting up a small cloud of dust. He lifted a frame up and let go of Clare's hand briefly to wipe the glass off. Once the picture was partially visible again, he froze. Then he looked around the place again, beginning to recognize the torn and tattered surroundings. How had he not recognized it before? Granted, the house was in shambles and looked completely different--virtually unrecognizable. But with this picture in his hand with five smiling faces--his mother, father, younger sister, Clare and himself--memories began to rush back to him. "Clare..," he whispered hoarsely. "This is Gramma's house."
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