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Started September 21, 2021 by @CaseyJ group

tune

Chet skittered over the sands, heading towards the Forest. He enjoyed travelling like this, quickly and not particularly carefully. There was nothing around the Refuge, so he could afford to move without camouflaging every few yards.
He stopped near the top of a dune and looked back towards the Refuge. It was mostly under a big sand dune, but you could see the Door if you knew exactly where to look. From this angle, the desert sands were actually kinda beautiful, the tan and orange of the sands mixing in a nice marble pattern over the dark brown of the dusty earth.
As he looked towards the door, he saw a figure step out. Chet immediately dropped into the sand, not really wanting to be seen, and managed to scramble over the top of the dune. He glanced back again, only to see the figure start heading towards the Forest as well.
"Hm." He grunted to himself as he lifted his bow to look through the scope.

Young looking kid. Black hair. Kinda short, average build.

And carrying a pack.

That part was weird. Chet had never seen Mark send someone out with a full pack like that, rather than an empty one for scouting.
Years ago, Chet had come across the Refuge in its early time, when Mark was still securing it and pulling in kids. He'd stayed for a while. but had left when the list of Rules started getting too long. Mark had not liked that he decided to leave, which is why Chet dropped off his packages anonymously. He also wondered if it was the reason Mark had made a rule to never leave. He'd learned about that Rule from a scout a few years later.

A Rule this kid was clearly breaking.

"Someone to keep an eye on…" He muttered to himself. He stood back up and turned back on his way to the Forest. He needed to make sure he had dinner ready.

The hovel might have a guest tonight.

@Davadio

As Sean walked, he pulled out a pistol from his back, one that he had stolen. He checked the mag for ammo, it was fully loaded, he made sure it didn't have a bullet in the chamber before hooking it to his belt. He had stolen a holster a few weeks back, and now he had a use for it. He started humming loudly, out of toon. It would seem that he was trying to draw attention to himself. Which he was, better to find people then they find him, not that he couldn't defend himself, he was the top fighter in his group…before he got kidnapped.
"UGH!" He kicked a rock in frustration, "he can't blame me for wanting to leave, I didn't want to be there in the first place," He picked up the rock, looking at it. He looked at the numbers on his arm. 5349. He sighed loudly, bored of walking already, and talking to a rock.

3110 had factory duty today, as his leg was still healing, and slowly without proper medical treatment. The work was monotonous, specifically designed to discourage thought and creativity, a slow soul killing job. You weren't even aloud to know what you were building, just assembling the parts slowly and methodically. The sound of machines was deafening in the background to make sure the workers didn't speak with one another. On 3110's left was a short, mousy looking man and on his right a woman with bright blonde hair that was matted with grease and oil. As he worked, the red-haired man zoned out his hands moving on auto-pilot without his knowledge. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself not being on scout duty, aside from his personal work there wasn't much that kept him sane, a tiny bit apart from the faceless crowds. He tried closing his eyes imagining the din of the machines was the howling wind, the overheated workshop the desert.
3110 shook his head slowly, driving such fancy from his head, there was no point in having such an imagination, he was only on factory duty for another few hours and the next day he was back on scout duty, he'd filed a false report on his leg, he didn't care if it damaged himself, 3110 needed to get back on the outside. He zoned out again, working comfortably for maybe another half hour, before his eyes caught movement. Accustomed as he was to barren planes and desolation, movement was a rarity, and he had trained for most of his life to simply see everything around himself. However, movement in a factory wasn't novel, everything moved and breathed, what caught 3110's attention was the mousy man slowly moving up the assembly line, glancing at him in a rapid, nervous way. 3110 pressed his lips together, continuing with his work, until the man had gotten close enough to touch, he tried glancing at the mans forearm, to read his number. 7719 was printed neatly, one number after another, though 3110's new nervous companion seemed to take this as an invitation.

"Hey-" 7719 cleared his throat and tried again, his voice sounding more whisper-y, yet it was louder, which irked the red head.
"Hey- You're new here, right?" The man kept fidgeting, highly nervous, worried glances all around himself. 3110 gave the man a curt nod, his annoyance growing further. Apparently, any form of response was the wrong answer, because the man brightened, giving him a small smile.
"Here! This uh- We've been working on…" 7719 trailed off, handing him a tiny slip of paper, probably stolen from a report from the small green line on the top of the torn slip. With one hand, 3110 slipped the piece of paper into his own hand, giving a glance at the words. As he expected it was a meeting place, time, and some words along the line of 'Rise Up!' or 'Worker Rights!'. The ginger rolled his eyes, motioning for the small man to get back to work, not wasting his breath on one like this. 7719 skittered back to his place, looking pleased with himself. The rest of his shift was the same work, and as soon as the bell rang 3110 stood, heading to the door. Before leaving everyone was searched as was custom, to make sure no person had smuggled out parts, stealing was, of course, punishable by death. As he was searched 3110 turned in the slip of paper, giving the description and number of the man who had given it to him. 3110 was annoyed by the sheer audacity of the man, he wasn't subtle, was openly rebelling, and for what? He shook his head in disgust, was it really that hard to understand? Rebelling was useless and even if they were successful, only the clever succeeded, it was simple. His blue eyes looked upwards at the sky after the search.. One more day and then it was just him and the open sky, as long as he wasn't given a group again, or worse, just a partner. 3110 shuddered, walking faster back to his sleeping quarters.

@CaseyJ @ScotchTapeWorm (Sorry, forgot to @ either of you last time. Hope this is all ok!) (Also @ShadeStar was heading to the Forest as well. Dunno if you wanna meet up or something)

Chet reached the Forest as twilight was approaching. It was roughly 3 hours from the Refuge to the Forest, and he'd been moving slower than normal so he could keep an eye on the kid behind him.
He approached the dense shapes of the Forest. The oasis always smelled strange after he'd been away awhile.

The Forest was just strange, in general.

The same war that had wiped out so much of the population and turned the world into an irradiated Desert had spawned mutant plants and animals of all kinds. Chet remembered normal plants; they were beautiful and delicate and green.

He'd been little when the war had ended, and the last normal plant had died.

Sure, greenhouses were a thing, but the plant life had absorbed so much nuclear radiation in the fighting that what survived was… monstrous. Trees growing abnormally huge and dense, plants glowing blue in the tree shade instead of a healthy green, and all of them sporting ugly growths and tumors.

And the animals were no better.

Strange mutant hybrids of the normal forest animals. Rats as big as rottweilers. Foxes the size of horses. Lynxes standing 8 feet at the shoulder.
Everything bigger had been hunted to extinction, to protect the people. The critters had developed razor sharp claws, long fangs, weird venoms and strange powers. And the whole Forest seemed angry.

Chet didn't stay here very long at a time for good reason.

He couldn't imagine being one of the people in the Forest villages. Living here all the time. It would have driven him insane.

However, there was a lot of good meat in the Forest, if you knew how to cook it so it wouldn't give you radiation sickness. And the water, after 25 years, was clean. Finally.

So he headed in and hunted down a rabbit. A single rabbit would feed him for a week, if he was careful.

Or he could share with his guest for a couple of days.

He kept an eye towards the direction of the Refuge. Unless the kid circled around, he'd come in at the same place Chet always did. Through the clearing to the west. Chet had built an open fire that would be visible from there.

He hated to admit it, but he was looking forward to asking some questions.
"Been too long since you talked to anybody…" He rasped to himself, his voice crunchy with disuse. He sat, staring into the fire, watching the meat cook, just waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he sat there, Chet fidgeted with a small object. It was a bullet, just one, well worn from being handled so much, but still functional. For Chet, it held a special significance.

This bullet had somebody's numbers on it.

Chet hadn't always been alone. He'd had a brother, once. A little brother, named Danny. Danny had come to him by accident, fleeing the city after the Guv's had taken over. He'd taken Danny under his wing, and for 15 years they'd been a team. From age 8 to 23, Chet had taken care of his little brother. Danny had only been a year younger, but he'd looked up to Chet in so many ways. Chet had taught him how to shoot, how to build weapons, how to hide in plain sight, and so many other things. Danny had reminded Chet how to laugh, how to smile easily and gently.

And then some Guv sniper had shot him.

They'd been salvaging from an old tank, crashed in the desert, and Chet was so excited, he hadn't paid attention to their surroundings as closely as he should have. Danny had been pointing out some loose MRE's, when the bullet had exited his chest in a puff of red.

Chet still had nightmares about the confused look on Danny's face as he toppled and died.

Chet had screamed and pulled his revolver, firing 5 of the 6 shots in the direction the shot had come from. He had sprinted that way, watching as a young teen, just a kid, sprinted away from him, creating puffs of dust in the sand.
He'd tracked the kid back to the city, and at one point had gotten close enough to make out the numbers, those cursed numbers, on his arm.

He'd never forget them: 3110.

He couldn't hunt the guy down once they were in the city, but for the last 6 years, Chet had watched and waited for the sniper to reappear. He'd never fired that 6th revolver bullet, and he only would when he found Danny's killer. It was just a matter of waiting.

Just like he was doing now. Staring into the flames. Waiting.

@Davadio

Sean kept walking, fiddling with his pistol. When he got to the forest he slowed down, looking at the strange colored plants, as a scout, he had never been permitted to go here. He picked up a fallen leaf, it was blue..or it had been, it was purple in some areas, it was hard, plastic like. He stood up and kept walking. Then he saw the fire, and the man sitting at it. He kept one hand on his pistol as he stepped forward. He took a long moment of trying to figure out what to say before just settling with "Yo". real threatening there self, 'yo' He rolled his eyes at himself, scanning the area around them.

(I know it is like a lot shorter than yours…sorry…)

@CaseyJ (You're ok! I didn't mean for mine to be nearly 1000 words)

Chet quirked an eyebrow when the kid said "Yo…" Real smooth there, buddy.
"Hey, kid, you hungry?" He decided to open with food bribery. "I got plenty of rabbit here." He pulled a long knife, leaned forward and cut a sizzling chunk of meat off of a roasting carcass the size of a big pig. It definitely looked more like a huge rabbit though. He held the chunk of meat out on the end of his knife, watching the boy. "Have a seat and dig in." He gestured towards one of the big rocks situated in a ring around the fire.

@Davadio

Sean stepped forward cautiously, "Is that even safe to eat?", he figured anything from the forest was in some way radioactive. Granted, most people were immune to any position left in the air, but he had never ate a… rabbit pig? "That 'piggit' doesn't look like…animals should..right? I mean, I have never seen one…only heard about them…um…" He sat down, setting his pack between his feet, tilting his head as he looked at the meat, he had lived off of government made…'food', though he wouldn't call it that. The food was more like whatever edible they found mashed together, which everyone just called rations, because it's not even close to being real food.

@CaseyJ (Did you know cacti are natural radiation absorbers? Questionable science, here we go! XD)

Chet nodded. "It's fine." His voice was raspy, like he has sand in his throat. "You marinate it in cactus juice, and then cook it, and the cactus juice absorbs the radiation and then evaporates. It'll taste a little funky, but it's safe."
He grinned. "And no, that critter doesn't look right at all. For one thing, it's way too big, and for another, they usually have fur."
He rested the knife with the meat on a rock near the fire and stood up. "Or, if you'd rather, I've got canned food." He turned and headed into what looked like a shed, built of packed dirt and sand bricks. His voice drifted from inside. "Yeah, I've got corned beef hash, some beans, and what looks like… tuna? Maybe?" He couldn't read the label very well. "You're welcome to whatever."

Sean stood up and poked the meat over the fire, regretting it instantly as it was hot and he might have just burnt his finger. He muttered out a string of curse words. He huffed sitting back down, "Pro tip, don't touch hot things, it hurts" he shook his head. "I am not really hungry, besides I am used to going without food." he shrugged.

@CaseyJ
Chet shrugged and walked back out of the hovel, sitting down in his spot and picking up the knife with the meat. "Your loss." He tore off a bite with his teeth, steam rising from the meat, and look at the kid. "Although going without isn't necessary now. You can get food whenever you like, if you know where to look."
He took another bite and spoke around a full mouth. "What's your name, kid?"

@Davadio

"I don't need to eat much, it would slow me down." He shrugged, taking his pistol out and looking at it. "My name? Aren't people supposed to ask for a number?…" he shook his head slightly, "I'm 5439, or Sean. And you are?" he asked. (Sean as in Seen not like shaun)

@CaseyJ (Oh. I've been reading it 'Shaun' this whole time)

Slow him down, huh… Wonder where he's going…
For just a second, deep anger displayed across Chet's face at Sean's confusion, his jaw clenching, his eyes flashing, and his brow furrowing.
He took a slow breath and got control of himself.
"Only the Guv's ask for numbers, kid. To me, you're a person with a name." He took another bite of meat. "Sean, good to meet you, I'm Chet." His face settled into an easy smile. "You said it'd slow you down to eat. Where ya headed in such a hurry?"

@Davadio

"well I only got kidnapped by Mark a few months ago, old habits." He shrugged, "I am not headed anywhere really, but I am small and quick, so if I need to defend myself, I don't have an problems with it. granted, if I keep forgetting to eat I will pass out from you know, not eating." He shrugged.

@CaseyJ

Chet just looked at the kid for a second, before cramming the rest of the bit of meat in his mouth. He leaned forward and cut off another chunk, not bothered by the heat, before leaning over to the kid, holding out the meat.
"Listen, Sean, small and quick is good, but passing out isn't, and a decent meal will make you stronger, not sluggish." He stayed leaned over, not taking no for an answer. "Do me a favor and take the meat, this is uncomfy."

@Davadio

Sean took the meat, taking a small bite. "Yeah ok…but I don't really see a point in eating all the time" he shrugged, wondering why Chet didn't ask about him being 'kidnapped' by the Refuge, granted he did use the Leaders first name, so maybe Chet didn't know who he was talking about.

@CaseyJ

Chet leaned back and got comfortable. "Thank you."
He took a good look at Sean. Up close, the kid was average looking. Striking hair and eyes, but that was about it. A tad short, average build… but he moved with a grace that told Chet he knew how to move, maybe even fight.
Not that Chet was planning on testing that.
"So Mark has started kidnapping full on, huh?" He wasn't surprised. With all the Rules going into effect, it was only a matter of time before Mark was just as ruthless about 'recruitment' as the Guv. "How'd it happen?"

(ok, so, not gonna lie, ScotchTape, you've got some heavy nuance. I like it. I also realized by turning the Forest into a thing we're stepping on your toes about no plants, so Imma try to fix that. Hoping everybody's worldbuilding can be coherent :) )

(Me slowly catching up with everything posted- O h n o. Uhhh- I was right to be scared I guess! Haha, glad you like my style, I was worried it was too wordy! Loving the interaction between Sean and Chet so far! Good to see actually healthy conversations grin)

@Davadio

"Well, I was too good at my job, I kept finding his scouts, I let them knock me out and I'd report back that I forgot what happened…But they got tired of dealing with me so they knocked me out, and I woke up in that prison .. No windows..no doors…I get claustrophobic…not really..but I don't like feeling trapped you know?" He shrugged, "Mark felt bad for me, that I didn't choose to be there, so he let me get away with a lot..but I went outside, stole a gun, and got in a fight, so he kicked me out." Sean shrugged, his leg bouncing restlessly.

@CaseyJ

Chet stiffened when he realized Sean didn't leave the Guv voluntarily, then nodded. "Makes sense to me. I wouldn't have stayed if I were you." He narrowed his eyes, watching Sean more hawkishly now. If he's still loyal to the Guv…
"You going back now that you're out?"

( @Davadio That is so sweet thank you- I love reading yours as well! They feel very natural and paint a very vivid picture in your mind!)

~time skip for me only because time is an illusion and I can do what I want~

3110 woke with a dull pain in his spine and even worse ache in his leg. The young man groaned, forcing his eyes open with an effort, sitting up in his chair. Once again, he'd fallen asleep in his office, rather than in the sleeping quarters, it was just so much more quiet without the bunks and bunks of other people… He sighed, lifting his head, detaching a paper that had stuck to his face while asleep.
3110 blinked again, yawning broadly, then absentmindedly checked the time on the wall. He stiffened, it was almost time for the scouts to head out and he could NOT afford to be late, not after missing curfew once. The punishments for two infractions in a row were severely worse than some docked rations. The ginger stood, forcing his aching muscles to obey him and hustled off to the barracks.

The usual routine was followed, though this time slightly breathlessly. Get yelled at, get rations, get yelled at some more, collect sniper rifles and ammunition, leave, get yelled at, the usual. 3110 did remember to stuff a flare in his bag this time as well, not for his personal use, but in case he found something of note. Using flares for personal rescue was a waste of resources and was punishable by death, the usual course of actions. The red-haired man rubbed his eyes, glancing at his orders for the day it basically boiled down to…

    *Scout area 7. No irregular activity in this area, but it warrants further inspection.*

3110 frowned slightly, area 7 was just a patch of desert, nothing there at all, he was either being given an easy assignment, which implied they were still giving him time for his leg to heal… He almost scoffed at the idea, it was ridiculous. More likely he was being subtly punished, given the menial tasks to waste his time. Still, unlikely for someone so far down the chain like him, unless it was some grudge held against his parents from years ago? 3110 shook his head, annoyed, he shouldn't be questioning orders like this, he never had before so why now? He blamed his odd experiences the past few days. A run in with the leader of the Refugee's, invited to join a short-lived rebellion, a meeting with the leader of his branch, that painting- 3110 shut his brain off, and grabbed his rifle roughly, heading off into the wastelands. Though, he paused and gave a nod to the older woman at the gate, and was given a surprised look in response. Squinting at the sun he could probably make it to the location in a few hours, maybe less if he hurried. 3110 started out, pulling up his dust mask, hawk like blue eyes scanning the horizon feverishly. A familiar feeling of excitement bubbled up in his chest, as the wind buffeted his hair back. The weight of the rifle in his hands comforting and known, it was good to be back outside, where he belonged.
Now.. Just to survive the day-

@Davadio @CaseyJ
Z had to go further into the forest than she would like as her normal source of water was no longer clean. Apparently, sometime after they last got water, a massive amount of oil and chemicals got dumped into the source. They blamed either their own stupidity or the military base nearby. Either way, she now had to be extra cautious as she made her way through the forest since she hadn't been in this part before. And their cautiousness was proving correct as they spotted a single small plume smoke coming up ahead of her. She slowed down and kept herself hidden behind the trees as she walked toward the smoke. The other water source Z knew of was a little bit further past the smoke source, and so now they had to sneak past the owners of the fire, who were probably government scouts.