forum "the world is over-" "maybe, but its our world now" (large group - open 5/7) **PLEASE JOIN** (or at least look at...)

Started September 21, 2021 by @CaseyJ group

tune

( @ScotchTapeWorm thaaanks :D Also, are we in sector 7?)

@ShadeStar @CaseyJ

In the silence following his question, Chet thought he heard a twig snap. He stood up and made his way to the hovel, reaching down and grabbing a crossbow. He lifted it, and pointed it in the direction of the sound, looking into the softly blue glowing darkness of the Forest.
"I know you're there." he said softly into the gloom.

(Im gonna have to drop this sorry)

(That's ok! It was fun having you. Tc!)

@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 , @ShadeStar
"No, I mean I could.try, but I'd be a dead man walking if anyone saw me," he looked down at his arm, below his numbers was a small scar, where the Refuge medics had taken his tracker out.
~
Sean didn't hear anything, so he was surprised when Chet stood up, pointing his crossbow at the trees, "what are you doing? If there is someone out there, its definitely not a Gov, they don't come near here, like, most don't even know about this place."

@Davadio @CaseyJ

Z froze when she heard the snap of a twig. They must have stepped on it with their prosthetic and was now mentally cursing themselves out for giving their position away. She didn't move a muscle as she spotted the scout who had heard her. All he had was a crossbow, that was fine. They could take a couple of bolts in order to get away, but damn it! She had been getting close to the water and then she had gotten caught. They were about to try and slip away before she heard another voice talking about the Government. She took note of the other male as she realized he was talking about the Government as if… They took a few cautious steps toward the pair, not leaving the safety of the trees, as they responded, "What do you mean not Gov? Are you two not with the Government?"

@CaseyJ @ShadeStar

"Not really the Guvs I'm worried about." Chet muttered under his breath in response to Sean.
When the voice called out, he adjusted his aim, covering the shadowy figure he still couldn't see clearly.
"Are WE with the Government?? Nah, @#$% the Guvs." he called in response. "Who are you?"

@Davadio @CaseyJ

They weren't with the Government, at least that's what they told Z. She wasn't sure if she entirely believed them, but she no longer had the option of slipping away and hoping they thought it was some animal. They slowly inched their way out of the forest, until their prosthetics glinted slightly in the firelight. It was then she gave a response, "I'm Z. Also not with the Government. But I didn't realize there was anyone left who wasn't associated with the Gov."

@ShadeStar @CaseyJ

Chet nodded, still keeping his bow up. "Oh, friend, there's tons of us. Dune Nomads, the Riverbed Tribes, the Coalmine Consortium, the Refuge- plenty of people not under the Guv's thumb."
He stepped back, slightly in front of Sean, brotherly instincts already kicking in. "Got any proof you're not a Guv, Z? Gonna have to make me trust you."

@Davadio @CaseyJ

Z lifted up her arms so that he could see her forearms. Or the one forearm that was still in tact. They were still being wary of the strangers in front of them, but at least they knew now there were others out there who didn't listen to the Gov. As wary as she could be, years of not talking seemed to have loosened her tongue up a bit"See? No number. And, uh, no arm. That's the Gov's fault by the way. And it's not like you're being very trustworthy yourself. Never telling me your name and pointing your crossbow at me. Which would do absolutely nothing to me just so you know and stop pointing it at me. Or at least it couldn't do anything that would take me longer than a few seconds to heal. Also the Government's fault."

@ShadeStar

"Hey, you snuck up on my hovel, approached my fire, you're the interloper. Burden of proof rests at your feet." Chet smiled, but not in a particularly pleasant way. "I wouldn't test your theory about this bow if I were you. I'll point it where I like." He thought for a moment, before sitting back down on his rock, keeping the weapon aimed in her general direction. "Ya hungry? Got plenty of meat here."

"I've already had that theory tested. Once removed it takes about 5 seconds for my body to heal after being shot with a crossbow bolt. No scar or anything," Z replied not moving from her spot. They had no intentions of eating food that a stranger provided, "And I didn't sneak up on your hovel. Your hovel was in the path of my alternate water source, so I would argue burden of proof rests on you."

Chet relaxed a little. As long as she assumed it was a normal crossbow, with normal crossbow bolts, that was fine with him. He set it down and leaned forward to cut another chunk off the meat.
"I mean, this hovel has been here for years, and I've never seen you, soooo….." He patted a rock near the near. "You can argue all you want to. Have a seat while you're at it."

@Davadio @ShadeStar

Sean silently watched the interaction, covering his arm so the new person couldn't see it. They didn't need to know that he used to be one of the best shots in that sectors Gov branch…or that he hadn't willingly left, sure he would have if it hadn't been for the tracker, but now he was on both the Gov and Refuge's bad side.

3110 stopped for a break. He'd been jogging at a steady pace for about an hour and a half with a few breaks in between. He leaned up against a rocky outcropping, trying to duck down enough to let it shade the top of his head. Pulling the dust mask down was a welcome change, letting the man gasp in breaths of air. 3110 wiped his forehead with an absent hand, taking a small sip from his precious canteen of water. Taking the moment of rest, he rifled through his bag for the carefully folded map. It was divided into sections, with a few penciled in landmarks from the scout that had used it before him. 3110 didn't know much about the woman, just that she'd never been found again, disappeared without a trace in the compound. He frowned at the map again, Sector 7 was practically blank except for the words Sector 7 in bold, sterile lines. Though… He squinted at the map, noting a smudge next to the number 7, upon closer inspection it wasn't a smudge at all. Lifting the map upwards towards the sunlight the ginger man could see the tiniest drawing of a.. Tree? A frown tugged at his lips now, puzzled. Was this just an idle drawing by a bored Scout? A message? Or was it really just a smudge that he was interpreting meaning from?

3110 decided he'd waited too long, he folded the map up again, noting the direction he should continue in, annoyed by the fact he'd been drifting left for the past 20 minutes. Pulling the damp dust mask up again, 3110 continued his jog, feeling a dull ache increase everytime his injured leg made contact with the ground. The sun beating down made that 'thwum, thwum' sound drum in his ears, and 3110 struggled with the heat, his pale skin a hindrance in this world, he tugged at his loose clothing, made specifically to be able to hide in different environment. While he jogged, his mind couldn't help but wander, from the Government to the sun, to the weight of his rifle on his back, so carefully strapped in it barely bounced as he ran. The young man had had the rifle with him from the second he'd become a scout, he'd trained with it, maintained it, even polished it. In return the gun kept him safe. 3110 hadn't many opportunities to fire it, usually only if he was attacked by some mutant variation of an animal. His favorite was a bear with five legs, gone rabid with hunger in the wasteland. He'd gotten it from a distance before going to his designated drop-point. 3110 could hit a snake in the eye from 200 paces, he'd hit a bird out of the sky hundreds of feet up in the right wind, he could hit a target's chest from- From.. A target's.. The mans breath hitched, and he slowed to a stop, pulling off his mask to gasp for air again, his vision going blurry. What..?

"Child.. I'm going to tell you something important, I need you to never, ever forget it, okay?" His mother was a beautiful woman, both her and his father were scientists, working for the government long before they rose to complete power. She was always calm and collected, and smelled of disinfectant and lavender. She.. 3110 couldn't remember what she worked on.. But it was something important right? She- He couldn't remember her number.. Why couldn't he- What was.. Something in his brain made a clicking noise, deafeningly loud.

3110 stood up from his knees in the sand. He glanced at the sky, he would be arriving at his destination in twenty minutes, he stood and ran, head empty for a long while. He pulled up his mask, checked his rifle and ran.

(Haha, guess this means trouble >:) )

A spectator watching from a distance wouldn't notice anything wrong, in fact someone just a few inches away might not even notice anything at first. However, with close examination the man running was too.. Patterned, running left, right, left right was normal, breathing in the same pace also so. Arms moving in time with legs can make sense, and eyes straight ahead was just common sense. However, all of them combined was.. Wrong, too ordered, too structured. The man kept running like this for a while, before 3110 finally felt himself in his skull again. The ginger man sighed, he'd zoned out again. It was dangerous to do that while running, he was probably just bored of the monotony. Checking the sky he was nearing his destination, and even as he looked ahead he could see.. A forest? 3110 blinked again, then tried rubbing his eyes. The tree's ahead stayed in place, so it wan't a mirage.. How… Long had he been zoned out? A spark of worry blossomed in his stomach, what had happened? Even as he thought about it a spike of pain formed in 3110's skull, driving the thought away, he shook his head, instead focusing on the tree's as a much more immediate problem.

The tree's were larger than described and an odd aura radiated from them. 3110 crouched down, inspecting the… Grass? The plant life on the ground, half seemed wilted and the rest was tough, and almost rubbery to the touch. He frowned, pulling out his map again. He was sure he was in the right area, it was just so, odd? The red haired man had experienced the strangest things the past few days, perhaps that was what was causing his headaches. 3110 unholstered his rifle, though for once the familiar weapon was heavy in his hands. The gleam of the metal under the trees was unfriendly and harsh. 3110 shook his head firmly, switching the safety on and off for a moment to reassure himself. He took a few steps forwards, creeping under the canopy, all of his senses on full alert. The rustles of the leaves sounded unnatural to his machinery accustomed ears, and the constant movement put him on edge. As an afterthought 3110 remembered to put a leaf or two in his bag to study later. He knew, consciously that places like this forest existed, and the Government likely knew of it.. Perhaps this was why he was sent to scout area 7? Entirely possible he was being sent here to die.

3110 held tighter to his rifle, triple checking that his belongings were held close to his body and securely fastened. The trees pressed in, whispering of life, and he pressed a hand to one of the behemoths trunks. As unsettling as it was, 3110 decided the height couldn't hurt and began to climb up the base of the tree, resting softly in the massive branches. 3110 allowed himself a smile, he felt like a panther, a large cat he'd read about in a report once. He adjusted his clothes to the environment around him, darkening the colors. The boughs were large enough from mutation to allow subtle travel along the branches if you were careful and clever enough. 3110 began to move, scanning around himself and going slowly, his priority was looking for other humans or wild-life, and he slowly worked his way towards distant sounds, almost like a crackling fire, though it might just be the odd sounds of a mutated forest. Looking through the scope of his rifle occasionally to see further, though the leafage and undergrowth blocked his vision, it also provided excellent cover. The ginger stilled his breathing to move quieter, as he was trained, eyes opened to take in all the details he could. Briefly, 3110 wondered if he'd be allowed to sketch such a place when he returned to the compound..

"Oh, must not've seen it when I was running for my life when I went through here the first time," Z retorted back staying where she was. They glanced over at the other stranger, the one who hadn't said much. She then looked back at the talkative one, "Besides, you two haven't proven your not Gov. This could be a pop-up station. So forgive me for not believing you."

Chet just kinda looked at her, then looked down at himself. Animal hide clothing, a clearly homemade weapon, living in a dirt hovel on the backside of nowhere, with no marks or numbers on his arms…
"I forgive you. Name's Chet. And if we were Guvs, you'd be dead. You know that as well as I do."